Yes, you can fly it, but...

I learned a valuable lesson not too long ago: just because you can fly something doesn't mean you can fly it well! My story is as follows...

I had been training to be able to fly the big mining ships (the Mack and the Hulk), and running missions to earn a few ISK and grind out standing. I was running the Level 1s in my frigate and destroyer, and things were going okay. Then I reached Level 2s. I really started to have trouble with these to the point that it wasn't even fun and was sometimes even impossible to finish these missions on my own.

Therefore, I decided I had to get a cruiser if I wanted to keep running missions, so I got hands on the Amarr Cruiser and Medium Energy Turret skill books and started training. As soon as I could, I trained these skills and jumped into my brand new Omen ready to fit it out.

Let me tell you, it was a rude awakening! I could barely fit anything on that ship! Because my various skills were so low, I couldn't fit the armor I wanted, and I could only get 2 turrets online at a time because of power grid limitations (I think, I'm no expert!)

Anyway, I figured I'd try to use EveMon and the Battleclinic load outs to figure out what skills I should train and how I should fit the ship, but that didn't help either. Every one of the loadouts there that I found is loaded with Tech II and/or high end faction stuff that requires tons more skills than I need. As great as EveMon is, this capability is not well suited for the beginner. I needed something else.

Fortunately, my corporation, Phoenix Propulsion Labs (www.phoenix-labs.net), has a solution. They have developed a very cool application on their web site for members that lays out "qualifications" to fly various classes of ships. In fact, because it is a socialist corporation where you are going to be given a ship by the corp rather than pay for it yourself, these qualifications for the ship are pretty much mandatory. You typically won't get your hands on a ship that you aren't qualified to fly (although they apparently made an exception for me with the Omen and we see how that worked out!)

Anyway, these qualifications don't mean you are going to be the best pilot of the particular class of ship, but you will be able to fit it out in a way that won't totally suck, and you should be able to hold your own in a fight with those skills.

I don't know if other corporations have anything as sophisticated as the qualification application, but I'm guessing they have something like a system of recommendations to help new pilots. Of course, my corporation's system is best! :-)

Anyway, I am now Amarr Cruiser qualified and am having a much better time piloting my Omen. I am now using the qualification requirements to train to be able to fly an Amarr battleship next.

If you would like to know more about PPL's qualification system (or anything else for that matter), feel free to convo me in game at Radd Trigon, drop by the "SHOP@PPL" channel, or post a comment on this blog.

Check out the Podded Podcast

Regularly produced Eve podcasts are hard to find these days. My not so recent post about the Drone Bay returning turns out to have been a bit of a false alarm, although I'm sure they have the best of intentions, and when it comes out again I fully expect that it will be great. Warp Drive Active is pretty spotty these days as well, but well worth a listen when it does come out.

The podcast I've been listening to a lot recently, and which comes out regularly enough to keep you satisfied is the Podded podcast (http://podded.libsyn.com). It apparently is two British guys sitting around a table together, slowly getting drunk and talking about Eve once a week. It is really a lot of fun to listen to, and because both hosts, Dillon Arklight and Warchilde, have a tendency to ramble as the beer flows, the podcasts usually end up being pretty long. Definitely check it out if you, like me, enjoy listening to podcasts about our favorite game.

I'm Back!!!

Alright! I'll admit it: I fizzled out big time on the blogging front. I was going like gangbusters to start and then just stopped. I am sorry about doing that.

Anyway, I've decided to get back to it, but with more realistic goals. I am not going to be posting everyday, but I will try to post at least a few times a week. In addition, I'm will be focusing on stuff that our corporation is up to and just the stuff I think is cool in the game.

I will say this: I really like the corporation that I'm in as they are a bunch of really great people who take the game seriously, but not too seriously. I also love this game for the grand scope of things, and how everything is interconnected. I'm going to be talking about all of this in future posts.

Anyway, I'm back and will be more active than I've been recently, but probably less active than I was right at the beginning. Hopefully, you'll find something interesting in what I write...

The Drone Bay is back!

The Drone Bay podcast is back after a long hiatus. I'm sure if you're reading my little blog, you already know this, but who knows. Anyway, I have a real soft spot in my heart for The Drone Bay because it is the podcast that really helped me figure out how to play Eve Online after floundering around on my own for my first few weeks on a trial account.

You can learn more about The Drone Bay at http://www.virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=17. Enjoy!

The great skill-up slowdown

One of the interesting things about Eve Online is that there is no experience points. All skills are learned by studying skill books, and the learning goes on around the clock, whether you are playing or not. This has some advantages and disadvantages. One advantages are that you can continue progressing even if you are not able to play very often. On the downside, there is no way to "power level" a character by working hard and grinding.

Anyway, something interesting happens when you hit 1.6 million skill points that I didn't realize: you slow down by a lot! It turns out that you earn the first 1.6 million skill points at double the normal rate. I don't know how to put this information to use for a new player, but perhaps this might work. If you have several skills to train and you are about to pass the 1.6 million SP mark, train one that takes the longest. I think that you will train at double speed for the whole skill, even if the majority of it is over 1.6 million points. There: advice...

Anyway, it kind of sucks that skills take so much longer now. I will have been training Astrogeology V for over 2 weeks now!

New Corp!

As I mentioned in my last post, I applied for a position in Phoenix Propulsion Labs. I'm happy to tell you that I was accepted into the corporation a few days ago. I am officially a cadet in PPL.

So far things have been going very well. The other corp members are very friendly and helping me along quite nicely. It is a whole different ballgame, though, working in a corporation that has actual work to get done to service its external customers. In Eve University, the corp members are the closest thing to customers for the most part.

Since joining a few days ago, some of the highlights since I have been a member have been helping out as a sentry for a low sec ice mining operation and participating in a pretty extensive mining operation for a discovered asteroid field.

Being in a "real" corporation is really different, and quite a bit different than Eve University. So far I'm enjoying it much more.

Out of the University

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I was thinking of dropping out of Eve U. Well, I dropped from the corp a few days ago when I was finally able to fly my Retriever. I just couldn't stand not being able to take my new toy out and use it!

I also started to look into other corporations that might be a good fit for me. I contacted CrazyKinux about his corp, Phoenix Propulsion Labs, and it sounded like a good fit. I went through the interview process today and hope to get accepted soon.

I feel a bit guilty about leaving Eve University (if it happens), especially given that this feels like exactly what the griefers are trying to accomplish. On the other hand, I pay money every month to play this game, and would like to have some fun doing it.

We'll see how it goes with the app. In some ways it feels like applying for a real job!