CSM8 voting is live.

Ahhhh CSM season. Always a good time to stop caring. Or at least that seems to be the general setting for most of the Eve populace. Something like 30% turnout of voters would be pretty epic…. compared to past years

Well if anyone ever gave a damn, here's some of my breakdown in candidates...

Well first, it's not to say that the CSM is bad, or under powered (or overpowered) for what they do, it's more of a question of the majority of the game's players might not understand what they do or why because frankly they don't care. So really that leaves the vote in the worst hands, those people who supposedly care and power blocks.

Okay, maybe not the worst. Still pretty bad.

Obviously it should come as no huge surprise that I will be spending my Voting pool placing Ripard Teg hopefully into great position to become a key member, well that is to say, A member of CSM8. The problem is with this Single Transferrable voting system that I have to figure out some other people to sit in slots 2-14?

After spending far too much time listening to the sexy voice of Xander P over at crossing Zebra's Podcast, I've realized that I am no closer to a decision than I was before. Honestly the sheer number of interviews he did is mind boggling and more than a little mind numbing.

FORTUNATELY for me, (and you - John Q Lazy Public), we have a breakdown of almost all the interviews in bite sized chunks, thanks to Poetic, over on his blog, neatly organized like so - LINK

Extra Vehicular has also reviewed the interviews to save me more time, or at least a second opinion…. Even if it is a little colored

It looks like this is the in post for the month, that is talking about who each blogger is going to vote for, so let's look at some big names choices…

Rixx - LINK

Ripard (can't write just one post) Teg - LINK

Rhavas - LINK

So I guess that leaves it to me. I would expend the effort required to give explanations, but to hell with that!

1. Ripard Teg

2. All Aras

3. Mangala Solaris

4. Malcanis

5. Nathan Jameson

6. Corebloodbrothers

7. Unforgiven Storm

8. James Arget

9. Korvin

10. Shit I've run out of people I would actually vote for, dammit.

Well if you didn't know CSM8 Voting is live now!!!!

CSM8 Voting page

Lowsec Highways

Saede over at her tumbler feed, Riordans ramblings, made a point a long time ago that I thought bore more attention than it received. She also made a post on the Forums

Anyways, the basics are this, in highsec there are various "Highway" pipes that connect various extended endpoints of highsec together. Basically allowing travel between hugely separated systems without having to go through lowsec. Some of these connections are well known like the pipe that goes through gankers heaven aka Uedama, but also just looking at the systems surrounding Jita and the Jita-pipes. For instance, The citadel, the connection gateway to what seems like everything, has direct connections to Essence, Sinq Liason, The Forge, Black Rise, Lonetrek and Domain. That's six regions. No wonder Jita is so popular, because it's so easy to get to.

Okay, so Highsec onviously has many more interconnections allowing for faster, easier travel and transport. But why not lowsec? Supposedly surrounding highsec but it has no ease of access. I am not talking about the highsec or lowsec island systems that are scattered around like delicate ecosystems of pirates and opportunists... I am talking about the chunks of lowsec that are locked away with litterally only one or two connection systems, and most times to single other area's of lowsec. Places like Solitude and Aridia come to mind.

In some cases, to move from one area of lowsec to one that should be "just next door," and sometimes is directly connected via highsec, can turn into a 20+ jump trek through lowsec, often times through other regions just to find the connection you need. Where are the highways so prevalent in Highsec? Why have they been left out here.

Before detractors start screaming the "making the game too easy pitch." Let me just say I am not suggesting a massed amount of new connections that make every lowsec region connected to every other lowsec region. Just a few additions and corridors that would make travel in lowsec that much easier.

Not only will this increase the mobility for pirates traversing lowsec, but also to other inhabitants of lowsec, like FW Fleets, Nullsec raiding fleets and even smaller alliances looking for homes. Lowsec would be more used because it would be easier to get to. Isolated regions could now draw people because there would be more ways in an out. (Solitude I'm looking at you). Providing the chance to increase lowsec population and increase the chances of a fight between roaming gangs.

As suggested by Saede, adding these jumps would dramatically help lowsec.


Saikamon-Soosat (The Bleak Lands - Devoid)
Sharir-Bairshir (Derelik - Derelik)
Maila-Ihakana (Forge - Forge)
Olettiers-Hysera (originally spelt wrong, this would be connection from Citadel to Sinq)
Kenninck-Ratillose (Placid - Solitude!)
Ashmarir-Rethan (Khanid - Tash Murkon)
Sibot-Soosat (Domain - Devoid)
Zinoo-Haras (Kador - Bleak Lands)
Karan-Agaullores (Aridia - Solitude)

It seems like a pretty simple change that would do nothing but good things for life in lowsec. Both for Pirates and for the good of lowsec.

Intermittent Absences

Well, in case everyone hasn't noticed, I have been on a bit of a hiatus. No not because I have finally lost the drive to play eve, or am any less involved in logging in the minute my characters have less than 24 hours of training time left and I get an alert about it on my phone.

No, instead I have been hobbled and crippled by changing tasks at work, deadlines at work and at home, as well as the cruelest of masters, work travel.

The skies are lightening in the future, so after a week long vacation coming this Wednesday to next, I hope to be back to my blog writing ways.

In the mean-time, I recommend that everyone heads out and endorses CSM candidates (using a supported browser like Firefox or IE since Chrome isn't working). Throw your support behind someone that will hopefully be active after becoming part of the CSM and represent your point of view while filtering out all the rest of the bad idea's out there.

This is the link to the CSM process page.

This is the link directly to the candidates. Make sure you log in and endorse, at least per account!

When I return I will finish up the errata of the corp security posts I have up, as well as hopefully finish the revised Vagabond guide that I have been working on as well as anything else that comes up.

SCL wrap up

This weekend saw the first (mostly) player run Eve Online tournament, the first month of the SCL. I did a little coverage on this event as it started up on Saturday, but honestly I wasn't expecting such a quality event.

Sure the commentators weren't 100% every time, but then I don't expect them to be. Yes, there were delays, both on the stream, the 7 second UI delay for one, or cutting to the repetitive ads before commentators finished talking, a by-product of clicking the "advert" button without accounting for the lag. Here's a tip for the SCL guys, three seconds of dead time allows all commentary to finish around the worth, but you press that "start adverts" button and that happens instantly. Sorry side tracked by the small things...

Yes there were scheduling delays in the macro sense, ie the hour long delay the start of the second day along with matches being delayed while things were worked out.

All that crap, forgotten. The quality of the event not only showed that the idea of competitive play in Eve is possible, it works great. Let me cover the winning formula.

1. Great teams of competitors. Pulling from the best in Eve, I'm sure there are other great competitors out there, but the ones that were present were showing off the skill of flying in a match as well as the meta surrounding practicing, fits and counter fits.
2. Knowledgeable staff, in both the Eve knowledgeable sense, but also technically savvy, experienced in streaming, experienced with the tourney.
3. Huge, amazing, stunning support from CCP Fozzie (more on this later).
4. Solid backing, in this case done by Eve-Bet, Monocle Madness and Somer Blink.
5. Good prize pool, contributed by the above sponsors for the players
6. Great in-event competitions for the watchers, both in the Eve chat channels, the SCL stream chat and other venues, like the Monocle Madness in game chat, and probably others, I'm sure the eve bet channel and the Somer channels were just as active as the MM channel.
7. Interim music - Even the music was good. Sure it wasn't exactly what I would have chosen to pass the time, as I was trying to solo pvp during the breaks, but still good stuff. Thanks to Pretty Lights for the music!
8. Three match format, forcing more than just a single win to determine the course of the tourney. Adds to the enjoyment, even adds to the drama. Reduces the chances of a miraculous finish like the Thorax rush, or the Rote Kapelle win against PL, but I think the trade off is worth it.

If you missed any of the action the replays are all parsed out, and up for review on twitch here.

My favorite matches :

• The marathon of matches for Insurance Fraud, Match 11 round 1 through Match 12 round 3. Some crazy back and forth matches there, just amazing that IF was able to come back after matches of that calibre again and again. Impressive stamina.
• Just about all of the Exodunks. matches - Match 3 Match 6 Match 7 Match 13 and Match 14
• Matches by Warlords were just an effort in dominance. Very impressive.

Congrats to Warlords of the Deep, winners of month 1 of the SCL! exciting to the last drop.

Now here are a few things I would suggest to make the event better in March.

1. More commentators. By the final matches the few that were available were burnt out, hoarse, and emotionally drained. They did great, but more "talent" in the pool would only help the situation.
2. More resources behind the scenes. Both for the AMAZING CCP Fozzie who not only worked a weekend without pay, BUT ALSO worked the event through the night, while sick (uphill both ways, naked, while in a white out blizzard). No shit, this guy is amazing. I know he reads this blog occasionally, Fozzie, you seriously blow my mind with this kind of work. Even if nobody else realizes it your dedication to events like this is why Eve and esports will only get better. Thank you! If you didn't know, you are my favorite Dev, SORRY PUNK!
3. Player resources behind the scene for SCL, in the form of guys on Twitter, taking over when the matches end to update the site and do some number crunching, update the site in more real-time.
4. Better community interaction. By better I just mean more-of. More interviews, more fansite/blog previews of the teams. Getting community buy in on the teams is super important, but unfortunately it isn's something that a small 300 word blurb about each team can do. I'm talking about a web-page for each team, dedicated coverage, interviews of key members, or strong performers.
5. Choosing a match MVP, especially for the finals, and single this person out for an after-match interview over skype, or perhaps a little after match gift, of isk or PLEX? Who knows, but individual acknowledgement is always good. And it doesn't have to be the team Captains every time, but they'd be a good start!
6. More post-match review. Including the tipping point and strategies used. Especially when people show up with non-standard fits that people not in-the-know can understand what those fits could have been useful for.
7. Mid-month review of the previous month's action. Like a one to two hour show detailing the action of the previous month, having the talking-heads, as it were, speak to the tactics and strategies used and ships used. Talk about the winning team and the tournament in general.

All in all, an amazing first showing, so much better than I was expecting. So much good PvP, great bets (even if I lost all my iskies). Bacchanalian posted up a great summary on the Eve forums from his perspective, that is well worth the read as well, and can be found here...

Great show guys. I look forward to next month! I will post dates and times as soon as I know them.