SCL you say?! I think so!

YES SPACE FRIENDS! It is that time again. The Syndicate Competitive League (http://syndicatecl.com/) in association with Monocle Madness (Mega-Lotteries for the mentally insane), Eve-Bet, Somer Blink, Eve time code(.com)and of course CCP Games creators of Eve Online!

Are happy to announce that this weekend the next round of fights is taking place as scheduled, this weekend, April 6 and 7th!

The first round starts Saturday at 1700 GMT (that's 10am PDT, my time zone), and has an updated Bracket in the appropriate section of the SCL website. I have posted it here for ease of view... The link is here if you would like to go check out the SCL website...

So for those of us who forget the exact format and rules, information about the matches can be found at this link, but here is the long and the short of it.

• It is no longer a double elimination bracket, each fight is a set of a best of three matches, and 8 teams total are allowed to enter.
• Teams captains, ten minutes prior to each match, ban two ships each. For instance, Bhaalgorns and Vindicators, while the other team is able to counter ban two ships of their own, let's say Kronos and Tengu.
• Matches are fought on the Test server, mainly to prevent interference before CCP stepped in and moved the SCL (thanks Fozzie) to Jove space on the test server.
• Each match is a total of 10 minutes with the team with the most points left after 10 minutes winning, or first ship to be destroyed loses if the match goes longer than 10 minutes. No draws.

Ship points, module rules and other more specific rules can be found on the SCL website if you are interested.

As always the action will be intense, and their insightful commentators, Bacchanalian, Apathetic Brent, and Seldarine will be on hand to keep us entertained.

Reports from the SCL staff is that Arydanika has been working hard to provide more between match content including interviews setup with some CCP staff like CCP Fox Four (Aka CCP "Socksfour") and community figures to provide a little more action between the action.

All in all I am pretty excited about this, the next round of the SCL. (and many more to come). Best of luck to the SCL staff, CCP Fozzie, and the combatants this weekend.

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.