February Screenshot Collection

Posted: 2010-02-28 | Author: | Filed under: screenshot | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

This month we got a shiny new Thanatos into our WH.

  1. Thanatos warping away from a WH link
  2. New Thanatos‘ first time in WH space after entering through a lowsec link in the Solitude region link
  3. Vexor (Gallente Cruiser) with an active cyno and cloaked Thanatos in the background after a cyno jump link
  4. Proteus (T3 Cruiser) camping a WH link
  5. Two Dominix’es camping a WH link
  6. Three Remote Repping Dominix’es near a Lava planet link
  7. Thanatos and three Dominix’es taking on a Sleeper BS link

Blake’s Eve Machine

Posted: 2010-02-24 | Author: | Filed under: eveonline | Tags: | 30 Comments

  • Dell Studio XPS 9000
  • Intel Core i7-920
  • 4GB DDR3
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
  • Windows 7 64-bit

You can lecture me about Nvidia vs ATI and why I should have gone with the ATI 5800 series which has Eyefinity technology, but I already had that debate when purchasing this box. I went with the Nvidia card because I won’t really want to play one instance stretched across screens and the Nvidia card came with the Dell XPS series. I didn’t want to go with the Alienware uber-watercooled machine from Dell, which does have the ATI 5800 series as a video option.

Looking back I’ve come a long way since the machine that I cut my computing teeth on…

  • 486 DX2 @ 50MHz in Turbomode
  • 16 MB RAM
  • 540 MB HD partitioned into two with DOS 5.0 and Unix

[Feb 24 update]

Here’s an older shot when I only had 1 monitor so you can see the skyline.

Journey to 9UY4-H

Posted: 2010-02-17 | Author: | Filed under: screenshot | Tags: , , | 5 Comments

I believe in Providence’s NRDS policy. I believe that it is a critical training location for new pilots and a location where you can make some of your first steps into nullsec space. After a few months of playing eve, I wanted to get into the nullsec games so I spent some time mining Dark Glitter in Providence. There I learned how to take orders from a FC, watch local, scout, “run the pipe”, etc… …

NRDS Not Red, Don’t Shoot. An engagement policy of corps/alliances where “red” refers to having negative standing, leaving neutrals as “shoot only after being shot at”. More usual in low security space than in 0.0, due to the greater number of genuinely friendly/indifferent neutrals in areas of higher population.

wiki.eveonline.com

All good learning experiences that helped me grow in my Eve career. I would hate to see CVA loose Providence as it would rob other new players of the same exposure to nullsec.

I didn’t feel like mining last night so I bought some mods in Jita 4-4, hopped on an alt account, and set a course for 9UY4-H, which was recentry taken from CVA by Ushra’Khan.

Leaving empire and entering through KBP7-G I expected resistance or a Heavy Interdictor Bubble on my way to Unity Station, the outpost in UY4-H, but I made my way through alive. When I reached Unity Station, I wasn’t able to dock as my alt is in a NPC Corporation.

Here are some screenshots of the heavily Mobile Warp Disruptor’ed Outpost.

Perhaps someday I will fight the fight in nullsec.

First Cyno Adventure

Posted: 2010-02-13 | Author: | Filed under: ships | Tags: , , , | 7 Comments

Don’t even think about getting into Capital ships until you have Jump Drive Operation to V with the two support skills, Jump Drive Calibration and Jump Fuel Conservation, to at least III if not IV. These are completely necessary skills in order to move a capital around. Jump Drive Calibration is especially important because it grants a 25% increase in maximum jump range per level (!). Additionally, Jump Fuel Conservation reduces fuel consumption by -10% per level.

We got a link to a C5 with a C140 WH (1,350,000,000 kg max jumpable mass) to Babirmoult (0.18) in the Solitude region. I brought out a scout from WH space and watched the only station in the system for an hour as I planned out the jumps for the Carrier and coordinated logistics with my Cyno-capable corpmate. If my Jump Drive Operation support skills were at 0, then it would have taken us 6 jumps. Good thing I spent the time training up the support skills to III.

Only 1 in local in the WH enterance system. I watched as he switched in between a Legion (T3 Cruiser) and a Sacrilege (T2 Heavy Assault Ship). Meanwhile, in the neighboring systems of Faurulle and Agaullores, there was a 25 person lowsec gategamp. Sheesh, well Eve is about adventure, right?

We decided that the timing wasn’t going to get any better so we planned our route.

  1. Lonetrek, Otsasai (0.35) Caldari State
  2. Black Rise, Iwisoda (0.24) Caldari State, Distance: 8.431 ly
  3. Placid, Grispire (0.18) Gallente Federation, Distance: 8.265 ly
  4. Solitude, Babirmoult (0.18) Gallente Federation, Distance: 9.333 ly

I got my scout into the 1st system, Otsasai, and cloaked him up outside the station.

Corpmate with a Cyno cruiser in place in the next system, green light issued for jump, cyno up, WHEEE! *jump*

I laded some 8k off of the Cyno cruiser so I cloaked up. Now comes the fun part where your Cyno ship cannot move for 5 minutes. After the capital ship successfully jumps, you have two options. Wait for the cyno cycle to finish or self-destruct your ship. The first two systems that we had to jump into were practically empty so we waited the full Cyno cycle.

Everything was going great until the last jump into the system with the WH when I got this notification when attempting to jump:

[ 2010.02.13 04:52:58 ] (info) This jump destination requires 7466 unit(s) of Oxygen Isotopes, but you only have 6615 in your cargo hold.

Um, uh oh. I tried to jump again.

[ 2010.02.13 04:53:10 ] (info) This jump destination requires 7466 unit(s) of Oxygen Isotopes, but you only have 6615 in your cargo hold.

Additionally, the WH from our C6 into the connecting C5 was going to close in less than 3 hours.

I guess I didn’t read the Dotlan jump calculations carefully enough. I rushed my scout around and picked up another 2,000 units (300 m3) of Oxygen Isotopes and jetcanned it right next to the Carrier.

The Cyno Cruiser flew past some lowsec gatecamps in neighboring systems and into position. We dropped the last cyno right on top of the WH (less than 5km) so the Carrier could jump in right away.

Local looks good, green light issued for cyno, cyno up, *jump*.

[ 2010.02.13 05:22:38 ] h > lit @ 2.8k

*jump*

[ 2010.02.13 05:23:01 ] Blake > landed 7k away
[ 2010.02.13 05:23:04 ] Blake > closing range
[ 2010.02.13 05:23:10 ] h > burn fast 😛
[ 2010.02.13 05:23:22 ] Blake > 60 m/s!
[ 2010.02.13 05:23:23 ] Blake > lol
[ 2010.02.13 05:23:26 ] h> XD
[ 2010.02.13 05:23:37 ] Blake > almost there

Overall a success. Now we have some remote repping power in WH space.

Cyno Operation Tips:

  1. After your Cyno module is activated, click it again to stop the cycle. This will ensure that you do not go into another Cyno cycle and become a sitting duck for another 5 minutes.
  2. Scout, scout, scout! Have corp mate(s) or alt(s) scout 1 or 2 systems ahead in your capital ship jump path. You can watch local traffic and really see when you have a good jump window.
  3. Train the Jump Drive Operation support skills up to at least III, if not IV.
  4. Cyno operations can be a blast. How else can you get through 13 systems in 1 jump?
  5. Don’t fly what you cannot afford to loose.
  6. Oh, and as always, check your clones and ship insurance before undocking.

New Project: Build a Carrier in WH Space

Posted: 2010-02-11 | Author: | Filed under: industry, ships, wormhole | Tags: , , , , , , | 11 Comments

When I started my Eve account, I had dreams of becoming a master builder. Since then I’ve put a lot of industry jobs on hold to go mine in WH space. To some mining is boring. I however, have enjoyed my mining career. I’ve been able to buy some nice toys due to hours of sitting on Arkonor roids including a Freighter, T3 Cruiser, Orca, 2x Hulks, Plexes for a 3rd account, and even a Carrier that is currently sitting in lowsec awaiting a good link to our WH system.

Even though I have concentrated on mining over the past 1.5 years, I have done some building such as T1/T2 drones, T1/T2 Hybrid guns, and basic T1 modules since the BPOs were cheap. Now I’m embarking on a large project – build a Carrier in WH space since I’m becoming impatient waiting for a nice link from lowsec to our WH system and honestly, what is Eve without new challenges?

As many of you know, the majority of Eve projects begin with a spreadsheet to see if your idea is ISK-feasible. So now onto the estimations.

With a ME10, PE1 Thanatos BPC, I will need:

  1. Megacyte 17,941
  2. Zydrine    41,849
  3. Nocxium    232,855
  4. Isogen    823,502
  5. Mexallon 5,287,183
  6. Pyerite    14,128,271
  7. Tritanium 57,790,100

This comes to 784,000 m3 of minerals with Tritanium being the biggest spacehog. Sheesh, that’s two freighters full of minerals!

I scanned a link to highsec via a C2 and assembled my NPC shopping list:

  1. X-Large Ship Assembly Array, 90 M – builds the Carrier
  2. Component Assembly Array, 9 M – builds the Capital Ship parts
  3. Capital Ship Construction Skillbook, 65 M – I allows you to build fighters, III allows you to build Carriers. Only took some 3 hours to train to III with +4’s
  4. Small Ship Assembly Array, 90 M – builds Fighter Drones

Along with the NPC orders, I needed some BPCs so I started searching contracts in Jita.

  1. Capital BPCs purchased in Jita 4-4, each 5 unit run BPC was around 2-6 M for a total of about 180 M
  2. Thanatos BPC ME10 PE1, 70 M
  3. Firbolg BPO ME 20 PE 5, 75 M

Raw mineral cost based on Jita 4-4 buy orders:

  1. Megacyte    44.3 M
  2. Zydrine    56.3 M
  3. Nocxium    20.9 M
  4. Isogen    44.5 M
  5. Mexallon    15.6 M
  6. Pyerite    90.4 M
  7. Tritanium    156.0 M

Total: 428.1 M

A few nights ago we had a route from our WH -> C5 -> C2 (occupied with miners) -> C2 -> Highsec and lowesec exits. My corpmate and I made 2x Iteron V runs to get the X-Large Ship Assembly Array (25,000 m3) and Component Assembly Array (12,500 m3) into our WH system. They are currently anchored and offline (as to not consume fuel) since we are currently gathering minerals.

The biggest hogs are Mexallon @ 53,000 m3, Pyerite @ 142,000 m3, and Tritanium @ 578,000 m3 (!). That’s a LOT of Tritanium. Needless to say, I’ve been working on Veldspar, Plagioclase, and Scordite roids since they have the highest yield of the three minerals. I have the money to buy the Tritanium from Jita, but lack the will to haul it all in. So the more Veldspar I can eat up in WH grav sites, the less I will have to haul.

I’ve just started mining and have one hangar filled with raw ore so stay tuned for more industry adventures!

[Feb 17 Update]

Of course a few days after I write this article and bring construction equipment into WH space we get a nice WH link that is big enough to allow Capitals to enter. Details here.

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