Good-bye Pod. Hello Clone!

I have been podded for the first time.

Should I be proud that I have managed to avoid being podded for nearly fours years, or does it just switch on the big 'Carebear' neon light?

Regardless, I'm pleased with the way I went down: fighting.

Our C2 static for the day was very active. There were six POS's, and most of them were full of nothing but industry structures. Their 'home' POS contained an active Tengu and Loki. I sat and watched them for a while, but with all the industry that was going on (I've never seen so many Silo's on D-Scan!) I decided they were too busy to worry about a couple of ships passing through. Their system had a few shiny signatures and anomalies, but it would be suicide to harvest from an active 'Hole. I went ahead and scanned the sigs and found a C1 branching off. It was also active. By this point I'd had enough of scanning, so went on to other things.

My CEO opened up comms with the inhabitant of the C1. They were new to Wormholes, but friendly. He ended up harvesting the Ladar sites there while I took advantage of our static Low-Sec's proximity to Jita. He harvested the clouds into cans and went back in his Badger to collect them. On his return he got jumped by the inhabitants of the middle 'Hole. He managed to warp away, but they had put up a warp-bubble on their side of the Wormhole. He stayed cloaked in the C1 while I charged across in my bomber. There was a Hurricane sat next to the 'Hole for the C1. I got in range (which took me into the bubble) and fired a bomb. His shields dropped and he began targeting me before I could re-cloak. My first priority was to get out of the bubble, so I tried to turn. However, he quickly gained ground and webbed and nueted me. I opened fire with my torpedo's, but with no cap I couldn't use my target-painters or sensors-damps. My speed was also reduced to about 140m/s. However, even through all this, his turrets couldn't track me. I was getting hit for very little damage while my trusty torps stripped his armour.

I was going to win!

With my heart pounding in my chest I abandoned the idea of getting out of the bubble and started to orbit the Hurricane. I was like a puppy around a new toy as I watched his armour-bar turn more and more red. Then a Drake warped in. My hopes were sucked dry from me as his Corp-mate targeted me. Knowing it was going to be over very soon, I started towards the Drake. By now, my bomb launcher was ready to go again, so I hoped to fire one at the Battlecruiser in my dying breath. It didn't happen. My Manticore popped and I was a pod floating in space. I selected a planet and spammed the warp-button. Nothing. I was still in the bubble.

Damn.

After a few alarm's sounded I was back in Ichoriya. I checked my Combat-Log and opened up a conversation:

Hamlox Helmholtz: Howdy
Akinesis: gf, man
Hamlox Helmholtz: Thanks, man. You were wailing on me in that Manticore!
Akinesis: Yup :D
Akinesis: I thought I had a chance, but then the Drake showed up and it was all over =P
Hamlox Helmholtz: I was a bit surprised... all of the sudden it turned into "Oh, S***!"
Hamlox Helmholtz: Yeah... my damned guns couldn't hit you.
Akinesis: I should have got out the bubble to save my pod, but I was too determined XD
Akinesis: =)
Hamlox Helmholtz: Bloodthirsty, yeah!
Hamlox Helmholtz: Good fight to you, see you around!


I'd made a lot of mistakes (as is expected from being so green at PvP), but I had great fun. I learned a lot from that short experience, and I'm glad the guy thought I was a good challenge. But the biggest disappointment was my CEO got disconnected while this went on, making my distraction useless. Still, I feel I gained a lot more than I lost.

After I stroked my mission-running Scorpion Navy Issue a few times in Ichoriya, I set destination to Jita and un-docked. I rebuilt my Manti, plugged in new implants and then went back to the 'Hole 200million ISK lighter.

In a way, I'm glad I got podded. The hard-wire implants I had before were fitted a long time ago when I was still a noob.  I can't even remember what I had, but I most likely had ones that weren't really aiding my character. And I had never thought of going back and upgrading them. After a small bit of research, I bought ones that actually give me bonuses relative to my play-style.

My losses also furthered this very morning. I had some reading-up to do for my course, so I took the Covetor into a Grav site to suck up some ABC ores. I always keep a watchful eye on D-Scan, but as I was reading I was pretty much AFK. At one point I saw some Core-probes pop up, so I got my Buzzard and did a combat scan. With no probes popping up, I made the decision that this WH was no use to the probing pilot (we keep our system very dry). So I pulled my Covetor back out and went back to mining. I even turned my speakers down so the strip-miners wouldn't bother me (!). The rest you can guess. It's times like this that I'm thankful I left the Hulk in Empire.

RIP Covvy!

The 24th EVE Blog Banter (January 2011 Edition) - Topic: EVE and Real Life

Welcome to the twenty-fourth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!


This month's Banter topic comes to us from the ever helpful Eelis Kiy, capsuleer behind the "Where the frack is my ship" blog. She asks: How does your real life personality compare to who you are as a character in EVE? Does a good leader of people in the real world make a good leader of pilots in game? Or vice-versa? Do your real-life skills help you with the roles you fulfill in your corporation or alliance? Or do you behave completely differently? Does the anonymity of the Internet allow you to thrive on the tears of others in New Eden whilst you work as a good Samaritan away from your keyboard? Or are you as mean outside of your pod as you are inside it? Have experiences in EVE Online affected your behavior, skills or attitudes outside of the game?

---

I will openly admit that I dislike people abusing the anonymity which the internet offers. It is an almost flawless tool that allows griefers and trolls to do what they do. Inside the game, I fully expect it, no question. The EvE Forums, however, wind me up no end. It shouldn't, but it does - even though I do force myself to remember that griefing is a part of EvE outside of the game as much as it is inside of the game. And their are even griefers who I do respect.

So, with that in mind, it would be hypocritical to say that I do not hide behind anonymity. Well, actually, I do. But I do not use it to troll. I've just chosen to make it about Akinesis, not about myself. I refer to what Akinesis is doing, what he has done or his plans. I treat it as a get-away from the real me. I have revealed some information in a few posts (in Function Vs Aesthetics I start off talking a bit about my profession and Persistence Prevails is about my partner) but I do hold back as many details as I can without jeopardising the topic I'm trying to address. In this post, however, I will be breaking that rule in order to discuss the topic.

It should now go without saying that I do not grief. I'm not out to try and annoy people or ruin their game. That is without question a direct reflection of my own personality - I can't hide from that after what I've said so far. I don't get high off of tears. In real life I will more than often try and practice diplomacy towards any situation. Even people I don't particularly like rarely experience a negative approach from myself. I also don't enjoy making people feel like an idiot and like to help out if I can, and all this reflects on Akinesis.

I've also mentioned before that Akinesis is a jack-of-all-trades. If you ever met any of my real-life friends or family I'm sure they will tell I am the same. And, just like Akinesis, I do not particularly excel at those talents. I can do many things to a good standard but I will never be an A+ student at a particular task. Likewise, Akinesis can do just about anything in EvE, but only to a moderate standard due to the broad range of his skills. Giving too many chances is also a trait of mine (perhaps an unwelcome one that I should shake off!) which I mention in the 22nd Blog Banter, and this is also repeated in-game.

At this point it is almost blatant that Akinesis is a digital representation of my true self. That now begs a new question - why am I playing myself in a game? Surely that's boring? The fun thing do is to play as an alter-ego, right?

Moving on. 

My profession in real-life is engineering. Aviation Engineering to be exact (more leaking!). Now, while these skills don't transfer to the game directly, it might explain my fussiness on the design of the ships and my desire to research and build them.

One of my personal traits, however, is creativity. Before EvE I channelled my creativity trait through both illustration and a novel that I never quite finished. I developed those skills enough that I almost got a part-time job drawing for a gaming magazine and my novel (according to a few professional people who proof-read samples) was on to a winner. It might sound foolish to have abandoned those projects, but it was hard to balance such commitments with the career that I have. EvE, however, slots in my free time nicely and accommodates creativity very well, so I'm not losing out completely. My enjoyment of writing is satisfied through this Blog (don't judge this Blog on my novel - it's written in a very different style and I don't write often enough to get back 'on form' - I had to get that in!) and one could argue that creativity is required to expand and further a Corp. My illustration is put to use through my job to a certain extent, but even that could be channeled through this Blog if I wanted.

As for gaining skills from the game, perhaps my own multi-tasking skills have increased slightly with Akinesis living in a Wormhole! But, in truth, if I have gained any skills from playing EvE, I probably don't even realise I have them. Trading in the EvE Market I'm sure holds many useful similarities to the real world.

At the very least I'm optimistic that I would be able to do something fantastic with a large rock, a near-by container and a pick-axe. Thank you, EvE.




Other Blog-Banter Responses:


EVEOGANDA - Real Life & EVE
A Mule in EVE - RL + EVE =
Confessions of a Closet Carebear - EVE and Real Life
The Hydrostatic Capsule - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Alt
Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah - Reflections
A Scientist's Life in EVE - The Other Side of the Screen
The Durzo Chronicles - Who is More Real??
A Lush in Space - Worlds Collide
Captain Serenity - Personalities
Diary of a Space Jockey - I Am Me
Freebooted - You Talking To Me?
EVE A to Z - EVE and Real Life

Carebear Tears and Pirate Blubbing

I use to fear pirates in EvE. I didn't like the idea of getting my hard-earned ship blown up for no reason. Before I revamped my Blog I had a post where I whined about this. But over the last year I have put the game in a different perspective as well as accepting a few truths.

Firstly, I have rememberd that it's a game. It's nothing but a load of electrons whizzing through logic-gates and circuitry to end up as organised light on the very monitor I am looking at. Secondly, EvE is a sandbox game. Pirates, Carebears, Mercenaries - everyone will lose ships and/or their pods throughout their time in New Eden. It is a fact, and there is nothing you can do about it (unless you're a market trader in Jita who stays docked up in a station, of course). I have lost a few ships to gate camps now, but when it happens I certainly don't produce tears. I simply shuffle off quietly in my Pod.

Because EvE is a sandbox game, we all have to accept that there will be a very broad range of players. We play EvE because we like what we do in the game, and people want to do different things. Some want to roam and destroy. Some like the idea of building and selling. Some people like the satisfaction of market trading. So they will all do these things. But I often see person A slating person B for their game-play style in EvE. Well, person B is paying for their account so they have a right to play the game in whatever way that satisfies them. Who is person A to judge person B on how they should play?

Many a time we have all seen pilots sobbing about getting ganked. I won't deny that I have done it. It's funny to the other party. A lot of Empire PvPer's thrive on the tears of the victim. But I saw one particular EvE-Forum post where a pirate was blubbing about finding it hard to gank Carebears. I found this a little amusing. He was annoyed that Carebears often got away and the game mechanics made it too easy. I read this post with interest to see the mixed responses that followed. But what a lot of these people seem to forget is that not everyone wants to fight. This guy seemed to be surprised at that. But then the impression I got from him is that his method of PvP was through gate-camps.

Pilots will have means of getting away from a fight, whether through a good ship set-up and/or shear pilot skill. If they are going to haul through Low-Sec, then of course they are going to take measures to avoid PvP and protect their cargo. Yesterday my CEO managed to escape a gate-camp in his Badger armed with nothing but a cloak and myself as scout. After some time passed with them unsuccessfully trying to de-cloak us I managed to lure them back through to the other side of the gate, leaving my CEO to happily warp off with his cargo-hold crammed full of Wormhole goodies. In fact, my CEO managed to get past them a few times and even started smack-talking them about their constant failure.

If the guy in the Forum really wanted PvP, then perhaps he should go roaming Low or Null-Sec instead of sitting on a gate trying to catch haulers. If someone is that desperate to PvP then look for someone else who is also wanting to PvP. To me, roaming sounds more fun than trying to pick on people who are actively avoiding a fight. Plus, there will be more of a challenge involved if the other party has a vessel built for fighting. Unless the gate campers have a very good set-up at an active gate then, personally, I don't see the appeal of the gate-camping evolution. But I cannot comment too much because, even though I am now delving into PvP, I am by no means experienced. All I can really do is imagine the methods I might prefer.

In a Wormhole, PvP is a constant threat - especially as there is no active local. But it's not as frequent as I first thought. And when opportunity does arise for a 'fair-fight', I have found it hard to engage in PvP. I now know how frustrating it can be when the other side won't play. I was salvaging a Sleeper site in my Noctis when Combat-Scanners appeared on the D-Scan along with a Nemesis. I warped out leaving a few wrecks behind. Some time later I went back again in my more expendable Catalyst. I was expecting the Nemesis to be cloaked around the field somewhere. I warped in and aligned to the star while targeting the wrecks. As I dragged them in the Nemesis de-cloaked. He began locking me as I warped out.

I returned as quickly as I could in my Manticore and dropped two bombs on the two groups of wrecks, hoping to pop the Nemesis. That failed, but I at least denied him all the wrecks. I de-cloaked and hoped the Nemesis would engage. I knew he was still there because he wasn't back at his Control Tower. I waited a while, but he would not bite. I warped off to a planet, and then warped under cloak to his Control Tower just in time to see him warp back in. I felt deflated that he had not risen to the challenge once I presented challenge.

The irony is that I could have popped his Hulk earlier on. While I was scouting the 'Hole out, I had his Tower surrounded with Combat Probes and I was cloaked and watching him, yet he still warped off to a Grav-Site. Had I known he was going to chicken out later on I wouldn't have shown sympathy on his Hulk.

Hindsight...

The 23rd EVE Blog Banter (December 2010 Edition) - Topic: Incarna

Welcome to the twenty-third installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

With Incursion giving us glimpses of what Incarna will have to offer (the the Character Creator), this month's topic, by @Minerpewpew, comes just at the right time. He asks "What are your thoughts on how Incarna will effect the current EVE Online social dynamic?" I'd like to see this questioning go a bit further. How will this affect EVE's player base? Who will Incarna attract? New players to the genre? Seduce old players back into the game? Will we see new players come in that will never leave their station? Please explore to the best of your abilities!

There is always talk of Incarna in the Forums, which are littered with the bleats of 'CCP will ruin internet spaceships if they implement this!'. People will always battle change as it comes there way. And once it is here, they will continue to complain until the next change looms over them and only then will their focus shift. CCP, however, need to move forward. They're long-term goal is to amalgamate DUST 514 and New Eden, and (character-wise) Incarna will allow us to better connect with our toons in the game by bringing them to life. I applaud this notion - DUST or no DUST.

However, I recognise that this change is genuinely not important to everyone. For some people, flying space-ships is what makes them kick off their pants. So, from certain stand-points, the expansion is pointless even if they do play in-character. Others that have several accounts might be distanced from the idea of navigating several toons around a station, which could be a pain. Players (like myself) who do have a focused toon are offered a better connection with our space-fairing alter-ego. Being able to have a much more 'alive' character who can wander stations and interact with other pilots physically (as far as sprites go) will improve the experience a great deal more. So this is one of the best steps CCP can take for role-players.

As long as pilots can still function as if the expansion wasn't there, I can't see it being a problem in any respect. And by that I mean trading, selecting missions, creating contracts, etc. If pilots had to 'physically' leave their pod, wander off into the station and track down a seedy figure in a bar to acquire 'Damsel in Distress' everytime, then I can see a lot of subscriptions getting cancelled. However, I am confident in saying that CCP will not do this. Although, it would be nice to have the option to. It would also be nice if agents, etc, would actually talk. I'm sure this would be a short-lived novelty as people would get sick of hearing the same voices say the same things over and over again but, as before, it would be nice to have the option.

So what else would I like to see? How about in-station first-person missions? Why not have the option to 'Stop the Thief' before he even gets away with those stolen reports? And if you don't manage to chase him down through the crowds of fellow pilots before he gets to his ship, then you just have to hop into your Battlecruiser and take him out the old-fashioned way. If the in-station missions were broad enough, then that alone could attract a whole new world of subscribers. Sure, it may drag some pilots out of their ships and reduce the number of folks in space for a while, but that would undoubtedly be off-set by the new first-person subscribers giving 'life in a space-ship' a whirl. The levels of 1-5 will still remain, security status will continue to rise or fall as in 'normal' missions and skills would still be trained (Hand-to-Hand Combat Level-5, anyone?).

So, I guess I'm saying that the mission mechanics in a station would be the same as in space (even 'fleeting up' with other players), but it would be so visually different that it could work. And don't forget with first-person missions - it wouldn't be a case of standing in the middle of the room and tanking the weapon fire, tactics and cover would need to be used here.

In-station missions could also lead into the manufacturing and inter-system trade of skills, medical supplies, drugs, fire-arms and ammunitions being sold in player-owned 'shops'. Yet another commodity to introduce which will please traders, manufacturers, researchers and pew-pewers all in one hit. And while you're waiting for your flame-thrower and it's ammo to be delivered why not stand at a real-time view port overlooking the docking-tunnel of Jita. We could witness the constant flow of ships along with the flashes of turret fire as pirates bring down juicy freighters. All this would surely make activity in station rich and interesting.

Bounty hunters can still attempt to gun down those wanted pirates on foot. It wouldn't be EvE if pilots couldn't shoot or brawl or 'stealth-attack' other pilots - in or out of ships. How about thieves stealing that prized laser-pistol from your very own utility belt? How about 'awareness' skills to reduce the risk of someone successfully depriving you of your treasures? A personal drone hovering over you emitting a protective shield? And, or course, CONCORD would still be present as security guards. NPC characters could offer a lot, too - whether just as background to 'fill' the stations or talking to them to find bonus missions, story-lines, secret locations, black-market sellers, bonus items/ships or even just juicy targets to thieve or gun-down and loot before CONCORD realise what you've done. As always, putting richer rewards in (or rewards that are only exclusive to) Low-Sec might draw more people out there.

But regardless of what it will offer, Incarna won't please everyone. What expansion does? In fact, forget the game for a minute and lets look at real life. What single decision pleases everyone when it is addressed to a large group of people? I'm talking about realistic decisions here. But thinking about it I'm sure even Empire gankers will have a great time popping macro-runners while the 'active' player-base swarms to stations to try out all the shiny new things on the release. So the players that are worried about people dwelling or hiding in stations, don' be just yet - give it a chance. And even if players do take to 'hiding in stations' then so what? After all, this game is for EVERYONE and if there are players who like to immerse themselves into a station-dwelling story rather than being potential pew-pew fodder then let them. However, I trust that griefers will always find a way to break through if such barriers were put up. After all, no-one is safe in EvE, right?

In one of the previous blog-banters CK put forward the question asking why there is a lack of female players in EvE, and (from what I read) it was largely down to the inability to customise ones appearance. MOST women like to decorate their appearance (well, that's no secret) and EvE's lack of this function deterred them from signing up. It will be a good test to see if Incarna does increase the female player-base. And for people who perhaps left EvE due to the void created by the lack of a 'physical character' and story-line to role-play with might now return.

And with regards to it's release, yes CCP probably announced the expansion far too early as we've been waiting a long time for it, but if they get it right and release it bug free then I'm happy to wait for a long time yet. I can enjoy the game as it currently is, and any expansion is nothing more than a bonus.

Wormhole Work-Up No.3

This will be the final post about my move into Wormhole Space.

I'm not sure what it is, but I seem to be playing EvE a lot less than when I was living out of the Wormhole. I think this is a combination of things. Firstly, work and life seems to have stepped up a gear with the build-up for Christmas. The other reason is 'things to do' in the Wormhole. Or lack of, as it were. I knew before I started that there would be periods where our 'Hole or the adjacent C2 would not offer us any sites (whether through no spawns or an uncomfortably active neighbouring C2). And when an uninhabited C2 rich in sleepers sites does spawn, sods-law always steps in and finds a reason for me not to be able get on-line.

I often find myself trying to collapse C2's with my Orca in the hope to find a better system. But more than often the 'Hole's mass allowance is over-the-odds and remains active in a critical condition. No way am I taking any ship through for another jump. My Corp mates are 5-7hrs behind me and with no other players about times can get pretty lonely. In times like these there's nothing else to do but solo mine. Which sucks (not as much as High-Sec mining though, as nearly all types of Ore dwell out here!).

So I have two options; move out of the Wormhole and back into Empire space (I can't wait to get back into my SNI!). Or leave my Corp and join/form a time-zone friendly one in another 'Hole.

Well, I'm not going to do either of these. I like my Corp, as I often mention. Clearing five Sleeper-sites brought me 110mil and my CEO managed to cash in over 600mil just in three days of solo-running the 'Hole. Plus my CEO has started making reactions from the abundance of gas and ore that thrive in these systems. So the rewards (when they happen) make it addictive. But even the most basic Sleeper-sites bring in the big ISK - especially the Battleship salvage:

Living in a POS is also a little more of a pain than an NPC station. Things can't be repackaged and you don't really have your 'own space' like normal stations offer. When ships are launched their shields and caps take a hit, so there's a delay in warping off (depending what it is you're doing!) while you wait for everything to recharge.

But my closing topic for this wishy-washy trio of Wormhole posts will be the ships. I now have a nice collection:

PvE Sites: Drake, Noctis, Covetor, Caracal (Gas-Harvester)
Defence: Drake (PvP), Drake (Cap-Drainer), Crow, Merlin (Back-up Tackler), Manticore and Flycatcher
Logistics: Buzzard, Heron x2 (Back-ups), Orca, Crane (Covert-Ops), Badger II (Rigged), Badger II (spares), Osprey x2 (Shield Reppers) and Shuttles

I can never have every situation covered, but I think I have managed to put together a collection that can deal with a broad spectrum of modest situations in a C2. I'm thinking of bringing in a Heavy Interdictor and a Command ship, too. But on the PvP front I haven't come across a threat (so far!) that warrants such ships. Our Wormhole has two statics; the C2 which I mentioned as well as a Low-Sec. So traffic really is minimal. In fact, to date, we have only been bothered by the C2 - the Low-Sec gives us almost no traffic.

In my first post I commented about using a Spider-Tank set-up for Drakes. This really is not necessary in a C2. I also mentioned about using a Drake for shield repping. I quickly learned this was also pointless, as my shields have never dropped below 50% on solo runs. My main reason for having Logistical ships was to boost the Tower's shields during set-up and if it ever came under attack. To rep a tower, you need to be outside of the Force-Field (about 18km). Fitted to a Drake, the repping range is about 8km, which is no good. The range-bonuses of the logistical ships (Osprey, in my case) are needed to rep a POS.

Bringing in a Noctis was interesting to say the last, considering our Empire static is Low-Sec. I was determined to have one, so I scanned down our Low-Sec exit and got to work. I scouted the 4 jumps from the Low-Sec exit to Hi-Sec a fair few times to monitor activity. The quietest system was the one with our Wormhole exit, the other two held very light traffic while the final was quite heavy but everyone seemed to be dwelling in stations. So I kitted out the Noctis with fast-align rigs and Inert-Stabs and made a run for it. It was smooth up until I made the jump into the system harbouring my Wormhole entrance. A couple of pilots had decided to camp with two Battlecruisers.

Now, during my moving into the Wormhole, I managed to lose two rigged Drakes to a (very impressive!) gate camp. Even though my ships were fitted with cloaks, they were still able to locate my position, de-cloak and pop me. With this in mind I was apprehensive to move the Noctis off the gate and activate cloak. Inevitably, I had no choice but to do this anyway. I doubt I would have managed to warp away before a lock. I checked the info of both pilots and they were only months old. So I hoped for the best when I moved off and cloaked. Well, they didn't budge. Either they didn't see me or were after a juicier target. To be honest, I expected them to run down a Noctis because it probably would have been one of the first ever 'Garbage-Truck' kills. But I made it to the Wormhole safe, and the Noctis almost makes salvaging a pleasure!

Although it has been hard work and costly, the move has been (for my Corp mates, anyway) very profitable already. I shall start to knuckle down and really kick the ISK out of the 'Hole over the coming weeks.

But, if there is one piece of advice I can give about living in Wormholes, it's this - a Buzzard with Sisters Probes and Launcher coupled with good scanning skills is priceless.

I will continue to post as normal from now.

Wormhole Work-Up No.2

Wow - that was hard work. And it's still on-going. Even now I'm not fully settled.

Perhaps I put in a lot more effort than was really needed. I do have a lot of ships and equipment stashed in the POS, and my total investment to date has been the best part of 500mil. In fact, between four of us we have nearly filled both the Corp and Ship Hangars. I'm hoping the line from Edna in the Incredibles 'Luck favours the prepared, darling'  will ring true.

Initially, the move into the Wormhole was slow going. We are residing in a C2, which has a Low-Sec and C2 static. The Low-Sec entrance on that day was 2 jumps from High-Sec, and we managed to get the Tower along with other structures and some fuel into the 'Hole using my Orca. I hate taking my Orca through Low-Sec, but it survived on this occasion. So, we began setting up with the basics. I left the 'Hole that night, while my CEO stayed to babysit the tower.

A couple of days later another exit appeared 6 jumps out of Jita in a Low-Sec system adjacent to a High-Sec. This was good news, and we managed to get four Orca-loads of fuel, some ships and most of our equipment through successfully. A couple of days after that the seemingly impossible happened - our adjacent C2 had a High-Sec exit to our home system! Much cheering followed.

I was still in the middle of acquiring and building equipment, but I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass. None of us did. We got a second Orca involved from an allied Corp and dragged in everything we could. A forth Corp member also jumped in and made the move. He brought a Charon full of more fuels and equipment which we then shipped through the whole with two Orca's (the Charon's mass was too big for the 'Hole). The Tower was also upgraded from a Medium to a Large, which was a big bonus.

We had a close call at one point. The second Orca, which was being piloted by an allied Corp member, nearly lost the ship to our own Tower. On his first arrival at the POS he was halted at the Force-Field to find that the Tower saw him as hostile. The POS then proceeded to target, scram, web and fire upon the Orca. Oops! I was frantically off-lining the gun batteries as the ship's armour was being stripped from it's hull. Luckily, there were only three batteries active, and the cycle-time is quick, so the Orca lived to see another day. I'll never forget to adjust the Tower defence settings again.

By the time the 'Hole lost stability it was 2am for me, and the alarm clock was due to go off in four hours for work. There was still some fuel to bring through, which would take a well-rigged Badger II four or five trips. We made a start but the 'Hole collapsed as the pilot before me made the jump, leaving me stranded in High-Sec. I couldn't be annoyed - we had achieved a great deal. A few days later one opened up 17 jumps away, so I took a shuttle and headed over.

I'm now living in the 'Hole full time. But this week I have still been hauling in the remainder of the fuel. Why does Strontium have to take up so much cargo space? Bringing Planetary Structures also got thown amongst the Crane trips at the start of this week. Yesterday I began setting up my PI, which I still have not finished. I'm being a bit more precise in the set-up this time around as Large Towers are hungry for parts. Once that's done (tonight) I should be able to finally start enjoying the riches that Wormholes have to offer.

Wormhole Work-Up No.1

Well, the work-up has very much been under way. I've even gone back to mining!

I've been continuing my research into Wormholes. I already follow a few Blogs, but I've pulled off some pretty neat tips from the internet, too.

I've decided that Drakes will be my main ship-type. Mainly because a battlecruiser is the largest ship that can squeeze into most C1-C3 'Holes. But they are also relatively cheap and, therefore, expendable. I already own two; one is PvE (High-Sec missions and Wormhole Ops) while the other is PvP (residing at my Low-Sec POS). I have built another five so far, and I plan to construct a few more.

One Drake I had to surrender to my better-half (she can't afford to buy one yet -or so she tells me). Apart from our High-Sec exit collapsing behind us, we raked in some nice ISK on our Wormhole Op last week. But the Caracal fit I constructed for her to use on the Op (which could perma-run a Medium Shield Booster and had good resists) did not last more than thirty seconds against Sleepers. She escaped with only a small amount of her hull intact. So, when we returned to High-Sec she trained for a Drake. That's completed, and even though it's a T1 fit the ship still managed to tank one of my L4 missions very well. I really have to tip my hat to the Drakes.

I will carry some spare Drakes as well as other ships, but the roles I have planned for the battlercruiser's are: a solo Sleeper-site runner, PvP defence, a salvage boat and a Spider-Tank for Corp Sleeper-Ops.

I really like the idea of having a group of Spider-Tanked Drakes. But it's damn hard to fit one up that can perma-run a Medium Shield Transfer while retaining an effective DPS and some defences. So we'll see on that.

I haven't ever built a logistical ship before, but I've read they are key in building up and retaining POS shields. So, I kitted out two Ospreys - one that can perma-run 3x Medium Shield Transfers (reasonably cheap), but the other I went to town on and plumbed in 2x Large ST's that can also perma-run. The latter I had to fit some faction componants to get it cap stable, but it's quite impressive. What I will invesitgate next is whether a logistic-fit Drake would be more effective. Straight away, it doesn't have the range-bonuses of the Osprey (which repairs from a little over 50km), but I don't know how vital that might be in a Wormhole.

Other ships I plan to take through are a Buzzard and two back-up Herons, as many Badger II's as I can make in the time, my Crane, a few tackle-Frigates and maybe my Manticore, and either my Hulk or a Covetor. Ideally, I'd like to buy a FlyCatcher, but there just isn't enough time to train for one with all the other skills I'd like to progress.

In summarry, here is my ship-plan:

PvE: Solo Drake / Spider-Tank Drake
PvP: Drake / Tackle-Merlin / Manticore
Covert-Ops: Manticore / Buzzard
Scanning: Buzzard / Heron
Mining: Covetor or Hulk
Salvage: Drake
Logistical: Osprey or Drake
Hauling: Badger II / Crane

I'd love to take my Orca, but I don't know if there are any C1-C3 'Holes that allow such a ship? Otherwise, are their any current Wormhole-dwellers who care to share advice on ships? Have I got it covered?