The Dark Ages

Well, this time I can honestly say that my long hiatus from posting here has been deliberate. 


Fatal Ascension has successfully relocated to the Scalding Pass region and my intentional public blackout is now at an end, as we have established ourselves wholly in our new area.

Couple easy things to note, that have been going on in the most recent weeks, be they gloriously successfully or arduously difficult, are the following:

• Logistics hauling with capital ships, SUCCESS
• Medium to Large organized combat fleets, POSSIBLE
• Getting carebear and newbie pilots to come out to Scalding Pass on their own, NEAR IMPOSSIBLE
• Getting people to NOT warp into engagements in ones and twos, NEAR IMPOSSIBLE
• Getting people to realize Scalding Pass neither resembles nor even remotely likens to Providence, NEAR IMPOSSIBLE
• Gaining focus from a core group of a few hundred in the alliance, SUCCESS
• Securing most infrastructure in our new sovereign systems, SUCCESS
• Making ISK for myself at a personal level, NEAR IMPOSSIBLE

 Now, I could go into all kinds of details about this or that, but considering this is an ongoing process, and that emotions are so high right now, I may spare the whip, and loosen the chain instead.

The alliance is going through the growing pains any alliance in our position would be.  Having been shucked from the proverbial cornucopia that was Providence, we have found ourselves in what appears to be a relatively inhospitable area of 0.0 space but what is in reality the best opportunity we have been given since my corporation was created, personally. 

With various fleet commanders leading sparse fleets here and there, too busy, like myself, to devote a majority of their time to one thing or another, the alliance is suffering from too much too soon, but in light of this, we cannot help but ride fast and furious, as it is the only way this stuff is going to get done.

Because of this, coming to a fleet near you, will be I, Mendolus, Empire Fleet Commander of the alliance, striking out into the depths 0.0 once more, to lead weekly fleets, and bolster cohesion, coordination, and participation.

I may not be the most experienced, in some respects, but... at the risk of sounding like I am tooting my own horn, I would like to think I extremely capable, give my years of experience at leading group activities in multiple MMOs.  After all, a fleet battle is nothing more than a carefully orchestrated chain of audible, visual, and other sensory reception and command.  And the only fleet commanders I have ever seen in this game, that do well, are the ones that master themselves first, and others second.  So, to battle, we ride at dawn.

Judge, Jury, And Executioner

Judge, Jury, And Executioner
Sometimes Your Choices Are Made For You

We have been cast off, expelled as it were, from the proverbial pool that spawned the corporation we are today, no longer a member of the Apotheosis of Virtue, but still pursuing that long term goal, finding a place to live, be it by the flag over our corporate banner and the people that it entails, or the physical space we reside in, that every member of this corporation can thrive in. Because this corporation was founded on the platform that every person gets their shot at all things EVE, and we do not restrict ourselves to solely PvP, PvE, or Industry endeavors, it makes it rather tricky for us to achieve this lofty goal without an alliance of brethren to make it happen.

For us AOV no longer supported this goal if in practice not if in principle. Content to chase hostiles in small roaming fleets night after night, declare war on neutrals in Empire with some history of hostilities against Providence residents, and play it safe politically, while dreaming of greater glory, the alliance executor offered us every opportunity to rise to our own occasion, wholeheartedly, but unfortunately little incentive to do so in the end. What with half a dozen burgeoning capital pilots, members aching for frequent fleet activities involving more people than you count on both hands, and for strength in numbers, it become more and more of a burden for us personally to support long term goals that we so often felt were all on our shoulders alone , whether this was merely our perception or a reality, which in some sense is one and the same. Our alliance numbers dwindled over the course of a full fiscal year while our goals remained the same. The formula was simply not working.

Four weeks ago when we met with the alliance leadership to discuss plans to move North because the AU-F was struggling under its own weight and it looked like were going to lose a good enough portion of the members that make this corporation what it is that I simply had no choice but to take action, at which time we were told by the leadership a lot of "You cannot do this. You cannot do that." insofar as it concerns gaining ground with the powers that be up in the North. It was not that this was right or wrong, it was the principle of it. Here the AU-F was gasping for breath living in an environment, the alliance, where we were struggling to find reasons to even log on at night, and I was being told we should not do what is best for our corporation, and should instead consider moving everyone in one fell swoop out to NPC 0.0 and make a stand. The ubiquitous chest pumping campaign, as it were. It confused me to be honest. Our corporation, burned out and frayed around the edges, was gasping for relief, to be able to enjoy the content of the game again and be a part of a larger whole not the larger part of a whole as far as activity levels are concerned, and we were being asked to pick up all our stuff, jump into the gaping maw of hell, and fight to the death. We needed relief not fire and brimstone.

Thankfully, we came to an agreement, given that everyone just wanted what was best for the alliance, which in turn meant best for the AU-F as well, that we would continue to pursue a campaign in the North because AOV was not nearly large enough to make any further progress in Providence under its current platform and approach, and too small to entertain and sustain itself and moreso its lofty goals in the ever more bustling and packed Providence systems.

Due to factors well beyond our control, the Northern campaign had to be scrapped merely three weeks after it began, and we started trickling back to Providence. Now, I had told the officers, there would only be two reasons why I would return to Providence and ask them to come with me.

1. The format or environment of the alliance drastically changed in a way that I felt was conducive to the growth we needed to survive as a corporation while maintaining residency in greater Providence.
   
2. The environment of Providence vastly changed so that it became apparent a corporation or alliance of our size and with our particular goals could begin to flourish once more OR would be better off by comparison to NBSI 0.0 space.

Well, we never got a chance to meet with the alliance leadership to discuss the first point, and the second point as you all well know, has come to fruition even if merely by the fact that NBSI 0.0 itself has now deteriorated to the point that I believe our best opportunity to participate in the grand scheme of things and throw our lot in with good people, is now in Providence ever more so, and in some sense, specifically because we are now a free agent corporation, which vastly changes the potential we have to join an alliance that has the numbers, environment, and goals we have so dreamed of ourselves for six months or more. An alliance comprised of corporations like our own; a family environment where everyone knows your name.

Aside from this, because it is all behind us now, and while we wish our former alliance brethren the best of luck in their own endeavors, we have ourselves potentially been given the golden opportunity to join an alliance that is on the verge of everything we have dreamed of, has a wonderful power structure, and a leadership that strives for everything we have in the past six months. Meaning, all things EVE, and all things Providence. It was only when I felt like our alliance could never achieve these things with its present approach in Providence that I had to consider getting out, and finding NBSI, which would be more appropriate for an alliance of AOV's size and activity levels. However, Providence is more than amazing for this potential alliance of more than six hundred members, and by joining them we add to the whole, both bettering them, and being bettered ourselves in return. We will make our own difference, be it small or large, but that difference will not weigh heavily on our shoulders alone, it will be a shared burden.

Though I have interacted directly with the leader of this alliance only a few times in the past, I can tell you right now, if you have ever extended your trust to me as a friend and not just a CEO, you should extend it to him as well. This I can assure you, by my word.

To Fatal Ascension and to Raven Shadows, executor of Fatal Ascension, the AU-F extends its utmost offer and pledge of unity, camaraderie, and resources to better support, defend, and expand upon the interests, principles, and faculties of the greater Providence region, its holders, and its residents.

We who are about to die, salute you.


Disclaimer: Do not toss in the victory towel or start partying and getting excited about a wealth of opportunities opening up to us just yet as I will be formally applying for our membership in the Fatal Ascension alliance this afternoon at 23:00 EVE time pending we are granted final approval of the move. Nothing is as of yet written in figurative stone.

Veteran's Curse

Veteran's Curse
It Can Happen To You

So, I have been milling about since my vacation in October, desperately grasping at straws to figure out, as I say to myself often upon logging on, "After more than twelve months in this game, what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

• Logon
• Undock
• Shoot Stuff
• Drink Beer
• Make Merry
• Share Stories
• Entertain Friends

It sounds simple, right? Well, I had been told previously by a number of old timers, that there would be this wall I would hit, with the scope of the game suddenly laid out before me, and having experienced enough of it, I would then wonder, is there anything left, and why do I keep logging on anymore. This sounds ludicrous right? EVE is a huge sand box, there is no endgame? But at a personal level, there is. We all set long term goals for ourselves in EVE once we have had enough experience under our belts to know how to plan ahead six months or more, and when we finally reach that place we had hoped to be, and are then faced with even more planning, we start to wonder, is enough enough? Now, amazing friends to keep me entertained nightly and vice versa aside, I had always assumed this would not happen to me. There's a wealth of wonderful content to experience in this game, so surely I would not run out of steam right?

I did.

So I decided, I guess it was around the middle of November, or so, that the corporation as a whole should just take a huge load off, as we had been going hot and heavy for almost ten months straight at that point, trying to conquer the world, as it were. This was right about the time BEOR, GRIEV, and friends came on board to the AU-F. Unfortunate for them, though I could not really explain at the time, that half the officers were feeling and acting burned out and needed a nice long break from it all. So we lost them. Okay, shit happens. I can live with that, sad as it may be.

Then Dominion drops, and everyone comes back bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on the world, and toss their lot into the grand scheme of things. Oh woe is the pilot and group of players who discovers all that glitters is not gold, quickly, and drastically. Dominion brought change alright, but not the kind of change we can believe in, to be cliche.

However, after mucking around in Dominion for almost two months, and having launched our immense Northern Campaign and seen a rejuvenation of corporate incentives, energy, and motivation, I personally feel as refreshed and ready to take on the game as ever before. Maybe it helps that I just purchased, fit, and dazzled at my very first capital ship in the game, my Thanatos, named Simulacrum, because I still have a hard time believing I can now pilot one, let alone that it is physically sitting in a station with my character on board, even though I have been training towards it since September of last year. Maybe it was seeing everyone rush forth to pursue the campaign up in the far reaches of space more than well enough across the entire universe from where we have lived, breathed, and died for a year or so now.

So, I am back, and I am hungry for all things EVE, but here is the catch...

You are sitting down, right? You did not have a big lunch and you do not have a mouth full of milk at the moment with which to conveniently spew out of your nose?

The Northern Coalition is evidently going to turtle their primary assets, RAZOR and Morsus Mihi space, and retreat from Geminate, in order keep at bay the hounds of Triumvirate.

Our Northern Campaign? Poof.

I already shit my pants, don't worry about me.

So what now? I really do not know, I do know that I am continuing with my own project, the empire project, which I am now calling, the Gremlin Campaign, as I am just enamored with that term militarily, merrily dreaming of a some amazing ship model ingame named the Gremlin. This campaign will base out of Caldari high security space so no one needs to throw up their hands and pick up all their PvE or mining ships and mingle back to Domain or anything. And Varian's VERSA project, being a glorious success in my opinion, will continue as planned, but the scenery may change, though I am not certain on the details as it is all being hashed out still.

So what is the bottom line? More change is on the horizon but no one should panic and pick up all their stuff and retreat en masse back to Providence. However, it is in all likelihood that we will have to regroup there, and figure out what to do next, as far as a corporation goes, esp. since we will have to consider the alliance as a whole in the grand scheme of things too. I will be meeting with the heads of the alliance this weekend hopefully, to discuss options, etc.

The next post, hopefully later tonight, or tomorrow, will detail the various competing factors we may or may not have going for or against us, as it concerns gaining access to NBSI space, or taking what we can get and being happy with it. It will help me solidify my sense of the patterns laid out before me, and with any luck, ease the concerns of anyone who is thinking:

What the french toast? We just spent four weeks on a huge campaign only to have it disappear before our very eyes! Mendolus, your untimely death shall be by my hand! Have at thee!

Hopefully to ease those concerns with calming talk such as:

Well, the campaign was only meant to last 6-8 weeks anyways, succeed or fail, so we simply had to cut it short, due to factors beyond our control.

In the end it seems Dominion has opened some doors to us demographically but closed just as many if not more.

Crossroads

Crossroads
A Fork In The Road


The Path Already Traveled...
There are not very many times either in real life or an online environment where things really matter so much that it is almost palpable in the air. Sure there are tumultuous sometimes violent encounters between opposing forces, ideals, or peoples, but I am talking about times of pivotal decision making.

Last night the corporation convened for a rare but important meeting to talk about what we want out of this game not as corporate or alliance members but as individuals. Though most of the leadership suspected as much, we were all pleasantly surprised and overjoyed to hear that the sentiments were largely unanimous. We want to have fun, and we want to have fun together. Wherever it is, whatever it is, as long as its fun, and we are adhering to our ideals as a group, then we go for it. This is what the AU-F started with, and if I have my scruples, that is what it will continue with. We are here to enjoy an online game and the friends we choose to play it with. It is as simple as that.

The Pause...
Now, the lingering question in everyone's mind is, why are we not doing this now and why did we stop doing this in the past month or so? As per the last post made here an unfortunately long time ago I implored everyone to take a much needed breather in anticipation of a flurry of activity after Dominion dropped. The former happened, the latter, having something to do after Dominion actually dropped, did not. Not because of us, but more so because of the content of the expansion itself. Things did not pan out like we had all hoped they would. So since then we have been trying to apply this same formula (having fun for the sake of fun) to the alliance as a whole. Sparing you the gory details, this has been easier said than done. Our idea of sacrifice versus personal entertainment differs greatly from others, it seems. However, we are giving it everything we have got within reason, without sending the lambs to the slaughter, so to speak.

So because of this, the corporation has voted to not take on the Stain Project after all. And by corporation, I mean, we asked for volunteers to go out to Stain, and got no more than we could count on one hand, and with room to spare at that. This is the AU-F as a whole that has spoken on the matter. And I take very seriously what the majority of the corporation desires as a group at one point or another when opportunities are presented to us. What does this mean? I do not know. But we hope to find out soon after meeting with the leadership pool of the alliance. One thing that is clear, however, is that at this time Providence has gotten just a little bit too crowded for our tastes. CVA itself, sovereign power and one of the most respectable power blocks in the game, have no part in this, per say. They set forth on this path years ago, and could not have fathomed that the changes in the game mechanic and the player base would yield such a relatively inhospitable environment financially, rather devoid of the means which we all need to maintain our personal levels of entertainment. When I can squeeze out an L4 and bank more in fifteen minutes than I can in an hour on any average night out in Providence, then you know it is time to look to the horizon for a time and find another herd to track.

The Fork...
Now, CCP is talking under their breath about looking into adding NPC agents to player controlled space, and I think the reason being, is exactly what has happened to Providence. Providence is like a thermometer for all of EVE. It has both elements of Empire, low security, and null security all wrapped into one. And so you get this sort of massively complicated dichotomy with which if you were to take educated samplings of, you would get an idea of what is and is not working in the game itself, except for capital engagements of course. And so I think at some point in the next six months Providence may be viable again for pilots in our position, loyal to Providence, but unable to make a day's wage out there, so to speak. But I no longer have the patience personally to waste away another six months waiting for something to happen, to give me purpose out here. I want to have fun sooner rather than later, especially after spending the past few months wondering what we are supposed to really be working towards out here in the end.

Bearing this in mind, it behooves the Alliance to take up this initiative and find us space to live where we can prosper and flourish but not directly oppose or risk harming our brethren in Providence space. The AOV leadership has taken up this charge, which is what the Stain project is about. And the charge is, gain standings with the north. The north, comprised of the power block known as the Northern Coalition, with such alliances as RAZOR, Wildly Inappropriate, and Morsus Mihi, are not directly at odds with Providence residents or sovereign powers, and are the most logical choice of a place for us to go prosper and flourish and maybe maintain a long term and permanent residence should we find ourselves liking the space so much that we do not want to return to Providence. Not only this, but in the two years I have been gaming in EVE, I have only seen good from these alliances, rarely bad. In fact Morsus Mihi has always had my utmost respect, because they fly incredibly professional PvP fleets that are awe inspiring the few times I have seen them.

The Decision...
Now, the elephant in the room is, that the Alliance has chosen to take on the Stain Project, but we have not. So what does this mean? I do not know. I want to go back to the drawing board, but I want decisions to be made in days, not weeks, as this has already gone on long enough, the confusion, and lack initiative that is. We are going to convene with the alliance leadership at the earliest convenience, and bring these issues to light. The first order of business is we are temporarily and/or permanently leaving Providence. The second order of business is we do not wish to pick up our pilots, drop them into inhospitable space, and tell them to fight tooth and nail for survival. The third order of business is we want to primarily live in an environment that is conducive to wealth and progress first, and an environment that is target rich for combat fleets second. We had the former for the first six months we came out to Providence. Now we seem stuck in perpetuity with the latter, which is not good for the bottom line. Wars are waged with the dollar not with the soldier, in a philosophical sense. If we cannot fund our operations, what does a target rich environment give us? A whole lot of nothing.

The Path Yet To Be Traveled...
So before us lies two paths. One path leads to compromise between what the alliance thinks it needs and what we think we need. The other path leads to compromise between what we need and what the alliance thinks it needs. Which comes first? I am apt to believe after having devoted twelve months to alliance initiatives thus far that we need to make a few decisions for our own benefit that do not hinge solely on whether or not it benefits the alliance first and us second. I am trying hard to include the alliance in the grand scheme of things nonetheless but only time will tell if I am able to maintain this particular initiative.

The Rock...
So, times are changing and with those changes comes uncertainty. But to give everyone a rock to lean on I would like to announce the advent of the long awaited Empire Project. I have tried, unsuccessfully, for more than half a year, to get a project rolling that provides all pilots, new or seasoned, with a consistent, stable, safe, and lucrative environment in which they can prosper and flourish in every way. So far I have been largely unsuccessful because my time is so micromanaged that I rarely had more than a day every other week to devote to this end. Now, however, having come to the realization that things are not going to get done unless I have help doing them, I have a tactical director, Varian, able to take over the combat responsibilities that I have tried so hard to also maintain over the past six months, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. This leaves me much more time for administrative responsibilities and for infrastructure development, such as the Empire Project. So for this reason, regardless of what we do or do not do as a corporation or alliance, you will find, someday soon, in a system near you (if you live in Caldari High-Sec) a wealth of PvE opportunities with which to pursue both in missions, exploration, and industry. I have little to no details at this time because I have been unable to make a move on the project with all the uncertainty lately, but I can tell you it will happen regardless of all else.

So, if you are uncertain about what we are going to be doing in a week or two, as am I to a degree, one thing you CAN do is start pounding out Caldari missions to gain standings, or moving your mining and exploration ships to The Forge region. As early as tonight. Or sooner if you are bored.

See you in space my friends!
Mendolus

Hurry Up! And wait...

Hurry Up! And wait...
You want relaxation, I've got
your relaxation... right... here!


Hey hey! It's been a long month since I posted here. Wonder why? Well not much has happened to be honest. No that is not a bad thing, it's good. Why is it good? Because Dominion, it is coming. My favorite phrase at times, has always been the tried and true, if you cannot do anything about it then the only thing you can do is hurry up and wait for it. This old cliche could not be more appropriate for our time ingame at the moment and for the past few weeks.

For the past month, if I haven't been on vacation, I have been taking it easy, playing this or that game, hanging out with these or those friends, taking a much needed EVEcation to get my druthers together in anticipation for what I am hoping will be the biggest expansion yet in EVE insofar as its likelihood to dramatically change the landscape of the entertainment experiences possible to us.

Because of this, and because of a number of other issues, namely that lately a significant and somewhat alarming portion of our more active members have had real life issues come in between them and a nightly jaunt through space, I have issued, though not directly until now, a sort of moratorium on hardcore gaming within the corporation. Now is the time for everyone to sit back, soak in all the hard work they have done for this corporation and for themselves over the past ten months since we first deployed a POS, and to enjoy all things non-EVE related. Go out, buy or play a console game, sub again to an old flame MMO, and enjoy yourself. When Dominion comes out there will likely be more things to entertain or occupy us than we can even mention in one sitting, so until then, take a break! That's what I am doing. I have run this corporation since the spring of '08 and rarely taken more than a week here or there to just sit back and relax until this past month. So I highly recommend everyone else do the same to avoid the inevitable burnout of putting one's nose to the grindstone at any one thing for more than six months at a stretch. Just make sure you check in on the game every day or so for emergency dispatch or critical information. For example, the showing we had two nights in a row for the CVA incident was simply amazing.

Dominion releases in December. We have a few more weeks of utter carefree time to simply smell the flowers, so have at it! While you're at it, pick those flowers, give them to your significant other or hopeful flame, and get some! Lord knows you have plenty of free time right now while things in EVE are in a holding pattern and nothing major is going on.

:)

Your friend,
Mendolus

In The News Vol. #2

In The News
Vol. #2

Busy work. I think that pretty much defines most of our real lives at the moment. As the fall season kick starts, a lot of us are having to let that old cardinal rule, RL > EVE, take precedence.

However, things keep moving in game, and while we have this prolonged lull in activity overall, the officers and leadership in the corporation and alliance are brainstorming the winter expansion, with all kinds of entertaining notions of becoming dominant enough to control our own little nook of space someday soon.

Here are some notable events in the past week, and some still to come:

• Dante Fateor leaves legacy.

Dante Fateor, though not as active as some of us, made his presence known through dedicated service, participation, and commitment whenever he had the opportunity to do so. He has, however, decided that EVE is not the game for him. Much to my surprise, and gratitude, he has left the AU-F with a sizable dowry, assortment of ships, and materials. All these donated materials and liquid assets have either been placed in savings, converted into four new laboratories for research, or tossed into the corporate hangar, save the Raven. The ship, originally named Purgatory, has been newly christened Dante's Inferno, and will remain so as one of the flagships of the AU-F fleet, flown by yours truly.

Good tidings to you Dante Fateor, and good luck.

• Fogwlker: Inactive.

Our friend Fogwlker appears to have given into real life pressures and left the world of EVE behind as was expected in the long run, though I wish it could have been any other way. Having lost their respective jobs, Fog and his roommate both slowly dwindled from the spotlight in our entertainment world. Fog hung in there, after I encouraged him to farm for GTCs so he could continue playing, but in the end, grinding for game currency when you are watching your real bank account dwindle is not really that entertaining I imagine. Sadly, I have no idea if this is merely an extended break while he gets his financial situation under control, or if he has given up on the game itself after working tirelessly to research various ship BPOs from his POS. The last word I had was he was closing one of his accounts, and wanted to sell or hand over control of his existing POS in space.

Best of luck to you Fogwlker, if we do not see you again somewhere down the line. This corporation would not be as far along as it is if you had not propelled us into the game with your sizable donation of time and effort to encourage and provide us with the opportunity to place our first POS in space. You will be remembered!

• Providence getting crowded.

Well, in light of recent announcements concerning null security space, I am apt to believe that this problem is only an interim situation, and that once the winter expansion is released it will no longer factor in as it does now. Suffice it to say, every other system in Providence is inhabited by half a dozen or more ratters at all times of day, and it is really putting a crimp in the style of many members of the AU-F. Not only do these ratters often deliberately sabotage the belts in order to drive others away, but they are rarely the kind you see within fleets in space defending the very land which they are milking dry. Neutrals. When I came to Providence they were plentiful and often times very generous and giving when it came to defending the land they lived off. Now all I see half the time are farmers who take their ISK and run; nameless corporations and alliances you never see representation of either in the security channels or in defense of Providence. Sad.

• Bill's RL takes center stage.

Bill's father is signing over one of his restaurants to his son. In the coming weeks Bill is going to be inundated with paperwork, red tape, and new responsibilities. Hopefully somewhere in the mix there will be some entertaining times and stories which will provide him with the opportunity to enjoy himself. However, he has graciously stepped down from his role as a Manufacturing manager for the corporation, or at least, it seems, offered to let someone else fill his position until he has a handle on his real life. I will be filling his position for now, until we know more about whether he will have more free time in the near future or not.

• Mithos' long incubation period over.

Mithos enters the record books within the corporation, as far as I know, for the longest incubation period as a PvP pilot. Some twelve months ago I rolled him, intending to go straight down the battleship tree, and I have succeeded in this endeavor, although he may not be maximized, he has certainly earned his stripes in my mind as a pilot to contend with. Sporting a +900DPS Geddon, and maximum drone damage Dominix build, he can certainly hold his own in the world of battleships. However, this past weekend I took him for a spin, finally, to actually shoot at something! Imagine that. Twelve months old and he gets his first real combat experience. And what an experience! I have to say, I have been more than impressed with how well a Sniper Cane performs and will be using them frequently in the future. Now it's onwards to Thanatos training. Only 110 more days to go!

• Mendolus trains Basilisk/Vulture.

Surprise! I just switched my training. It will be another three months until I even touch Basilisk or Vulture. Why? Well, besides the Nighthawk, which is really king of PvE, but doubles nicely as a meat shield and bait in PvP, I have done nothing but train fleet oriented skills on Mendolus since day one. That was a year and a half ago. It is time for me to take a slice for myself and be selfish with my CEO account. So I am training Golem, which will be a seriously delicious guilty pleasure once I perfect the build at the beginning of January. Sporting variable DPS from 700-950 at a range of 0-45km, with a +1200 permatank, two tractors with 40km range and 1 km/s velocity, and a salvager, and a 1,225 m3 cargo bay, this boat pretty much leaks ISK out of every orifice. Why train it when I have a Nighthawk already? Well the Nighthawk may be king, but the Golem is the Prime Minister, and we all know in most monarchies today, who's boss. The Nighthawk's only flaw is that it does it too well. And while it will punch through nearly any mission, I am still left with that nagging problem of how to mop up the mess I make while I work, as those of us who occasionally do L4s know, the ninja salvagers are only getting worse, as Empire becomes more and more bloated with carebears. Now, while I really should be ratting, I cannot, and there is no telling how long after the winter expansion it will be until the solar systems in Providence have been progressed to the point that they can financially support not only us but the other residents. So I need a money machine, and the Golem is just that. Plus, it's about damn sexy, so why not? We will just ignore the 1,000,000,000.00 ISK price tag for now, okay? Hehe.

• Kai flies it old school.

Kaijusan has come into the corporation like a cowboy through the saloon doors, with a grin on his face, a shot of whiskey in his hand from the last saloon, and a six shooter still smoking in his belt. I have been very impressed with his energy, positive attitude, humor, and initiative. Showing up in a T1 frigate for tackle on our null roam, and hearing him yell out "Point!" numerous times, and then making it through the night without being popped, is what it is all about. I always laud the fact that we have free frigates for all members who want them, and no one uses them (which is fine), but Kai rolls in with a T1 frigate like a champ, so here's to Kai! May he take the small army of frigates I have produced, and turn them into angry hornets, ready to wail on some hostiles!

• Lindsey goes native.

Lindsey has decided to take on a project of his own and turn pirate and has thus left the corporation. His highwayman aspirations are often entertained by many of us, but at the end of the day, we all choose to build things up, rather than tear them down. However, there is much to be said about pursuing one's goals of being a pure gunslinger, and dashing around space solo, picking fights at will. Good luck to Lindsey in his endeavors to define himself within the game as an independent force! Maybe one day he shall return to us, with grit in his teeth, and a glint in his eye, and show our enemies what a real pirate can do!

• DPhentum rejoins AU-F.

Denis returns after a short absence from the game, Myrmidon in hand, hoping to take a slice for himself out of Providence hostiles. Always one for a good time, Denis is a steady presence in null security and is not afraid to mix it up with the hostiles should they bear down on him. Many good times to be had in the future I am sure. Welcome back bro!

• Jay returns soon from harvest.

Jay (Mia), the pilot formerly known as Staigor, has been furiously harvesting his rice crops out in California, and says that soon he shall return triumphant from one of the hardest seasons on record, with nothing but free time until April of next year. That is almost six months straight of nothing but PvP loving from our master combat pilot! Look for him in a fleet near you, guns blazing, tearing into the hulls of every hostile ship in sight, laughing in joy as he watches the shiny explosions and cataclysms.

• A good night.

Varian Knight is back with pizazz. Taking the fleet out for a roam this past Saturday, he shows us all what it means to be a combat pilot in EVE, and gave us the opportunity to rearrange the faces of a few reds in Providence, sometimes in most humorous ways. The fleet was a great success with no losses and multiple kills, and everyone was grateful to have our old FC back at the helm. We who are about to die, salute you!

• Upcoming vacation for Mendolus.

I will be going to Colorado on the 2nd of October and not returning until Sunday the 10th. My grandfather is 93 years old this year and my family and I would like to see him while we still have him in our lives. He is a WWII veteran of Iwo Jima among other notable engagements, and I am very proud of his legacy. Before it was popular to cite the fact that the Iwo Jima flag raising was staged after the fact in order to snap a more photogenic picture he was telling me all about how the real guys raised a flag on a stick when the hill was first captured. Who in their right mind would lug a twelve foot metal pole up the side of a hill during an active engagement anyways, just to put a flag up?

• Providence space cools, relatively.

Well. This is all relative of course, as it comes and goes for no apparent reason these days, but low security space and Providence in general have cooled in the past week. From multiple hostile gangs of more than twenty a piece to a few small roaming gangs every other night or so, it seems our hostile friends are getting bored with staring at bubbled outposts and being chased out by the inevitable bevy of blues bent on their annihilation. I could say more on this, but suffice it to say I believe the real root of the problem is that the game has been divided equally in parts between West and East since the fall of BOB and the only thing keeping these halfwits entertained is taking large fleets into regions like Providence where they will not face greater repercussions for bloodying some noses. If it were up to me, I would lead gangs every other night of more than a hundred, to stamp out these opportunists, and give them something to think about. But that's just me.

• New corporate schedule active!

Although not a pressing matter, and certainly not enforced as much as it could be, we have now implemented the new format for corporate scheduling. As a reminder, here are the basic guidelines.

1) On casual days, the officers and managers get the day off, and everyone is left pretty much to their own devices, although gangs for this and that should and can form for whatever reasons people desire. No, this is not necessarily for them to sit back and sip gin and juice while getting a curious massage from some scantily clad lady, but more so they can get business done. A lot of us in the leadership have responsibilities that simply cannot get done unless we have free time. Hauling, administrating, refueling, planning, discussing, debating, and brainstorming are part of what goes on for us on casual nights. And yes, a little lining of our wallets will go on as well. I myself have about 7.2bil worth of skillsheets and ships on my docket for the next three month period, so I will be sitting down and carebearing pretty hardcore now that we have Varian back to help with the PvP aspect, and Jay coming back soon as well.

2) On corporate days, you guessed it, you are expected to team up with people in the corporation in order to further our interests as a whole. Whether this is by joining mining, combat, carebear, exploratory, or hauling and logistics fleets, you help yourself out by helping everyone else. This is not a hard and fast rule, and some nights we have may events planned, and others we may just all log on and ask ourselves, "What we we wanna do tonight?" but the general idea is that these nights, you should be working together. Those who are found to regularly participate in these corporate activities may also conveniently find themselves eligible for public research access, priority in manufacturing when resources are stretched thin, or even Senate membership.

3) On alliance days, you can pretty much expect much of the same, except at the alliance level. Everyone knows what usually occurs on alliance days already, so there is no need for further examination.

• Merth announces ore program

Covered last week and thus far extremely successful. Once again, Merth proves why he is the goto guy in his boss' restaurant empire, and why he was recently given ownership of multiple restaurants and a big promotion! Go Merth!

• Public recruitment closed.

This is going to be discussed at length, but the basic idea is we have a new recruitment platform and it will be implemented shortly. We have had a problem so far getting the numbers we have always wanted, but this will change. We no longer have the luxury of waiting for members to find us, and we must seek them out more than ever to prepare for the winter expansion. New members like GRIEV, Kai, Blurtie, BJ, and more (you know who you are) are hard to come by and I intend to find them all!

• AU-F Senate sets 3mil SP limit.

This is more important now than it ever has been. We need to recruit only those who are ready, capable, able, and relatively experienced enough to come straight out to low and null and live there with us. Unfortunately, we no longer have the luxury of allowing people to linger around in Empire, if we are going to make a stand in null and become a player in the political arena, and also claim a slice for ourselves, which I believe is a notable goal for a null sec Alliance such as ours, we need to gather about us only those who are ready to undock at a moment's notice and fly our banner in combat.





So, that wraps up this past week, and a majority of this week's business. I wish that I could elaborate more like I have in the past, but I'm feeling pretty drained this week, as I am sure some of you noticed I have been less vocal for a few days. This stuff while extremely satisfying is tireless and I am only human, so please excuse me while I try to lay low for a bit, to catch my breath. Plus, I go on vacation soon, so I need to wind down a bit like I did before my eye surgery, and let you guys run the show (which you do better than I do, honestly) while I am absent for an entire week straight.

In The News Vol. #1

In The News
Vol. #1

September got off to a slow start, with Labor Day weekend here in the US, members returning to classes or just wrapping up their summer activities with a last BBQ or party, and other various factors, which made it seem like everyone was taking a sporting break from the game.

In the meantime, things continue to progress as planned, even though activity levels have been low for a bit now.

Here is a summary of current and ongoing events:

• Low Sec: A Killing Ground

  Low security space in and around the Misaba area has increasingly become a crap shoot. There is almost never a time day or night, weekday or weekend, when there are not reds zipping about, being flagrantly dumb, but still managing to pop inexperienced haulers or people trying to be heroes.
  

  
  
• Systra leaves AU-F, sells account?

  Systra, leaves the AU-F without a word, and proceeds to sell his account, claiming he got tired of Gallente and wants something Amarr. His motivations and why no one was notified of this change? Unknown. But the officers have decided he is not welcome back.
  

• Eclypze joins AU-F.

  That energetic young person who has an endless stream of questions is earning his stripes among our ranks. With an ever fluctuating schedule in real life, look for this new member in your local space port, anxious and willing to join in on operations, to learn the ropes from the veterans.
  

• Rasnow back from vacation.

  Rasnow returns from Myrtle Beach a little more tan than before he left but forgets to bring us back a beach bunny or three. GRR.
  

• HuffDaddy: Rigging Manufacturer.

  Huff has purchased all Small and Medium rig BPOs and can produce them at your request if you provide him with sufficient notice and courtesy.
  

• Mentaz joins AU-F.

  Mentaz, GRIEV's father, is an aspiring and evidently very well adapted manufacturer.
  

• Falgoria flies Ishtar!

  The Failtar will take its maiden flight this week! Much love in a purely platonic way Falgoria.
  

• Upcoming vacation for Mendolus.

  Mendolus will be MIA and off to Colorado starting Friday October 2nd and ending Sunday October 11th.
  

• September off to a slow start.

  Explained in the preamble.
  

• Providence space becomes volatile.

  Suddenly blobs, hundreds of them. What is happening to Providence? The future seems uncertain. Let us hop in the first available ship and lend a hand to our Providence brethren in defending that which is ours together.
  

• Corporate schedule format changes.

  Starting today, the new corporate/casual schedule will be implemented. For instance, today (Tuesday) is corporate.
  

• Maduin flies Prorator!

  I now have two cloakers at my disposal. /joygasm
  

• Merth announces ore program

  See link.
  

• Devin announces [corporate] lottery.

  Details are limited as the finer points are meted on the Senate floor.

Confluence

Confluence
Scheduling


So we have brought in a lot of new friends, have seen some old friends become much more active once again, and with this turn of events a lot of renewed interest in corporate sponsored activities, especially PvP.

The only problem is, and I have to admit that it drives me nuts, is that we are stuck midway between a real schedule and impromptu operations. So let's talk.

I would rather do things one of two ways, for my sanity's sake, and because I think it will be best this way. The first way of course, is to schedule our sponsored activities, the way we did at the beginning of the year, which was good but inconsistent insofar as given a window of only a few hours on a particular night, it was uncertain who would be there from one week to the next. The second way of course, is to throw impromptu operations together, and haul ass to assemble whatever we can scrape together before heading out. I myself prefer the latter. After all, it is not all that grand, to throw together a fleet on a predetermined night, only to find tumbleweeds floating by in space as our ships sit idly at a gate, waiting for reds to appear anywhere at all in the entire region.

I really believe we are too small yet for an official schedule for anything more than industry. If our pilots all flew T2 for 0.0 or BSs for low security, we could certainly schedule regular PvP gangs every week, but they do not, so we cannot, or at least should not. However, I am finding it difficult to throw together operations on the fly, when we provide scheduled operations as well. I just do not have time every night of the week to toss something together for people, and neither do the rest of the officers or managers for that matter.

The problem: We schedule gangs for Industry or PvP, and our regulars show up, but others do not. Then the following evening the others log on, looking for fun group activities, asking if anyone is doing something they can participate in, but our regulars had their fun the night before, and are now doing private or small scale activities to generate income, standings, and whatnot. The Catch-22 is that a gang of 10x people is great fun for L4s but really bad for actually making any money. And while I may be FC, I am also CEO, so leading gangs every night of the week is out of the question.

Now that we have Varian back at the helm for FC operations, I myself have been preparing and leading gangs, and Jay (Mia) is leading them as well, and will be more in the very near future, things are looking good for frequent operations. However, there needs to be some sort of structure, so our PvP leaders are not logging on every night to, "PvP?" because between you and me, as much as I love a good fight, sometimes I just want to log on and mindlessly pound on NPCs as I watch my wallet get showered with ISK.

What I propose is a blackout system. We schedule, but do not exclude, thus meaning certain days each week are set as corporate/alliance days and others are set as casual days. On corporate days, you are expected to group together with an officer, commander, or manager and participate in sponsored activities. On casual days, officers and managers get the day off, and they can either choose to work on corporate projects, or spin their ship in a station all evening if they so desire.

I would imagine setting the week up with as many days that are casual as there are corporate/alliance is going to be best given the present group dynamic we have going on here, esp. since most of the FCs have extremely variable schedules right now anyways. So let's say, 3x Corporate and 3x Casual and 1x Alliance for now.

So let's say it is Wednesday night, a corporate evening and I log on. Looks like Providence is really quiet, well FFS I was hungry for some combat, but there is no sense in flying around shooting at space dust. Instead, I hop in a ratting ship, throw up a fleet invite, and we split into teams, and go pound some ISK out, while we compare PvP setups. Everyone who is able to do so should participate. If you do not participate, and the next night is casual, you may not get in on any fun with others if they have personal goals they are trying to meet or just need some downtime.

So let's say it is a Thursday night, a casual evening and I log on. Looks like a number of our members are itching to shoot some stuff, and Providence has a few strays that we could go after, but you know, I also have 250,000 m3 worth of crap to move, or two or three hours of industry chores to tackle. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it, or it will literally not get done, so I set out to wrestle the beast that is R&D to the ground, and make him cry uncle. The eager PvPers, will have to join an alliance fleet, or strike out in small teams, and learn to command, which is a valuable skill to have no matter who you are.

The basic idea for me is this:

When we sponsor activities, I expect people who want to participate in them make an attempt to show up. We do not sponsor the same activities on any particular night every week, so I cannot imagine that someone is unable to show up because of something like that. Now, if you are unable to show up that week, that's fine, but I would prefer not to log on the day after a big operation to "Where is the fleet?"

"The fleet was last night, didn't you get the memo?" is my thought on that matter. I am sure anyone who has had an administrative role before at some point in their lives can relate.

So, comments?

The Boys

The Boys
Are Back In Town


Yes, those scallops, those punks, those dirty hooligans, oh wait... I mean to say, our favorite RL crew, responsible for many a fun time in our past, and now once again in our present and future, have returned after setting off on their own to sights unseen and lands unknown.

Of course the officers were notably upset and distraught over having to part ways, in some sense, with friends and compatriots, but I believe we are all grateful that they are returning, and that once more the party will begin anew, with talk of sips and lighting things on fire (Hey Chris!), funny nicknames (Hey Kylie!), random low security splattering, (Yes, Denis, that is you in the Myrm getting owned by a Taranis in low sec!), and new friends we had just gotten to know (Lucas, o7). The unanimous Senate vote to bring them back to the corporation is a testament to that, I believe.

And while our friends did enjoy and were very proud of their journey into the unknown and we hoped for them that they were able to enjoy and be entertained by their continued gaming experiences wherever they may be, I am certain most of us cannot help but be secretly overjoyed, that it led them back to us, for whatever reason.

So here's a shot to you guys; vodka, clean , straight up, and just how I like it, because the boys are back in town!

That Mendolus Guy

That Mendolus Guy
And That Damned News Blotter
He Never Explains To Us!

Ok, so am I like the worst chief editor or what? I always post these updates in the This Week section of the blog and even my officers are uncertain from time to time what the French Toast I am talking about. And, I can only imagine your surprise, when I gain your undivided and entertained attention on my blog at long last, only to frustrate you with vague announcements and little explanation.

So, from now on, when I update the weekly blotter, I will also followup with a short synopsis of what the holy fubar I am getting on about, and why it should matter to you. Also from now on, the blotter will be known as In The News rather than This Week as it has been mostly comprised of past, present, and future events from the start anyways.

So, beginning with this weeks most dubiously cryptic announcements, the following summary is due:

• DUST 512 - What's up with this, an FPS tethered to my EVE? Say it ain't so CCP, say it ain't so. Who pays the price if the FPS flops? Yeah that's right, we do.
• August was a quiet month for the AU-F. A few upsets, a few welcome homecomings, and a pint of beer later, and it ends with rather little fanfare or momentous occasions.
• I haul for the corporation, as do many others, but the smattering of reds in and around all of low security space every night of the week lately has made it inconvenient for any reasonable haulers to do business outside of blockade runners.
• Kane Deckard, a real life friend of EldraNiColarus, joins the Aurelius Federation.
• Gertimus has been appointed a seat in the Aurelius Senate, an oligarchy of our most active and dedicated members who help us make decisions at the corporate level on general or all-encompassing goals, directives, and day to day operations.
• Sometime this week, we are going to undock, and there will be wrecks in 0.0 space, and they will not be ours nor will they be NPCs.
• Varian Knight (Chris) and his real life friends are homesick after experimenting with maintaining their own house, and finding that while fun and rewarding, they would much rather share those rewards with us than amongst themselves as it was a lot of hard work. Hey, let's face it, corporations are hard work, the more friends you have to help you throw the weight around, the more fun everyone can have as a whole. The Senate voted unanimously to reinstate all previous corporate members, a testament to their status as our friends and associates, wherever they fly in space and under whatever banner.
• Devin, officer, friend, and Skunkworks Commander, has started college courses again, with some night classes, and a lot of hard work ahead of him. As such, he may not be as active as we are used to, so please offer your time and assistance to him when able, should he ask you to participate in any activities he is sponsoring or involved in. It may be the one time every week that he has more than a few hours free, so it will mean a lot to him.
• Jay (Mia), the Capsuleer Formerly Known As Staigor, has a planned suicide gang this week to operate within inches of the CONCORD laws, hopefully to wreak bloody burning vengeance on our enemies, somewhere special, in Empire space. Check the corporate mailer for details.
• Public recruitment for PvP pilots is closed. For the time being, recruitment of PvP pilots is only available through invitation or sponsorship from an existing member of the Federation. Public recruitment for Industrial players remains open.
• The Senate voted unanimously a week or so ago to raise the SP limit for incoming recruits to 3,000,000 Skillpoints. Those excluded from this rule are so by invite or sponsorship only. This means, public recruitment of any kind, where an advert is placed, and responded to, can only let in people with 3,000,000 or more Skillpoints unless they are specifically scouted or sponsored by an existing Federation member.

So, that's last week and this week's comings and goings. Thanks for reading!

Uneasy Truth

Uneasy Truth
That Hair On The Back
Of Your Neck Feeling

I typically try to keep these entries fairly upbeat or at least cursory and nonchalant but we have some things to discuss of a more serious nature given the continuing influx of new members. The same members whom thankfully have so far by majority become our new friends and worthy corporate brethren.

SECURITY

Yes, that simple word, which strikes fear into the heart of any person(s) in EVE who have material or liquid assets that are accessible to more than they alone, who have entrusted in their fellow gamers with an informal contract a good portion of their more valuable tangible and intangible possessions. Security is by far half the battle when it comes to player groups whether they be a corporation, alliance, or both.

So, as Jay has pointed out recently, and as Varian is always very concerned with but not always vocal about, security is our primary means of protecting ourselves from the unscrupulous and unforgiving elements outside of our own corporation.

Here are a few ground rules that I expect everyone to follow for the future when talking about corporate business to anyone who has only been with us for a very short while:

• Sure we have POSs, but they are located in the magical land of sugar plum fairies and candy cane roads upon which only the most beneficent of souls may enter upon or have knowledge of. In english, POS locations are private, only managers should be responsible for revealing their location if they so desire.
• Sure we have fleets, but they are comprised entirely of rookie ships and we randomly undock once a week in a swarm of legendary proportions to cleanse the Providence region of the foul stench of filth that hostile alliances bring down upon us by stepping into CVA space. In english, PvP fleet information, scheduling, composition, and common operating locations are private and only myself, Jay (Mia), or Chris (Varian) should ever be responsible for discussing these things with the newest of recruits. A simple we fly a few times a week and these are our FCs should be enough for the curious recruit. If they want to know more, like where we stash our plethora of Titans and the shield harmonic for the POS they are in, there is a problem.
• Sure we have mining, in fact we regularly schedule mining operations in unannounced wormhole space garnered from jumping through twelve distinct wormhole nodes until we are so far beyond the known reaches of space, reason, and location that not even a GM himself could find a way to pinpoint our juicy fleet of Hulks teaming with officer mods. In english, all Industry related endeavors are private, and only those courteously invited to the AU-F Mining channel hosted by our Industry leader Meatay, should ever need to know what we do, when we do it, and where we do it. Our orgies involving hard merciless rocks and long icy objects are a private matter.
• Every member we have, seventy at the time of this blog, goes to sleep at downtime and wakes up maybe an hour later to resume their patrol of our known operating systems, in their T2 ships with all Vs in skills and fit with officer gear, in fleets of dozens upon dozens. To stay awake, our members often drink excessively dangerous levels of energy drinks, snort unidentified and often illicit substances in copious amounts, have quit real life, denounced all women, moved into their mother's basements, and shit in a pan through a hole in their computer chairs. We will not talk about the stench that wafts out of the basement and throughout the neighborhood. In english, our activity levels are our own, and unless you like being snooped by possible spy alts and losing your T2 ship worth a few hundred million ISK, a response of we are an active corporation that operates mainly between 00:00 EVE to 06:00 EVE every night of the week should be sufficient for any new recruit.
• The existence of or presence within the corporation or alliance of any ship or asset worth more than one billion ISK as a whole is a complete fabrication and constitutes libelous slander with which we will petition the known CCP universe in its entirety in order to slam any heinous rumor spreaders with the good book, that is to say, the EULA, straight back into the Commodore days, from which they shall never return. In english, our capital ships, freighters, POSs, and anything else worth more money than your Depression Era grandmother's mattress are of no concern to the newest recruit who just stepped off the boat and onto the docks. If they cannot read the corporate mailers and ascertain what services are available to all members from the start, whether they be services stemming from capital ships, freighters, shiny baubles, or otherwise valuable commodities, you should not be pointing them to the character who owns the most valuable asset in the corporation and when he will undock it next or leave it publicly accessible for a brief but adequate enough amount of time with which the wandering eye might reconnoiter it.
  

Okay, so that is pretty good I believe, and covers most of the pertinent issues concerning security related matters.

Yes, I do of course realize that the new recruit, eager, fresh, green, and willing to supplicate our every desire may read this, or get the sort of cold shoulder as noted above, and get a negative impression of our almost wholly friendly, warm, and welcoming corporation, but we have already been fooled once, so shame on the fooler from hereon out, and not us please. Though a testament to our corporate infrastructure, the tight ship I run around these parts, and the continuing work of our members to protect our corporate assets, and despite the mere fact that this grievance was imparted upon members at a personal level and not a corporate level, we are still vulnerable to the usual espionage of scouting fleet formations, locations, movements, and the like. Whatever undocks into the depths of space or resides in a publicly accessible fashion, becomes anyone's game, so please remember, if it resides in space or a corporate hangar all of or part of the time, protect it not only with your actions but also with your words.

Trust me, those members who join, and may not at first understand why we remain so secretive, will appreciate it when the expensive ship they just bought is not obliterated upon undocking because some new and seemingly perfect and normal recruit was actually a spy who alerted a hostile force of their presence and what they were about to undock into space. This is not to mention the plethora of other such scenarios both at the personal, group, corporate, or alliance level.

Besides, if that new recruit is going to also become our new friend, he needs to show us he has earned it, right? Otherwise what do we want him here for? Shits and giggles? Hehe.

/Uneasy Truth

Welcome

Welcome
New Members


If you are reading this, and you are a new member of the AU-F, congratulations, you are well ahead of the learning curve. Here at the Aurelius Federation we try to give every member the opportunity to step up to the plate, and knock one out of the ballpark. And it is your turn to bat.



What is this corporation about?
The Aurelius Federation is a group of like-minded pilots trying to make their mark in a virtual environment. Sure, maybe we will not conquer all of EVE, but we will have a hell of a good time trying, with that goal in mind every step of the way. After all, that is the point, right? To give it your all, be the best player you can be given your particular set of circumstances, abilities, and desires? You are not paying $15/mo for each of those accounts of yours, just to shoot pixels in missions and fill a hangar with ships that merely collect dust, are you? Trust me, I tried that, after about two or three months you are grasping at straws looking for reasons to log on anymore. Who wants to earn money for the sake of having money? If you were going to do that, wouldn't it be better if it were real money?

We want to grow with players, power, and influence. To do this, we must expand into 0.0, and learn to sustain ourselves unfettered by Empire space, which has now become a bloated shadow of its former self, ripe with boredom, and monotony.

Here at the AU-F we follow a few simple rules:

• NRDS
• Positive Group Dynamic
• Good Personality
• Cooperation
• Respect
• Participation
• Leadership
  

If you can share these things and honor them as well, among your fellow corporate members, you will succeed here. Everyone here is eventually expected to lead the way for others, thus in the coming weeks and months I should be able to look to you, as an example of one who can lead others, in some way, shape, or fashion. You do not have to be the best you just have to give it what you have got. No one here will give you grief if you are not the best Interceptor pilot in the world, and if they do, come to me. You should always strive to learn and get better however, and we will tell you what you can do to achieve that, especially when you mess up. But do not worry, we all make mistakes, so you should feel free to point out ours too. Just do not comment on my skills in the sack, those are above reproach! Besides, everyone knows I have Sexy Manuevering trained to V. *Cough* Ahem...




What are our short term PVP goals in the coming weeks?
We have now assigned groups of dedicated members to each of our POS and they will be responsible for its operation, planning, budget, and income. Now that this has been done, there should be more time for people such as myself, to lead PvP fleets, regularly, more than once a week.

We are also looking to train specialized fleets, be they bomber fleets, battlecruiser fleets, recon fleets, battleship fleets, or etc. But more importantly we need players to focus on roles. A lot of our members are already there, and they can fly highly specialized builds that make our fleets top notch in terms of capability and purpose.

These roles may include:

• Tackle
• Logistics
• EWAR
  
• DPS
• Scout

You may fulfill these roles in numerous ways including:

Tackle

• Interceptors - Fast Tackle
  
• Assault Frigates - Strong Tackle
  
• Interdictors - Mobile Bubble
  
• Heavy Interdictors - Immobile Bubble
  

Logistics

• T2 Logistics Ships - Basilisk, etc.
  
• T2 Logistics Fittings - Large Remote Armor Repair II
  
• Sniping - Rokh, Cerberus, Eagle, Vulture
  
• Tanking - Numerous Ships

EWAR

• Combat Recons, Force Recons, Electronic Assault Frigates
• EWAR Skills (i.e. ECM, Tracking Disruption, Target Painting, Webbing, etc.)

DPS

• Heavy Assault Ships, Battlecruisers, Battleships
• T2 Weaponry and Weapon Upgrades
• T2 Drones

Scout

• Interceptors, Stealth Bombers, Covert Ops, Force Recons
  
• Astrometrics Skills
• Covert Ops Cloaking
• Navigation Skills
• Tactical Knowledge *KEY*

Now you may be thinking, "Bro I just started playing a month or two ago, I have not even decided what T2 ships to start training to and don't know what kind of PvP is my style yet."

Well, that's the beauty of it, everyone can and should dabble in all of these roles, long enough to know what's to their liking.

You wanna try your hand at tackle? Get a T1 frigate from me for PvP (they are free), and I will fit it for you, and you can come to a roam, and try that puppy out.

You wanna try your hand at logistics? Get a T1 cruiser from me for PvP (they are available at cost of insurance), and I will fit it for you, and you can come to a roam, and see how she rides.

You wanna try your hand at EWAR? Train your EWAR skills up to IIIs and IVs for your particular race, let me fit some modules on a T1 cruiser for you, and you can come try to jam some shizzle out.

You wanna DPS, and burninate some fools? Train to a battlecruiser, they are a staple of all PvP combat, good for all circumstances except very specialized gangs. It does not really take much to hop in your first PvP BC, hell we will sell one to you at cost of insurance and T1 fit it before we contract it over to you. You may not be able to lay down the pain train on some poor unsuspecting reds, but you will get a taste for blood, I promise you.

You wanna scout, and scope out the evil that is in our midst? Fit a T1 frigate with overdrives and a MWD, and come join in the fun with an empty clone. After all, if you die, you are out what... a mil?




These are easy things to accomplish, and I am here to tell you that you should not feel like PvP is a Veteran's Game because that could not be farther from the truth. If you choose to focus on roles, focus on TWO, make sure you mix it up, the last thing you wanna do is get caught always flying the same exact ship in the same way.

So, for instance, for Mendolus I chose my main focus as DPS (545DPS 69k EHP Drake) and scout (all sorts of skills, knowledge).

For Mithos I chose DPS (921DPS 135k EHP Armageddon) and Logistics (3977 Omnitank 915k EHP 1296DPS Thanatos).

These are things I specialize in, and I can always bring something to the table when I join a PvP fleet. So can you, just start talking to our veteran members, asking them about these roles, trying them all out, getting a feel for what you prefer most.

Things everyone should have in the short term for PvP:

Webbing (hours)
Scrambling (hours)
Tracking Disruption (hours)
ECM (hours)
Dampening (hours)
Neutralizing (hours)
Target Painting (hour)
Microwarpdrives (day or so)
T2 Drones (week or so)
Prototype Cloaks (week or so, for deep space gangs)


What are our long term PVP goals in the coming months?
Sovereignty. Sovereignty. Sovereignty. When the Winter Expansion is released and the sovereignty mechanic changes, we wanna be there waiting as the gates lift, so we too can rush to claim our own slice of New Eden. And to do this, a number of us are training carriers as we speak, we have been working hard to divvy up responsibility for POS so that a number of our members get experience with them, and we are building the alliance, one member at a time. It looks like the Alliance will have more than a dozen well skilled carrier pilots by Christmas and that is not counting the ones we recruit either. Folks, that is a capital fleet.

Okay, this has been useful information, but I am new, where do I start, who do I talk to, why does there not seem to be an official PvP schedule?
We spent the first two or three months of the year scheduling roams twice a week into Providence. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that in Providence, we are on the defensive, and the reds that roam around are almost always in covert or speed fleets that are incredibly hard to tackle. Some nights there are not even reds to fight. Between 10pm EST and 2am EST all the European and North American reds hit the sack, and it is not until around 2am EST that the Russians come out to play. So, being that 10pm-2am is our most active time, we are usually best off, if we form response fleets on the fly to hostiles that are actually present, rather than scheduling PvP. Months of bored roaming twice a week just warping from gate to gate hoping some neutral tries some funny business with us because there are no reds to shoot have soured our FCs on scheduled roams in Providence (although we still try to do so now and then to provide training and experience). However! To alleviate this, I am going to be scheduling roams in an NPC 0.0 region once a week or every other week, where we will almost be guaranteed to find or cause trouble every single time. Ask me in game for details on the who's who of the AU-F!

What about Industry?
Well, I cannot discuss this here, as I try to keep the blog to intelligence information that is suitable for public record. Suffice it to say, we are making big strides in this department, and with the Ark having taken its maiden voyage recently, we are more prepared and capable than ever before, to build an industrial foundation to fund our sovereignty goals with.

Sharks & Kneecaps

Sharks & Kneecaps
Butter Versus Guns Debate
For The Modern Age

So the discussion on the corporate forums this week has been finances. After posting a fairly straight forward plea to my brother's in arms here in the blog, the response has been resounding. Everyone wants to pitch in with a little bit of what they have so that we are all a little better off than were before.

The catch? Figuring out how to do it and not send anyone to therapy in the process. So here goes, quotas. Yep, one magical word to save all the kneecaps, hehe. How does a quota work in an MMO? The same way it does in real life. The quota is met, services keep running, the quota falls short, services are postponed until the next period.

So, what will the quota be, and what services will hinge on it? Here's a list, and some explanation to go with it.

Quota: Aggregate income generated by the corporation from taxes, donations, and sales.
Frequency: Weekly
Gradations (in millions of ISK): Class 1 (25), Class 2 (50), Class 3 (100), Class 4 (200)


Group Services (by overall performance):

POOR
Frigate Program
(ESC)

AVERAGE
Cruiser Replacement, Public Research, Manufacturing,

EXCELLENT
Battlecruiser Replacement, Chemical Reactions


Personal Services (by overall and voluntary performance):

POOR
Member Rank

AVERAGE
Limited Intelligence Roles, Soldier Rank

EXCELLENT*
Medium Intelligence Roles, Senate Roles, Starbase Roles, Manager Roles


*Note: These roles assigned to eligible parties only.


Divisional Layout
by Class Performance Versus Weekly Quota

Dynamic quota for set performance assigned by projected income in tandem with present estimated net worth in solvent assets both liquid and structured. Dynamic quota calculated once every two weeks or on the first and third week of the month. The quota must be met weekly, but it will remain in effect for two weeks. Thus a Class 2 quota of 50,000,000.00 ISK/wk set on the first week of the month will not be evaluated or changed until the third week of the month even if the quota is not met on the first week but is met on the second week.

Estimation of group services rendered based on dynamic quota as well as the service goal. Quota met means service goal remains in place; quota is set to meet a projected goal results in designated services remaining in place.



EXAMPLE
Overall Performance

Corporate net worth is estimated at 200,000,000.00 ISK and the projected base operating cost for the coming two week period is 250,000,000,00.00 ISK.

Battlecruiser program is short on minerals by an estimated 50,000,000.00 ISK worth and cannot continue to operate without an influx of mineral stuffs or liquid income.

Class 2/3 quota is set at the corporate level with an EXCELLENT performance projection of services available as the stake.

Scenario A: Corporation fails to meet Class 1 quota on one or both divisions of the two week term meaning the corporation has received less than 25,000,000.00 ISK in taxes, donations, or indirect income of any means. Mendolus is driven to drink, GAT goes postal, and Varian's capillary on his forehead explodes. Corporate services basically shut down for the next two week term.

Scenario B: Corporation reaches Class 1 quota on one or both divisions of the two week term meaning the bare operating cost has not been met at all. POOR performance evaluation means that the battlecruiser, cruiser, reaction, public research, and manufacturing services are shut down for the following two week term.

Scenario C: Corporation reaches Class 2 quota on one or both divisions of the two week term meaning the bare operating cost has been met but only with an AVERAGE performance evaluation. The battlecruiser replacement program shuts down for two weeks as well as the chemical reactions program available at both the public and corporate level.

Scenario D: Corporation reaches Class 3 quota on one or both divisions of the two week term meaning the goal operating cost has been met and all services remain in effect.

Penalties: Failing to meet a quota will almost always result in a loss of service as some of these things like the ship program simply cannot operate without meeting a quota and I cannot fudge or forgive a failed quota as there is nothing to fudge and forgiving will not put minerals in the assembly array, hehe. But for example, if we are at war and no one rats for a week straight, I am gonna try to squeeze every last drop out of the minerals we have, rather than shut the program down, etc.

EXAMPLE
Voluntary Performance

Personal services are eligible on a voluntary basis. Obviously this corporation is a place where anyone from the casual player with a family and kids to the hardcore teenager in his mother's basement can experience, enjoy, and explore the game with a group of like-minded individuals.

That being said, if you want to be casual, log on once a week, shoot a few tools in 0.0 with us, and then disappear into the night again, we will miss your ass when you are gone for the next six days but it will be no skin off our back. If you want access to performance related services you must meet a voluntary quota per two week period to do so. These are soft requirements. Think of it like the IRS, as long as your math adds up we just ignore the discrepancies, but if the math does not add up we break out the enormous magnifying glass and determine just what you are really up to. For instance, Falgoria rats all the time, when he logs on, he logs on in the same 0.0 system a majority of the time. I will not even bother to scrutinize whether he donates ISK to the corporation, or count the junk loot he donates, or suppose that he is not meeting an EXCELLENT performance rating every two weeks. Others, who may play once a week have what may be a POOR performance rating, thus I will need to take a closer look at their participation.

This is how voluntary performance will work. If I come to you and say, "Hey, look, everyone likes you here, you are never going to have to worry about your place in this corporation, but I am just not seeing the kind of participation out of you that leads me to think we can continue to offer you the services we currently do. Please step up a bit more if you would like to continue receiving these services at a personal level."

What does that mean in practice? Factors. Divide Class performance by a factor of five and you have what I expect from everyone in the corporation for them to be eligible for services and roles. If you wanna be a member role, get free frigates, and have me haul your shizzle with my Ark, I wanna see 1,000,000.00 ISK out of you every week if the current quota is Class 4 meaning we are really strapped for income as a corporation. How do I figure? Well, you want to meet a POOR performance rating, to be eligible for corporate hauling, but you could care less about any other services, so you are really telling me that you want to meet a Class 1 performance quota when we are at Class 4, so I say fine... 25 a week by five by another five is a million a week. If I am hauling your ratting loot out of 0.0, you could have popped all of 10,000,000.00 ISK worth of rats in 0.0 that week to have met that quota via taxation. You are good to go. But if you want a battlecruiser at cost of insurance, I expect Class 4 performance on top of the fact that we are already at a Class 4 quota, meaning I expect 200 by five by a quarter which is 10,000,000.00 ISK into the corporation per week. This ship program is not a one time deal, if you buy a battlecruiser at cost of insurance and lose it the next day it gets built again, and you get it again at cost of insurance. So a higher quota is not really that bad since the quota is lower than the cost to build the ship anyways.

I do not care how it gets there, taxes, donations, your sister's phone number, etc. I just wanna know you are earning it. If you do not want free frigates, or secure hauling because you do not think you want it, so be it, just let me know, I want to know, and there will be nothing further for me to worry about. You play casual, I have less to worry on, easy. You have become eligible for the role of a manager (like Meatay) and that means you have volunteered for a role of responsiblity. That means I expect to see 40,000,000.00 ISK out of you in some fashion every week. That is in anyway shape or form. If you lead a single mining operation that yields 400,000,000.00 ISK worth of minerals, and taking into consideration that the corporation buys those minerals at 90% market value, making a 40,000,000.00 ISK profit, guess what, there could have been ten people mining and it may have taken you all of two hours to mine that ore, but you just met your voluntary quota, and you are still a top notch manager.

Math. Personal quotas are an agreement between you, me, the officers, and the wind when it comes to deciding if you have met it each week or not. It is an honor system more than something you need to worry about day in and day out. If I have to do the math, there is a problem, you know what I mean? So do not worry above the above statements wherein the math is just kind of sprinkled over each paragraph rather than laid out in stone. I am not anticipating I will ever once have to break out the calculater to determine if someone is asking for services that they have not earned the right to utilize. I will know right away if they have or not, in what I am anticipating will be 95% of circumstances.

Penalties. Well, I am going to assume I will not have any problem whatsoever with people meeting the quota both overall and on a voluntary basis since I have laid it out but in the rare event I do, I will play it by ear. Pretty much, you can assume that if you miss the quota, I am going to either just ignore it the first time, or let you know, and if I ignore it the first time I may let you know the second time, or ask you if you do not want the responsibility anymore, or I may even wait for the third time. If I know you are motivated by other things have come in the way, you are gonna get the benefit of the doubt.

Real Life. Hey, this entire post is just a way for me to reciprocate what YOU guys all deliberated on in the thread on the forums. You guys said you are willing to chip in more, and I developed the only way I think we can do it without breathing down people's necks or tightening up control over your free time both ingame and out of game. Not only that, but this is a game, and you have a life outside of it that is more important, at least I hope you do, so if you find out your sister has the clap and you need to go give her some emotional support for a few days and miss that quota somehow, you are off the hook, promise. Just please remind me to throw her number away now, after you bartered it to meet the last quota. *wink*

So, the basic idea is, yes, some of our core members are extremely active and may very well account for half our corporate income over time, but they will also receive the most benefits. And if you do not want to help carry the torch yourself for whatever reason, no one is going to fault you, as you may have real life commitments or priorities that take precedence, or you may simply not care whether you get battlecruisers at cost of insurance or not, and that is your choice. If you want that service in the future, it is available to you pending various factors both of overall corporate performance but voluntary performance as well.

Please also keep in mind the reason quota remains in effect for a two week period while it is measured on a weekly basis is so I can decide whether or not the quota from one week offsets the quota from another. If we only pull in 50mil the first week during a quota period of 100mil a week but 150mil the next week, then I may consider it a break even rally factor.

Capice?