"I'm not understanding this." Osiph muttered. Maya slurped loudly on her coffee as she stared out the large floor to ceiling windows that exposed the high end restaurant to a magnificent view of Dousivette VIII below.
"What's up?" she asked, returning to her steak and eggs.
"My wallet. I seem to be losing ISK instead of making it." She said, "I'm sure the things I produce are profitable."
"Are you sure?" Amalea asked. Osiph reluctantly handed her terminal to Amalea who scanned it quickly while tapping, "Oh no. You're making money. You just don't have it as liquid ISK."
"What?" Osiph asked, taking the terminal back. Amalea leaned over to point.
"You started with what, a little over two billion when you sold Sain's Charon, right?"
"Yeah, roughly." Osiph nodded.
"Now you have about four hundred million in ISK left, several lines running T2 modules worth maybe another hundred million, plus look here." Amalea pointed at Osiph's assets, "You're materials station container has about nine hundred million worth of stuff in it."
"That's still four or five million short, Amalea." Maya advised.
"Yeah, but she bought a Plex a while ago to try and trade, am I right?" she asked. Osiph just nodded, "That puts her at a net profit after this month."
"But I need to buy more materials to keep producing." Osiph said, "I keep running out of one particular item I need to keep going. I have loads of most of what I need, it's just one particular item that keeps running out."
"You probably kept buying materials in bulk, didn't you." Amalea said, "You have too much wealth in assets and none to spend on things you need."
"Yes. Exactly." Osiph said, "I should have been buying just the right amount of materials I needed for the jobs I wanted to put through."
"Exactly." Amalea said, taking a bite of her toast. The table went silent as Osiph and Maya just stared at Amalea with their mouths open for a long time until Amalea noticed and became uncomfortable.
"What?" She asked, "Do I have jam on my face?"
"How the hell do you know so much about this stuff?" Maya asked.
"And why aren't you doing it yourself?" Osiph asked.
"Oh, I, um, read books I suppose. I study." she muttered, "And I don't have the money to invest in that stuff. It costs a lot to start up something like that."
"You need to work for me then." Osiph said with a smile, "We go into it partners."
"What about me?" Maya asked, feeling left out.
"We're all in this together then!" Osiph said, "You can be logistics!"
"Because I can fly an Orca?" she asked, "I need a pilot's license renewal first. This was the issue that Sain runs into all the time. Getting a Plex for all of us."
"Exactly." Osiph said, leaning back in her chair, "I'm planning to run a business that would profit those Plexes each month. But it will take some time.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Not sure if it's the best thing I could have done, but I've made a change in my current ratting ship. See, I've been eying the Rattlesnake for a while now and can fly one, just not with T2 launchers or sentries. Then, a corpmate posted a contract for one, fully T2 fitted for cheaper than buying it off the market and now my wallet is dwindling under a hundred mill again.
Was it an impulse buy? Perhaps. But I think it's going to pay off once I get the skills for those launchers and drones.
The main reason I wanted to upgrade, was because my Ishtar was just taking too long to clear sites of enemy pirates. Sites ran from 30-45 minutes each and started getting boring after a while as my tank barely budged and my recovery rate on my shields were high. So I bought this Rattlesnake as an upgrade, but with my skills only allowing T1 ammo, drones and Meta 4 launchers, It's breaking about even with the Ishtar.
Plus, I'm enjoying the sniper fit. I can sit away from the blob and shoot from a distance, instead of being right in the thick of it. Also, outside of scram and web range. This was also the first time using Sentry Drones and I'm still learning how they work. I learned that Wardens have a longer range than the Guards I had in stock, and was, for some reason, fielding one of each because one does thermal and the other does kinetic damage. I started watching the damage notifications and realized at range, one was hitting, the other missing entirely, which led me into the investigation of why. I realized that with the Ishtar, though still showing potential, was nearly capped at the DPS I could put out without a very lengthy skill train to T2 Blasters or Rails. I know I need to train them eventually, but I kind of like missiles over guns.
Plus the Rattlesnake looks great. It seems to already have some fangs with just the hull alone. I've decided to start training into flying it a lot better.
------------
I tap the stop button as I finished recording my log. I keep forgetting to do these things for longer and longer periods of time. Seems like once a month. It's shameful is what it is.
I glance at my wallet and sighed heavily. My ISK was getting low and I needed to sell some PI and whatnot, but that meant actually going to the station where it is to contract it to the corp. Ratting is getting me money, but now I had to make up the four hundred and fifty ISK I spent of that Rattlesnake.
I stared at the unmoving numbers of my wallet's balance, then I began to read my email as an idea formed in my head. A bulletin from the CEO asking for industrialists to buy SRP fits in Jita and ship them up to the area for Alliance use and standard operations. Bulletin is asking for a tidy profit to be made on each ship brought up.
Buying is great and all, but it's cheaper to manufacture. Plus the profits would be better. I opened a new message and set the recipient to Osiph Darkwing.
To: Osiph Darkwing
CC: Amalea Nao; Maya Nao
Subject: Business Proposition
I have an idea that would interest you. Can we set a time to talk?
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
OOC: Playing Eve on a Budget
My background is Computer Support so I'm always on the lookout for new technologies. One of the ones I'm most interested in is remote control software that let you see your home pc elsewhere. And, if possible, run Eve on such a connection so the game client is always at my fingertips, to a degree.
Windows Remote Desktop works great for just operating the computer over a network, and over the internet requires a bit of configuring on your router, namely, opening TCP and UDP ports 3389 and port forwarding that port to the specific IP address of your gaming machine. Plus, you always need to know your home external IP address, which on some/most providers are DHCP, and change over time. This is handy for things like tinkering with a server, working on Industry Spreadsheets, or other simple tasks, but displaying video or graphics over the thing is a painful torture of watching frames redraw over and over across your screen as it updates. It's just bad and can't be used for playing eve.
Usually, when I'm looking for something to connect to my home PC with, I look for something lightweight and something web based (preferably) so I don't have to install a client. This does eliminate majority of the solutions out there: Teamviewer, NoMachine, Logmein, Splashtop, VNC, Etc. One of the ones that I don't mind, however, is Chrome Remote Desktop. This one at least will show a decent picture of the Eve client and I can do things like update market orders, update Manufacturing jobs, and even undock and fly somewhere using autopilot (eww), or manually if I have the patience. It's super choppy and flying around is definitely not recommended. but doable in a pinch. Plus, it can be run from within Chrome and not much else needs to be installed besides the addon, unless you want to set your machine up as a server, but then again, it's not that bad.
So here's where the thrifty part comes in. What if you put all your money into a decent gaming desktop, like I have, put it in another room, like your 'Man Cave' in the basement, yet spend most of your time in the living room on the couch with an older laptop because you want to be around your family instead of in a basement. Would you go buy an expensive gaming laptop that can actually run Eve and not play in 'Potato Mode' (All settings on low/disabled)?
No, and ain't nobody got money for that either.
A friend of mine is into streaming media using programs like CouchPotato, XBMC, Sickbeard, PLEX and whatnot to download, manage, and stream his movies and TV shows. He also started playing his large Steam library on a slower media PC connected to his TV in the living room.
He introduced me to Steam In Home Streaming.
If anyone has heard of services such as Onlive, which has shut down now, the concept was interesting. I've tried Onlive, played high end graphical games on my Laptop I lovingly call the "Walmartop" as it was cheap and not that powerful. The concept was that the server or remote machine would run the game, use it's resources and graphics card to render the game, and just stream the video output to you, then accept the input from your remote keyboard to the game instead of the local. So basically, the performance just relied on your connection speed to send input data, and receive video. Sure, the video got a little fuzzy at times of latency, but it worked kind of well.
Steam In Home Streaming is sort of the same thing, except you set up your server on your own gaming PC in the basement, then connect to it using this option on your craptop. It runs smoothly, you can spin your ship like it was running locally, clicks are responsive, and flying around is fine too. I tried a few low level missions and found that once you got alot of things moving around on the screen at once that went kind of fast, it got a little choppy, but you can mine all day to your hearts content without worry. However, I still don't trust it enough to try PVP or use my Null Sec character on it just yet as our wireless isn't that great. Yes, this only works on your local network and is not designed for over the internet.
Enter the baby monitor......
Oh yes. Things were just peachy once I discovered this solution of streaming my game from my gaming machine in the basement, however, becoming new parents not only limited my play time, but once I did get on during the baby's naps, the baby monitor was on and it killed my connection. The video baby monitor runs on 2.4 Ghz which is the same frequency as WiFi. After some research and trying to discover a way around this menace, I was out of luck. First, I looked up the exact frequency the monitor ran at, then tried to tweak the router to operate on a channel far away from it, but low and behold, I had to buy the only monitor that constantly changes it's frequency all over the available spectrum of the WiFi signal. That means it could be working fine, then the monitor goes on it's scanning phase and switches it's frequency to one that's the same as the Wifi, then the screen on the laptop goes all pixelated, the sound cuts out or gets choppy and I can't do anything. A few seconds later, the stream drops and Eve is no longer available in my library because Steam has disconnected from the PC in the basement. The only thing that I can do to reconnect, is to use Chrome Remote Desktop to my Gaming PC, open Steam, go to file>Settings, Select Steam In Home Streaming and then it reconnects by itself as it is forced to check the connection.
This is why I don't trust it. I could be in the middle of a fight and the bloody monitor will do it's check for a better signal and boot me off, taking several minutes to reconnect, meanwhile my client remains connected and doing whatever I left it doing without me there. It's alot worse than disconnecting from the game. At least then, the client tries to warp you off to a safe and log you out. Not in this case. The client is connected and it's as if you stood up and walked away from the keyboard and went upstairs.
I think my solution here is already in the works. I could have bought a new Baby Monitor, but they're more expensive than a new router. Canada day sale at Staples and I'm the proud new owner of a dual band router. Once it comes in the mail, I'll set it up, connect our laptops on a much faster, 5.0Ghz connection and all will be good in the world again.
Right?
Windows Remote Desktop works great for just operating the computer over a network, and over the internet requires a bit of configuring on your router, namely, opening TCP and UDP ports 3389 and port forwarding that port to the specific IP address of your gaming machine. Plus, you always need to know your home external IP address, which on some/most providers are DHCP, and change over time. This is handy for things like tinkering with a server, working on Industry Spreadsheets, or other simple tasks, but displaying video or graphics over the thing is a painful torture of watching frames redraw over and over across your screen as it updates. It's just bad and can't be used for playing eve.
Usually, when I'm looking for something to connect to my home PC with, I look for something lightweight and something web based (preferably) so I don't have to install a client. This does eliminate majority of the solutions out there: Teamviewer, NoMachine, Logmein, Splashtop, VNC, Etc. One of the ones that I don't mind, however, is Chrome Remote Desktop. This one at least will show a decent picture of the Eve client and I can do things like update market orders, update Manufacturing jobs, and even undock and fly somewhere using autopilot (eww), or manually if I have the patience. It's super choppy and flying around is definitely not recommended. but doable in a pinch. Plus, it can be run from within Chrome and not much else needs to be installed besides the addon, unless you want to set your machine up as a server, but then again, it's not that bad.
So here's where the thrifty part comes in. What if you put all your money into a decent gaming desktop, like I have, put it in another room, like your 'Man Cave' in the basement, yet spend most of your time in the living room on the couch with an older laptop because you want to be around your family instead of in a basement. Would you go buy an expensive gaming laptop that can actually run Eve and not play in 'Potato Mode' (All settings on low/disabled)?
No, and ain't nobody got money for that either.
A friend of mine is into streaming media using programs like CouchPotato, XBMC, Sickbeard, PLEX and whatnot to download, manage, and stream his movies and TV shows. He also started playing his large Steam library on a slower media PC connected to his TV in the living room.
He introduced me to Steam In Home Streaming.
If anyone has heard of services such as Onlive, which has shut down now, the concept was interesting. I've tried Onlive, played high end graphical games on my Laptop I lovingly call the "Walmartop" as it was cheap and not that powerful. The concept was that the server or remote machine would run the game, use it's resources and graphics card to render the game, and just stream the video output to you, then accept the input from your remote keyboard to the game instead of the local. So basically, the performance just relied on your connection speed to send input data, and receive video. Sure, the video got a little fuzzy at times of latency, but it worked kind of well.
Steam In Home Streaming is sort of the same thing, except you set up your server on your own gaming PC in the basement, then connect to it using this option on your craptop. It runs smoothly, you can spin your ship like it was running locally, clicks are responsive, and flying around is fine too. I tried a few low level missions and found that once you got alot of things moving around on the screen at once that went kind of fast, it got a little choppy, but you can mine all day to your hearts content without worry. However, I still don't trust it enough to try PVP or use my Null Sec character on it just yet as our wireless isn't that great. Yes, this only works on your local network and is not designed for over the internet.
Enter the baby monitor......
Oh yes. Things were just peachy once I discovered this solution of streaming my game from my gaming machine in the basement, however, becoming new parents not only limited my play time, but once I did get on during the baby's naps, the baby monitor was on and it killed my connection. The video baby monitor runs on 2.4 Ghz which is the same frequency as WiFi. After some research and trying to discover a way around this menace, I was out of luck. First, I looked up the exact frequency the monitor ran at, then tried to tweak the router to operate on a channel far away from it, but low and behold, I had to buy the only monitor that constantly changes it's frequency all over the available spectrum of the WiFi signal. That means it could be working fine, then the monitor goes on it's scanning phase and switches it's frequency to one that's the same as the Wifi, then the screen on the laptop goes all pixelated, the sound cuts out or gets choppy and I can't do anything. A few seconds later, the stream drops and Eve is no longer available in my library because Steam has disconnected from the PC in the basement. The only thing that I can do to reconnect, is to use Chrome Remote Desktop to my Gaming PC, open Steam, go to file>Settings, Select Steam In Home Streaming and then it reconnects by itself as it is forced to check the connection.
This is why I don't trust it. I could be in the middle of a fight and the bloody monitor will do it's check for a better signal and boot me off, taking several minutes to reconnect, meanwhile my client remains connected and doing whatever I left it doing without me there. It's alot worse than disconnecting from the game. At least then, the client tries to warp you off to a safe and log you out. Not in this case. The client is connected and it's as if you stood up and walked away from the keyboard and went upstairs.
I think my solution here is already in the works. I could have bought a new Baby Monitor, but they're more expensive than a new router. Canada day sale at Staples and I'm the proud new owner of a dual band router. Once it comes in the mail, I'll set it up, connect our laptops on a much faster, 5.0Ghz connection and all will be good in the world again.
Right?
Friday, June 5, 2015
New to Null: Starting Something New
With sov changes coming up, I can no longer hole up in my chosen system and do everything I want without moving around. Indexes need to be raised so we can better defend the space we live in so I'm off flying around to whatever system they need, ratting or mining to help the cause.
This presented a particular problem I had solved long ago in High Sec. Getting ships around.
In High Sec, it annoyed me to have to fly back and forth to pick up ships and move them. They came out with the new Bowhead for moving these ships, but I can't fly one yet. I can, however, fly an Orca that will do the job. I have an Orca in high sec, but i can't get it out here. So what to do? None are on the market.
I'm going to build one.
------------------------------
Doussivitte 0.6<Agiesseson<Sinq Laison
Doussivitte VIII - Moon 20 - Chemical Tech Factory
Gallente Federation
It was going on two weeks now that the girls had really started to dig deep and put some effort into getting pampered, spending a measly amount of ISK in the eyes of a capsuleer. Still, even luxury was starting to get boring, and the three girls were soon reminded of why they became Capsuleers in the first place.
A measly 4 jumps from Dodixie, Osiph had moved operations to a factory in a system with a lower industrial index.
"Why are we here again?" Amalea asked, almost in a whine. The three sat around Osiph's Captain's quarters as Osiph stared at her Neocom, managing industry jobs, research and invention.
"I've never really paid attention to the industry index of systems before. I was getting bored of trying manufacturing in Dodixie station because of the thin margins." Osiph explained without looking away from her terminal.
"If you're that worried about margins, look into a POS." Maya said. Osiph shook her head.
"I've wanted one, but it's not worth the fuel. Plus, there's word that they'll soon be obsolete." Osiph said, "I hear there are new structures available soon that Capsuleers have permission to build."
"You want a Citadel." Maya teased, "How gaudy."
"Just a small one. I think it would be nice to own your own station type structure you can dock in." she said.
"So why this station?" Amalea asked.
"It has invention services. I want to really put some effort into making T2 things." She said, "It's better margins."
"What are you making?" Maya asked. Osiph looked up from her Neocom and glanced between the two, "What, afraid we'll start doing the same and become competitors?"
"Drones, mostly." she said, "I heard the best is to start with Ammunition, drones, scripts and really anything that gets blown up a lot." She paused and hit a button, the holoreel on the table displayed a catalyst, "I was going to start making these, but everyone is doing it and the margins are thin."
"Catalysts?" Amalea asked, "Why?" Both Maya and Osiph glanced at each other and sighed.
"It's the destroyer favored among pirates who gank things in HighSec." Maya said, "They use these because they have enough damage output to kill things before CONCORD shows up to kill them."
"That's horrible!" Amalea gasped.
"That's life." Osiph sighed, "You're a miner and you didn't know that?"
"I just did whatever Sain told me to." She innocently said.
"Well, if you ever see one, or any destroyer on grid with you while mining, get out." Osiph said, "They use them because they do a lot of damage and are cheap."
"If they're so horrible, why are you supplying them with their tools of death?" Amalea questioned.
"Money is money." Osiph said, "I don't know the Catalysts I put on the market will be bought by pirates or some mission runner. There's no way to tell."
"Amalea, you have to get our of this righteous phase. We're Capsuleers. We have to do some shady things now and then to keep going. If you think going industry will keep you from killing people and take the moral high ground, think again. All the minerals you mine from the ore in belts are going to make ships, guns, and bullets that will be used to kill someone. If you aren't firing the gun, you're an arms dealer and supplying them to others to use instead. It's the way of the universe now." Maya lectured. Amalea had shrunk into the couch and was now hugging her knees. Maya leaned back as she noticed she was now leaning forward, almost in an accusatory posture. Relaxing, Maya sighed and leaned back, "You need to watch out for number one, Amalea."
"You need to get laid, girl. You're so uptight and naive" Osiph added with a smile, "It's something weeks of pampering won't fix. You need experience." Osiph laughed at the shade of red Amalea was turning as her face disappeared behind her knees in embarrassment, "What did I say?"
"She has an issue with men, remember?" Maya reminded. Osiph recoiled and smiled.
"She has no issue with Sain." she added. You could almost see steam rise from her ears from behind her knees.
"True, but he's still off in Null sec." Maya said.
"Oh that reminds me. I got a message from him. He wants me to send a set of BPC's for an Orca. He said he's building one." Osiph said.
"Can he build them?" Maya asked.
Osiph smiled, "He wanted me to send the Capital Constuction Skill book too. Oh and some Command Centers. He still hasn't set up PI since he moved."
"It's been forever. Isn't he mad about lost profit or something." Maya asked. Osiph nodded.
"Null sec planets are really good too for PI." She said, "Still, it seems to be a different mentality out there. More flying for the team rather than yourself. He seems to be willing to take a hit in his profit making to help out with things."
"That sounds like him." Maya said nodding. Amalea stayed quiet as she was just grateful the subject had changed. Osiph kept her in mind though and brought them back to point.
"So, anyway." she began, "Amalea, let's get you hooked up with someone. Take it slow, eh? What do you look for in a man?..."
This presented a particular problem I had solved long ago in High Sec. Getting ships around.
In High Sec, it annoyed me to have to fly back and forth to pick up ships and move them. They came out with the new Bowhead for moving these ships, but I can't fly one yet. I can, however, fly an Orca that will do the job. I have an Orca in high sec, but i can't get it out here. So what to do? None are on the market.
I'm going to build one.
------------------------------
Doussivitte 0.6<Agiesseson<Sinq Laison
Doussivitte VIII - Moon 20 - Chemical Tech Factory
Gallente Federation
It was going on two weeks now that the girls had really started to dig deep and put some effort into getting pampered, spending a measly amount of ISK in the eyes of a capsuleer. Still, even luxury was starting to get boring, and the three girls were soon reminded of why they became Capsuleers in the first place.
A measly 4 jumps from Dodixie, Osiph had moved operations to a factory in a system with a lower industrial index.
"Why are we here again?" Amalea asked, almost in a whine. The three sat around Osiph's Captain's quarters as Osiph stared at her Neocom, managing industry jobs, research and invention.
"I've never really paid attention to the industry index of systems before. I was getting bored of trying manufacturing in Dodixie station because of the thin margins." Osiph explained without looking away from her terminal.
"If you're that worried about margins, look into a POS." Maya said. Osiph shook her head.
"I've wanted one, but it's not worth the fuel. Plus, there's word that they'll soon be obsolete." Osiph said, "I hear there are new structures available soon that Capsuleers have permission to build."
"You want a Citadel." Maya teased, "How gaudy."
"Just a small one. I think it would be nice to own your own station type structure you can dock in." she said.
"So why this station?" Amalea asked.
"It has invention services. I want to really put some effort into making T2 things." She said, "It's better margins."
"What are you making?" Maya asked. Osiph looked up from her Neocom and glanced between the two, "What, afraid we'll start doing the same and become competitors?"
"Drones, mostly." she said, "I heard the best is to start with Ammunition, drones, scripts and really anything that gets blown up a lot." She paused and hit a button, the holoreel on the table displayed a catalyst, "I was going to start making these, but everyone is doing it and the margins are thin."
"Catalysts?" Amalea asked, "Why?" Both Maya and Osiph glanced at each other and sighed.
"It's the destroyer favored among pirates who gank things in HighSec." Maya said, "They use these because they have enough damage output to kill things before CONCORD shows up to kill them."
"That's horrible!" Amalea gasped.
"That's life." Osiph sighed, "You're a miner and you didn't know that?"
"I just did whatever Sain told me to." She innocently said.
"Well, if you ever see one, or any destroyer on grid with you while mining, get out." Osiph said, "They use them because they do a lot of damage and are cheap."
"If they're so horrible, why are you supplying them with their tools of death?" Amalea questioned.
"Money is money." Osiph said, "I don't know the Catalysts I put on the market will be bought by pirates or some mission runner. There's no way to tell."
"Amalea, you have to get our of this righteous phase. We're Capsuleers. We have to do some shady things now and then to keep going. If you think going industry will keep you from killing people and take the moral high ground, think again. All the minerals you mine from the ore in belts are going to make ships, guns, and bullets that will be used to kill someone. If you aren't firing the gun, you're an arms dealer and supplying them to others to use instead. It's the way of the universe now." Maya lectured. Amalea had shrunk into the couch and was now hugging her knees. Maya leaned back as she noticed she was now leaning forward, almost in an accusatory posture. Relaxing, Maya sighed and leaned back, "You need to watch out for number one, Amalea."
"You need to get laid, girl. You're so uptight and naive" Osiph added with a smile, "It's something weeks of pampering won't fix. You need experience." Osiph laughed at the shade of red Amalea was turning as her face disappeared behind her knees in embarrassment, "What did I say?"
"She has an issue with men, remember?" Maya reminded. Osiph recoiled and smiled.
"She has no issue with Sain." she added. You could almost see steam rise from her ears from behind her knees.
"True, but he's still off in Null sec." Maya said.
"Oh that reminds me. I got a message from him. He wants me to send a set of BPC's for an Orca. He said he's building one." Osiph said.
"Can he build them?" Maya asked.
Osiph smiled, "He wanted me to send the Capital Constuction Skill book too. Oh and some Command Centers. He still hasn't set up PI since he moved."
"It's been forever. Isn't he mad about lost profit or something." Maya asked. Osiph nodded.
"Null sec planets are really good too for PI." She said, "Still, it seems to be a different mentality out there. More flying for the team rather than yourself. He seems to be willing to take a hit in his profit making to help out with things."
"That sounds like him." Maya said nodding. Amalea stayed quiet as she was just grateful the subject had changed. Osiph kept her in mind though and brought them back to point.
"So, anyway." she began, "Amalea, let's get you hooked up with someone. Take it slow, eh? What do you look for in a man?..."
Friday, May 22, 2015
New to Null: Resettling
Word has come across the net that there are changes happening. Rules regarding Sovereignty are changing and Alliances are contracting their area of influence to a more manageable and defendable size. Because of this, our Corporation had moved and switched Alliances to FCON, a member of the CFC, hold on, The Imperium I believe they are calling themselves now. This now means we are no longer a renter corporation and a member of a sov holding Alliance.
That means defending our space.
I joined this corporation for the reason that they do not have any CTA's or make you do anything. This has changed as they now expect you to join defense fleets and fight. I have little experience with PVP, low skill points and less time to undock than before, so it's something I can't really help with. I wish I could but other things have come up (OOC: we adopted a baby).
I sent a message to our CEO explaining my situation and he said that the sort of CTA wasn't really for everyone, but he encouraged people to participate to get our participation level above a certain quota to remain in the alliance. These are new rules we seemed to have adopted from the new Coalition, not something I particularly care for, but I will adapt.
I really need to get a pvp ship fitted. Maybe a few. I've been ratting recently and had to dock up several times to passing hostile gangs, only to hear that someone on Comms has been caught and asking for help. With only PvE ships in my hangar, I wouldn't be much help no matter how much I wanted to fly out and help.
I've debated leaving Null sec to head back to High sec again, pick up where I left off. But now that the money is coming in, it really is peanuts back in empire. The trade off is a weaker market and rules, among other things. I thought of coming back and running missions for a bit, but it takes a while again to get the standings to get good payouts. I'm going to stick it out here though. The people I fly with are great people, there are more opportunities here and I'm committed at this point regardless.
Plus, I've been away from mining for a bit and I hear my fellow miners are reporting changes in the Ores out here as well...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"What in the name of Molok are you doing here?" The agent asked. Chadrick shifted uneasily as he stood on the golden deck plates of the Mabnen IV - Moon 1 - Emperor Family Bureau in the small office of a level 2 combat agent, Marmed Odadi. His thick brow twitched in annoyance.
"Looking for work." Chadrick mumbled, "I'm trying to get back in da good graces of da Empire."
"And you come to me?" he asked, skeptical, "Why?"
"Look, I just picked a Corperation in the Empire dat would give good standin's for Amarr." He snapped, "It didn' 'ave ta be you."
"So you're saying I should be honored to be able to employ a mighty Empreyan to do my menial tasks. Am I not worthy of your services?" he asked in a snobbish tone. Marmed sat back in his chair and sneered in a way that just irked Chad in the wrong way. He sighed and spun on his heel towards the door when he was stopped by the agent again, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen? I read that you used to be a big shot in the military, became a Capsuleer and then did a few bad things. Where have you been for the last few months, Chadrick?"
"Inna wormhole." he grunted.
"Off grid I see." the Agent sneered, "Trying to make a comeback then?"
"I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Tryin' to slow down a bit." Chad said, rubbing his brow, "I'm just sick of getting shot at by Sleepers for the moment. And I know somethin big is happening with them now that all these Drifter ships are popping up. I just want to get out of the way and do my own thing."
"Sleepers? You fought them?" he asked, "Did you fight a Drifter?"
"No, not the Drifters." he said, "But I've take a few Nanoribbons from the normal ones farting around in the hole."
"I see."
"Anyway, I'm not going to waste anymore of your time." Chad grunted. Marmed raised his hand.
"I may have something for you." he said, "Although, you aren't in good standing with the Empire for killing ships for the Caldari and Minmatar around Metropolis."
"I just work where there's money." Chadrick said with a shrug, not really concerned what the Empire thought of him. His social skills were high enough for most Agents to overlook the lowered standings.
"I have a mission. I need a shipment of Silicate Glass delivered to this station as soon as possible. It's currently stored in one of our warehouses; I'll give you the coordinates, of course. Just warp to our outpost, navigate to the warehouse, and pick up the shipment, and then return it here. Simple, ain't it?
Just make sure you keep a lookout for any suspicious activity. You can't be too careful these days."
"You want me ta be a delivery boy?" Chad asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm expecting this mission to be somewhat complicated. You may need a fast ship, or maybe a cruiser. What are you flying?" Marmed said. Chadrick hesitated before answering.
"Battlecruiser. I'm flying a Prophecy." he replied. Marmed's eyes widened for a moment then he smiled.
"You'll do fine."
--------------------------------------------------------
Warping to the supplied coordinates, Chadrick spotted the warehouse he was supposed to pick up the Silicate Glass from and started approaching the location. Halfway there, he got impatient with the speed of his ship and activated a micro warp drive to go faster. Just as he entered transfer range, he quickly scooped the cargo and turned around.
Space quickly filled with red crosses and Blood Raider frigates, destroyers and cruisers barreled towards him, the space around him lighting up with red and white beams of light.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he muttered to himself, "I figured the bastard wasn't telling me everything."
He suspected the idea was to just grab the loot and run away, but he was so pissed at this point that he decided to mow down everything that was coming his way. Missiles sprayed from his ship and his best drones buzzed around dropping them one by one. Ships exploded so often that every pop gave a little satisfaction to Chadrick, almost enjoying this opportunity to let loose and 'express himself'.
He managed to get down to around five ships when a second wave warped in. A little shot of adrenaline went through his body as he eyed his shield, which was now nearly gone, and the damage started coming off his armor instead. Activating a hardener, he went back to focusing on killing stuff and when the dust settled, they had stripped off half his armor and his salvage drones were off stripping the wrecks of anything useful.
After the attack, Chadrick had a chance to once again think about the bastard Agent who sent him to an expected ambush and didn't tell him. Warping back to the station, he made sure the station crew unloaded the cargo and he paid his repair bill, bringing the data pad with him to Marmed's office.
"I'm here to pass in the goods. Mission complete." Chad snapped as he entered the meager office.
"Splendid! I have already transferred the ninety four thousand ISK to your account." He said taking the Data Pad, "What's this?"
"My repair bill for ma ship." Chadrick stated, his voice thick with hate, "It cost me 'bout a million and a half to fix. I don't think ninety four thousand will cut it."
"I-I'm sorry, sir. But you understand that under the circumstances, any normal person would have just warped away with the cargo and not even get a scratch on their shields." he stammered, "Wait, did you stay and fight them?"
"They pissed me off." Chad said, "Or rather, you pissed me off for sendin' me into a trap."
"You killed them all?" he asked again in disbelief.
"Battlecruiser, remember?" Chad said, "Regardless, you sent me there knowing those pirates would show up. I don't take kindly to misinformation."
"I do apologize, but I had to be sure you would take the mission."
"Be sure I won't be taking any more from you." Chad said, his fists balling at his sides. Chadrick's anger began to boil up and he knew he would get in trouble if he just clocked the guy and stormed out. He had a pistol on him, but even threatening him with it would be useless as everyone knows about the station security system disabling any live firearms on board. He should have worn his Parapistol as Sain kept telling him to do, but he hated knowing that he only had a glorified stun gun as his only weapon. Still, his only option was to just leave and cut his ties to this agent. Maybe find another somewhere else.
Or try something new entirely....
Later that day, Chadrick stood in the Amarr trade hub station, holding his Neocom showing his now maxed trade orders. He waited until his wallet flashed and his available order counter would show one available to use. He would then select another random module from his asset list and sell it off for a little cheaper than the lowest price in the station.
A fire sale if you will. A contract for the Prophecy was up for grabs as well. Odd, He had always wanted to fly one of them as he found the ship design to be esthetically pleasing, however, once he was in one, he found the ship rather bulky and thick. He clearly saw why some capsuleers call it the "Fat Turkey".
A plan was in the works, yet it may take a while to implement.
That means defending our space.
I joined this corporation for the reason that they do not have any CTA's or make you do anything. This has changed as they now expect you to join defense fleets and fight. I have little experience with PVP, low skill points and less time to undock than before, so it's something I can't really help with. I wish I could but other things have come up (OOC: we adopted a baby).
I sent a message to our CEO explaining my situation and he said that the sort of CTA wasn't really for everyone, but he encouraged people to participate to get our participation level above a certain quota to remain in the alliance. These are new rules we seemed to have adopted from the new Coalition, not something I particularly care for, but I will adapt.
I really need to get a pvp ship fitted. Maybe a few. I've been ratting recently and had to dock up several times to passing hostile gangs, only to hear that someone on Comms has been caught and asking for help. With only PvE ships in my hangar, I wouldn't be much help no matter how much I wanted to fly out and help.
I've debated leaving Null sec to head back to High sec again, pick up where I left off. But now that the money is coming in, it really is peanuts back in empire. The trade off is a weaker market and rules, among other things. I thought of coming back and running missions for a bit, but it takes a while again to get the standings to get good payouts. I'm going to stick it out here though. The people I fly with are great people, there are more opportunities here and I'm committed at this point regardless.
Plus, I've been away from mining for a bit and I hear my fellow miners are reporting changes in the Ores out here as well...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"What in the name of Molok are you doing here?" The agent asked. Chadrick shifted uneasily as he stood on the golden deck plates of the Mabnen IV - Moon 1 - Emperor Family Bureau in the small office of a level 2 combat agent, Marmed Odadi. His thick brow twitched in annoyance.
"Looking for work." Chadrick mumbled, "I'm trying to get back in da good graces of da Empire."
"And you come to me?" he asked, skeptical, "Why?"
"Look, I just picked a Corperation in the Empire dat would give good standin's for Amarr." He snapped, "It didn' 'ave ta be you."
"So you're saying I should be honored to be able to employ a mighty Empreyan to do my menial tasks. Am I not worthy of your services?" he asked in a snobbish tone. Marmed sat back in his chair and sneered in a way that just irked Chad in the wrong way. He sighed and spun on his heel towards the door when he was stopped by the agent again, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen? I read that you used to be a big shot in the military, became a Capsuleer and then did a few bad things. Where have you been for the last few months, Chadrick?"
"Inna wormhole." he grunted.
"Off grid I see." the Agent sneered, "Trying to make a comeback then?"
"I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Tryin' to slow down a bit." Chad said, rubbing his brow, "I'm just sick of getting shot at by Sleepers for the moment. And I know somethin big is happening with them now that all these Drifter ships are popping up. I just want to get out of the way and do my own thing."
"Sleepers? You fought them?" he asked, "Did you fight a Drifter?"
"No, not the Drifters." he said, "But I've take a few Nanoribbons from the normal ones farting around in the hole."
"I see."
"Anyway, I'm not going to waste anymore of your time." Chad grunted. Marmed raised his hand.
"I may have something for you." he said, "Although, you aren't in good standing with the Empire for killing ships for the Caldari and Minmatar around Metropolis."
"I just work where there's money." Chadrick said with a shrug, not really concerned what the Empire thought of him. His social skills were high enough for most Agents to overlook the lowered standings.
"I have a mission. I need a shipment of Silicate Glass delivered to this station as soon as possible. It's currently stored in one of our warehouses; I'll give you the coordinates, of course. Just warp to our outpost, navigate to the warehouse, and pick up the shipment, and then return it here. Simple, ain't it?
Just make sure you keep a lookout for any suspicious activity. You can't be too careful these days."
"You want me ta be a delivery boy?" Chad asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm expecting this mission to be somewhat complicated. You may need a fast ship, or maybe a cruiser. What are you flying?" Marmed said. Chadrick hesitated before answering.
"Battlecruiser. I'm flying a Prophecy." he replied. Marmed's eyes widened for a moment then he smiled.
"You'll do fine."
--------------------------------------------------------
Warping to the supplied coordinates, Chadrick spotted the warehouse he was supposed to pick up the Silicate Glass from and started approaching the location. Halfway there, he got impatient with the speed of his ship and activated a micro warp drive to go faster. Just as he entered transfer range, he quickly scooped the cargo and turned around.
Space quickly filled with red crosses and Blood Raider frigates, destroyers and cruisers barreled towards him, the space around him lighting up with red and white beams of light.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he muttered to himself, "I figured the bastard wasn't telling me everything."
He suspected the idea was to just grab the loot and run away, but he was so pissed at this point that he decided to mow down everything that was coming his way. Missiles sprayed from his ship and his best drones buzzed around dropping them one by one. Ships exploded so often that every pop gave a little satisfaction to Chadrick, almost enjoying this opportunity to let loose and 'express himself'.
He managed to get down to around five ships when a second wave warped in. A little shot of adrenaline went through his body as he eyed his shield, which was now nearly gone, and the damage started coming off his armor instead. Activating a hardener, he went back to focusing on killing stuff and when the dust settled, they had stripped off half his armor and his salvage drones were off stripping the wrecks of anything useful.
After the attack, Chadrick had a chance to once again think about the bastard Agent who sent him to an expected ambush and didn't tell him. Warping back to the station, he made sure the station crew unloaded the cargo and he paid his repair bill, bringing the data pad with him to Marmed's office.
"I'm here to pass in the goods. Mission complete." Chad snapped as he entered the meager office.
"Splendid! I have already transferred the ninety four thousand ISK to your account." He said taking the Data Pad, "What's this?"
"My repair bill for ma ship." Chadrick stated, his voice thick with hate, "It cost me 'bout a million and a half to fix. I don't think ninety four thousand will cut it."
"I-I'm sorry, sir. But you understand that under the circumstances, any normal person would have just warped away with the cargo and not even get a scratch on their shields." he stammered, "Wait, did you stay and fight them?"
"They pissed me off." Chad said, "Or rather, you pissed me off for sendin' me into a trap."
"You killed them all?" he asked again in disbelief.
"Battlecruiser, remember?" Chad said, "Regardless, you sent me there knowing those pirates would show up. I don't take kindly to misinformation."
"I do apologize, but I had to be sure you would take the mission."
"Be sure I won't be taking any more from you." Chad said, his fists balling at his sides. Chadrick's anger began to boil up and he knew he would get in trouble if he just clocked the guy and stormed out. He had a pistol on him, but even threatening him with it would be useless as everyone knows about the station security system disabling any live firearms on board. He should have worn his Parapistol as Sain kept telling him to do, but he hated knowing that he only had a glorified stun gun as his only weapon. Still, his only option was to just leave and cut his ties to this agent. Maybe find another somewhere else.
Or try something new entirely....
Later that day, Chadrick stood in the Amarr trade hub station, holding his Neocom showing his now maxed trade orders. He waited until his wallet flashed and his available order counter would show one available to use. He would then select another random module from his asset list and sell it off for a little cheaper than the lowest price in the station.
A fire sale if you will. A contract for the Prophecy was up for grabs as well. Odd, He had always wanted to fly one of them as he found the ship design to be esthetically pleasing, however, once he was in one, he found the ship rather bulky and thick. He clearly saw why some capsuleers call it the "Fat Turkey".
A plan was in the works, yet it may take a while to implement.
Friday, April 24, 2015
New to Null: Jumping in the Shallow End
My corp is buzzing regarding a future move. I'm not sure the specifics, but we've been asked to leave our renting systems by the end of the month, I believe. Not a big deal for me as I've just started out here and I don't have much assets. I've already moved my stuff to the system asked of me, ready to move when everything is confirmed.
In the meantime, I've finished training for that Ishtar and finally fit the thing how I wanted. I had to top up my Afterburner skill to fit a T2 10MN Afterburner, but to my disappointment, The drones I wanted to use will take another 25 or so days. I'll go for them, as they do add quite a bit to my DPS. For now, I'm forced to buy Caldari Navy Wasps, because the price of Geckos are too damn high. I can see why people advised me to get them though. Omni damage and high hit points are very nice.
So there I was, undocked in my shiny new Ishtar, drones loaded and ready to warp to an Anomaly to rat for the first time in Null Sec, and I ended up warping to a safe spot instead.
I was hesitant to jump in. Like getting your trunks on, a life jacket, and floaties, and standing at the edge of a pool, staring into the depths and wondering if you will come back up if you jumped in.
I needed a lifeguard. Well, just until I knew how deep the pool was....
I was asking every question I cloud think of, then someone offered to come with me to my first site. Just what I needed. I warped in and they warped at 50km to me in their Tengu and just sat there to watch as the rats started shooting. Following guidance like a flailing child learning to swim for the first time. I got my feet wet with a sort of safety net in case I started drowning, but as the damage came in, my shields tanked it fine and I was able to float by myself. It's not that I was scared to go off by myself and try a site on my own, but why not take advantage of other people's advice if it's available, right? It turned out perfectly for me in the end. And, on my second ever combat site in null sec, I got an escalation 8 jumps away, which was rare as I understand it.
I think I'm going to like ratting out here. The money is better than mining, well the way I mine at least.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You've never learned to swim?"
Amalea turned pink and directed her gaze downwards at her knees as her legs slowly churned the water. They all sat on the edge of a large, luxurious pool, their legs in the water and sipped their drinks. Amlaea slowly shook her head and Osiph simply smiled. Maya kept quiet.
"I've never been around this much water." she said, "I grew up on a Barren planet."
"I wonder if there's a skill book for it..." Maya muttered.
"I could teach you, I suppose." Osiph said, leaning back on her hands, "Or I could hire one of those handsome pool boys to give you a private lesson..." Amalea's face turned a deep shade of red.
"No, no, no! That's alright. I'm fine like this." she said waving her arms in disapproval.
"You'd rather Sain teach you, right?" Maya said. Amalea spaced out for a moment and simply nodded as the other two girls started to giggle.
"No! I mean! I'd rather someone familiar teach me." she said, "Maya, you know how I am with men."
"Oh right." she sighed, "It might be a while before we see him though."
"Yes. It looks like he's settling down well." Osiph commented, taking another sip of wine.
"What's he up to lately? Did you hear from him?" Amalea asked.
"Recently? I just shipped that Ishtar up to him like he asked. Forgot to send the money though. Oh well, I guess." she sighed.
"He's going to use a combat ship? Missions?" Amalea questioned. Osiph shook her head.
"There are no agents out there. He's going hunting pirates for bounty. Ratting they called it."
"Ratting?"
"You know. Pi-rats. Rats for short." Maya explained, "Just the same, really. They sort of infest areas of space like rats anyway."
"And he's going out alone to kill them?" Amalea asked. The three went quiet for a moment and Osiph finished her glass of wine.
"Amalea, remember we're probably the only ones in a unique position to deal with criminals like that. It's to keep the peace. That's why we get paid to kill them. If we don't kill them, they will kill more innocents." Osiph explained, "Sain can handle it. He may be a little rusty but before he was a Capsuleer, he was, well, you know."
"Yeah. I'm just worried." She sighed.
"He'll be fine..." Maya muttered.
In the meantime, I've finished training for that Ishtar and finally fit the thing how I wanted. I had to top up my Afterburner skill to fit a T2 10MN Afterburner, but to my disappointment, The drones I wanted to use will take another 25 or so days. I'll go for them, as they do add quite a bit to my DPS. For now, I'm forced to buy Caldari Navy Wasps, because the price of Geckos are too damn high. I can see why people advised me to get them though. Omni damage and high hit points are very nice.
So there I was, undocked in my shiny new Ishtar, drones loaded and ready to warp to an Anomaly to rat for the first time in Null Sec, and I ended up warping to a safe spot instead.
I was hesitant to jump in. Like getting your trunks on, a life jacket, and floaties, and standing at the edge of a pool, staring into the depths and wondering if you will come back up if you jumped in.
I needed a lifeguard. Well, just until I knew how deep the pool was....
I was asking every question I cloud think of, then someone offered to come with me to my first site. Just what I needed. I warped in and they warped at 50km to me in their Tengu and just sat there to watch as the rats started shooting. Following guidance like a flailing child learning to swim for the first time. I got my feet wet with a sort of safety net in case I started drowning, but as the damage came in, my shields tanked it fine and I was able to float by myself. It's not that I was scared to go off by myself and try a site on my own, but why not take advantage of other people's advice if it's available, right? It turned out perfectly for me in the end. And, on my second ever combat site in null sec, I got an escalation 8 jumps away, which was rare as I understand it.
I think I'm going to like ratting out here. The money is better than mining, well the way I mine at least.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You've never learned to swim?"
Amalea turned pink and directed her gaze downwards at her knees as her legs slowly churned the water. They all sat on the edge of a large, luxurious pool, their legs in the water and sipped their drinks. Amlaea slowly shook her head and Osiph simply smiled. Maya kept quiet.
"I've never been around this much water." she said, "I grew up on a Barren planet."
"I wonder if there's a skill book for it..." Maya muttered.
"I could teach you, I suppose." Osiph said, leaning back on her hands, "Or I could hire one of those handsome pool boys to give you a private lesson..." Amalea's face turned a deep shade of red.
"No, no, no! That's alright. I'm fine like this." she said waving her arms in disapproval.
"You'd rather Sain teach you, right?" Maya said. Amalea spaced out for a moment and simply nodded as the other two girls started to giggle.
"No! I mean! I'd rather someone familiar teach me." she said, "Maya, you know how I am with men."
"Oh right." she sighed, "It might be a while before we see him though."
"Yes. It looks like he's settling down well." Osiph commented, taking another sip of wine.
"What's he up to lately? Did you hear from him?" Amalea asked.
"Recently? I just shipped that Ishtar up to him like he asked. Forgot to send the money though. Oh well, I guess." she sighed.
"He's going to use a combat ship? Missions?" Amalea questioned. Osiph shook her head.
"There are no agents out there. He's going hunting pirates for bounty. Ratting they called it."
"Ratting?"
"You know. Pi-rats. Rats for short." Maya explained, "Just the same, really. They sort of infest areas of space like rats anyway."
"And he's going out alone to kill them?" Amalea asked. The three went quiet for a moment and Osiph finished her glass of wine.
"Amalea, remember we're probably the only ones in a unique position to deal with criminals like that. It's to keep the peace. That's why we get paid to kill them. If we don't kill them, they will kill more innocents." Osiph explained, "Sain can handle it. He may be a little rusty but before he was a Capsuleer, he was, well, you know."
"Yeah. I'm just worried." She sighed.
"He'll be fine..." Maya muttered.
Monday, April 13, 2015
New to Null: Finding a Rythm
TO: Maya Nao; Amalea Nao; Osiph Darkwing;
Subject: News from Null
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry everyone. It's been a while. I've attached my last log I've made since arriving in Null sec to let you know my first impressions of living out here. It's not bad and I do see great potential for earning money, but it's really the social aspect that's starting to appeal to me. Group comms are most enjoyable to be on. It's mandatory to be on, which kind of forces people to be there in the first place, but it also makes them available for questions or just to talk to. It's also much faster to report intel as well, rather than watching for text messages to appear on the intel channel. Also, it makes mining a lot less boring to do when you're talking to other people.
It hasn't been too bad for hostile activity here as I thought it would be. Intel is what makes it safe. As long as you're paying attention, you should be fine. It's hard to find replacement stuff here and it costs a lot more than back there. Oh, P.S. Osiph, please send money. My old gear should have sold by now. I haven't seen anything from you since I gave it all to you. It's fine if you need it, but I may need some shortly. I'm currently skilling to fly an Ishtar and will need one. You could just send one up to me with a good fit for Guristas Pirates if you like. Oh, I need the skill book for it as well.
Yeah, so I figured the trick to making it here is to diversify. I'm going to try the most popular form of income here, Anomaly ratting. Hence the need for the Ishtar. I've tried a few data sites and relic sites, but my lack of skills in that area caused me to lose some valuable containers. I almost want to remove the cargo scanner from my ship, in case I lose the container then at least I didn't know how much isk just exploded in my face. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. I think after I get in an Ishtar, I will skill up scanning skills for exploration and try that. Need to keep moving around to keep things interesting I suppose.
On the bright side, I haven't died yet or lost a ship. That could change quickly when I start ratting. Osiph, can you also ship up an Ishtar and fittings? Buying local is way too expensive, not to mention you have my money.
And now I'm starting to sound like a loan shark or something. Osiph, I don't really care about the money, I just need a little help to settle in a bit more. I could do it on my own, given time, but I'm kind of getting antsy just able to mine so far.
All the best,
Sain Darkwing
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Osiph put down her Neocom and smiled as her ruby red lipstick left a smear on her wine glass. Setting the glass back down beside the large bathtub she was currently immersed in, she sighed and sunk a little lower in the exfoliating mud that covered her to her shoulders. The towel on her head only slightly smeared by the mud as she rested her head on the edge of the tub.
"Osiph, are you sure it's fine to use Sain's money like this?" Amalea asked. She was sitting across from Osiph in the same situation, with Maya silently snoring beside her. An eye mask covered half her face.
"Relax! Amalea, darling! You need to understand that a woman needs to spoil herself at times!" She teased, "Besides. Do you have any idea how much this spa day costs? Sain has you two worrying over money too much!"
"H-How much is it?" Amalea nervously asked. She hugged her knees to her chest.
"Let's see. With the conversion rate from InterStellar Kredits to local Credits, It's probably five thousand for all three of us." she said.
"That doesn't seem like much." she said, "Five thousand ISK is peanuts."
"No, that's five thousand local credits." she said, raising a muddy finger, "Translates to about a hundred ISK, maybe? The exchange rate is rather high here."
"That's it?" Amalea gasped, "You mean to tell me, that all this time we've been spending in dirty bars and eating in station cafeterias, we could have been living the good life in elegance?!" He outburst woke Maya and she finally took her arms off the edge of the massive bathtub to put them in the mud.
"We talking about money again?" She asked, "Oh, did you also book the massage and interface cleaning, Osiph? I'd expect our implants for interfacing with the capsule may not take kindly to this mud."
"I have the entire weekend planned out. Don't you worry." Osiph said with a wink, "Sain won't even notice his money gone. I'm using a rather sizable chunk of it in manufacturing with decent profit and mining a bit on the side. I'm telling you. Don't worry about a thing. Let's enjoy ourselves and relax!"
Subject: News from Null
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry everyone. It's been a while. I've attached my last log I've made since arriving in Null sec to let you know my first impressions of living out here. It's not bad and I do see great potential for earning money, but it's really the social aspect that's starting to appeal to me. Group comms are most enjoyable to be on. It's mandatory to be on, which kind of forces people to be there in the first place, but it also makes them available for questions or just to talk to. It's also much faster to report intel as well, rather than watching for text messages to appear on the intel channel. Also, it makes mining a lot less boring to do when you're talking to other people.
It hasn't been too bad for hostile activity here as I thought it would be. Intel is what makes it safe. As long as you're paying attention, you should be fine. It's hard to find replacement stuff here and it costs a lot more than back there. Oh, P.S. Osiph, please send money. My old gear should have sold by now. I haven't seen anything from you since I gave it all to you. It's fine if you need it, but I may need some shortly. I'm currently skilling to fly an Ishtar and will need one. You could just send one up to me with a good fit for Guristas Pirates if you like. Oh, I need the skill book for it as well.
Yeah, so I figured the trick to making it here is to diversify. I'm going to try the most popular form of income here, Anomaly ratting. Hence the need for the Ishtar. I've tried a few data sites and relic sites, but my lack of skills in that area caused me to lose some valuable containers. I almost want to remove the cargo scanner from my ship, in case I lose the container then at least I didn't know how much isk just exploded in my face. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. I think after I get in an Ishtar, I will skill up scanning skills for exploration and try that. Need to keep moving around to keep things interesting I suppose.
On the bright side, I haven't died yet or lost a ship. That could change quickly when I start ratting. Osiph, can you also ship up an Ishtar and fittings? Buying local is way too expensive, not to mention you have my money.
And now I'm starting to sound like a loan shark or something. Osiph, I don't really care about the money, I just need a little help to settle in a bit more. I could do it on my own, given time, but I'm kind of getting antsy just able to mine so far.
All the best,
Sain Darkwing
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Osiph put down her Neocom and smiled as her ruby red lipstick left a smear on her wine glass. Setting the glass back down beside the large bathtub she was currently immersed in, she sighed and sunk a little lower in the exfoliating mud that covered her to her shoulders. The towel on her head only slightly smeared by the mud as she rested her head on the edge of the tub.
"Osiph, are you sure it's fine to use Sain's money like this?" Amalea asked. She was sitting across from Osiph in the same situation, with Maya silently snoring beside her. An eye mask covered half her face.
"Relax! Amalea, darling! You need to understand that a woman needs to spoil herself at times!" She teased, "Besides. Do you have any idea how much this spa day costs? Sain has you two worrying over money too much!"
"H-How much is it?" Amalea nervously asked. She hugged her knees to her chest.
"Let's see. With the conversion rate from InterStellar Kredits to local Credits, It's probably five thousand for all three of us." she said.
"That doesn't seem like much." she said, "Five thousand ISK is peanuts."
"No, that's five thousand local credits." she said, raising a muddy finger, "Translates to about a hundred ISK, maybe? The exchange rate is rather high here."
"That's it?" Amalea gasped, "You mean to tell me, that all this time we've been spending in dirty bars and eating in station cafeterias, we could have been living the good life in elegance?!" He outburst woke Maya and she finally took her arms off the edge of the massive bathtub to put them in the mud.
"We talking about money again?" She asked, "Oh, did you also book the massage and interface cleaning, Osiph? I'd expect our implants for interfacing with the capsule may not take kindly to this mud."
"I have the entire weekend planned out. Don't you worry." Osiph said with a wink, "Sain won't even notice his money gone. I'm using a rather sizable chunk of it in manufacturing with decent profit and mining a bit on the side. I'm telling you. Don't worry about a thing. Let's enjoy ourselves and relax!"
Thursday, March 12, 2015
New to Null: Settling down
Getting set up in Null Sec is expensive. Not only are things like ships and fittings scarce up here, it costs money to have the things you need shipped out to where you are. Our corporation has an arrangement with a shipping company so that's fine, but it can still be pricey. I was told I'd make money when I came out here, yet I ended up spending more to get set up. I think I just need to spend more time mining, or start skilling to be able to rat up here, but my income is very slow right now.
It's been over a month since I moved and I do like it up here. I can see how people say it's safer than low sec because of intel channels and open comms. The only mandatory rules are to be in fleet and on voice comms which makes total sense to me. The people up here are great and friendly, however, neutral pilots coming and going tend to disrupt activities in our systems.
If you were ever thinking of coming out here, here are the pro's and cons' that I have seen so far in my opinion:
Pros:
- Rocks are huge. I think I mined one out so far, the rest I've only dented. The asteroids are several times bigger than your ship.
- Mine in anomalies. I've never been to a belt as our Industrial Index is such that large asteroid anomalies are always present and sometimes offer upgraded ores.
- All ores are present. You can build anything you want without buying from market if you want to mine yourself.
- Always a fleet. Most of the time there are Rorqual boosts. They put max Orca boosts to shame.
- Bigger rat bounties. If they do show up, you get a little coin for killing them. Their loot is also upgraded somewhat.
- PI is amazing. Get your PI set up and manage frequently. Way better than low or high sec. All POCO's are owned my your corp/alliance with low export fees.
- Intel channels offer notice to dock up if hostiles are incoming.
- Stations/Outposts are privately owned and great manufacturing facilities/ reprocessing.
- Jump bridge network at POS'
- Can fly any ship you want. Not limited to Dreadnought and below like in High Sec.
- Warp Bubbles!
Cons:
- Activities can be disrupted for long periods of time due to neutral/hostile activity.
- High corporation tax to help pay for rental fees of space, (Still not bad as it's more profitable to be there)
- Rats are a lot bigger. Battleship sized pirates show up, maybe six at a time. Need good defense and drone skills to survive.
- There are Corporation/Alliance rules you need to follow depending on the one you join. These may vary from mandatory CTA's (Call to Arms), restricted activities in certain systems, and asset use like jump bridge, ship types allowed, etc.
- Market is smaller than empire space. Things may not be available or overpriced compared to High Sec. Will need to use shipping corporations to bring things in. No BPO's or skill books on Market, (or very few).
- Activities may be disrupted or relocation needed should Sovereignty of the system change.
- Higher Skill Points are needed to survive. May be limiting for new capsuleers. It is possible, but risky.
- Warp Bubbles!
I'm probably missing a bunch but as I said, I'm only out here a little more than a month. I picked up a Skiff because I was told the rats were big and it worked fine for a while, but I found I was filling it up way too fast and I was annoyed with all the warping to the corp's compression array. So, I ended up getting a Mackinaw and it was a lot better, but I was worried about the tank on it to survive the rats. The first time they showed up, I started to warp out but as their missiles started hitting, I realized I would be fine. It took a little longer for the drones to take them down because of the bonus on the Skiff to drone damage that the Mackinaw didn't have. I also find it best to mine with other people so there are more targets for them to shoot at and even out the damage between us all.
Null sec seems like a place where you need to work and build everything you need, rather than having it all available to you from the start. It's now a game of survival, rather than trying to be the best. It was a refreshing change and one that I needed to break the monotony of it all.
Osiph had sent a message to me, saying she finally sold off most of my things. One of them being my Charon for quite a bit. She asked if she could send up the ISK, but I told her to wait for now until I needed it. She ended up buying a PLEX but is holding on to it. She bought it just because the price had dipped a bit just to hold on to, but had offered it to one of the Nao sisters to come and join me if I wanted. Right now, I think it would be best to build up my wallet a bit first before I start expanding again. For now at least....
It's been over a month since I moved and I do like it up here. I can see how people say it's safer than low sec because of intel channels and open comms. The only mandatory rules are to be in fleet and on voice comms which makes total sense to me. The people up here are great and friendly, however, neutral pilots coming and going tend to disrupt activities in our systems.
If you were ever thinking of coming out here, here are the pro's and cons' that I have seen so far in my opinion:
Pros:
- Rocks are huge. I think I mined one out so far, the rest I've only dented. The asteroids are several times bigger than your ship.
- Mine in anomalies. I've never been to a belt as our Industrial Index is such that large asteroid anomalies are always present and sometimes offer upgraded ores.
- All ores are present. You can build anything you want without buying from market if you want to mine yourself.
- Always a fleet. Most of the time there are Rorqual boosts. They put max Orca boosts to shame.
- Bigger rat bounties. If they do show up, you get a little coin for killing them. Their loot is also upgraded somewhat.
- PI is amazing. Get your PI set up and manage frequently. Way better than low or high sec. All POCO's are owned my your corp/alliance with low export fees.
- Intel channels offer notice to dock up if hostiles are incoming.
- Stations/Outposts are privately owned and great manufacturing facilities/ reprocessing.
- Jump bridge network at POS'
- Can fly any ship you want. Not limited to Dreadnought and below like in High Sec.
- Warp Bubbles!
Cons:
- Activities can be disrupted for long periods of time due to neutral/hostile activity.
- High corporation tax to help pay for rental fees of space, (Still not bad as it's more profitable to be there)
- Rats are a lot bigger. Battleship sized pirates show up, maybe six at a time. Need good defense and drone skills to survive.
- There are Corporation/Alliance rules you need to follow depending on the one you join. These may vary from mandatory CTA's (Call to Arms), restricted activities in certain systems, and asset use like jump bridge, ship types allowed, etc.
- Market is smaller than empire space. Things may not be available or overpriced compared to High Sec. Will need to use shipping corporations to bring things in. No BPO's or skill books on Market, (or very few).
- Activities may be disrupted or relocation needed should Sovereignty of the system change.
- Higher Skill Points are needed to survive. May be limiting for new capsuleers. It is possible, but risky.
- Warp Bubbles!
I'm probably missing a bunch but as I said, I'm only out here a little more than a month. I picked up a Skiff because I was told the rats were big and it worked fine for a while, but I found I was filling it up way too fast and I was annoyed with all the warping to the corp's compression array. So, I ended up getting a Mackinaw and it was a lot better, but I was worried about the tank on it to survive the rats. The first time they showed up, I started to warp out but as their missiles started hitting, I realized I would be fine. It took a little longer for the drones to take them down because of the bonus on the Skiff to drone damage that the Mackinaw didn't have. I also find it best to mine with other people so there are more targets for them to shoot at and even out the damage between us all.
Null sec seems like a place where you need to work and build everything you need, rather than having it all available to you from the start. It's now a game of survival, rather than trying to be the best. It was a refreshing change and one that I needed to break the monotony of it all.
Osiph had sent a message to me, saying she finally sold off most of my things. One of them being my Charon for quite a bit. She asked if she could send up the ISK, but I told her to wait for now until I needed it. She ended up buying a PLEX but is holding on to it. She bought it just because the price had dipped a bit just to hold on to, but had offered it to one of the Nao sisters to come and join me if I wanted. Right now, I think it would be best to build up my wallet a bit first before I start expanding again. For now at least....
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