This is a collection of short in-character fiction pieces about Awakened Industries, a group of capsuleers and their crews living in the enigmatic and dangerous regions of Wormhole Space in EVE Online. None of the protagonists are actual characters or corporations in-game. All similarities with persons fictional or real are possibly coincidental and only sometimes intentional. - Emergent Patroller

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20 Feb 2013

OOC Entry 75 - In case you were considering to vote for James315

In the past I have done a lot of head-shaking and jaw-dropping while reading posts by James315. Now this man is running for CSM8 and I was eagerly awaiting his interview on Crossing Zebras.

It has occurred that people come across way differently during an interview as CSM candidate than they do when writing blogposts, forum comments and even when compared to their in-game behaviour. You know the type: "I am only behaving like that in-game. I am actually a nice person."

The most glaring example of this is maybe Xenuria. A man who generally comes across as quite the crackpot and is often admittedly trolling. In his interview he suddenly steps back from all of this, claiming that it was in-character.

Not so James315.

He openly declares that his self-assigned title "Saviour of Highsec" is no less ridiculous than calling yourself CEO of a corp in EVE. He says he is the only honest, non-trolling candidate because he really means what he stands for. All the other "politicians" are just unwilling to say the truth about what they really think - according to him - because they are afraid to lose votes.

Well, I am pretty sure that Mynnna does not have to be afraid about losing votes if he were to take an extreme stance. After all, at least all of Goonswarm is going to vote for him, if not a major part of the CFC.

Also I am pretty positive that Mike Azariah is not being double-faced when he says that he thinks suicide ganking should be made even more difficult.
Actually, I am sure he loses more votes by saying that than he stands to gain.


Really James???

Now, for the sake of the argument, I will take James' statements in exactly the way he says he means them: As the pure and honest opinion that forms the basis of his platform.

Let's look at those statements:

It starts with him saying that the risk vs. reward ratio is way out of proportion in favour of highsec and has become more and more so in the past years. CCP needs a reality check he says.

Ok, reality check time.

So, loot tables were adjusted and now less valuable things drop from highsec rats than before. Mission rewards were reduced and PI is mostly useless in highsec because of the recently introduced fixed high tax rate on customs offices.

Sure, there were a few things that made suicide ganking a bit more difficult and ninja griefing too, but they did not make those things impossible nor did anything happen that would offer the potential victims a possibility to defend themselves more effectively.

Buffed mining barges you say?

Well, James315 was talking about reality checks. An in-game reality check would include ORE making their ships more resilient as they are getting killed more.

Also, I dare you to tank a Skiff well enough so it can't be suicide ganked.

Actually, recently a change has happened that opened a new possibility for suicide ganking: Scannable Orca cargo holds. I know first-hand that quite a number of professional CFC suicide gankers rejoiced.

In that segment of the interview he also makes the statement that things begin to go wrong as soon as you can earn ISK while being AFK.

While that has become significantly more difficult for the mission runners due to the new AI, and no more easy or safe for miners, I want to point out here that the biggest AFK earners are the holders of moon mining POSes.

They are not only AFK making ISK, they are actually not even logged in while their riches increase.

So that whole argument does not work out.


Now let's assume ...

Let's say you don't care about all that and find his further arguments more nuanced and convincing.

On the first impression, he seems to make a good point by suggesting that more and more people from nullsec go to mine in highsec while that is not true the other way around. According to James315 that creates a pressure for people to move out of nullsec while that pressure should be working the other way.

I do not agree with him at all there. I am more on the side of Xander Phoena and his "what the hell do I care about those people in highsec" statement, but I will indulge James and imagine a New Eden where people are forced to either quit in rage or otherwise be forced to go out of highsec into nullsec.

Sounds great, right?

No, it sounds horrible!

What it would mean is, that masses of intrinsically risk-averse players who only want to make ISK and are not interested in the least in community-based emergent gameplay will flock to nullsec.

What do you think they will do there?

Of course they will make the already risk-averse nullsec establishments even more boring.

These days nullsec is already a wasteland watched over by a minority of PVP players who man the choke points with gatecamps and supply the intel channels with warnings about intruders. The chance of actually catching a mining gang or some ratters there is reduced to Black Ops ships, and even then ratters and miners will hide in a POS, a station or even log out once you appear in local.

I have been there, I have seen it. It happens all the time. My last experience was a whole mining fleet supported by ratting battleships hiding in their POS when I came into the system alone with a covops frigate.

After all, I could light a cyno!

Now imagine nullsec with even more miners and ratters who begin to form the majority of the players out there. James315 does not only not think this through, he even says mining and ratting should be more lucrative in nullsec so that more PVEers come to live there. All the while passive income through moon mining should remain the same.

Welcome to SimSpace.

EVE is now officially dead. Nobody is left in highsec except newbies getting victimized until they quit. Nobody lives in lowsec anymore either because there is no reason to go there. After all, nullsec is now the most rewarding and safe space, held in a stranglehold by a majority of super-rich industrialists and other PVEers who have all the money to hire themselves PVP pilots who will watch over them better than CONCORD ever did in highsec.

That will last for some time until all the PVP enthusiasts quit because they are bored out of their wits.

Well, maybe there will still be some fun in wormhole space. James315 does not seem to know that region exists, so it may remain safe from his "improvements".

So, if you were considering to vote for James315, don't.

Except of course if you want to troll the election and go for a candidate who is beyond all reason.

Actually, even if that is your goal, I'd suggest to vote for Xenuria instead, he is much more amusing.

I sincerely hope James315 is trolling, because if he is serious he is either not quite right in his head or he has a severely distorted view of the in-game and metagame reality.

+++

P.S. In my eyes suicide gankers are cowards anyway. Go and wardec some people at least. Even then you are a loser if all you kill is carebears. That makes you no better than a mission runner who shoots at targets that don't really fight back.

Yours is not a playstyle, it's a declaration of your own inadequacy.

There. I said it.

+++

P.P.S.

Q: You mad?
A: No, I have never been suicide ganked, killed by a griefer, scammed, bumped or otherwise successfully victimized.

Q: Are you a carebear?
A: No. I do some PVE, but not even enough to really support my habit of losing ships in fights.

Q: Do you live in highsec?
A: No. I don't even live in New Eden. I only go there to shop or to try and fight people in nullsec (Many of them are not really up for it though)

5 comments:

  1. I never know what to call you here... Emergent Pat? Emer Pat? EP? sheesh..

    I actually decided one day last week to go a read up on J315 blog... Oh my gods. If it is not a troll, he has some very very serious issues and I doubt they are curable by modern medicine and/or therapy... and shock treatments he might just get addicted to.

    If he actually gets a seat on CSMate I will have lost so much respect for the players of EvE... words escape me...The torrent of excrement that flows from his keyboard and mouth is so deep and wide and noxious and offensive... I swear, the words that can justify arguing with him do not exist.

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    1. Well, I wouldn't put it quite that harshly. The man makes a good argument. The problem is, the position he argues tends to be one of almost pure insanity.

      Madame Thalys is fine btw :)

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  2. Interesting read from your point of view. I share many elements of your concern here. I'll go as far and say the game James is playing whether we all think he's be trolling, be him looney or seemingly sane but really insane at that is a good one he has played looking at it from either side. The consequence is either way if elected James is or those like him the game is in trouble and in more than one way. And with it being CCP's game, they are in trouble also as well for the overall good and life of their game.

    In a very twisted way one the biggest troll be not the destruction of Highsec, the continued victimization of newbies as well the rest of the other areas of the game with EVE failing to reach the pinnacle of what it could have been. The ultimate meta game take down in my opinion be the collapse of EVE with many leaving the game in droves and only a shell of the game remain with those still playing it and CCP having to fight to stay alive as well from loosing subs. I'm sure they are a few in the game that would clearly like to see that happen and I wouldn't put it pass some of the more looney CSM Candidates.

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  3. Nullsec currently is empty exactly because Highsec offers a much better way of generating income. A fully upgraded -0.6 truesec system can sustain maybe 10 ratters and that already is a stretch - while level4 mission systems offer unlimited missions for unlimited mission runners. Mining is useless, the income generated from ABC-Ore isn't high enough in comparison to justify the increased risk. Manufacturing? Yeah, highsec has the manufacturing lines essentially for free, in nullsec you need to pay for sov-upkeep and/or pos-fuel.

    I agree that most highsec-people (non-alts) are risk-averse and will probably quit if they get taken away their zero-risk income. But I don't think that is a bad thing for eve.

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    1. Well, at the end of the day, there are component materials for manufacture which can only be found in nullsec in significant quantities, so there will always be a reason to go there to acquire those. There are NPC regions which offer the only possibility to get the loyalty points and blueprints for faction items, it's the only place where officer modules can be found, and it's the only place where one can build a supercarrier or titan.

      What I really do agree with is, that it should be possible to upgrade a POS or outpost to the level that they have the same production efficiency as a highsec station.

      The danger lies in degrading nullsec by making it too easy. That area is supposed to be the high-level endgame region. If that aspect is taken away, it just becomes another highsec full of PVE farmers.

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