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The Dust Affect

People keep saying Dust isn't affecting us and we don't care but it doesn't look like it will work that way.  My introduction to being in a place that CCP has labeled a front line roll out for their newest project has been interesting to say the least. I had not paid any attention to Dust other than trying it out until I heard the whispers that Molden Heath was going to be the focus of the next stage of Dust to Eve integration.

On the Dust forums CCP FoxFour posted the reasons Molden Heath was selected:
Comparing the two of those left us with Molden Heath for the following reasons:
  • There is less high security space breaking things up; the three low security systems in Solitude shown at the bottom of the Dotlan map don't even have temperate planets.
  • Molden Heath has more varying stratigic value with systems hidden away behind other systems with no temperate planets. Attrition means those will be harder to take.
  • Molden heath is cleaner and easier for us to show on the new infographic map. Something to consider when it is the first and only region out the gate and the one that will be the most viewed.
  • Molden Heath is also more active from the EVE side of things.
I was staring at a map of Molden Heath counting moons and horrified to discover that Klingt has three temperate planets. No other system in Molden Heath has that. And it has a level five agent. That explains the alliance that has decided to move in there. Until CCP announced the District thing no one cared about Temperate planets. It was things like Plasma planets and the more rare types that had some contest over them for PI (planetary interaction). This map was made by Dust players I believe and stolen from this thread.


Klingt was my home for the last year. The corp slowly migrated over to Bosena in December after Retribution was released and to fill the void left by Gunpoint going mostly inactive and 7-2 deploying off to other areas. 7-2 has moved back in and some member's of Gunpoint are back. In general though, Molden Heath has always been an active pirate area and Bosena has been on fire for the last few months.

Per the Dev post above, we brought it on ourselves by playing and exploding all the things. There are pros and cons to it. There are more targets but those targets have brought with them larger and larger fleets. Fleets of thirty and forty with 3-7 logistics ships roam around expecting to find... I don't know what to be honest. But that is the type of group we are finding now. It changes things. It changes tactics. It changes approaches. It changes decisions.

It is odd to think of Klingt as not home anymore. It's not bad but it isn't the same with a hostile force with several hundred members lives there. After living in a world where having 10 corpmates on was almost everyone it is a startling difference. I like my small gangs. A handful of people working in a coordinated effort to achieve the goal is pleasurable to me. I think the largest fleet I've ever been in had 39 or 40 people in it. But not living there means asset protection is hard. Razor lost his POS for the simple fact that with that many people they can plink at it all day every day and we can fight but in the end it is going to come down.

But one loses assets. The moment a POS is deployed you know that you may lose it. I've been on a number of POS thefts now where we have snatched them as they are taken down. Such is life in Eve. One does not always win and always reach ones objectives.

It does make me wonder about CCPs concept of small groups in Eve. I commented, at Fanfest that giving more goodies would potentially only bring in the large groups who would absorb them into their massive whole. More moons are being added but that does not mean that suddenly small groups will have some type of moon goo income. It just means large groups will absorb all of the worthwhile moons again. With the power projection that exists in game at this moment there is nothing a small group can do but watch and accept that 'this type of asset is not for us'.

"Bring friends." It is often the answer given. Is it also the planned answer? There was some discussion about how can smaller entities hold their ground? I have to say, I don't know. Not without hard coded limiters and those only take away from the game as a whole. But a game that rewards numbers will always reward numbers at the end. It is not bad it is just what it is. If that is where things are going, I understand. Numbers make stories and make the news.

Yet, those of us who find no pleasure in numbers will continue to do our thing. I like a niche area and small gangs seems to be one. One thing playing Eve teaches you is that things don't and won't always work out. Even if they should. Even if you really want them to. I left fanfest with a bit of a feeling of weight smothering the future of small groups. Seeing all of the larger groups together reminded me of how very, very small some of us are.

But our size is also a strength such as our opponents size is also a weakness. Challenges draw us into this game. With a target rich environment and new and creative ways to do things the molds are breaking and people are getting drawn into the new situations. On one side there is the desire for the easy things that we are used to. But, at the same time, that is what leads to boredom and unsubbing. Problems, situations, frustrations  complexity, achievement  and failure are what draw us in. it is what makes the win so sweet and the loss a true blow. It is the type of thing that addicts the player base even as it irritates them.

And spaceships.

As for Dust 5124, it is affecting things. CCP has won there. Even some of the bitterest members of the Eve player base are having to take notice.

P.S.
I'd also like to see the result of my own pet theory that temperate low sec planet moons will be getting their fair share of moon minerals.

Comments

  1. http://i.imgur.com/nLDrCHM.jpg

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm surprised more people didn't care about temperate planets. They are one of three planet types forming PI bottlenecks in terms of access to resources. All sorts of nice, profitable PI stuff can only be done if one has access to a temperate (or lava, or gas) planet.

    Then again, it all depends on what type of PI one is doing, so YMMV :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so terrible at PI. I'd love to do it and make nanite paste, that is my one true dream. But I've never gotten past slowly and badly making water. I suck at figuring out the entire interface. I need someone to write a guide for slow, unintelligent people who want to try PI anyway and make nanite paste. I'd like it to be specialized for my needs.

      Delete
    2. There are some fairly good youtube videos on PI out there and the EvE Uni has some decent links to where to get what PI commodities (and also what goes in to making what).

      After that, it's a lot of trial and error :)

      Delete
    3. I need words :( Unforgiven Storm needs to write a long, long, clear guide.

      Delete
    4. I make Nanite Paste in "easymode" I just buy the P1 in bulk and have one Factoryplanet set up to make them into Nanites, Gel-Matrix Biopaste and Datachips. The setup i use is 3 Storages surrounded by factories.
      The first Storage is surrounded by 5 Factories, 3 Nanite Factories, one Gel-Matrix and one Datachip factory. Mats for Nanites get put in this Storage (expidited transfer when stocking the Planet).
      The second Storage is surrounded by 4 Factories, 2 Supertensile Plastics and 2 Microfiber Shielding Factories (products used for Datachip Factory).
      Thrid Storage is surrounded by 6 Factories, 2 of each Biocells, Superconductors and Oxides (products for Gel-Matrix Biopaste).
      When stocking the planet I put the P1 in the respective Storages and take the produced Gel, Nanites and Chips.
      Link the Storages to the Landingpad and the Factories to the storages.
      The setup works well but produces slightly to many Nanites.
      Commandcenter Upgrades III makes it possible but maximum links (the ones from Landingpad to Storages)need Comcenter U IV.
      You can easily add more Planets to produce the P1 but personally I dont like the added hassle of flying to more planets and setting up extractors and things. I just fly there once a week fill up the Storages and the Customsoffice and take the sppoils home.

      Delete
  3. Yea Wormholes!!! I know you have said W-space creeps you out Sugar, but... Our largest fleets are always our Empire lowsec roam or Op fleets, we more usually have 5 to 20ish or so guys fleet up for 'inhole' ops... and there aint no DUST in holes... =]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Only thing wrong with w-space is the increasingly painful logistics the deeper one goes. That's the only thing keeping me in my C2, to be honest :) I don't want the added hassle of the C3-C6 logistics :)

      Delete
    2. LOL... love ya Sugar!!

      And @Heretic, I once thought so too... but you know what? ALL the 'logistics' of having to scan down a 'pipe' does... is give us pewtential out and back... I always thought it would be a pain, and for a small corp it would be, but there is not a C5 or 6 that could be held for any length of time by a small or med corp... and with enough guys, anything is possible.

      Delete
  4. Razor Z lost his tower because of all his shit talk in local.

    End of line.

    ReplyDelete

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