Monthly Archives: May 2009

[OOC] One Night of Roc

Posted by Roc Wieler on

Out of Character again today. Man, those guys at Capsuleer are gonna drop my blog soon; I  know they’re very strict about only carrying consistently EVE related blogs (yes, that’s a subtle warning to some EVE Blog Pack members, you know who you are).

But here we are, so might as well push forward.

For those of you who are relatively new to my blog, (and judging by the increased number of views over the last couple of months I am going to assume that’s many), I dabble in music.

My first CD, BIO, is a movie soundtrack style composition chronicling the story of Roc Wieler from his humble slave beginnings to his meteoric rise to the rank of Matar Colonel. It’s been called evocative, mesmerizing, of epic professional quality, and more, and is still available by clicking HERE. Please ignore the fact that Cafepress says there are samples, but they don’t play; it’s their fault, not mine. I am sure if you search around a little, you will find good things said about the BIO CD.

While you’re at my store, make sure to check out my other offerings in the way of clothing (nothing says I love you like a set of Roc Wieler thong panties).

But enough about where I was; today’s post is about where I am, and where I am going.

ONE NIGHT OF ROC

Announcing the upcoming One Night of Roc, my foray into the realm of rock music (available August 2009). It’s a compilation of original songs performed LIVE by myself and the TLF Marching Band at The Otro Gariushi Stadium, located at Jita IV – Moon, Caldari Business Tribunal Information Center before a capacity crowd of over 13,000 (see what I did there?).

With over an hour of music, it’s sure to entertain.

THE GOOD NEWS

But wait there’s more!

With the success of the Bio CD (thank you to everyone that purchased it), I’ve entered into a label agreement for my next CD, and it will be available in both hardcopy and via digital download on iTunes and Amazon.com!

For me, that’s very exciting stuff, and I hope you find it the same. And if the digital downloads reach a good number, then Bio will be made available digitally as well.

But I’m not done yet!

As a special treat to both my blog readers AND to the wonderfully supportive users of Capsuleer, I offer both a special promotional “One Night of Roc” desktop wallpaper AND a sample track from the CD, available HERE (special thanks to Mynxee for hosting this for me).

*** Capsuleer users will be seeing a very special advertisement with the sample included shortly. ***

The promotional wallpaper can be downloaded in full 1920×1200 goodness via EVE Files by clicking HERE.

So once again, a heartfelt thanks to all my fans, and those that have offered me nothing but support and encouragement on this journey. Sincerely, you all make this EVE community what it is.

UPDATE:

One Night of Roc is now on iTunes. See THIS THREAD for details.

[OOC] Capsuleer

Posted by Roc Wieler on

It occured to me earlier today that not all of my regular blog readers may have had the opportunity to hear about Capsuleer, the definitive iPhone application for EVE Online. 

This app has been a labour of love to the community by PyjamaSam and I, and we are honestly quite happy with its reception.

So today, please humour me, as I blatantly promote this awesome application.

FUN FACT # 1

Capsuleer currently has over 13,000 regular users (and growing by a few hundred each day). Not only is that confirmed installs from Apple, but thanks to our server logs for the Headlines section of the Capsuleer application (an RSS aggregator for CCP RSS and the EVE Blog Pack), we can track daily usage for serving up this content. Our users are very active. We also see regular activity on our CAPSULEER FORUMS, where we strive to improve our application based on our own ideas combined with ideas of our userbase.

FUN FACT #2

Capsuleer has a tremendously successful advertising model. Just like ingame, Capsuleer features the ability to serve a one-time only advertisement within the application. Thus far, we have a standing partnership with EON Magazine, and have served several ads from our users. The lowest click through rate we’ve recorded is 30%, averaging 40% click through across all our ads thus far.

What does that mean for you? It means that with 13,000+ regular users and a 40% click through rate, that over 6,000 people will see your ad; not a bad return at all from any business standpoint.

Want to find out more about advertising with Capsuleer? Check out THIS THREAD.

FUN FACT #3

Capsuleer has received over 150 five star ratings worldwide. Here’s just a few things our users say about the application:

“The most awesome app ever created for the iPhone to date. Very user friendly and fantastic art, love it. A must have for all EVE addicts like myself, and now with the update it is literally mind blowing, you guys rock!! Keep up the great work /”

– Voodoo Mistross, Australia

“Fully secure and very convenient way of adding characters’ API information is what sold this app to me. The interface is sleek, the app itself works smoothly. Me likes.”

– Shinobi Boa, Poland

“Everything you could ever need from an EVE app, and still room for expansion if necessary. ”

– Aleksander Storm, United States

“While not (yet) as robust as some other apps for eve, this one is by far the best structured and legible. At first I thought it was highly limited until I started using it. I realized it does what I use and need 90% of the time and doesn’t always need an Internet connection to count down a skill in training.  This is great since I use a touch not an iPhone. When the next version comes out I expect to use it while I am actively missioning in eve as a resource. The secure method of entering the Api key is a plus. Highly recommended.”

– Nuramori, United States

“Eve tracker was dumped minutes after recieving the latest update.. Well done.. My only question is.. Where’s the customizable 3d / 2d map.. That would fit perfectly…”

– Jackal 911, Canada

I could go on and on, but you get the point.

FUN FACT #4

The geeky details. 

What does Capsuleer actually do for you?

  • Well, it uses a propietary Import Control System to securely and easily import your pilot(s) API data into the application directly from your email, your contact list, or a shortURL. 
  • Allows you to import multiple accounts easily. We had over 27 pilots listed in Capsuleer during testing with no problems.
  • Allows you to quickly and easily view all relevant information pertaining to your pilot: Skill points, ISK, current clone grade and whether it needs upgrading, currently training skill, character background, skill queues, attributes and implants.
  • That’s right, I said skill queues! Capsuleer features a full Skill Queue viewer to give you even more details regarding your pilot’s progress. Additionally, each individual skill can show the full description, requirements, and time it would take to train to each level on your currently selected pilot.
  • Skill Library. Capsuleer features a complete skill library for you to research your next step in training.
  • Headlines. Want to keep up to date with CCP’s RSS feeds? Find the EVE Blog Pack interesting and wish you could take it on the go? Now you can, with Capsuleer. Featuring a lightning fast, aggregated solution to your reading on the go needs, Capsuleer takes under 20 seconds to download over 50 blogs on 3G; even faster on WiFi!
  • Server Status. Pretty self explanatory, includes Tranquility and Singularity, with message of the day.

What’s planned for future releases? Well, sufficient to say, we’re going to eventually get the full API into Capsuleer at some point, working on the major features our users request the most! Corporation Management, POS Management, Agent Finders, Maps, Ship Fittings, 3D models, Capsuleer community games, Asset Management, Market Orders, Faction Warfare, etc, etc…

We aim to keep Capsuleer as your only choice for EVE related iPhone apps.

FUN FACT #5

Capsuleer is a perfect design hybrid of iPhone and EVE Online style. We aim to make the app as intuitive as possible for EVE Online players. If you’ve used your iTouch/iPhone before, and played EVE Online, then Capsuleer should be no problem at all to figure out.

FUN FACT #6

Did I mention Mynxee is the voice of Aura in the Capsuleer application? Surely you don’t need more reason than that to buy an iPhone/iTouch and install now!

So seriously, if you have an iTouch/iPhone, give it a try. It’s FREE after all. What have you got to lose?

And if you don’t believe me, read all the comments to this post. (That’s a hint for all you current Capsuleer users to comment).

Market PVP 101

Posted by Roc Wieler on

“That is correct, Colonel; we’ve profited another three billion isk this month.” Minara said over the secured comm. Roc Wieler made sure he checked in with his trader regularly, monitoring her progress on the market out of personal interest; he trusted her abilities completely.

Minara Dawn thought she had the better of him, he knew, sub-contracting some of her work to a third party, but with the resources at his disposal, it was easy for him to find this out, though discovering the name of the sub-contractor had proved more elusive.

He also had recently employed a dedicated trader, who continually was refining her skills through implants and practical training; one day he may rely on her only. While their relationship was new, Roc had a good feeling about Piktun, a feeling of much profit, which was always a good thing.

—

I’ve often held my market techniques very close to my chest in the past, as there is a simple principle to adhere to regarding the market; the more people you enable, the less profit you make.

Recently, with the changes to Apocrypha, this is no longer the case, and here’s why.

It used to be that you could use a default, out of the box, alt trader, and relying on their inherent skills, profit billions of isk without any additional training time. Now all new characters are pretty flat, skill wise, requiring months of  real life time investment to bring them up to a level of usefulness as a trader. As such, I don’t mind sharing a couple of basic concepts that have worked for me on the market, conscious that some may split their training time anyway when they see how easy and profitable the market can truly be.

MARKET PVP TIP # 1

In real life, traders follow the mantra “Buy low, sell high.” In New Eden, it’s just the opposite. Let me explain how market mechanics work in Eve Online.

When you right click and choose “Sell item”, it retrieves the current highest bid price for that item within your area. So when you sell the item, most of the time, it’s going to a player. Similarily, if you just choose an item category and buy from the default pane on the right, the price shown is the current lowest sell price in your area. So again, when you make your transaction, you’re more than likely buying from a player.

So what does this mean for a successful trader? It means, buy high, sell low.

But Roc, that makes no sense. How am I going to profit if I am buying high and selling low? The answer is profit margin, my friend.

Profit margin is the difference between what you buy an item for, and what you sell an item for.

For example:

  1. Open up the market and find yourself an item in your area where the difference between the highest bid price and the lowest sell price is at least 100k isk. Place a buy order for that item.
  2. Let’s say the current highest bid for that item is 100,000 isk. Bid 100,001 isk for the item. You are now the current highest bidder. When a player sells that item (whether through default “sell item” or a manufacturer purposefully trying to get the most isk for their time and effort), you are awarded the item (if you are still the highest bidder).
  3. Go and pick it up, bringing it back to your base of operations.
  4. Open up “Market Details” on the item. This will show you what other players are selling this item for. Remember, we wanted an item with at least a 100k profit margin. 
  5. The current lowest sell price for this example item is 250,000 isk. So, sell yours for 249,999.99 isk. When a player buys the lowest priced item, they are awarded yours (if you are still the lowest priced seller). You just profited 150k roughly.

This may not seem like much to go on, and as I write those steps, there are many other little tips I could share, and perhaps over time, I shall. 

But for now, noble trader, this should be enough to get you started making isk for minimal effort.

On that note, I have three traders currently, and spend a total of 20 minutes per day on them. Their combined income is just over 3 billion per month, give or take.

Not bad for 20 minutes effort per day, eh?

The Dread Pirate Wensley

Posted by Roc Wieler on

“I’m in a safespot in Dal, ready to begin our duel anytime you are, Colonel.” the pirate Wensley said over our secured comms. Little did he know I was already coming out of warp on top of him. 

I locked quickly, taking advantage of his surprise, and quickly unleashed three 200 mm vulcan autocannons against his Rifter, complete with small Barrage ammo. My rocket launcher screamed as it cycled through high yield EM rounds. I had him scrammed and webbed; he was mine.

He recovered quickly, and I expected him to retreat to a slightly safer orbiting distance, to regain control of the situation. Instead, he came in point blank; his weapons stripping away my shields far too quickly. 

Aura identified the ammo type as Republic Fleet EM; that made me frown in annoyance, but was something I had grudgingly accepted long ago; the black market trade of military surplus was something that simply would not change.

I had assumed my skills were more proficient; my experience in small ship military skirmishes to my benefit; I was wrong. We each started tearing armour plating from the other, but his repair teams were efficient at managing the damage. I had opted to forego repair capabilities in favour of the heavier autocannons; my mistake.

As my ship’s hull began showing through, Wensley ceased fire, as did I. 

“You know, I really didn’t expect things to go that way.” I said, feeling a little meek. 

“Neither did I honestly.” Wensley replied. 

He wasn’t a typical pirate. He was Brutor, through and through, only flying Minmatar ships, specializing in hit and run tactics designed to build his reputation amongst his enemies. He didn’t attack civilian vessels; he didn’t attack industrialists. If anything, he served the cause of all Matari in his actions, hunting pirates and other potential threats to the Republic.

The only real difference between Wensley’s war and my own was the strict code of ethics I adhered to; the order imposed by the Tribal Liberation Force to maintain peace within Republic space. 

Wensley answered only to himself, and while that could be liberating (I had spent years as a freelance capsuleer prior to enlisting in the war effort), it also could change you. Having nobody to trust, nobody else to rely on could leave you a paranoid shell of what a true capsuleer could be.

The military instilled discipline and comraderie. There was always someone to cover your wing. It was a team effort.

“Thought I was going to blow my cannons against you, had them overheated so much.” Wensley said. My mouth hung open at my own foolishness; I hadn’t overheated. What an idiot! That was clearly the decisive move in our engagement.

“Gotta admit, Wens, you know your Rifters.” I said with genuine appreciation for the man’s ability. I quickly had Aura do a military scan of Wensley’s record, bringing up his known skills. We were, in fact, fairly evenly matched, him having a slightly better understanding of turret tracking speed optimizations, me understanding how to get the most punch from my weapons. 

“Want to do this again against my mainstay ship?” I asked.

“Sure thing; this is good fun. Let me go pay for some repairs and we’ll do this.” Wensley retorted eagerly.

Twenty minutes later, the Renegade launched against his Rifter.

I played with him for a few minutes, easily keeping out of his reach, my afterburner not even breaking a sweat. The problem with the Firetail was damage output. His rep teams could easily withstand my artillery and standard missiles, and eventually I would run out of ammo.

“Well, I think you can see now why I fly these, Wens. She makes for a great tackler. Not as thin as an inty, and still packs some punch.” I said.

“Yeah, I’m impressed.” Wensley said. 

I decided to show him why speed and range were the only options for a Firetail and turned off my afterburner, slowing down to 700 m/s, still mighty impressive.

He quickly closed range and webbed me, his autocannons quickly chewing through my ship. I think it surprised him as he nearly tore through my hull before interrupting his weapon cycles.

We had some more small talk before he had to leave on corporate business. He promised he’d leave a clone in Dal so we could do this more often.

I welcomed it.

PS. For a distorted view of the truth of our encounter, visit Rifter Drifter HERE.

Blog Banter #8 – Crews and Subsystems

Posted by Roc Wieler on

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

This month’s topic comes to us from me, Ga’len at The Wandering Druid of Tranquility.  He asks: “What new game mechanic or mechanics would you like to see created and brought into the EVE Online universe and how would this be incorporated into the current game universe?  Be specific and give details, this is not meant to be a ‘nerf this, boost my game play’ post like we see on the EVE forums.”

—

“Fire again!” I barked over the comm system of my Loki class Strategic cruiser, the Onslaught, my weapons teams complying with practiced discipline. A direct hit to their engine array, I smiled to myself from within my pod, satisfied. That ship wouldn’t be going anywhere now. I urged Aura to release the stasis webbifier, saving us capacitor, and zeroed in on the crippled ship. It’s velocity was nearing zero now with no engines. I kept the warp scrambler locked just in case. Next subsystem I would target would be their communications array, disabling them from calling for help. I probably should’ve done that first, but they had positioned themselves in such a way as to make their engines far too tempting. I cycled through until I locked on their comm array, then released a salvo of missles; another direct hit, this time for maximum damage. Their array sheared away from the ship gloriously. They were helpless before me.

I locked onto the with a focused transmission laser and hailed them. “This is Colonel Roc Wieler of the Tribal Liberation Force. You are suspect of pirating and have been disabled. If you surrender now, no harm will come to you and your crew; if you resist further, we will board your ship.” I waited patiently for their captain’s reply.

“We will never surrender to tyranny.” an angry voice hissed back at me. I closed the comm laser, and chose a boarding party to board the ship. We would have to disable their weapons systems before sending the assault shuttle across. 

By the time the boarding team had prepped and was ready for the incursion, the battlecruiser before us had been completely disabled, truly helpless before us.

I watched as the assault shuttle crossed the distance between us, thinking to myself, I hope most of them come back. They’re experienced, and I’d to have to replace them with rooks. Crews had gotten expensive lately; but to be fair, a skilled crew could make all the difference between life and death in the void. I had even purchased some upgraded crew quarters and training facilities for my staff, and it had paid off well, worth every isk invested.

The assault shuttle docked, and the boarding party advanced. 

—

  • Targettable subsystems that adveserly affect a ship when destroyed.
  • Hireable crews that grant bonuses to a ship based on expertise and experience.

Of course, like most people, I also want to see the following one day:

  • Ambulation with PVP
  • Ground vehicle PVP
  • Atmospheric flight
  • Planetary cities we can interact within.
  • Moon and asteroid based POSes.

—

  1. CrazyKinux’s Musing, EVE Blog Banter #8: Care for a little game of SecWars?
  2. The Wandering Druid of Tranquility, Wow, that new thing is so shiny!!!
  3. I am Keith Nielson, EVE Blog Banter #8 – Return of the Top Gun
  4. Once More from the Beginning, 8th EVE Blog Banter May 2009 Edition
  5. A merry life and a short one, EVE Blog Banter #8: In the Year of Our Awesome
  6. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah, Planets
  7. Helicity Boson, Bantering the blog
  8. Achernar, Unique adventures
  9. Ecliptic Rift, OOC: EVE Blog Banter 8: Standings and secondary factions
  10. The New Edener, EVE Blog Banter #8
  11. Journey to New Eden, Eve Blog Banter #8: What new mechanic should be added to Eve?
  12. Life, The Universe and Everything, Blog banter 8: mentorship
  13. EVE Guru, EBB 8: Yarr! Prepare to be boarded!
  14. The Ralpha Dogs, Greed Is Good, Greed Works
  15. Rifter Drifter, Blog Banter 8: Strategic Gunnery
  16. A Mule in EVE, Expanding EVE
  17. Letrange’s EvE Blog, 8th Blog Banter
  18. Roc’s Ramblings, Blog Banter #8
  19. The Nude Nerd, Blog Banter #8
  20. Scop’s Log, Blog Banter #8: “We’re caught in a tractor beam! It’s pulling us in!”
  21. Speed Fairy, EVE Blog Banter #8: Charisma Tanking
  22. Industrialist with Teeth, EVE Blog Banter #8: It’s Like Tetris for OCD People
  23. Diary of a Pod Pilot, EVE blog banter #8: Killing in the name of
  24. Talk Unfraid, Physical Communications
  25. More to come…