“Morning, General. What system you in?” I said to Sasawong as I undocked from the Republic Fleet station in Dal. 

“Amamake.” he responded, the single word spat like a profanity from his lips.

I urged the Ripsack, my Rifter class frigate towards the Amamake jumpgate. I still had over a billion isk worth of implants in my head foolishly, knowing eventually my luck would run out and I would get podded. I kept meaning to create a jump clone nearby for my little adventures, but always rationalized and justified the skill training time bonuses to myself. I could save seven days of my life in training time with these implants in; that made it worth my while. 

I urged the frigate forward once aligned, and sped towards the jumpgate to Amamake.

“Want some company?” I asked, knowing full well Sasawong would enjoy me as his wingmate. We hadn’t flown together in a long while, but he was one of the most efficient and enjoyable pilots I had ever flown with. 

“Negative. Gate to Amamake heavily camped.” he replied, and my heart sank. I was already enroute, warping to a zero distance from the gate; if I was lucky, I might be able to slip through.

I exited warp ready and able, thanks to the intel from the General. Immediately my overview identified and sorted the two dozen hostiles in front of me. I overheated my afterburner, and sped for the gate, thankful for the speed the frigate boasted.

I hadn’t been targetted; maybe I would get lucky. No sooner had the thought entered my head than Aura started blaring warnings of target lock; too many to count; far too many to deal with on my own in a frigate.

I activated my damage control systems, hoping the extra percentage boosts to my resists would be enough to cover the 800 meters to jump range.

I was quickly triple webbed, slowing me greatly, making that 800 meters seem light years away. My shields quickly fell, the 400mm rolled tungsten armour plates my last defence.

I targetted the nearest enemy but didn’t fire, knowing to do so would flag me as a hostile to the jump gate, insuring my demise.

As I watched the armour plates buckle and strain, finally falling apart at the seams, I realized I was doomed either way, and prepared to warp away in my pod. 

The Ripsack exploded, and I urged the pod forward into warp, except I never made it. Their pilots were performing admirably well, and they had a webber on standby whom quickly snagged my pod.

Seconds later I awoke in my clone vat.

I had nobody to blame but myself, as was usual. It was reckless and foolish to not scan in the direction I was flying, knowing what a cesspool Amamake typically was. It was foolish of me to fly at all with implants in my head when I was a war target to the Amarr.

The only thing I was thankful for was that I hadn’t taken my 120 million isk fit Firetail class faction frigate as I had originally been considering.

I pulled on a pair of pants from a nearby clothing closet I kept in the clone chamber, and wore a form fitting cut-off tee that bore the slogan “Made from 100% recycled awesome.” It seemed apropro to me when I purchased the shirt.

I checked my accounts, realizing with further self-loathing that I couldn’t even cover the cost of the lost implants currently. My expenditures had far exceeded my earnings of late. 

I contacted my hangar bay, and had them prep another one of my Rifters. 

As I headed towards my ship, I felt relieved in a perverse sort of way. There was an inherent freedom in being without implants; you had less to lose, and therefore risked more. And sometimes, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, providing that risk wasn’t completely without thought of course.

As I inserted myself into my new pod aboard the Rifter and undocked, I was actually somewhat giddy, having not been this excited by the hunt in months. 

Today was going to be a fun day. Payback is always a bitch.

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.

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).

“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.