Perennial curmudgeon SPIONKOP began to suspect CCP involvement in the New Order. What else, he asked, could explain so many petitions being denied?
For the record, I welcome all EVE-playing CCP employees to join the New Order and have some fun bumping and ganking miners. CCP employees are no longer allowed to play vital roles in nullsec alliances, but there will always be a place for them in the highsec utopia I'm building.
As our Knights barreled across Caldari highsec in December, a new theory took root: I am the alt of none other than The Mittani himself.
Among the carebear population, there are still grudges and misconceptions concerning The Mittani. They hate him, and they hate me, so why not save time and combine the two?
There are competing theories. TEST is frequently cited as the driving force behind the New Order.
Then again, many highsec miners think Goons and TEST are one and the same. In that case, it's not such a stretch to add other entities to the mix: Goons, TEST, and the New Order are all run by a shadowy cabal bent on highsec's destruction.
The motive? Control of EVE's economy. Such a grand conspiracy could aim no lower than total galactic domination.
Market manipulation is the key. But if we're trying to drive up prices, why the 10 million isk mining license? And why, for that matter, the existence of the Code? Conspiracy theorists are confident that they'll eventually connect all the dots.
With all the self-assurance of a space lawyer, xinthorminaias says he knows I am The Mittani.
It's a passing of the torch, of sorts. The Gallente Ice Interdiction, Burn Jita, and Hulkageddon Infinity terrorized the highsec miners. Just when things were returning to normal, the New Order shows up. The carebears think it must be the usual suspects back to their old tricks.
I'm pretty sure The Mittani isn't taking 3 a.m. phone calls unless he becomes President of the United States.
Some years ago, there was another group of bad people. They called themselves the Band of Brothers alliance, and they, too, spread the rumor that I was The Mittani's alt. Whether this is a resurrection of that, or whether conspiratorial lightning struck twice in the same place, I cannot say. But neither BoB nor the carebears of highsec have produced a shred of proof to back up their claims. Incidentally, BoB was defeated by the good guys. The Code violators are following in their footsteps.
When we relocated from Caldari highsec to Gallente highsec, the rumor mill was already at work there, cranking out the stories of fiendish plots and dark forces behind our noble effort.
Why the conspiracy theories, and why Goons/TEST? It's simple. The New Order has demonstrated it holds the power of life and death over the miners of highsec. The carebears might not like us, but they respect what we can do. For the New Order to appear so suddenly from nowhere and hold such power, some other omnipotent force must be behind it. In the EVE galaxy, it doesn't get any bigger than Goons and TEST. That's the only reference point these miners have.
Ironically, the New Order is the most transparent organization in EVE. We hide nothing from the public--even the names of every single shareholder are made public. On the other hand, some say that the New Order doesn't really exist and that the Agents are all my alts. I wonder, why do the highsec miners believe in everything except the obvious reality?
I keep being told that Dear Leader encouraged or called for the death of another player, but no one is able to quote exactly where that was said. He certainly didn't say that at Fanfest, what was said was quite different & taken way out of context by anyone that doesn't like goons.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of it, I've always loved how hilariously wrong conspiracy theories are.
you're being trolled. hard.
ReplyDeleteIf the Mittani called for someone's death, they would have died.
ReplyDeleteEmergent gameplay needs to die. All it does is enable famed cyber bullying such as this.
ReplyDeletePathetic.
There is plenty of games out there to choose from that don't have emergent game play. People choose to play this so they need to accept it for what it is.
DeleteI've seen CCP bow to sensible non-bullying carebears before. I can only hope it happens again.
DeleteJames has begun broadening his scope beyond bumping and bots, and is now targeting actual players just for reactions. We are not going to change the way we play, and if enough of us refuse to bow to the New Order's demands (there are a LOT of us), CCP sure isn't going to take any considerable hit to their paychecks. This game's revenue keeps the electricity on in their building. They will do whatever keeps the players playing.
Players of ALL styles, not just hurrduurrgankers.
There is one thing that Eve desperately, DESPERATELY needs, and that is competition.
STO didn't do it. SWTOR didn't do it.
For a decade, this game has been known for being the most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the MMO industry, and yet there are oh-so many carebears.
So guess what? We're not going anywhere. CCP will ensure that.
Another perfect example of self-entitlement. That sense of self-entitlement hurts the game more than anything else.
DeleteYes, we are hurting the game.
DeleteSteadily rising subs are clearly hurtful to the game.
You tell'em, Mallak.
Because people sub to Eve for mining in complete undisturbed safety. That's what Eve is to the potential subcriber. Safe-Space-Mining-Simulator2000. What would Eve ever do if CCP didn't maintain that image of safety and mining. Eve would die.
DeleteWe shall see.
DeleteThe way I see it, it will go one of two ways, and both will prove entertaining for drama-loving internet denizens such as myself.
1.) CCP makes changes in favor of the "anti-New Order" players, making continued bumping, 'permit' buying, and such bannable offenses. Ganking mining vessels is made more difficult. Agents, Knights, and gankers everywhere will rant that emergent gameplay is dead.
2.) CCP does not intervene. James 315 "wins" highsec, and thus, ceases to be interesting. His blog dies. Possibly, many many carebears unsub. Eve's budget takes a hit (again, possibly). Miners continue to whine that they are being bullied, harassed, and their style of play is being attacked.
Either option has popcorn-worthy drama in sight.
But I seriously don't see how any pro-New Order can imagine long-lasting change to highsec. I mean, damn, 5 years of Hulkageddon did almost nothing to AFK and casual miners. This is nothing more than flavor of the month, maybe, MAYBE, flavor of the year, depending on CCP's varying definition of 'Soon' is.
Steadily rising subs has nothing to do with what I said. This sense of self-entitlement where people expect CCP to make the game safer for you otherwise they'll quit, that is what hurts the game more than anything, even more so when they actually follow-through with it. It was justified during the whole Nex store scandal, but now it's being abused to death.
DeleteInstead of using game mechanics to adapt to & mitigate risks, they threaten to quit. Tell me how that line of thought is not hurting the game.
People like you have the exact same in game resources available as anyone else to stop people like me from interfering in your activities, which is the whole point of this sandbox. I use those tools to interfere with your play style & you have the same tools available to stop me, interfere with my playstyle or mitigate the risks.
DeleteWhether you acknowledge it or not, the developers have been aiding you in protecting your style of play since 2003 while continually nerfing ours. Both of these play styles happen to be intended styles of play.
The big difference between us is you want the developers to completely eliminate our style of play, which was an intended play style from the beginning.
"Changing into a style of play that we do not want"? Seriously? Are you saying that warping, locking a roid and letting the lasers run is a style of playing?
DeleteYou sir must really have some major misconception of what a playing style is, but for sure mining, either AFK or not, is not a playing style.
Come back to what's real, this is EVE, it means that I may gank/scam/extort you because it is permitted, regardless of where you are living, if high sec or not.
This game was created to work this way, if you don't like what is going on it's your fault only, you picked the wrong game. And please, don't tell me you really like mining, there's not a chance I'll ever believe that. And even if it's true, you can't pretend not to interact with other people, even passively, this is a MMO. So again, it's your fault, you picked the wrong game.
Also, stop arguing "This is only a game, James is taking it too seriously". You're so much out of your mind that you don't even realize that who's actually playing a game is James, and you are the one who's taking it too seriously, you are the one who makes constant comparisons to real life because you are the one who pretends whatever is done in the game is true like if done in real life. This is one of the dumbiest things I've ever seen, makes me think you have never really played a game.
I have a suggestion for CCP. Create a new game where only miners play. They can undock, warp to a belt, mine till filled up, warp back to station and empty their cargo. CCP may eventually add some NPC gankers that gets blown everytime they try to gank the poor miners, so miners can feel great and invincible.
P.S. I mine, son don't even try to say I don't know what I'm talking about...
@MadGus. they did. it's called a wormhole. unfortunately, it requires guards, a good corp, and rorq pilots for it to work.
Deletepeople mine in high-sec for the same reason other people play farmville. people who want to pvp obviously go low or null sec if they have any sense. CCP has to cater to both carebears and pvp addicts and the existence of CONCORD is the tool they use to achieve those results while still giving players as much freedom as possible. players that focus on mining and industry are not "playing the game wrong" and have not "picked the wrong game" - to my knowledge eve is the only mmo for the pc where space mining exists.
As I already stated, I mine and I also manufacture. Since I decided to play EVE I also accept the rest of the players and their way of playing EVE.
DeleteExactly because of this I didn't say "playing the game wrong", I said "playing the wrong game", and there's a huge difference between the two statements.
So, basically, if you don't like to play farmville but prefer EVE for pure grinding, well, you have to accept the fact that other people is around you, and they have the freedom to do what they want.
@Anon 2:43
DeleteAgain, stop compairing actions in a videogame with those of real life.
THIS IS A VIDEOGAME
And one where you blow up ships, too. Deal with it and stop whining and crying.
At least try to fight back or find a way to be less gankable. If you don't want to do this, which is the bare minimum a miner should do, you need to undestand that you will always be a prey for the predators out there. Once you'll have aquired that point of view you will be able to choose to:
1) leave the game and play farmville
2) adapt
If you choose option 2 I can guarantee that a all new game will be here for you to enjoy, a game with so many features other that mining lasers and roids that you will be fascinated and finally happy.
i would play farmville if it had spaceships and good graphics. there are plenty of other videogames where you can gank players. why don't YOU guys switch over to those videogames. then we can all be happy.
Deleteor better yet you could grow some balls and go to low or null
Are you suggesting that EVE was created to have some funny mining adventures?
DeleteYou know that smoking some particular substances is forbidden in most of the western countries, right?
Please, read your absolutely stupid post again, then go hide somewhere in shame.
Grow some balls you say? YOU say that? Take a ship and fight them back, use those isks you keep accumulating to do something more than just back and forth, station to belt. This game has so much more to offer if you would just try.
Darn, I realize now that sometimes it may really be a waste of time trying to open somobody else's eyes.
P.S. I live in null, now what?
If emergent gameplay is removed from EVE, I will cease to play the game. What would be the point?
DeleteHell, where do you see subscriptions climbing? The numbers at Christmas are still 10% below the pre-Incarna numbers, and we had an expansion in early December, too, which should have put us above the old numbers.
DeleteThe last year up to December was nothing but a slow, steady decline in numbers. The times where the numbers have been going up are long gone!
Go and check http://www.eve-offline.net/?server=tranquility
And now the gankers are here to fix EVE? *lol*
They are here to bury it. Don't say this wouldn't be fun for gankers if ganking could kill EVE.
"Easy. We, as subscribers, do not want to be bullied, harassed, or extorted into changing into a style of play that we do not want.
DeleteIf the developers do not aid us in protecting our style of play, why the fuck should we stay?
"
Wait wait wait. That's a huuuuge sense of entitlement right there. You think because you sub a game you are going to insist devs change their business model to fit a business model that got you to play in the first place? Really?!
That's silly. YOU chose to play a game. It's up to you to either like it or not. Your bad investment doesn't equate to a bad investment from me if I enjoy it!
It just means you chose the wrong game to play and should take your money elsewhere. CCP doesn't want everyone's money. They want all the money from people happy to pay it. They have mentioned a few times there are certain players they are ok with losing. You giving a credit card # means you contribute to a community, not become in control of a business model.
Holy shit.
Nonsense. It is a give and take and it is good to listen what the majority of your players want. Griefers then don't make the majority. Come back when you are.
DeleteStop crying. Nobody is going to do anything about the New Order. That's just what they want. This all will blow over. If the game changes then so be it, but the game hasn't gotten worse but only better. I doubt any change will stop you from being an asshat. It is your mentality, which you bring into the game and CCP cannot change that. You'll find other outlets for your teenage frustration. And if not, then do it like the WoW freakout kid - try shoving a remote control up your arse.
Deleteyou must be speaking from experience!
Deleteso how did it feel? :D
How did what feel?
DeleteNo, not quite.
ReplyDeleteHow, as miners who want to MINE, can we stop or even combat 20 Catalysts who have already signed their death warrant, who do not give the slightest care about their ship or sec status, warping in to suicide gank us?
I'll give you a hint. Under current mechanics, we can't, without abandoning our style of play.
Unless something insanely unrealistic was done to our warp and align times, no godly tank will save us from a gang of trolls who just want to see us go pop.
Something that would help is bigger sec status hits for ship kills and ESPECIALLY pod kills, in highsec.
But the biggest part would be making it much harder for the negative sec status players to operate in highsec. Make it so it's pretty much impossible for them to set foot in an empire system.
So quit with the "we have the same tools as you do" filth. If we were to combat the ganker trolls who aren't even interested in PVP, we'd become the very thing we despised in the first place.
How about moving to a system where the gankers aren't or docking up when you see them in local?
DeleteOr are you too busy being AFK?
Give known gankers negative standings, keep an eye on d-scan, don't be afk. These are just 3 of the things you can to do mitigate the risk. This idea that you have to become the thing you hate to combat it is completely false & always has been.
DeletePlenty of miners out there have been mitigating the risks for years now & have had little to no issues.
There's a ship called Skiff, I don't know if you've ever heard of it?
DeleteAs Alana said: you give up 8% or so of your mining rate, and get in a skiff with a massive tank. You might have to train up a few skills to level 4 to run that tank. But I bet you know how!
DeleteOf course the N.O. can gank even a skiff. It is costly, and rational profit-maximizing gankers would not do it. But we are non-profit gankers, so it does not stop us. (We are fighting not for money but to help you miners.) Still, a tank does deter us. We figure that every miner in a skiff is a partial victory for us already, even if that miner is still a rebel. He's half in our camp. He has noticed that we exist and we can affect him, and at least when he made the decision about what ship to fly, he was at his keyboard playing a game with other people in it.
There is an even easier and better way to mitigate your risk. Pay the laughably small mining fee and add the bumpersticker to your bio. Of course, this also requires playing the game; recognizing consciously that there are other players in it and that you are subject to our power.
It is true that paying the N.O. mining fee does not protect you from any other gankers that may be able to organize gankfleets of 20 cats. But then, nothing can, and nothing should. Your wish that unfit civilian ships should be able to withstand attacks by 20 determined players in well fit military craft is risible. Fortunately for you, there are no other organized gankers in highsec. And there are unlikely to be, exactly because of the Code. When you understand that, you will join us.
>When you understand that, you will join us.
Deleteextortion. pure and simple.
so much for your code of justice
@anon 6:03 am
DeleteIf you spent even half the time actually playing Eve (read ATK) that it took you to write that sopping whining entitled shitpost you would realize how incredibly easy it is to solve your problem. People like you are the worst sort, and it is your whiny limp wristed entitlement bullshit that has ruined every great mmo made in the last 15 years. How is it that I've been able to mine unmolested on several alts with 0 issues, and somehow you are so helpless and pathetic? The answer is simple: I adapt, whilst you whine like a little biatch. HTFU M8.
Hear hear!
DeleteSo someone hasn't been ganked and thinks himself save and believes he is tougher than the rest.
DeleteSorry to say this, but I think the New Order has simply missed one.
You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between surviving close calls and not encountering potential suicide gankers.
DeleteSorry to say this, but i think it is impossible for folks like you that can't fight his way out of a tissue box. Since every encounter for you probably ended up in a free pod express for ya :)
*lol* Oh, sure I am. I only don't act tough because nobody has gotten to me yet. Nor do I act tough because I only ever shoot weak targets. I can act tough because I know what it is like to be a loser and a winner.
DeleteYou sure assume alot.
DeleteI have no idea what you are talking about. Are you sad?
Deleteboth of you just got owned by the troll police :D
DeleteHa! I love how miners believe they are the only group of players in EVE who are entitled to a perfectly safe and undisturbed "style of play," when literally every other aspect of this game is subject to the player-driven outcomes.
ReplyDeleteThe chilling reality is this: CCP is not going to save you from your shitty "style of play" and no amount of entitled tears, or threats of unsubscription will change that.
Sometime in the distant future, long after your desperate plea to CCP goes unheeded, you will wake up, in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat, and this truth will wash over you like a swelling storm.
And you will pick up your mining laser, and do what needs to be done.
Skill training isn't a style of play. Planetary interaction does have risk, even in highsec. Manufacturing has risk. Research also has risk.
DeleteI agree with Mallak.
Deletee.g. you can get blown up while visiting the customs office :D
Could we put this consistent refrain of, "People will leave Eve because of James 315 and the New Order" down for good? The truth is that many people have subscribed to Eve recently because of James and the New Order, myself included. I would also suggest that many long term players have found a new lease on Eve life and are sticking with Eve because the New Order has enabled them to work towards preserving and promoting the best parts of the game that they love.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing else out there like Eve for people who want involving, thought-provoking gameplay, if the essence of Eve becomes too diluted, it risks losing it's place as the pre-eminent home for emergent gaming. If it loses that, a place in the market opens up. Someone else fills that place and then the real mainstays of the Eve universe - the creative and ingenious people who make it the diverse, exciting and interesting place that it is today - leave for greener pastures.
James has made it his mission to promote the positive qualities of Eve and he has been successful in attracting new subscribers and giving longer term players a compelling reason to keep playing. Weighed against that, how can anyone argue that CCP would consider that his actions are harming their revenue?
If there's an award out there somewhere for "Best Game Mod of 2012", then I think James 315 and his New Order should be considered the hands down winner. James, his Agents and Knights have created something special here and the wider gaming community is taking notice.
AFK Miners ask, "What will Eve give to me to keep me playing?", James 315 and the New Order ask, "What can we give to Eve to keep people playing?"
I know which side I'd rather be on.
No. High-sec is a selling point and attacking it is going to cost CCP players. If the gankers like it or not is of no concern. There is plenty of activity in low-sec and null-sec which can be attacked. Methodically ganking players in high-sec will have consequences. You are only now beginning to realize them over the "fun" you believe to have.
DeleteAnger players are always the ones who come butthurt to the game and then take their revenge on others in the dodgiest, cheekiest and most unfair ways they can think of, while the rest of EVE is playing nice. Even when large 0.0 alliances build huge industries and go to war, then it is never for grief play, but for things like territory or resources. They even have diplomats to handle the ill reasons and to give sense to the wars.
All this miner bumping stuff is just a few kids, who haven't found their way into the game yet and think this is how it is done and as if the idea itself was somehow new.
LOL DID YOU JUST SAY HIGHSEC IS A SELLING POINT??? When in any of the trailers have you ever seen afk mining or mission running as a selling point. Maybe once in that incursion trailer where all the miners got blown up. People join this game because they hear stories about it, whether it be a major heists being pulled off, nullsec warfare or more recently this. People don't join this game because they hear about a nice carebear haven, themepark highsec where bad things don't happen so stop complaining, learn to watch local, learn to stay aligned and don't complain when you get blown up when there's a ganker spike in local and you don't leave because it is entirely your fault for dying.
DeleteIn your imagination! You started in high-sec and you were just as inexperienced as every other noob. You then cried plenty of tears over your first ship loss and now want to hide it by telling others how it is done. How original!
DeleteYou think you are the first victim that turned into an offender?
You have no idea how often this happens in EVE. Sorry to shrink you, but you are only dumb and not special at all...
people usually join because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. miners aren't beneath ratters and ratters aren't beneath faction warfarers. all playstyles are equal in that they all contribute to the game.
DeleteThese gankers contribute the least, because all they do is to destroy and avoid every confrontation in game. Their fight then takes place here, in form of a blog. It is almost like an episode of epic rap battles, with "Facebook" versus "EVE Online".
DeleteSuicide gankers bring risk to highsec which is something it would otherwise not have. Even CCP has said that highsec was never meant to be completely safe.
DeleteIn high-sec you have belt rats, sometimes Incursion rats and wardecs and now suspect flagging. So there is risk.
DeleteYou only bring grief play into high-sec. When high-sec players want more risk do they go into low-sec. If you then cannot wait for them to come to you then you are driving them out of the game. Do you understand this?
Do you understand that EVE is a multiplayer game? Where did you get the idea that high sec risk comes from NPCs only? Suicide ganking is part of that risk, and is CCP approved...you know, the guys who make the game you choose to purchase. Do you understand this?
DeleteHe ganked you with Boardwalk didn't he? =P
ReplyDeleteFirst he bought all the stations and charged us for using them ... The train stations are supposed to be open to all players... it's public transportation goddammit.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to move around on the board and come down from work ... and this asshat ruined everything with his rules. But he won't have the last laugh. I have a friend who plays this game for years and is really good at it. He will kick his ass next time!
James, I think it is important for you to aknowledge your connection to Goons, ie your SA membership. You have GS in your corp history, so you can't hide it, you should come clean to avoid all doubt.
ReplyDeleteNon-beleivers: Mittens account name in SA is Numismancer. James' is James315
AnonymousJanuary 10, 2013 4:00 AM
If the Mittani called for someone's death, they would have died.
Sadly, this is actually true.
That's right carebears! Mittens wields the power of life and death over you! Bwahahahaha! Be afraid!
DeleteAlso, if it's in his Corp history, what further clarification do you require?
-Galaxy Pig
Being in Goonfleet/Goonwaffe doesn't imply he ever had a SA account as we have a legitimate sponsorship program.
Delete>But if we're trying to drive up prices, why the 10 million isk mining license? And why, for that matter, the existence of the Code?
ReplyDeletethe 10m mining license is a token of servitude. psychologically, you ask for a little, so the target is less likely to reject you immediately. after the small steps however, you are able to ask for increasingly more. people are loss-averse. they believe that by paying 10m, they gain standing with you and are henceforth intending to keep that standing from dropping, from losing what they have.
you are trying to gain control of the supply, not destroy it. the code exists to give you control over the miners you dominate. it is vague enough that you can use it to threaten individual miners to change production rates if you so desire.
And yet, people still follow, demonstrating the evil brilliance of the James 315 character. Every good story has to have a great villain or its just not any fun.
DeleteI really, really, really love to read this blog and especially the comments. The tears sometimes are ......... i don't even know how to classify the level of tears here. Awesome job.
ReplyDeleteFor the miners: do you guys realize your lamentations here or in game are the reason of the popularity of the New Order? FFS man up, try the real EVE, go shoot something. You know it's a pvp game and mining it's only one aspect of this pvp game (meaning for every piece of trit mined you modify the prices in the all game). At least try to shoot even the npc's from missions, then go to shoot people.
Some of us are not interested in shooting, and nothing will make us interested. We would sooner unsub.
DeleteOK. Before you flaunt out, can we have your stuff?
DeleteIf I ever leave, I would sooner give it to someone who would appreciate it more; a carebear.
DeleteIt is sad to see how some of you believe that a self-entitlement is bad.
ReplyDeleteIt is the bottom feeders who cannot determine for themselves what they are worth and who need to be told by others. The so called agents who are parroting the same memes repeatedly are only victims, not knowing what they are worth, and then follow any voice that gives them promises.
Hi. You're confusing 'self-entitlement' with 'self-worth'.
DeleteYou're welcome.
Does one now need to do the thinking for you, too, eh? ...
DeleteIn short, the answer is no.
See, once you know what you are worth do you also know what you are entitled to.
You are welcome.
Right, you are not entitled to mine in safety anywhere in Eve. Now we all know our entitlements.
DeleteI am glad you are getting there.
DeleteWhen the settlers came to North America and built their farms did they feel the same entitlement. The settlers thought that with their work, growing crops and herding stock, did they now own this land.
If you want to own the belts then I suggest that you start mining. However, no amount of ganking will get those rocks mined.
Your North American 'settler' metaphor... it's a really bad one for making your point, for so many reasons. Anyone who has even the meanest understanding of the history of settlement in the Americas will immediately see what I mean.
DeleteBut I think you just won the 'crazy shit that miners say' award, so... you know... good for you.
You got owned.
DeleteHating yourself isn't healthy. You should see someone about this.
ReplyDelete