Widescreen Isn't Just Letterboxing!

When Tyrannis was released, I immediately noticed something was wrong with my HUD. I couldn't put my finger on it.

Then I was directed to the a forum thread: So why did "widescreen" go the way of "medium shader" again?

That was it. Parts of my HUD had, at one point, been in the letterboxes. Now, the widescreen feature has been removed.

CCP Eris Discordia offer the excuse that adapting changes to work with the feature was too much of a burden.

Several in the thread have pointed out that the unintended advantages the letterboxes gave to the visually impaired were being exploited by macroers.

Yes, I am upset to see the widescreen go. I am more upset, however, to see the number of idiots in the thread that didn't realize that the widescreen mode actually let you have a wider field of view. You could see more. It wasn't just letterboxes laid overtop of the display to crop it and create a widescreen effect. The field of view was actually increased. For that to fit on the screen, it had to be letterboxed.

So the non-widescreen option is actually a cropping of the widescreen option.

The same is true for movies. The letterboxes aren't just for dramatic effect. Movie theater screens aren't merely bigger. They have a different aspect ratio for a reason. Humans have a much better side-to-side peripheral vision than they do up-down.

I could rant on and on, but the internet is full of articles that have already covered this. I invite everyone to check with Google and read for themselves why widescreen actually shows more. Another great place to start is Wikipedia's article on apect ratio.

Helping Others... Or Not

Odinsdagrting is recruiting. As a result, I've been visiting the official forums. After harassing more than a few threads in the recruitment forum, I wandered over to the Science and Industry forum.

There are an expected number of threads where new and aspiring industrialists ask questions. There is an eagerness to answer them. I think that is true for most forums: the desire to be the person with the right answer.

There are an expected number of threads where people are crying foul over some actual or perceived problem. Some of these are real problems, some aren't. Some are likely just trolls.

The posts that really surprise me, or more to the point, upset me, are the ones were people are intentionally misleading others. The post look genuine. I read them, and my first thought is that they must have the math wrong.

Then I wonder if I am doing the math wrong.

I double check my math, and re-read the post. The tone makes me think that this person is intentionally saying it ever so slightly wrong in the hopes to lead others astray.

In the realm of PvP, everyone seems open to share their tactics, their fits, their little tricks and advice. Part of it is because some of these things are hard to hide. Part of it is likely because sharing tricks is just as much of a victory as actually employing them. It strokes the e-peen.

I'm sure part of it is also because knowing the tricks of another warrior is not always enough of an edge to beat them. Market PvP doesn't have anything more than tricks. Twitch, nerves, gangmates, blobs, camps; these things don't affect market PvP.

The misleading forum posts are probably a valid tactic in market PvP, but they feel very underhanded to me, deceitful. They are a tactic that doesn't distinguish between intended targets and innocent bystanders.

Then again, there may not be innocents in market PvP.

Eager for Action

I've been busy keeping Odinsdagrting going. Money hasn't been bad, and the corp is now twice as big as it was when I formed it. But, I want some action.

I have a problem that I imagine most others don't have. I don't have an industrial alt. It is just me. I can build and sell an Oneiros, and I can fit and field a Scimitar. Regrettably, I only get to build the ships as of late.

I've made an offer to haul ships in my Mastodon out to low security space, just so I had something slightly dangerous to do. I'm looking forward to Planetary Exploration because I want to go into low security space and set up some planetary operations there.

I did finally break down and buy my Loki. I dubbed her Hellcat and flew her back home. I still haven't settled on a fitting, yet, but with the interdiction nullifier and the covert ops configuration, I feel pretty confident running around null sec. I just don't know if there is much of a reason for me to do that, yet.

I'm not going to do anything crazy right now and risk the Loki, but I don't mind risking Mastodons and Prowlers. Maybe I'll take a barge into low sec and see if anyone jumps me.

Out of the Pod

I will be going on vacation next week. If anyone cares, this will delay the Odinsdagrting monthly report and dividends.

If anyone really cares, I'll be in Florida. I will be trying to watch Discovery launch for STS-131. I can't really say as I'm all that glamorous to meet, and I will have the family with me, but... if there is any sort of ad hoc Eve Meetup, let me know.

A Day in the Life...

I've been so very busy lately. I have a project entering the final stretch at my planetside employer, so I am busy working on documentation and training material and trying to get the last few bugs worked out of the system.

My work week is measured Monday to Monday. Today on Saturday, I have logged 58 hours for this week. Being salaried, I don't get paid any over time. All of that, and I haven't even gotten around to do the work I wanted to get done this week. My mother-in-law has the children this weekend, so I am hoping to work on some more documentation.

All my time spent there, however, means I have less time to work on getting Odinsdagrting to the point where it runs... more without me. To get to the point where I can work less, I have to work more. I need more hands, I need more time to get some logistics sorted and running smoothly, and I need time to make that happen.

Prior to this week, I did try to record my time off world, either in station or in a capsule. In five days that I was able to keep track, I snuck in nearly 21 hours. Mind you, a lot of that time was while I was also working on stuff for my planetside job, so I was having to multitask.

All of that time was spent hauling raw materials to the factory, hauling produced goods to market, tending market orders, tending build jobs, tending invention jobs, monitoring the corp wallets (to see who has sold what so I can track profit from sales and commissions), and tending the massive Google Docs spreadsheet used to run it all.

My Eve life sounds terribly, terribly boring.

Yes, I do want to get into some real, organized operations that run the risk of armed combat. But I find that I do enjoy pushing bits around, squeezing out more profit, and growing the corp. As boring as it sounds, as boring as it looks, as boring as it probably is, I wouldn't give it up.

Blog Banter #14

Welcome to the fourteenth 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 to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

The first banter of 2010 comes to us from the EVE Blog Father, CrazyKinux himself, who asks the following: As we begin another year in New Eden, ask yourselves "What Now?" What will I attempt next? What haven't I done so far in EVE? Was it out fear, funds, or knowledge? Have I always wanted to start my own corporation, but have never dared doing so? Is there a fledging mercenary waiting to come out of its shell? Or maybe an Industrialist? What steps and objectives will I set myself to accomplish in order to reach my ultimate goal for this year? EVE is what you make of it. So, what is it going to be for you?

My answer has to come in three parts: The Possible, The Hopeful, and The Wildest Dream.

The Possible

My primary focus is my corp, Odinsdagrting. I would like for it to remain open this entire year. I would like for it to grow not only value, but in membership. I'd love to have at least four main inventors and builders with people responsible for selling and procurement. I'm not against a mining division, worm hole activities, and high sec POSes. I also want to push into low sec and, along with United Trade Syndicate, build markets.

I've tried running my own little corps, and I've been in a senior position in other people's big corps. I'd like to try running my own big corp.

The Hopeful

I've often tried to find a ship that would define me. I don't have to be in it all the time, but it would be the ship I'd use most of the time. The ship that I'd specialize in. The ship that I could be known for.

Most of the time, I'm in my Mastodon, Holtby, or my Prowler, Bisycmaplinis.

I do really like the Jaguar. I would've liked it even more if the AF speed boost had been included in Dominion. I can't see the Jaguar being a ship that could be used in enough situations to be a signature ship, though.

My past performance would indicate an affinity for the Blackbird. I do like it. It would make sense to make the Falcon a more permanent choice, but it is slow.

And Caldari.

I love the Typhoon and the Bellicose (mini-Phoon), and should look into the navy variants.

However, I think fate sealed it during the Hellcats Party. I was there for less than five minutes, and then was wifed. My name was drawn for the Loki, and I wasn't there.

Not only is it Minmatar, and badass, and works great in a group or solo, but it is very versatile and could be a ship one uses most of the time. Thanks to some gifts after the party, I am on my way. Once my corp is more stable, I'll likely save up enough and get myself into a Loki. I've never flown anything more expensive than a Tempest.

The Wildest Dream

I have an idea for a meta-game website. Something like Eve-Metrics or Eve Online Hold'em. I think it would be wildly successful.

I also think the Bellicose is a fun ship, so clearly my opinion doesn't mean much.

My wildest dream for this year is to talk some others into my idea, finding crazy amounts of free time, and coding up a web site that would add one of those real-world industries to a game that clearly wasn't built for it. I have an idea like EBank, just built with better safeguards.

p.s. A list of participants. I have to admit to not having had time to read all of these. I feel linking to content that I haven't looked at, but it has taken me so long to have the time to post this list that I feel I should post the entire list:

1. CrazyKinux's Musing - A beginning is a very delicate time...
2. The Wandering Druid of Tranquility - Words, words, words…
3. My God It's Full of Stars - What Now?
4. The Elitist - Plans for 112yc
5. Into the unknown with gun and camera - Show me the money
6. Ecliptic Rift - Enabling the future
7. Inanity and Doom - New Year's Resolutions, New Eden Style
8. Break Vol - Blog Banter #14
9. Guns Ablaze - What Now?
10. Adventures in Mission Running - The Way Forward
11. Diary of a Pod Pilot - Things I want to do
12. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah - The Year That Will Be
13. Roc's Ramblings - WordPress ate my blog
14. Vive Virtual - Frontier Living
15. A Mule in EVE - Next on the chopping block
16. Prano's Journey - I Peer Into My Crystal Pod...
17. Life in Low Sec - Expanding the Franchise
18. The Light of Stars - Testing the claims of CCP
19. A Memoir From Space - A New Direction
20. The Chronofile - Blog Banter 2010
21. FlashFresh - What now for Flash?
22. EVE Opportunist - Fyreite in 112
23. Mike Azariah - Jiorj
24. Yarrbear Tales - Year in Review
25. The Independant Analyst - The Year Ahead
26. The Travels of Black Claw - Where ma I going?
27. Warp Scrammed - What to do this year
28. Sered's Lives - Searching for directions in 2010
29. Finders & Keepers - New Tears, Same Great Taste
30. The Captain's Log - To Dream of the Future
31. The Lathspell of Mithrandir - Resolutions
32. The Midnight Sun - EVE Blog Banter #14
33. EVE What? - New Heights to be Reached
34. The EVE Chronicles - New Year – New Blog – What a way to start the Year!

[ Delicious Tags: eveblogbanter14 ]

New Player Resources: Corp Roles

Odinsdagrting has been running over a month now. It is just me and my three newbie friends. So far, I've been doing most of the work. It isn't a complaint. My work so far has been an investment. This post, however, is born from an email to my corpmates. I figured this was worth sharing.

Hauling

This can be a corp role onto itself. There are, however, many other roles that can use these same skills.

In this case, though, there are two focuses for one's skills. One I call a container ship, and one is the tramp freighter.

When hauling large amounts of cheap materials, such as minerals and ore, one wants an n-tier industrial, such as the Mammoth or Badger Mk II in the role of a container ship. When fitting these ships, they should be fitted to maximize cargo room. Every low slot should be a cargo expander. Every rig slot should be a cargo expander. The idea is, the ship should carry as many giant containers as possible.

The tramp freighter is for when one is hauling small, more expensive goods, such as salvage, advanced components, or manufactured goods. The tramp freighter needs to be fitted with the intention of reducing time-to-warp. It doesn't need to carry more than one giant container. It needs to slip into warp as quickly as possible. For this reason, it should have initial stabilizers and nano-fibers fit. It may also want to fit warp core stabilizers.

In either of these cases, the ship should have as large and strong a buffer shield tank as possible. High sec, suicide piracy is a very real possibility. These pirates will easily be able to over come any active boosting. A large buffer won't save your ship, but it may keep it intact long enough to get into warp, into the station, through the gate, or until CONCORD arrives.

To see the skills needed for this, just play with ship fittings in EFT or look at ships and modules in EveMon.

Corporate Sales

This is a role that often requires the tramp freighter to quickly carry manufactured goods to the market hubs.

This role also requires the Trade skill. Depending on the volume, this role may also require the Retail and Wholesale skills. It is worth noting that Retail only requires Trade II.

Helpful for this role is also Accounting and Broker Relations. Both of these will reduce costs and save money.

Another skill that would be handy is Daytrading. This skill allows for the remote modification of orders. The Marketing skill will allow one to post remote sell orders, but in most cases, one is delivering the goods to the station and can place the initial order then. Being able to remotely participate in the penny wars is very helpful.

Procurement

Depending on what materials are being procured, this job may require either the container ship or the tramp freighter.

It doesn't require any skills to buy off of existing sell orders. The buyer doesn't pay a tax or broker's fee.

However, it is sometimes cheaper and easier to just place buy orders. In these cases, one will again need to get into the Trade-Retail-Wholesale tree. The Procurement skill replaces the Marketing skill, and is much more handy.

Research Assistant

One of the bottlenecks in Tech 2 production is the limited number of research slots one has available. Some jobs can take days, further slowing the entire process down. It is helpful to have more hands helping with this.

One of the simplest research jobs is copying blueprints. To install a copy job, one simply needs Laboratory Operation which requires Science III.

There are skills, such as Science, that will speed up these jobs. Metallurgy will speed up Material Level research jobs (very useful) and Research will speed up Time Efficiency research jobs (not as useful). However, these types of research jobs only ever need to be done once. Copy jobs have to be done nearly constantly.

Another useful skill is Scientific Networking. This will allow the remote installation of research jobs.

Inventor

To build Tech 2 products (without one of the old Tech 2 blueprint originals) one must invent. The skills required to run an invention job on any given blueprint are listed on the blueprint itself. In this case, it is just a matter of looking into which blueprints you'll want to or be expected to handle.

It is worth noting that the skills to run an invention job are the same skills needed to have a research project with an R&D agent once on has Research Project Management and access to an appropriate R&D agent. The datacores purchased from R&D agents are the same ones needed in the invention process.

Manufacturing

To actually install a standard production job merely requires Industry. There are, however, items that require more skills than this to be built. Those skills, just as the ones for invention, are listed on the blueprint.