Aiming for an Imicus

I don't disappear immediately, but instead loiter on the K162 from class 4 w-space for a while. The residents may be collapsing their connection to this class 3 system I returned to, but it's entirely possible that they didn't know I was stalking them, and I'd rather make sure that they complete the collapse instead of changing their minds and deciding to stalk me back. The appearance of a Broadsword heavy interdictor next through the wormhole clearly indicates that my decloaking to jump past their battleship came as something of a surprise to the pilots.

Of course, a HIC is a normal ship to use to help finish off stubborn wormholes, so its presence could be standard operating procedure. What makes its appearance now unusual is that the wormhole is not in its critically unstable state. The HIC is not here to safely implode the wormhole, it's here because of me. As if to confirm my guess, the HIC inflates its warp bubble around the wormhole. It's rather ineffective without other ships trying to decloak my Loki strategic cruiser, but it seems that the Broadsword is merely trying to protect the operation, and isn't part of an attempt to actually hunt me. That's just fine, chaps.

The battleships jump through the wormhole and back again, dropping the connection to critical levels, at which point the HIC's bubble deflates and the Broadsword returns to the class 4 system, dragging the last of the wormhole's mass with it. All's well. They don't have a stalker, and I don't have a fleet behind me to worry about. Well, not all is well, I suppose. I clearly came as a surprise to those pilots, but only by sneaking through a K162. If only outbound wormholes still had that level of opportunity for surprise.

Yes, I'm again whining about the discovery scanner, but somewhat relevantly. I have exhausted the K162's in this system, and am left with a T405 outbound link to another class 4 system. All I am expecting from exploring is that the wormhole will already be known about. And, sure enough, jumping to C4a sees core probes on my directional scanner. I should probably just give up now, but I am nothing if not stubborn. I move from the wormhole, cloak, and wait to see what comes my way.

The probes disappear from d-scan, replaced by a Helios covert operations boat and Imicus frigate, both scanning ships, neither coming past me. I can only assume that this wormhole is yet to be scouted, and that it will be scouted, so rather than do anything rash I continue loitering with intent near the K162. A bit of waiting sees the Imicus's return to d-scan, and the ship persists on d-scan for long enough for me to try to find him in space. He's not at the star, or at a planet. It seems like the frigate is in empty space, maybe another wormhole. Ah, now he's on my overview. He's at this wormhole.

In fact, the Imicus is making his first visit to this K162, evidenced by the ship dropping a decent amount short of the wormhole's locus, after no doubt having warped directly to the cosmic signature. That's good for me, hopefully bad for him. Not expecting to get a shot at anything bigger, I make my move, decloaking and getting my sensor booster active. And fumbling everything else.

The frigate is a little out of range of my warp scrambler, being on the other side of the wormhole to me. I want to close that range to prevent him warping away, not realising that his instinct is likely to be to do that himself, as he'll head towards the wormhole. My first mistake, then, is to activate my micro warp drive. My Loki accelerates hard as I gain a positive lock, making the shots of my now-firing autocannons glance off the tiny ship.

Were I moving a bit slower I would have ripped the Imicus apart by now. As it is, the frigate is just missing its shields. My speed also doesn't so much close the distance between our two ships as carry me past the Imicus, his heading to the wormhole and now my zooming away from it. And as the Imicus jumps through to evade my attention a vagary of the navigation system hits me: I stop trying to approach the ship that is no longer present, gliding to a halt in the direction I'm moving. That direction is away from the wormhole.

So it is that I am over seven kilometres from the wormhole a vulnerable frigate has just jumped through. I turn, pulse my micro warp drive again, and burn to the wormhole as quickly as I can, jumping as soon as I am in range. Where's the Imicus? I decloak and wait for him. But I wait longer than the session change cloak lasts and there is still no sign. Smart capsuleer, moving and cloaking as soon as he could. But his ship can't warp cloaked, and as he's not visible on d-scan he hasn't moved from this spot. I'll just have to make it look like I've lost interest.

I cloak, jinking as I do, making it look like I've given up. And there he is. The Imicus reappears and jumps back to C4a, and this time I've not strayed too far from the wormhole. I follow immediately, decloaking on the other side—after seeing no new ships on my overview, hopefully making my polarised state not too threatening—and aim for a positive target lock on the fleeing Imicus.

Close, but no cigar. The Imicus warps clear a split-second before my warp scrambler can stop him. Never mind, they are nimble little buggers. And I imagine that's the extent of the excitement to be had in this system, and now probably the constellation, given that the locals must have scanned ahead already. Out of curiosity, I warp to the one planet out of d-scan range, where the Imicus headed, to locate the inevitable local tower, seeing a Tengu strategic cruiser piloted, and Keres electronic attack ship empty. It looks like I got lucky, but the pilot of the Tengu is the same pilot from the Imicus, merely swapped ships. Okay, I'm finished here for now. Time to go home for a sammich.

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Tags: broadsword, eve online, helios, imicus, keres, loki, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, pvp, scanning, tengu, w-space

Making an exit

Our good anomalies have been swept away again. Oh well, if we couldn't get organised it's no big loss, particularly as we still aren't in a position to clear them ourselves tonight. They'll come back, just as the gas comes back. We have two new pockets floated in to the home system, which are the only two new signatures to be resolved, leaving me with a standard start to the evening. I resolve our static wormhole and jump to the neighbouring class 3 w-space system.

It's a standard directional scanner result in C3a too, with a tower lacking ships being all I can see. I launch probes to scan, revealing fifteen anomalies and nine signatures before focusing on each signature in turn. The first signature is a wormhole, but just a crappy K162 from low-sec empire space. The second is also a wormhole, an equally crappy T405 outbound connection to class 4 w-space, followed by a relic site and a third wormhole that's another low-sec K162. A bit of gas gets in the way of the static exit to low-sec, then a data site, and finally a bit of luck with a K162 from class 4 w-space.

I poke out to get the exit through the U210, pausing in the system in Khanid to pop a rat, then head to the only wormhole with promise. It's a sad state of affairs when the best wormhole is a K162, but apparently that's the way it's going to be. I warp to the wormhole to C4b without much sense of optimism, only to stop short as the connection crackles with a transit.

A Tengu strategic cruiser decloaks and warps away as the wormhole crackles again, this time bringing a Hurricane battlecruiser in to the system, itself warping behind the Tengu. It looks like they headed to one of the K162s to low-sec, which from its colours obviously comes in from Aridia. I wonder why they're going that way, and what they are up to. I dunno, but it's low-sec space anyway, which makes it weird to start with, and Aridia at that, far from any civilised space.

I'd be spotted in the local comms channel should I follow the two ships, so rather than head out I continue with my original idea and jump to C4b to see what they're leaving behind. Maybe if they report w-space as still inactive a pilot or two will get careless in their own system. Jumping in to class 4 w-space and updating d-scan in C4a sees four towers and three ships, and warping around finds the Loki strategic cruiser piloted at one tower, a Cerberus heavy assault cruiser piloted at a second, and the Mammoth hauler empty at a third. I don't think these two pilots will be careless.

The rest of this class 4 system is out of range of the towers, but exploring finds nothing and no one else, and a blanket scan has almost nothing under my probes. Two ore sites and one signature are in the system, that signature being the static wormhole I jumped through to get here. So what do I do? I could wait for the Tengu and Hurricane to return, jumping them on the low-sec wormhole in a suitable ship, but what if they don't return? Do I try to engage them in low-sec? Or maybe I should look elsewhere for more wormholes, with a couple of options available?

A Proteus appears on d-scan as I reach the wormhole back to C3a. That keeps me in the system a little longer, if only out of curiosity, and I find the strategic cruiser inside the force field of the same tower that holds the Cerberus. But not for long. Only because the Cerberus is swapped for a Tengu, warping out of the tower moments later towards the wormhole. The ship doesn't leave the system, though, lingering on d-scan until it returns to the tower a minute later, soon followed, on d-scan and then in to the tower, by the original Tengu and Hurricane.

All four pilots together at last. What hijinks will happen now? A third Tengu and a Buzzard covert operations boat appear on d-scan, and they too warp in to the tower. It looks to me like the two ships that went to low-sec were flying escort for the new Tengu to get in to w-space. I suppose it's lucky that I didn't try to catch them solo. And now I think it's time to leave, prompted by strategic cruisers swapped for battleships, a Megathron and two Dominices warping towards the wormhole looking less like they want to shoot Sleepers and more like they don't want their wormhole any more.

I warp to the wormhole myself on seeing a second Megathron heading that way, and when the first returns from C3a so soon after leaving this class 4 system it's pretty obvious this wormhole isn't going to be around much longer. I snake through the battleships and jump to C3a, leaving the activity behind me. At least it was the interesting option.

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Tags: buzzard, cerberus, dominix, eve online, hurricane, loki, mammoth, megathron, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, proteus, scanning, tengu, w-space

Gigs of 2013, part three

Only three parts to my year's gigging. I missed a few gigs I would have liked to attend, but made it to others I may not have gone to. I think I've had a pretty good year of live music overall, but it may be getting more difficult to know what gigs are coming up and when. Maybe I need to investigate this 'facebook' the kids are talking about.

Bo Ningen at Scala

I thought Bo Ningen were the most Japanese band I would get to see without leaving London, but it seems I was wrong. They have invited N'shukugawa Boys to open for them tonight, who are apparently huge in Japan, and I can see why. The main guy is wearing panda makeup and a permanent smile, the girl is perkier than Heather Graham, and behind them is a glam rock drummer/guitarist. They are all bright, happy, and so full of spirit it spills all over the stage and in to the audience. I don't think we quite know what to make of it, but N'shukugawa Boys just seem stoked to be here, if their broken English and successful attempts at jumping off ten-foot speaker stacks is any indication.

Second band Telegrams are somewhat more subdued, which is fine. They seem okay, and the lead singer's accent comes through nicely. Well, I say that, as I think he's Welsh, but I wait to be corrected. I'd be okay with seeing them again.

Bo Ningen know what they're doing, and I've seen them enough to know what to expect. They start strong with some known songs, sandwich some new works in to the middle of the set, and then finish with some more established tracks. It's all expertly put together and performed, with a huge climactic finish that is pretty much a ten-minute jam with more endings than Return of the King. Bo Ningen are awesome as always.

Toy at The Garage

I try to keep an open mind for support acts, so am curious to see what Ornaments will be like. In the first song, their drummer rides the low tom, which can give an interesting different dynamic to using the hi-hat. Except he rides the low tom in the next song, and the next, and, in fact, in all but half a song, where he uses the ride cymbal instead. I noticed early on, and I can't stop noticing, making the whole backbeat really monotonous. Perhaps using the hi-hat for every song could be considered monotonous, but at least the fills would then have a different texture to the main beat. Besides, you don't combat monotony with a different monotony. It's a shame, as otherwise the drummer seems pretty good. There were other instruments, but the drumming made the whole sound bland.

Toy open their set with a bold song, being Kopter, the closer from their first album. Can they possibly hope to follow that up? Yes they can, Other Barry, yes they can. Because Toy have plenty of big songs, and they are interesting in their own ways. They are not just riding at a constant ten in a way that eliminates peaks and troughs, but exploring different ground whilst maintaining a consistent theme. It is a competent and engaging set, one that easily keeps me entertained. And if opening on a closer wasn't audacious enough, Toy finish their encore by playing the title song from the as-yet unreleased second album, Join the Dots. Climaxing with a new song is risky, but Toy make it work.

Emiliana Torrini at Heaven

Emiliana Torrini is strangely reserved during the first three songs of her set. She is normally quite friendly and chatty with the audience, albeit perhaps openly shy, so it is good that after the extended opening Emiliana introduces herself. She says she's been busy, and although an album was ready for Rough Trade about eighteen months ago it was something of a psychedelic AC/DC tribute, so they held off and ended up with better results. The next song played, Caterpillar, apparently initially had a riff that lasted fifteen minutes, which has now been reduced to just a trace. To indicate where this trace remains, Emiliana gives us a not-so-subtle devil's horns gesture for extra emphasis.

One of the band is hobbling around stage, which is a bit peculiar if only because she is not relying on crutches. We are told it's because Mara had an accident checking her bum for bruises, which ended with her falling off a chair in to a bath. I bet she's glad Emiliana shared that little anecdote with us, but gets the next song dedicated to her. It's Big Jumps.

Most of new album Tookah is played, which is sounding great live, and some old favourites are included, such as Today Has Been Okay, Sunny Road, and Birds. The highlight for me is probably the last song on new album, When Fever Breaks, which has a great build up to a rhythmic bassline, continued throughout the song, which then cuts out for Emiliana to say 'I will kill you'. Fabulous as always.

Metz at Village Underground

I get to Village Underground for my first visit in time to see Wytches on stage. They are loud, varied, and good. I'll watch them again, and will even look out for record releases. Second act Cheatahs are also loud, are competent with their instruments, and although they do all the right moves somehow don't click with me.

But a mosh pit, crowd surfers, and thrown beers! Oh my. Just when I think I'm getting too old to come out and enjoy myself, Metz come on stage and reinvigorate everything, reminding me why I continue to enjoy live music. The first two bands were loud, and I know Metz have a reputation of being loud, but this is extreme. They are bursting through my ear plugs, and I don't think I'm that close to the front either. It's the raw, lo-fi loudness that rakes right through you, not one that suffers from distortion but thrives on it, much as the band do. Continually pushing themselves and the mob that used to be an audience to be more energetic, Metz burst with confidence that would tip in to arrogance if their songs weren't so good. It's an amazing, affirming set of explosive music.

Factory Floor at Heaven

Support act East India Youth looks to be playing a keyboard, but who can tell? The few discernible notes that could be heard as he started his set are soon swamped by some amorphous blob of synthesiser sounds. I listen, waiting and hoping for some kind of resolution, but, no, it's just a vague synthesiser-type noise, and if there are any other sounds they are being completely swamped by this blob. Quite what EIY is bobbing in time to is lost to me. Perhaps his monitors are giving better feedback than the venue's sound system. Who knows? With any luck, this is an anomaly. But, again, no. Second song comes and the bass overwhelms the venue, making whatever he's playing lack any kind of fidelity. It's just a mess, maybe caused by poor sound levels, and with all the visual excitement of a skinny bloke in a suit bobbing himself to auditory orgasm behind a table of electronics. I disappear to a quiet corner of the venue for the rest of the set, lest I lose the will to hang around for Factory Floor.

Thankfully, Factory Floor live up to my expectations. I've only seen them once before, when they saved the evening from a similarly terrible Fuck Buttons set, albeit playing support to the poor main act, but the debut album has me excited. Seeing them live has me more excited, and a lot of that has to do with the dynamics of having a live drummer in Gabe Gurnsey, adding a level of performance that can often be missing in electronic acts. But the songs reign in Factory Floor's set. They are grouped together by BPM rating and the set segues from one song to the next until a change in BPM is required, at which point there is a short pause. For each segue and between each, I suppose, medley there are extended intros and outros, adding more muscle to the already impressively realised tracks. Perhaps importantly, and really it should be fundamental, but apparently not everyone believes this, the sound levels are perfectly measured, relaying all the details without distortion. The whole venue positively resonates to Factory Floor, and it feels good.

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Tags: bo ningen, cheatahs, east india youth, emiliana torrini, factory floor, garage, gig, heaven, metz, n'shukugawa boys, ornaments, scala, telegrams, toy, village underground, wytches

Impotent against Imicuses

Scan, explore, see what trouble I can find. Sure, I'll probably just run away from it like a scaredy-cat, but that's part of the appeal. Nothing jumps out at me in our neighbouring class 3 w-space system, being empty of occupation and free from activity. That's kind of welcome, once a blanket scan reveals a mere two signatures, which will be the static exit and our own K162 blinking away without shutting up on the discovery scanner. My entrance would have been bloody obvious to anyone had they been here, and just because they are not doesn't make me hate the discovery scanner any less.

C3a has only two signatures, both wormholes, but thirteen anomalies. Even so, I won't make ISK by myself, so I resolve the exit and jump through to look for more wormholes. The destination region looked like Derelik from inside w-space, and it looks even more like Derelik when in low-sec, particularly by the way I am many hops from anywhere of interest. Still, there are some extra signatures to scan, so I launch probes and find gas, relics, a combat site, more relics, and, finally, a wormhole. A weak-as-water wormhole, making it an outbound connection and subject to the usual irritations of the discovery scanner, but it's the only w-space route I currently have.

Warping to the wormhole finds an outbound link to class 5 w-space. The best I can hope for is the system to be unoccupied and holding K162s, which is pretty rubbish but I try to stay positive. D-scan is clear from the wormhole in C5a, and a blanket scan doesn't find much more. One anomaly and three signatures doesn't give much to look through, but three ships could be interesting. Or could have been interesting, without the discovery scanner. Have I mentioned that distasteful feature that is ruining w-space yet?

I locate the tower, which finds the ships. An Orca industrial command ship, Crane transport, and Buzzard covert operations boat, the latter two even piloted. But what does it matter? It doesn't really, so I bring my probes in to scan the other two signatures. A data site and a wormhole, but that will be the system's static connection and so outbound again, propagating the problems of the discovery scanner and fuelling my pessimism for finding any pilots unprepared for a surprise visit.

I press on anyway, trying not to give up quite so easily, and jump in to C5b to another clear d-scan result. A blanket scan reveals four anomalies and six signatures, which isn't much better than C5a, and a lack of ships is certainly not an improvement. My notes from a previous visit also indicate that this class 5 system links to more class 5 w-space. So it goes, and it's just the one wormhole again, pulling me in to C5c. Now I see ships and a tower on d-scan, the Typhoon battleship, Zephyr exploration ship, and two Venture mining frigates making me wonder if I'm about to get lucky or unlucky.

My notes say unlucky, if only because I was here eleven weeks ago and found a static connection to class 6 w-space. Opening the system map makes everything look worse, as I see I'm in d-scan range of just one planet, obviously holding the tower and ships, and that the discovery scanner shows that the K162 I'm on is the only signature near this planet. What a truly stupid feature the discovery scanner is for w-space. I'm supposedly exploring the unknown, but the biggest secrets are blurted out to those not even paying attention at the time.

Of course, the stupidity scanner is also showing me there's only one more signature, making scanning trivial. I suppose I can poke in to C6a, but I doubt I'll go further. But with a d-scan result of a Mammoth and Epithal hauler in deadly w-space, along with a Helios cov-ops, and Chimera carrier, plus a tower that could be listed in my notes from five months ago, maybe I won't have to go further. I warp to the tower to see it in the same place, but with no Epithal. A Tengu strategic cruiser warps in as I arrive, though. Maybe there is more to see in this system.

The hauler's dropped off d-scan too, and there are two planets out of range. I pick one and warp to that planet's customs office on a whim, only to see the Epithal return to d-scan as I enter warp, damn him. Still, I bump in to two more towers in the direction I pick, with some more ships and a couple of extra pilots. I don't much rate my chances of catching the Chimera or the Epithal, though, and less so the Epithal when the pilot drops to a pod and does nothing. Taking myself back to the centre of the system has the Tengu disappeared, and I'm not sure I care where to, giving me no one to catch, let alone chase.

I think that's it for me. I head back through disappointingly linear w-space, bouncing off what towers I found, the only change being the absence of the Crane in C5a, and in to low-sec again. Now alone in the system I look for a rat to pop for minor security status gain, and just as it looks like I'll have to settle for a crappy rat cruiser a battleship warps in to a rock field. That'll do. Or it would, if a new contact didn't enter the system as I start shooting. Still, the other pilot is only in an Imicus frigate, which isn't much of a threat. Indeed, the ship launches probes and starts scanning, making him more of a target.

Do I loiter on the K162 to C3a, clearly the better choice of the two wormholes, or should I monitor the sites in the system? I think the sites are a more likely destination for a roaming Imicus, so warp to the relic site when the probes blink off d-scan. The frigate appears on d-scan seconds before dropping in to the site, and makes a bee-line for the first relic container. He starts hacking away as I get close, but I'm not going to try to catch him myself. My glorious leader has turned up and got in to her fast-locking Flycatcher interdictor. That puppy should be able to stop the Imicus warping away almost instantly.

I call Fin in to the system and to warp to me, just as loot spews from the relic container. I show actual patience this time and wait for Fin to enter the site before I drop my Loki strategic cruiser's cloak, so that I don't spook the Imicus pilot early, but he's clearly aligning out as Fin decelerates. The Imicus leaves before we can stop him. It's a sad day for Penny when we can't even catch a distracted frigate. Ah well, it's back to the rat battleship with me, which I finish off as a second scanning Imicus enters the low-sec system, coinciding with Aii turning up too. Can all three of us catch a frigate together? Is it even worth trying?

We place ourselves around the system, with Fin in one site, Aii on a wormhole, and me wondering what sort of dread pirates we are. Aii reports that the Imicus is visible on d-scan from the wormhole, and staying that way. 'Combat scan him and scare him off?' Sure, why not. Let's get this evening over with. I launch probes and scan without stealth, getting a solid hit soon enough on the ship, and I warp in to a different site. There he is, and I call my colleagues in to my position, but at the worst possible time.

The Imicus has finished with one container and moving with some sense of purpose to the next, pushing him easily out of my warp scrambler range. But with the other ships appearing we have to give it a shot, and this time we are able to gain a positive lock on the Imicus, not that it matters. My warp scrambler can't take effect, the Imicus is far out of my autocannons' optimal range, and although Fin's Flycatcher gets a positive lock too it seems clear that the frigate has a warp core stabiliser fit, given that it warps clear a second later. Ah well. It's not my proudest evening, missing two hacking frigates and only getting a can of overflow loot, but it was a distraction at least.

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Tags: buzzard, chimera, crane, epithal, eve online, flycatcher, helios, imicus, low-sec, mammoth, mmorpg, orca, penny ibramovic, scanning, tengu, typhoon, venture, w-space, zephyr

Looking for a Drake

Hello, there are people on-line. What could they possibly want? To come home, it seems. My glorious leader is trapped in high-sec—'thankfully not through death and vat rebirth'—and would like to get home again. 'I could use an entrance.' I'm on it, boss. The start is easy too, with just our static wormhole in the home system, making it straightforward to take the first jump to our neighbouring class 3 w-space system.

My directional scanner is clear from our K162 in C3a, and launching probes and performing a blanket scan of the system reveals ten anomalies, nine signatures, and one ship. I would like to find that ship. This is my seventh visit to the system and my sixth had a tower roughly where the ship's signature sits under my probes, so I warp to where the tower was to find that I am indeed where the tower was, not where the current tower is. The on-line tower is only one moon across, though, and d-scan is already showing me the Incursus frigate, which is not a surprise to find unpiloted.

Time to scan. The signatures are all gas but for two wormholes, the static exit to low-sec and a K162 from null-sec. The K162 is not much of an alternative, either for further exploration or for bringing Fin home, so I dip in to low-sec Domain to provide a bookmark beacon, and consider my options. The handful of signatures in this low-sec system seem like the best place to start looking for more wormholes, and scanning them finds two, plus two combat sites that I ignore.

Scouting the two wormholes gives me an easy choice between the K162 from class 2 w-space and the X702 outbound connection to class 3 w-space, even if the X702 weren't at the end of its life. I know I repeat myself, but it's ridiculous how a potentially unknown outbound wormhole should provide less opportunity than a known-to-be-open K162. It would be like pilots of cloaked ships appearing in the w-space local channel, but other ships only being seen if d-scan is manually updated.

In to C2a, where two crappy rookie frigates fail to interest me on d-scan, and the tower is easy to find with only four planets and six moons in range. One planet is out of range, letting me get my hopes up for another tower holding more ships and some pilots, but there's just a warp bubble somewhere. I'll scan. The mucky pups have data and relic sites everywhere, wasting my time scanning their weak signatures, and the only other wormhole amongst the three anomalies and seventeen signatures is the second static wormhole. It leads to more class 2 w-space.

C2b isn't much different to C2a on first blush, except its missing even the crappy ships and a tower. Looking closer sees that it is unoccupied and, from my notes, probably has a static exit to null-sec. That will make the other wormhole connect to class 5 or 6 w-space. Still, I can poke around for other wormholes, and scanning resolves four of them. The two static wormholes, the other going to a C5 system, are joined by an outbound link to class 1 w-space that would look much better as a K162, as would the second Z647.

I work with what I've got, and pick one of the wormholes and jump through. D-scan is clear, a black hole lurks in the background, and exploring finds no occupation or activity. That should be good enough for me, but I can't resist scanning anyway. Three wormholes here, a K162 from null-sec, another from high-sec, and a static exit to null-sec. Nothing interesting. Back a system and in to C1b. Or that's the plan. A Drake on d-scan stops me before I jump back to C2b, the appearance of the battlecruiser again making me glad I don't warp point-to-point when scouting w-space, allowing my cloak to hold before each jump.

A sweep of d-scan doesn't find the Drake in an anomaly, and now that there is also a Sleeper wreck it seems he is engaging the w-space drones in a data or relic site. That will need to be scanned. Or, I suppose, the Drake will, appearing much fatter under my combat scanning probes than the site will. Either way, it's time to hunt, so I warp out of d-scan range, re-launch probes, and send them high above the ecliptic plane so that the Drake's pilot won't be able to detect them.

Fin's made it home, and so prepares a ship as I narrow down the location of the Drake in space. I manage to get a decent bearing on the battlecruiser, and gauge its range with a bit of a pointless, interface-forced AU-to-kilometre conversion, and naturally get it a bit wrong. Not too wrong, thankfully, so that when Fin gets her ship on the wormhole connecting to this system and I call my probes in to scan the Drake, I get a solid hit. The site is a bit fuzzy, but that is expected and somewhat irrelevant. I recall my probes and throw my cloaky Loki in to warp.

We have already decided that, to minimise the chances of being spotted, I would send my strategic cruiser in to engage the Drake ahead of Fin's appearance. As it turns out, even that plan isn't enough to catch a pilot watching d-scan with a vigilance that sees my probes during their single scan cycle. I warp only to a site with a single Sleeper ship, some wrecks, and a few data cans. The Drake is gone.

I imagine the Drake was a tourist from high-sec, particularly as warping to that K162 in C1a has the wormhole pounding in its half-mass state, which it wasn't when I scouted it a few minutes earlier. Never mind, the hunt was a minor bit of fun and helps keep my skills somewhat honed, even if a successful ambush would have been better. And considering the state of w-space, I don't think the evening will get better. I'd rather end on a high note than press on and lessen the experience. I ignore C1b and just turn my Loki around to head home with Fin.

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Tags: drake, eve online, incursus, loki, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, scanning, w-space

New whale

I'm aiming for little more than a poke around for now, just testing the waters of, um, space. I think that's a metaphor. Lots of anomalies wait to be exploited in the home system, but they'll have to wait a bit longer, and two unknown signatures give me a pocket of gas to ignore and a second wormhole. The K162 from class 2 w-space looks attractive, and not just because it should have an exit to high-sec empire space. I jump through to see what's happening.

Nothing is happening, by the looks of it, not with a clear directional scanner and my cloaky Loki strategic cruiser appearing over seven kilometres from the wormhole. The system has changed since my last visit, where the locals ambushed a tourist Drake battlecruiser, who we then counter-ambushed. Great days, but it looks like they've moved on. Never mind, I can scan for more wormholes, which will be quick with nine anomalies and a measly three signatures.

A data site is the mysterious third signature, and checking the exit to high-sec sees that it leads to Domain. But where in Domain, as it's a big region. I find out by jumping through, appearing in a system eight hops from Amarr. That's actually pretty close, and probably too good to pass up, particularly in what looks like a quiet afternoon.

I dash home, stow in my Loki what little loot we've yet to sell, and head back across C2a to high-sec. Hop hoppity hop to Amarr, dock, and hit the market. I sell what I brought with me, then spend that ISK and a whole chunk more buying a new Orca to replace the one we lost recently. And, what the hell, I stuff the industrial command ship full of fuel blocks too, because we can always use more fuel.

Back through high-sec I go, in an expensive, vulnerable ship full of cargo, and in to w-space through the K162 to C2a. D-scan is clear, even if the idiotic discovery scanner is showing me two new signatures that I imagine will not only be wormholes but wormholes that the scouts who opened them really don't want me to know about, and who have a good claim for my not actually knowing about them unless I'm actively looking. But, whatever, I'll make a run for it. I doubt anyone's actually expecting to see me.

I get to our K162, jump, and warp back to the tower without seeing another ship. That's a good result. It would be better had I remembered that the Orca has a ship hangar where I could have carried my Loki back with me, but I'm not too smart and left the strategic cruiser in Amarr. Still, it's just one more trip, so I strip down to my pod and warp out of the tower, in to C2a, past a Manticore on the wormhole.

The stealth bomber is orange, so probably local to the class 2 system, but I ignore him as he cloaks or jumps, I can't tell which, and I warp to the high-sec exit. Out I go, hopping through stargates, once more to Amarr. I reunite with my Loki and make the journey back, wondering what I'll encounter in w-space this time, but a bit less concerned now that I'm in my cloaky and interdiction-nullified strategic cruiser. I may even get a kill if the Manticore takes a punt at my bringing in another industrial ship, but only if he looks for me. As I've run out of time, I won't actively be looking for him.

An orange is in the high-sec system holding the C2 K162. Is that the Manticore watching for me? It's a little careless if so, as it alerts me immediately. I warp to the wormhole, which looks clear but is now wobbling at the end of its life. Its age doesn't concern me, so I jump through and update d-scan to see... nothing. The wormhole crackles behind me, though, but only after I've moved and cloaked. Now a Deimos heavy assault cruiser is on d-scan, soon joined by a second.

The Manticore came through the wormhole from high-sec but, not being able to find me, jumps back out again. He was a bit slow. And on the wrong wormhole, really. It was obvious he was in the system, because of the transparent local communications channel, and trying to catch a ship that isn't polarised on a high-sec wormhole is an exercise in futility. Still, what's on our K162? The two HACs, by the looks of d-scan. That's a more sensible location to try to catch someone.

I warp across to take a look at the wormhole. The two HACs are guarding the connection. It's no problem. I can squeeze through and jump past them, so I do, right in to an Onyx heavy interdictor and its bubble. Maybe the locals were hoping I'd bring a fat target home again. Or maybe my Loki is a pretty good target anyway. I move and cloak, pulsing my micro warp drive to increase my separation from the Onyx, and, safe enough, watching as a Deimos comes through the wormhole.

Well, maybe I'm not safe enough, as the HAC burns in my rough direction, despite my jink. I've tried in the past to manoeuvre under normal engines, partly to monitor the wormhole, partly to capture a good image, and doing so occasionally backfires. Today I err on the side of caution and am in warp to a distant point before the Deimos gets too close. Even so, I bounce back to the wormhole, at an actually safe distance, to see the ships have one last attempt to uncover me before wisely jumping back to their C2 home. That makes it time for me to go off-line. As I do, I wonder how much leeway I had in getting the Orca home safely.

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Tags: deimos, eve online, loki, manticore, mmorpg, onyx, orca, penny ibramovic, scanning, w-space

Discovery scanner musings

The home system looks about the same as yesterday, right down to having just me inside it. Not for long, though. I can be an agent of change! Okay, so the change involves taking me out of the home system and not making home itself a hotbed of activity, but still, it's a change. On top of that, jumping to our neighbouring class 3 w-space system sees a Viator transport visible on my directional scanner.

There's a tower in C3a too, probably where the Viator is, and even though the tower isn't where it was from my last visit to the system it's not difficult to locate its new position. There being only five planets and ten moons sprinkled amongst them can't keep a tower hidden for long, so I quickly learn that the Viator is inside the tower's force field and empty of a capsuleer. Fair enough. I can get down to scanning the nine anomalies and nineteen signatures.

Gas, a weak wormhole that merely reminds me how the discovery scanner is killing any sense of adventure I have in exploring w-space these days, more gas, two chubby wormholes that probably lead back in to dead systems but in some topsy-turvy bizarro way are my best opportunity for stumbling in to other ships, another weak wormhole that makes me want to cry, and scanning finishes off with a touch more gas. That was fun.

I check the viability of the chubsters first, considering that one will be the system's static exit to low-sec. The beautiful wormhole to Kor-Azor is joined by a K162 from class 4 w-space. That'll do, I suppose. I divert through the U210 to Kor-Azor to get an emergency exit or entrance, depending on your point-of-view, and ignore the couple of red pilots that pass through without coming my way. I doubt they even know who I am.

Back to C3a and in to C4a, where two towers show up on d-scan without any ships. Perhaps that means there is another K162 to lead me further backwards through the constellation. Or perhaps it means I'll warp to the edge of the system to find a third tower with four piloted ships. I see a Cheetah covert operations boat, Osprey cruiser, Scythe cruiser, and Drake battlecruiser at the tower, and there looks to be some activity.

But it's just that, looks of some activity. The Cheetah is running laps around the tower, within the force field, and that's about it. Maybe the pilots are wondering if they have enough reps to take their Drake in to the C3 to clear some anomalies. But even with effectively nothing happening I don't care to scan the two signatures, not with the second being near the tower. I don't want to give away my being in the constellation for no good reason. I just head back to C3a to investigate the other wormholes.

The first outbound connection is an I182 link to class 2 w-space. Oh how I used to enjoy such wormholes, offering not just a drop on whoever isn't currently scanning in the destination system but also further opportunity through another wormhole in to more w-space. Now it's just a route to more scanning through dead systems, occupants already and permanently alerted to the new connection about to bring a scout in to their system. I jump through anyway, as an echo of past exploration experiences.

Well, d-scan is clear, and with the farthest planet under 7 AU away it's obvious there is no occupation, activity, or wrecks. I guess I got lucky this time. But, really, what's the point? I'm not sure how much longer I can endure unsurprising w-space. Still I press on. I launch probes to scan, revealing twelve anomalies and five signatures, and the curiosity of an unoccupied class 2 w-space system has my pondering. I would bet ISK right now that the two static wormholes will lead to null-sec and either class 5 or class 6 w-space.

Gas, gas, wormhole, wormhole. Well, the first wormhole I land next to is an N062 to class 5 w-space, which makes the other the null-sec exit. I can safely ignore that and, I suppose, head in to C5a. D-scan is clear again, a blanket scan with my probes reveals twenty-six anomalies and twenty-four signatures, and the lack of ships and almost-inevitability of only finding another outbound connection that will announce my imminent arrival in the next system discourages me from even looking for it.

I pause my backwards journey through C2a to dip in to null-sec, where being alone in a system in Venal has my popping a rat battleship for security status, before returning to C3a and investigating the other outbound wormhole. It leads to class 5 w-space. I almost jump through, but the recurrence of recent latency issues between my controls and the ship's responding gives me more than adequate excuse to not bother. I am already frustrated enough by the discovery scanner that I don't need to deal technical issues too. I'll aim for as stress-free an evening as possible, heading home to go off-line. If only the discovery scanner would die, there would be more life.

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Tags: cheetah, drake, eve online, mmorpg, osprey, penny ibramovic, scanning, scythe, viator, w-space

Nothing in null-sec

It's just me on-line at the moment. What can I do? I can start by scanning the home w-space system. Oh yeah, getting the party started. There's just gas and the static wormhole, and I jump to our neighbouring class 3 system to look for a dance partner. Nothing to see here. My directional scanner is clear from the K162, but opening the system map sees only one planet in range. There's probably more out there, so I launch probes and perform a blanket scan of the system as I warp off to explore.

My probes reveal fourteen anomalies, six signatures, and no ships, and exploring finds a tower holding that lack of ships. I'll look for the static exit to low-sec, I suppose. The first signature I resolve could be it. It's a wormhole, at least. Now gas, more gas, a second wormhole, and some relics. Hoping for more w-space to explore has my being disappointed by the other wormhole, warping to see a K162 from null-sec. It comes from the Feythabolis region, judging by the winged sprite representation of the Immensea nebula, and that's enough to send me towards the first wormhole.

The exit from C3a leads to Everyshore, where one pilot shares the system with me and there are no other signatures to scan for wormholes. Fine, I'll go to Feythabolis, see if I care. A different pilot is in the null-sec system, probably in the Navy Raven battleship visible on d-scan, but with no wrecks to be seen I'll focus on scanning the extra signatures. Opening the system map to launch probes shows that the system is tiny, which will make scanning efficient. Signatures clump closer together in small systems, putting more of them in the spheres of multiple probes at the same time.

Data, relics, relics, data. Nice symmetry, crappy result. I think today calls for a stargate hop, to take me to a new null-sec system and new opportunity. I'm alone this time, with five signatures to scan whilst I rat, giving me two data sites, a chubby wormhole, and two skinny wormholes. The skinny ones are going to be outbound connections and subject to the inherent lack of surprise that the discovery scanner forces on any scout or explorer, so I warp to the chubby wormhole first. K162s are also almost always known to exist by the inhabitants of a system, but at least they don't announce your arrival anywhere near as obviously as a newly spawned wormhole.

Sadly, the K162 from class 5 w-space is at the end of its life, and I don't fancy taking the risk of it collapsing behind me, not with the only route home being through null-sec. I'm stuck with the outbound connections. One is an X702, leading to class 3 w-space, the other a Z791. The class 1 system is probably the better place to start, so in I go. D-scan is clear, launching probes and blanketing the system reveals—ah, well, the system is again tiny. On the K162, I'm almost further from the nearest planet than that planet is from the furthest planet from it. There's nothing to see here. But maybe there are wormholes.

Poking the four anomalies and sixteen signatures for K162s is again quick, for the system being small, and eight gas sites are ignored in the first scan. Four more are ignored on the second, and the only wormhole that appears leads to low-sec Placid. That doesn't interest me, so I jump back to Feythabolis and try my luck through the X702 and in to C3b, where I find myself staring in to a black hole. But d-scan looks interesting, with a Machariel battleship, Drake battlecruiser, and Bestower hauler in the system, along with a tower. So, of course, this is the time my ship decides to become unresponsive.

It's actually the third time my ship has failed in almost as many minutes, only this time it's in a system with ships, and where notes from a recent visit could have got me outside the tower quickly. But, no, I first have to suffer a forced decloaking and my ship being obvious on d-scan for over a minute. Still, when I get everything working again and my Loki strategic cruiser to the tower I see that all three ships lack pilots, so I suppose that's something. There's naturally nothing happening, instead of nothing happening because technical issues caused it to stop.

I'm not going to scan further, neither in C3b or back in another null-sec system. I'm not feeling terribly positive at the moment, both with the discovery scanner still ruining w-space and instabilities in my ship systems. I doubt the first will ever be fixed, much as I'd like to hope, but the second is likely ephemeral and may be gone tomorrow. For now, I'll just head back home for some downtime.

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Tags: bestower, drake, eve online, loki, machariel, mmorpg, null-sec, penny ibramovic, raven, scanning, w-space

Falling to a fleet

I'm about to warp to a low-sec exit from w-space when a Legion stops me. Not directly, but the strategic cruiser appears on my directional scanner when I am expecting to see nothing. The Legion is on d-scan again when I next update, and continues to be for the next few updates, even if narrowing d-scan's beam to look for where he may actually be finds nothing. If I can't find him with d-scan I'll launch probes and resolve his position directly, not caring to be particularly covert considering my recent, and fruitless, tussle with an Anathema covert operations boat had my being visible for quite a while.

Nope, he's gone. Aii notices a second strategic cruiser, this one a Proteus, also in the class 3 w-space system whilst I was fiddling with my probes. I can't help but think that playing with the Anathema is coming back to bite me. I warp across to check the K162 from high-sec empire space, wondering if the source of the Anathema could be the source of these other ships, and although it looks clear the wormhole crackles as I watch, bringing another ship in to the system. A Drake battlecruiser appears and warps away from the wormhole.

It looks like the Drake warps to C3a's static exit to low-sec, but heading that way myself doesn't find him. Now maybe he's on the K162 leading to our home system, but again I warp to the wormhole to find nothing but the wormhole. The Drake remains on d-scan, though, and now it seems he is around a planet. This time I see him, dropping out of warp close to the battlecruiser, but not feeling particularly inclined to do anything about it.

The Drake is obviously bait. Not only is it acting in a way to guarantee it attention, and stopped at a point in space where there is no easy escape route, such as a wormhole, but its name also has the same prefix as did the Legion. You're not fooling anyone. Sitting at this planet looks bad for the Drake, but it's going to be worse for anyone suckered in to engaging. Then again, the Anathema only saw me, and although there are definitely a few ships around it is possible that Aii and I could do something here, particularly now that our glorious leader has come on-line.

We can't do much with the Drake, who looks bored already, warping from the planet and bouncing around a little more, but seeing the Proteus jump to our home system gives us thoughts. The Drake jumps back to high-sec, leaving us with a Legion somewhere, the Proteus at home, and, with a blip, the Anathema still scouting. This has Fin volunteer to be bait, ostensibly to flush out the Proteus, but almost certainly to get the Legion involved too, hopefully giving the three of us a fair chance of prevailing.

Fin boards an Onyx heavy interdictor and warps to our static wormhole, trying to provide an alluring target for the Proteus to reveal himself over, whilst Aii and I lurk on the other side of the wormhole, the K162 in C3a. Now we wait. And, of course, watch d-scan. There's no sign of the Proteus yet. A Prophecy appears in C3a on d-scan, along with the bait Drake, which makes four of them against three of us. We're not even in optimal boats for a proper engagement, so I tell Fin to bail out. There's no point getting outnumbered. Warp.

Warp warp warp. 'In motion. Away.' Good. A burst of ships on d-scan turns my change-of-heart in to direct command. The Prophecy drops on to the wormhole and jumps through, followed by two Legions, another Proteus, a Sacrilege heavy assault cruiser, and the Drake lagging behind. And all of them looking for me. It's a shame they've brought so many ships. I don't want to get lynched, and this fleet only encourages me to hide.

They get bored soon enough, the fleet jumping back out of our system and warping across C3a. Well, it looks like all of them. I don't count, or actually see, as I drifted away from the wormhole and got distracted. I'm told the fleet left, which is good enough for me. Now what to do? I dunno. I remain distracted by an external influence, and nothing involving happy thoughts, so am not in a great position to make a group decision. I realise this, so announce that I'm heading off-line, approaching the wormhole to jump home first.

Fin would like to crash our wormhole, so that we can isolate ourselves from that threat of the fleet's return. As I jump home she jumps out in an Orca industrial command ship, starting to mass-stress the wormhole. But that's not all I see. A Proteus decloaks in our system behind Fin. This is not a good sign. The strategic cruiser doesn't jump, clearly wanting Fin to return polarised, and also doesn't seem to react when I move away from the wormhole and cloak.

I'm not quite sure what to do. I've not been alert since the fleet showed up and discouraged any interaction. I feel sure Fin shouldn't jump home, at least not without support, so I am in warp to our tower to get myself in to a Falcon recon ship. ECM is never a good solution, but sometimes it's best to cheat and worry about the morality of its use later. Besides, Aii is out in empire space, and we can't take on a Proteus easily whilst Fin is in the Orca.

But Aii in empire gives us a sitrep: the fleet is coming back. Fin is 'cloaked, but not safe'. I am swapping ships. But it's already too late. The Sandpeople are back, and in greater numbers. Their warping to our K162 decloaked our Orca, forcing Fin back through to try to disengage, which doesn't really help her situation. The fleet follows, to be bolstered by the Proteus already here, and now our massive ship is also polarised.

I've got the Falcon in effective range of the wormhole, but all that does is let me witness the Orca melt far too quickly. I lock a handful of ships and apply ECM to what I can, but it makes no difference to the Sleipnir command ship, four Proteuses, Sacrilege, Prophecy, two Legions, Drake, and Navy Drake. At least Fin's pod gets clear of the massacre, and I am able to disengage the Falcon safely. But it's not much of a comfort.

This is our second recent Orca loss, and both times it is has been my carelessness that has been the cause. I knew I was switched-off, I really wasn't thinking clearly. We had options I didn't even consider. With just the Proteus left behind Fin could have been safe jumping back immediately and relying on her Orca's fitting to get her safely in to warp. Or, when the fleet was reported to be returning, I should have just sent her warping to the high-sec K162. Stranding an Orca in high-sec is better than losing it as a wreck.

I probably shouldn't have pretended I knew what I was doing in this case. Fin and Aii would have worked it out better themselves. But never mind, it's done now. And now I've got a good reason to mope in a quiet corner of our system and go off-line.

Posted in Gaming | Comments Off on Falling to a fleet
Tags: anathema, drake, eve online, falcon, legion, mmorpg, onyx, orca, penny ibramovic, prophecy, proteus, pvp, sacrilege, sleipnir, w-space

Chasing my tail

There are some bookmarks for a simple constellation waiting for me as I come on-line, but how fresh are they? Warping to empty space where a wormhole should be says 'not very fresh, Penny', so I have some scanning to do. I start by scanning our current static wormhole, hoping that it stays there this time. Yesterday's shenanigans may have been interesting but they added complications that weren't amenable to getting back to the home w-space system.

Jumping to our neighbouring class 3 system sees a tower and ships on my directional scanner. Imagine that! But there are no wrecks in the system along with the Raven, Megathron, and Hyperion battleships, so probably no pilots. And, huh, there are no anomalies either, so no wonder there aren't any wrecks. The tower is in the same general direction as the one from my last visit, eighteen months ago, so I warp in the other direction to launch probes, performing a blanket scan as I return to find the tower.

Nope, not here. It's the right planet but wrong moon, and easily rectified. No pilots either. I can't say I'm surprised. Scanning the four signatures—well, three of them, as one is our K162 that I hope I already know about—resolves three wormholes, a natural result for such a bare system. The static exit to low-sec leads to Khanid, the K162 from high-sec looks like it may come from Solitude, with a nice mix of nebulae visible, and the K162 from low-sec leads in from socket closed. Balls.

I reboot my ship, refraining from smacking the console in case it shakes the Minmatar design apart, and return to check the second K162. It comes from the Essence region. The notorious system Old Man Star, in particular. Let me try another wormhole. Back to C3a and out to check the high-sec connection, which puts me not in Solitude but Genesis, with an orange in the system. The capsuleer is not from w-space, though, and it's just a case of general animosity between our two alliances. And, as I take in the view, identifying the various nebulae visible, an Anathema jumps past me.

I'm sitting on a wormhole connecting w-space with high-sec, and my potential target is a covert operations boat. Chasing it is setting myself up for failure. But I've been doing that for a long time, so I jump behind the Anathema, wait for him to shed his session-change cloak, and then aggressively attempt to gain a target lock as he cloaks immediately. Of course, he gets away, and if he hadn't he would have simply jumped back to high-sec. Still, it was some minor excitement.

The Anathema is gone. I don't know where, it doesn't really matter. No w-space lurks beyond our own, and no probes are launched. Oh, they are now, just as Aii comes on-line. We could perhaps set a meagre trap for the cov-ops, but as he's a tourist it's probably not worth it. I'll just hit low-sec to scan. Or I'll warp to the wormhole and see the Anathema eighty kilometres away, decloaked and burning hard to the wormhole.

Now I'm clutching at straws. The Anathema is moving incredibly fast, and towards a wormhole. If I try to intercept him off the wormhole he can cloak, and if I try to catch him on the wormhole he'll just jump, at which point he'll become more slippery. And that's not taking in to account his speed, which will have him zipping past me if I decloak too late, or easily out of my engagement range if I decloak too early. I don't even think there is a right time to try to catch him in this situation. But I'll give it a go.

I move to intercept the Anathema, given a suitably loose understanding of 'intercept'. Sure enough, as I decloak and soak up the sensor recalibration delay, the Anathema both has time to cloak as a reaction and his micro warp drive, already on full burn, boosts the ship past my position and on to the wormhole, which, whilst it reveals him once more, allows him to evade me by jumping out of w-space. I told myself so.

The Anathema may come back, of course. He'll be polarised, but just as agile. Even so, I'll have a slight advantage in that, because he knows I'm here, I won't be hiding any more. I remain decloaked, sensor booster active, waiting just in case. The wormhole crackles, it's the Anathema. And although he appears under three kilometres from my Loki strategic cruiser, he jinks, pulses his micro warp drive, and is gone once more. Okay, I think I've had my fun with this ship. Moving on.

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Tags: anathema, eve online, hyperion, loki, megathron, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, pvp, raven, scanning, w-space