Oh My Goddess: First End

Oh My Goddess: First End is the first novel based on the Oh! My Goddess! Japanese manga creations of Kosuke Fujishima. The novel is written by Yumi Tohma, the actress who voices the character of Urd in the animated series and who has enjoyed an affinity with the characters and series for many years. As the title vaguely suggests, the plot of First End sees the potential end of the enduring relationship between Belldandy and Keiichi, a dramatic accident pulling the couple, and their families, apart. Being almighty goddesses, the trio of sisters try to resolve the situation and ensure it doesn't occur again, working to achieve continued happiness and harmony for everyone involved as well as the interconnected worlds of Earth and Yggdrasil.

The plot of the book could be viewed as fashionable, as it features what amounts to a 'reboot' of the series. Whether this is intentionally riding the wave of current trends or merely a mechanism to create a separate continuity for further stories is ultimately immaterial. That the author feels a need to erase the history of the series, either to start anew with little canon to be burdened with or purely for dramatic purposes, seems to point to a lack of originality, which is unfortunate considering the intimate knowledge the author otherwise clearly shows.

Although easy to read, the writing style is overly simplistic. Many are the moments where 'just then' or 'suddenly' events occur, when less urgent descriptions would have sufficed, and more descriptive text would have been a blessing instead of the myriad times a character is given dialogue such as '...' or, on one occasion, '~~~~~~!!!' Reading the book comes across more as reading a transcription of a comic book or animated series rather than a novel, which suffers from offering too shallow an insight in to the characters and situation. However, the style manages to capture the spirit of the comic series effectively with no danger of being too dry or complicated, offering the reader plenty of opportunities to create associations between the text and mentally visualised comic panels.

There is also a preponderance to use adjectives, perhaps in an effort to compensate for the lack of background detail, but unfortunately only a handful of nouns are modified by the same adjectives. If you don't know that Belldandy has 'chestnut hair' or 'lavender eyes' at the start of the book you certainly will by the end to the point of being fed up of the reminders, which is a pity if only because a change of hair colour is of minor significance only after her normal colour has been repeated too often. There is also a curious idea that Skuld bursts in to tears at the drop of a hat, where I hold the impression that she is a more resilient character normally, but maybe that is a discrepancy between the comic and the animation series.

But an Oh! My Goddess! novel was never going to be high art or deeply thought provoking. The comic has always been a sentimental and wistful romantic comedy, brimming with positivity and kindness, and it is this heartfelt passion and good-natured devotion to man, machine and nature that has made the comic my favourite for many years. I have faithfully collected the Dark Horse Comics series from the first issue, enchanted by the goddesses and their life-affirming spirit ever since. I even wrote, and got published, a letter to the editor one month. Hence the novel being an irresistable read despite suspecting it not to be particularly challenging.

As already mentioned, the author clearly has an affinity with all of the characters and writes about them and their situations with an obvious love for what happens to everyone involved. The writing style may be quite superficial and the story less than challenging but for a fan like myself it is still a wonderful pleasure to follow Keiichi and the goddesses through their lives, their good times and troubles, and to feel their excitement and dedication to each other. The world always feels a better, more hopeful place when I am reading about Belldandy and her sisters.

Even with an obvious bias towards wanting and managing to like this novel, despite its deficiencies, I can't help but be disappointed with the ending. The plot that drives the reboot of Keiichi's world and the events that occur subsequently lead to interesting challenges to all involved, but ultimately there is no resolution. The author may believe the ending to be open or ambiguous but effectively no change is affected, she appears to be written in to a corner. Worst of all, there is ultimately no character progression, arguably only regression.

However, even with its lack of substance as a novel proper and disappointing ending there is plenty to be enjoyed in First End for an Oh! My Goddess! fan. Plenty of characters make an appearance and are presented with the warmth and affection only someone intimately familiar with each of them could produce. The minor stories are quite touching, being both suitably romantic and occasionally comedic, with an overall strand holding the individual episodes together well. Although the writing style reads more like a textual comic it easily retains the spirit of the series and enables a fluid transition from comic to novel.

Whilst Oh My Goddess: First End would not appeal to most people, for all its flaws I would still recommend it to fans, and I will probably buy further novels in the series. It may not have quite the appeal of the comic books, but the spirit and verve of the characters and world they live in is too irresistable for a romantic like myself. I relish being continually drawn in to the lives of the goddesses, if only to look for personal inspiration, and the book succeeds in instilling a similar sensation.

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Tags: book, oh my goddess

Invention and skills update

Being out of w-space for a while, as I buy and fit a new Drake, a quick check shows that my level four R&D agents have been beavering away creating datacores for me. The number of datacores available to be bought bodes well for further invention attempts leading to Tech II BPCs to manufacture. A quick change of ships and my first destination set and I am speeding across the galaxy to collect the fruits of my research contracts.

It seems that I have managed to work with agents on diametrically opposed edges of high-sec, as not only is it over a dozen jumps to get to the first agent but my autopilot then guides me almost past my manufacturing base as I head to the second agent on the thirty-hop route. Perhaps I should look again at piloting a transport ship, for added speed with cargo capabilities. Circuitous trips notwithstanding, I eventually have a bounty of datacores sitting in my station hold.

After making the many jumps back-and-forth is perhaps the most unfortunate time to remember that I had planned to delay running more invention jobs until I find time to train the appropriate skills to at least level four each, which I haven't done just yet. Whilst Caldari encryption techniques is trained to level four—as are mechanical and electronic engineering, once I find out that the skill level increases daily accumulation of research points—my skill in Gallente encryption techniques still needs a couple of days training to get to a respectable level, and my starship engineering skill langours at a level that would only result in throwing away datacores if I tried to invent a Tech II ship.

I could look at the positive side and note that at least I have a useful stash of datacores available to me, but I'm not sure what that actually achieves. Instead, perhaps the positive aspect is that I am reminded of my current skill training objectives. Primarily, with the wormhole engineering branch of the corporation in w-space, I am training to be able to fit and use a warfare link module in my Drake, which is going to take a couple of weeks. Rather than getting distracted by some shorter-term goals I must focus and stick to the plan, particularly given the stability of wormholes and the viability of remaining in w-space for extended periods, otherwise I may find that the days I dedicate to training the leadership skills almost going to waste.

I have other goals for my skill training too. I am only a few days away from completing my core competencies up to the standard level, and perhaps a couple of weeks or so from the improved level. It would probably be prudent to set this as my secondary target, because finally completing the longer shield- and capacitor-based skills could make a small but significant difference to possible ship fittings.

Invention is certainly an important consideration for my skill training, as I am planning to train the survey skill so that I can find cryptographic and archeological sites in an attempt to get some decryptors, which are useful in improving Tech II BPCs. I aim to complete the survey skills first and then train the encryption skills, directly necessary for invention, whilst I am scanning down sites for loot. I may also buy and fit a new ship for scanning the sites, but as that is likely to be weeks away I don't need to concern myself with the details just yet.

I start out getting excited about the possibility of producing more Tech II BPCs before remembering that I am better served waiting until my skills are improved. This leads to realising my current skill training plan, aimed at improving team survivability in w-space, then my own survivability, before returning to invention skills. It may seem a long while before I'll be churning out Tech II BPCs, but the planning is to enable greater chances of success and better quality BPCs as a result. Besides, nothing much happens quickly in EVE Online, except perhaps a ship's structure vapourising.

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Tags: eve online, invention, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, skills, tech ii

Revisiting the Drake's fitting

Even though it is a relatively simple matter of buying a new battlecruiser, back in high-sec, and fitting it out with identical modules, losing my Drake to Sleepers has the unfortunate effect of causing an irrational concern over the quality of the passive shield I am running. I pause to wonder if I could improve on my shield's performance, or even change to a more active set-up to utitise the untouched capacitor. I consider this an irrational concern only because it was the combined force of three Sleeper battleships that destroyed Lightness of Being, a pounding that was to prove too much even for an armour-tanked battleship. Even so, if the destruction of my ship leads me to seek an improved set-up it can't be an entirely bad event.

My first thought, to replace the shield power relays with shield rechargers, is a good reminder of why I should only consider my options so far when not in New Eden. Although it seems reasonable initially—lose a little recharge capability in favour of removing the shield power relays' drain on the capacitor recharge time, thus allowing for a more active fit—it overlooks the important point that shield power relays are low-slot fittings and shield rechargers mid-slot. Not to be deterred once I discover this I press on to examine my options.

The passive shield tanking fit I have been using gives a good shield recharge rate and some respectable shield resistances, and although it destroys the capacitor recharge rate this isn't a concern in a fitting that uses no capacitor charge. However, if I want to move from a passive set-up to a more active one I will need to enhance my capacitor's output. How much I need to boost the capacitor will depend on the active set-up chosen. I could fit shield hardeners in place of the shield amplifiers to increase my resistances a little further, including a shield booster would help survive short bursts of high damage, but to do either or both of these I will need to swap out a shield power relay or two and that will affect my shield recharge rate.

I have options on how to increase my ship's capacitor output. I can fit capacitor flux coils, which increase the recharge rate of the capacitor at the expense of its overall capacity. There are also capacitor power relays, whose drawback to increase recharge rate is decreased shield booster effectiveness. But first I ought to find out what I am able to fit before needing to think about boosting anything, so I strip all my mid- and low-slot fittings and experiment a little. My first alternative fitting includes:

mid-slots
3 × invulnerabilty shield
1 × large shield booster
1 × shield recharger
1 × large shield extender

low-slots
3 × capacitor power relay
1 × ballistic control system

The fitting isn't capacitor stable with the booster running constantly, but hopefully the capacitor will recharge quickly enough between boosts to sustain a decent shield recharge rate, whilst improved resistances compensate for the reduced shield capacity. I speak to my mission agent to get in to some action to test the fitting, being handed Cargo Delivery to complete.

Even though the shield holds it lacks the sturdy feel I got from the passive fit, warranting another experimental fitting.

mid-slots
4 × shield amplifier (one for each type of damage)
1 × large shield booster
1 × large shield extender

low-slots
3 × capacitor flux coil
1 × ballistic control system

This time I get to Intercept the Saboteurs! Whilst the tank holds up fine I don't actually use the active portion of it at all, which would suggest the shield power relays and an extra extender instead of the booster would be better, which is the initial fitting I am experimenting away from. I change this second fitting slightly, removing the flux coils and replacing them with:

low-slots
3 × capacitor power relay

before heading out to Break Their Will. This time, the tank doesn't hold—the power relays' impairment to shield boosting causing too much of a penalty for the booster to be an effective replacement for passive recharge rates—and I need to return to repair some armour damage on the Drake. Perhaps a compromise is needed.

mid-slots
4 × shield amplifier (one for each type of damage)
2 × invulnerability field

low-slots
2 × shield power relay
1 × capacitor power relay
1 × ballistic control system

With this fitting the capacitor is stable but I have no shield booster, a slower shield recharge rate and far fewer effective hit points, with no shield extenders. Despite getting the best shield resistances from any of the fittings, and understandably so, the tank is quite poor overall, probably mostly owing to the lack of shield extenders.

Despite a Drake exploding with my original fitting, a bit of experimentation highlights the fitting as probably optimal for my budget and current skills. In attempting to find a suitable active fitting I discover that the lack of capacitor is a good reason why the Drake is renowned for its passive set-ups, where trying to compensate for an inherent inadequacy can become an expensive and ultimately futile pursuit. Instead, I shall continue to use the Drake's strength, maintaining a massive shield and excellent recharge rate.

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Tags: drake, eve online, mmorpg, penny ibramovic

Quests are not a grind

From Of Teeth and Claws I find that Epic Slant has published a post apparently busting the 'myth' that games with quests are no less of a grind than those without. This piques my interest, so I take a look.

After some preamble there is a statement about what it means for a game to be a 'grind'.

The truth ladies and gentlemen is that killing monsters for experience does not equate to grinding. No matter how much someone might want to disagree with me or prove this article wrong you cannot make that statement true.

I will have to agree with him, in that the fundamental act of killing mobs is not in itself a grind. However, he continues that

the word grind simply comes from an MMO that is 'hard' or 'slow' to level.

It may be the case that the term 'grind' once held that meaning, but the use of words can change over time and it is no longer the common meaning. 'Grinding' in a game is now commonly used to describe 'the process of engaging in repetitive and/or non-entertaining gameplay in order to gain access to other features within the game.'

In its current, accepted use, to 'grind' in an MMORPG can precisely be used to describe the killing of monsters for XP, as long as it is repetitive or non-entertaining, and in my experience players only refer to a grind when play certainly is failing to entertain them. So Ferrel's declaration that he can

design an MMO that only gives experience from the slaughter of monsters and I can make it level faster than WoW

is missing the point. It isn't the speed of the levelling that makes a game a grind, at least not any more, it's merely how boring the endured activity is.

Even though his entire argument is based on a flawed premise he goes on to state that

quests do not mean easier

which may be be true. However, Ferrel then makes a salient point but unfortunately appears to miss its significance, noting that quests

just give the perception because we get to go out with a purpose.

It is precisely this 'purpose' that quests bestow on a player that means they are not perceived as a grind. Even if the quests involve some repetitive behaviour it is the breaking up of the monotony of killing mobs by dealing with NPCs that helps remove the perception of grind, by adding a perception of purpose, however keen Ferrel is to point out that

you lose time by stopping the slaughter to go back and turn in the quest.

Again, the confusion is likely to be owing to the misunderstanding of the current definition of 'grind'.

As a side note, declaring that games with quests being easier for some players

doesn't mean it is better [game design] however

is moving the goalposts. Either the discussion is about quests being a grind or games with quests being 'better' by design. The writer's shift in focus may well betray a bias that he simply doesn't like quests.

There is more to dislike about games with quests, as they apparently destroy other urges we may have.

Not only are we discouraged to explore we are penalized

because

if you don't get the exact right quests that all go to a similar area and then come right back you aren't leveling efficiently.

Well, perhaps not, but then it seems like a matter of definitions again, as I certainly wouldn't call getting the right quests for an area 'exploring'. I have done some exploring, and it has all involved wandering off the beaten path to find little-visited areas, or places not shown on the map. Exploring to me is seeing new and exciting sights and has nothing to do with character progression. Failing to find new quests has never marred any of my explorations. For Ferrel, exploring is more about

if the [mob level] was right you could be anywhere you pleased and there were always numerous places to go.

That could be any game at all, as I have yet to play an MMORPG that didn't have multiple available zones in which to quest, particularly with the remarkably broad and vague requirement that the mob level be 'right'. And I doubt finding the quest hubs is any more of a chore than finding an area with mobs of a suitable level in non-quest-based games, as it seems like the goals and methods used would be identical.

Finally, claiming that the quest model of gaming is absurd because you don't always get quests to save the world is not only facile but again shows a bias against quests instead of arguing about them being a grind. Starting out in an RPG nearly always puts you as an unknown and weak wannabe adventurer, performing simple tasks that develop as the character does, much as when I was younger putting dishes in the kitchen sink seemed like a Herculean effort. If we start an RPG by saving the world there would be little room for any character progression, arguably the entire point of an RPG. By the time characters have enough experience they really can seem like they are saving the world. If any fault can be laid at game design for not capturing this sensation fully it is the 'massively multiplayer' part of 'MMORPG' that bears the brunt, because it is impossible to design a game containing thousands of individuals who can all wield Excalibur without losing the sense of being a unique hero that is otherwise possible in a single-player game.

Utlimately, the argument that quests are the same as a grind resolves to what it means for a game to have a 'grind'. If we accept Ferrel's definition that a 'grind' means the game is hard or slow to level then we cannot deny his central premise. However, it should be clear that few players refer to a 'grind' in those terms—particularly when the grind is often thought to start at the level cap—instead thinking of it as repetitive or unentertaining content that needs to be endured to access other, more entertaining content. And, in the latter case, being tasked by NPCs to perform different objectives, having to interrupt active hunting to interract with various NPCs, and being guided to new quest hubs, all whilst given the motivation of a 'purpose', is exactly what differentiates a quest from being a 'grind'.

But none of this means that a quest cannot be a grind. Repeating the same quest many times, like a 'daily' quest in World of Warcraft, in order to gain reputation or a chance of a specific reward—effectively 'gaining access to other features within the game' by specific progression—is just as much a grind as repeatedly hunting the same group of respawning mobs for the same reason. But that one quest can be a grind and another not clearly shows that the property of being a grind must be separate and distinct from that of being a quest. This neatly disproves the central assertion of Ferrel's post that quests are inherently a grind. It is fine not to like quests, but to issue an emotionally charged tirade against them disguised as a dissection of game mechanics is a little deceptive.

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Tags: comment, mmorpg, world of warcraft

Guitar Hero drumming update

I am continuing to practice my drumming in Guitar Hero and, I am happy to report, showing some obvious improvement. I am no longer warming up with some medium difficulty songs, albeit from the more complex end of the set-list, and instead diving straight in to the hard difficulty gigs, with a fair bit of success. Whilst the first couple of gigs are essentially extensions to the skills I picked up completing all the gigs on medium difficulty, moving on to the second 'page' of gigs presents me with some new challenges.

The first song to cause me problems is Do It Again by Steely Dan. Whereas the hi-hat or ride played by the right hand has so far determined the rhythm of the song, in Do It Again the kick pedal plays on a different and more rapid beat than the ride cymbal. My inexperience reveals itself as my ride hand has trouble not mimicking the kick movements, producing unwanted repeated beats. Not only that, but I am having difficulty getting the speed on the kick pedal. I am really struggling, but it gives me the opportunity to make use of a nifty feature of Guitar Hero: World Tour, the practice mode.

I head in to practice mode and choose to play Steely Dan's song, selecting the drums as instrument and hard difficulty mode. Then I have a new slew of options available, where I can choose which sections of the song to play, down to individual verses or breaks, and the speed at which it is played back. Being able to alter the speed of the playback without also altering the tone of the notes is a marvel of modern digital music. Slowing down the track helps me to gain better understanding and control of what my hands and leg should be doing. I can more consciously control each limb's movement, to the point where I can prevent unwanted beats, until I feel confident that I can keep the movements independent. After a few runs through of the practice play I feel far less flustered and more confident when the previously unfamiliar beats scroll down the screen.

I return to the song proper, at full speed, and although I still struggle in places to maintain the beat or limb independence my ability to hit the right notes is markedly improved. Playing the song back more times, as part of the gig in career mode, sees my ability to keep my arms and leg movements independent of each other improve even further, to the point where the song becomes less of an impossibility and more a good tune to play and to use as continued practice.

The practice mode is extremely helpful in being able to slow down the difficult sections to see what you are supposed to be playing and gain more conscious control over your limbs, until it becomes closer to second nature. However, being able to pick particular sections to play back, and repeat, is also handy. For example, both Ramblin' Man by The Allman Brothers Band and Love Removal Machine by The Cult start out with fairly straightforwards beats—once Do It Again becomes manageable, at least—but their extended outros either speed up or include more complicated or variant patterns that can easily catch out the inexperienced player.

Instead of playing through the entire song simply to practice its outro the practice mode in the game can be used. Normally it is a sequence of notes in a particular section and not repeated elsewhere that is causing problems for the player, making playing the whole song an unwieldy prospect for ten seconds of practice, and being able to select only that section in practice mode becomes highly convenient. Once the pattern of the particular section has been determined it can be integrated in to the whole song with ease, all with minimal fuss from the practice mode. The only complaint I have with this feature is that occasionally the sections are not broken down quite enough, where some complicated breaks are at the end of entire verses and cannot be selected individually, but this doesn't detract significantly from the overall benefit provided.

Making use of practice mode combined with plenty of regular practice of the songs proper I can see my drumming improving over time. I have some bad days where my coordination seems to fall apart, but other days see me play through problematic sections almost on cruise mode, leaving me wondering how I manage to breeze through complicated sections so easily. I am sure I have plenty more practice ahead of me before I can attempt the later gigs on hard difficulty with confidence, but I am really enjoying the songs I am currently playing and able to play. I am still pushing myself to improve and, with the help of the excellent practice mode, I believe I will.

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Tags: console, drumming, guitar hero, xbox 360

Scrambling Sleepers

Our wormhole engineer expedition decides to enter a magnetometric site that has been scanned down in w-space, analyser modules at the ready to unlock the secrets of loot to haul back to known space for profit. Just as the previous radar site was my introduction to containers that require codebreaking modules this too is my introduction to magnetometric sites. It's all rather exciting being in w-space.

Sleepers yet again awake to prevent us from rightfully claiming their property, but the opposition they muster is no match for our guns and missiles. At least, not until two battleships turn up and start dealing massive amounts of damage. Luckily, our own battleships are able to repair through the worst of the damage and our weapons are able to reduce the two Sleeper battleships to wrecks with only minor concerns for the saftey of our ships. With the big Sleeper ships destroyed, the cruisers soon to follow and frigates chomped by drones it looks like we have survived the onslaught and are free to scavenge the area.

Just as we feel confident of our victory and give our systems time to cool down the next wave of reinforcements appears. Along with a few smaller ships are three battleships! The Sleepers take quick umbrage to the superior fusion of engineering and style that is my Drake battlecruiser and aim all guns for me. Despite its reputation for having a solid tank even my Drake cannot withstand this kind of attention for long without buckling, but I am prepared to beat a temporary retreat, having aligned to a celestial object immediately after warping in to the site. Considering the damage three Sleeper battleships can output I am unlikely to escape without some scratches to my armour, but that can be repaired.

All I need to do to escape the devastating incoming fire is to re-select the celestial object and warp to safety. Warp to safety, ship. Warp to... why are my warp drives not coming on-line? All those red bars on my HUD are worrying me. Ship, you have a message for me, something about situational factors preventing the warp drives from engaging? Thank you, ship, but that's not helping and, unless I'm more vastly mistaken than someone who believes Hillaire Belloc is still alive, the incoming fire is now evaporating the hull, there no longer being any armour left. Oh, I see it now, the Sleeper frigates are warp scrambling me. Splendid. On a more positive note, at least now that I am reduced to piloting my pod I can warp back to the POS.

Poor Lightness of Being, my trusty Drake no more, reduced to a crumpled mass of jagged metal scraps, scorched and electrically burnt, much like a Minmatar space station but with more salvage value. It was a combination of having full aggro on a new wave of Sleepers, more battleships than we've safely encountered previously, and warp scrambling frigates that caused the Drake's demise. With drones destroying the frigates quickly and the damage being taken by one of our own active armour-tanking battleships we may have been able to survive long enough to be able to warp out when needed, but I am overwhelmed too quickly.

It is all a learning experience, and we can always build more ships. The real tragedy in losing the Lightness of Being is that, on buying a replacement Drake, I have to think of a new name to christen it. Buying and fitting a new ship isn't really a problem, as it is a simple matter of finding the best prices and warping to various systems to collect everything, but coming up with a suitable name is a nightmare.

My first idea for a name for the new Drake, 'Ceci N'est Pas un Canard', unfortunately cannot be painted on the hull without running out of room, so I need to think of something else. Getting flustered by wanting to pick up modules to get the new ship fitted, but not making the faux-pas of exiting a station with the default ship name still attached, I quickly settle for 'Rock Lobster'. I am kind of hoping I will be able to think of a better name before the Drake sees combat action, but Rock Lobster is already growing on me. I'll be back in w-space before too long.

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Tags: drake, eve online, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, sleepers, w-space

Helping in spirit

A radar site is found in our w-space system and with enough pilots available to engage considerable Sleeper opposition we form a fleet and warp in to see what loot we can haul back. The Sleepers are quite keen to keep everything for themselves, which shouldn't be surprising as I suppose it is theirs to start with, calling in multiple battleships and some smaller support ships to fight us off. If the threat of massive DPS from the battleships isn't enough they even repair their allied frigates remotely, preventing our drones from making mincemeat out of the smaller ships in short order.

Regardless of the strength of the Sleeper force, our band of determined engineers vanquishes the hostile threat, leaving wrecks to be salvaged and databanks to be plundered. As one of our pilots heads back to the POS to change to a codebreaking ship I announce that 'I'll help', starting my ponderous Drake on its 50 km journey to the databanks. My battlecruiser isn't fitted with a codebreaker module capable of opening the banks but this is my first experience of a radar site. The databanks look like normal containers on my overview and, being the curious creature that I am, I want to get a closer look.

The codebreaker-fitted ship warps back in around the same time that my Drake finally gets within cracking range of the databanks. I try to open a databank normally but my on-board computer informs me of the cryptographic lock on the container, which satisfies some of my curiosity. I then sit back in my pod and watch in fascination as the codebreaking ship scans and unlocks the databanks, pulses of energy emanating from the relevant module.

It looks like the salvage boat is finishing off the last of the wrecks and the codebreaker has visited most of the databanks, and as I'm just loitering in the site I take my leave to warp back to the POS. 'Let me know what you got before you drop it in the hangar.' Who, me? Oops. I didn't think my offer of help would be taken seriously, but my over-eager scrutiny of the exotic containers, including diving under an obstruction to bump in to identical containers on the other side, was quite reasonably viewed as active codebreaking.

I try to clarify that when I said 'help' I really only meant 'moral support' and luckily it's taken light-heartedly, perhaps because we got such a good haul of Tech III goodies from the databanks. Maybe I was helping by channelling positive vibes after all. I like to think so.

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Tags: drake, eve online, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, sleepers, w-space

If it ain't broke, fix it

Engaging some pesky Sleepers, trying to stop us from liberating their loot for profit, generally sees our little fleets come under some fairly heavy fire. Being almost the only Caldari-trained capsuleer in the group my response to damage is to sit and take it, letting my passive-tanking Drake battlecruiser absorb as much as it can, before warping off to leave the others as prime targets. Almost everyone else uses an active armour-tanking fit, their ships' shields being little more than an indicating buffer.

None of our tanks can quite hold up to a vigorous Sleeper assault. Although I am not alone in beating a retreat when in trouble my colleagues generally only run when they are in danger of depleting their capacitor's energy reserves, needed to supply the active components of their fitting. However, if one ship is taking most of the damage that leaves others free from having to repair, and their capacitor can be put to use with remote repairing modules. With a remote armour repairer fitted an ally's tank can be augmented externally, offering a sustained stand against the enemy.

I tend to go in to Sleeper sites with a remote repair module in my Drake's spare high slot to help my allies. I sacrifice a launcher to get enough power from my grid to bring it on-line, but as my DPS is only moderate and not relied upon this generally isn't a problem. I am still only in a battlecruiser, though, sitting alongside the much bigger battleships. Even squeezing a medium repair module on to my ship doesn't always make that much of a difference to ships that may be running multiple large repairers locally. But I do what I can.

Unfortunately, the medium remote repairer I have fitted doesn't seem to have any effect at all, beyond quickly draining my capacitor, so we find ourselves warping out occasionally to let our battered ships recover. After the third or so time warping out and back in again one of our battleships is taking another beating from the Sleepers, yet despite the armour being almost pulverised his structure is pristine. This is when he asks me if I have a remote hull repairer module fitted, instead of an armour repairer. Why yes, yes I do. This would explain why my best efforts had no effect on repairing the armour.

I probably need to find another way to justify my position as wing commander, hopefully by fitting an appropriate gang assist module. As long as it's not a mining link in a combat mission my reputation should be okay.

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Tags: eve online, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, sleepers, w-space

Wing Commander Ibramovic

The skill descriptions are not always as clear as they could be. Quite a while ago I learnt the leadership skill up to a rudimentary level because there was a possibility I may be helping a newbie friend and, from reading the skill description, I thought it was a requirement for forming a fleet. It seems instead that a fleet can be formed by anyone, trained or not. It isn't really a problem, as the leadership skill training comes from a basic book that is cheap to buy and quick to train a couple of levels in.

After the corporation plunges in to w-space a while back, requiring fleets to be formed in order to engage sleepers effectively, I took another look at the leadership skills, with the aid of the certificate system. Whilst the leadership skill allows the commanding of an increasing number of squad members there are secondary skills available that can boost the capabilities of all fleet members. The bonuses granted aren't superficial either. Skill in armoured and siege warfare increases armour and shield capacities, information warfare increases targeting range, and skirmish warfare boosts ship agility, all useful attributes for survival.

The bonuses a trained commander grants apply to all fleet members in the same system, and scale with the level of skill learnt. Whilst it is unlikely that I am the only capsuleer in the wormhole division of the corporation with some leadership skills it strikes me as prudent to improve what I have already started to learn, particularly as the availability of any particular capsuleer cannot be guaranteed, so the more pilots who can boost a squad the more likely a boosted fleet will be able to form to tackle Sleepers.

I have another interest in advancing my leadership skills. There is the obvious ego inflation that comes from completing leadership to level five and being able to become a wing commander, but there is a more tangible benefit to the fleet itself. Despite ages ago picking up some battleship skills I have steadfastly stuck to my beloved Drake battlecruiser, and I note that one of its rôle bonuses is its ability to have gang assist modules fitted, which can greatly enhance the effectiveness of a fleet. All of the gang assist modules require specialised training in a certain type of warfare to use, which in turn requires leadership skills.

It may be that I started learning leadership from a position of ignorance, and that I quite like being addressed as Wing Commander Ibramovic, but ultimately my motivation is to maximise my ship's utility in improving the capabilities of my compatriots, and my desire to help keep everyone safe. I still have a fair few days of training to complete before I can fit a gang assist module to my battlecruiser, but until then I am still providing useful bonuses to the squad's ship capabilities.

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Tags: eve online, mmorpg, penny ibramovic

Don't treat me like a newbie

I was looking forwards to running my new druid alt, Hélène, through Elwynn Forest and, more specifically, Westfall and beyond, zooming through the levels and indulging the furry in me as a DPS kitty or bear tank. But even though I am in the bright, warm countryside of Westfall and hunting down members of the Defias Brotherhood, stopping to pick flowers occasionally for alchemical studies, I don't seem to be having as much fun as I had hoped.

The druid seems boring, and although not one-dimensional there are remarkably few options available in combat. Whilst there is a hint of subtlety in spell-casting elf form—although I am heavily reliant on chain-casting the wrath spell there are options to root an opponent, cast an occasional moonfire spell and heal myself—the bear shapeshifting form has me using a single attack against every enemy, the secondary abilities being boringly defensive or useless in solo play.

I am close to discarding yet another alt character as utlimately unfulfilling when I realise the root of my frustrations. The early levels of World of Warcraft are not only designed to introduce a player to a class but also to the game itself. Players need to learn about health and the various reserves of mana, rage and energy; passive and hostile mobs, and how their differences affect a player's safety; spells, physical attacks and crowd control, either player- or mob-based; armour and weapons, and upgrading items from drops or quest rewards; quests and the quest log; and travel around zones and to new quest hubs.

There is an awful lot for a new player to learn relatively soon and the game has to achieve a smooth transition all the while it is also increasing the character's abilities in a way that keeps the class stimulating but without overwhelming the player with too much information. But there's the rub, I already know how to play the game. Having raided forty-man Naxxramas at 60th level, and conquered every five-man dungeon at the appropriate level and with at least two classes I don't need to be guided through the basics of playing World of Warcraft. I just want to get to the meaty parts of playing a druid as soon as possible, enjoying the complexity of the class as my experience lets the game itself glide past me.

It is not the druid class that is boring me but the leaden pace at which I am being fed new abilities. Having only a single attack in bear form becomes repetitive quickly, and when I already know all of the regions and quests, having been through the same content quite a few times, spending four levels with that one attack makes combat tedious enough to need frequent breaks. I now understand part of the reason why I enjoyed levelling my death knight is because of the blistering pace that new abilities and talents are gained. Starting at 55th level and gaining several new abilities every level, it certainly seems like a lot of information to cope with at a time, but I was never bored with the class during the early levels.

I wonder why the option to start a new character at a relatively high level has not been afforded to the other classes too, and not just the death knight. The restriction in needing to have a high-level character in order to create a death knight is sensible, as it shows the player already knows how to survive in Azeroth. I suppose some amount of tweaking of initial class training obviously needs to be performed, a new fast-track path of ability and talent point gains needing to be designed for each class. There will no doubt also be some players complaining about making the game 'easier' because other players don't have to suffer the same frustrations as they did.

But I would rather not have to be 'introduced' to which end of a sword to hold, or how to eat and drink, every time I start a new character when I have already hit three separate level caps with a variety of characters and classes. In my desire to stave off 80th level boredom by creating a new character I have unexpectedly discovered the drudgery involved at the lower end of the scale. At least I have identified the source of my frustration, and knowing that the druid class is not the cause is helping me persevere through the slow levels until I get enough options to make raking and ripping through opponents the visceral experience I am hoping it will become.

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Tags: helene, mmorpg, world of warcraft