Leaving the corporation

The corporation I joined in EVE Online has moved to null-sec space, after being accepted in to a suitable alliance. This presents me with logistical as well as technical challenges.

Despite having joined several operations in to low-sec space with the corporation, and gaining a fair amount of experience in how to move around and stay safe in low-sec, I hadn't entered in to any PvP combat. We simply didn't find any viable targets, or get ambushed ourselves, during the operations I was involved in. Making the move to null-sec thus feels a little ambitious for me, particularly as it would almost necessitate flying only in fleets for the extent of my time in New Eden. I suppose I could make use of a jump clone back in high-sec should I wish to hop in to my pod for some quick and indulgent blasting rather than tip-toeing through null-sec, but maybe I should instead acknowledge my continuing desire for solo-friendly activities.

When I was playing solo I felt encouraged to log-on for some quick mission running and blasting of spaceships, as even if I had only a short amount of time to spare it was often enough to run a single mission. After I joined the low-sec, PvP-orientated corporation I felt that my time became theirs as I realised my obligation to the corporation. I logged on when I felt I could dedicate the couple of hours required for operations but otherwise didn't want to be seen hopping in and out of my pod for multiple brief sessions as my time allowed. I don't think this is a fault of the corporation or of the game, more that my own sense of duty made me want to achieve more than I could.

It hasn't helped that Wrath of the Lich King was released for World of Warcraft, opening up a heroic class in the Death Knight, which I am thoroughly enjoying, as well as ten more levels to advance and a new continent to explore. It also hasn't helped that I've been ill recently, which has prevented me from spending prolonged periods at the computer, and then having my computer develop a fault that I have been dealing with. And that's not the end of the technical problems.

A member of the corporation kindly set up a Ventrilo voice-comms server, replacing the voice-comms built-in to the EVE Online client. The problem is that Ventrilo doesn't work too kindly with Mac computers, requiring a certain codec to be enabled and, potentially, tweaks to be made for the software to work adequately. As the server is a volunteer effort it wasn't made Mac-friendly and so I could no longer participate in the voice-comms necessary for low-sec operations. On top of that, the null-sec alliance uses Teamspeak and the unofficial Mac client is not supported on Leopard yet, so I am shut out of voice-comms completely.

Admittedly, even though there are obvious technical difficulties that cannot be overcome some of the issues are of my own making, like feeling unprepared for null-sec. As the corporation MD said, you can only prepare for null-sec by living there, and I'm sure he's correct. Never the less, I still think I have experience to gain before I dive head-first in to PvP life, such as ship recognition and familiarity with systems and modules. I will also need to become more comfortable with being a part of a larger fleet instead of being a lone gun.

In the mean time, I am hoping that I will once again find the desire to spend more time as a space cadet, running missions, exploring systems and finding interesting skills to learn. I can investigate the certificate system more thoroughly and aim to gain more relevant skills, as well as develop broader proficiencies outside of missiles and shield tanking. There are new ships to fly, strange new lifeforms to destroy, and nifty technology to overheat.

My time in the corporation was enjoyable, with plenty of good experiences and fun conversations had during operations and missions. I am grateful for the wisdom they imparted to me and hopeful that they won't blow me up should our paths coincidentally cross in the future.

Posted in Gaming |
Tags: corporation, eve online, penny ibramovic