I took some time out from scanning moons last night to run the Crimson Harvest sites. The Crimson Harvest is CCP's annual two-week Halloween event that began yesterday. To explain why the Crimson Harvest features the Blood Raiders, here's a video from 2015.
The event uses The Agency to give a series of tasks players can earn points for completing. Unlike past Agency events, these are not tasks that players can only perform once a day. Once one event is complete, another event with the same general goals is offered, just with a higher target to reach. The four types of tasks are:
Completing Blood Raider Gauntlet sites
Completing Mining Expedition sites
Collecting bounties
Mining ore
The scaling is pretty basic. While I don't have information on the mining scaling, I assume it follows the scaling for bounties:
Part 1 - 100,000 ISK - 10 points
Part 2 - 1,000,000 ISK - 11 points
Part 3 - 5,000,000 ISK - 12 points
Part 4 - 10,000,000 ISK - 13 points
The site tasks have the following scaling:
Part 1 - 1 site - 10 points
Part 2 - 2 sites - 11 points
Part 3 - 3 sites - 12 points
With the reward structure, players don't even need to run the event content to get the event prices. If a player receives 16,100,000 ISK in bounties while either running missions or ratting, the player will receive all the rewards in 9 days.
What are the rewards: The overall rewards from The Agency are:
110 points - A random booster from the following list:
Agency Damage Booster I
Agency Damage Booster II
Agency Damage Booster III
Agency Tank Booster I
Agency Tank Booster II
Agency Tank Booster III
Agency Speed Booster I
Agency Speed Booster II
Agency Speed Booster III
220 points - A Crimson Harvest Cerebral Accelerator. The accelerator gives a temporary boost of +10 to all attributes. The standard time of effect is 24 hours, but training Biology V increases the time to 48 hours.
330 points - A Crimson Harvest Cerebral Accelerator.
400 points - A random SKIN from the following list:
Magnate Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Omen Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Merlin Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Caracal Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Tristan Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Vexor Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Slasher Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
Rupture Headhunter SKIN (Permanent)
The real prizes come from running the Blood Raider Gauntlet sites. In the 4 sites I ran last night, each prize ship (the battlecruisers and battleships) dropped at least one Crimson Harvest Cerebral Accelerator and one Agency booster. The really good drops come from the NPC battleships, which do not appear in high sec. Running 3 Blood Raider Gauntlet sites in low sec netted me 2 SKINs and assorted clothing as well as 54 Agency points. I ran one high sec site on a different character and only received an accelerator, a booster, and 31 Agency points. Running 3 sites a day will ensure getting the 400 point random SKIN, but doing the event in low sec is more profitable. I don't know about null sec as I did not venture into one of the null sec areas.
The Blood Raider Gauntlet sites are fairly simple. Consisting of two dungeons, the initial warp-in sees the player facing an initial wave of 5 Blood Raider frigates, followed by two waves of 1 NPC cruiser and 4 frigates.
Whether during my testing on the Singularity test shard or on Tranquility, the first wave always gave me the most problems. Last night, the only ship I had available on Tranquility was a pre-Lifeblood Bellicose fit with heavy missile launchers, so that's what I used. The additional 75 powergrid and 40 CPU the ship received in the Lifeblood balance pass would have allowed me to fit a large shield booster instead of the medium I used last night. EVE isn't always about having min/maxxed fits, and some smart flying allowed me to waltz through the site, never going below 25% shields.
I should add one other point about my ship fitting. I only had Hobgoblin Is aboard, which made sense. After all, abandoning tech 1 light drones in case someone drops in is pretty painless. Also, since Blood Raider NPCs are vulnerable to both EM and thermal damage almost equally, the combination of Mjolnir Heavy Missiles and Hobgoblin Is worked surprisingly well.
For the first dungeon, I warped in at 0, although the smart play would have involved warping in at a range of perhaps 20 km or 30 km. From there I flew to the acceleration gate and orbited at 2500 meters. By doing so, the next two waves warp in at a distance and I picked them off at my leasure. At this point I should add that the additional 20 km lock range boost the Bellicose received in the balance pass came in handy.
In the second dungeon, players have to fight through two waves of 5 Blood Raider cruisers before getting to the prize ships. I found orbiting the structure and shooting the NPCs one by one worked well. The final wave in high sec is a battlecruiser supported by a cruiser and a frigate. Orbit the battlecruiser at 2500 meters, not only to speed tank the battlecruisers guns, but to pick up the loot from the ship as fast as possible. In low sec sites, a final wave of 1 battleship and 3-4 cruisers appears. Again, I orbited the battleship at 2500 meters and picked off the cruisers first, finishing up with the battleship. One warning about the battleship. The battleship neuted out my capacitor, but by the time it shut off my afterburner and hardeners, I had killed off the cruisers and the battleship couldn't track me, even at the reduced speed.
An afterburner-fit Bellicose can pretty much signature tank all of the NPCs in this dungeon, so I never had to activate my shield booster. I don't know how a ship that requires cap to fire would fair, although testing a Vexor fit with railguns did work on Singularity. In fact, the Vexor never ran out of cap, but on Singularity, the battleship didn't have cruiser support either.
One final note about the sites themselves. Upon completion in low sec, a new one spawned immediately. Also, when I flew to Rens to pick up new gear to outfit my Arbitrator to take advantage of the third missile launch point it received in Lifeblood, I noticed every system had at least one Blood Raider Gauntlet site. No more wandering around the universe looking for sites, which should mean a greater usage rate. The searching for sites was always the pain point that made me decide whether to do event content or not. With the increased spawn rates, I may wind up doing the content more often.
Overall last night, I accomplished my main goal of getting cerebral accelerators for the three characters I have training. I exceeded my goal of 3 because I ran the sites in low sec. Not only did I get the three, I received 7, which means I will have advanced training until sometime on the 30th. My goal is now to gather enough accelerators to keep the boosted training continuing until the boosters expiration date of 28 November. That's 45 more accelerators. Now, I just need to fit that within all the moon surveying I want to do.
"In chaos theory, there's a concept known as sensitive dependence on initial conditions. Most people call it the butterfly effect. In EVE, we call it the sandbox."
When I last wrote about gambling and video games, two men had just pled guilty to running an unlicensed gambling site based on FIFA 17 in the UK. Much has transpired since early February, but I never really had a hook for the story until now. Apparently a concerted effort is underway to get loot boxes, often referred to as lockboxes in MMORPGs, declared a form of gambling.
I'm not sure, but the issue may have come to a head with the implementation of loot boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront 2. I think the original concern is that a AAA game costing $60 will also have lockboxes. On top of that, the game is balanced around the cards that come from the loot boxes, meaning players will most likely spend a lot of money buying loot boxes. Several YouTube personalities came out against the implementation in Battlefront 2. Boogie2988 produced a short, NSFW Francis video about the situation.
The video that really captured my attention, however, is one I watched while attending EVE Vegas. John "TotalBiscuit" Bain produced a piece that, among other things, argued that loot boxes are a form of gambling. The video should start running at 28:52 and run for approximately 13 minutes. I think Bain explains the case for the ESRB declaring lockboxes gambling and automatically rate any games selling lockboxes with an M for Mature (age 17 and over).
"ESRB does not consider this mechanic to be gambling because the player uses real money to pay for and obtain in-game content," a spokesperson for the ESRB tells Eurogamer.
"The player is always guaranteed to receive something - even if the player doesn't want what is received. Think of it like opening a pack of collectible cards: sometimes you'll get a brand new, rare card, but other times you'll get a pack full of cards you already have.
"That said, ESRB does disclose gambling content should it be present in a game via one of two content descriptors: Simulated Gambling (player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency) and Real Gambling (player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency). Neither of these apply to loot boxes and similar mechanics."
I think the ESRB is likely covered by US federal law. While loot boxes possess the three elements of gambling -- consideration, chance, and a prize -- a court case from Maryland throws into doubt one of the elements. A prize is only an element if the player has the chance to win something of value. In Mason v Machine Zone, a judge ruled that virtual goods have no real world value. On page 3 of the ruling, the judge wrote:
Crucially, there is no real-dollar value attached to “gold,” chips, or any Casino prizes. On the contrary, Defendant’s Terms of Service (“ToS”)—appended to Plaintiff’s Complaint—provide that “Virtual Currency and Virtual Goods may never be redeemed for ‘real world’ money, goods or other items of monetary value from [Defendant] or any other person”; that players receive a nontransferable “revocable license to use the Virtual Goods and Virtual Currency” solely for personal entertainment purposes; and that, aside from the foregoing license, players have “no right, title, or interest in or to any such Virtual Goods or Virtual Currency.” (ECF No. 1–2 at 9.)
Although the ToS expressly bar players from “buy[ing] or sell[ing] any Virtual Currency or Virtual Goods outside the Services or in exchange for ‘real world’ money or items of value” (id. at 10), Plaintiff alleges that “players have created secondary markets to buy and sell Game of War accounts” (ECF No 1 ¶ 37). Plaintiff does not allege that Defendant hosts or sanctions these secondary markets, nor does she allege that she has ever sold or attempted to sell an account—nor even that she intends to do so in the future.
Note I stated federal law. The actions taken against the CS:GO gambling sites were instigated by the Washington State Gambling Commission, not a federal agency. Until either federal law changes, or threats to change federal law begin to alarm the ESRB, I do not expect the ESRB to change its industry-friendly ruling.
Just because the US has no issues doesn't mean that game publishers like EA are home-free. I believe that Europe may wind prove a harsher environment for loot boxes to flourish. For now, PEGI, the European game rating organization, does not view loot boxes as gambling. But as Eurogamer explained, PEGI views its role a bit differently than the EBSI:
"Loot crates are currently not considered gambling: you always get something when you purchase them, even if it's not what you hoped for," says Dirk Bosmans, from European video game rating organisation PEGI. "For that reason, a loot crate system does not trigger the gambling content descriptor."
PEGI's gambling content descriptor warns players a game "teaches or encourages" gambling. A game gets this descriptor if it contains content that simulates what is considered gambling, or they contain actual gambling with cash payouts. Bosmans doesn't believe the latter exists on the current consoles. As for the former...
"It's not up to PEGI to decide whether something is considered gambling or not - this is defined by national gambling laws,” Bosmans says.
"If something is considered gambling, it needs to follow a very specific set of legislation, which has all kinds of practical consequences for the company that runs it. Therefore, the games that get a PEGI gambling content descriptor either contain content that simulates what is considered gambling or they contain actual gambling with cash payouts.
"If PEGI would label something as gambling while it is not considered as such from a legal point of view, it would mostly create confusion."
The country most likely to change its regulations to regard loot boxes as gambling is the United Kingdom. In March 2017, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission published a white paper that referenced loot boxes:
3.17: Away from the third party websites which are overtly gambling (offering betting, casino games and lottery products) the ability to exchange in-game items for cash or trade on secondary markets also risks drawing elements within games themselves into gambling definitions. By way of example, one commonly used method for players to acquire in-game items is through the purchase of keys from the games publisher to unlock ‘crates’, ‘cases’ or ‘bundles’ which contain an unknown quantity and value of in-game items as a prize. The payment of a stake (key) for the opportunity to win a prize (in-game items) determined (or presented as determined) at random bears a close resemblance, for instance, to the playing of a gaming machine. Where there are readily accessible opportunities to cash in or exchange those awarded in-game items for money or money’s worth those elements of the game are likely to be considered licensable gambling activities.
3.18: Additional consumer protection in the form of gambling regulation, is required in circumstances where players are being incentivised to participate in gambling style activities through the provision of prizes of money or money’s worth. Where prizes are successfully restricted for use solely within the game, such in-game features would not be licensable gambling, notwithstanding the elements of expenditure and chance.
(pages 7-8)
Over at Esports Betting Report, Joss Wood used Overwatch as a game with loot boxes that likely complies with the strictures listed in the white paper:
Blizzard’s Overwatch game provides a good example of a game that is likely to comply with the UKGC’s strictures. However, it could easily slip into the gambling definition if the developers expand its features.
Overwatch has several features that make it of interest to the UK gambling regulator:
The game targets children as well as adults.
Loot boxes contain random prizes.
Players can purchase loot boxes online.
In Overwatch, players can obtain “loot boxes” in several ways:
Playing in arcade games.
As a prize for leveling up.
Purchased directly from the online store.
Each loot box contains a random selection of four items that can players can use in-game.
From the UKGC’s perspective, Overwatch already contains several elements that contribute to a possible definition of gambling.
Loot boxes contain prizes that the publisher determines by chance. They have a monetary value because players can buy them online. Players can even buy them using World of Warcraft gold. (Users can acquire gold for real money at third-party sites online.)
Overwatch is a game with many players under the age of 18. If any gambling is identified, the UKGC will certainly take legal action.
Wood explains that Overwatch avoids the definition of gambling because players cannot trade the in-game items acquired in their loot boxes with other players. Since the items are non-transferrable, there is no way of using them to gamble or exchange for money on third-party sites. If Blizzard tried to enhance the game by making the items tradable, the company would risk the UKGC determining that the game qualifies as gambling. Such a determination would then require Blizzard to acquire a gambling license and Overwatch would then fall within the UK Gambling Act and UKGC regulations.
The subject has received a lot more attention than I thought would normally occur. An online petition reached the 10,000 signature threshold required to elicit a response from the government. A reddit user, Artfunkel, even worked with Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP for Cambridge, to submit two questions to the government:
1. To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the Isle of Man's enhanced protections against illegal and in-game gambling and loot boxes; and what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on adopting such protections in the UK.
2. To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to help protect vulnerable adults and children from illegal gambling, in-game gambling and loot boxes within computer games.
According to Artfunkel, the reason for the separate question concerning the Isle of Man is that the territory explicitly defines in-game items as money's worth in its gambling law.
The Gambling Commission released a position paper in March 2017 detailing existing protections in place for in-game gambling, virtual currencies and loot boxes. The paper can be found on the Commission’s website at the following link: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Virtual-currencies-eSports-and-social-casino-gaming.pdf
Where items obtained in a computer game can be traded or exchanged outside the game platform they acquire a monetary value, and where facilities for gambling with such items are offered to consumers located in Britain a Gambling Commission licence is required. If no licence is held, the Commission uses a wide range of regulatory powers to take action.
Protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling is one of the core objectives of the regulation of gambling in Great Britain and a priority for the government. The Gambling Commission have a range of regulatory powers to take action where illegal gambling is taking place. Earlier this year the Gambling Commission successfully prosecuted the operators of a website providing illegal gambling facilities for in-game items which was accessible to children - the first regulator in the world to bring such an action.
The government recognise the risks that come from increasing convergence between gambling and computer games. The Gambling Commission is keeping this matter under review and will continue to monitor developments in the market.
From reviewing gaming news sites, the reaction of most writers ranges from expectedly non-committal to confused. The problem is that the white paper is more nuanced. Where most of the activists want all loot boxes treated the same, the UKGC basically only sees an issue when third parties are introduced, thus turning the prizes from the loot boxes into money's worth. But if trade between players, either for other virtual items or for real world cash, turns loot boxes into gambling, then the trading card analogy used by both the ESRB and PEGI to justify not labeling loot boxes gambling begins to fall apart. Loot boxes are trading cards owners cannot legally trade? The argument makes no sense to me.
Now comes the plot twist some people would refer to as the butterfly effect. The latest movement against loot boxes came about due to unhappiness with game publishers/developers inserting loot boxes into $60 AAA single player video games with cooperative play. But unless the law, or regulations, change in the UK, game companies can avoid the gambling classification by simply not allowing trade between players. But a genre of games exists where banning trade between players is basically impossible: massively multiplayer online role playing games.
Many MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Elder Scrolls Onlinerely on lock boxes for additional revenue apart from the sales of the game (GW2) or alternate subscriptions (SWTOR, ESO). For many free-to-play titles, the cash shop is essential to keeping the game in operation. If the anti-loot box forces get their way, the turmoil as so many companies try to quickly alter their business models will provide a lot of fodder for games journalists to cover and opine on. A situation good for a blogger like me, but will it really benefit the genre in the long run? I don't know the answer as I never considered a world without loot boxes until now. Something to think about.
Since getting back home from EVE Vegas late Monday night I've spent a little time on Singularity looking at the upcoming version of The Agency. My main concern after attending the sessions in Las Vegas is that CCP would make The Agency a useful tool for hunters to track down prey. At this point, I don't think that is a major concern. Signatures and sites only appear in the system a player is in, which means hunters still need to roam. The only purpose of the functionality in my mind is that players can now effectively "see" more of the local system without having to undock.
I still have concerns that the new mining ledger functionality is too powerful, especially if connected to external websites.
I hear that CSM member Steve Ronuken is working on a site that potentially will prove extremely helpful to hunters, depending on the amount of miner buyin to the idea. That's right, if all goes according to plan, miners will provide the rope that hangs them. A very EVE-like idea that I plan to watch closely as time goes on. After all, I don't want to lose a ship just because someone else is dumb. I lose enough because I'm dumb.
I'll probably spend some more time on Singularity testing out Lifeblood content this weekend after I finish up my mining to make Gaze probes. I do want to test out my Warzone Extraction fits to see if they will work to run the Crimson Harvest sites in high sec. Since I have a little time, I might even take them into low sec, since I received some requests for that during the Warzone Extraction event. So I have a list of things to do in EVE this weekend. Maybe the writing will pick up again next week as I find more new things.
One of the long-running themes around EVE Online is, "EVE is Dying!!!" While the game has declined since its peak in 2013, the game is pretty active for a 14-year-old title. Of all the EVE killers to emerge, though, the biggest recent threat is Star Citizen. If the game had come out in the 2014-2016 timeframe as originally advertised, CCP as a company probably would have felt a lot of financial pain.
But beginning in 2015, CCP implemented financial moves to become a major player in the virtual reality market. In April 2015, CCP bought back $20 million in bonds two years early. That news was followed in November 2015 with the announcement that venture capitalists had invested $30 million USD into CCP for the purposes of developing virtual reality games. A week later, CCP's first VR game, EVE: Gunjack, released on the Gear VR, with releases on the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Playstation VR occurring throughout 2016. EVE: Valkyrie also debuted on the three VR platforms in 2016, with a non-VR version releasing just last month. And at the end of August, Sparc released on the Playstation VR.
With the recent emphasis on the development of VR content, Hilmar's presentation on the first day of EVE Vegas, titled "CCP Presents", provided the surprise of focusing on non-VR games. The two games discussed were Project Nova, the followup to DUST 514, and Project Aurora, which promises to bring the EVE Online universe to mobile devices. Interestingly, CCP is not trying to develop the games alone. To develop the new first-person shooter, CCP is working with UK developer Sumo Digital. Doing some research after the presentation made me a lot less impressed with the developer than Hilmar made them sound from the stage, but I guess that's expected at this point. The developer working on Project Aurora is the Finnish studio Play Raven, who seems a good choice to work with as a mobile game studio. Play Raven co-founder and CEO Lasse Seppänen appeared on-stage, where he was roundly booed when he described Project Aurora as EVE Online with less spreadsheets. Yes, EVE players love their spreadsheets!
Now, despite Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium Games doing their best Blizzard impersonation and announcing the release of Alpha 3.0 to the Evocati test group Friday morning, I think CCP is in good shape. By the time Star Citizen launches, probably in late 2019 or early 2020, CCP's product line should have diversified enough to withstand a hit caused by the release of a new game. Depending what I hear over the next two days, the promise exists that CCP's product line will prove superior to what CIG eventually produces. Two years ago, I thought Star Citizen could cause CCP problems. Now? Unless CIG has something they haven't shown the world, CCP is in good shape.
Walking around Las Vegas, I think I found the most meta concept I'll run across before registration for EVE Vegas even begins.
To me, Las Vegas is a rather escapist place. A city designed to part visitors with as much money as possible, Sin City offers the promise of a refuge from the reality of a mundane life, at least for a weekend. I find the illusion rather threadbear myself, which is why I find the presence of people selling virtual reality experiences so amusing. Even in Vegas, some people believe that the way to wealth is to provide an experience in a place away from the reality surrounding them.
I understand the lure of virtual reality equipment. I own an Oculus Rift and a Gear VR and last week finally purchased the Touch controllers. I still haven't played EVE: Valkyrie as I got sidetracked into playing a sci-fi themed tower defense game called Defense Grid 2. With your vision totally focused on the experience in front of you and headphones blocking out all outside sound, virtual reality offers an escape from everyday life without having to leave your home.
I think the trend of storefronts offering virtual reality experiences to people is a promising sign for the VR industry. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the video arcade allowed those who could not afford to purchase game consoles a chance to play video games. Is it any wonder that as equipment became more affordable, video game revenue ($91 billion worldwide) surpassed movie industry ($38.6 billion) and music industry ($16.1 billion) revenue combined? According to the Venture Beat article, the first year of virtual reality was "sobering", with the industry only growing to $2.7 billion.
As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about video games and the surrounding issues, I could easily get caught up in an echo chamber that says that, while I might enjoy VR myself, the technology just isn't their. Sometimes, walking away from the keyboard and experiencing different places where I wouldn't normally travel, is necessary to bring a different point of view. To me, the early indications are that VR is at a point the video game industry was at 30-35 years ago. I may not live to see the day where VR becomes as ubiquitous as computers are today. But I'm pretty sure the day will arrive.
I'm sitting somewhat comfortably in my room in The Linq on a beautiful Thursday morning typing out a blog post with a way-overpriced pumpkin latte and a bag of chips. Sorry, but when the untaxed price of a grande pumpkin spice latte is 23% higher than the price of the same product in Chicago's special taxing district covering the Loop after taxes, then you know the prices are jacked up. Then again, the fact that I couldn't use my Starbucks reward points to purchase said overpriced latte probably doesn't help my mood.
My first 24 hours on vacation was kind of like EVE. Sometimes great and sometimes frustrating. Despite a call from work, I was packed, garbage taken out, dishes washed, bed made, etc, a full 20 minutes before the pickup time. The limo service I use once again came through like a champ, arriving 10 minutes early, meaning after I finished fiddling around, I left exactly on time. The drive was smooth and fast, the American employees doing the curbside check-in had me processed in two minutes, and I breezed through the TSA check point. Time from leaving my house to clearing airport security: 45 minutes. Yes!
The American terminal at O'Hare International Airport is really nice and has a lot of eating choices. I wound up picking up a fish sandwich at McDonald's for lunch and a pumpkin spice latte at the Starbucks across the aisle from my gate a couple of hours later. The only bad thing that happened was I started to get a case of the sniffles right before boarding the flight. Well, something happened to American's computer system, but as I had a physical boarding pass, I wasn't affected.
The flight itself was pretty good. I spent a little extra money to get a seat with extra leg room, which I need due to getting a little older. As an additional perk, the middle seat in my row was empty, which was really nice. The flight did have to sit at the gate an extra ten minutes, which meant getting into Las Vegas 10 minutes late, but that's not a big deal. I spent the four-hour flight outlining a future blog post on my view of the Gallente Federation and listening to EVE Online parody songs. Oh, and the sniffles got worse.
Things started going really pear-shaped travelling from the airport to The Linq. Looking at Google Maps, the distance is 2.6 miles. The trip by shuttle bus took 70-75 minutes. By way of comparison, travelling from Keflavik International airport to a hotel in downtown Reykjavik when I travel to Iceland for Fanfest typically takes under an hour, with the Flybus typically covering the 50 kilometers from the airport to the bus terminal in 45 minutes.
The hotel itself I'm still up in the air about. I don't like the layout. I actually got lost for a bit as I went to the wrong elevator bank. I discovered I'm on the same floor as the spa and fitness center, which means I'll probably run into some of the folks from Fitfleet. I ran into J McClain walking out of the fitness center this morning while running down to Starbucks this morning.
My room number has 5 digits..... Guaranteed lost later tonight
I'm not the only one getting confused, either. I ran into Random McNally of the High Drag podcast and he said he found the layout a bit confusing also. But he also seems to like the place after getting acclimatized.
My first swag of the convention
Plans never survive contact with reality on the ground, and my meal plans are no different. Random recommended the Hash House. The restaurant is a little pricey, but the food is good and the portions are huge. Sounds like the place to go before going to the Open Comms show. So I'll go to the Hash House for a late lunch and hit up Holstein's in the Cosmopolitan after the OC. Hopefully I'll run into Crossing Zebras' writer Dire Necessity if he doesn't read this and let him know.
I did have one more problem in my room. Connecting to the hotel wi-fi. When I tried to connect, all I got was a connection to wi-fi, but no internet connectivity. That wouldn't do. So I went to call someone from my phone. No dial tone with the phone. Ugh! So I went down to the desk and found out I shouldn't need any instructions. I left frustrated and wasn't as nice as I should have been. After taking 15 steps, I ran into J McClain and his lovely wife and he asked me how things were going. He probably heard more than he wanted. Sorry J! Then, as usually happens when J stands in one place for any length of time, a crowd started to form, so I made my goodbyes and went back to my room.
The problem with the wi-fi? Apparently The Linq's site triggered something that required me to reconfirm my security settings in Windows 10. Once I performed that task, I had wi-fi and internet connectivity. I wonder if that's because I leave Cortana turned off as much as possible and the Microsoft programming makes life more difficult until you start using her. Hey, I think that's a perfectly reasonable piece of tinfoil!
As I finish up typing this post, local time is now after 11am, which means it's time to start exploring the city. Or at least the famous Vegas strip. I have my new camera I bought for Fanfest this year and I should go out and play tourist. Oh, and try to find out if Dirk MacGirk is still alive and find out where the Open Comms show is broadcasting from tonight.
UPDATE: The location of the Open Comms broadcast tonight.
PSA: Open Comms will be Live tonight from the #EVEVegas event area at the top of the lobby escalator. 6PM Vegas time. #tweetfleet#B4Shots
By this evening I should find myself unpacking a few things in a hotel room in Las Vegas. For the third year I'm travelling to Sin City in order to attend EVE Vegas. The city isn't a place I would normally travel to, but with the largest collection of EVE players in North America each year why not?
Today is a travel day. Normally, I wouldn't worry, but with President Trump visiting Las Vegas in the aftermath of Sunday's horrible shooting from Mandalay Bay, who knows what might happen. With my luck, I'll get stuck on the tarmac for an hour or two waiting for Air Force One to take off before anyone can depart. Perhaps I should just hope he stays overnight.
On Thursday I only have two planned events. The first is to walk over to the Cosmopolitan for lunch. One of the restaurants makes delicious alcohol-laced milkshakes. I'll need a big meal to prepare for the second event. At 6pm, Dirk MacGirk, Dreydan Trovirr, and a whole bunch of others will broadcast the Open Comms show on their old day. I'll have to find out where the broadcast will take place.
On Friday morning, I plan to attend the Talking In Stations breakfast. For those unfamiliar with TiS, it is a podcast that records live on the Imperium News Twitch stream on Saturday mornings. In the interest of full disclosure, I have appeared on the stream/podcast a few times. I'll need to locate the restaurant on Thursday because I have the feeling I might wake up late and need to rush in order to get seated with the group.
After breakfast, I think we are all going to go to the registration area and get our badges. Apparently we get some discounts at local bars and restaurants, so we will indeed need our wristbands and badges.
The first three events I think almost everyone will want to attend. The first session at 2pm is a welcome session hosted by CCP Guard and CCP Falcon. Next comes the EVE Online Keynote at 3pm which will give attendees a look at what's coming up in the Lifeblood expansion in 3 weeks. Of interest is who will give the keynote as Executive Producer CCP Seagull is on maternity leave. Closing out the day's presentations is a session called "CCP Presents". If the session is like the similarly named sessions at Fanfest, we'll get to hear all about CCP's upcoming virtual reality products. If we're really lucky, we might find out the future of CCP's planned follow-up to DUST 514. I remember seeing job postings for the Reykjavik studio that suggest CCP is working on a new game. Whether that game is a new FPS game or something else gives me something to look forward to hearing.
Saturday's lineup of events looks better than what I've seen at Fanfest the past couple of years. At 10am CCP Affinity and CCP Vertex will give a 30 minute presentation on Resource Wars, a feature coming in Lifeblood that I look forward to giving a try. At 10:30, Mike Azariah takes the stage to talk about why the end game of EVE is so elusive.
At 11am, CCP Burger will give an hour-long presentation titled "Shipyards & Future PVE". I get the shipyards part as CCP is still rolling out structures. But future PvE? My curiosity is peaked.
We don't break for lunch until 1pm, which means Matterall will give his talk on Continuum of War to a crowd that may want to eat something. The Talking in Stations host will cover warfare from the Battle of Asakai to today.
When I originally looked at the schedule, I considered not coming back for the afternoon sessions. But the 2pm session on Upwell Structures is one that could prove extremely interesting. The speakers are CCP Fozzie and CCP Nagual. We may get some more concrete timing on what CCP Burger discusses in the morning. If anything, the description of the talk mentions the structures roadmap. I think for that alone I need to attend.
I don't plan to go to the 3pm sessions, but I might go and listen to CCP Rise discuss balance issues at 4pm. The title apparently is a bit misleading.
On Sunday, I think I'll sleep in a little and make CCP Punkturis and CCP Sharq's presentation at 11pm the first one I attend. I do want to find out the future of The Agency, and the presence of CCP Punkturis suggests we will get a lot of information about an improved user interface. Also, pink cartoon cats.
At noon, Max Singularity (aka The Space Pope) will give another lecture on the physics of spaceflight in the EVE universe.. Max contributed to the Frigates of EVE book and will explain more about how ships are powered. Max's lectures are must attend events at EVE gatherings.
I might take a long lunch on Sunday. But if I don't, I'll show up at the EVE Lore Q&A. I do like the lore so hearing the lore hounds pepper CCP Falcon and CCP Affinity with questions could prove enlightening.
The next two sessions are player presentations running 30 minutes each. The first is by Emmaline Fera titles "Leadership Lessons From EVE Online". Considering Emmaline works in the tech business, listening to her insight might make me laugh. She can get just a little sarcastic.
The final session before the closing ceremony is Elise Randolph and Debes Sparre discussing how to build doctrines. I figure by the time 3:30pm rolls around on Sunday, I won't feel like getting up to go anyplace else.
For those interested in the event but unable to fly out to Las Vegas, CCP will stream all three days on Twitch. As usual, those at the event will probably know less of what's happening than those at home. Considering Las Vegas is one of the few places on earth more expensive than Reykjavik, the ability to order out while watching saves on money also. As for me, I plan on treating Las Vegas like Chicago this year and take a little extra care walking around. Not only do I plan to stay safe, I might wind up saving a little money at the same time.
