Dawntrail Diary: Revisiting The Skydeep Cenote

I didn't get to play much last week due to real life on one hand and breaking gaming news on the other. But I did get to revisit a controversy from the launch of Dawntrail: the difficulty of the MSQ dungeons. Although looking back, a lot of complaining was done by those who thought the post-MSQ dungeons were too tough. But since I fall into the first group, that's how I will look at the controversy.

Still haven't finished the MSQ - That's right, I still haven't finished the MSQ. The Interphos is still out there taunting me, but after my experience struggling with the dungeons leading up to the final trial, I'm not going to attempt the content until I've conquered my fears.

In the rearview mirror - I had to complete one final run of Worqor Zormor, a level 93 duty, in order to level Thancred, Estinien, and Y'shtola to 95. And once again I did not have a clean run, dying once to the first boss Ryoqor Terteh. I must have a mental block because once I die once, the second time is easy. Overall, I had one clean run where I did not die, although Thancred and Y'shtola did.

In the glamour farming, I managed to pull two left side items to complete my gear for the Zormor set. As for the right side jewelry, I'm still missing the earrings. But as the outfit comes with a turban, the earrings aren't that important.

The scene of the controversy - For those who mainly do the duties and trials because they gate the content we really want to do, I think The Skydeep Cenote was the real beginning of the difficulty curve. From a story perspective, I understand why the developers made the difficulty so hard, especially the final boss. Basically the third boss, Maulskull, is the final boss before Wut Lamak wins the contest and becomes the Dawnservant. The fact that Maulskull is a wall boss taking up an entire side of the platform makes the case obvious in hindsight. 

My first run was, to put it mildly, a disaster. I managed to die only once to the first boss, Feather Ray. The boss shoots out bubbles. Lots of bubbles. The trick is to either totally ignore doing damage and concentrate on mechanics or, as a healer, only use instant heal spells which do not interrupt movement.

For the second boss, Firearms, I died twice. The secret to success with Firearms is to be totally alert and kind of jump some of the mechanics in order to reach safe places. I was a bit slow doing so. Reaction time and knowing the fight really helps.

Now for the final boss. I am used to needing one or two attempts to defeat a boss. But for me, Maulskull brought me back to Therion, the third boss in Shadowbringers' final 5.0 duty Amaurot. I just could not handle the mechanics of Therion, and I thought Maulskull would do the same. On Saturday I died at the hands of Maulskull 9 times. The run was so frustrating I called a stop to running the duty for the night.

But, the run was different than when I ran through the dungeon on my playthrough the MSQ with Wuk Lamat and Krile. I actually started seeing patters to the attacks and spent more time trying to read Maulskull's tells. On Saturday my mindset was different. When running through the content back in early July I just wanted to get through the duty because I was never going to do the content again. This weekend I was making the first of six runs through the content in order to level up my group of Trust NPCs. Because I cared about the content, I learned.

The learning paid off on Sunday. Once again I died once to Feather Ray and its bubbles. But I killed Firearms along with my NPC companions cleanly. Perhaps most amazingly of all, in my latest effort I only died to Maulskull once. I need to remember not to panic at the very beginning and not move until Maulskull knocks the group back toward the back of the platform. I forgot the circular damage markers on the characters don't execute damage for a good 3 seconds after the knockback occurs. Plenty of time to move away from the others.

Now, I need to make a point about my gear. When I ran though The Skydeep Cenote during the MSQ, I was using the iLvl 710 Archeo Kingdom Armor crafted set. I know the armor was adjusted down to iLvL 640, but perhaps the Broccoli and and Spinach Saute helped with my vitality (i.e. hit points). I guess just call me Popeye.

I should add another reason for the difference between my MSQ run and Sunday's effort. During the MSQ playthrough I entered The Skydeep Cenote as a level 95 white mage. On Sunday my level 100 job was reduced down to level 96. Level 96 is interesting because white mages get their Medica spell upgraded from Medica 2 to Medica 3. Was the additional 25 cure potency per tick significant? I did have a couple of times where I barely survived a mechanic. So I did have an easier time running the dungeon on Sunday than I did back in July.

A retain army update - My retainer army continues to march on, supplying my character with everything needed. After three months I still have 146 million gil, which is kind of impressive considering how much I've spent so far in Dawntrail. My one retainer I started the week before the launch of the expansion has hit level 86 and is contributing 4500 gil per day plus Shadowbringers crafting material. However, I really need to put the army on the backburner while I work on levelling my Trust NPCs and work up the skill (and confidence) to face Dawntrail's final boss.

Project Awakening Is Now EVE: Frontier

Yesterday the Web3/blockchain game under development by CCP Games reached an important milestone. That's right, Project Awakening received a real game name, EVE: Frontier. The Pearl Abyss-owned company issued a press release on its corporate website.

In EVE Frontier, CCP Games is creating a deep player-driven sandbox for a new era. Cast into a cruel and brutal cosmos, you have been lost to time and lost to light. To survive, you will need to explore, exploit and expand in the face of perpetual annihilation. The Frontier is a shattered region of space, warped by the presence of supermassive black holes gravitationally bound in a macabre dance. Rogue AI infests its depths; corrupting and consuming the remnants of what still stands.

With all players on one single-shard server, death and opportunity lurk in equal measure. Awareness is power: your skill as a pilot and strategic choices determine the outcome of every encounter, whether you favor hit-and-run tactics, stealth, or all-out warfare. Exploit the Frontier’s natural resources to upgrade your ship with vital technology and acquire new capabilities. Obtain fuel, the lifeblood of your journey, to power your travel as you overcome its dangers. A community-driven and dynamic economy allows you to create custom currencies, establish markets, and trade assets, services, and reputation in a truly open environment.

Rebuild civilization from its ashes by using Smart Assemblies, an open-ended platform, to construct and program infrastructure within space. Expand your influence through defenses, trading posts and multiple types of functionality, each imbued with a programmable layer that links the world of the Frontier to the real world outside of it. Develop your own ideas or address the needs of others: from mission systems to private economies, Smart Assemblies unlocks third-party development with a toolkit for creators to build beyond a virtual world.

“EVE Frontier redefines the survival genre by fusing intense space survival gameplay with the limitless emergent potential of a player-driven, persistent sandbox universe,” said CCP Games CEO, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson. “From exploiting space itself to shaping entire economies, every decision ripples across this dark and uncompromising expanse. We welcome you to join us in building this next step in our history; awake eternally.”

The next closed player test, Phase IV, runs from 27 September to 7 October and registration is currently open at the game's website. According to an FAQ supplied to the media as part of the press release's press kit, the test is the last closed invite-only test. I received an invite to the next test period since I participated in Phase III back in May and June. I'm not exactly sure how much more I can say about my experiences at this time, so I will err on the side of discretion. 

I wrote a few posts about Web3/blockchain games back in May and June. In exploring the question, "Are blockchain games a good advertisement for blockchain games?" I came to the following conclusion:

As vehicles for entertainment, blockchain games don't sound very appealing. For those who want blockchain games to reach mainstream audiences the games can't concern themselves primarily with the mechanics of creating and distributing real world wealth. Instead of identifying themselves by the technology they contain, perhaps the developers and fans of the genre just make good video games that incidentally contain blockchain and other web3 technologies. Because after looking up 5 blockchain games I'm not interested in playing any blockchain game. The games I looked at just don't serve as a good advertisement for the entire genre.

CCP seems to think the same thing. In the corporate press release, the words "blockchain" and "Web3" do not appear once. In the first dev blog, blockchain was mentioned.

We have much more to share with you, but we also wanted to mention what has been on many of your minds over the past year as we head into the future together: yes, EVE Frontier uses blockchain technology and it is important for us to be transparent about this. If you’d like to learn more about this aspect of the game, please read the first iteration of our whitepaper. You can also join the conversation on Discord.

The media FAQ does go into greater detail.

Does EVE Frontier use blockchain technology?

Yes, players can edit aspects of the game world and server in real-time, giving the community the power to add their own functionality to the game through Smart Assemblies. This feature lets players program the infrastructure they deploy into space.

Smart Assemblies utilizes Redstone: https://redstone.xyz/, an L2 blockchain designed for permissionless and open software, and MUD: https://mud.dev/, a framework for building on-chain open applications.

Combined with Carbon, these tools are the foundation of our persistent and programmable game server at universe-scale: one server, one universe, evolving through players forever.

In addition, the economy of EVE Frontier is an open environment: any and all transactions are allowed, using in-game currency built on ERC-20 token standards. 

These solutions are environmentally friendly: all technology used to develop and operate EVE Frontier has the same energy consumption as EVE Online’s infrastructure. 

Now, over the years I've heard people claim EVE Online is not a sandbox game because players don't really have the ability to change their environment. Apparently building space stations and space highways isn't enough. According to the dev blog, players will have a greater ability to shape the world.

To rebuild civilization on the Frontier, we are giving you the ability to not only construct in-game infrastructure but fully configure it to your own needs. This means each structure has a programmable layer. We call this feature Smart Assemblies, and it includes defenses, trading posts, industrial units and a wide variety of other types of facilities to construct your own personal space complex. You can develop your own ideas or address the needs of others: from mission systems to private economies, Smart Assemblies will unlock third-party development with a powerful toolkit for creators to build beyond EVE Frontier’s virtual world.

I do need to address the issue of Smart Assemblies as at least one editor of a gaming publication has stated the use of the term Smart Assemblies is a sneaky way to mention blockchains without using the word blockchain. I'll even post the entire paragraph so the words are taken in context.

Indeed, today’s press release touts CCP’s transparency but mentions blockchain only once, the video doesn’t mention it at all, and the website uses phrases like “smart storage units” and “smart assemblies” as euphemisms for how creators will interface with the blockchain. But there’s no great secret here: This is just another explore-and-exploit sandbox.

At this point the developers have provided so much information I could easily go down several rabbit holes. But I'll just quote from the Builders' documentation about Smart Assemblies.

EVE Frontier is designed as an open environment - a sandbox with a heightened level of player agency. With a complete unlock of third-party development, the game world will evolve with the community - not just through their in-game actions, but by allowing it to be edited server-side by players in real-time. Through enhanced base-building (Smart Assemblies), players can code functionality into infrastructure placed in space such as turrets, trading posts, storage facilities, and more. Develop your own ideas or address the needs of others: from mission systems to private economies, Smart Assemblies unlocks third-party development with a powerful toolkit for anyone to build beyond a virtual world.

Smart Assemblies uses the Solidity programming language to configure in-game infrastructure. With Solidity, you can define the rules and behavior of decentralized applications (applications that can have no single owner, known as DApps) that exist within the programmable layer of Smart Assemblies infrastructure. Learn about Solidity and get started: https://soliditylang.org/

Smart refers to all the things that can be connected outside of the game through a programmable layer that links the virtual world of the Frontier to the material world outside of it.

And yes, Smart Assemblies do allow player developers to interact with the blockchain.

Using Solidity, players can code functionality through smart contracts (on-chain code) and connect infrastructure to decentralized applications (DApps), programs through which you can modify how that infrastructure functions and behaves.

I honestly didn't expect to write a nearly 1500 word essay on the topic. I will probably post several more articles about EVE: Frontier, if only as part of my coverage of Pearl Abyss' financial situation. But I do have the feeling some game studio will create a successful Web3/blockchain game one day. I would prefer if the game were a good game that happens to use Web3 technology instead of using the thought of blockchain riches to attract players. After all, games are supposed to let people escape reality for awhile, not become a paying job.

The Disposition Of Ortwin Freyermuth Shares Of Cloud Imperium Games

The financial information coming out of Cloud Imperium Games, makers of the upcoming games Squadron 42 and Star Citizen, drips out at a slow pace. Back in July I wrote about how Cloud Imperium co-founder and vice-chairman Ortwin Freyermuth had resigned his position on the board of directors of Cloud Imperium UK LTD, the company controlling Cloud Imperium's development studios in Manchester, UK and Frankfurt, Germany. I wondered at the time if the resignation meant he had also sold off his shares in the company. According to the Confirmation Statement submitted to UK Companies House on Tuesday, the answer, at least outside North America, is yes.

At the beginning of May, Freyermuth owned 973,990 shares, or 8.3% of Cloud Imperium. While Cloud Imperium UK and Cloud Imperium US are divided for business reasons, the information published at the time of the initial investment indicated the issued shares cover ownership stakes in both halves of the business.

Share count in December 2018

Basically, the existing shareholders have the right of first refusal to purchase the shares according to the Articles of Association published with Companies House in November 2022. I don't need to proceed further with the rules as all of Freyermuth's shares were purchased by the other investors/shareholders. I thought going through the timeline might prove interesting.

Shareholders listed in the September 2024 confirmation statement

The first to purchase shares from Freyermuth was Erloch, Ltd on 7 May. The 30,034 shares acquired boosted the company's ownership stake in Cloud Imperium up to 70,034 shares or 0.6% of the company. Erloch is a bit of a mystery although I believe the company is based in the Caymen Islands, which would make sense if the company is associated with the Calders. However, information on the company is hard to find.

The next to purchase shares were the founders of Turbulent, Marc Deaudet and Benoit Beausejour. Each purchased 2219 shares sometime between 8-13 May. I don't know which one purchased first as they acquired the same amount. Upon the purchase of Turbulent in July 2023 the pair acquired shares in CIG and joined the company's executive group. Beausejour became the Chief Technology Officer and Beaudet the Senior Vice President in charge of Studios Operations. Each of the Turbulent founders now own 28,979 shares or 0.2% of the company.

Also on 13 May Indus Management LTD picked up 871,216 shares, increasing their share of ownership in Cloud Imperium from 13.3% to 20.7%. Indus Management LTD is the company through which Clive and Keith Calder made their main initial investment in Cloud Imperium in 2018. Currently Marc Nitsche represents the Calders' interests on the board of directors.

Finally, right before the deadline on the right of first refusal, Erin Roberts purchased 64,302 shares on 3 June. Roberts, the brother of CIG's CEO Chris Roberts and the company's Chief Development Officer. With the latest transaction, his ownership stake increased to 551,292 shares, or 4.7% of CIG.

That leaves two shareholders who did not purchase any of Freyermuth's shares were Chris Roberts and Infatrade UK Ltd. Chris Roberts, the co-founder of Cloud Imperium and current CEO, currently owns 71.1% of the company and effectively controls the board of directors. The other is more interesting. Infatrade is owned by Eli Klein, whom records show owns at least 75% of the company run by his brother Alon. Apparently Klein was involved as an advisor to CIG during the initial investment by the Calders and stuck around. Infatrade currently owns 2.4% of Cloud Imperium and Eli Klein sits on CIG's board of directors.

Why are the above transactions important outside the fact Cloud Imperium did not need to spend corporate funds to buy out Freyermuth's position in the company? Investors often look to what insiders in a company are doing to judge whether to invest in the company or not. Right now we have three people involved in making Squadron 42 and Star Citizen (Erin Roberts, Marc Deaudet and Benoit Beausejour) and the largest outside investors (Keith and Clive Calder) increasing their ownership in CIG. Plus, the Calders have a put option they can exercise in the first quarter of 2025 if they want to divest themselves of CIG. Instead, they increased their stake in the company by over 7%.

I should add that the shares are important when the company starts issuing dividends. At this point in its history, Cloud Imperium has only issued a dividend one time, in 2021 following a very good 2020 year, at least financially. Except for then, CIG has not recorded profits large enough to justify issuing a dividend.

If the board of directors decides, the company will issue a dividend. The total size of the dividend will equal 20% of the profits for the preceding year, distributed according to the shares owned. A year like 2022 when CIG only recorded a $1.3 million profit isn't worth issuing a dividend. But a year in which the company records a $130 million profit? I think if CIG only records a $130 million profit in the year Squadron 42 then Star Citizen will never finish development. More important from an investment standpoint, Indus Management LTD stands to receive a $5.8 million dividend payment if CIG records a profit of $130 million in 2025.

I should add one more piece of significance to the disposition of Ortwin Freyermuth's holdings in Cloud Imperium. Even after exercising their put options in 2028, all the outside investors, except for Eli Klein's Infatrade, will still own parts of Cloud Imperium. Anyone who thought the put options would end the influence of outside investors on the development of Star Citizen are probably very disappointed.

A Look At The Active ISK Delta In August 2024

The monthly economic report (MER) for August covering EVE Online's Tranquility shard dropped last week. Before performing my monthly look at the Active ISK Delta, I need to point out two items of interest included in the release of the MER by CCP itself. The first involves the growth of the money supply.

In August, we observed a significant upward trend in the money supply, reaching 2,190T ISK. By the end of the month, this represented a 1.5% increase compared to the end of July, when the supply was 2,158T ISK.

No commentary from the developers whether the change was good or bad, just that a change had occurred.  The second involves ore introduced back in December 2022.

Last month, we identified several ore types that were missing from the charts and these have since been added:

• Ducinium
• Eifyrium
• Mordunium
• Mutanite
• Ytirium

In fairness, though I think Mutanite was introduced sometime in the first half of 2023.

Already we see a potential issue with the data in the MER. The accompanying article mentions the rise in the money supply rose from 2,158 trillion ISK while the beginning point in the MER is 2,160 trillion ISK. Not a good start, especially after the disclosure of ore missing from the MER for over 18 months.

But the purpose of this post is not to complain about the MER. Instead I want to review the Active ISK Delta.  The Active ISK Delta is the net effect on the New Eden monetary supply of players leaving and returning to the game. The Active ISK Delta also includes any reductions due to any and all GM actions. In July, 35.5 trillion ISK disappeared from the game economy from the movement of players into and out of the game. For the second month in a row, players leaving the game was the biggest ISK sink in the New Eden economy. The drop is much less than July's total of 141.5 trillion ISK. Still, the Active ISK Delta was 88.9% greater than the amount of transaction taxes paid by players in August.

The change in the Active ISK Delta led me to wonder how much of the change was seasonal. Looking back to the beginning of the Alpha/Omega F2P period of EVE history, the average value of the Active ISK Delta was -13.1 trillion ISK in August from 2017 to 2023. The median value of -16.5 trillion ISK over the same period doesn't show too much of a difference. One item of interest is that the Active ISK Delta was positive for 2 of the last 3 Augusts. But still, the value of the Active ISK Delta was smaller than average in August.

Last year the summer slump only lasted two months, August and September. In 2024 will the summer slump also last two months, just in the months of July and August? September has always served as an indicator of player interest in the game. If players come back earlier, the third quarter of 2024 may look better financially for CCP.

EVE Online Patch Notes: The Siege Of Zarzakh

The run-up to EVE Online's winter expansion continued yesterday with the release of The Siege of Zarzakh. The Drifters have decided to attack the Deathless Circle's home system of Zarzakh.

Drifters have launched an all-out attack on the four systems that contain stargates to Zarzakh. Zarzakh is a unique solar system in close proximity to a black hole, currently occupied by the Deathless Circle. It is only accessible via ancient Jovian gates which are located in four systems in distant reaches of New Eden. These systems are Turnur, Alsavoinon, H-PA29, and G-0Q86. Roaming Drifters have been detected in these gate systems along with Sleeper drones under their control.

As the attack began, deep space telemetry detected a massive warping of spacetime around Zarzakh itself. This warping has created a boundary through which no events can be observed. It is functionally the same as the event horizon around a black hole, except that selected energy and matter seem to be able to pass through it unimpeded. Reports out of Zarzakh have confirmed that there has been no change inside the system itself, or with the black hole present there.

Drifter forces are trying to use stargates leading into Zarzakh instead of their normal methods for entering systems. Apparently the nature of the system prevents the Drifters normal means of travel. What follows is where lore and patch notes meet.

Drifter forces in the besieged gate systems have deployed never-before-seen structures that are generating incredibly powerful spacetime-warping fields. SOCT telemetry indicates that these fields are attempting to disrupt, and ultimately breach, the Horizon. Designated as Horizon Breach Engines, the structures are under the control of a single Drifter, Tyrannos Tekton. “What we are witnessing,” Sver qualified “is a hyperspace siege.”

Capsuleers approaching the locations where engines have been deployed, called Horizon Siege Points, have received communications from one Malaya Hrada. Malaya Hrada is the caravanmaster of the Hrada-Oki, a Deathless Circle allied Thukker caravan. She appears to be hunkered down inside the Fulcrum along with many other Deathless operatives and is offering rewards to any capsuleers willing to disrupt the Drifters' efforts.

The patch notes describe the update as follows:

• Zarzakh is under siege! Drifter and Sleeper forces have begun launching attacks within the four systems connecting to Zarzakh.
  
  
• Horizon Siege Point sites have begun appearing within the connecting systems. Capsuleers must keep the Drifter siege engine from becoming fully online within these sites. The device is only vulnerable while it is active. Be warned! While in this state, the engine will call for Drifter and Sleeper reinforcements.
  
• Roaming fleets of hostiles patrol these systems, targeting any capsuleers they find.

Then we get into some fun stuff. Apparently the Jovian station known as The Fulcrum has some automated defenses The Deathless cannot control.

A source inside the Fulcrum has confirmed that its deep systems activated as the Horizon came into effect, causing speculation that the Fulcrum itself is its cause.

At the same moment that the Horizon appeared, changes were observed in the behavior of the stargates inside Zarzakh. An effect identified as the “Emanation Lock” is being experienced by those who travel to Zarzakh. After entering Zarzakh, stargates now only allow exit back into the system from which a traveler originated. All other transits are barred by the Horizon.

The current leading hypothesis is that this is an automated security response, protecting the system from any unchecked traffic. Early reports indicate that the Emanation Lock degrades over time and its effects are expected to end after six hours in the system, at which point the traveler is “naturalized” as a legitimate Zarzakh occupant and is once again free to exit through any gate.

The same sources have reported that the lock has thrown traffic through the system into chaos. This suggests that Deathless Circle operatives were as surprised by the appearance of the Emanation Lock as the rest of New Eden.

The patch notes spell out what the Emanation Lock does in the game.

Zarzakh:

• Due to a mysterious surprise attack from the Drifters, The Fulcrum has activated an “Emanation lock” on the stargates into Zarzakh and within the system of Zarzakh, preventing the Drifters from accessing Zarzakh by any means; this has temporarily stalled the drifter attack for now…
  
  
• Whenever a player enters Zarzakh from a stargate, they will become locked to that stargate and get an emanation lock timer for 6 hours. Players will only be able to leave Zarzakh through the stargate they are locked to for the next 6 hours.
• Players can always leave Zarzakh through the Deathless Shipcaster, Clone Jumping or being pod killed, even with an Emanation lock.
• If players do not have an Emanation lock timer, they can leave through any gate.
• The Emanation lock is only given when entering Zarzakh, not when leaving it.
  
  
• If a player is outside Zarzakh with an Emanation lock timer, they can enter through any gate (It only prevents you from leaving Zarzakh). Entering Zarzakh from any gate will overwrite any old emanation lock timer with a new timer. You can only be locked to one gate at any time.
  
  
• Being pod killed into Zarzakh (If you have your home station set there) or clone jumping into Zarzakh is always possible regardless of Emanation Lock status.
  
  
• Warp Disruption Probes (From Interdiction Sphere Launcher modules fitted to Interdictors) and unscripted warp disruption field generator modules (from Heavy Interdictors) can no longer be used in Zarzakh.
  
  
• Escalations can no longer route a player through Zarzakh.
  
  
• Autopilot will no longer route a player through Zarzakh.
  
  
• If a player is inside Zarzakh with an Emanation lock, then Autopilot will consider the players Emanation lock and not route them through a gate they cannot use.

In perhaps related news, the Deepflow Rifts will only appear for two more days, which means a Thursday patch.

Recent news has revealed that the Deepflow Rift sites will be closing soon. The Society of Conscious Thought (SOCT) has detected a drop in the energy signatures in the deepflow coinciding with the Drifters’ assault on the gate systems. As these caused the rifts, SOCT scientists predict the deepflow will stabilize and rifts will cease to appear on 12 September. 

But the sites are not just going away if the patch notes concerning Homefront Operations are any indication. At the very least the content will change for the next two days.

Homefront Operations:

• Increased the bonus percentages for Abyssal Artifact Recovery weather effects to 20% (from 10%).
  
  
• Penalty percentages for Abyssal Artifact Recovery weather effects will now scale with the difficulty tier.
  
  
• Increase the initial setup timer in Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites to 90 seconds (from 60).
  
  
• Increase the escape timer in Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites to 60 seconds (from 45).
  
  
• Decreased the collision radius of Destabilizing Array objects in Stabilize Rift sites.

The developers have also fixed some defects in Homefront associated with the event.

Defect Fixes

Homefront Operations:

• Info Panel objectives will now reappear if warp is started and then cancelled within ongoing sites.
  
  
• Mine and escape Info Panel objectives will now appear when arriving at an ongoing Abyssal Artifact Recovery site.
  
  
• Fixed a minor formatting issue in Traffic Stop site Operational Intel text.
  
  
• Drifter NPCs in Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites will now have their shield hitpoints applied correctly.

Dawntrail Diary - First Take On Wuk Lamat

With no seasonal events to distract me, I was free to once again to ignore the climatic event in Final Fantasy XIV's Dawntrail expansion. What, you thought I would use the time to run the final trial? I'm still trying to get used to my new mouse. So until then my pedestrian activity will have to suffice.

About Wuk Lamat - Though I haven't completed the MSQ, I'm close enough to the end to have an opinion about Wuk Lamat. I don't like her. She reminds me a lot of Alphinaud entering the Heavensward expansion. At the time I dreaded having to enter each expansion with two know-it-all characters who just irritated me to no end. In the case of Alphinaud, the character was a true know-it-all whose life experience didn't give him the judgement to know when he was making a huge mistake. As for Wuk, the know-it-all persona was a front for someone trying to maintain airs because she was supposed to be perfect but wasn't. Let's say I did not look forward to entering Heavensward with Alphinaud or Dawntrail with Wuk.

The difference between the two was the pace of character development. Alphinaud had four expansions to develop from a know-it-all rich kid into a character willing to sacrifice everything for the Warrior of Light to save the world at the end of Endwalker. I didn't really warm up to Alphinaud until Shadowbringers. 

Wuk's character development was a bit rushed. Instead of 5 expansions of character development like Alphinaud, Wuk only had five levels to reach the same point (patches 6.55 and halfway through 7.0). If Wuk had taken a back seat for the second half of the Dawntrail MSQ I probably wouldn't have minded so much. But the character development was rushed in order for Wuk to confront her step-brother and save the world. 

The confronting of Zoraal Ja wasn't the worst idea in the world and seems quite natural. But I would rather the second half concentrate on Krile's relationship with the invading dimension, Erenville's reaction to the effects on his home, and letting the rest of the Scions, particularly the twins, act as more than fan service props. Plus, while my feelings about Wuk have improved, I still didn't want to adventure with her anymore.

Practice, practice, practice - I only ran Worqor Zormor three times last week, with no clean runs. On Saturday I died twice on Kahderyor and once to Gurfurlur. Part of the problem was I messed up the keybinds for my thumb mouse buttons and wound up fumbling around clicking my spells and abilities. I also took almost 40 minutes to complete the run.

On Sunday I got the buttons mapped properly again and ran the duty two more times. I didn't have an issue with the last two bosses, but now I was dying to Ryoqor Terteh. I think my problem was a lack of concentration. I have one more chance to get a second clean run through Worqor Zormor before my group levels and I move on to The Skydeep Cenote.

On the plus side I acquired all the jewelry from the Zormor set. On the bad side I'm still missing Zormor Sarouel of Healing.

Oops, I forgot - While working on acquiring some advanced crafting ingredients I realized I forgot to pick up the Tomes of Regional Folklore for Dawnwalker. The books will cost 1600 purple gathering scrips each, or 14,400 scrips in total. Sounds like a good excuse to go fishing. Once I gather up the books I can finish up discovering the resources and leave the task of gathering time-gated materials to my retainers if I only need small amounts.

A Retainer Army update - I'm almost finished gearing up my retainers, possibly for the remainder of the expansion. I have successfully updated and melded the gear for 2 botanists, 2 miners, and 2 fishers. For the botanists and miners their perception is 4974, meaning I've passed the threshold to receive 30 items if I send the retainers out for Dawntrail items. My third botanist is at level 83 and I have the gear to level her to level 100 before needing to worry about an update. I do need to upgrade the gear on my two white mage retainers, but I just need to craft two sets of iLvL 710 gear. No need for melds.

Honest, one of these days I will finish the Dawntrail MSQ.

The Run-up To EVE Online's Winter Expansion Has Begun

Looking at activity in EVE Online, I began to wonder when CCP would begin the lore run-up to the Winter 2024 expansion. Ahead of new expansions the developers like to run a storyline to introduce important elements of the upcoming content to players. I was late to the party because I was only looking at patch notes and dev blogs. I should have also looked to the lore. Would you believe the lead-in to the next expansion begins with deep space fishing?

Never forget to check the lore page

Last Tuesday I wrote about the new Deepflow Rifts and overhaul of Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites. Here's the lore behind the new feature.

The Society of Conscious Thought has observed massive energy spikes in Abyssal Deadspace. The spikes originated in the Deepflows of the Abyss, beyond where any New Eden explorer has ventured. The energy signatures are similar to those recorded during the escalating Drifter and Triglavian war some months ago. It was widely believed that capsuleer intervention had successfully de-escalated their conflict, but it seems to have only caused a brief respite.

The Deepflow Rifts appear to be a result of the destructive energies unleashed in the Drifter-Triglavian war. These rifts are inaccessible to New Eden’s pilots. This is likely because they lead to the far depths of Abyssal Deadspace which are untraversable with conventional technologies. Despite this, activating a significant number of tractor beams on the rift allows a pilot to pull objects through from the other side. These objects provide possible evidence of a long-term Triglavian presence in Deepflow regions. The science community is divided as to whether these objects are the remains of past settlements that drifted into the Deepflow, or a sign that the Triglavians are capable of surviving in even harsher environments than previously predicted.

At the same time, reports are coming in from Gallente, Caldari, Amarr, and Minmatar scientists that changes have been observed in other rifts. Abyssal Artifact Recovery operations have recorded shifting patterns, prompting calls for capsuleers to assist in investigating the changes.

One would think after writing about EVE for 15 years I would remember to check the lore page automatically instead of relying on the EVE Online Twitter account to remind me to do so. But the mere presence of a new type of content didn't set off alarm bells something was up.

Capsuleers are reporting the discovery of mysterious data elements called “spectral emission slices”.

So far only part of the total data set has been recovered and the exact meaning of the information within is still unclear...

The Scope reports: https://t.co/N0yXFnO7Nv pic.twitter.com/FPBFHkJ4Su

— EVE Online (@EveOnline) September 3, 2024

Once again I wrote about the patch and mechanical changes and missed the larger picture. The expansion is coming. How do I know? Because mysterious data fragments are back.

Capsuleers are reporting the discovery of mysterious data elements called “spectral emission slices”. These slices appear to contain temporal and spatial data. So far only part of the total data set has been recovered. The exact meaning of the information within is still unclear. While many theories have been suggested, none have yet been corroborated.

This data is being conveyed in an unfamiliar format that emits trace blackbody radiation. It is not known who created the data or for what purpose. All that is known is that the slices have been discovered emerging from Abyssal rifts impacted by the conflict between the Triglavians and the Drifters; Deepflow Rifts and those under investigation by Abyssal Artifact Recovery operations.

The Scope reached out to SOCT scientists for answers, but they declined to comment. It is hoped that as more slices emerge so will greater insights into their meaning and origins. We will have more on this story as it unfolds.

Whatever the spectral emission slices contain I am confident will disclose a major part of the content of the next expansion. 

I also am beginning to wonder if the Sisters of EVE will play a more prominent role in the near future. When writing up my series on the Equinox patch notes I delegated NET Resonators to an odds-and-ends category I described as "General Manufacturing". What I thought was a nice buff to pirate ship manufacturing now has its own lore.

Yulai - The CDIA has released the details of an investigation that proves NET resonators were developed by criminal organization, the Deathless Circle. NET resonators emerged as an advanced ship manufacturing component some months ago, replacing the need for neurolink conduits in subcapitals. Since then the component has been adopted by groups as diverse as the Sisters of EVE, Guristas Pirates, Sansha’s Nation, Blood Raiders, and more.

The revolutionary ship manufacturing component makes use of quantum consciousness neurolinking technology to provide the same performance as two different neurolink conduits in a single device. The CDIA has confirmed that this was backward-engineered from Jovian technology. The Deathless Circle has used its access to the Jovian station known as “The Fulcrum” to develop new advances based on ancient Jovian technologies.

As I thought further on the subject, I wonder if the investigation into NET Resonators had more to do with the Sisters of EVE than manufacturing. I think people sometimes forget the Sisters are not some cuddly group of do-gooders. In the mechanics of EVE the SoE is considered a pirate faction.

The CDIA also presented evidence of multiple correlations between the introduction of the NET resonators and visits to organizations from known Deathless Circle agents. Most damning of these was evidence that leading members of the SOE had met with Deathless agents to receive the technology.

The Scope reached out to the SOE to explain their organization's connection with this known criminal group. Santimona Sarpati responded, “We in no way solicited the attention of the Deathless Circle, but were approached by one of their agents regardless. They offered to provide us with designs that would allow us to spend less on our ship development and more on our efforts to explore New Eden and support its people. After much debate, we decided it would be irresponsible not to make use of this technology.”

The motivations for this apparently charitable donation remain unclear, as do the specifics negotiated between the Deathless Circle and the more dangerous factions they have provided with NET resonators.

So are the developers just tying up a loose string from Equinox or is this a sign to expect something in the winter expansion? I know CCP likes to use lore and in-game events to lead up to new features instead of just doing a big data dump. But this is the season to begin teasing the next expansion and I'm here for it.

EVE Online's Deepflow Rifts Get Nerfed In Yesterday's Patch

Apparently fishing is popular in EVE Online. At least, the Deepflow Rifts introduced last week certainly remind me of fishing, except failing to use the fishing rod, er, I mean tractor beams, properly results in an attack of NPCs instead of lost bait. The following changes and fixes were introduced in yesterday's patch.

Features & Changes:

Deepflow Rift:

• Increased the rate at which Deepflow Adaptive Canisters can be found.
  
  
• Instability will now stack when multiple tractor beams are activated simultaneously. Each tractor beam will be applied separately.
  
  
• As each tractor beam will cause instability, manage your modules carefully so as to not disturb what lies beyond the rift. Be sure to have the opportunities window opened to best gauge rift instability.

Defect Fixes:

Deepflow Rift:

• Deepflow Adaptive Canisters can no longer be found once the 27 canister limit is reached.
  
  
• Electron Spin Resonance items now use their correct icon.

Notice the instability gauge is not considered a bug? I guess the devs figured multiple players would show up to the same fishing hole. Perhaps in high sec, but in other areas? I doubt it, which means players could show up in ships with multiple tractor beams and quickly run the site out of the 27 cannisters a player should receive during the time period the rift is active. And perhaps if the bug allowing players to receive more than 27 cannisters wasn't present the instability mechanic would remain as it was.

The patch wasn't just about Deepflow Rifts. The SKINR system received some defect fixes as well.

User Interface:

• Fixed an issue where SKIN previews in the Paragon Hub did not display when first opening SKINR after logging in.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where design elements appeared duplicated in the Slot Customization UI when activating a limited component in SKINR. Additionally, the "Metallic" component list no longer incorrectly switches to the "Basic" list after activating a design element.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where sorting saved SKIN designs by name did not function correctly.

A Look At August 2024 Activity In EVE Online

An amusing thing happened to CCP Games in August. The overlords in Anyang decided to tell investors that the games operating using the EVE intellectual property had figured out the whole seasonal business issue and in the future CCP Games would pull in at least ₩20 billion in sales quarterly. Right in the middle of EVE Online's weakest financial quarter historically due to the annual summer slump. Did players get the message they were supposed to keep playing so CCP could meet their financial target? Let's find out.

Looking at Jester's average concurrent user chart, the signs look hopeful. After a big decline in the month following the launch of the Equinox expansion, the numbers appear to have levelled off at approximately 21,000 accounts logged into EVE's Tranquility shard at any one time. While the annual decline occurring in July instead of August wasn't a good sign for CCP Games' corporate wallet, at least those remaining for the most part stuck around to play. And year-over-year the ACU is still around 10% higher than August 2023.

The kill numbers from Dotlan seem to back up Jester's chart. Ignoring the high sec ship kills due to whatever is happening in the career agent systems of Uitra and Malukker, player activity in the form of explosions declined slightly across all other categories from July to August. Perhaps the most significant numbers is players killing each other in low sec is down by perhaps 3% and ratting activity, if not income, only declined 2% in null sec.

But to see if expansions are successfully ratcheting up player counts, looking up year-over-year data is valuable. The developers are probably feeling good about the increased activity in null security space considering the Equinox expansion focused heavily on null sec. NPC kills were up 33.9% compared to August 2024, helping to fund the 23.1% increase in player-owned ships exploding in the security band last month.

A positive from my point of view is the number of player ship losses occurring in low security space. While below 200,000 for the second month in a row, August's 189,700 player-owned ship explosions still represented a 6.2% increase from August 2023. The figure, given the switch in emphasis to null sec, still represents the most player ships lost over the past 5 years.

After looking at the activity, I'm fairly confident EVE will survive the rest of the year. But what about our overlords in Anyang? How will they take the news so far? Probably not well. My quick calculations show the EVE IP will probably fall ₩1 billion to ₩1.5 billion short of quarterly revenue unless the explosions increase in September. So get out there and blow stuff up.

Dawntrail Diary: Fireworks Season

We have just about reached the halfway mark of Final Fantasy XIV's Dawntrail expansion. Or at least, what is known as patch 7.0. I still haven't completed the final trial in the MSQ but I'm getting to the point I'll actually want to finish the questline. 

Technically this counts - Last Monday was the last day of the Moonfire Faire. I did the event a couple of days prior but I did enjoy the event. Final Fantasy XIV's seasonal events are usually just a little bit of fun that gives out a cute reward. This year's reward was an emote fanning evil spirits out of people. The characters in the events tend to bring back memories after a few years.

He had to destroy the game to save it - The current event, The Rising, is a celebration of the 11th anniversary of the launch of A Realm Reborn. Or perhaps more accurately a remembrance of the ill-fated original FFXIV. One of the big takeaways by Yoshi-P from the entire experience is the importance of players, especially the ones who were patient enough for Yoshi-P to put his plan into effect.

Looking at the moon with Yoshi-P

The highlight of the event is Final Fantasy XIV's Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida stepping through the fourth wall and talking to the player. The message is always interesting. At least interesting enough to look forward to next year's.

Glamour Farming - I've written before how I plan to level three of my Trust characters, Thancred, Esinien, and Y'shtola, to level 100 to practice fighting and healing before attempting to run The Interphos. I decided to add in another grind to get the most out of my efforts: collecting glamour pieces. What I am doing is taking all the healing gear, putting the pieces in my glamour dresser, and then turning in the remaining gear for seals. I need the seals to turn into ventures to power up my retainer army.

I started too late for the first duty, Ihuykatumu, although I did manage to get the healing chest piece before the team reached level 93. I never did get a clean run because I would lose concentration on the final boss. I'd always die once, then complete the duty. 

A small item gave me hope I was getting better. For the last run, I managed to complete the duty in 29 minutes and 30 seconds. During Endwalker I never completed a duty using Trust NPCs in under 35 minutes.

I did make one run through the level 93 duty Worqor Zormor. Amazingly, I did not die. Okay, Thancred and Y'shtola died to mechanics, and Y'shtola was laying on the ground when the final boss died. But I didn't!

The reason Thancred and Y'shtola died is for one of two reasons. The first is fumbling around activating my abilities. I'm still trying to get used to the left-side thumb button. The other is that I was out of range of the pair when I cast my healing spells. Either way, I need practice using my abilities.

A retainer army update - My next step is to gear all my retainers to receive maximum returns. Basically, that means making the iLvl 690 set plus putting on as much perception materia as will physically fit. I might not go to extremes because I can pentameld the gathering tools and I'm not sure if we get new tools in patch 7.1. If so, I might just overmeld one piece of materia on.

Going into this week, I've gathered all the materials and just need to finish crafting the six sets of gear. Then I need to acquire the materia and see how much yields increase. Then rinse and repeat with the tools. I think I'll like the results.

Star Citizen Patch Alpha 3.24 Propels Cloud Imperium Games To $3.5 Million In Sales In August 2024

Cloud Imperium Games bounced back from a disappointing July, recording $3.5 million in revenue in August according to the CCU Game dashboard. While approximately $250,000 below July's figure, last month's ship and vehicle sales represents a 16.3% year-over-year increase from August 2023's total of $3 million. For the year, the company's revenue is up 0.9%, with this year's total of $61.6 million only $537 thousand more than revenue over the first eight months of 2023.

For those who keep track of new accounts (aka "new citizens"), July's 27,021 was 17.8% more than the total of 22.944 in August 2023. For the year, new account creation is down 25.7% for the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Overall, the recorded sales tracked on the CCU Game dashboard is $719.0 million since the launch of the Kickstarter in October 2012. But Cloud Imperium has additional funding sources not tracked by the dashboard. Overall, the company has recorded $817.6 million in confirmed revenue (the funding page & the 2022 financial report).

• Sales/Pledges: $719.0 million (through 31 August 2024)
• Subscriptions: $33.0 million (through 31 December 2022)
• All other sources: $65.6 million (through 31 December 2022)

In addition, the company has received a total of $63.25 million in outside investment. According to the 2022 financial report, $4.8 million of the amount was returned to investors in 2020. Including the outside investment money, the total amount raised by CIG to create Squadron 42 and Star Citizen is $876.1 million.

The financial news for August turned around on Thursday with the launch of patch 3.24 and the accompanying $1 million in ship sales over the last three days of August. Up until the release of the patch, daily revenue in August averaged around $90,000/day. While sales are still down year-over-year 2.2% for the quarter, if patch 3.24 is received well a 3.2% year-over-year sales increase in September is an entirely reasonable expectation. The odds of increased sales increases the longer the current ship and equipment sale runs.