Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[EVE Online spymaster The Mittani to present at GDC 2010]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/25/eve-online-spymaster-the-mittani-to-present-at-gdc-2010/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/25/eve-online-spymaster-the-mittani-to-present-at-gdc-2010/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/25/eve-online-spymaster-the-mittani-to-present-at-gdc-2010/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


EVE Online developer CCP Games typically has a presence at major industry events like the upcoming Game Developers Conference, but the session that's caught our attention so far isn't a presentation from the devs -- it's actually from a member of the EVE community. That GDC 2010 speaker is Alexander Gianturco -- better known to most EVE Online players as Goonswarm's spymaster, The Mittani. Others may know the infamous player as the "Sins of the Solar Spymaster" EVE columnist at Ten Ton Hammer. Gianturco will give a lecture at GDC 2010 titled "Uniquely Ruthless: The Espionage Metagame of EVE Online" that will give an insider's perspective on the political machinations possible in the game's sandbox of New Eden.

His talk will hit on topics like the disbanding of the Band of Brothers alliance, how the espionage metagame has changed over time, and of course the myriad aspects of EVE's sandbox that allow players to even engage in such pursuits. The session description for Uniquely Ruthless: The Espionage Metagame of EVE Online states that Gianturco's presentation should be of general interest to anyone with a love of spies and their stories.

MassivelyEVE Online spymaster The Mittani to present at GDC 2010 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"Curzon Dax stole Christmas." Words I never thought I'd be writing here, but there it is. EVE Online player and forum personality "Curzon Dax" -- perhaps best known for his many song parodies of the game and its players -- has unveiled his in-game IPO for what it really was: a multi-billion ISK confidence scam. Curzon made the announcement on Christmas, no less, and placed the scam at 374.4 billion ISK raised.

While the players who were taken for those billions will certainly be less excited by this news, Curzon accomplished something that's becoming less and less common in the game. For every player that uses cunning to profit in New Eden, there is a horde of player alts who resort to copy-paste scams in local chat at most any mission and trade hub in EVE. As these players simply try to profit from mislabeling items in contracts or spam local chat with the ubiquitous "I'm quitting EVE. Send me ISK and I'll send you 10x back!" garbage, Curzon aimed much higher and cultivated an image which he used to draw his marks in.

Continue reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas EVE

MassivelyHow the Grinch Stole Christmas EVE originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Goonswarm spymaster The Mittani took a different approach with his latest EVE Online column at Ten Ton Hammer, and conducted an interview with a corporate saboteur titled "The Most Dangerous Agent". While it should be stated that most players in EVE do not engage in espionage, it's a career path of sorts that any player could potentially engage in, provided they have the combination of intelligence, social skills, and dedication needed to succeed. It's that aspect of dedication which often goes unmentioned -- the challenge of maintaining long-term duplicity.

The Mittani's interview with a player anonymously referred to as "Darwin's Accelerator" explains how a player with destructive aims greater than simply engaging a few enemy ships at a time can use intel to devastating effect, wiping out entire fleets. Maintaining a persona that fits in with the target organization and thus won't arouse suspicion, however, can be difficult if the infiltrator genuinely dislikes the members that comprise the corporation or alliance.

Continue reading The challenges and rewards of espionage in EVE Online

MassivelyThe challenges and rewards of espionage in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A class action lawsuit has been filed earlier this week against Square-Enix North America for intentionally deceiving customers regarding hidden penalties and fees associated with the PlayOnline and Final Fantasy XI service.

The suit, filed on behalf of Esther Leong of San Francisco, is seeking over 5 million in damages. The suit also goes on to specifically list the penalties for the late payment of fees, the interest charges for unpaid fees, charges that occur while the game account is suspended, termination of game service for unpaid fees, and the termination of game data due to the late payment of fees as the specific causes of this lawsuit.

In Square-Enix's defense, however, the suit also lists the standard monthly subscription as being intentionally decieving. Final Fantasy XI's case does, in fact, say that additional online fees would be required and it also has a large sticker announcing "Free subscription for 30 days!" on the front of the box -- something more than most online games provide regarding their subscriptions.

We have contacted Square-Enix, and are currently waiting for their response to this matter.

[Via IGN.com]

MassivelySquare-Enix sued over "hidden fees" in Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corp theft is a daily occurrence in EVE Online. Unlike most MMOs, stealing from other players or organizations in EVE is permissible, assuming that normal in-game methods were employed to pull it off. Simply stated, corp theft in EVE involves becoming a member of the corp and then stealing from the target corporation's hangar(s). Once a thief has access to assets, they can literally clean the corporation out to whatever extent they are able to, depending on their level of granted access. Sometimes corp theft is premeditated, other times it's a crime of opportunity. There are players who approach these heists as a profession, others may do so out of revenge. Regardless of the reasons behind theft in EVE, it's a part of the game and does help establish New Eden's setting as being a harsh, corporation-dominated galaxy where deception is a style of play.

Most corp thefts that this writer is aware of inflict minor damage, often a few billion isk in losses. Generally this isn't enough to cause serious harm to any solid corporation's future, and the only real impact on the corp is emo rage and a few pages of forum drama, and the offender's name being added to Fitz VonHeise's list "The Thieves of EVE" which should be required reading for corp CEOs and Directors who are involved in recruiting players.

Continue reading A 200 billion isk theft in EVE Online

MassivelyA 200 billion isk theft in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>band-of-brothersbobcallyccpccp-gamescorporate-espionagecraftingdeceptiondestructive-influencediceeconomyeibeib-scamespionageeveeve-onlineeve-tribuneforumsgame-mechanicsguiding-hand-social-clubisklady-scarletmiyamoto-isorukunew-edensabotagesandboxsci-fisinssubterfugethiefviper-shizzleTue, 21 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE and Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/20/eve-and-sun-tzus-the-art-of-war/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/20/eve-and-sun-tzus-the-art-of-war/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/20/eve-and-sun-tzus-the-art-of-war/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Sun Tzu: Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

The 6th century B.C. military treatise, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, serves admirably as a tract on corporate espionage and warfare in EVE Online's far future backdrop of New Eden. It is, after all, a corporation-dominated setting and game where player organizations perpetually fight for supremacy over their competitors. As The Art of War is required reading in some MBA programs, it stands to reason it could have some practical applications to a game based around military conglomerates. Warfare in EVE, while limited by game mechanics as to what's possible (as all games are of course), can have a heavy social component. Paired with the sandbox nature of the game, there are numerous possibilities in EVE that most other MMOs simply don't offer, or can't offer through their respective game mechanics.

Much of The Art of War focuses on deception, situational awareness, and overcoming your opponents through cunning rather than brute force. Of course, brute force has worked rather well for some prominent alliances, but without strategic thinking guiding their campaigns, it would all come undone at some point. Strategy is the focus of a new series of articles from Black Claw of EVE Online blog "The Travels of Black Claw." He's just kicked off the first in this series based on a guide to warfare he created for his EVE corporation. First up is "The Art of War: Laying Plans" -- which deals with assessing your own organization and the relative strength of the opposition, then figuring out how best to counter that opposition. Black Claw stated that next up will be "Waging War." Sun Tzu's The Art of War also deals with topics like stages of a competitive campaign, the importance of varying tactics, and the use of spies. Assuming Black Claw continues with his guide along these lines, it should be an interesting series of articles.

MassivelyEVE and Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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