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[GoonSwarm alliance disbanded in EVE Online political drama]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/goonswarm-alliance-disbanded-in-eve-online-political-drama/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/goonswarm-alliance-disbanded-in-eve-online-political-drama/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/goonswarm-alliance-disbanded-in-eve-online-political-drama/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

In the sandbox of New Eden, rival alliances vie for control of vast swathes of star systems. The lawless nullsec regions of the EVE Online universe are home to violent alliances of all sizes and fleets with hundreds of ships clash on a daily basis. The political machinations of nullsec have produced many stories of wars fought over territory, stations conquered and fleets dismantled by force. Over the years, each story has become part of the game's living history. Recently, a new chapter in that history began as the nullsec sovereignty system governing territorial warfare received a complete overhaul in the Dominion expansion. The transition period has been rough on some alliances as a new sovereignty system requires new ways of thinking. Some alliances are falling, new ones are being forged to fill the power vacuum and the race is on for people to adapt to the new sovereignty system.

As we've been watching the EVE galaxy performing its Darwinian reshuffle, it came to our surprise that GoonSwarm, the game's biggest territorial alliance, had been disbanded. In the early hours of Wednesday 3rd February 2010, GoonSwarm CEO "karttoon" kicked almost every corp from the alliance, effectively disbanding it. There's more to this story than meets the eye and in this investigative piece, I delve into the thick of it to discover just what's going on with this troubled alliance.

Continue reading GoonSwarm alliance disbanded in EVE Online political drama

MassivelyGoonSwarm alliance disbanded in EVE Online political drama originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>band-of-brothersbobccpccp-eveccp-gamesdisbanddominioneveeve-ccpeve-mmorpgeve-onlinefeaturedgoongoonfleetgoonswarmgoonswarm-alliancehistorylorenullsecpoliticspvpsovereigntytheftThu, 04 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The challenges and rewards of espionage in EVE Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-challenges-and-rewards-of-espionage-in-eve-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-challenges-and-rewards-of-espionage-in-eve-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-challenges-and-rewards-of-espionage-in-eve-online/#commentsFiled under: , ,


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.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-gamescorporate-espionagedarwins-acceleratordeceptionespionageeveeve-onlinegoonfleetgoonswarminterviewssandboxsci-fisins-of-a-solar-spymasterspiesspythe-mittaniFri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[CCP Games selects player commentators for EVE Alliance Tournament VII]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/24/ccp-games-selects-player-commentators-for-eve-alliance-tour/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/24/ccp-games-selects-player-commentators-for-eve-alliance-tour/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/24/ccp-games-selects-player-commentators-for-eve-alliance-tour/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


CCP Games holds an annual EVE Online Alliance PvP Tournament where player organizations face off against one another, live, in a spectacle of explosions, cunning tactics, ... and occasionally betrayal. This year's Alliance PvP Tournament will mark the seventh annual event. CCP Games likes to get the players involved in ways beyond being tournament competitors, which is good news for the gamers themselves. Rather than having the developers comment with the play-by-play action, we've mentioned that CCP put out a call to the players, seeking PvP experts to be commentators. The final choices have been made and CCP announced the names of this year's Alliance Tournament commentators today, and it's clearly an accomplished roster of players.

Crovan (Dark-Rising), of The Drone Bay podcast fame, will be back again this year. As will Kil2 (coracao ardente), who did a great job last year, and who many players will know from the PvP videos he's released. Verone, arguably EVE's most well-known pirate, will apparently be enjoying the tournament as a viewer rather than commentator this year, but his Veto corpmate Ryas Nia will be on hand at Alliance Tournament VII. Ryas will be joined by two new commentators this year: TeaDaze from Agony Unleashed (a PvP training school in EVE) and Trzzbk from GoonFleet.

This looks like a great lineup of players chosen to speak during the matches. EVE Alliance Tournament VII will begin in early September, and will run for three weekends, culminating in the live video broadcast of the finals from Reykjavik.

MassivelyCCP Games selects player commentators for EVE Alliance Tournament VII originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agony-unleashedcrovaneve-alliance-tournamenteve-onlinegoonfleetkil2liveplayer-commentatorspvp-expertpvp-tournamentreykjavikryas-niasci-fiteadazethe-drone-baytournamentstrzzbkveronevetoveto-corpWed, 24 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Has EVE's most powerful alliance fallen?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/has-eves-most-powerful-alliance-fallen/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/has-eves-most-powerful-alliance-fallen/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/has-eves-most-powerful-alliance-fallen/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Band of Brothers (renamed KenZoku) was once the most powerful alliance in EVE Online with a stated goal, even here at Massively, to control all of the game's New Eden galaxy. Now, KenZoku has reportedly left the contested, lawless frontier of 0.0 space after months of resisting the combined forces of rival alliances.

One of EVE's in-game journalists, Interstellar Correspondent ISD Clarity Brown, reports from the site of KenZoku's last holdout: "GoonSwarm and their allies deployed a camp on KenZoku's sole remaining outpost last night. A joint force of pilots from Pandemic Legion, GoonSwarm, Morsus Mihi, Razor Alliance and KIA deployed 27 titans around the station in a show of force and gave a demonstration of the sheer power embodied in such a gang."

Titans are the game's most expensive weapons of mass destruction, massive ships capable of unleashing 'Doomsday' area-of-effect attacks that melt fleets caught in the blast. To unleash 27 Doomsday blasts at once is... quite a sight, as the video footage demonstrates.

Continue reading Has EVE's most powerful alliance fallen?

MassivelyHas EVE's most powerful alliance fallen? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>0.0alliance-warfareband-of-brothersbobclarity-brownendgameeveeve-onlinegame-mechanicsgoonfleetgoonswarmisd-clarity-brownkenzokukiamorsus-mihipandemic-legionplayer-politicspoliticspvprazor-alliancesci-fisovereigntytitantitansThu, 18 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Further developments in EVE's 'Grand Theft Alliance' drama]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/05/further-developments-in-eves-grand-theft-alliance-drama/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/05/further-developments-in-eves-grand-theft-alliance-drama/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/05/further-developments-in-eves-grand-theft-alliance-drama/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


[Notify] Drama bomb hits you, wrecking for total damage.

We broke the story late last evening that one of EVE Online's most powerful alliances has finally fallen after years of continual struggle with rival player alliances. While some details surrounding the incident remain hazy, we do have some more information than we did when we published the rumor. Band of Brothers (aka "BoB"), the self-styled villain alliance in the game, have repeatedly professed a desire to control all of EVE's galaxy of New Eden. This motivation driving their collective action has made them the focal point of hatred for much of the community, and BoB wouldn't have it any other way. More enemies equates to a real challenge for them to overcome, and in this respect -- whether you love them or despise them -- Band of Brothers has been a major driver in player warfare since the early days of EVE Online.

Despite the thousands of pilots in the game fervently committed to wiping Band of Brothers from the influence map, the alliance has held on. Even though they were forced to sacrifice vast territorial control for a smaller region of consolidated strength, even when on the ropes, they remained impossible to destroy. The irony is that for all their raw military power, the alliance was ultimately cut down from within, with only a few simple clicks of a mouse. It was a bureaucratic snafu from the perspective of Band of Brothers -- a member of the alliance named Haargoth Agamar (a director with Black Nova Corp) being entrusted with too much control -- and a windfall for GoonSwarm, the major alliance rival of BoB.

Continue reading Further developments in EVE's 'Grand Theft Alliance' drama

MassivelyFurther developments in EVE's 'Grand Theft Alliance' drama originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alliancesband-of-brothersblack-nova-corpbobbreakingccpccp-gamescontroversydianabolicdramaeveeve-onlineeve-radiofunkybacongoonfleetgoonswarmhaargoth-agamarpvpreikokusci-fithe-mittanitheftThu, 05 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Keeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/keeping-yourself-alive-in-eve-with-safespots/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/keeping-yourself-alive-in-eve-with-safespots/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/keeping-yourself-alive-in-eve-with-safespots/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Learning how to create safespots in EVE Online is an essential survival skill, but it's one that takes some time to get the hang of. The Goonfleet video tutorial to safespotting is an excellent start, but other player resources are popping up and explain how important it is to have and properly use different types of safespots.

EVE blogger Manasi has written an excellent guide to safespotting called "Getting your A$$ out of the fire" that covers the different types of safespots a player in EVE can make use of. Namely, "gate" safespots (useful for watching a gate at range while cloaked), "deep" safespots (used most often, numerous such bookmarks are needed), and "station" safespots (within docking range of a given station, allowing you to evade attackers by docking up). Manasi goes into detail about how to create each type of safespot, and -- most importantly -- how to use them. Manasi's "Getting your A$$ out of the fire" paired with the aforementioned Goonfleet Safespotting 101 are all you need to get a handle on safespotting in EVE Online. Be sure to check them both out if you're a new pilot. Goonfleet's Safespotting 101 video tutorial is embedded below the cut.

Continue reading Keeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots

MassivelyKeeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mule-in-eveccpccp-gamesevadeevasioneveeve-onlinegame-mechanicsgoonfleetgoonswarmguidesmanasimapmapssafespotsafespottingsci-fisurvivalsystem-maptips-and-tricksvideoMon, 15 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE's alliance warfare the largest virtual conflict ever waged]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/eves-alliance-warfare-the-largest-virtual-conflict-ever-waged/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/eves-alliance-warfare-the-largest-virtual-conflict-ever-waged/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/eves-alliance-warfare-the-largest-virtual-conflict-ever-waged/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Alliance warfare is an aspect of EVE Online that sets it apart from virtually any other MMO on the market. It commands a devoted following of players who continually exert their collective strength to conquer new regions of space while subjugating their numerous opponents.

Although it's been said that only a minority of EVE Online's entire playerbase are entrenched in alliance warfare over 0.0 (lawless) space, this is where much of the action in the game takes place. 0.0 is where the most valuable resources in the game are found, and where the authorities do nothing to hinder player activities. The wealth, freedom and potential for power turn EVE's vast swaths of 0.0 space into hotly contested regions... the battlefield of "the largest virtual conflict ever waged," in the words of games journalist Jim Rossignol.

Continue reading EVE's alliance warfare the largest virtual conflict ever waged

MassivelyEVE's alliance warfare the largest virtual conflict ever waged originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alliancealliance-warfarealliancesband-of-brothersbobccpccp-gamesconflicteveeve-onlineforumsgame-mechanicsgoonfleetgoonswarmguildsjim-rossignolnew-edenpvpred-alliancerock-paper-shotgunrockpapershotgunsci-fisomething-awfulterritorial-controlthis-gaming-lifeThu, 11 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Leadership in EVE Online applicable to real-world ventures]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/leadership-in-eve-online-applicable-to-real-world-ventures/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/leadership-in-eve-online-applicable-to-real-world-ventures/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/leadership-in-eve-online-applicable-to-real-world-ventures/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

EVE Online has been getting increased mainstream media coverage. Recently the New York Times covered EVE's Council of Stellar Management (CSM) summit in Reykjavik, as well as the self-styled 'bad guy' alliance Band of Brother's initiative to annihilate their rivals in New Eden, wiping them from New Eden's star maps.

A new MMO article at Forbes takes a close look at the corporate paradigm of EVE Online, both in-game and out. The piece touches on the views of Goonswarm alliance leader and CSM delegate Sean Conover (aka Darius Johnson, CEO of Goonfleet) and the real-world CEO of CCP Games, Hilmar Veigar Petursson. The Icelandic CEO states: "There isn't a lot of difference between what you can apply within the game and out of it... It's more about social skills than gaming skills. It's very hard to stay on top."

Continue reading Leadership in EVE Online applicable to real-world ventures

MassivelyLeadership in EVE Online applicable to real-world ventures originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>allianceband-of-brothersbobccpccp-gamesceocorpcorporationentrepreneurentrepreneurshipeveeve-onlineforbesgame-mechanicsgoonfleetgoonswarmguildhardcorehilmarleadershipmainstreammaxmedianew-york-timesnytpoliticsreykjavikskillssocial-skillsTue, 22 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[GoonSwarm takes on the Beatles with the "Little Bees" video]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/23/goonswarm-takes-on-the-beatles-with-the-little-bees-video/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/23/goonswarm-takes-on-the-beatles-with-the-little-bees-video/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/23/goonswarm-takes-on-the-beatles-with-the-little-bees-video/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Ahh, the Goons. As an entity, they are arguably the largest gaming collective in MMO history, with presences in Second Life, World of Warcraft, and EVE Online, with doubtless many other MMOs inhabited. EVE, in particular, is home to the GoonSwarm, or GoonFleet, which is infamous for its combat tactic of harassing larger ships with a rush of smaller, less-powerful vehicles. Cheap? Maybe. Effective? Definitely.

In a testament to the power of its alliance, they've created a music video that's sure to stir the hearts of Goon-loving forces everywhere. Entitled 'Little Bees', based on the Beatles song 'Let It Be', and featuring lyrics like 'And when the system's laggy/You could lay the blame on CCP', it's got our vote for Best New Artist Video of the Year.

[Thanks, Hortinstein!]

MassivelyGoonSwarm takes on the Beatles with the "Little Bees" video originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beatlesccpeve-onlinegoonfleetgoonsgoonswarmlet-it-belittle-beesmusic-videosecond-lifeworld-of-warcraftWed, 23 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST