Thursday 6 September 2012

Day 81 : Angels of Altruism

Another slow day starts. As I read around the community though I find Sindels blog (http://www.sindelsuniverse.com/) and her attempt, despite EVE paranoia, to set up an in game charity. Now EVE paranoia sets in quickly when you start playing so who would ever believe that anyone wanted to help them out just because they were new? I had a healthy amount of EVE paranoia before even starting. I have a lot more now that I try to keep under control and, when possible, actively ignore to see what happens. The only manifestation of this until now has been shouting at a scammer in Clellinon to help a fellow noob out. So basically I’m failing to keep it under control. Considering I love the game so much and tend to be such an evangelist for it out of game, it is a bit sad that I’ve not done more for my fellow Noobs. I have a look at Sindel’s Angel Project (http://www.sindelsuniverse.com/?page_id=455) and decide I must do something, however small.

Thanks to a Northern upbringing I can be a little tight fisted at times. Not so much, I try to minimise it, but lets face it there are times when you’ll need a special spanner to get 50 pence coin out of my hand (note to Americans and others : 50 pence piece is a septagonal coin). I decide to fight against my tight fistedness and my paranoia in a minimal but constructive way. This could all be a hilarious scam (for some reason I don’t think so) but a minimal donation aimed at the target audience isn’t going to hurt anyone. What the hell right? I have a little money to burn and it might keep one more Noob in the game.

I decide I’ll build a Gallente Noob Recovery Kit. This should contain everything a Noob needs to get them back on their feet after losing everything to some mischance or adventure (aka being scammed or ganked). I build up this.

A Giant Secure Container containing the following:

Anchoring skillbook
100mm Reinforced Nanofiber Plates I
Antimatter Charge S 2,000
Damage Control I
Expanded Cargohold I x2
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
Hobgoblin I x2
Light Ion Blaster I x2
Miner I x2
ML-3 Amphilotite Mining Probe
Navitas
Small Shield Booster I


This should allow anyone to restart as a miner, haul ore, and deal with basic rats anywhere in hisec. If the Noob is adventurous they will find some way to haul the GSC out into 0.7, anchor it using the skill book provided and be set for building up some safe income. There isn’t anything intended to help them PVP in there, thats probably already gone wrong, but it will get them back on their feet.

Interestingly I confirm part of the security rules while doing this. I zip around from system to system collecting the components I have lying around. I can officially confirm that CONCORD, in addition to not giving a shit about theft, does not care about littering. I must have left a mod in every station in Essence. I really am going to have to clean up my act before the Gallente government turns up and has a word.

If the NoobPackage  goes down well then I’ll make another, though by the sounds of it Sindel tends towards Caldari noobspace. Maybe I’ll build another such can tailored to the Caldari, maybe not. I’m seriously tempted to leave one in orbit around something only a Noob would visit and see if it vanishes. I’ll have to revise the package once the Navitas turns into a Logistics ship.

For now I think I’ve defeated some EVE paranoia in a small way and done a very, very, very tiny good deed. If one Noob is rescued and stays in the game because of that pack then it is a job well done. If it’s sold off and laughed at then it’s done another job well done. I’ve had so many offers of support it is unbelievable (thanks everyone!) but not everyone writes down their partially illiterate ramblings about what they did today and sticks it on a blog. As I said on Sindels blog “I’m like Fox Mulder, I want to believe”.

4 comments:

  1. Ha, great read and initiative! I need to find out how I can help. I had my breakthrough when I was mining solo in Grav site in an Exequour (sp?) and a hardcore mining fleet rolled in with hulks, Orcas, haulers etc. Instead of being asshats, they invited me to their fleet and even hauled my ore. In the end, one of them gave me 30mil ISK which doubled my net worth. While the ISK was very welcome, the feeling of being in a team was far more important to me. I can make ISK easy. Harder to make trusted friends. With this in mind, we later started a Newb WH academy - geared towards people who can run missions and cloak and scan but not much else. We have some hilarious accidents occasionally but overall, we have had a lot of fun with new players....

    So, instead of a ISK / Goodies package, I would offer my time to show people around empire, run missions etc. Go through some scanning exercise, show people how to set up PI, where to find ship fits online etc etc... I guess, I could donate a couple hours / week... But then, would anyone trust me?

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  2. So very TEST. It really warms my cold and bitter heart =).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96b7Jk5xCTQ

    TEST gets a pretty bad rap, but they and Goons are serious about their newbros and have been from the very start. It is understandable. Dreddit was war deced pretty much continuously from the very first day of their creation and at the beginning, 5M SP was an experienced character!

    If there is one amazing thing that Goons and TEST have done for EVE it is what they have done to encourage new players. There are still many "old school" corps and alliances that believe that newbies are useless and a detriment in a fleet, but both TEST and Goons have grown to the size and power they are currently by embracing those newbies that no one else would take. Dreddit's CEO, Booda Booda, got the position because of his work with newbies and the free ship program. The program has been running for quite some time and it is maintained entirely by donations.

    Now that my current work contract is up and I have time to play again, I will be actively recruiting newbies as well. Now.. if only I can convince John Rourke to come out to Pure Blind for a massive Tempest Thunderdome I would be set!

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  3. BTW Mr. Caslemon, you MIGHT recognize some of those systems in the video (try and guess which of the ships is me!). Dreddit started a mere three jumps from where you are based right now.

    I'm a broken man on a Osmeden pier,
    The last of SaMatra's privateers!

    You bring me stories of home =).

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  4. Got pos 2j from ceilon. 6labs and willing to help any industrialist wonna be. Orca and some iskies if needed boji pissall toon name

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