[EVE Online] A New Signal

My name’s E — short, simple, and probably a lot easier to remember than the number string CONCORD assigned me back in 2009. I’ve been a capsuleer for quite a while now, most of that time spent in the gentle hum of highsec, scanning, mining, running the occasional mission, and generally doing my best not to get blown up.

For a long time, I thought nullsec was just too chaotic for me. Then, a few years ago, I joined Pandemic Horde, and found out I was absolutely right — but I loved every second of it.

I lived through a handful of deployments, an uncountable number of pings, and more fleet doctrines than I can remember (though I’m pretty sure half of them involved Maelstroms). I saw Keepstars rise, fall, and sometimes just… vanish overnight. It was loud, confusing, and completely unforgettable.

But lately, things have been different. Corporations leaving. Friends scattering. Leadership changing hands. The comms are quieter, and the old familiar hum of life in Horde space has faded. It’s been a good run — I learned how to survive, how to adapt — but I think it’s time for me to follow a different signal.

So I’ve gone back to what I’ve always loved most: exploration.

There’s nothing quite like the calm of scanning down signatures, chasing relics through forgotten wormholes, or watching the nebulae swirl as I align to some unknown star. It’s quiet work, but it feels right.

That’s what brought me to Signal Cartel — a home for explorers, rescuers, and the kind of people who see the best in New Eden even when the rest of it’s on fire. I’d rather help another pilot find their way than fight them for it.

If you see me out there scanning in some backwater system, say hi. I’ll probably be the one humming to myself while trying to remember which button launches probes and which one warps me straight into a sun.

Fly your way,
E

[EVE Online] The OOC of it all

If you had of asked me 2 years ago if I thought I’d be living in NullSec, with Pandemic Horde, I probably would have laughed. I always thought NS was forbidden, and I left it at that. Then I learned about Pandemic Horde, and their NBI program.

The NBI program gave ships & lessons to anyone who joined Pandemic Horde Inc, no matter their background. We were allowed to fly in Dronelands in a handful of areas without being required to do heavy security checks. This was good, and bad. It left PH open to a lot of AWOX (where your own alliance mate turns and attacks you, or leads enemies to you), but that also brought some content. A lot of corporations within the alliance really disliked PHI because of their open door policy. There was a lot of paperwork involved.

Moving forward, PH has decided to change how PHI operates, and they won’t be marked blue to INIT (even now, in PHI I am neutral to most of my old alliance mates). Pandemic Horde Inc will be left out of the alliance, and this also means they cannot be wardecked. This is a sharp and drastic change to the PHI that I’ve known for the past two years. I have no idea where PH is headed, but crashing with INIT has a timeframe of 10 weeks.

There is a new branch of Pandemic Horde called Cool Beans, and it ESI is required (and has other basic security checks). Activity is also a requirement to join. We’re meant to be “graduating” from PHI to this new corporation.

I’ve done my fair share of PVP over the past two years with my PHI character. I also floated between gated / non-gated corporations within the alliance as I tried to find a good fit for my playstyle and casualness. I am a creature of habit, and the past two weeks in game have been a LOT of changes. I’m frustrated and angry with so many things, and I don’t like that in my video games.

I don’t feel like Pandemic Horde is the right corporation for me any more. I don’t feel like the changes align with how I want to play, and I especially don’t like the lack of control I have about this whole situation. I understand I am a single nobody in a whole ocean of nobodies, but it is absolutely up to me to make sure I am having the sort of game experience that I want. If I’m not, it’s up to me to change that. I also don’t like how chat has been reduced to “suck it up buttercup” if anyone complains, and how somehow we’re not “true pandemic horde members” if we are uncomfortable with how this shit show went down, or if we want to get off of the sinking ship.

I have not left yet. I’m trying very hard to make educated decisions without letting my frustration about the situation take over. I think it will just take more time.

Fly your way o7

[Warcraft] Gold Making – Week 45 (2025 Final post?)

For those who don’t know, earlier this week my account was banned for suspected RMT – now I can argue until I’m blue in the face that I have never participated in RMT before, but none of that matters unless an actual human person over at Blizzard takes a look at my case instead of their absolutely horrible AI system.

I do make a lot of gold. I do tend to gift a lot of expansions/game time/shop items to what might appear to be random people (and in some cases, are random people). I like to help people I see in need. I recently donated 10 million gold anonymously to Bears_Adventures for a future giveaway she was going to hold. I don’t know exactly what triggered my ban (Blizzard does not provide those details) but it could have been anything from the above mentioned giveaways to an actual RMT participant purchasing one of my auctions (how on earth I’m supposed to infer who is buying what of mine off of the AH, I have no idea).

This whole ordeal has left a sour taste in my mouth. I’ve done nothing wrong, tried to help those who need it, and was meticulous about following Blizzard’s own rules. Somehow, their system still got me. I did appeal, but the first one was shot down with some nonsensical reply that had nothing to do with anything I had written (leaving little doubt in my mind as to who was responding). I have appealed a second time, and reached out to Blizzard’s community team to try to get human eyes on the case. It could also have been something as simple as me transferring my own funds around between my accounts, which I tend to do. I am HOPING that this will be something that can be easily disproven, but again, it requires human interaction.

In any case. As you can tell by the tradeskillmaster ledger above, this was not a good week for gold making. I’ve been too scared to log in, because I don’t want anything to happen to my main account. Instead, I’m laying low and waiting.

[EQII] Lion’s Mane Vestige Room – The Baubleshire

While I wait for my new microphone to show up, I thought I’d show off one of my favourite housing builds. This home belongs to my halfling inquisitor, Petites. She lives in Baubleshire, and I think this home is a fantastic example of how you don’t need to own a big flashy house in order to have it represent your character well.

These houses tend to have very high ceilings which just didn’t suit the small halfling aesthetic, so I used ornate ferrite tables expanded to their largest size to create room pillars and lower ceilings.

A cozy fireplace with some books, perfect for those rainy Baubleshire days.

It just wouldn’t be a halfling home without some sort of kitchen – and of course, a lot of food.

A seating area, complete with aquarium. Keep in mind that all of these smaller rooms are inside a single inn room. I have the 2nd room blocked off and currently used for storage.

Finally, the bedroom. Everything in this house is cozy and halfling sized. It’s not too crowded, but still displays some fantastic collectables that I’ve earned over the years. This is one of my smallest builds, both in physical size, and in items used. It’s also one of my favourites.

Once I get my microphone and I’m all set up to record some videos again I’ll be posting tours of this (and my other homes) over on YouTube, so be sure to watch this space for details on that. Next up, I’ll be showing off my personal library, where I have over 700 player-written books that I’ve collected over the years!

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

[EVE Online] War Update

Filed by Gallente Citizen 4586793463

It began like most disasters in New Eden do — not with an explosion, but with a series of CONCORD notifications.

At first, Gallente Citizen thought it was a glitch. The Alliance feed kept lighting up, a steady drumbeat of messages from CONCORD that all read the same:

CONCORD War Update: Post Nut Clarity With The Boys has left Pandemic Horde.
CONCORD War Update: Our Sanctum has left Pandemic Horde.
CONCORD War Update: u.k militia forces has left Pandemic Horde.

And on it went.

The sound became background noise in the clone bay — the soft ping of corporate departures rolling in like rain on a tin roof. By the time Fusion Enterprises Ltd and Inner Legacy were gone, most pilots had stopped pretending not to notice.

In the hangars of F7C-H0, pilots floated between ships in that quiet, aimless way people do when they aren’t sure if they still have a home. Crates of ammunition sat unopened. Ship fittings were half-finished. The market buy orders looked like they’d been placed by ghosts.

Captain Johnny Trousersnake’s name was still pinned to the top of every alliance broadcast, but the tone in his pings had started to change — less rallying, more “we’re monitoring the situation.”

[Trousersnake Broadcast]:
“We’ve had some corporations make different choices recently. We wish them well. The Horde remains strong and united.”

In local, someone replied:

“Define strong.”

The list kept growing.

Royalty. has left Pandemic Horde.
Death’sEnd has left Pandemic Horde.
Splash Inc. has left Pandemic Horde.
Sand Storm Town INC. has left Pandemic Horde.

Every line felt like another plank being pried off a sinking ship.

By the time Office of Krabbing Regulation and Auditing left, Gallente Citizen could only laugh. The accountants had fled. That was never a good sign.

The comms chatter grew restless. Some pilots were angry, others mournful, a few just relieved to have an excuse to go somewhere else. Everyone had a theory — that Gobbins’ departure announcement had shaken the leadership, that Johnny wasn’t ready, that the move to Cloud Ring was a mistake.

Gallente Citizen listened quietly, leaning against a shuttle wing, the blue glow of Cloud Ring’s nebula reflecting off their visor.

“Are you going too?” someone asked over fleet chat.

“Nah,” Gallente replied. “I’ve already unpacked my stuff.”

There was a pause. Then someone chuckled.

“So you’re staying?”

“For now.”

It wasn’t loyalty. It was inertia. Horde might be bleeding corporations, but it was still home — at least until something better came along.

When MASS, one of the older names in the ticker, finally left, the alliance feed fell silent. Even CONCORD seemed tired of reporting it.

Golden Fleece has left Pandemic Horde.

The last one.

After that, nothing.

The absence of sound was deafening.

Gallente Citizen opened the Alliance Members window. The list looked thinner now — hollowed out. But there were still names there. Familiar ones. The pilots who stuck around not because of promises or speeches, but because they hadn’t yet decided to quit.

They closed the window and smiled faintly.

“Still plenty of us left to lose.”

Then they climbed into their Zealot, powered up the engines, and began another patrol of F7C’s gates. Not because it mattered, but because routine was comforting.

Somewhere in a distant comms relay, another CONCORD message queued up, waiting to be sent.
Gallente Citizen didn’t bother checking who it was this time.

They’d see soon enough.