1. Please start by giving us a short introduction to who you are and your history within EVE Online. Include how long you have been playing and the groups you have been involved with.

Howdy, I’m just a normal 34 year old guy who has been playing video games since he can remember.  I love online MMO style games.  I’ve been playing eve for almost 3 years with some breaks in there.  I came to the game because I read about B-R and I wanted to be a part of that.  I started off in HS for about a month.  It was way too slow paced, so I got hooked up with a wormhole corp.  I had the intent of playing as an mining character, but WH space made me want it all.  I started a second account like any responsible Eve player and started working on not being an idiot.  WH space was fun but that only lasted for a few months.  I had to take a break for monetary reasons.  I came back and got hooked on NS space in a renter corp with GSF.  After about 2 weeks I wanted more, so I started 9 more accounts and went on my way as a multibox miner.  My corp, which had moved into SMA, couldn’t support me so I moved to an indy corp who had many multibox miners.  I’ve been with them since Christmas day 2015 and it was the best Eve decision I’ve ever made.

 

2. Who would you consider to be your key constituents? Who would you best represent within the playerbase?

I would hope to be love by players who really want more out of this game.  I want people to know that I really want more content in ways that challenge us intellectually and deepen the game for all.

Naturally with me being a Goon and living 99% of my time in Null Sec, I would imagine those who don’t come to null much would like me, but if the continue to read, I really think they’ll realize I have some good ideas.

 

3. Please summarise your platform. (Preferably using key bullet points)

• Let’s make the higher tier industrial aspects of the game more complex.

  • I cut my MMORPG teeth on SWG.  I’m not saying let’s copy SWG, but their crafting system was unparalleled.  I don’t see why some of the same ideas and thought process can’t go along.

  • The higher tier stuff should not only take skill to make, but some quality element that affects the statistics of those ships.

  • This also means that resource gathering would be changed.  Crafting is just so RONCO, set it and forget it.  There’s no challenge in it.

• Increase the risk in PVE. Dread anoms, titan anoms. Make it a challenge.

  • The risk to a BS in a Sanctum is not the same as a Super in a Sacturm.  Yes you get better ticks, but there’s no risk at all.

  • It can get pretty boring to rat in capitals.  There’s no reason that it cannot be both challenging and rewarding at the same time.

  • Gate anoms where only Cap ships can go.  Dank ticks, great loot.  I want to be afraid to lose a Carrier while ratting, not try and see if I can finish a Sactum in under 5 min...

• Bring proper equity to the mining ships. 14B ISK ships should be bringing in the same ratio of ore that a 25M ISK ship does.

  • Mining is a mess in Eve.  New feature, Nerf, Nerf….  What’s next.  A Rorqual can mine the same as about 5 procs, yet costs almost 100 times the amount and takes 2 months more training.  That’s ludacris.  I may as well mine with 20 Procurers (500M) instead of 4 Rorquals (56B).

  • Ore market value is not a valid excuse to axe mining value.  If anything the current line of thought makes it seem that it wasn’t properly vetted when it was developed.  All you’ve done is make NS people mad.

I recognize and admit that 2 of my 3 ideas apply more to NS than anywhere else, but both of those build into the crafting aspect.  More money and more crafting leads to more production and more purchasing of goods.  In turn better and bigger fights happen, which is great for Eve.

 

4. Why have you decided to run for CSM this year?

Someone needs to step up and advocate for what is good for the players and be aggressive and correct, but not abrasive.  Not all ideas that happen to pass the vetting with CCP are good ideas.  Being open to the community and heavily vocal in a constructive manner benefits us all.

I believe that my personal life of being in the IT world and being a lifelong gamer makes me able to understand what is wanted and what is reasonable to expect.

 

5. Have you run for or been a member of CSM in the past? If so please list each year and if you were elected.

I have not.  First swing at it.  I’m very interested in Iceland.  I’ve heard it’s a pretty righteous place to chill.

 

6. What makes you a unique representative when you compare yourself to other candidates?

I have a combination of life experience, professional skill, and personal determination that would be very hard to find elsewhere.  I’ve taken part in software development, I understand business and how you have to understand your entire client base, and I’m not intimidated to speak truth to anyone.  I have grit and determination to make sure that Eve not only survives, but thrives from here to eternity.

 

7. Do you have any out of game experience and skills that make you a good candidate?

I’ve programmed as a profession and for fun.  I’ve designed games and taken part in a world where mutually agreeing on the best course of action is a must.  I’ve also been a part of many different aspects in gaming.  I was the CO of a 500 player guild in SWTOR, I created and led a Battlefield 1942 clan that held top spot on some ladders.  Online gaming is a part of my identity.

 

8. What areas of EVE are you weakest at knowledge wise?

Exploration, and building tech 2 components.

I’m also not that great at remembering which ships have which resistances, and what fleet comps are good/bad against what.  I’m still a learning and budding FC.  Fortunately I’ve yet to lose a fleet I didn’t intend to whelp, but there’s still time to mark that achievement off lol.

 

9. If you were offered unlimited development time - what's the biggest change you would lobby for in EVE?

This question is almost impossible to answer, there’s just so much that would take Eve to an entire new level.  My main focus is to add depth to this game in an intelligent manner.

I feel that the #1 change that would give this game to achieve that focus is the way things are manufactured.  Introducing a “Quality” aspect to the game that enhanced the abilities of the ships would make things so much deeper and just flat out more fun.  Imagine someone crafting a near perfect Armageddon, and the quality of the craft had an effect on the base attributes of the hull.  That ship then can have unique fittings and be customized far past the “meta”.

I feel that would add a level of skill to both the industrial groups and the pvp pilots who

 

10. If you could wind back the clock - what feature or change would you remove from EVE?

The access to wormholes.  WH space is a PHENOMENAL idea.  I think Eve could become a truly epic game above what it is now if WH access was reviewed.  I would make the duration at least twice as long, with the mass only affecting duration after an initial timer.  I think it would make people able to really explore and open up the whole universe.

There is so much that can be expanded within this that it really is a long topic.  Ultimately, I think WH space is just awesome and wouldn’t ask a single question of GSF if they moved there other than, “How soon?”

 

11. If you could pick one candidate to be elected with you who would they be and why?

Innominate.  That guy is a boss.  Without sharing OPSEC stuff, I have immense respect for his fairness and devotion to what is right.  In a world of Eve-Anarchy, he’s a good dude.

 

12. What is your favorite memory in EVE and why?

M-OEE8.  The CO2 Keepstar kill.  I was flying around in a solo bomber after my first fleet got smoked.  I took with me some void bombes and some shrapnel bombs.  I found the biggest group of guardians cap chained that I could and in full TiDi I managed to lock break 27 guardians.  For those of you who haven’t been in logi at that TiDi rate, it probably took them 5 min to relock and get the chain back up.  I would have paid to hear those comms.  It was so fun.

About 2 hours later when the citadel was dead, I lined up with landing ships on a gate and decided to bomb them as they landed.  A fleet of about 200 Scorpions landed on the and I timed the bomb just right.  I didn’t kill anyone, but I know for a fact that 200 guys were jolted awake on landing.  I just wish we had planned that out better.  It was hilarious to watch the bomb crawl through space with the ships as they landed in slow-mo and BOOM.

 

13. What platform(s) do you use currently to engage with the wider player base? If someone wanted to contact you what is the best way to do this? (Include Twitter/Emails/Skype/Slack etc.)

In-Game is really the best option for me.  If I’m at home and online, I’m logged in.  I log in every morning for 2 hours before work, as soon as I get home from work, and late at night when it is my more typical playing time.  I have a Twitter but it’s personal and not game related.  I do stream from time to time on both my personal and my corp Twitch channel.  Neither are used as much as I’d like

https://www.twitch.tv/minionrevolution and  https://www.twitch.tv/ten60waddison

 

14. If people wanted to find out more about your platform - where is the best place to do so? (Include blogs, forums posts and podcasts)

My CSM page : https://community.eveonline.com/community/csm/candidate?id=11408659

My Eve Forum page : https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=512654

I’ll be adding everything I do from here on out to that forum post.

 

15. What is your closing statement (no more than 500 words please!)

I would typically answer this one with the Dr. Evil monologue that begins with, “The details of my life are quite inconsequential…”  Oh well, where do I begin…

I just want a game where I can log on and have a blast with great people, participate in good fights, and be challenged to always be finding the next level of gameplay.  I don’t think my wants/needs are really that different from most players.

Games are played because people want to experience a world they cannot, and be challenged.  I believe that the games that stand the test of time are the ones that challenge and continue to convince people that they are in New Eden, not planet Earth.

Oh and take pity on me.  I didn’t edit this post for grammar/whatever.  We’re flying space pixels not writing research journals here.

In short, there really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.