My Eve Online gameplay update....

I'm still playing Eve Online. I've had this post in drafts for a long time and while I could have divided it up into smaller sections and posted sooner. I think I'll cut a lot out and waffle a bit on the points that matter more so like my gamplay, this post is going to be a little all over the place.

With my main accounts game time expiring recently I was a little perplexed at what to do. To let it expire or renew and go on. I left it to the 11th hour to mull the what ifs in my head.
What had I done with it, what can I do and what would I do.
Overall I decided that it was worth putting more time into the game but to play it for what I wanted rather than what is "expected" as normal play. Even if that is doing nothing but hi-sec missions as unbelievable or inconceivable as that is to some people. ( Worth a look https://evehermit.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/where-the-praise-falls/ )

Evehermit has another good post that integrates a lot from around the web about playing a game long term. I dont' wholeheartedly disagree nor totally agree with all that's listed and talked about. It's a person to person thing and even at that its very situational. The post is here: https://evehermit.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/breaking/
For me I'd be more into Eve's microtransactions if they had only delivered on the full potential of the mystery code instead of CCP running off with that cash grab. I've whinged and moaned about that before so won't go on much further here.But dang I mentioned the mystery code...... blood boiling......
https://acasualcarebear.blogspot.ie/2016/05/ccp-mystery-code-misers.html

Rixx Javix has posted two books that are well worth downloading:
Both books are top quality.
http://eveoganda.blogspot.ie/2016/06/empyrean-chronicles-released.html
http://eveoganda.blogspot.ie/2016/06/the-art-of-eveoganda-book.html

The daily opportunities have hit the servers and are well integrated into my daily login routine. I've completed a lot of lower end skills with the 4 extra hours of SP per day. I've not been min.maxing the routine but at least once a day I get to run two characters, blast an npc and spend the SP on a skill(s).
http://www.eve-guardian.net/article/39/the-curious-case-of-recurring-opportunities
Time will tell how this develops.

I'm not sure how I feel about the new events system. It seems to be pushing into the opportunities, dailies system in my view. I'm sure it will all "work out". It really depends on the rewards and the effort needed to get them. If it's not an easy or casual thing then I'll be ignoring it.
Full details and forum links are here:
https://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/shadow-of-the-serpent-signal-the-dawn/
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=484160

A good few weeks ago I finally finished off training my Gallente "alt". The new skills bring him to a level where I considered him “done”.While that sounds good and precise it really isn’t. There are still a lot of skills to be trained. Skills that I would like to have done but I refuse to pay for the account he is on any more. So with the  training “done” I spent €20 and transferred that character to my main account. I now pay for two accounts and not three.
With the introduction of PLEX I no longer need the third account for training up alt characters. And with two accounts already I didn't need an active third to log in at the same time.
I'm not in any way shape or form gonna use that third account for farming sp and buying Aurum for skill extractors / selling injectors.
I'm very conflicted about Eve. There is such a draw to the game but such off putting crap as well. I think I'll have to ignore a lot more of the "meta" to enjoy the game for what I do in it.
Maybe it's just that Eve feels more "unfinished" than ever before. The next few updates coming in are changing a lot as well.... I hope things will "settle down" sooner rather than later.

Anyway this alt started off as a Caldari character so already had a lot of Caldari ships and weapon systems trained. The bulk of skills he had were already what were needed for the Gallente angle. So my "need" to have a Gallente specific character and the need to not waste the skills he had made the move to Gallente ships and weapons easy.
I like cross training. It really opens up a lot of options.

A while ago I took that character out of null to concentrate on the pve/hi-sec side of the characters setup. Like all my other characters he developed a lot of items in various stations based around the agent or activity involved in that system, mission running / PI / scanning/sites / mining etc. I'd completed the faction epic arc and spent a lot of time grinding SOE missions to get an Astero or two.... or three.

In anticipation of a return to null I had a Hauler flown into a station just outside of the main null entry and in it had all I needed to get things back up and running (Caracal/Procurer, the fits for both and BPC's, some spare modules and ammo). The only things I had left in null were a few produced Epital ships that were too much hassle to move out.
All was good. Training done and a setup ready to go the time was right to scratch that null sec itch again. So I went.

In the return to null I was surprised at how little it had taken to get reestablished. Produce backup ships just in case and setup a lot of ships to pvp with. I had a lot and then the alliance changed it's holdings and removed both easy access to hi-sec via sov and jump bridges they moving deeper into the next region.
I am thankful that I kept my hi-sec PI as was. Thankfully from the logistics side alone even if the cost in selling items is a little lower.
I've spent the last few month's back in null no questions asked. the corp is good that way.

I've mined a lot of ice, ore as well as a bit of ratting. Production and market seeding both helping the alliance and aided my own profiteering.

With an ever increasing red count in alliance space I've taken time to remove all my assets not on the market out of null. Again. This stint of null is a lot shorter than I've done previously. It was profitable but was marked by a lot of aggravation. Not being able to do things due to reds in the area. Not being able to get items in or out easily etc.
So the last few weeks have seen me back in hi-sec. I'd like to get back to mission running but maybe with a hi-sec carebear corp. Decisions decisions.