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EVE-Online RP Discussion and Resources => EVE Corporation and Alliance Development => Topic started by: Sakura Nihil on 22 Apr 2017, 18:36

Title: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 22 Apr 2017, 18:36
For almost nine years, the Caldari State and Gallente Federation have been engaged in a proxy war in their nearby low-security regions, enlisting capsuleers as their pawns in an attempt to capture and defend contested territory for their side while seeking to overpower and humiliate their rivals.  Countless numbers of ships, ground troops, and civilians have been lost on both sides, with practically nothing to show for it except ever-increasing bitterness, anger, and hatred of their opponents.

Every month, every year this conflict lasts sees the individuals of both sides grow farther apart, more accustomed to a culture of fear and bloodshed than one of peace and open dialogue.  It is the firm belief of Faded Light that this trend needs to be halted as soon as possible if there is to be any chance of creating a lasting, satisfactory peace that both sides can get behind.

To do this, we seek stop the proxy war in lowsec any way we can - ideally, reasoning with the participants, making them question why they fight for the Fed or fight for the State, trying to co-opt them to our point of view to create a genuine movement that forces leaders on both sides to turn to the boardroom for solutions, not the war room.  However, for those individuals and organizations unsympathetic to our cause, we will try and stop their continued advancement of war through force, destroying their ships and denying them economic stimulus from the empires wherever possible, in an attempt to grind the war to a stop.

We recognize that this effort is a long-shot, but in our eyes it is not right to merely sit on the sidelines while this goes on, but rather our duty to stand up and try to put a halt to this.  Considering force and violence in an attempt to create the conditions for peace is obviously ironic, a fact not lost on us, but force is what power derives from - what that power is used for is what defines it as good, or bad.

Help our cause, support our cause - join our cause.  We need people who want to fight for what's right in this cluster, not just what's convenient and easy.  If that describes you, join us today, and help create a better future.


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Good evening!  If you're reading this, I assume you've read the in-character (IC) bit above, describing our intent and our goals.  Allow me to explain to you out-of-character (OOC) a bit more about Faded Light and what we do:

The goal of Faded Light is to get good fights, full stop.  To this end, we're recruiting combat pilots who are comfortable flying both solo and in small-gangs, and who are willing to roleplay.  We've latched on to the on-going conflict between the Caldari and Gallente in FW space as a reason to fight both sides, and to give the corporation what we feel is a worthy goal worth pursing in-character.

In-space, the pursuit of our goal often manifests itself in taking over outposts in faction-warfare space, denying its use to both sides, until a militia member of either side (or occasionally a local pirate) decides to show up and try take the outpost from us.  This usually leads to interesting 1v1 fights, a rarity in EVE these days, or on occasions when they bring friends, the chance to fight outnumbered or to call for backup from other corpmates nearby to even the odds if required.

Outside of combat, Faded Light is a relaxed corporation that does not berate people based on killboard statistics, or succumb to the low-brow culture that's present in so many larger organizations.  We look for individuals that not only show skill or potential in combat, but the right attitude in interactions with other pilots, people we enjoy flying with rather than merely tolerate.

As for a few FAQs:

I've never done roleplay before, how deep do you guys go in terms of commitment?
In general, the RP side of things could be considered light or medium-light.  For instance, corp chat is OOC, and local can be either IC or OOC depending on the context.  Most of the text-based RP is done in the Summit channels in-game, the IGS board on the forums, and a few private discussion channels as well, and in general is very easy to get into (and pretty fun at times!)

Why the mention of solo pilots along with small-gang warfare?
We're a small corp that's picky about who we let in.  Being able to generate content on your own when there's not a ton of people around is an important skill to have - moreover, some of the best pilots I've ever flown with in gangs or fleets have been sharp-eyed solo combat pilots, always trying to refine their personal skills and eke every bit of performance out of their ships as they can.  Those are the people I want at my side, while still having the right skills and personality so that working together in a small gang isn't a problem.

I'm inexperienced at combat - would you be willing to teach me?
Yes, as long as you show the right attitude.  Being able to take losses on the chin, continually striving to fly and fit your ship better, and giving your best effort are all crucial traits I'd need to see.  If you display them, yes.

What can you offer me?
Right now, I can offer you a lot of immaterial things - a purpose to work towards, motivation, comradeship, training in how to be a better pilot for you younger folks out there, a home in New Eden that you can enjoy being part of after a long day of work and effort.  In time, it's my strong desire to find allies that share our goals and form an alliance, making us eligible to fly in the Alliance Tournament (something I've done since AT3 with few exceptions).  But out of all of those things, comradeship and community are the biggest two.

I might be interested, what do I do?
Contact either Sakura Nihil or Ereka Nihil in-game with an evemail, and we'll set up a time and a place for an interview.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 22 Apr 2017, 18:38
I totally just copied and pasted my spiel from the EVE forums here for now, will try and refine it over time to be better suited to the Backstage audience.  ;)

I'd also recommend checking out our manifesto here:
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=517601&find=unread
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Xepharious on 24 Apr 2017, 07:12
And while your endless war of pain and grief rages on, Origin remains a sojourn for those who truly seek peace....

(OOC) Love the IC'ness bit! I'm looking forward to how you'll manage to support both sides of the Fac war from a single corp.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Elmund Egivand on 26 Apr 2017, 07:01
And while your endless war of pain and grief rages on, Origin remains a sojourn for those who truly seek peace....

(OOC) Love the IC'ness bit! I'm looking forward to how you'll manage to support both sides of the Fac war from a single corp.

By arms dealing?
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Pieter Tuulinen on 26 Apr 2017, 12:48
I would advise a focus on small-gang over solo. In the theatre you're talking about, you're likely to be trading single, expensive, ships for whoever you can cull out of a herd of aggressive cheap fit gangs.

But, yeah, I wish you gudfites!
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Mizhir on 26 Apr 2017, 12:51
Interesting concept. If I for some reason move on from TURN LEFT it is certainly a viable option. But until then we will fly under different banners but work towards the same goal: Killing FW people  :twisted:

I wish you the best of luck with the corp.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 26 Apr 2017, 15:45
I would advise a focus on small-gang over solo. In the theatre you're talking about, you're likely to be trading single, expensive, ships for whoever you can cull out of a herd of aggressive cheap fit gangs.

But, yeah, I wish you gudfites!

We'll see - in recent times I've been taking 4v1 odds in a Worm and coming out on top, or taking 1v1 fights against other ships like Worms or Daredevils and either coming out on top or winning outright.

Want to get a solid handle on the current frigate / destroyer metas before going higher on the food chain, but if it helps assure you, I'm a veteran of the old nano days circa 2007.  I understand the concept of "spread them out and kill them one at a time" ;)

Also, it's only ISK.  As long as it's not lost in a dumb way, but in the process of taking down a corrupt system and dragging lots of other ships down with it, I'm good with that.  Also, while small-gang can achieve more (and we will do small-gang, I assure you), solo work creates better individual pilots.  Put a bunch of excellent pilots together who think on their own initiative and have experience working together, and you have a deadly team that's capable of winning good fights in space (and in the AT, for that matter :P).
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 26 Apr 2017, 15:51
Interesting concept. If I for some reason move on from TURN LEFT it is certainly a viable option. But until then we will fly under different banners but work towards the same goal: Killing FW people  :twisted:

I wish you the best of luck with the corp.

Thank ya ;).

And to be fair, the goal isn't really to kill FW folks... it's to try and co-opt FW folks to our like of thinking, and spread the message of peace.  Those who aren't down with the concept, and pirates, and all those suspicious folks running around outposts?  Helloooooo targets!

Prime example, fought a great 1v1 with a pirate last night, Worm-on-Worm, rockets against rockets.  Smashed through him entirely with about 30% or so of my shields left, leading to a good hour to 2 hour long conversation regarding ship fitting, the quixotic quest I'm embarking on, etc.  That's a good night in my book.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Pieter Tuulinen on 26 Apr 2017, 16:21
That's a good night in anyone's books!

I'm really interested to see how this goes! It's a concept that deserves to prosper if only to get away from gate camping + blobbing.

I've never experienced the other end of what you're talking about, though. In my experience one good pilot backed up by pilots who can keep a cool head and follow orders generally beats a gang of pilots who are more used to fighting alone.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 26 Apr 2017, 16:41
I've never experienced the other end of what you're talking about, though. In my experience one good pilot backed up by pilots who can keep a cool head and follow orders generally beats a gang of pilots who are more used to fighting alone.

I think it really stems from my experience on AT teams, especially after leading several, plus years upon years of small-gang work.

It's my opinion that to be an excellent pilot, you need to be both an experienced solo pilot, but able to suppress your instincts and ego when in a fleet to follow the FC's lead.  Some people are inherently lone wolves, and can't work together as a part of a team, while others (like yours truly) are historically great team players but don't have the skills to work alone without support.

Developing people with both skill sets, in my view, is vital to a healthy corp.  Flying solo encourages self-development and innovation in terms of ship fittings and pilot skill, while flying in gangs encourages communication and teamwork.  Too much in either direction is a problem.

Then, there's the fact that I want Faded Light to be, in time, apart of an alliance that does the AT, and being able to field a very, very high-quality team for competition.  In a scenario like the AT, the FC literally does not have the time to issue instructions before a fight to every ship on the field, or tell every pilot how to fly their ships.  They only have time to quickly assess the situation, call primaries and a rough strategy, and hit the ground running once the timer starts.  In a situation like that, you have to trust that the people flying their ships are able to make good calls themselves, and solo work absolutely helps with that.  See also the famous Camel Empire AT fight where the FC just basically tells everyone to go do their thing and screams at the top of their voice... lacking in eloquence, of course, but they've flown with each other so long there's no need to issue detailed instructions, just execute well.

Plus, it helps ensure that people get content in a small corp, rather than relying upon the organization to spoon-feed them content.  I have neither the time nor inclination for that, and intend to only to form gangs up as-needed to help corpmates in a sticky situation, or when there's an objective that needs to be hit at a given time and place.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Jev North on 27 Apr 2017, 05:09
Yep, the wolfpack model can work very well - in the Metropolis days in Pyre, we essentially had a bunch of solo pilots roaming around at all times, doing the day-to-day work of seal clubbing plexers and finding e-honorable fights for themselves; whenever you'd find something bigger than you could handle yourself, you'd raise a stink on comms and get the others to flash form into a small gang. (or, if it was really big, start rage pinging for a heavy armor fleet.)

Good times, good times.

I do worry you'll have trouble finding people who really enjoy solo piloting, and roleplaying, and who are not already firmly attached to another entity; that's something of a triple unicorn.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Mizhir on 27 Apr 2017, 07:26
There is a rather large overlap between what makes a great solo pilot and what makes a great smallgang pilot. In both cases you need to be able to analyse the situation and make your own decision. When flying with Camel the target calling is mostly just a suggestion in order to concentrate the firepower but we are still free to shoot other targets when we think they are better targets. This mostly applies to antisupport ship that spots frigates closing in, but there are also other situations. One thing I quite enjoy is to force off enemy ewar ships by using long range ships.

But essentially in both solo and smallgang pvp you need to know what your role is. In smallgang pvp you can often end up in more specialized roles. The keres pilot needs to know which targets to damp without the FC telling them each time and likewise the interceptors need to know when to dive in and when to hold back. When soloing you don't get to do these specialized roles but having to rely on your own skills you can quite well develope a sense of the anatomy of the fight and you will quickly be rewarded or punished based on the decisions you take.

However I wouldn't nescessarily say that being a solo pilot is a requirement for being a great smallgang pilot. However it is often a great indicator of the pilot's ability to think for themselves. Another great indicator is FC experiance as it shows that the pilot knows how to make the decisions.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Pieter Tuulinen on 27 Apr 2017, 10:34
Yeah, that part of PvP where you make your own call on engagements and all the decisions thereto is definitely a part of my skillset that has a great stonking hole in it.

All the work you do solo contributes towards learning to be a good FC, I think, which explains why I lack the confidence to do that. Working to my role within a fleet, whether that be Logi, DPS, Jams or whatever is something I'm happier with - and I remain confident that a decent small gang can usually bring enough tools to win a fight, whereas solo pilots often have to hope that they called the engagement profile or else find themselves committed to the fight their ship can't win.

And I'm a social bugger. Love the comm chatter.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 27 Apr 2017, 15:56
Yep, the wolfpack model can work very well - in the Metropolis days in Pyre, we essentially had a bunch of solo pilots roaming around at all times, doing the day-to-day work of seal clubbing plexers and finding e-honorable fights for themselves; whenever you'd find something bigger than you could handle yourself, you'd raise a stink on comms and get the others to flash form into a small gang. (or, if it was really big, start rage pinging for a heavy armor fleet.)

Good times, good times.

I do worry you'll have trouble finding people who really enjoy solo piloting, and roleplaying, and who are not already firmly attached to another entity; that's something of a triple unicorn.

Your top two lines basically capture the approach I'm taking.  Spread out, work the solo angle on a regular basis, but if something too big shows up for you to handle alone, batphone for help.  Hell, I did that last night with a potential recruit, and it went fantastically despite having chat-only comms ability due to RL issues.

As far as the "triple unicorn" goes, let me give an example of what happened last night to me:  I did a rare dumbass move, and warped to an outpost with two other Worms that were landing a few seconds before me.  So, 2v1 situation on my hands, we're all at 0km, I know I have no real escape in that situation - brawl time.  I proceed to beat the living tar out of the first Worm, and down him as I'm entering hull myself (don't get me started on how a single Worm kills one of yours, when you have twice the firepower at your disposal...)

The other had apparently let his buddy do the tackling work, despite clearly having scrammed me himself earlier in the fight.  As my primary was almost dead, I aligned to a celestial on the off-chance I'd get lucky and be able to warp... and warped out with 63% structure.  So, despite being up on me 2v1 at the outset, they lost a ship with nothing to show for it - GG folks.  I ping my potential recruit a system or two over, and all via chat, we set a trap for the other Worm, plus his buddy (apparently reshipped into a Comet by now).

We coordinate it (somehow) almost perfectly, so that I'm luring the Worm off to a nearby celestial while my ally comes in, distracting my pursuer, and we all converge on the outpost acceleration gate at 0km while his Comet buddy for some dumb reason jumps into the plex before we land.  Hello 2v1 in our favor, we melt the Worm, and bail, while his local friends start scrambling ships like Garmurs and Gilas to try and chase us down.

Mission accomplished, we loot and bail, and let them grope around blindly in the adjacent system.  Scratch two pirates, we get some half-decent loot off the second Worm, and they have nothing to show for the night but lossmails.  I further admonish the CEO in local for his guys' attempts at pirating me, despite having a non-pirate tag in their corp description, and give them the (now-routine) "what are you fighting for?" speech to see if they might be suitable recruits.

They are not.  In short, I guess what this story emphasises is that if someone who already flies in small gang or solo can get great fights, and poke a larger group in the eye like that on a regular basis, and the price of admission is to RP a bit on the forums now and then... is that a terrible price to pay in exchange for fun content you create at your own pace?  It also demonstrates exactly how I'd like Faded Light to run, tactically.

Regardless, opsuccess.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 27 Apr 2017, 16:02
However I wouldn't nescessarily say that being a solo pilot is a requirement for being a great smallgang pilot. However it is often a great indicator of the pilot's ability to think for themselves. Another great indicator is FC experiance as it shows that the pilot knows how to make the decisions.

I'd agree with this.  I think someone who does a lot of small-gang work as a part of a fleet can be great without soloing at all or FCing, but if that person in turn is also a solo pilot, and also an FC (or a scout), those skillsets can merge and reinforce each other to make a very well-rounded pilot.

The model I'm trying to create for Faded Light is that of "solo pilot first", being able to think and operate independently without instructions from someone higher-up, but at the same time being able to assemble and run in (or lead) a wolfpack themselves.  Give me a year, or two, and that's the kind of organization I want to command.  I don't care if it's only 6 pilots, give me 6 wolves versus a pack of 50 sheep, and I'll bet on the wolves everytime.

(hopefully I get more than 6 people, though!)
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 27 Apr 2017, 16:06
I remain confident that a decent small gang can usually bring enough tools to win a fight, whereas solo pilots often have to hope that they called the engagement profile or else find themselves committed to the fight their ship can't win.

I see what you're getting at on this, but I'd like to add one disclaimer - choosing your fights as a solo pilot is critical.  Its essential that you either have a means of controlling range (speed, neuts, long-range webs/scrams, etc.), or the ability to set an initial range against your opponent that they have to overcome.

Case in point, plexes (which I love) allow me to enter them, pull substantial range inside them, and no one can warp directly on top of me.  They all have to come in through the chokepoint that is acceleration gate, meaning I can selectively warp out if a frigate swarm lands or (more ideally) pull yet more range and spread them out, creating a series of fights one-after-another that I can win.

Not saying I can't or won't engage outside them, but they're a great defensive tool that should be used by soloers whenever possible.  It's like having a hill nearby you, but camping at the base of it - use it to your advantage.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Nissui on 27 Apr 2017, 16:12
Case in point, plexes (which I love) allow me to enter them, pull substantial range inside them, and no one can warp directly on top of me.  They all have to come in through the chokepoint that is acceleration gate, meaning I can selectively warp out if a frigate swarm lands...

QFFT. It was the only way to go for me.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Mizhir on 28 Apr 2017, 02:29
The model I'm trying to create for Faded Light is that of "solo pilot first", being able to think and operate independently without instructions from someone higher-up, but at the same time being able to assemble and run in (or lead) a wolfpack themselves.  Give me a year, or two, and that's the kind of organization I want to command.  I don't care if it's only 6 pilots, give me 6 wolves versus a pack of 50 sheep, and I'll bet on the wolves everytime.

(hopefully I get more than 6 people, though!)

I recently returned to EVE and my corpmates recently started doing friggangs in FW space. And I must say that I have been having a blast with it. Over 2 roams I have gotten 73kills. All kills has been from roaming in frig/dessie wolfpacks (10ppl + 1 alt at the first roam and 8ppl at the 2nd) and all without a single loss. It has been an eyeopener for me to see how fun and effective it can be with a handful of talented pilots in a frig wolfpack in FW space. And I can imagine it is the same goal you are going for. So I sincerly wish you good luck with the corp because this is just way to fun and I hope other people get to experiance it as well aside from us 'elitists' from Thera :P And hopefully your effort with the corp can get more people interested in the smallscale combat.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Mizhir on 28 Apr 2017, 02:32
Case in point, plexes (which I love) allow me to enter them, pull substantial range inside them, and no one can warp directly on top of me.  They all have to come in through the chokepoint that is acceleration gate, meaning I can selectively warp out if a frigate swarm lands...

QFFT. It was the only way to go for me.

I completely disagree with you two. I absolutely hate the way it gives the defender the advantage of choosing starting distance and how it forces the attack to commit. It may be because I mostly nano and I am too impatient to sit in a plex and would rather roam, but I would much prefer to have the ability to warp in at range and then being able to poke the gang / try to seperate them. By entering a plex I feel that I give up control and there is nothing I can do about it.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Jev North on 28 Apr 2017, 02:37
It is a roll of the dice.

But hey, punching into a plex knowing it's going to be a hairy mess on the warp-in is one of the ways I can still get my heart rate up more than a few notches.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Nissui on 28 Apr 2017, 07:14
It is a roll of the dice.

Aye. D-scan revealed exactly where I was. Both of us knew only the hull, maybe a potential fit if it was a large system and there was time to read lossmails. They had the option of rolling through to the next system, which most of them did. Those that wanted a fight, came and got one.

Actually that is not even true, since I buggered off when I knew the Rifter was far outclassed. Choosing the engagement and all that.
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Pieter Tuulinen on 28 Apr 2017, 09:09
Which is why we used to send a tanky ship with a scrambler through to get point before the rest of us piled in. :)
Title: Re: Faded Light [IDNO] - Recruiting capsuleers to help Caldari-Gallente peace
Post by: Sakura Nihil on 29 Apr 2017, 09:57
The one thing I'll say about outposts is that they're a great defensive asset.  Case in point, I was patrolling Thursday night in the Worm and I got two Worms and a Breacher dropped on my head... or rather, they would have dropped on my head if they could have probed me down and warped to me directly.  Instead, they landed 100km off me at the outpost entrypoint.

Having killed (and apparently riled up) one or two of the people in question the night before, I figured it was highly likely the gang was formed to kill me, and upon maneuver when they refused to separate out in distance, I pulled range and left.  Had that been on a gate or planet or anything like that, I wouldn't have had the time I needed to assess the situation that I like.

Will we be more aggressive in the future?  Sure, if the numbers increase and we have enough manpower to do it.  For now, gotta maximize the odds of winning and survival as much as possible.