twelve systems captured in providence offensive

reported by ISD Falstaff Labron | 2010.03.27 02:05:43

KBP7-G, Providence, Providence – In the past few days, Against All Authorities’ (commonly known as AAA) war against the Providence Holders has seen twelve systems captured from Sev3rance and Cold Steel Alliance [STEEL]. Sovereignty in the alliances’ former space has passed to AAA allies Sodalitas XX, Daisho Syndicate and Ushra’Khan (often called UK).

EvilPHish and Dany Danger of STEEL explained “It was expected of AAA to move swiftly and with full force. We had all systems jammed and all 307 moons occupied by control towers, so without setting up a staging [tower] they had to go for full force and take them all in one night… AAA had around 160 capitals, including Supercarrier and Titan-class vessels accompanied by between 300 and 400 conventional ships… They basically went from system to system dropping SBUs [and] reinforcing sovereignty structures as the SBUs went online.”

The STEEL sources said that this move was anticipated and preparations had already moved valuable assets out of harm’s way. “Even after they hit, we were still able to dismantle a large amount of towers… We basically only had towers and [fighting] ships in the Constellation.” According to evilPHish, these assets were moved to classified “backup systems” from which resistance will continue, with war declarations having been filed against the new Alliances entering the region – Sodalitas XX and Daisho Syndicate.

EvilPHish considered the new entrants as somewhat inexperienced in nullsec activities. “They have shown extreme lack of tactics or knowledge. Many of their pilots were actually killed by warping to the cynosural fields we used to extract some towers. They were blindly warping to zero, something you should not do if you can’t be sure what waits for you once you exit warp. Their ‘spacetaking’ operations were lead by AAA so they are basically being ‘planted’… Until you live and breathe nullsec for a while you will be at a certain disadvantage. Let’s say it is already quite complicated getting your first ‘space’ and trying to understand all the [infrastructure] mechanics, timers… upgrades, station management, etc.

“Now if someone is constantly shooting at you it gets even harder and of course we try to use that to our advantage. It’s not like we were given a fair fight by AAA and it’s multitude of allies. We will return the favour. We spent 3 years in that space, we cultivated it and we built stations. I can’t imagine anyone just walking away after being driven from your home… We will stay here and fight for our stations until we get them back.”

Drakonido and FDXMadEva of Sev3rance commented that although there have been some noteworthy engagements, “The overwhelming power of the AAA block was nothing we could encounter head-on so in the end we lost the sovereignty over our systems but this was no surprise in the actual situation. The new Alliances entering this region need the backup of the big power blocs to be able to hold the sovereignty on their systems; this makes them vulnerable to attacks once the big blocs are out for big fights. It’s not that we want to take it back but there will for sure be people trying to take it and maybe we, who knows.” Asked to comment on eventual plans of adopting a more guerrilla warfare approach to the conflict, Drakonido commented “Guerilla warfare is an interesting kind of warfare… With the Black Op technology it can do a hell of damage without any warning ahead… We stand aside with our friends and fight our enemies, now without the limitations of having to care for space and its inhabitants.”

Sodalitas XX is one of the new alliances entering the region, currently with sovereignty over seven systems. Member Avernus said “We have friends [in AAA] that have done us a great favour. We were in the right place at the right time and knew the right people.” Avernus spoke about the operation to settle into their new systems. “It’s been a grind, which is to be fully expected. Now that the sovereignty issues are past us, we can focus on more enjoyable endeavours like killing the former residents. Amongst ourselves and our new neighbours Daisho Syndicate, with the aid of AAA and Atlas, as well as UK, we’ve taken on the simultaneous assault of 11 systems. It took a little while, but the numbers were very much in our favour.”

Avernus explained that for the moment, any neutrals entering the newly acquired constellation will find themselves engaged, but stated that his alliance is open to discussion regarding the future.

Daisho Syndicate is another new alliance to the region, currently holding sovereignty over four systems. Member Darth Sith described the offensive as a combined effort from AAA, Atlas, Sodalitas XX and Daisho Syndicate in what is believed as “the largest hostile station offensive since [the sovereignty infrastructure upgrades], if not for as long as I can remember and not involving spies or effective opposition.” Eleven systems were reported as having been assaulted over a one day period and according to Darth Sith the operation involved 8 Titans, 30 Supercarriers and ‘various’ Carriers and Dreadnaught class vessels. He added that “Sodalitas XX and Daisho Syndicate are not renters but alliances with long histories with AAA leadership and were invited to join the campaign. Other areas of Providence will be rented by AAA but the two constellations held as part of this assault are not based on rental agreements and no isk exchanged hands.”

The Daisho Syndicate currently plans to reinforce the new areas and then begin the assault on the remainder of the region, continuing their assistance to AAA. Darth Sith said the likely duration of the conflict was “hard to estimate at this time as [the Providence Holders] maintain sovereignty on 30 + systems in Providence including dozens of stations, but based on the resistance to date we anticipate a number of these mass assaults to clean up most of the remainder in the coming weeks… This campaign has shown that given overwhelming firepower, no station systems are safe [after the infrastructure upgrades], gone are the days where an alliance could hide behind the protective umbrella of a Sovereignty 4 constellation. In addition it has shown the power of the new Super Capitals and a return of them to the front lines of any effective combat group.”

The long awaited industry patch

There has been various sources of information indicating that the production-system of the game is undergoing a makeover, and now the time has come to introduce it - the patch for the new system is coming out on the 25th of March, Thursday. The patch also includes a variety of additional things as well, among others a new GUI and hangar look, new languages (German and Russian) and a set of fixes and improvements.

An other important note we have to share is that we're also upgrading some of the servers, and because of that, there will be a downtime tomorrow (23th) between 10:00CET and 14:00CET, so make sure you wander back to the bases before we suspend the game!

The long awaited industry patch

There has been various sources of information indicating that the production-system of the game is undergoing a makeover, and now the time has come to introduce it - the patch for the new system is coming out on the 25th of March, Thursday. The patch also includes a variety of additional things as well, among others a new GUI and hangar look, new languages (German and Russian) and a set of fixes and improvements.

An other important note we have to share is that we're also upgrading some of the servers, and because of that, there will be a downtime tomorrow (23th) between 10:00CET and 14:00CET, so make sure you wander back to the bases before we suspend the game!

space nuns mission of mercy extends to war-torn providence

reported by ISD Deacon York | 2010.03.17 22:14:13

G-5EN2, Providence – Amidst the ongoing conflict over the Providence region, the Sovereign Hospitaller Order of Saint Katherine [SHOSK], colloquially known as the “Space Nuns” have embarked on a mission of mercy to the area.

Sister Louella Dougans, CEO of SHOSKThe Space Nuns first came to the attention of New Eden when they began saving stranded passengers ejected from capsuleer vessels or left in wreckage in the Domain region. According to Sister Louella Dougans, CEO of SHOSK, they have begun operations in Providence with the intent of being “a guiding light in the darkness” and saving those stranded by the misfortunes of this region-spanning war.

According to the Sister, the nuns use small fast ships (specifically the Executioner-class frigate) when conducting rescue operations in null-sec for their speed and maneuverability, but also for their minimal complement of non-capsuleer crew who would be at risk in larger vessels. Sister Dougans explained that her rescue missions are not without danger and admitted that she had lost “a couple” of such frigates while attempting to reach castaways.

There has been a mixed response to the nuns’ missions of mercy, ranging from remarks in the Local channel such as “God save us, it’s the Space Nuns!” to an offer to duel from an Ushra’Khan pilot, Cheif AutoParts of Universal Army. In general, however, Sister Dougans claims that local capsuleers from both sides of the Providence conflict have been receptive to her Order’s mission.

Sister Dougans stated that the nuns typically find abandoned passengers “at stargates and near stations” though sometimes they must use astrometric probes to locate them deeper into space. Such people have commonly been pulled from, or left in the wreckage of pirate structures such as casinos, brothels, slave compounds and hab units and left stranded to make room for more saleable commidities. To date the nuns have rescued “approximately 20 victims” which is dramatically less than previous their previous endeavours in the more populous Domain region. This may be a testament to the violence with which the Providence war is being conducted.

The nuns report that they have come across large numbers of capsuleer corpses, floating frozen in space, which Sister Dougans says the Sovereign Order incinerates with focused bursts of laser fire after “hearing the horror stories about what Sansha’s Nation pirates do with things they find.” She estimated that approximately 50 corpses have received this “cleansing by fire,” with the nuns stating “People might not like it to find out that their dead body is now piloting a Nightmare, or something like that.”

The members of SHOSK state that they will continue their work in the Providence region, taking no sides, hoping only to spare stranded individuals the perils of the vacuum.

The nuns averr that they show no prejudice amongst those they can help, who are often the cast-offs of the capsuleer community, be they dancers, janitors, homeless, slaves or slavers. Those they rescue are spoken to about the Amarr religious scriptures, then, through partnerships between the Sovereign Order and several humanitarian capsuleer organizations, taken to safe destinations where they can be returned home or gradually reintegrated into society if required.

providence holders lose four systems, aaa announces plans for the region

reported by ISD Falstaff Labron | 2010.03.13 12:14:08

Y-MPWL, Providence – in the ongoing conflict in the Providence region over the past two weeks the Holders lost control of four systems to Against All Authorities [AAA], Ushra’Khan [UK], Systematic-Chaos [SYS-K] and Atlas Alliance [ATLAS].

The Y-MPWL system changed sovereignty control from Curatores Veritatis Alliance [CVA] to AAA a little more than a week ago, an anonymous source close to AAA stated that this capture was part of the new offensive in the region, “operations are solely focused on a selection of locations which are of interest for sovereignty” and commented on recent reports of a ‘lock down’ of the Providence region through the control of Empire access routes, “during operations we lock down systems, but outside of operations Providence is pretty open to its inhabitants as well as travellers [and attacking alliances are not] focusing on dictating traffic or movements.”

The same source explained that the capture of Y-MPWL progressed quietly with no major engagements and that a minimal resistance of regular skirmishes between roaming gangs was encountered. Commenting on the overall conflict, the source went on to add “we still consider the conflict to be unfortunate… we also feel that it is not our job to deal with the populace of Providence since we have no interest in ruling it in any way or form. In regards to diplomatic solutions, unfortunately you could say the zealots find dealing with reality or even realpolitik irreconcilable with their religious doctrine. It is clear however that through face to face contacts, parties involved have managed to get a better understanding of each other’s viewpoints, even on their respective behavioural mechanisms. Unfortunately, such understanding remains on a level of capsuleers and is currently not enough as it seems to pave the way for organisational understanding.”

The G-5EN2 system was captured by UK on the following day with R3-K7K falling to Systematic-Chaos the day after and just a few days ago this period of engagements ended with 9-F0B2 being captured by ATLAS. Karn Mithralia of UK confirmed that while the other systems were taken with minimal resistance, in 9-F0B2 “ATLAS moved on it with their allies, mostly with input for UK, AAA and SYS-K… I believe it finally fell… Fidelas Constans [FCON] put up a very stalwart defence supported by CVA. They deserve a warrior’s respect for the way they fought against overwhelming odds.” Commenting on the different alliances taking control of systems in Providence, Karn Mithralia explained each alliance is seeking to establish a second gateway into empire as a means of securing strengthened supply chains to further support the offensive and as a means to control space. Regarding plans for the region, UK reported it plans to “hold those systems so that once CVA and their close allies are removed we can open access up to Providence again… we certainly do not seek to replace CVA and will not be forcing standings or rules of engagement on our allies… our vision of free space is not of a shepherd to sheep. Providence future residents will be able to stand on their own two feet.”

An anonymous source close to ATLAS reported that the Alliance has plans to “continue pushing until the Providence bloc is either destroyed or surrenders.” Tzuko1 of ATLAS commented on the capture of 9-F0B2, “we have not decided yet what to do with that system, but we will surely not keep it – I think some renters will be interested in it.” Referring to the Providence ‘lock down’, Tzuko1 added: “it’s true we are controlling exits and jump bridge systems too, no one gets out… our capital fleet is ready as you can see [we are] hot dropping Rorqual’s, Freighters and Carriers in the area with our capital and super capital vessels – we just did not have [any engagement where we could properly use our capital fleet].”

Manfred Sideous of AAA explained that the recent offensive was the “next logical step” after pausing aggressive action twice to give CVA a chance to consider peace. “We regret CVA leadership’s position but are committed in our task to secure our borders from strategic threats.” Asked to comment on AAA’s plans for the region Manfred Sideous answered “we intend to repopulate Providence with many alliances, currently we have over 20 lined up. All will be handed an area for which to grow from. We do not intend to govern Providence other than to enforce a no sovereignty war rule to protect these new and young budding alliances. Their politics will be for them to decide individually, we will just ensure that they have a real chance at growing without being steamrolled by a large hostile force.” Asked to explain how exactly this sovereignty was going to be distributed, Manfred Sideous explained “we are basing it off a few criteria [such as] alliance size [since] we want them to be able to utilize the space they will retain [as well as] geography… to make sure that we keep groups in a consolidated area instead of spread out across large areas. Some groups will have very small areas while others will have larger areas. It should be noted that we intend to keep a few of the current Holders in place as well.” Further details are currently classified but AAA has “a pretty clear gameplan going forward… in the short term Providence is very hostile environment with the goal of making it very inclusive to small groups of players wanting to taste and experience [nullsec]. The exit points will be controlled sovereignty wise but there are no designs to police or restrict traffic through them. Providence is like a rainforest currently we are weeding it and will replant it with a bounty of new inhabitants.”

Asked to comment on the overall conflict, Manfred Sideous stated “it is a large undertaking with the new [infrastructure] mechanics [to take] 50 stations. So far it is going as expected. The frequency of fights and battles has gone down but this is expected… [it] requires effort and work… we realize this and are meeting the challenge well. CVA is committed to an attrition style defence, whereby their intended goal is deny [large engagements] and minimize isk loss for them so they can rally when/if we lose interest. So the lack of resistance is understood.”

CVA executor Aralis confirmed that in 9-F0B2 the Providence Holders lead the assaulters to suffer hundreds of casualties in ships and showed great suspicion of AAA’s current plans for the region: “I doubt many are foolish enough to fall for such nonsense. I feel sorry for any who are. It’s obviously intended as some absurd propaganda. Though as even a four year old could see it couldn’t work and nobody with any sense would trust them I can’t really see why they bother.”

Commenting on the Providence ‘lock down’, Aralis explained “self evidently they have hit the exit systems. There is no lockdown.” Regarding the overall conflict Aralis maintained his previous statements about a long engagement and stated that in his opinion the conflict is still in the very early days. “We are being attacked by half of [New Eden]. I think our victory is still some way off. Clearly this will be a long war. Even the faithful will not quickly vanquish such a collection of enemies.”