o7 capsuleers,
I’m Nova Terra-Ren, and I’m running for CSM 21.
I’ve been playing EVE Online since 2012. Over all these years I’ve been involved in in the game in many different ways: as a PvP player, formerly a leader of a small nullsec alliance called Arkhos Core, now a wormhole resident playing with Physics Says No / Psyno Theory, and you may know my voice from the Alliance Tournament where I have been fortunate enough to be a commentator from ATXX onwards. I’m also responsible for at least some of the “67” ads this current AT - I’m deeply sorry about that.
I’ve spent an entirely unreasonable amount of my life thinking about spaceships.
More importantly, I’ve spent a lot of that time watching how other people play EVE, and self-reflecting on why it is that I know I will never leave this game. Through having run organizations myself to becoming a player commentator, I’ve had the chance to interact with players from an enormous variety of backgrounds, from players taking their first steps into the game to some of the most experienced competitive pilots in New Eden.
I don’t claim to be an expert in every part of EVE. In fact, one of the things I want to be explicit about in this campaign is where my experience is limited. I would rather be honest about where I stand rather than pretend that being a CSM candidate requires having an authoritative opinion about absolutely everything.
To be clear from the get-go - I am a wormholer candidate as I play EVE every day in Jspace, and I have various improvements that I’d like to see to benefit my favorite subsection of New Eden. You can read some more below about what I would like implemented sooner rather than later in Jspace.
I am unabashedly pro-multiboxing in that I believe EVE simply does not work without the influence of multiboxers - with the caveat here that I am sympathetic to the idea that new players are often pushed towards activities dominated by multiboxing and quickly are made to feel “less-than”. I want to support solo-account players with content that is better suited to them, from escalating sites of various kinds to more complex puzzles, to let the solo roleplayer find as much value out of their gameplay as a player simulating an RTS game with 25+ accounts. This should not come at either player’s expense.
My EVE Story
A lifelong sci-fi and competitive video game fan, I discovered EVE through an Alliance Tournament broadcast back in 2012, where I was excited to see that there existed a spaceship MMO that also had competitive gameplay. Soon after, I started seeing articles about world records, espionage, but maybe none more poignant than those covering the passing of a legendary EVE player in Vile Rat. I could tell that this game truly mattered - and I began a journey into what would become a second life here in New Eden.
Like many players, I started with absolutely no idea what I was doing - but I was thrilled to see the sheer depth of everything that EVE has to offer, and I wanted to do EVERYTHING. Eventually, I specialized towards my favorite areas - PvP, wormhole space, corporations and alliances, and the social side of the game that has given me friends that I would trust with my life.
In real life, I’ve studied psychology and over the years I believe this background has helped me come to a conclusion about EVE that shapes a lot of how I think about the game:
The most important thing in EVE isn’t the ships, the economy, the sovereignty systems, or even the combat. It’s the ability of players to create stories, build legacies, make friends, and find meaning within an incredibly deep and complicated universe. All of these mechanics serve to facilitate that meaning-making, and this is what I will advocate for as CSM - a call back to Fenris Creations’ rather haunting mission statement of creating worlds more meaningful than real life.
I am particularly interested in how we can make it easier for players (especially new players and smaller organizations) to create those stories for themselves, rather than simply becoming a tiny part of somebody else’s.
Areas of Expertise
Unstructured PvP
This is one of the areas of EVE that I care about most. I enjoy fights that happen because players have reasons to be in the same place and competing for something. What I would like to see is more reasons for these fights to happen in the first place. There needs to be more conflict drivers that naturally put players and groups into competition with one another. I am less interested in systems whose primary purpose becomes providing a convenient venue for groups that are otherwise bored to arrange fights with one another. To me, arranged fights being prevalent represents a failure on the design end, where not enough incentives/drivers for meaningful conflict have been provided.
If you want arranged fights, we have an excellent venue for that in the Alliance Tournament.
Ships, Gameplay, HUD
I think EVE’s fundamental gameplay mechanics are remarkably strong. I am broadly supportive of experimenting with a more modern HUD and user interface, and believe improving this can help bring in players who are looking for a modern gaming experience. EVE will still be spreadsheets in space, but it should optimize for both being easily understandable and looking as badass as possible at the same time. I of course have opinions on ship balance (seriously, where’s my Damavik buff) but I also believe that the current handling of ship balance by FC is in a reasonable state.
Sovereignty management and logistics
I’ve spent enough time running a nullsec alliance to have opinions about sovereignty. One of these is that the changes to modern sovereignty haven’t fundamentally changed what sovereignty is so much as changed how infrastructure is managed across larger space empires. I also have a take that I suspect puts me in the minority: I like Entosis warfare.
Specifically, I enjoy the way that these constellation-based objectives can force players to care about geography that they would otherwise largely ignore. Entosis warfare can force players to think ahead, understand where things are, and allows for smaller well-organized groups to often cause problems for much larger organizations by being mobile and difficult to pin down. I would like to see modifications either towards the ADM system to allow for more vulnerabilities and encourage these fights, or creating multiple vulnerability windows instead of a single narrow one.
One of the larger barriers I see for small groups trying to grow is in logistics. Getting ships, fuel, equipment, and structures to where they need to be can be hard - and whether you’re in a large or small organization, this responsibility often ultimately falls on a surprisingly small number of people. I am interested in exploring concepts that can help lift this burden slightly whether through Freelance Jobs or new systems entirely.
I also advocate for further in-game tools and improvements towards both Corporation and Alliance management. Every serious group in EVE has a real-world IT backbone at this point, and I fundamentally believe that the core tools for this need to be in-game and can’t require a computer science degree to understand how to use.
Highsec and the New Player Experience
I live in Jspace. I would be lying if I said that an average journey through Highsec doesn’t scare me at one point or another - either due to the sheer number of neutrals on my overview / in local, or it’s due to those neutrals often being 30 Catalysts sitting on a gate. I am not anti-ganking - it’s a valid part of EVE as far as I’m concerned, but I believe that ganking at this point often does not serve a point other than staving off boredom. In and of itself, this isn’t a problem - but it does represent a major issue when trying to get a new player to understand what is a safe activity and what isn’t. For this reason, I like what Exordium has allowed for - a genuinely safe starting environment where players can learn EVE without needing to instantly understand every way another player can possibly ruin their day. There’s a lot of those, and I hope a new player goes on to learn about all of them by experiencing them - but not before they’re ready.
I have no interest in making highsec completely safe - but it’s about making understanding security overall less confusing to someone who joins the game. Similarly, I think recent changes increasing cost of war declaration are a massive boon to these players too. Confusion regarding safety, security and war are in my opinion core elements that drive newer players and new organizations either away from the game or away from highsec and towards what they perceive as complete safety in a large nullsec bloc. These can be fantastic communities and provide incredible opportunities to new players - but these need to not feel like the only options for a new player who wants to feel protected enough to develop.
EVE Online and EVE Vanguard
I am a believer in Vanguard. I want EVE Vanguard to succeed, and I intend to play it alongside my regular EVE Online gameplay. I also believe Vanguard has the potential to be a major entry point into the EVE ecosystem, and this is maybe what interests me most.
FC have already stated in roadmaps that Vanguard will play a role in upcoming Faction Warfare campaigns - and while I am very much in favor of integrating Vanguard into EVE, I personally worry that this misses the mark via having too narrow a scope. If a player never touches Faction Warfare, what reason do they have to care about some Warclone deployment? I would rather see Vanguard matter across all of New Eden and give every single player some reason to care about what is going on groundside. And in reverse, a player discovering EVE through Vanguard should have paths from it into the rest of the universe.
JSpace and High-Skill Content
I am extensively familiar with most JSpace gameplay loops, especially in highclass space. I have revamp ideas that I would love to be able to discuss with devs and CSMs, a couple of which include:
- Updated Exploration. Most simply, this could be a revamp of wormhole Data and Relic sites including c4 and above space, where the Data sites are simply combat sites in disguise, with little to no meaningful loot outside of standard sleeper blue loot - but where the rats in these sites also do significantly more damage than standard combat anomalies which have much more substantial payouts. I don’t believe that these sites currently add to anyone’s gameplay experience. Exploration into high-class wormholes should feel exciting - if you take your Heron into c6 space I want you to be rewarded with something intriguing, complex, and exciting, rather than a quick death from an NPC wave that can deal over 6k DPS for little benefit.
- Ore or Gas sites. I have thoughts here as well, where I believe current gas anomalies feel simple and great to huff, but currently provide no conflict driver at all as there’s virtually 0 benefit in fighting over them, as if you are contested you can simply roll off to find another cloud. I would like to look into possibilities of adding gas sites where payouts are locked behind clouds that have to first be huffed through - sort of a lock-and-key - and thus gives players a reason to fight over the cloud as it’s being huffed as everyone is anticipating a payout once something is cleared.
I would like to see more content added that shows off high player skill all across New Eden, and can’t simply be wiki’ed ad nauseam. I am a fan of possibly experimenting with procedurally generated content that can create more complex encounters, I enjoy leaderboards, and I think that competitions between players should always be encouraged to this end. I want Eve veterans to be able to show off their 20+ years of knowledge via their ingame activities.
Why Am I Running for CSM?
The short answer is: I’ve spent 14 years playing this wonderful, frustrating, meaningful game and I care about what happens to it and in it.
The longer answer is that I’ve reached a point where I think my particular combination of experiences and opinions could be useful. I’ve run player organizations, I’ve lived in several different regions, I’ve been involved in competitive play, I’ve made EVE content - mostly I’ve played a hell of a lot of EVE. And all throughout I’ve spent a lot of time talking to players who experience EVE in all kinds of incredible ways and listening to their stories.
To me, a CSM needs to be able to tell FC what they should focus on, be clear why they think an idea is good or when one needs refining, and a CSM needs to help be a bridge between FC and the broader playerbase. I’m running because I want to represent a perspective that values player agency, meaningful conflict, and giving smaller groups the ability to create their own stories.
What Can Players Expect From Me?
Honesty about what I know and don’t know
If Industry isn’t my area of expertise (it’s not) - I’ll tell you so directly. If someone who actually lives in an ecosystem that I am less familiar with tells me that I’m wrong, I’ll listen. I love to yap but I love to listen too.
An interest in the little guy
I want to see more ways for corporations and small alliances to create meaningful identities and stories without immediately needing to become part of a major bloc or coalition. I want the solo pilot to feel impactful and the multiboxer to still be able to live their RTS fantasy at the same time.
A real wormhole candidate
I play Eve every day, and I live in highclass Jspace where I PvP, PvE, and hang out with friends. I am a candidate who will push for meaningful iteration on wormhole space, not just as side effect of null changes - and a renewed focus of FC on this area, without dismantling existing gameplay loops. There’s lots to be revamped here still, and I’ll advocate for my community.
Someone who loves EVE - both as currently is and as what it can become
I’m not interested in being a CSM to simply explain to FC that everything is terrible. I intend to play EVE forever, and this involves giving constructive criticism when needed but also pointing out when and why things go right. When I don’t know enough to have a fully informed opinion, I’ll listen, learn, and lend any skills I have to the discussion. I will ALWAYS participate constructively.
Thank you for reading my excruciatingly long campaign post. I invite anyone to get in touch here with any questions you have for me which I will try to answer as I can, or via Discord (novaterraren) with any of your favorite Eve stories that you want to tell someone about. Feel free to reach out, I don’t bite (but my Vanguard Warclone “Big Feesh” certainly does, so be careful) 
o7
Nova