We’re just on our second day of the new year and already I am falling back on a short form staple of the site, the Friday bullet points post.  Future me will curse my laziness as they write the “one year ago” entry, but when have I ever shown much thought for future me.

At least I am going to stick to one topic!  I have a few items about EVE Online to bring up.  So what have I got this time around?

• A New Sovereignty Map Utility Appears!
  • EVE Sov Map

We have long depended on the EVE Sovereignty maps, and will continue to do so as they provide an excellent long term view of how null sec has changed over the years.  It is an invaluable resource.

But it is not without its flaws, coming from an older era of the game.  So I was excited to see a new sovereignty map tool show up that is laid out based on CCP’s new 2D in-game map.

Not only does it have a tighter, more accurate array of color splashes… one of the flaws in the old maps was the algorithm that colored a lot of empty space making the footprint of some alliances seem a lot greater than they actually were… but you can zoom on in and see things clearly.

As a dynamic map that shows the current state of systems, it lacks the history of the old maps, but it as additional features like being able to point out where fleets are clashing of where sovereignty campaigns are in progress.  If you like to watch null sec, this is totally worth a look.

• Lies, Damn Lies, and New Eden End of Year Statistics
  • CCP – EVE Online – The Year in Numbers

There was a time when CCP used to give us personalized annual stats at the end of the year… like, actual video summaries at one point, then some stats sent out in email.

There were problems with the data and, like the MER, different aspects often didn’t match up, but it was something for us to look forward to.

Well, they don’t have time for that anymore, and gave up on the idea a couple years back as they pulled more resources off of their one revenue generating title to chase the dream of making a first person shooter and a blockchain crypto game.  Neither of those will ever make a dime, but CCP management is invested in the idea.

Instead CCP has fallen back on annual stats for the game.  Those should be easy enough right?  I mean, they generate the MER every month, so just summing things up should be easy.

Except of course, whenever you give the community team numbers they find a way to fumble the whole thing.  So there are a bunch of end of year stats available that are either a huge lie or are a sign that the MER is a huge lie, because they 100% do not line up.  And that is after they fixed some of the more egregious errors, like over estimating mining value by something like 1,300%.

Well, I cannot personally verify 100% of the stats.  I have no way to check to see if the Venture is the ship most likely to undock in high sec… but I am also not sure that is a metric that has any meaning.  Does it mean lots of people fly Ventures?  Or that Alpha clones mine in them by flying out, burning a rock for a bit, then docking up to drop their load then undock again?

But that just gets to my natural dislike to stats without context.  If you give somebody a number but no way to tell if that is a lot or a little, more than last year or less, then what good is the number expect for trivia.

Anyway, it is there for what it is worth.

• Alliance Tournament XXI – The Final Numbers
  • CCP – Alliance Tournament XXI Wrap-Up

Hey!  Remember Alliance Tournament XXI?  The one that wrapped up back in late October?

Well, CCP has finally gotten around to delivering their wrap-up dev blog about the event.

I mean, we knew already that The Tuskers Co. won the thing, but now we have a summary video, the final prize distribution, and some more details to sum up the whole thing.

And while it took them some time to get there, it does at least seem to be a quality job.  Something to browse if the Alliance Tournament is your cup of tea.

• 2025 Summed Up by DOTLAN
  • DOTLAN Stats from 2025
  • DOTLAN Stats from 2024
  • DOTLAN Stats from 2012

Then back to a name you can trust whose stats you can trust, Wollari at DOTLAN EVE Maps.

DOTLAN is the keeper of the archive in a way that CCP can only envy.  Not that DOTLAN is perfect.  It depends on CCP’s API.  But it has measured things in a consistent manner, so you can look at the 2025 numbers and compare them with last years numbers or numbers from a dozen years ago.

I will note that one reason high sec losses are down is that CCP finally fixed the AIR Career Program so that 15% of all New Eden kills aren’t shuttles in Uitra any more.  Hey, look, context!

Anyway, more there to peruse as I just grabbed one of the charts available.

• The Client Hanging on Close

Not a news item, but an observation I am going to throw out there to see if anybody else is experiencing this lately.

When I quit the EVE Online client I end up with my system locked up for a few seconds, especially when I have a second client still running.  The mouse moves, but clicks are not acknowledged.  And then, after a few seconds, back to normal.  New thing, old thing?

So it goes here in the new year.