I suppose I should introduce myself. I play the characters Daxs, and Jamis Bratt. I’ve watched your fleet

operations for a while now. First a little background. I’ve played this game on and off since 2004, Daxs

being my oldest character. I’ve been a veteran in 0.0, null sec and I’ve enjoyed the safety of Empire

space. One thing is certain I always come back to this game when I can to find new and exciting changes

and people to play with. Professionally, I’ve been active duty military for 16 and a half years. Fleet ops

IRL is one of the things I actually do and I’d like to present some ideas for your consideration.

1. Allow for a little wiggle room with play styles. I‘ve seen this on the forums and throughout chat

in game. You tell people to stay in station when they should probably undock to help out their

mates. It doesn’t matter what ship they’re in as long as it’s a ship that they can fly effectively.

ex: A 3 month character with Excellent Frig skills and no Battleship skills is better in a frig than a

Battleship. Are they going to lose ships? Yes, but every engagement teaches people something.

Depriving them from an engagement teaches them nothing.

2. Forget about roaming around in a gang of 25 to 30. Break it up into smaller groups each with

their own TS channel and one FC per group. All FC’s should be on a separate password protected

in game chat channel to coordinate: pass tactical info, points of conflict, warp points, safe spots

etc. This eliminates a lot of the Leaks you may have in your alliance. Think smart here. A few

people with privileged information is a lot more effective than a lot of people with privileged

information.

3. One Fleet – Many Squadrons. - Don’t have enough people qualified to be big Fleet

Commanders? Fine, you don’t need them. One Mini FC is sufficient per squadron. It requires

leadership 4 or 5 to handle 8 – 10 people per squadron. Each squadron leader can be a mini FC.

They sort out what they have and report to the BOSS man whoever is in charge of the fleet what

their squadron makeup is, needs , etc. This also helps alleviate stress from the FC BOSS to figure

out what they have and how they’re going to plan.

4. Intel - Intel is probably one of the most vital assets in eve. Knowing your war targets, what their

flying, what their skills are, how they fight, where they are. You have all of this at your fingertips

and you all do well at gathering it. Even the youngest character with the lowest Skill points (SP)

can be an asset with intel no matter how small. What you lack is the intel on your own people.

Pilots should be required to post their EVEBOARD profiles with password protection for

Corporation management review when applying for the corporation or alliance. Providing the

following:

a. Quick rapid assessment of pilots capabilities and how to use them in a war time

situation.

b. Whether or not the individual is able to handle a cruiser, battlecruiser or a Battleship

and with a little training use it effectively.

c. Discuss with your corps members strategies for their characters development and what

assets and tools are available to them outside of game to help them to progress.

d. Assist with getting them the right ships to make it easier for them to progress. If I can

build 10 cruisers for this individual to tool around in while they learn the game at very

little cost to me, it’s an investment I am willing to make.

e. Direct players to ships and skills that will help them progress quickly and how to make

plans for the long haul.

5. A 5million isk loss is better than a 500million isk loss. We hear talk about not bringing frigates to

engagements, CTA’s, don’t undock in a frigate. I hate to tell you, but 30 frig pilots with two

weeks’ worth of skills can take down big dogs with minimal isk loss. I watched someone who

was flying an incursus the other day get frustrated and a little dejected because the FC didn’t

want people getting closer than the 60Km from the war target the rest of the fleet was doing.

Frigs should always be engaged in the battles regardless of how close they have to get. The

bigger the target the closer the better. They have better turn radius, quicker agility and can

leave in a pinch if necessary. This is the value of a frigate.

6. PVP ROAMS – It cracks me up to see people going out on PVP Roams and then we’re still sitting

here playing peekaboo station games with WAR TARGETS. First I have to ask, why is it different

doing PVP Roams than it is fighting war targets? It shouldn’t be. Gate Camps are the bread and

butter of PVP Roams and securing our solar systems should be the first thing that happens

during a war dec. It is better to lie in wait on gates than it is to sit in station and wait for them to

come to us so they can pick us off one by one. Use different tactics.

a. Bait and Tackle - One tanked ship on gate with a cloaked observer – this is a tactic I’ve

used many times, Tank a ship, Wait for War Targets to come in and take the bait. They

start in on the tank, alpha squadron comes in from safe spot on top of your tank for

Close quarters combat ships, Frigs, cruisers, etc and eccm 10km off your cloaked

observers and engage. Squadrons Bravo and Charlie are aligned and on standby to jump

in when ready.

b. Squadron hunting – Using roaming squadrons are a valuable asset. Roaming from gate

to gate, station to station. They are both the bait and the tackle. WT’s are stupid.

someone warps off. They go after them. What if they warp straight in to an ambush

setup by a roaming Squadron. For instance, WT sees Alpha Squadron, Alpha Squadron

engages, then disengages and runs to Moon 1 at 0 Km. Delta and Echo Squadrons are 10

- 15KM off Moon 1 0Km jump in point for optimal short range weapon capability. Guess

what? You’re WT’s are tagged bagged and done as ECCM is deployed they’re tackled

and toasted.

c. Dinner service. I’ve always loved dinner service because this brings the fight to the

enemy. Lying in wait at gates coming out of their home system(s), or roaming the

systems around their home systems looking for war targets. It is also a little more risky

as you may end up with multiple war targets greater than your fleet right on top of you,

but you will enjoy those few kills you get. Having multiple Squadrons is an effective tool

as you may be able to bring more ships to bear down on WT’s in a short time or prevent

ships from assisting in a battle. Squadrons whose purpose is to tackle and bombard

ships running to join the battle is sometimes more important than the battle itself.

Preventing ships from jumping in to another system to help their mates, is sometimes

more important than being in the fray.

FLEET MAKEUP

Why are we always thinking in terms of fleet? THIS is the biggest farce in the history of EVE. Oh

I’ve got a fleet of 30 people this is FUCKING AWESOME. Then… OH SHIT what do I do with 30 people?

Think Small. Every Navy in the world uses this philosophy. THINK SMALL.

Strike group (5 ships) /Battlegroup (5 Strikegroups) / Fleet (3 to 5 Battlegroups)

Why is this a difficult concept to handle? Assign people to specific Squadrons. 6 – 8 ships

1. Fleet Commander – FC BOSS : Overall responsibility for fleet movements.

a. In charge of overall strategy for fleet movements,

b. Responds to emergent issues and issues orders on fleet placement and response.

c. Overall responsible for receiving reports from Squadron FC’s

d. Issues orders to Squadron FC’s to follow

2. Squadron Commanders (Alpha thru Delta) – Mini FC’s: In charge of the makeup of their

Squadrons.

a. Assign tackles, ECCM, DPS, Tanks, and intel (covert ops) for specific Squadrons

operations.

b. Verify makeup with Fleet Commander

c. Assign Readiness reports to Fleet Commander

d. Receive orders from Fleet Commander

e. On separate Chat Channel with other Squadron Commanders.

3. Squadron Commanders (Echo) – Mini FC’s: In charge of fast attack/emergent response

Squadrons.

a. Assign tackles, interceptors, (covert ops) for specific Squadrons operations.

b. Verify makeup with Fleet Commander

c. Assign Readiness reports to Fleet Commander

d. Receive orders from Fleet Commander

e. On separate Chat Channel with other Squadron Commanders.

4. Squadron Commanders (Golf thru Hotel) Mini FC’s in charge of Logistical Squadron (large Fleet

Operations only)

a. Assigns Logi’s to targets on Watchlist.

b. Gathers intel on WT Logi’s and operational capability.

c. Management of Logistical ship survivability.

d. Assign Readiness reports to Fleet Commander

e. Receive orders from Fleet Commander

f. On separate Chat Channel with other Squadron Commanders.

5. Squadron Commander (Squadron India) Direct and correlate all matters of intel for the fleet

Comms (non combatant Squadron).

a. Assigns intel ships (New players and sometimes uses alts for this purpose)

b. Receives intel from designated Squadron Intel ship and correlates data for future

engagements.

c. In charge of constant Intel for solar systems surrounding fleet operations eg: WT

movements, ships, positions, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF MINI FC’S

- Being a Mini FC offers up and coming Fleet FC’s to handle the smaller responsibilities of what

being an FC is on a Smaller scale.

o It can be done by anyone willing to take on the responsibility of a few people vice 30.

The task is less daunting.

o A checklist for Mini FC’s should be made up to ensure FC’s know what they’re looking

for and all bases are covered.

o Designating responsibilities within squadrons allows for a wider base of operations

o Allows for a consistency in players capabilities and also for points of contact for players

to seek assistance when putting together loadouts, and skill plans.

CHAT CHANNELS AND INTEL

Fleet Chat – Obviously everyone in fleet is here. No intel should be put out over fleet. It should be

passed up through Squadron Channels and Squadron FC’s.

FC Chat (password Protected)- Fleet Bosses, Squadron FC’s. Strat, Drag and drop intel

Squadron Chat (Password Protected) – Members of a Squadron on this chat channel. Useful for

Destination, Warp to points, Planning. Very important for Logi, and intel Squadrons for drag and drop

intel, or watchlist updating.

Fleet Intel (Password Protected)– FC BOSS, India Squadron FC, Designated Squad members gathering

intel for their respective operational areas.

FC Boss doesn’t need direct communication with all squadrons all the time. Multiple Team Speak clients

and Queues in FC chat like Squadron(s)/System/Celestial body or Structure/ Tactical Strat (eg:

Alpha/Foves/Moon I/Bait and Tackle) is enough for Mini FC’s to understand what they need to do.

Notes – Using Notes for Intel is important. Write stuff down. You may need it later. FC’s should utilize

this, and FC Bosses as well for fast access to orders.

PRINT SCREEN (CAPTURE SCREEN) – Use it for easy access to information later. If necessary.

EVEBOARD - Sometimes you get lucky and find War Targets on there without password protection. Intel

Squadron has a lot of work ahead of them when war decs start.

ELIMINATE LEAKS – Dividing up squadrons into different TS channels can reduce the chance the fleet will

be ambushed by leaks in your Communications network. Squadron Comms in TS can eliminate cross

talk and also help mini FC’s manage their sqaudrons and targets well. You will be more effective as an FC

BOSS (Fleet Commander) can check via chat and in game methods whether or not his squadrons are

being effective.

The separation of Intel and information for Squadrons will actually eliminate the chance War Targets

have for deciding your fate. Keep in mind that it will take an awful lot of coordination on the part of the

Squadrons and FC BOSS. More than you use now. But tactical deliberate movements in groups is what

sets many Corporations and Alliances apart in EVE.

TEAM SPEAK

For the FC BOSS and Mini FC’s its possible to talk and listen in multiple Instances of Team Speak. You will

have to create another login name for the FC’s, but you can keep tabs on multiple channels at the same

time. Be sure to have multiple press to talk buttons setup for the different instances.

http://www.experts123.com/q/is-it-po...lications.html

If the link is down. just add -nosingleinstance over here in the screenshot:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/185...properties.jpg

Properties of Teamspeak 3 Client (shortcut -> rightclick -> properties) and add -nosingleinstance on the

end of the line

Now start a second ts client, connect and go to the other channel.

NEW PEOPLE

I heard the other day that there should be an SP minimum when coming into any of the corporations in

the Alliance. Personally I think that’s a problem seeing as how a 2 week old character can be just as

much of an asset as a 10 year old character if put to proper use. New players should be directed to the

following tools:

EVE MON – Battleclinic

Eve Fitting Tool –

SWAT Forums/killboards

THIS IS JUST A START

I didn’t mean to write this much, but then again I’m frustrated with how the situations in this Alliance

are becoming rapidly unmanageable. I like you folks and I don’t want to leave, but I also know that if I

don’t open my mouth and speak up, I will continue to feel like many other people in this Alliance. Lost

and confused. I don’t spend much time feeling like this. I will invest in this Corporation/alliance as I have

invested in many other endeavors. It’s my focus that we can get new players involved, and on board,

and people up to date with the latest and greatest info.

The fact that people are afraid to lose large assets and will summarily quit the Corporation/Alliance if

they lose such an asset to a war target makes this Alliance not player friendly. I’d rather lose a billion Isk

in a day with Aeon Flix than worry about getting bitched at for losing a 500 million isk ship because I

made a mistake. The type of person I am it’ll roll off me, but when new players are genuinely afraid of

what the upper chain will do, then you have a problem in how the leadership is viewed. Not only that,

we are not effectively managing our people.

So now I’m down to brass tacks. The reaction to this is going to go one of two ways. You’ll either tell me

to fuck off, or you’ll take it on board and put some or all of these ideas into a practical method for

getting this alliance on the right track, helping out new players and building proper relationships with

other alliance/corporations.

Thanks for listening

DAXS

Red Dwarf Mining Corporation

Space Weaponry and Trade