The Unpaid Bill That Launched a Thousand Starships

"When the tax man came for Manny’s money, only the Russians were awake."

"Instead, he plans to take three regions from N3 and hand them over to the Russians."

These two lines had me laughing out loud. We're talking about an online video game but these sentences sound like they should be coming out of a fucking mob movie.

And wow, these guys have to conceal their real names? Is it to protect their identity? Is EVE Online that serious that these guys have to worry about getting assassinated or something?

Man, what a fascinating read. Great job Patrick.

I absolutely loved reading this. Amazing article and true professional journalism, Scoops!

There was an infamous case where a Titan pilot (I think. Or maybe it was just a fleet commander) had the electricity to his house cut right in the middle of a major battle by the enemy.

#EVE Is Real

@patrickklepek The CFC didn't "take the bait". They called their bluff.

Read the first two paragraphs, skimmed down to look at the size of the article and decided to save it for tom. Its to late in the evening to get this excited. I wont be able to sleep.

The title alone caused my blood pressure to spike. This Kleptoc guy is going places.

I put some vids and pictures on my blog. Including the Titanomachy.

The bluff, in this case, was that the N3/PL coalition could field more supercapitals (Super Carriers and Titans) - in particular the Titans. The CFC/RUS alliance already held subcapital supremacy thanks to their greater number of players, but whether or not they could muster the number of supercapital ships required to take on the N3/PL supercapital blob was what was in question.

What a crazy fucking game, man lol. I love it. Great article, Patrick.

@conmulligan: same here, so fascinating but I have no time/desire to play it

@wumbo3000: You protect your identity because it can hurt you in-game. It can hurt your progress.

Couldn't have said it any better. Great write-up.

holy moly , fantastic article .

@jesterroyal: Fucking Germans

That's why you don't shut down your government... lest the Ruskies get you!

To anyone interested in EVE, Kite Co Space Trucking is the Giantbomb corp and they are part of a larger alliance, BRAVE Collective.

I joined a day before the B-R battle and have been having a blast. There's definitely stuff for new players to do.

We fly out of NPC nullsec, which is the part of EVE were players don't own territory but anyone can attack anyone. I'd say it's a great way to skip to the fun parts of the game, even if it doesn't generate stories like this one. The GB corp 'controls' a system insofar as they gank anyone who comes into it.

I love that this game exists.

Really fantastic article! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I'm still kind of glad I don't play EVE because it sounds insane, but it's fun to read about!

That's an amazing story. Wonderful write up Patrick!

I love the idea that some Concord bureaucrat forgot to fill out one of the forms for the system payment and the next thing you know hundreds of ships are on fire as the greatest battle the galaxy has ever seen takes place. Not even video games can escape from the clutches of inefficient bureaucracy.

Good scoop, sir. Good scoop.

Oh man I love EVE stories, maybe the best article of yours I've ever read Patrick!

This shit is fascinating. Great job scoops!

Exactly. Except I played for about 10 hours, got scared and amazed at the same time, and never returned because I realized it was a game for crazy people. I want to love it, I know I could love it, but I don't have the mindset to dive into something like it.

Can I be a small time fighter pilot/ smuggler? I wanna be Han Solo but be able to shooting things. Are there fighters in EVE?

If his persona is "being a dick" don't be stunned when people respond to him like he is one. It is funny he has apologists though. Here is a tip, being an asshole in a video game is still being an asshole.

We're talking about EVE Online here. Where scamming and ganking other players isn't just allowed, but seen as a legitimate gameplay choice. Getting upset that the leader of an alliance infamous for scamming and ganking plays into that seems pretty childish to me. Or is smack talk no longer allowed in competitive multiplayer games? Do we all need to be nice and sensitive, lest we dare offend someone's precious feelings? I'd much rather read this guy's actual thoughts and opinions than be fed some censored version.

Holy shit. THAT'S AMAZING! That is just way too funny.

Thanks Patrick and GB for this amazing piece.

@fiercedeity: I am detecting a clear liquid of a salty nature from that guy. Get it while they are fresh!

I don't think I'll ever be able to fully get into Eve, but I love hearing the crazy stories that come out of it.

@patrickklepek Great article, although I still have a tough time wrapping my mind around anything EVE related... and I sunk some significant time into that game.

Not sure what you're getting at there. All I'm saying is that there's nothing wrong with smack talk in multiplayer video game.

You're amazing, Patrick. I actually play this game and I don't get this kind of inside look anywhere else.

Great read. EVE Online is bananas, I tried it one but didn't like it so much but it's really fascinating to read about.

Back when EVE started the early goon space guilds were filled with some embarrassing drama and a lot of nerdy shameful hiccups. Damn if they haven't come a long way to legit produce some really entertaining feats these last few years.

Good stuff as always, Patrick.

Man, what a crazy story. Thanks for the article Patrick!

Filed under "death."

I played EVE for almost a year, and while I understood the mechanics of the game, I look back on it as one of the most boring and banal things I've ever played. Then something like this comes up...

Possibly the best thing Patrick Klepek has ever done. This summary of the event is just incredible.

Man, that Mittani guy's a dick. It's one thing to smack-talk, another to come across like a 15 year old in CoD.

Great write-up Patrick. Fascinating game.

And none of that changes the fact that he comes across as an asshole. It's one thing to smack-talk in-game, another thing to be talking to a journalist and using the same words and phrases as a 15 year-old CoD player would be using in a CoD match.

EDIT: Actually, no. Your typical 15 year old would know better than to talk like that to a reporter.

You don't have hobbies that you're really into?

sometimes. just some times, I want to quit everything and start playing that game.

@fiercedeity: I was agreeing with you

@arronaxxx said:

I know, right! Imagine that! On a website about video games of all places...

Gosh darn, the stories from this game are interesting.

That CFC dude sounds like a prick.