Eve Online can be a rather cold, harsh, uneventful place for some. For others, its a rich and boundless universe full of endless possibilities. Meet Chance Ravinne CEO of the newly formed WiNGSPAN Delivery Services. Chance who also goes by the name “WiNGSPANTT” on his YouTube channel where this relatively new player has been sharing his adventures as a stealth bomber pilot. Some of you may already know him, but for those of you who don’t- the videos on his channel are definitely worth taking a look at. Most importantly they are fun!
I had the opportunity to take up WiNGSPANTT’s lunch break and ask this young new capsuleer a few questions. I hope you all enjoy.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and what it is you do?
Well I run the website Top Tier Tactics, a gaming blog that’s kind of a lighthearted take on video game strategy. I started the site four years ago as kind of extended content from my YouTube channel. I’ve always been fascinated with online multiplayer strategy especially games where stealth and psychological warfare come into play. Things like playing Spy in TF2, or Assassins Creed multiplayer, Splinter Cell Blacklist online, etc. If I can sneak up on people, I’m a happy camper. Often literally.
Is that what attracted you to Eve Online? How did you hear about it in the first place?
I’ve heard about it a lot over the years. But the Eve marketing team will be happy to know the Real Stories of Eve comic piqued my interest more. I also stumbled upon Chessur’s Confessions of a Stealth Bomber Killer blog. Both of those gave me a sense of the atmosphere of the game.
Nice. Was it shortly after that you started playing? How long have you been flying around in New Eden now?
Well I made a trial account in 2009, played for one week, and quit due to boredom. I started again this March and stuck it out. I found just jumping into an Imicus and heading directly into nullsec to be way more interesting than the starter missions I had done last time.
Is that because you trained up for exploring in a stealth ship this time around? I ask because you mention that in one of your videos.
Yes, basically. I was always a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Homeworld, etc. The idea of just warping out into the middle of nowhere sounded exciting, especially considering the “danger” normally associated with it (for new players at least).
What would you say to any aspiring newbies looking to fly stealth bombers given most of the time their experience would be in fleets?
Well first of all, I really don’t know anything at all, and I think my videos are a testament to the fact that I have absolutely no control over my panic reflex, or modules, or engagement range, or whether I’m targeting ships or wrecks!
I was going to say they need some patience, but I guess everything in Eve requires patience. The whole wormhole bomber thing requires extreme patience, because your engagement windows and viable targets are relatively narrow. But the adventure and “sneaky bastard” factor is high.
I’d also say that exploration definitely prepped me for stealth bombing very well, because getting comfortable flying solo in hostile space is a large hurdle. I had lost a LOT of Imicuses, Asteroes, and Stratioses before skilling up into a bomber, and getting over bad habits and some risk aversion was important.
I started a corp and have been recruiting players, and even guys with significant bomber experience… some of them have no concept of wormhole space or how to scan and navigate it safely! WiNGSPAN Delivery Services is New Eden’s fastest and most discrete (sp?) torpedo fulfillment provider.
How did you feel making the first video in your Eve series and what was going through your mind?
Umm do you mean the first first one, the exploration one?
How about both?
Well I made the first one primarily to kind of introduce my existing YouTube subscribers to EVE. I have a few hundred videos and have played lots of games over the years, but every time I “switch” primary games a certain percentage of subs gets really pissy about it so I wanted to do a little “look, EVE is cool” video.
While getting across that I would be jumping into something very big and not even I really had a clue where it would go, which was the point! I pasted the referral code in there so viewers could try it out, too. And overall I wanted people to see that despite being a decade old, EVE still looked and felt fresh.
What are some of the dumbest moments you’ve come across in your escapades?
Well my own dumbest moments have to be: losing my Stratios to a ganker because I didn’t know what overheating was, or when I blew up a ton of ISK in a wreck because I failed at targeting a capsule.
As far as other pilots I’d just say a LOT of people are AFK a lot of the time, which is simply mind boggling. If there was a button that I could press that would insta-kill every AFK pilot in New Eden, the shock wave would throw the galaxy off its axis.
You know, you’d probably get rid of a lot of people who bot that way too.
Bots are very accommodating of torpedo delivery. ^^
What is your favorite video that you’ve made so far flying around in New Eden and why?
Hmmmm. Probably this one:
There is a mix of success and failure that anyone watching can see in retrospect what I did wrong, but I was so excited at the time I kind of gave into really impulsive decisions. Also I think I just produced and edited it better than some other ones.
Because I’m sure inquiring minds would like to know, what kind of setup do you play on? What software do you use to edit?
Well like any proper master race PC gamer I built my own rig. I have a GeForce 760, i5 Processor, 24 gigs of RAM, a small solid state drive, and about 3 terabytes of storage (mainly for video editing).
I play on two monitors, which is also why you don’t see some windows like d-scan in my videos, because I shift the recording area over left and right as needed, but I assure my viewers I DO INDEED use d-scan, local, etc. I record using FRAPS and Audacity, and edit video in Adobe Premiere with audio Audacity.
I also use a Logitech Proteus gaming mouse, which has clearly provided me zero competitive advantage as evidenced by my numerous failures. It’s not really top of the line these days but it will obviously run EVE and a bunch of stuff no problem.
What and where would you like to go from here in EVE? Have you given it any thought? Any big projects that viewers can look forward to?
Well WiNGSPAN Delivery Services right now is working on some substantial wormhole mapping projects. The end goals are probably considered TOP SECRET but rest assured the end results will be as disruptive as possible. For the shorter term, I am working on some covert ops fleet work that should up the ante a bit on both successful deliveries and massive, hilarious disasters.
I will also be working on some more written guides once I get a handle of what it is most people need to learn about bombers and/or wormholes.. and you know, once I suck at them less.
Alright, anything else in closing you’d like to say?
If there’s one thing I’d like to say, is that I find the saltiness of bitter vets hilarious. I think it is my personal mission to bring excitement, laughs, and yes… tears, to the players of EVE. I think a lot of people have just told themselves there’s nothing for them to do, and I guess if they don’t want to get creative then that’s their problem. Also, I’d like everyone to know I will beat ANY competitor’s price on torpedoes, including free shipping.
Thank you to WiNGSPANTT for your time and lunch break for that interview. We will be posting more of his work on the site as he makes it, so look forward to updates and new videos! You can also find WiNGSPANTT on his Facebook page, follow him on Twitter, or check out his own personal webpage at http://www.toptiertactics.com/.
