Inspired by Patriot's awesome Skyrim character journals--which I'm getting caught up on right now--I thought I would take a stab at something similar. I picked Dust514 back up (and, by the way, the game has finally caught up with the concept; it's now as enjoyable to play as it is exciting in theory, and it looks to only be getting better with time), and it is pretty well-suited to role-playing like its counterpart Eve Online. I figure battle logs will happen, but I'm especially excited about getting into philosophical stuff in some of the personal logs (the game's respawn mechanic involves consciousness transference to clones at the moment of death) and, with any luck, corporation logs as I progress in the game's social/economic world. If I pick my Eve Online sub back up (which I'd like to do, but I'm putting a reactivation on a two-week cooldown before spending Amazon credit on it), I'll do a parallel character journal. 
I'll be posting character logs here and on the newly created category of my blog found here. I've also created a Twitter account for the character. Because Twitter is cool and stuff, right?
Hinotan Jager is, like everyone else in Dust514, a mercenary. He is of the Gallente/Intaki faction/subfaction with no significant ties at the moment.
Without further delay, the first entry:
Personal Log YC115.05.07
It’s been a few standard months since the last time I saw real combat. I spent that time helping my brother with his fledgling trade business, providing him with tactical assessments of trade routes and security expertise for his vessels. He’s a more cautious man than I am, though, and we played it safe most of the time. It seems we played it too safe so far as my combat readiness is concerned. With barely a barroom brawl to engage in, even my basic reflexes have suffered from disuse.
I didn’t realize this until I took a fresh contract and stepped on the battlefield last night. It felt like every one of my enemies was faster, stronger, and more on point than I was. I couldn’t hit the broad side of a freighter, either. This was probably all my fault. I should have spent more time in training sims instead of dreaming of my future wealth, wealth I wasn’t finding while helping my brother. Nobody helps family for money, and I don’t regret taking a detour on my own path to success to assist him on his. Still, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to be able to afford some better gear.
Then again, if I’m being honest, the gear is only a part of the problem, the smaller part of the problem at that. I feel like a raw recruit fumbling about with only a small fraction of the skill I once possessed. I’ve been assured that the consciousness transfer would have no side effects, that I would still be me in my entirety–experience, knowledge, personality, everything–despite being in a cloned body, but I’m still not accustomed to the transfers. Could my subpar field performance have a psychological connection to the transference? Perhaps worse, could it be combat nerves from being out of battle for too long? Compared to those options, I suppose simple skill atrophy would be the preferable and most easily corrected possibility.
Fortunately, if it really is just being out of practice that’s to blame for my performance, then I shouldn’t have any problem with getting back in shape. For the time being, I’m operating out of the Jolia system, and there are plenty of opportunities waiting for me. Even if they’re small one-time contracts, they will also help with my money situation. With work, time, and a little luck, I should be able to catch the attention of a major corporation and secure a more permanent, better paying position.
-H.
I'll be posting character logs here and on the newly created category of my blog found here. I've also created a Twitter account for the character. Because Twitter is cool and stuff, right?
Hinotan Jager is, like everyone else in Dust514, a mercenary. He is of the Gallente/Intaki faction/subfaction with no significant ties at the moment.
Without further delay, the first entry:
Personal Log YC115.05.07
It’s been a few standard months since the last time I saw real combat. I spent that time helping my brother with his fledgling trade business, providing him with tactical assessments of trade routes and security expertise for his vessels. He’s a more cautious man than I am, though, and we played it safe most of the time. It seems we played it too safe so far as my combat readiness is concerned. With barely a barroom brawl to engage in, even my basic reflexes have suffered from disuse.
I didn’t realize this until I took a fresh contract and stepped on the battlefield last night. It felt like every one of my enemies was faster, stronger, and more on point than I was. I couldn’t hit the broad side of a freighter, either. This was probably all my fault. I should have spent more time in training sims instead of dreaming of my future wealth, wealth I wasn’t finding while helping my brother. Nobody helps family for money, and I don’t regret taking a detour on my own path to success to assist him on his. Still, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to be able to afford some better gear.
Then again, if I’m being honest, the gear is only a part of the problem, the smaller part of the problem at that. I feel like a raw recruit fumbling about with only a small fraction of the skill I once possessed. I’ve been assured that the consciousness transfer would have no side effects, that I would still be me in my entirety–experience, knowledge, personality, everything–despite being in a cloned body, but I’m still not accustomed to the transfers. Could my subpar field performance have a psychological connection to the transference? Perhaps worse, could it be combat nerves from being out of battle for too long? Compared to those options, I suppose simple skill atrophy would be the preferable and most easily corrected possibility.
Fortunately, if it really is just being out of practice that’s to blame for my performance, then I shouldn’t have any problem with getting back in shape. For the time being, I’m operating out of the Jolia system, and there are plenty of opportunities waiting for me. Even if they’re small one-time contracts, they will also help with my money situation. With work, time, and a little luck, I should be able to catch the attention of a major corporation and secure a more permanent, better paying position.
-H.
