EVE Online: GoonSwarm Disbanded

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
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EVE Online: GoonSwarm Disbanded


GoonSwarm, the most powerful alliance of corporations in EVE Online [http://www.eveonline.com], has been disbanded and once again it appears that shenanigans are involved.

Even among gamers who don't play EVE Online, the name GoonSwarm is feared and loathed by all. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic but there's no question that the Something Awful-based alliance of EVE corporations has built a reputation for itself far beyond that of any other, largely thanks to its absolute destruction [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/89219-More-EVE-Online-Shenanigans-GoonSwarm-Ganks-Band-Of-Brothers] of competing corporation Band of Brothers last year. BoB wasn't just defeated, it was annihilated: Entire fleets defected to GoonSwarm, trillions of its ISK were looted and perhaps most humiliating of all, the Band of Brothers name itself was taken by GoonSwarm to ensure that even if the corporation was rebuilt, it could never again use that title.

It's a bit ironic, then, that almost one year to the day later, GoonSwarm itself has suffered a similar fate: The most powerful alliance in New Eden has been forcibly disbanded, the victim of an inside job. This one appears to be self-inflicted, however: In a message [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3210674&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=240#post372009022] posted on Something Awful, corporation CEO Karttoon expressed frustration with the current state of GoonSwarm and claimed that he had been planning the destruction of the alliance for about a month prior to actually carrying it out. In a final act of irony, he removed Goonfleet, the primary Something Awful corporation, from the GoonSwarm alliance and then submitted an application to Band of Brothers, the "holding alliance" set up by GoonSwarm last year.

"I am leaving enough ISK in the wallets of both executor corps to ensure the alliance bills can be paid for at least a few years, and I am riding into the sunset (quitting EVE), leaving all the ISK and assets locked in game," Karttoon wrote. "I'll probably check back in a year or so and donate it all to some random goon of my choice, assuming the game still exists."

As you might expect from Something Awful, the destruction wrought by Karttoon seems to have elicited as much positive reaction from EVE players as negative, at least in the 240+ page forum thread dedicated to the game. As one player put it [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3210674&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=241#post372010291], "Hats off to you Karttoon. You were the worst CEO we had, but at least you got paid."

And that's how the cookie crumbles in the cold, empty vastness of EVE Online [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3210674&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=241#post372010291].


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Katherine Kerensky

Why, or Why Not?
Mar 27, 2009
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Hmmm... I find this rather interesting.
I have never actually played EVE Online, though at one point I was going to use the trial, but never got around to it.
Damn, it sounds fun, but I have neither the funds or the time to sink into that game...
Shame, seeing as it has such interesting things happening.
 

MR T3D

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Feb 21, 2009
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its amusing player-based stuff like this that makes me wish i had time & $ for EVE
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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I love hearing news about the constant backstabbing that goes on in EVE because people are always so shocked that it happened. I still say kudos to that beautiful inside job we saw last year, it was like watching mission impossible and oceans 11 all rolled into one play out on a digital stage.
 

Jonci

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Sep 15, 2009
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Times like this I wish I was still playing EVE, just to see the power vacuum form. All the smaller alliances are going to be rushing in to grab territory while Goonswarm regroup.
 

Danny Ocean

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Jun 28, 2008
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KeyMaster45 said:
I love hearing news about the constant backstabbing that goes on in EVE because people are always so shocked that it happened. I still say kudos to that beautiful inside job we saw last year, it was like watching mission impossible and oceans 11 all rolled into one play out on a digital stage.
Someone say Ocean's 11?
 

Cowabungaa

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Feb 10, 2008
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Karma, it's a *****.

But really, this is why I absolutely LOVE EVE Online, even though I don't play it. The political intrigue, the drama, the dirty games, the backstabbing. That's all way more awesome than the already awesome massive fleet battles.

No other game has this much player involvement, it is truly the master of sandbox MMO's. Hence, hats of to CCP for creating such an amazing virtual universe.

But what perhaps is even more interesting, is what happens after this. This disbandment creates a huge power vacuum and I'm very curious how it'll end. We'll see plenty of conflict, it's a very exciting time to be in EVE Online.
 

Tyranicus

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Feb 8, 2008
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Does news like this really matter? Maybe to the people who play EVE and that is like what maybe like 5 people. No real loss there...
 

Soviet Heavy

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Jan 22, 2010
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So basically, this would be the ingame example of a real world corporation going down?

EVE confuses me, I can't play it, but I do find these conflicts interesting.
 

Shamanic Rhythm

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Dec 6, 2009
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Somehow for me the drama is undercut by the incongruity of the name "GoonSwarm" and the knowledge that "Karttoon" is probably a basement dwelling teenager with way too much time on his hands, in which case the real irony in this article is the choice of the phrase "riding into the sunset".
 

CloggedDonkey

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Nov 4, 2009
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weird. if I wanted to disband an alliance in any MMO I would just get a group of mercs that are insanely high level and hunt down my former allies. but I guess going "I quit" is fine to.
 

Frenger

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May 31, 2009
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EVE blows most mmo's out of the water, because stuff like this never happen in WoW(for example), at least not on this scale.

EVE rocks... shame I never got into it. Too much micromanaging. Loved the soundtrack though, so much infact, that I have it on when I play WoW(or when I'm at the gym).
 

lee1287

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Apr 7, 2009
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okay, enlighten me, EVE is what?

a MMORPG?

but you pay real money in, adn get real money out? Hmm?