What’s In A Name

I think I’ve recovered from my trip to LibertyCon.  I got some great advice on writing from the masters, and I enjoyed myself immensely.  One of the best things about it was getting to hear some of the “stories behind the stories” – how this character came about, where this bit of action got its inspiration, and often most exciting – how did the author decide to name a particular character or book.

A short time ago, Ysharros laid out the question of ship names  in EVE online.  Its a topic that comes up from time to time, and I’ve revealed a few of mine in the past, but I thought it might be cool to go one step further and pull back the curtain a little to let you see inside my hanger, literally.  I’m not a famous author like those I met at LibertyCon, but sometimes stories are interesting for their own sake, and in the spirit of letting you know a little more about me, I thought it might be fun.  So here you go:

The Hanger.

 Now first off, theres a few corporate items I’m holding onto at the moment.  The Rifters are part of our combat stash for the corp, I just haven’t transferred them to a corp hanger yet.  The Magnates I built back when the corp had taken in some new pilots and was teaching exploration.  The Magnates and the Imicus were to be for them to use.  The Imicus I actually stole from my first corp when I left it.  I use the word stole liberally here, since they had moved 40+ jumps away and had left them in a hanger with some other trash.  And I wanted them.   I don’t think they have been missed to be honest.   Add in after that the usuals – a shuttle I picked up cheap for when I need one, a couple of unrelated starter ships I keep for amusement value, the free Zephyr explorer.  Then you get to my actual fleet-in-use.

I started out life as a Gallente, and while that’s what it says on the character screen, the truth is that I’m Amarr to the core.  So I eventually switched over even to their Industrials.  I generally keep the same name for any given role of ship that I use.  For example, all my industrials have been named Ventura, and all my mining vessels have been named Open Wide.  Ventura just sounds nice and…well, industrious.  Open Wide is a tongue in cheek reference to eating asteroids, of course.  You were thinking something naughty weren’t you?

For missioning, I usually bring out Talons in the Night or Teeth in the Dark, depending on the mission level.  Both are references to Beowulf, bonus points if you caught that.  I was watching the newest version of the movie when I first bought Talons, with Teeth following shortly thereafter.  Teeth in the Dark my corpmates actually jokingly call “The Shotgun” because of the Mega Pulse Laser set up on it.  Its got crappy range, so usually I let my partners bang away with their cruise missiles and drones, and I get in close to finish off the wounded ducks, where my DPS soars upwards.  Its also the second to bear the name, since I lost my first Teeth, an Apocalypse class, during the Decimus War.  Talons is a good all around battlecruiser and hands down my favorite combat ship.  It usually sees duty as my PvP ship for our gang roams through lo-sec.  It hits pretty hard, has a good tank, and isn’t so expensive that I have to worry about how to replace it.  Wreckingball Express – well, I don’t know where I got that name, but it seemed appropriate for a salvaging ship.  I used to use the Amarr destroyer for that, but in our last move I had to sell mine and in our current haunts the Catalyst runs much cheaper.

And lastly you have my four T2 ships.  I first trained interceptors for my first corp back in the planned move to null sec, and I still swear by the Malediction, despite my original intent to fly a Taranis (I’m qualified for both actually).  Its the fastest of the interceptors and the lasers hit harder than you might think.  I named it Ripper both to continue the Beowulf reference and after a particularly nasty breed of experimental guns – generally it refers to close in weapons that utilize high rates of fire, often with multiple barrels and/or flechette ammunition.  Given the graphics and sound of the pulse lasers in EVE, I thought it fitting.  Its partner in PvP crime is The Unwanted.  So named because I had planned to buy a Nemesis-class stealth bomber – buy my corp buddy, by mistake and knowing I like Amarr stuff, bought it for me on a shopping trip at way below value.  I couldn’t say no, because the thought was really touching, but I did tease him about it, and its become a running gag.  I’ve used it to overwatch mining ops, PvP, and once even ran a Level 4 mission as part of a group using it (thought I wouldn’t recommend that, it was more of an “I’m bored, lets try something new” thing).

Nightstalker was my primary exploration ship, named as a tribute to the 160th SOAR.  I used it to scan down things and probe moons, as well as scout for the corp.  I still love it, the Anathema is a great ship, despite the preponderence of people using Caldari explorers.  Also you just can beat it style wise.  Its the only T2 exploration frigate that looks even remotely graceful.  These days though, its been hangered in favor of my new all-in-one lo-sec explorer, the Regress.  It can explore well, searching out sites or PvP targets.  It can run down sites that it probes out, and with its variable drone alottment makes a nasty suprise for can flippers and others wanting to disrupt mining ops.  I named it because I once had to read that book Pilgrim’s Progress and I absolutely hated it (odd HZero trivia fact, I’ve actually used an illustration of Pilgrim’s Progress in a previous post).  Then I learned that C.S. Lewis, of Narnia fame, also wasn’t a big fan, and wrote his own version, calling it Pilgrim’s Regress.  How could I resist?

Bonus naming story – long before I could fly all these fancy ships, I only had access to cruisers of course, and I utilized first a Vexor that I never really named*, and then replaced it with an Arbitrator.  That was beginning of my traitorous move to Amarr ships, and so I couldn’t resist naming it for the occasion:  Renegade.

 Anyway, you may have noticed I still don’t have my command ship yet.  And I am currently without a mining ship.  And this is because I am currently low on cash.  Hence the second reason for the post.  If you see anything you like let me know, its all available, with fittings if you like.  I also have an unfitted and packaged Curse sitting elsewhere if anyone has been looking for one of those badboys.  I bought it back when I was trying to decide between it and the Pilgrim, and since I decided on the Pilgrim, its just gathering dust.  Make me an offer I can’t refuse!

*ETA:  Actually I went back and looked, I had named the Vexor Rhino, after an old song by The Buzzhorn.

Naming Your Ship 2

Sequal to the wildly popular Naming Your Ship.

For the Engineering Techies among you:

List of Mechanical Engineers

List of Aerospace Engineers

List of Engineers

For the Science Nerds among you:

List of Inventors

List of Capital Cities

List of Traditional Star Names

List of Hindu Star Names (Nakshatra)

For the Tactical Genuises among you:

List of Ancient Weapons

List of Medieval Weapons

List of Martial Arts Weapons

List of Military Aircraft

List of Military Commanders

List of Battles

Naming Your Ship

Note:  See the recently added Naming Your Ship 2

I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile.  There are some great ship name generators out there, but most of them don’t fit the conventions that are generally used with naming real ships.  Plus, I don’t have awesome coding skills, so I can’t really make my own generator.  Hopefully you find the following useful whether you are about to embark into the world of Star Trek Online, or just want to have some creativity in how you name you EVE ships.

You see, even without coding skills, I can pull back the curtain for you – give you some lists that will evoke those names that will “feel” right to you.  In doing so I am deeply indebted to Wikipedia for its general awesomeness.  Remember, when proper names are used, Star Trek ships generally have only utilized the persons last name (USS Yeager, USS Kelvin), though sometimes a full name is used (USS Thomas Paine).  EVE ships of course, using the full name or not is up to you.

Federation Escorts / EVE PvP Ship Names

These ships will have names that reflect warrior cultures and ancient battles, given their damage dealing nature.  Try some of the following lists:

Some of these lists may appeal to the more traditional Trek fans:

List of Greek Mythological Figures

List of Greek Mythological Creatures

List of Roman Deities

Some of these lists might appeal to those looking for something in the same convention, but with some originality:

Women Warriors in Folklore

List of Celtic Deities

List of Egyptian Deities

Federation Cruisers / EVE Mission Running Ships

In Star Trek lore, these ships seem to be named after classic and historical vessels.

Hard core trekkies and purists might enjoy the following possibilities:

Ships of the United States Navy

Ships of the Royal Navy

List of slightly more original names for those looking for more depth.

Ships Named after Women

List of Explorers

Federation Science Vessesls / EVE Mining and Exploration Ships

These are often named after famous scientists, researchers, philosophers and discovers.

Some groups that fill well with known canon:

List of Nobel Prize Winners

List of Astronomers

If you want to step outside the box, given the history and origins of Star Trek, including its original cultural influences, try these:

List of Humanists

List of Political Theorists

List of Ethicists

Hopefully you find that helpful.  Be sure to bookmark this page and visit often.  I’ll keep digging, and feel free to suggest lists of your own.  I’ll add them here or create a second page.

Live Long and Prosper!