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Source: myeve.eve-online.com

The Lifecycle of an Alliance
Similar to that of new products on the market, the entities of New Eden go through various stages throughout their lives. These are the growth, maturity, decline, and death phases. Even though there may be a variety of factors governing the transition between these phases, it is to be expected that someday all corporations and alliances will experience them all.

The birth of an alliance is a wonderful event in New Eden. Whether for profit, security, or common ideals, corporations bind together (albeit for a hefty fee) and through unity become more able to achieve their goals. This is the start of the growth phase, where recruitment is often rampant. As has been observed with alliances in control of 0.0 space, their creation is often followed by an influx of pod pilots and member corporations. Whether for the glory of battle or the potential of riches, many dreamy-eyed pilots clamber to the opportunities that 0.0 space are rumoured to have. If alliances are not careful in their recruiting, they may attract pilots whose ideals do not align with their own.

Following rapid growth, alliances find that they can hit a saturation point in terms of the members of their alliance. This limit could be due to spacing and expansion constraints (a problem easily solved by invading a neighbour's territory) or difficulties for the alliance leaders in managing such a great deal of members. An unruly pilot may create a fatal diplomatic blunder if not properly trained and monitored, generating the potential to prematurely throw the alliance into a situation it is not prepared for.

Decline phases are noticeable, as their name would imply, by a markedly decreasing member count in terms of both corporations and pilots. This commonly segues into the death phases, depending on how the decline is brought on. There are two predominant ways this occurs within the larger 0.0 alliances of New Eden.

The first occurs when an alliance is on the losing end of a war. As seen relatively recently with Ascendant Frontier, Lotka Volterra, and Dusk and Dawn, the defenders fight for as long as possible but eventually break under the weight of their opposition's offensive. As the alliance dies, individual corporations withdraw their assets from the war zone and retreat to a safe ground to rebuild and rethink their strategies. Very frequently, they relocate to CONCORD patrolled space for this period of time as they look to strengthen again in the relatively safe space therein.

The second method of decline occurs when there is disagreement between one or more member corporations of an alliance. One possible outcome of this is a collective division of assets, with one group splitting off and reforming under another name. At this time, both of these groups have potential for renewed growth and new paths of survival.

Inevitably, as all people must die, so must the alliances of New Eden. Though they may cease to exist, their actions and accomplishments can live on through the memories and monuments scattered throughout New Eden. For generations to come, wrecks of broken ship hulls and huge monoliths of spacestations will remain floating through space. These will serve as a tribute to the glorious battles fought and the large corporate and alliance entities that have roamed our diverse galaxy.
Source: myeve.eve-online.com

Trinity Screenshot Contest
With the forthcoming Trinity expansion, EVE has gone from beautiful to truly gorgeous and we think the EVE community will agree. This is the community's opportunity to showcase their talents and the lavish imagery that makes up the new Premium Graphics Content and will be a little harder than the other contest. Log in to Singularity or Tranquility, start taking screenshots and get ready to send them in.

Contest Prizes and Information

ENTRY

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Here is what contestants must do to enter this contest:

1. Send an email addressed to contestsubmissions@ccpgames.com with the subject heading "EVE Online Trinity Screenshots Contest." Include the following information in the body of the email:
   • Your character name
   • Your EVE Online account name (the name you use to log into the game)
   • Your real name (first/last).
   • Your age
   • Your full mailing address - street, city, state, zip, country (this is for prize mailing purposes ONLY).
   • A contact phone number (This is required for the shipping of prizes. It may also be used as a back-up method of contacting you - but will be used for no other purpose).

2. Attached to the email, 4 versions of your entry in the following screen resolutions: 1600 x 1200 pixels, 1280 x 1024 pixels, 1024 x 768 pixels and 800 x 600 pixels. These must be 72 dpi and in RGB . jpg format (non-.jpg formats will NOT be accepted).

   All entries must be received via email prior to 11:59pm (GMT) on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 (the "Contest Conclusion") and must be in English. No other methods of entry will be accepted.

   By entering this contest, you agree to all of the terms and conditions in the EVE Online Official Rules and Conditions.

3. SELECTION OF WINNING ENTRIES

   The winning submissions will be determined by representatives of the Sponsor, and will be judged equally on the following criteria: creativity, difficulty and overall presentation. Winners will be notified via e-mail and announced on the EVE Online web site along with their winning photo/screenshot entries no later than Friday, January 4, 2008. The odds of winning this contest depend on the total number of eligible entries.

4. PRIZES

   There are (9) available prizes per contest.

   One "First Place Winners" (one per contest) will receive:

   • One 'The Art of EVE' book signed by members of the EVE Online Art Department
   • One EVE Online Game Time Card (100 days worth of free game time)
   • One EVE Online T-shirt

   One "Second Place Winners" (one per contest) will receive:

   • One 'The Art of EVE' book
   • One EVE Online Game Time Card (50 days worth of free game time)
   • One EVE Online T-shirt

   3 Runners-up winners (one per contest) will each receive:

   • One EVE Online T-shirt

If winner cannot be contacted at the email address they submitted, or is contacted and does not respond by signing and returning to us for our receipt within the time indicated on the documents, an Affidavit of Eligibility (or, in Canada, a Declaration of Compliance with Contest Rules) and Liability/Publicity Release, or refuses or is ineligible to accept a prize, the prize may be awarded to the next highest ranking entrant on or about Monday, January 18, 2008. Any prize not claimed by one alternately chosen winner will not be awarded. Prizes are not transferable. No substitution of prize for cash or other goods and services is permitted, except Sponsor reserves the right to provide a substitute prize of approximately equal value. Taxes on prizes (including, without limitation, income or withholding taxes), if any, are the sole responsibility of the individual winners.

All participants will have their entries and their forum (or real names) and city/state or province/country of residence posted on the EVE Online web site (http://www.eve-online.com). The winner can decline to provide any or all such information.

Use this forum thread for discussion and questions.

Good Luck!
Source: myeve.eve-online.com

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