Boxed Edition

In case you didn't know, EVE is being released in a boxed edition this expansion. Best Buy has is coming out in two days time.

I really hope it draws some more people into the game. The 60 day "free" playtime included is double what you normally get in other online games like WOW or EQ.

I'm really bummed they took down the forums. I was really looking forward to Halada's new guide today. Guess I will have to wait a while longer...

More Apocrypha Goodness

OMG!

Halada's Mining Guide is what got me going when I first started EVE. And I would bet a lot of ISK this is true for a lot of people.

He will be releasing version 3.0 the same day Apocrypha goes out. He is extending the guide to encompass Industry as well.

The guide will cover the following topics:

INTRODUCTION
Starting out
Attributes
Choosing a career

MINING
All from version 2.0 +
Orca+Rorqual Strategic uses

MANUFACTURING
Basics
ME/PE
Tech 1
Tech 2
Tech 3*
Drugs
Capital Ships
Supercaps (sorting logistics, securing exchange, maximize security)

RESEARCH
Basics
Labs
Copying
Researching (Perfect ME, etc.heyim)
BPO/BPC

INVENTION
Basics
TBA

STARBASES
Basics
Moon Mining & Reactions
POS Manufacturing
Tower Setups (Deathstar, Staging, etc)
Sovereignty
Tips (how to fuel, how to setup, tools, etc.)

OUTPOSTS
Basics
Upgrades (refinery and factory, worth upgrading?)
Logistics
How to maximize efficiency (upgrade vs extra factory?)
Deep Space Manufacturing (mineral compression)

MARKET & TRADING
IPO & Investments
Mineral Trading
Courier Contracts
General Trading

EXPLORATION
Probing
Wormholes*
WH Space Deployment*

RESOURCES
Tools
Links

CREDITS
Credits
Thanks

*marked content will be released 30 days after release in a new
revision

Skill Queues

Oh man... I can't wait...

The skill queueing system in Apocrypha is going to be better than sliced bread.

Have you seen their new Apocrypha site? They are really going all out this expansion.

Something Old, Something New...

Eternity II

I posted something about the Eternity II puzzle a while back. This puzzle still has not been solved (and I kind of doubt it will be, at least not without a lot of hints).

Over the past few weekends I have been revisiting my solver code and seeing what improvements I could make. It's been amazing! I've had new ideas and new approaches to take. All in all I've sped my solver up by 250%.

I run my solver in idle processing mode (so it doesn't interfere with my gaming). My old solver would get around 10 million placements a second. My new one gets 25 million. When I compile it for pure speed (i.e. no pretty pictures of its current state and a bump of processor priority) I'm closer to 30 million. And that number is per core!

EVE Blue

In my last post I mentioned I've been working on my own Industry program for EVE. This has been progressing rather well. I've named it simply Blue (for blueprint).

I've pulled and integrated the last EVE data dump. My character editor will download character stats with EVE API. I've also got integration to EVE Central.

After combining all this information and also information on station pricing (i.e. manufacturing, research) I can generate an array of reporting. For one of my reports I feed it a character and a fictitious ML and PL, and it gives me numbers on what blueprints may be worth buying for a particular region. Of course all this information needs to be taken with a grain of salt and researched in game before any action taken.

Here is a picture of my report here but I can't get blogger to show it full size... you will need to click it to read it proper.



I need to integrate sales volume from the market window into this program somehow too. This would give me more accurate data.

Transitioning

I've been progressing as a miner ever since I entered the world of EVE 5 months ago. Other than a few minor skills to shore up here and there, Ive gotten about as far as I wish to go at this time. My character can fly a Hulk and process any non 0.0 ore with 100% efficiency. I have not yet trained Exhumers V nor do I plan to at this time. I think there are more important things I could be training in the 28+ days it would take.

I've been dabbling a little in manufacturing already. I understand the basics but I need to get more serious. What I really need to do is sit down and crunch some numbers. I've started to write my own program to help with this. I've looked at some of the ones already out there but I know the numbers and layout I'm looking for and I've not been satisfied with what's out there already. Writing my own program will also help me learn manufacturing better, too.

Tagged!

Well, I've been tagged by Blackheart. I am both surprised and humbled people actually read my blog. Most every EVE blog I read has been tagged already so I won't bother perpetuating the game, but I will list my 7 things.

Here are the rules of this game of tag:

• Link to the original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share 7 facts about myself in the post - some random, some weird.
• Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

And here are my 7 random and/or weird things:

• I am an alumni of The Ohio State University with a Computer Engineering degree. Go Bucks!
• My favorite television show is Stargate. I also watch a few of the reality shows like Survivor (I was a Bob fan) and The Amazing Race.
• I am a very Introverted person. Social situations are very difficult for me.
• My wife and I got our SCUBA certification earlier this year. We then went on a cruise to celebrate. The diving in Cozumel is awesome.
• I'm learning to become a real pilot. It's been a dream of mine since I was like 5 years old.
• I work for a company specializing in Grocery stores. Specifically, I work on Point of Sale systems.
• I am a member of Mensa.
  

Now that didn't take long at all

The Hulk is an amazing machine. I've already earned back my investment and then some! I suppose the current Tritanium prices are a huge help. Also, timing was good too. I bought my Hulk before the T2 market went all to hell (Hulk prices are up at least 20% in my area) due to the exploit fix.

Now I have a new problem: It takes frigging forever to haul all that ore and mineral to market. I'm seriously debating taking a month or so detour to train up Freighters (i.e. a Charon).