What I do in nullsec (trading)

Currently, in game, I am either looking after a (for profit) nullsec market in Oasa, or I am playing with C5 escalation sites.

This post is about my nullsec life, other posts comming soon (tm).

In Oasa, my plan is to be the seller that fills the gaps.  There are some other pilots that are efficient manufacturers of a few things.  However, Oasa is so far from markets, with unreliable jump freighter routes, that there are huge gaps in the market.  I have just trained up my 4th tycoon pilot.  1 pilot does a mix of buying ore and pi items, as is about to start doing invention (probably for ammunition and modules).  The other pilots do

I currently manufacture Tech 1 ammo, modules and hulls.  While many players with access to real markets prefer Tech 2, faction or meta modules, there are sufficient times that any module is better than no module.

Skillbooks are good selling items.  Build a market library and they will come.  There are some skillbooks that all players are automatically gifted with, and they don't sell too well.  Skip these:

• Mechanics,
• CPU management,
• Power Grid Management
• Gunnery
• Navigation
• Mining
• Astrometrics
• Science
• Spaceship Command
• Astronautic Engineering (no use skill)

While a racial frigate and weapon turret skill are handed out to all newbie pilots, there are still other races that will buy these skillbooks.  

In my corner of null, Tech 1 hulls are mostly covered by other players. Gnosis however are still imported and are popular.  Faction and Tech 2/3 hulls are still in limited supply.  While the Ishtar and Gila are popular ratting ships, others are also aware of this, so I generally sell other stuff.

I currently also import rigs, meta 4, tech 2 modules (though I do hope to start manufacture of these).  I also import 'difficult' things like cloaks. Whenever I feel that my cargo is over value, and I need something cheap and bulky to fill out a load, I will haul command centers for PI.

I resupply via wormholes, with the scanning, hauling and purchasing that requires, primarily using a largely unscratched Occator.  I am occasionally 'invited' to get a brand new Occator and pod, but ... I try really hard to avoid that.

Without understanding why, wardecs are a fact of life.  My solution is to fly an out of alliance highsec pilot to nearby the wormhole, and then swap ships with my nullsec pilot.  (The reason I don't understand is that surely it would be cheaper to put alts into ships and just blow them up to pad killboards ... we don't lose much).

My resupply method is inefficient and time consuming.  I am not afraid to charge for it, with some margins being significant.

I will form in defense fleets and strategic ops.  These do include the occasional gate camp removal gang or hauler escort, or even an entosis event.  I can't make as many of these events as I would like to, but contribute to ship replacement programs to cover others.

Our alliance does a lot of ratting and mining, and does roam.  I rarely do these things.

Nullsec corps are generally recruiting.  My nullsec pilots belong to Sons of Alexander, and if you would like to join either as a corporation or individual, feel free to shoot DoToo Foo an evemail.

Corporations wanting to join Al3xand3r. (our alliance) can contact Head Teach.

What I do in wormhole space (PI and escalations)

My most recent activity in wormhole space is that we have started C5 escalations.  I think we look more like a bunch of 6 year olds at our first martial arts bout, and a lot less like a bunch of hardened warriors.  So much dancing around and being stressed about losing stuff.  

We are using the c5-6 like a baws guide with a couple of variations.  Firstly our loki nos's the carrier for extra cap, which relieves the capacitor pressure from the initial archon.  Secondly we are slow, sooo slow.  If you find us when running a site and are looking to gank us, no need to rush. We will still be there when you get back.  Still escalation sites are profitable.  I just hope that we pay for our ships before the gankers arive.

I run a C1 -> Highsec PI wormhole, with an open invite policy (please see the recruitment link at the top of the page).  I buy PI and haul to market.  I still do some PI but not as much myself as I used to with the nullsec market and C5 escalations taking more of my time.

I also run a C2 -> Lowsec/C2 PI wormhole that is pretty quiet at the moment.  I recently stuffed up in here ... there were explosions and not of the good kind.  I am both incredibly relieved and wildly disappointed that only the ship maintenance arrays showed and dropped loot.  The storage and industry arrays array didn't show any loot.  That was not from a lack of loot in there.

Unlike in other parts of space, in wormholes I have hunted and ganked pilots and POS alike.  Not many, and not often.  In wormhole space however, you live and die by the F1 button.  If you want a defensive fleet, you will have to bring one.  You remain safe in wh space by being belligerent.

I am looking forward to citadels.  Assembly of Tech 3 cruisers, sharing space structures with out of corp pilots (friends and alts alike).  I have not read but I assume also contracts?  I have read that the entirety of the citadel will drop loot.  This should encourage more casual ganking of PI holes as there will be (lots more) profitable loot to be gathered.   I will have to decide whether to set up medium (3 hour vulnerability per week windows and 'cheap' ) or large (vulnerable twice as long with markets, and so much more expensive) citadels, but no need to decide just yet.

I made my first fortune, as an unskilled newbie, doing wormhole PI.  I still spend too much on various projects but ... oh well.  I am always recruiting for PI pilots in my wormholes. Whether you are a newbie pilot looking for more than highsec, or a PVP pilot looking to pay for ships, I am recruiting for more PI pilots.  If you are interested, please see the recruitment link at the top of the page.

I believe

There are some thing I believe in Eve

Players experiencing players 

Eve is a truly multiplayer game.  We interact with other players.  I sell ammunition.  I expect it to be returned 'slightly used'.   There are the hunters, and the hunted.  Occasionally there will even be some form of 'set fight', but we try to avoid that most of the time.  Sometimes we even hunt ore, or red crosses.

Circle of gank

I believe that there are 3 fitting philosophies of note.

Evasion fit or avoiding the fight. Stabs, Nano, Oversized prop mods, brick tanked, or even just oodles of capacitor.  This pilot just wants to GTFO  (get the far out .. or something like that).

Gank fit.  Faction scrams,  triple scram fit, high alpha, or a hundred catalysts.  This pilot wants to catch the evasion fit ship.  (I even stayed in faction warfare until I caught a stab fit farmer).

PVP fit.  This pilot wants to bring the best to a fight.  To win any engagement.

To me, Eve is a place where the good PVP pilot defeats the Gank fit; the good Gank pilot catches the Evasion fit, and the good Evasion pilot evades the PVP pilot.

Yes I believe in warp core stabilizers.  They encourage the ganker to choose between being hunter and prey.

Me?  I am usually prey.  I also know the very real limitations of warp core stabs.

Wormhole space is the best space for a small independent group

If you want a handful of pilots to have their own space, wormhole space every time.  Sure you can be a target (but that is true in all parts of eve).

Highsec was not for me.  As a newbie, I did not have the contacts or strength to hold a place in lowsec.  However wormhole space has been a good experience for me.

This includes making a small fortune with PI, building my sandcastle, and having others try to take it away (they nearly succeeded too).

Someone dedicated can take space.  But taking multiple spaces takes too much effort for the larger empire builders, so there is room for that small corp.

Ok I am biased, shoot me ... (and you probably will)

I like the effects of Fozzie Sov

I can't speak for all regions of nullsec, but in the deep northwest, what used to be monolithic ownership is now a nice ragtag collection of small alliances each 'owning' their own space.  Yes... the big boys could take it away ... and then we take it back.

I have read that groups are currently fighting over recently vacated north eastern space.

However no mechanic change will solve "bring them down".  Don't lend your strength to those that you wish to be free from.

Highsec needs iterating

Highsec is our new player experience, and we have a lot of players in highsec.  By all means, I want to encourage them to branch out into other spaces, but a few more rides in the park will never go astray.

Disclaimer: My use for highsec is Amarr, Jita and the occasional NPC trade hub.  Well sometimes I visit Dodixie, Hek and Rens ... but its still is buying or selling.

Player representation is good for the game

Eve has a great resource in it's player representation.  Usually, this takes the form of guides, blogs/websites, and third party tools.

Some of these players are opinionated, and wish to guide the future of Eve.  Sometimes CCP will listen, and even seek feedback.  Other times CCP will feel they are better off without some of this feedback.

I wish those play-styles compatible with mine to continue to influence both CCP and other Eve players.

The best defense against Echo Chambers is a diversity of opinion.  This means I want both us and them represented.  For many readers of this blog, I will often be 'us', but sometimes I will be 'them'.

Blogging/Reddit/Forums are other good ways to get player representation

CSM is one method of communication between player groups and CCP.  But we know that different player groups have other means of communication.

Grr

I fully understand that there are some players who's Eve life consists of ruining my Eve life.  In Eve, if they did not exist, it would be necessary to make them.   They just can't reasonably expect me to make it easier for them.

Some days ... I am the moron.

Well, it was bound to happen one day.

I have been playing in a few different locations in Eve, and I took my eye off the ball on one of them.

All my POS are set up so that all corp members can see POS fuel.  However, we all were not paying attention, and I let one run out.

So congratulations to EyEs.Fr for cleansing wh space of an unattended POS.

Just ow.

New scanning effects are pretty ... aweful

I have just scanned since the latest patch hit.

I liked the 'new' scanning interface, especially with the hotkeys and the ability to turn off items on the scanning screen.

The latest incarnation has given us pretty.

Play find the sig

This is a SciFi game and some expect a certain amount of eye-candy from the effects.

I am functionally minded.  On the screenshot above there is a single red dot.  Now ... I have pretty good eyesight but I had to hunt for it.  No not the red box in the center of the probes, keep looking.  You may wish to click on the picture to expand it.

My son is red-green colour blind, and has even more trouble seeing the pale brown spot.  1 in 10 of our male population are red/greed deficient (either partially or fully colour blind).  Eve has a lot of male gamers.

So, I want to buy a scanning map that lets me see stuff at a glance.


PS.  the scanning dot is just top right of the scanner probes on the planetary orbit line.

TLDR; The new scanning map looks pretty, but CCP, please throw it out, and give me the previous incarnation back.


Edit: turning of the dscan settings helps, but the new graphics are still busy.

There it is.  I wish it was more obvious.

Squad warp and large grids

One should never warp squad warp your hauler to a wormhole without eyes on it.  The fact you can squad warp generally means you have 2 ships.  Now either one can be eyes, or it can be a 'dead man switch', with no point in losing 2 ships rather than one.

So ... of course I squad warp my out of corp / highsec Occator with my in corp Astero.  Historically this means that both end up largely on top of each other.  Not today.

I didn't quite believe it the first warp, but I had a couple of wormholes to end up at my POS so tried again.  With both the first and second squad warp, I ended up roughly 3000k off the wormhole.  Finally once I arrived at my POS, I meant to warp my Astero to what used to be an off grid bookmark but actually squad warped, but this time both ships ended up roughly on top of each other, and very much still on grid.

I don't understand why one set of warps was 'along way from each other' and the other was 'on top of each other'; whether it was facing, or total distance or the type of item I warped to.

Finally, I can confirm that large grids have definitely arrived.  I warped my DST back to the POS, and flew my (MWD) Astero 'out'.  The DST is still 'on grid' from 6000k away.  I need a new off grid bookmark anyway as a perch. 

No better screenshot than that today, but the grid 'broke' when my two ships were just under 16,000k from each other.

Also, I have reports that you need to include new ships on your overview especially if you are running the new Operation Frostline Target sites.



TLDR; Squad warping is not what it used to be, and grids ... are big.

http://updates.eveonline.com/date/2015-12-08/
http://community.eveonline.com/news/patch-notes/patch-notes-for-december-release

Testing escallations with a new partner

After my last post about C5 wormhole escalations, I have a new triage pilot in our C5.  My previous partner has a very demanding first life commitment, and while playing, is just after simple pew pew after 70 hour per first life working week

So off to singularity (the testing server) with my new partner.  In part to see how he will work out, and in part to see how I will handle the webbing loki component.

We know that we want at least federation navy stasis webifiers, for the increased range.  The problem is, how to get them.  I don't know of an eve-central service for the test servers.  I possibly could point a crest based scraper at one but .. end up finding 6 of them by flying around.  Most major trade hubs were sold out. My nullsec region had a few left, with only 3 days remaining.  And one of the highsec regions (Sinq Laison I think), had 1.  My partner had 2 from some source, so between us we could fit out 2 lokis.

So, the good news is that you can find faction gear on singularity markets for a time at least.  The bad news?  Those player orders sell out and expire.  The best news?  Part way through writing this post, singularity was re-mirrored.  Be prepared, buy some parts and put them aside for testing.  I recommend that you buy what you need rather than buy everything out there.  (http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Test_server_rules "Do not make mass market purchases or create oversized stacks of items. ..." )  Also do not expect your items to be available in Jita.   Someone else has probably bought them out already.  Hunt the secondary markets or source systems.

Finally, if you are more organised, on tranquility (live) have a couple of ships fit with items you might want later.  Then on Singularity (test) there is a /copyships command that clones (almost) all your ships from the last mirror and places them into one of the nullsec combat systems.   From there you can /moveme to your relevant type of space (trade hubs, different wormholes etc)

After much stuffing around getting fits, off to Singuality's /moveme C5 and then the neighbouring static, where I promptly lose the Moros to sleepers.  Sleepless guardians orbit at 35k and scram and web to 40k.  Which means my baby boosted Loki, is outwebbed with only 35k .  (I can web one or 2 but they are continuously leaving range) Even more annoying is the bear's mistake of not overheating for the additional range.  My partner warps in his better skilled loki and webs for me, and I grab a second Moros (we were not entirely disorganised), and all of a sudden the sleepers die a quick death.

The following weekend I have Minmatar Electronics 5 on my Loki pilot and it goes well, no stress, sleepers falling one after the other.

How to get that magic 40k (without overheating)?

Module : Federation Navy Stasis Webifier has a base range of 14km. 
Module Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers with Minimatar electronics system Level 5 increases webbing range to 35k.  This is not enough to reliably web the sleepers.
Booster : Unbonused battlecruiser with  Skirmish warfare link - Interdiction Maneuvers 1, with Skirmish Warfare Link Specialist 4. This reaches the magic 40k with some room to spare, and now I out-range the sleepers webs and orbit.

Tech 2 links and boosting ships with bonuses (command or strategic cruiser) would be wonderful for another 6k range but ... instead do what you can with what you have (while training for better).

Capital Escalations are dead. Long live Capital Escalations.

This post is made from 100% tin foil hats, and has a large dose of speculation. 

I have been looking at C5 capital escalations, using Jack Miton's 'Like a Baws' guide. https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=144954

Jack also has a Carrier + Battleship guide at https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1808468#post1808468

I have run some sites on singularity with a corp member on the other side of the world, and really need to get organised to run them on live.  Sometimes real life gets in the way, and I am currently the junior partner (skillwise) in the C5 sites.


To run the sites, as I understand it:

• Roll open wormholes.
• Set up your booster ships (x2)
• Triage Archon warps in (escalation 1)
• Webbing, target painting Loki warps in, calls targets.
• Siege armor dread warps in (escalation 2), blaps sleeper battleships for roughly 10K DPS, using anti structure guns (hence the need for webbing and target painting).  Things get hairy.
• Once most battleships are down, warp in armor dread #2 (escalation 3) (and maybe a second webbing loki).  Blap stuff easily.
• Warp in Carrier #2 (escalation 4).  Rush to kill something before the dreads do.
• Maybe a ECM boat to keep a trigger alive but harmless. This allows a full site respawn (or so I have read - not confirmed yet).
• Salvage and loot with Noctis and Mobile Tractor Unit, while the DPS wing goes to the next site.

If you fail, you will lose your fleet.  If your triage Archon disconnects, say good by to billions of ISK.  Sleepers remote repair each other, so high applied DPS matters.  The tricky point I found in the above method was the second escalation.  We want to get the number of sleepers down before the logi runs out of capacitor.


Assuming you want to keep the site alive, salvage this site while the DPS squad does the next site, then 5 pilots in a DPS squad, 3 ignored alts (Boosters and ECM), and a salvager.  Lets call it initially 10K DPS for dread #1, ramping up to 23K DPS by the time second dread and carrier land.  Including concurrent salvaging, this is moderately comfortable for 3 players with alts.




With the new capitals, there are some changes.

Firstly, it wont be a triage Archon landing, but one of the new Force Auxiliary capitals.  As a guess, it will be the Amarr one for increased armor resists.

The next question is what will be the preferred DPS platform vs battleships?  I have read that CCP want dreads to be the 'in your face' DPS ship, doing 2-3 times what a battleship does.  Different bloggers are suggesting 2k or maybe 3k DPS vs battleships.  In comparison, I am reading about (but do not yet fly) 1.5k DPS Vindicators.

However, another ratting carrier pilot I know claims 3k DPS with 13 fighters (and he doesn't have full skills yet).  So one of the following will happen.  Carriers will remain the preferred anti battleship platform, or dreads will do more than 3k, or carriers will be nerfed.

The siege armor dread won't be able to use an anti-cap gun, but will need to use a battleship gun.  Guesses suggest DPS in the 2-3k range, but ... will carriers do more?

Assuming that there will still be capital escalations, and that a force auxiliary escalates the site (neither a forgone conclusion), and that once I get 10K DPS on field with only 2 capitals, I can then smash the site out no problems, I still see something for the new capital escalation site running.


As a rough idea:

• Roll open wormholes (no change).
• Set up boosters (plural, no change).
• Triage Force Auxillery warps in (little change). Will this escalate?
• Probably the webbing Loki (webbing range still helps)
• 3 Bling battleships to clear most of the first escalation.
• Highest DPS vs battleship of armor carrier (probably Thanatos) or Dread
• Capitals to complete escalations in turn.  (possibly by BS pilots swapping to capitals)
• Maybe an ECM to keep the site alive (assuming this still works - I heard that CCP wanted to stop this)
• Salvage and loot with a Noctis and MTU.

Assuming you can keep the site alive, salvage this site while the DPS squad does the next site, and swap 2 battleship pilots for capitals as the site progresses;  then it is 6 pilots for the DPS squad, 3 ignored alts (Boosters and ECM), and a salvager.  Lets call it initially 4K DPS, slowly rising to 9K DPS (swapping BS for Caps).  That is, I see it taking 2-3 times as long to run a site. I also see potentially a 4th real life player on field, as juggling battleships for dreads will take extra attention.

I have chosen armor, it is what I am most familiar.  Given the setup and not automatically triggering escalations, then maybe shield might also be OK.

I have some experience with what I am talking about, but not enough.  There will be holes in the above speculation.  Feel free to poke holes in it.


For lesser skilled pilots trying boosting, I sometimes use Gnoboosts.  Put whatever useful links that your well skilled booster does not have.  It is replacement tanked, and I would much rather lose it than the rest of the fleet.



[Gnosis, Gnobooster]

Co-Processor II
Co-Processor II
Co-Processor II
Co-Processor II
Co-Processor II
Co-Processor II

Command Processor I
Command Processor I
Command Processor I
Command Processor I
Command Processor I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender

Skirmish Warfare Link - Evasive Maneuvers I
Information Warfare Link - Sensor Integrity I
Armored Warfare Link - Rapid Repair I
Skirmish Warfare Link - Rapid Deployment I
Armored Warfare Link - Passive Defense I
Armored Warfare Link - Damage Control I

Medium Processor Overclocking Unit I
Medium Processor Overclocking Unit I
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I

Citadel and Capital announcements during Eve-Vegas

Some notes from the Eve-Vegas announcements regarding Citadels, Capitals and Supercaps.

There will be dev blogs coming soon.

Citadels

For this document: 'Confirmed' means that I have read it elsewhere before.

All prices are subject to market movements.  Based on today's input prices, hulls costs will be :

• Medium Citadel - cost 600M
• Large Citadel - 7B
• Extra Large Citadel - 70B

Modules will be available in T1 and T2, between 5M and 1B.
Rigs will be how you balance between defense and industry.

• Medium Citadel Rigs between 7 and 70m
• Large Citadel Rigs between 90 and 1.1B
• Extra Large Citadel Rigs between 1B and 23B.

Confirmed: You can have an alliance based wormhole market hub.

Confirmed: Citadels will be vulnerable per week 3 hours/6 hours/21 hours per week for the 3 sizes.

Confirmed : Citadels can be blown up by doing DPS, but there is a DPS cap so that they will still take at least 30 minutes on field.  (Other places have said that there will be reinforcement timers.)

Confirmed: A destroyed wormhole Citadel has a standard loot fairy.

Confirmed: You will be able to recover the majority of stuff in known space POS, with the exception of components to build the Citadels, and whatever is currently being built.

We will be getting an improved UI for controlling Citadels.  (Thank Bob). All anchored structures on overview. UI to say if you have docking rights, access to services.  We will be able to share corporation/alliance lists etc.  (My take is that blue lists will be easier to maintain).

You will be able to charge the public a fee for docking, but discounts for friends.

You will be able to have player owned tradehubs with lower taxes.

Capital Notes

Dreads are to be the 'in your face' weapons platform. 

Carriers are to project damage across the battlefield , with a revamped 'fighter squadron' mechanism.  Fighters for different roles: Structures, or subcaps or other fighter.  No shields/armor/hull per se, more a 'group of small ships that get exploded'.  Carriers lose their remote rep role.

New Force Auxiliary capitals to take on the remote repair/triage role.

Damage capitals can be fit to hit subcaps or other capitals/damage structures.

Capital fittings in Meta, Tech2, and faction variations, with new skills to match.

Capitals will all have fleet/ship/refitting services.  You will no longer be able to refit mid fight (weapons timer based).


Supercaps will be able to break up large opposing fleets in various new (and some probably over/under powered) ways.  I dont fly supercaps so ... less notes from me.

Other notes

A new minigame rewards ISK and sisters loyalty points for 'crowdsourcing' first world protein sequencing.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8K9b7CEWOE&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNGQ_Rjhr6g
Thanks to Trinket's Friend for blogging the first link I found.

P.S. http://pastebin.com/A7zvp7Z3 is another set of notes

Multiple account launcher in Beta

For those who have not yet seen it, there is a multiple account launcher in beta at https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=449738&_ga=1.174225634.1175545162.1444213707

Whether you are an alt-a-lot for various forms of industry, or merely someone who loves to set logoff traps on a bazillion pilots, I find this launcher a wonderful improvement.

If you want to play with singularity (the test server), that is also a bonus, and available as a pull down optoin.

There are some caveats, and it is worth reading the known issues/  frequent requests faq on the post.


You will need to re setup your client settings though apparently for those that come later there are plans for an export/import option. As with all plans, a google search for soon (tm) might be illuminating, though I am quietly optimistic.

I also don't entirely understand how to drive the different 'settings' per account, but seem to be working fine.

For anyone with 2 or more accounts, or if you want to play with singularity, I recommend the new launcher.

Fozzie Sov troll mechanics are a good thing.

Oasa now held by 6 different alliances, with systems changing hands every few days. Cobalt Edge with 5 alliances, and 12 systems changing hands.  These are regions I pay attention to.

I know far less about providence, but even Goons recent war there showed the strength of the new system. They burned abandoned systems, and mostly failed in systems where the locals fought.  (As a message to the propagandists, a similar burn exercise as before would have been even harder for Providence to re-eject the goons.)

Landlord coalitions are crying over being run ragged with what they perceive as pointless fights, attempting to hold vast but empty regions.  Some of them no longer have passive income from renters.  Previous renters are adjusting to the new mechanics and forming fleets (some successful, others very much otherwise).


These are very good things.  Small groups are taking ownership of their own space, and can bounce back far more easily.  Of course in any war game, the bigger, better organsied and funded war machine can roll over the smaller group, but with the new sov, smaller groups have the ability to retake land, or tie up those the larger groups.

I remind those that hark back to the 'good old days':  https://www.google.com/search?q=cfc+win+eve
Before new sov, we were asking if the CFC had won eve.  The result of a large battle was that new accords were re-written to prevent repeats of these events.


For better or worse, because of the troll mechanics of fozzie sov, and the much maligned troll interceptor; smaller groups are standing up to the previous landlords.

I heartily endorse a small group taking land 'out there', but I still get nervous when it happens too close to home.  I want home to be defensible, but I see no reason that buffer space should be held easily.  Land is being taken.  http://evemaps.dotlan.net/outposts/freeports shows that there are still only 12 systems in freeport.  Someone obviously cares enough to hold stations despite all the trolling.

With the latest citadel incarnation, CCP have said that you will again need to apply DPS to the new citadels to capture them http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/citadels-sieges-and-you-v2/ "Entosis links are not going to work on new structures".    Dreadnoughts were a class of ship designed with structure fights in mind, and that role now officially has a place in new structure fights.

Without an autodefense mechanism, and a cap on total EHP to citadel structures, they will be susceptible to trolling attempts, but not as easily as with entosis links.  As a defender, I am not too worried about this as there will be several timers to defend, and customs offices have shown that that while trolling occurs, it is not the end of the world.  For me, the bigger loss is no longer treating all unknown Citadels (outside of highsec) as dangerous.  And yes our POS have shot as many friendly friendly alts as they have killed hostiles.  I like this mechanic, even if I did wish it respected standings granted to individual players as well as standings granted to corporations.  I am also fully expecting to be bitten by these statements at some stage in the future.

One thing that is going away with citadels appears to be system wide vulnerability timers.  ... "players not belonging to the corporation owning the structure need to be on grid to see [timers]" 
At risk of talking about 'when I was young ...' (despite my pilots being younger than many), I actually like the system wide invite of dishonorable third parties to a possibility of a fight.

We are no longer asking if any one entity has won Eve.  I don't want to see a return to massive blue donuts where large organizations dictate who can own what space in null and who can fight.  There should be room for a certain amount of trolling. 

I currently have 2 'hats' in eve, a nullsec trader hat, and the other as a WH PI bear hat.  Today's post is wearing my nullsec trader hat.


This post is a record of me saying that, in my opinion, the balkanization of nullsec is a good thing.

Wormhole RR dominix

Several players have been asking me about my RR Dominix fit.  I like paired (or more) remote repairing drone boats.

If in doubt, practice first on Singularity ( http://foo-eve.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/eve-beta-client-windows-edition.html )



The following fit's philosophy will apply varying Gallente droneboats, but the Domnix is the one I know best.


[Dominix, DroneMaster]

1600mm Steel Plates II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II

Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron
Omnidirectional Tracking Link II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Sensor Booster II
Cap Recharger II

Large Remote Capacitor Transmitter II
Large Remote Capacitor Transmitter II
Drone Link Augmentor II
Drone Link Augmentor II
Large Remote Armor Repairer II
Large Remote Armor Repairer II

Large Egress Port Maximizer I
Large Egress Port Maximizer I
Large Sentry Damage Augmentor I


Vespa EC-600 x5
Garde II x4
Hornet EC-300 x5
Bouncer II x5
Salvage Drone I x5
Hobgoblin II x10


Optimal Range Script x2
Tracking Speed Script x2
Targeting Range Script x1
Scan Resolution Script x1




[Dominix, DroneSlave]
1600mm Steel Plates II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II

Omnidirectional Tracking Link I
Omnidirectional Tracking Link II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Sensor Booster II
Cap Recharger II

Large Remote Capacitor Transmitter II
Large Remote Capacitor Transmitter II
Drone Link Augmentor II
Drone Link Augmentor II
Large Remote Armor Repairer II
Large Remote Armor Repairer II

Large Egress Port Maximizer I
Large Egress Port Maximizer I
Large Sentry Damage Augmentor I


Hobgoblin II x10
Vespa EC-600 x5
Hornet EC-300 x5
Garde II x4
Bouncer II x5
Salvage Drone I x5

Optimal Range Script x2
Tracking Speed Script x2
Targeting Range Script x1
Scan Resolution Script x1


Have a 2% cpu implant for this one.  The MJD is the GTFO option.  Or swap out the MJD for something useful, possibly another sensor booster (or target painter on the master).  If you do so you can upgrade the tracking link.

By all means fit meta 4 instead of tech 2, but don't bother with these ships unless you have capacitor emissions 4.

Match the cap emission modules.  If one of a pair (or trio) is using meta 4, then all in that set use meta 4.



Flying notes:

Capacitor Emission Systems 4 is mandatory, 5 is strongly recommend.

Warp both Dominix to site, at range.
Launch drones, move, something to to break local invulnerability.
Target each other and apply both capacitor transmitters and one armor repairer.  Apply second armor repairer as necessary.

Slave assigns drones to master.

Master uses target painter to 'shoot' slaves drones, applies own drones normally.

Master is responsible for main DPS.

Slave can as necessary swap out sentries for light drones to clean up frigates, then swap back to sentries (or heavies)

The primary difference between master and slave is the target painter.

MASTER SHOULD DO NOT APPLY TARGET PAINTER TO PAIRED SHIP. IT WILL HURT. So says bitter experience.  If it does happen, then make very sure to reapply drones to new targets as soon as possible by reapplying target painter to something else.  Generally this occurs because your fleet member needs extra reps and is already in armor.  Then their armor dips into structure.  If you have a non-drone boat not participating in remote exchanges, it would be better to assign all drones to that boat.

While you should not get out of range of your pair, you should not be stationary either.  Orbit something - your paired fleet member, a sentry drone, or maybe even a jet-canned <anything>.

This setup works well for multiboxing.  It scales well too.

For the remote capacitor exchanges, in a larger squad, you can apply the remote capacitor to 1 up 1 down.  This will help even out any neuting.  Alternatively, minimise the damage caused by insufficient skills by organising ships in pairs or trios (so any difficulty with cap exchange is minimised to a few ships.)

Sleepers are damage agnostic, so match your drones to range.  When the hostile resists are known, consider that when selecting drones.

The reason for the cap exchange rigs instead of remote armor rep rigs is that you are cap exchanging 100% of the time, but only repairing as needed.

We ran 4 of these in our C4 when we had it, and only ever had problems when I was 'helping' friends ... by applying the target painter on them.  Doing so causes excitement on voice coms.

If you have sufficient points already on field, this also makes a reasonable defensive fleet.

I am not an inspired Pyfa warrior, but this fleet worked for us.  Old pilots that want to provide alternative fits (or links to such fits) are welcome to do so.

Shared Blog Collections

Shared blog collections now at

• http://feedly.com/FooEveCollection : My master sharing list
• http://feedly.com/FooEveCollection/Eve%20Online : player blogs
• http://feedly.com/FooMusings/Eve%20Online%20Official : Official Eve feeds
• http://feedly.com/FooEveCollection/EveNewsSites : Eve news sites

Historically I have gone a long way to only use free resources for my blogging.  If you have been following player gaming resources over the years, stuff works, and is great, but then disappears completely once that player moves onto other activities.  (Even multi million paying subscriber games have turnover).  With free services, sites usually stay around long enough to copy information from during the transition periods.  Sometimes dead information stays around too long but that is a topic for another day.

I have been using the free services of feedly since the demise of google reader, and I love that it does not matter what device I am reading EVE news on, but that I get to see every article once and only once.

What I did find a nuisance was that I could not easily share my collection.  I have tried with my own efforts and have supported the efforts of others (see the consolidated Eve blogrolls list on the right hand side of my blog), but none of this has been as easy as just adding a new blog to Feedly.

Well, now Feedly have a service that I forked out cash for.  Feedly Shared Collections

The good news is that these are easily shared, so that if any other blogger puts up a shared collection, I can copy their collections into my feedly and vice versa.  If any 'curator' disappears (as happened with an earlier eve blog bundle), then it will be easy for someone else to pick up the pieces.

Entitlement

As an Eve player, I expect certain things.


I expect to be able to log on almost 24 hours per day.   There will be times that Eve is down and I will grumble about it. That includes grumbling about downtime during my AU timezone.

I expect to be able to shoot things.  Some things to shoot will be structures, some will be red crosses, some will be other player ships and pods.  I hear that some players even shoot rocks.  There will however be times that I will need to travel a long distance to find my particular form of target.

I expect to be hunted. I expect that if I do everything right, I will get away many times.  I will be elated when I get away, and devastated when I don't.  I expect those hunting me to have 'complementary' feelings (in that if I am happy - they probably are not.  If I become devastated, they are probably happy).

Some days I expect to be bait and you to try to take me down.  If I am better on the day, I will be avenged and you will lose more than I do.  Other days I will fail.

I expect to have opportunities to make ISK, even if I am sometimes bad at it.   When I find a good niche I hope to make a lot of ISK.  As a side note, I prefer my ISK 'indirect', and prefer loot that needs to be hauled rather than ISK to be put directly into a wallet.

I expect a place to live in game.  I expect to be moved along sometimes.  I expect in turn to move others along at other times.

I expect a circle of nerf.  If any one style/fit/game play becomes completely dominant, CCP will iterate on it.  Sometimes CCP will over-nerf.  Other times they will under-nerf. (My poor underused Ishtar)

But there are some things I do not expect. If I want the game to be new, shiny and exciting, I know I need to do new and untried things.  I will like some of those things, and will dislike others.

One thing I learned doing PI, if one area is short on a resource, whether due to overfarming or just market changes make it unprofitable, then move to another area. 

Some hunters could learn the same things.  With consolidation in null, these regions will become target rich but potentially more dangerous.  Both are good things.

Eve launcher stuck at initializing - resolution

My eve launcher was stuck at 'Initializing'.

Clearing my cache did fix this.  Thanks to Peter Moonlight on reddit for the suggestion

Choose your cog in the top right hand corner.

 Choose Advanced, clear all cached files.

Note: I also ran the Repair tool at C:\Program Files (x86)\CCP\EVE\repair.exe  did something, but did not resolve my issues.

The fancy highlighting is courtesy of my skills in paint on a freshly re-installed PC.  I will get http://www.irfanview.com/ re-installed one of these days.

Wormole Polarization Timer

For a September release we are getting a wormhole polarization timer while on grid.

https://twitter.com/CCP_FoxFour/status/635770834494337024


https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=5988778#post5988778

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/3i6tak/praise_be_to_bob_for_this_day_he_is_satisfied/


For those that live in wormholes, this is a big deal.  Yes we currently have work-arounds, including the only use for local in a wormhole (turn your date/time on in the channel), or alt channels where you type in/out every pass.


I have noted positive comments from wormhole hunters and hunted alike (mostly hunters).  I have seen negative comments from otherwise respected names that live in known space.

@CCP FoxFour, I don't do twitter, but I do like this change.

Some days you get out 'intact'

I am the crappiest of PVP pilots.  I am vaguely aware of mechanics like manual flying and transversal and overheating (which I apparently don't do much of).

Every so often, I poke my head out the door.  To be honest, I was trying to get my pod out and was astounded when I took an intact hull away with me.

That is assuming that this hull was considered intact.

Citadel wishlist

I have lived out of different spaces in Eve. Wormhole POS which is the closest I have had to a home that was mine; Nullsec Outposts that come close; Highsec and Lowsec Stations, and even have run a Highsec research POS for a while.  I know what I like about the different 'homes' and what is a pain.

The CSM have asked what we want out of Citadels.

I am functionally minded.  I may occasionally be caught gawking at a particularly nice ... special effect, but it is not what drives me.  I like functionality, and interesting gameplay.

In summary, I want a home that :

• Is difficult but not impossible to take over;
• Provides inherent design trade-offs;
• Is easy to share with others outside my corp.

When I think of POS and 'home', I primarily think of C1-C4 wormhole space.  I have used them in other space, but they are not 'home' to me.

These are the things I like about POS

I love the flexibility of living in a POS. I love the juggle between defense and industry.  Do you throw together a few industry modules on a throw away small POS with cheap running costs, or do you set up a Large POS with your preferred flavour of defense, and very few - if any - industry modules but 4 times the running cost.  Alternatively, we can set up a juicy target of an industry heavy large pos with few defenses, greater potential reward for different ISK.

I love the difference in POS vulnerability in the different classes of space, a class 1 wormhole (which declines access by battleships or bigger - Nestor excepted), class 2-4 wormholes  and highsec have medium vulnerability to battleships, and class 5-6 plus lowsec/nullsec are subject to to drive by dreadnaughts.

I love that I have a choice of bling. Do I announce that I am a heavy researcher with a hyasoda lab, plan to be here for the long haul with a faction tower, or have lots to defend with faction guns?  Do I try to look bland and vanilla?

I love the idea that I can see when someone 'forgot to pay the rent' (for POS this is haul fuel) and become vulnerable if they didn't do so.  I don't like the idea so much when that person who forgot was me - but so I forgot only once, and got away with it.  Those living in wormholes have seen the too long AFK corp let their POS go dark, and space is quickly freed up by the scavenger class.

I like that hauling is the mechanic to keep POS alive rather than just an ISK sink.  POS fuel is a wonderfully inefficient system, supporting the engagement from miners (whether ice or PI), industrialist to cook fuel, and haulers to move stuff. This in turn supports provides targets for the the ganking class, and the requisite extra attention when refueling.  In comparison, NPC stations are set and forget, and even outposts only need the occasional griffon to defend against trawling.

I even kinda like POS being a little vulnerable.  POS defense is a challenging game, for both attacker and defender.  I probably like it a little more that I have (so far touch wood) been successful.  I liked the times (plural intended) we successfully evicted interlopers in 'my' wormhole, even if the loot fairy was cruel.  Truth be told, I even like it when loot fairies are cruel.

I love being in space, seeing and being seen, while still 'docked up'.

I like that my POS are moderately dangerous to interlopers.   A small group can survive, but a sole scout had better be cloaked if they want to spy on what I am doing.  A troll interceptor can be ignored, but a sole marauder can be a problem.  These are all good things.

I like that POS based storage is moderately secure rather than completely secure.  Whether it can, after eff

POS however have their significant problems.

I can't share facilities with friends or acquaintances.  I want to bring someone into my wormhole, let them refit, compress, refine, research and build at my home.

While you can have large moderately secure storage inside the corp via assembly arrays, large insecure storage in freight containers placed near the POS, or very small secure storage via personal hanger arrays, I can't provide large secure storage to friends outside of corp.  I can only provide large semi-secure storage 7 seven different 'groups' in my corp.


It is preciously hard to delegate moon mining or reactions to someone safely.  I am comparatively space rich, more than most, and can afford things like POS.  I want to set up a reaction or mining platform, and let someone else control the reactions/mining, but it is hard if not impossible.

I can't securely and asynchronously trade in a POS.  I want to be able to use contracts and market orders.  I want to trade between players.  These tools are much easier to do than what we currently use POS.  There are crude approximations, but the in game tools available in stations are much better.

I cant repackage some stuff. Once a larger assembly array is deployed, it remains unpacked until I use a T1 industrial to scoop and take back to NPC stations.
 
This post is in direct response to http://www.lowseclifestyle.com/2015/08/csmx-post-22-call-for-structure.html

PI Google Doc more robust

I have made my PI spreadsheet on google docs more robust.

For those that don't know, I have a google doc spreadsheet that lists the buy and sell prices for PI (planetary interaction) mats at different trade hubs, and also list what is profitable to manufacture on planet based on those prices.  The manufacture profitability is split up in several scenarios: Import all, import some + extract some, or extract all.

Google docs don't like pulling lots of data from eve central (or even crest) on a regular basis.  It works (mostly) ok for the spreadsheet owner, but not so well for other users.  I also have a 'force refresh' option by changing a 'cachebuster' parameter, to insist that I get new prices.

The fix is that I now have 3 'pricing' tabs:

• Central : grab the prices from eve central.  This is up to date when it works, and broken otherwise.
• Snapshot: Every so often, I will copy the data from the Central tab to static data on the Snapshot tab
• Main (first tab): If 'Central' is working, use that data, if not use then use the Snapshot tab

As an end user, you will know whether you are using 'live' (ish) data or how old the snapshot is from the top left corner on the 'Main' tab.

If it is still broken for you, please leave a comment preferably with links to screenshots showing your errors.  If it is working I will already know by the growing number of users keeping the google doc open.

Returning to Eve Special

For the record, it is my teenage son that is returning to Eve. 

When signing him back up again, we were presented with the above offers:

• 1 Month for $9.99
• 1 Plex for $17.49 
• 2 Plex for $29.99

I do not know who else it would be valid for, or what the criteria are, but thought it might be of some value to some 'extended AFK' pilots.

I have been quiet on the blog due to a mix of working on my crest market downloader, which is now satisfactory if not complete, and increased 9-5 duties spilling over to Eve time).

Fighting with markets (and software)

Despite being moderatly quiet on the blog, I am still busy in Eve.

My current project that I don't understand anywhere near well enough is how to use the Crest API, for pulling market information.

What I used to do.

I had previously used google docs and eve central's API, but google docs are flaky on something as small as my PI spreadsheet, and is unworkable for a full market listing.

What I am currently doing.

I use Steve's python based crest downloader to pull down all buy and sell orders for a region ( https://github.com/fuzzysteve/CREST-Market-Downloader ). I have some success, but what works reliably for him in pulling down an entire region of market orders in 15 minutes, takes 4 hours for me and only works 1/3 or the time.

I also pull down my current asset list and market orders using jeveassets, peeking into both corp and personal assets.  Despite having my own division in the corps that I am currently in, I have to filter out 'others' assets from my own. (using sql per below)

While I am no wizard at either Perl or Java, I am very good at SQL.  So I upload these 2 data sets and put them into a MariaDB instance (MySQL fork/clone - but much less hassle to download)

Knowing how to map item ids to names, groups, categories and meta levels is useful.  For that I use Steve's SDE dump, and as MariaDB/MySQL is my preferred database, https://www.fuzzwork.co.uk/dump/mysql-latest.tar.bz2 works well (other databases and versions in the same folder).

With all of this, a final SQL script can show me, by whatever market group I want to filter on, what my current stock counts are, and what is currently on market, the local price (if any), the jita price, my markup.

When this comes together, it works well.  When it doesn't it is a pain.

Alternatives

Evernus is a reasonable alternative for some of this functionality and I have looked at it.  It is not enough.

I cant work out how to make it show me all the skillbooks missing off the local market, then swap to look at either T1 or T2 ammo, then flit to the next part of the market I am interested in.  I have  2 tycoon and 1 wholesale level pilots, but there are 400 different skillbooks alone, and I have less than 700 market slots. If I was better at working out what was needed, I could probably make sure that was there, but have little chance of stocking everything wanted.

I got mildly excited by seeing Evernus Alliance Market ( https://bitbucket.org/krojew/evernus-alliance-market ).  It looks to be a good group logistics tool, and despite being written for a Linux environment, with a bit of fiddling, got it installed on a windows instance (there are a couple of evernus 'bug reports' with tips that I found useful ).  But .. it too didnt have the functionality I needed, much of which is in Evernus (including a quick crest sales/buy orders download).

The future

I am (mostly) enjoying the challenges of doing nullsec trading, but I want better tools.  Evernus is an open source software package, and I am in the process of downloading it plus the tools required to enhance it.

Supply and Demand in Nullsec

In Eve, if you can not find what you want at a price that you are willing to pay for it, buy 3 of them at a trade hub.  Use 1 and put the other 2 on market for other people to buy, at the price you think it should be sold for.

When I first started Eve, I was very intrigued as to how to run a market in isolated space.  I have run a PI buying program in wormholes for a long time, and have more recently been seeding a nullsec outpost.


Recently I received an interesting juxtaposition of emails in the nullsec hub that I am seeding.

Email #1

SOV is changing and shit may hit the fan, If you got stuff in <nullsec> you don't want lost get it out now while you can. If you plan on not being around you may want to send you stuff to <highsec> while you can. Hope no one has to firesale there eve life.

Email #2
Attention
Someone is playing games in <nullsec> market and has bought up and relisted cruiser hulls to double their value.
If you need ships, there are builders that would love the business, don't get caught paying rediculous prices. Let them rot on contracts so that the numbskull who relisted them loses money.
Thank you, have a profitable day!

Details of systems have been obscured and who sent these emails are not included.  Spelling error are (for once) not mine.  For those that really want to know where I am in game, it's not hard to find out.

I had just manufactured several cruiser hulls and listed them on the market ... for double Jita price.

My market strategy is OK, but not brilliant:

• Find a T1 item not on market.
• Find a blueprint for that item (a while ago I went on an aimless BPO research spree that I am now tapping into, and supplementing with imported BP's)
• Buy raw mats locally
• Build it
• Sell it

Sometimes, it is:

• Find an item that can't be made locally (especially skillbooks)
• Import it
• Sell it

I charge double Jita prices on T1 cruiser hulls, and charge even more on cheaper stuff.

I use long sell orders, and revisit them very rarely, on average every 6 weeks.

When I am undercut, I pull the items from the market and put them into storage, and find something else to sell.  I am also training for more trade slots.  Far too often, then undercutter sells one batch, realizes it's work and then gives up.  I then put my items back onto the market.

Some items move slowly.  Some move quickly and I am not good enough at keeping on top of these.  Some don't move at all and these are pulled from the market.

I have not 'flipped' anything in null.  The closest I come is putting up buy orders on PI and then reselling it, and even that is currently rare.   I don't have the spare trade slots.

I currently have 600 trade slots in null.  Small fry for some of the bigger industrialist bloggers, but far exceeds most of the local players.  Many of the better locals have 30 trade slots, and I encourage them to fill every one of them.

My strategy means that if I were not there, then no one would be selling those items.

If I wanted to make stuff for Jita prices, I would do so in highsec, with the risk that comes from being a station builder in highsec.  Instead, I am currently trading in null, and add an 'at risk' component to the pricing.  At the moment, all sales are re-invested into new raw materials or items.  One day they will be taken as income.

I welcome people undercutting me.  Buyers on the market use others undercutting as their trump card to 'force' me to lower prices, and find my attitude on this confronting.  Sellers find it confronting because I should instead be defending 'my turf'. 

Any seller, listing anything adds to the market.  I have 600 market orders.  There are thousands of items just in ships and their various fittings.  Then there are just as many components in various stages of refining in order to make these ships and fittings. 

For every item currently on sale in my nullsec patch, there are at least 2 other worthy items not being sold.  I choose selling a new item that no one is covering over fighting over an existing one.

Buyers want to buy stuff.  If there is no one selling it, they cant. My experience is that buyers want to buy complete fits.  If they have to go to 5 different systems, they will often give up and wait until a jump freighter run, or simply go without. My experience is that if they can fit in one spot they will do so.  If they come for a shopping trip, they also buy for their future.

There are some that think that Jita + 200% is too low.  http://evenews24.com/2015/05/19/confessions-of-a-trader-you-are-blue-to-us-right/ makes for an interesting read.

So, if you happen to find yourself in a nullsec region, and you can not find what you want, at a price you want to pay for it, then import or build it, and put spares on the market.

Tweak to PI spreadsheet

I have made a small tweak to my PI spreadsheets.

My PI spreadsheet prices have historically been based on average sell prices across 4 trade hubs (Amarr, Jita, Dodixie, Hek)

For me being wormhole based, Amarr is mildly preferable to Jita (and yes that even includes my stocking of nullsec) as Amarr is well overrepresented as the closest wormhole route, but any of them may be closest.

What I (and commenters) have noticed recently is that sometimes the average of 4 hubs is screwy because (generally Hek) has one or two really bad prices.

So now, I am using a slightly more complicated 'sell' price which is best sell of Hek or Rens and then averaging 'Minmatar', Amarr, Jita, Dodixie.

For those who have not seen the spreadsheet before, it's master is at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lXM8PqU0Tn4EJJ2xRuI7uo55IrZ7MKWJidK9T_bA9L4/edit?usp=sharing

As google docs is no longer reliably playing with eve central nicely, I also have a PDF version linked manually from  http://foo-eve.blogspot.com.au/p/pi-spreadsheet-snapshots.html (linked at the top of this blog). The most recent PDF version is https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1HsU_rOxWl4VHI3YkVjUFJVazA/view?usp=sharing


PS.  My last post a fortnight ago was me saying I was rebuilding my Eve setup.  This turned into something more involved and ended up being a complete PC re-install from operating system up.

Re-install of Eve

As you might gather from the title, I had issues ... with my Eve install.

I run multiple concurrent sessions of eve, described in more detail in http://foo-eve.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/running-multiple-eve-launchers-my.html

Compared to many of you, I also have a poor internet connection, so I also run with downloading with all data.

The first symptom was the Eve launcher warning me that I had problems with the cache of the skins file.

The second symptom was that after that Eve would not start.  The task manager (I run windows 8) showed there was something running, but nothing would happen.  And I could not even get the above error message.

I tried using the task manager to crash Eve to restart.
I tried rebooting my computer ( always try this ).
I tried evefile.exe
I tried different install folders

All of these failed.  Sigh.

Ok delete the Program Files (x86)\CCP folder and reinstall.  Still failed .... Grr.

Delete the local cache folder ... and restart ... Nope

Delete %localappdata%\CCP\EVE and restart ... Success.  I can log in.

Download on demand makes the initial Eve experience much faster. 

I am still not sure about everything.  I tried to bring up a PI management window and can now have a largely unusable session with a black screen, apart from what is behind the overview window.  I can't bring up the options window (for a safe logoff).

I  logged a Help desk ticket (being able to paste but not write makes this frustrating but *shrug*, whenever you are lodging help desk tickets, it doesn't take much.

But ... for those who sent me emails the last couple of days, this is why I have been slow to respond

You profit from fixing my 'broken' PI spreadsheet

I occasionally get reports that my PI spreadsheet is broken.

Sometimes it is not working at all as I am fighting with Google itself, which is why it now is cached via http://foo-eve.blogspot.com.au/p/pi-spreadsheet-snapshots.html

But generally it is because the prices are 'wrong'.  I get my prices daily from Eve Central, and take the average prices from Jita, Amarr, Dodixie, and Hek.  I primarily do my PI in a wormhole, and one trade hub is as good as the next, with a mild preference for Amarr (due to ~40% wormholes ending up close to there).

So, there are 2 ways the prices can be wrong.  Firstly my cache of prices can be 24 hours old.  Shrug, you can copy my spreadsheet and change the CacheBuster parameter on the main sheet at A2 to force a price refresh.






Secondly, my price is an average over 4 trade hubs (ignoring no price at all).  If one of those hubs has a price that is wildly wrong, then all pricing running from that will also be (less) wildly wrong.

As of writing this post, my spreadsheet is getting the 'wrong price' for livestock, with an average sell of 145,000 ISK/unit.  The Jita price sell price is 9,500 ISK/unit, and my average buy price is 7,000 ISK/unit.

Both Eve Central and my spreadsheet see the only sell order for Livestock in Hek as 550,000 ISK/unit which by anyone's account is overpriced, especially for a trade hub.  I have no intention of fixing my spreadsheet, as it is working as intended.

However, there is a good trade opportunity for those wanting to fix the data I retrieve, buying some livestock anywhere, getting red frog/push x to haul it, and selling livestock in Hek.  If you are so inclined, I also note that some of the other trade hubs are also missing sell orders for PI. 

• Hek is missing Polyaramids, Silicate Glass, Ukomi Super Conductors
• Dodixie is missing Synthetic Synapses
• Rens is also missing a few items.

Yes, I could fill these gaps myself.  That would involve me spending more time in highsec.  If no one else does this inside of another week or so, I will get some stock sent to Hek, if only to fix my spreadsheet.

Two of the complaints I read about market trading are that there is no way to find things to trade, and how everything always is immediately undercut.  In the third biggest market in Eve ( Dodixie - http://eve-marketdata.com/station.php?step=Rank ), for Synthetic Synapses at least, neither of these complaints are true.

Eve Pos planner update

The Eve Pos planner at http://eve.1019.net/pos/index.php has an update.

0.58 (2015.04.13)

• Updated module inventory to match recent updates (removal of Medium Refinery Array and addition of Personal Hangar Array, Compression Array and Thukker Component Assembly Array)
• More updates coming...

Re: eve pos planner
From: Qalten
Sent: 2015.04.13 05:26
To: DoToo Foo, 

Thanks for your e-mail regarding the IGB POS Planner. I've recently returned to EVE (apologies if you're receiving this reply long after you sent your mail) and will be updating the planner immediately to reflect the changes, and will be planning on adding interface improvements shortly.

Please feel free to make any suggestions or comments on what I can do to further improve the tool. I hope it's been helpful to EVE players over the years, and hopefully more to come!

Regards,

Qalten

https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=418404

FozzieSov - my perspective and confusion

Firstly, I think it is time for a sovereignty revamp.  There are some goals coming with the Fozzie Sov model that I am very much in favour of.

• Harder for large renter organisations to hold vast territories of unused space.
• Similarly easier for smaller organisations to take unoccupied systems in nullsec.
• Simplifying structure setup.  No one that has ever set up a POS thinks it should be this hard and counter-intuitive.  I think this even when I personally have benefited that someone else failed to set their POS up correctly.

I understand that this is going to mean some changes.  Some may benefit, and I fully expect some to be harmed.  Before you pay too much attention to anyone's whining (including mine), please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking .

Some things I like:  back into the structure
Instead, we want the user to make a conscious choice after it has been deployed, and decide if they want personal, corporation, alliance or public use. That’s right, we want those structures to be used for the wider audience, so if you wish to establish your own Market Hub somewhere, make it open to everyone and set your taxes to be shamelessly expensive go right ahead.

We will lose our forcefield, and to be honest I don't care. Before the WH groups all evict me (and we really should get that defector first), I care about what the POS forcefield allows.  We can see the overview and dscan while 'safe', and that there are no docking games because I can enter and leave safe space unless there are (clearly visible and destroyable with station guns) bubbles.  Allow me to check for safety, clear moorings and enter warp (unless there is a bubble) and I will be content.  This probably includes me wanting to swap from docked to moored and back again.

CCP is thinking about playing with fuel (Back into structure).  One point we are considering is to remove fuel requirements to online structures and move it as a requirement to operate service modules.  I want overall requirement for fuel to either stay static or even increase. Reducing total overall fuel requirements will have shockwaves through the market and even worse, will nerf my PI wormholes.

I don't understand when structure will be activated, deactivated, reinforced or captured, and when will it be destroyed?  Entosis links are used to wrest control. Politics By Other Means refers to capturing stations. But then Back into Structure refers to destruction of structures with special containers.  Maybe I am slow today, but I can't work out when something will be destroyed and when it will be captured.


I want there to be places that a small group can hold.  I am an industrialist and believe that in Eve, destruction is good for business.  However it is only good for me if it is someone else's stuff that gets destroyed.  If I am going to store billions of ISK of ship and loot, I really do want it to take more than 2 people for 1 hour to steal it from me.  It is common to have 2 to 3 pilots on sporadically over a couple of hours (eating meals, looking after kids etc).  It looks like a single pilot with 40 minutes up their sleeve could make everything vulnerable.  If so, that would cause me to consolidate and reach for more numbers than I have.  If it takes 4-5 well trained pilots to defend a class 1 or 2 wormhole for 4 hours/day, but it only support 2-3 medium skilled pilots running sites for that same time, then there is a problem.  There are always PI alts but ... PI alts are usually just that, possibly with POS gunning or the ability to fly a scanning ship.


Docking up in stations to hide is being strongly discouraged. Trolls can shut down services to cause fights, or simply to punish the AFK. (Politics by other Means)  Although reinforcing of Sovereignty structures may only occur during the owning alliance’s prime time window, station services can be disabled at any time through use of the Entosis Link for between 5 and 20 minutes (depending on occupancy levels).

Today, to bash out a large properly configured POS in a c1-c4 system requires either at least 2 weeks of building a capital, or a couple of squads of kitchen sink battleships (give or take, less required for well fit ships), over 2 days.  What I am trying to work out is what will it take to either disable my wormhole services, and possibly take my POS replacement away from me.  I think it is entirely proper that a well put together couple of squads, over 40 or so hours can evict us.  Similarly, 4 or 5 pilots consistently on over a couple of weeks with enough strength to cause us cower in stations would similarly be acceptable.  So I repeat myself : CCP Please do not let a single bored pilot with an hour to spare wait for us to go offline and reinforce our small corp wormhole stations by stealth.

I am currently spreading my time between wormholes and tending a nullsec market, and probably doing both badly. I spend large amounts of my in game time tending these, 


Market hubs are interesting and powerful places. I would love these to be scaleable, and available in wormholes.  Something small that that could take a set of PI buy/sell orders for my PI farming wormholes, up to something that can support the fleets of the largest alliances.   I do see that, with effort, station contents including market hubs, should be at least partially lootable.

Wormholes space is currently best space for a small group to set up shop.  When I first moved into wormholes, we had 3 or 4 of us set up a tower, bash out customs offices, and live out of our space.  This was exciting and stressful times.  I really was worried about that lone Drake taking out our just anchored tower.  Now I know what is required to knock one over, and it is more than that lone Drake.

I am worried that with Fozzie Sov, small corps setting up their first structures be able to be trolled out of existence by every passing 2 man gang.  Will the small corp wake up with all of their services offline because someone had 15 minutes of spare time while they were asleep?

There is a transition plan where existing structures will co-exist but without bonuses while new structures take over.  For me this works.

Anyone thinking that there will not be losers out of the structures and sovereignty changes is foolish.  If the big boys are not screaming blue murder, then it will be the little player, but hearing discontent from some quarters to make me think that it might be OK. 

References :
* Back into structure : http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/back-into-the-structure
* Politics by other means https://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/politics-by-other-means/

Someone else I am watching for his take on the new mechanics for WH space is Trinkets Friend from http://localectomy.blogspot.com.au/2015_03_01_archive.html  (NSFW) - especially his March 2015 posts.

Edit : Turamarth's post : http://turamarths-evelife.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/is-ccp-gonna-bust-da-bubble.html 

If you have a blog post on this topic, add it as a comment.  I will turn it into a clicky link at the bottom of this post.