Creating a null trade hub

I have been quieter than normal the last little while, and actually trying to find time to play the game rather than write up what is working (or not).  I also have been playing with eve static data.

My current project is out in null space.  Yes, on some of my pilots, I have joined a null renter corp.

I still don't 'rat' much.  I thing I have spent 10 hours ratting in the last month.  I have taken part in a structure grind where the local renters (and not the so called landlords) were wanting to reclaim a station to provide an easier trade route back from Razor.  (Long story for another day maybe).

I had great plans of being a null manufacturer, with the bounties of excessive moon goo and ore.  These were the dreams of the uninformed idealist.

One of the things I have noticed out in my area of Cobalt Edge, is that we do not have a functional market.  Sure there are the occasional jump freighter runs for the organised, but these are done far too much on a trust everyone basis.  http://serpentinelogic.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/note-to-self/ is from the same alliance. 

You can trust some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but I don't trust all of the people all of the time.

I know wormholes.  I have some logistics ability.  I have some coding ability.  Time to make a trade hub.

My plan is to stock my null station with stuff so that pilots can equip a ship with something.  Tech 2, best named Meta, occasionally faction stuff.  At the moment largely ammunition and modules but the occasional ship.

So for me, most of my logistics has been via wormholes and DST's.  The furthest that I have travelled to find a usable null based wormhole is 7 jumps, and usually it is only 2-3.  At the moment, usable means no more than 2 intermediate wormholes, no more than 2 lowsec systems.  This limitation is based on the number of 'eyes' I am willing to commit to wormholes and gates.

I am still skittish with my DST, and wait probably too long after seeing someone on a gate.  The DST is probably strong enough to shake off most pursuit.  Maybe.  Either that or I will just keep being skittish.  Jump drive calibration 5 is currently being trained on a couple of pilots, with the eventual plan to make 2 jumps, swap ship between pilots, jump 2 more and swap back again.  The non-jumping pilot would use a mix of jump clones, interceptors and T3 cloaky interdiction nullified ships.

I have my list of what I would like to sell; just over 1800 item types.  I currently have 400 slots in null and sigh a little. I also want to have room for buy orders too.  So I am also training more pilots for more trading, planning to get around 1000 slots.  This still wont be enough for my 'want to trade list'.

The things I know :

• Hauling is possible but it takes time, ammunition is pretty easy.  
• T1 hulls can be made in null, T2 hulls are a lot harder as there is very little local moon goo for sale, and even then it is only select moons.
• Most trading and hauling currently happens via a social networks.
• I am going to have to trim hard on what I am selling at least in the short term
• Our renters are cashed up but have poor access to markets.

Based on this, I have been hauling stuff that is not currently being traded and I think will sell, and then listing it at a significant margin.

My pricing model is based on a convenience store out the middle of nowhere rather than next door to a major city supermarket.  I am trying to provide stuff to the buyers that want it now, rather than buyers that want to be organised.  Later when I get more trade orders and better logistics,

My market solution is still way too manual.  I looked at Eve Mentat and can't drive it they way I want.

At the moment my market selection method consist of 3 windows: One eve window in my null system with the trade filter set to 'show only available' for 'station'; one eve window in a trade hub, and one browser window on either eve central or this spreadsheet .The spreadsheet is meant to show my 1800 items list, and the prices in Jita, Amarr and my region of space.  It is slow and often refuses to load all data (hence the eve central fallback).

I don't mind being undercut.  At the moment that means most likely ignoring the item, but 'soon' it will mean pulling the item and listing another one instead.  I have no idea on when 'soon' will be.

Why ask CSM candidates for short answers?

Some of the CSM have troubles providing short answers in my CSM 10 candidate questions.  Some have written posts about how TLDR is a hard (edit) thing.  Others shoved multiple answers in with various pretence about how it was only one answer.  (Do this too badly and Foo will edit your answers to fit)

I personally am a long form reader, I like reading the intricacies and banter that goes back and forward.

Last year I listed to many many hours of podcasts, read many blog and CSM forum posts.  The problem is that I am going to be approaching burnout from all the reading by the time the CSM elections are done, and I will read much more than most.

Most eve players (your potential voters) will not.

Some candidates have rusted on voters.  These voters follow suggestions of their leadership group, whether it be CEO, alliance leadership or their favourite bloggers.

Some voters will vote for someone regardless of what is written, and make up their own mind.  These people will read your long form answers, listen to podcasts and come up with their reasoned responses.

Most potential voters find the whole voting process a little irrelevant and/or too much bother.  I am trying to create something for those who are deciding whether to vote, and to try to move some of them into either of the above 2 voting groups, preferably the group that makes up it's own mind.


The CSM 9 voter turnout was shocking. I feel that this represents a fall in engagement in Eve as a game for the longer term.  I feel we got a pro-active CSM that did lots of good work.  No they didn't get everything they wanted, nor do I think they should.   I still think we have a better Eve experience because of the CSM. 

I want more players engaged in Eve, not just the ad-hoc pew pew, but to feel they can shape the game into the future.  I feel that the CSM is amongst our best ways to shape this from a design perspective.  The CSM are not game designers, but they are our representatives as involved key stakeholders.

Those that just seek a simple answer from their leadership group will already be well covered.

Those that seek long form answers will similarly be well covered: Eve forums, a wealth of in depth interviews, blogs, podcasts will all let the well informed be even better informed.

I tried to make questions that appeal to the TLDR audience, and give them a way to get more information should they want it about a candidate.  As it is, 2000 words of CSM answers and counting, becoming probably 5000 words before the season ends, will be too much for many of these players to read.

I know that this blog, by itself, won't reach out to many.  But hopefully a short form set of answers, when linked to by a few that do care, may appeal to those that would not otherwise vote.

CSM 10 season : open questions to CSM candidates

My readers fall into a few groups: Those living in wormholes;  PI farmers;  Market players.  (and the rest of you).

To all CSM candidates:

1. Why should my readers vote for you (TLDR version)?
2. What one thing do you realistically want to fix in Eve?  
1. For existing CSM members, what one thing was the best fix you achieved?
3. What is your solution to this one thing?
4. What URL has more information about you?

Leave a comment here, or evemail DoToo Foo.

Responses will be posted to http://foo-eve.blogspot.com.au/p/csm-10-candidate-questions.html

Small POS in a C4 and other activities

With the wormhole changes a couple of months ago, we largely moved out of our C4 wormhole, and I have been occasionally making half hearted attempts to sell it. 

I did however pull down our large tower and put up a small tower instead.  An SMA, CHA and defences to have a holding pilot look after it.

I was mildly curious to know how long it would take until someone paid attention.  The answer is 8 weeks.

I was scanning an exit (as I had an interested buyer), and as is my standard practice, landed 100k of the entrance.  Good thing too, as there was a command ship on the wormhole.  Rechecking Dscan finds 3 interdiction ships (2 destroyers, 1 cruiser).  Mmmm.  Maybe not today.  Head to a safe spot and cloak up.

Off to do some other chores, and come back a little later.  This time, 4 marauders on the POS and I am getting notifications about damaged ECM mods.  I am somewhat confused.  Marauders can be ECM immune, but whatever rocks their boat.

With this particular POS however, I am remarkably unstressed.  I look at my division in the CHA.  A few prototype cloaks, T1 scanning equipment and a few cargohold extenders.  Easy, load them up into my ship and offline the CHA to unanchor it. Umm.  No.... there is something still in there.

Van had more scanning probes and some unassembled shuttles.  Ok.  Online, loot (bother - shuttles are too large - change to an Itty 5 instead of my Epithal). Finally offline and unanchor the CHA.  Scoop it up, why not.

Now I want to unanchor the SMA. Mmm.  A lot of ships in there.  About 20 velators, and 30 shuttles.  Ok.  Eject, eject, eject ..... A couple more Itty 5's epithals and heaven forbid, a catalyst.  Yup. 

I break a cardinal wormhole rule.  I talk in local, leaking way too much information about my intentions but ...screenshot my empty SMA and post to local.

Worthy loot for the mighty incoming storm

Now take the SMA down and put it into my cargo.

I am a POS gunner so target a Golem and try some pew pew ... Umm. Try is the right term.  I managed to get one of the Golems to 1/2 shield.  Still, at least now they will keep 1/2 an eye on their ships.

One thing to watch.  There is a current bug on the management window.  The Control Tower Manager window does not show the current shield %.  I discovered this when trying to adjust shield hardeners to match the damage profile.  Oh well, I should have done this well before.  Next time.

The hostiles were giving updates on a semi-regular basis, letting me know the actual shield %.  On this manager, it never shifted below 65%.  A reinforced tower @ 65% shields is not a screenshot I expected to get.  I have lodged a ticket.

Tongue in cheek, I asked for a remote rep module to repair the ECM modules so I can take the tower down later.  They brought one in and left it in a container.  I picked it up and have it in my cargo, and paid them for the equipment.

I have been quiet on the blog, but still very much caught up in game.  I am still doing WH PI (with real towers).  There are several 3/4 finished posts that I need to polish off. 

The other place I am looking at is Cobalt Edge.  This is null renter space 50 jumps from highsec.  It has acceptable PI (but not great), but an abysmal market.  I am trying to rectify some of that.  A scouted wormhole route for a DST is a wonderful thing.

Hal 9000

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the computer controlling the ship, HAL 9000, does everything in it's power to keep a secret it has been told to keep.

The humans would find that task impossible, so it did the only logical thing.

Given some settings on my POS, it did the only logical thing.

A tip for new players and old: Ensure your that the alt pilot's corporations are friendly for your POS's shoot on site settings.  Pilot settings are not good enough.

I am not the first pilot to do this.  I won't be the last.

At least I know that my tower shoots pilots from neutral corporations.

4K monitor and multiple sessions

I have recently purchased a 4K monitor (the Samsung U28D590).  The monitor itself is very nice, but has contributed directly (and not in a good way) to my recent lack of posts.


Firstly the good:

• A crystal clear picture, very high resolution monitor.  It is better than my eyesight.
• Ability to have 6 Eve sessions on the same screen all at the same time.  I am successfully running 4 sessions at the same time on the same monitor without any overlap.

These are very good things.

I normally don't do high resolution graphics on the web, but this is what I look at, on a 28" monitor.

Edit(again): Raw image at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ite5qzmwavw6chs/4ksettings.png?dl=0

The not so good:

• I needed a motherboard bios upgrade to even boot while the monitor was plugged in.  My motherboard is from October 2012 http://foo-eve.blogspot.com/2012/10/beer-induced-afk.html
• I needed a new graphics card to display anything when the monitor was plugged in. (swapped out a GTX 9800 for a GTX750)
• The GTX750 is 4k rated and displays the screen at 3180x2160 @ 30Hz, or I can split the screens into 2 and have each half running at 1960x2160 @ 60Hz, I have a colour difference at the boundary of the two virtual monitors.  If I had purchased a display port graphics card I could have the entire monitor as a single screen @ 60Hz.
• Most programs are optimized for less pixels on screen, and don't allow you to upsize selectively.   I find myself faceplanting my monitor to read some things. Reading things like the graphics display settings window that is shown top right is an example. (Tweaking the UI scaling does help for Eve).
• Getting advice on these monitors was hard.  There was only one 4k monitor stocked at our local shops, and while I looked as well as I could online, I missed that it would not run my preferred frame-rate. I live in a minor Capital City in Australia.

I would recommend 4k monitors for those buying new gaming or work PC's, where you have someone to help resolve any technical issues.

Things to consider when moving to a 4K monitor:

• These monitors are bleeding edge.  How will you cope when you metaphorically cut yourself?
• None of  the local shops knew much about 4k monitors.  Do your own research online.
• Not all 4K graphics cards are created equal, even when you purchase one specifically. Ensure your card runs the resolution at the required frame rate.
• When you finally get it running, enjoy your multi-boxing.

C4 WH with customs offices for sale

The Foo corporations are rationalising our wormholes, and our C4 wormhole : J231341
is now surplus to our requirements.

This is a C4 wormhole with a C1 and C5 static.  It has 'perfect PI' (with 2 lava planets), that is you can extract then make all PI products.


Our price is 1.5B and it includes transfer of all 10 customs offices.

There are no dead towers in the system, and only our current holding tower.  Our tower is also available for transfer at cost.

If you are interested in purchasing it, please contact DoToo Foo in game.