Updated EVE Station Trading Spreadsheet

April 22, 2016 / Casey / 2 Comments

The new sheet is live!

Change Log

Able to define a BUY station and a SELL station. That’s right. Jita to, well, anywhere. The BUY stations are the top 100 non-nullsec stations. Constant name changes make the nullsec stations difficult to keep in the form.
The updated version of Lockefox’s scripts.
General clean up and ease of use.
BIG NOTES about MAKING A COPY. This sheet is a master, if you want your own copy then go to File – > Make a Copy and voila, you’ll have your own shiny copy to use and abuse.

Get it here!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XDSKvIDFJcVweeCO7HY0kVAjoARTUUOMJQR9kq4rCC4/edit?usp=sharing

Returning to the Universe

April 22, 2016 / Casey / Leave a comment

World-War-Bee-2

As always about Fanfest time I get excited about EVE. I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus but now the wars in the North are picking up steam and EVE is alive and vibrant again. So, on that note, I’ll be returning with some new player related stuff.

In addition I’ll be reworking the EVE Station trading worksheet. Why? Well, this monstrosity is in need of an update. API’s are broken, it doesn’t update well, and it can be streamlined.

Making ISK in EVE has changed. Well, it’s always changing. But when I first did my challenge it was significantly easier. One, PLEX was way cheaper, and two, there wasn’t nearly as much competition. I’ll still keep a focus on station trading but I’m going to branch out too. Ninja-Gas mining is a fun endeavor. Exploration has possibilities, and with the revamped PVE experience coming who knows what else.

Want a topic covered? Let me know. I’m open to suggestions.

Otherwise for starters keep an eye out for the new EVE Trading Spreadsheet. It’ll be out soon.

Steel Storm

June 17, 2015 / Casey / Leave a comment

My newest novel is out, Steel Storm.

A routine sentry mission discovers a human colony where only bones remain, and the hostiles are nowhere to be found.

Days later a fusion bomb devastates the defending forces on the desert planet Squire. Hordes of the insectoid Kadan flood the planet with the technology of the ancient Emflife. They advance to crush the human lines but stop just short of victory.

Colonel Cole Clarke and his battalion of convicts must discover what the Kadan are really doing. Their untested armor is the only thing that can stand up to the Emflife tanks, and that’s if they’re lucky. They’re outgunned, outmatched, and stretched thin. If they fail, the alien invasion won’t stop until they’ve burned their way into the heart of human space. Terra.

Sent on an impossible mission with no support, the 19th ACR strikes out alone.

This is a sequel to Steel Breach, but you can read either as a stand alone. This isn’t directly inspired by EVE, but it’s hard not to bring some of the more colorful characters and put them into fiction. If you enjoy it, please let let me know, I’d love to hear your feedback.

On the EVE front I’m in a holding pattern while I wait for FozzieSov. Not much more to say for now. But once it comes I’ll be back!

EVE – June 2015, Avoiding BitterVET Status

June 5, 2015 / Casey / Leave a comment

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here. Mostly because when I do post about EVE (which isn’t often anymore) I do it over at http://titaniumtrout.com.

At the moment I’m in an EVE lull. I’ve gone through this cycle many times before. Right now I’m in a holding pattern while I wait for the NullSec changes to come to life.

I’m at an odd point. I have plenty of isk, plenty of ships, and no real reason to go out and fight. There’s nothing worth fighting over. There’s no one who can come and take what I have. Sure there’s opponents, but if there’s not a compelling reason, a story behind it, then it’s just World of Tanks in space.

This happened to me around the Incarna incident. EVE was meh. There’s not much inspiring me now. Hopefully this will all change when FuzzySov goes into full swing.

On the plus side I’m writing a lot more. My sixth novel will be out soon, and I’m just getting into the meat of the 7th novel. I should write a bit about EVE inspiring my science fiction, because it absolutely does. Just not the EVE of 2015 but the EVE of 2006.

Can you still earn a PLEX in 21 days?

Yes. Absolutely.

The market is still robust, there’s plenty of items to trade, and courier contracts are cheap as ever… So get out there and try it!

Price Oddities

October 30, 2014 / Casey / 2 Comments

Lately my station trades have been a bit… off. The prices would be close, but not nearly as close as they were. Not that I was getting losses, but my trading delta was shifting.

EVE-MarketData has a nifty compare function. So I ran through a basket of items and discovered that EVE-Marketdata is, for the most part, two weeks old. Almost universally two weeks old in fact.

And there it is.

If Tritanium is off… well, I need to find a new price source.

The thing I like about the Eve-MarketData feed is I can grab all market data for a station. Then I can just VLOOKUP to my hearts content. One pull, one big data set, is much faster than 1200 XML queries. With EVE-Central I have to do individual calls, no massive dump for me!

My only option is to either hope that the CREST Market Feed comes online, or retool to EVE-Central feeds. I’d like to use EVE-Central, but it’s going to suck to make all those calls for all those locations. (I query 1200 items in 8 market hubs) So yah, 9600 XML queries will make my spreadsheet shit the bed.

If you, the loyal reader, has any ideas or options, please let me know!

Statistics, Randomness, and Profit

October 23, 2014 / Casey / Leave a comment

I have a dirty little secret.

I enjoy EVE gambling.

Many years ago a corpmate ran a Texas Hold Em EVE Website. This was circa 2006 and not entirely successful. The API system wasn’t what it is today so there was a ridiculous time level required and once he tired of dealing with it he folded up. It didn’t scale.

Fast forward a few years and Somer comes on the scene with Somerblink. This was a different animal. My key scheme here was to start small, bank my winnings, and then play for a large item. My investment was minimal and, if I played my choices right, I could end up with a nice shiny ship from time to time. A Vindicator? Check! An Eos? Bingo!

Now I didn’t play it every day, nor did I play it for long. A few bets and I was out. I’d have a good day ratting, or trading, or PVP’ing and top it off with a beer and a few rounds of Somer.

Then he went full-retard and I’ve been away from EVE. So Imagine my surprise when I found the Evening Games Club upon my return to New Eden.

I’ve been playing it and thoroughly enjoying myself. It’s quick, easy, and I’m holding a few more ships than I did before. Again, it’s a minor thing, a little bit here, a bit there, and I get that quick thrill of winning. It’s not going to be my full time EVE job, nor do I think it’s a path to riches, but for a way to relieve some steam, it’s pretty awesome. The pic above shows the plan, you buy in for a chip, and when the round is done one of the chips wins. Pretty simple right? More chips, more chances at winning.

So give it a try, you might just like it.

Evening Games Club

DogForge – Science Fiction Novel

October 9, 2014 / Casey / Leave a comment

My newest novel is out!

Get it at Amazon, just $0.99 for the opening weekend. The price will return back to normal on Monday.

The world is not as it seems.

Denali lives on the planet Forge, a world so harsh that only the largest, toughest, meanest dogs survive. She is none of these things. She is a runt, saved from a crashed starship, and striving to find her place in the pack. Now her second birthday approaches and with it a trial to become an adult. If she completes the trial she will earn the respect of the pack, a set of implanted metal teeth, and get to keep her consciousness. No one knows what happens to those who fail, they’re never seen again.

What Denali discovers shatters her view of the world. The stars are filled with amazing things, starships, armored walkers, aliens, legions of dogs, and never ending war. What begins as a struggle to survive is now a struggle for freedom. Through it all she seeks to find her place, to know her past, and do what is right. To make matters worse, she has a twelve hundred year old artificial intelligence stuck in her head.

Sentient dogs in power armor, aliens, and awesome battles. Plus a wicked struggle for freedom. Be sure to check it out!

Taking a Break

August 29, 2014 / Casey / Leave a comment

I’m taking a break. EVE has been a harsh mistress for these last ten years and I’ve finally succumbed to the bitter vet syndrome. Nullsec, where I like to play, isn’t giving me much joy.

I don’t really feel like expanding on it, it’s just not my thing anymore. Will it be in six months? Maybe. Will I be gone forever? Doubtful. But now I see why half of PL only resubs when a big fight is going down.

I’ve gotten more enjoyment watching FW battles on Twitch than I have fighting in Nullsec. I’m inspired by Endies vision, of what EVE could be, but until then I’m going to get my fix elsewhere. I have plenty of Plex for the day I want to come back, more ISK than I can lose in PVP, and no desire to POS/PI/Industry. I want to fight, hold a bit of space, and be a part of a small team of good friends. Screw titans, SC’s, blobs, and everything else that makes EVE what it is today.

No, you can’t have my stuff.

For now I will be playing Elite, Dwarf Fortress, Skyrim, and god knows what else I feel like plopping down $30 for. I’ll keep a watch on EVE for when a real war breaks out. Till then – don’t fly safe, fly violent, wreck something.

Science Fiction Novel – Edge of Redemption

August 18, 2014 / Casey / Leave a comment

It’s finally done! My third, and final, novel in the series. Interested in a review copy? Let me know in the comments!

Get it here : http://amzn.to/1oJIKh2

Lieutenant William Grace is the sole survivor of the Farshore genocide, the son of a rebel commander that won the war and lost the planet. That genocide led to the creation of the United Colonies, the thing William believes in most. The thing that seems to be falling apart in front of him. Now the Sa’Ami are held on one front and the Harmony Worlds on another.

He barely retains a command, an officer in a Navy that distrusts anyone not from Earth. He must lead a convoy to abandon a planet to its own fate. Given a mission designed to send him away from the war, a mission that goes against everything he believes in.

Luckily he’s not alone. He has a warship grown from an asteroid, and a crew of colonial misfits. But with a Navy that distrusts him, a corporate renegade who wants to manipulate him, a colony set on the path of treason, and a ship that will disassemble itself if he goes rogue, the stakes are as high as ever.

It will take every bit of his tactical skill, his innate sense of zero gravity combat, and his will to see the colonies survive. If he follows orders he’ll keep his oath, but if he makes a stand he might save the starsystem, or lose everything.