Exploration finally comes to EVE Echoes

Exploration finally comes to EVE Echoes

In EVE Online, the original PC version of the game scanning uses Scanning Probes: special modules and ammo, which, when deployed into space can pinpoint the location of interesting deadspace pockets, player structures and ships. The process takes a few iterations, where the first scan shows the rough location, and further scans increase the accuracy to a point where you can warp to it. This mechanic opened up a whole new profession of Exploration.

When EVE Echoes was finally deployed on August 13th, 2020, it came out without scanning. The in-game explanation was that some kind of supernova event caused the whole universe to mirror itself, and EVE Echoes happens in this “echo” universe, where certain quantum phenomena caused probe scanners to stop working. Empire Factions and Sisters of EVE have been researching it, and finally, almost ten months later a discovery was made: special neutrinos caused by the supernova explosion can be used to scan things in space.

Two new types of modules starting at Tier 7 were added to the game:

  • Wide Resonance Scanner
  • Narrow Resonance Scanner

These two modules are counterparts of Core Probe Launcher, which launches Core Scanner Probe and Expanded Probe Launcher which can launch Combat Scanner Probes, respectively. Instead of probes, these new modules require fuel, which is mined on planets using Planetery Interaction. When activated, the module will sweep the system and if any signatures are found, a special minigame will appear, where the player is presented with the detected signals and interfering stellar body signals in that system. The players task is to filter out all interference from the detected signal, and if the player manged to do that, the signature becomes warpable.

PVE

Resonance Scanner used for PVE can datect many different signals, including Deadspace anomalies and Nihilus Space gateways. You will need to have the Wide Resonance Scanner fitted, and by activating it in space, you will receive list of signals from the current starsystem. Once the scan is complete, player can tap the information check the scan report and begin the analysis minigame.

PVP

The Resonance Scanner can be used for PVP, just like Combat Probes were used in EVE Online. You have to fit the Narrow Resonance Scanner and activate it in space to receive different signals that show the ships in the current solarsystem. Then you can tap the information and begin the analysis minigame.

Fuel

Resonance Scanners need 200GJ worth of fuel to be present in the ships cargohold for each scan. Different fuels can be used, but each fuel type has different amount of energy in it, so different amount of fuel will be used each time you scan.

Fuel can be mined on planets like any other planetary material, and has to be one of the following:

  • Heavy Water (2GJ, 100 needed)
  • Suspended Plasma (5GJ, 20 needed)
  • Liquid Ozone (13GJ, 16 needed)
  • Ionic Solutions (37GJ, 6 needed)
  • Oxygen Isotopes (83GJ, 3 needed)
  • Plasmoids (196GJ, 2 needed)

LMeve GUI update – Decryptors!

LMeve GUI update – Decryptors!

I have recently made two commits to LMeve repository, that add some new functionality and fixed some bugs:

Added Decryptors to Tech II and III invention
– Decryptor configuration is stored per typeID, so you can choose best decryptor for each item.
Beautiful LMeve links – added “media” directives for Open Graph and Twitter
Added Killboard button on login page, if killboard is opened in public mode
– Added print.css for printing pages from LMeve
– View is now rendered to HTML as the last thing, so LMeve pages can now modify title and other header attributes, including media tags.
fixed JSON output of LMeve Northbound API – numbers are now presented as numbers, not strings (without ” quotes)

Speaking of Decryptors. Invention previously assumed no decryptors used (and ME=2 and TE=2 were hardcoded). Now for each item you can choose if and which Decryptor to use.
It will be used everywhere in LMeve – in Profit Chart, in Database and in Logistic Kits. While you choose Decryptors in Database, ME, PE and material lists are updated on the fly, cost calculation requires clicking “Save”. This will be fixed in a future release.

Enjoy!

Update is already available on LMeve project page.

EVE: Echoes unvelied during EVE Vegas (formerly Project Galaxy)

EVE: Echoes unvelied during EVE Vegas (formerly Project Galaxy)

On October 19th CCP has unveiled their second mobile game coming to iOS and Android in 2019 – EVE: Echoes.

The name of the upcoming title was known two days prior to EVE Vegas thanks to some smart EVE players, who found out that CCP has registered the trademark for Echoes, but it was unknown at this time for which game this new name will be used.

 

EVE: Echoes (formerly known as Project Galaxy) is supposed to be a scaled down version of actual EVE Online, with all core gameplay elements intact. The game promises an “authentic EVE Online experience for mobile devices”. According to the Apple Keynote earlier this year, the game will also feature AR capabilties on compatible Apple devices.

It isn’t easy to port a game as big and as broad as EVE Online into mobile world, but if CCP and NetEase stuck to the core gameplay elements, it should be possible. I was rambling about a mobile game in New Eden at least since 2013, which was the first time I had to cut back on my PC gaming. Then in 2014 I started playing World of Tanks Blitz, which is an awesome mobile game, ideally fitting those short bursts of free time you have when waiting for something, be it a doc appointment or during your daily commute. Mobile devices at the time already had enough juice (i nterms of GPU power) to run original EVE from 2003.

EVE: Echoes will feature an expansive map with thousands of star systems (judging by the video shown at EVE Vegas it seems to be a copy of the New Eden cluster from EVE Online, at least system names look familiar). Core gameplay elements such as exploration, combat, mining and trading are said to now fit inside your pocket. Players will be able to form corporations and wage wars over territories just like in it’s bigger brother. Developers even expect the same huge fleet battles happening from time to time.

From the technical side, the game will be running on NetEase’s proprietary engine called NeoX (why not Unreal 4? CCP has recently chosen to use Unreal Engine for all their upcoming projects). EVE: Echoes will be released on iOS and Android in 2019, but no information about minimum requirements regarding CPU/GPU or screen size have been announced yet. From Apple perspective, AR mode will require at least an iPad Pro or iPhone 6s.

Speculation and hints for CCP

  • I hope it will be possible to link EVE: Echoes to EVE Online in some way, namely use the same name and avatar we had for EVE Online.
  • Speaking of which, I hope for cross-game promotions
  • I hope it will be free to play with similar Alpha-Omega modes as EVE Online
  • I hope there will be an API for the new game, so I can use it with LMeve
  • I hope there will be data dumps, so we can make fansites 🙂
  • It would be awesome if the game was eventually released for touch-enabled x86/x64 devices like Microsoft Surface or my Asus Transformer 2 in 1 tablet.

 

 

LMeve state: almost done, still work in progress

LMeve state: almost done, still work in progress

Hi Spacefriends!

In the recent couple of weeks I’ve put in considerable amount of effort into LMeve development, in order to bring back all lost functionalities.

At the beginning of September I brought back the core functionality of LMeve, namely Industry Tracking. Since then the following functions have been restored:

  • added Markets route
  • pulls Jita prices from /markets//orders/ (default: Jita/The Forge)
  • pulls game calculated average and adjusted prices for each typeID
  • removed eve-central.com – all data comes solely from ESI now
  • added Corporation Market Orders
  • added Corporation Contracts and Contract Items
  • Buyback feature works again
  • Wallet Balance
  • Wallet Journal
  • Wallet Transactions
  • added ‘KIT’ endpoint in LMeve Northbound API. Usage: api.php?key=&endpoint=KIT
  • added XML format – use ‘output=xml’ and ‘output=json’ in URL to select format
  • Assets
  • Industry System Indices support added
  • Killmail support added
  • Adjusted killmail view ( killmails are now ESI verified 🙂 )
  • Killboard is back up!
  • Corp Blueprint support added
  • ME/TE values are based on actual Corp Blueprints

Additional changes:

  • fixed a bug in Universe route
  • moved ESI settings to GUI
  • added ability to use data from Sisi (support for ESI datasource)
  • GUI tuning for Buyback feature (ESI has new contract states)
  • Deprecated and disabled everything that mentions old XML API
  • Bug fix in X-Pages support
  • Twitter card meta tags for Killboard – links look nice when sharing killmails

Stuff remaining to be done

  • Customs Offices
  • Citadels
  • Industry Facilities
  • Character connect using SSO
  • Member self registration using SSO (optional, disabled by default)
  • Bug fixing!

Known bugs

  • Manufacturing Price estimation does not compute correct prices despite having all prices in the database

EVE Project Galaxy – ARkit 2 enabled game for iOS

EVE Project Galaxy – ARkit 2 enabled game for iOS

This morning I was reading information about iOS 12 on the official polish Apple site.

To my surprise, I’ve noticed some EVE Online assets on an iPad in one of the photos. When I clicked on the photo, my jaw dropped so hard on the floor, I’m still looking for it.

Here’s what I saw:

When I bought my first iPad in 2011, one of my dreams was to play EVE Online or at least a mobile game set in New Eden. Fast forward 7 years, I bought an Intel-based Windows 10 tablet, which can just play EVE Online (or any other PC game). But for Project Galaxy, I guess I should’ve chosen a new iPad Pro instead.

In June, at Apple’s WWDC18 event, CCP Games and NetEase announced their coooperation in making a mobile game codenamed EVE: Project Galaxy. The game is scheduled to be released in 2019. It is said to be released for all major mobile platforms (so we can speculate iOS will not be the only one). Contrary to Project Aurora, which I have covered in this post about EVE: War of Ascension, Project Galaxy will be a scaled down version of EVE Online, with all core gameplay experiences like combat, mining, industrial manufacturing, trade and exploration. The game is also said to use the ARkit2.0 library, revealed by Apple at WWDC2018, which brings several new features to AR-enabled phones and tablets, such as persistent and multiuser virtual space which can now be shared across time and fixed to real-world locations, 3D object recognition, face tracking or scene reflection (ability to reflect real environment by virtual objects).

More information is in the official press release on ccpgames.com.

Ready to blow up some spaceships in your living room?
 

EVE Hype is real.

Apple spilled the beans! @CCPGames is making an iOS game for AR-kit called PROJECT GALAXY! I’ve noticed it on the polish IOS 12 description page: https://t.co/ehpCqTu5Zn I look and see EVE graphics on iPad and I’m like WTF?! #tweetfleet #eveonline #AR #iOS12 pic.twitter.com/qe6kYTz1z0— Lukas Rox (@rox_lukas) October 3, 2018

LMeve state: back from the dead, work in progress

LMeve state: back from the dead, work in progress

Hi Spacefriends!

First of all, thank you for continued support and all your e-mails and EVE mails. I was surprised that so many people still use LMeve! I can’t simply ignore so many kind words and encouragement. Thank you for that!

I’m proud to announce that despite limited free time, I’ve finally managed to restore the core functionality of LMeve: Industry Tracking.

LMeve Industry tracking using ESI LMeve Industry tracking using ESI

User Story

You might wonder why it took so much time to restore any functionality, so here’s the story. When XML API cutover was announced, I realized I have to modify the backend of LMeve: the engine that handles API and feeds LMeve with data. But the old backend was written in plain procedural PHP. It was spaghetti-quality code, that was hard to modify and maintain, and even the simplest modification had to be done in multiple places in code. So I decided I have to rewrite it from scratch, this time as well as best as I could, so the new code would be easier to maintain once it’s done. The new ESI backend is written in objective PHP, with two main template classes and several inherited classes. The main one is ESI class and it represents the API itself. It allows access to routes, handles refresh and bearer tokens and all the necessary operations such as token renewal. You can easily access any route using simple but powerful instantiation: $ESI->Characters->getCharacterName($characterID) for example will provide a toon name when provided with character ID. Very easy to use, right? Each route inherits the Route base class, which handles the low level network communication, reporting and error handling. It also supports paginated output on ESI routes using the X-Pages header.

Moreover, this class can be used not just in the backend of LMeve, but in the GUI as well. It can be used to fetch data from ESI directly. Other apps such as my Annual Stats can (and actually already do) use it. This is why it was worth to take the rewrite-from-scratch approach, even if it took more time!

How to upgrade

  1. Right now simply download the new PHP code and overwrite your current installation. Don’t worry about the database tables, because DB will be updated automatically the first time you log in.
  2. Second step is to enable the EVE SSO using this helpful wiki guide: Integrating LMeve with EVE SSO .
  3. Then go to Settings and make sure Enable ESI Poller is checked.
  4. Last but not least, head to Settings -> ESI API tokens and create New ESI token. Please mind you must have a Director role to do this.

What works, what does not

Please remember this newest version is still a beta. Logging is heavy, so you might want to rotate your logs more often.

What works:

  • ESI integration and token management
  • ESI status checking and alerting in case of failure
  • Corp Member information
  • Industry Tracking and Tasks Tracking

Roadmap for the next releases:

  • Market prices
  • Assets
  • Wallet
  • Contracts
  • Killboard

I will release one feature at a time, using Agile approach.

What can You do to help?

I would like to ask You for some support. How can You help?

  • Use and test the new LMeve version. Bug report on the project’s Github page (please check the list of features that currently work and which don’t before you report)
  • Need a new alt for Industry? Use my buddy invite to register. You will get an extra 250.000 SP on your new character as a bonus.
  • Wanna send a tip? I could always use some extra buck! Here’s my PayPal donation page. It will also be easier to convince my better half that I need to spend some time on a freeware app for video games 🙂 just sayin’

Insert coin!

Thanks! Your help and support is always welcome and appreciated!

Special thanks goes to: Random McNally, Rixx Javix, Ramdar Chinken, Marq Aideron and Starfire Dai.

EVE: War of Ascension (aka Project Aurora)

EVE: War of Ascension (aka Project Aurora)

So on my 13th EVE Online anniversary (please mind I’ve been retired for the past 3 years) Kael Decadence informed me that Project Aurora is actually playable as open beta. So I’ve immediately downloaded the game to my Android phone and began playing (I don’t have enough free time to play games properly on PC, but generally can find time to play games on mobile – it’s why I focused on World of Tanks Blitz for the past four years).

After 48 hours of playing I am slowly reaching Command Module level 6 and already have some feedback to the Playraven/CCP teams.

Things that the Playraven team nailed:

  • Resource mechanics are nice. Corp moon mining <3
  • Citadel contesting mechanic is ok. Simplified, but similar to EVE.
  • Shield and armor ship setups <3
  • PVP is quite dynamic – you can help and defend your friends, too
  • Technology tree looks good
  • Spin counter <3

Things that the CCP team didn’t convince Playraven team to hard enough:

  • There is ship incosistency between EVE Online and EVE:WoA
    • Caldari Shuttle as Civilian Miner. Drop Shuttle from this line, make Venture as the entry level, and add Hulk on top of the tree.
    • Navitas and Heron are Logi and Ewar respectively – here are used as combat vessels
  • No in-game factions are present. Where are my Serpentis rats?!
  • Ships should be recyclable (can be at a reduced rate like in EVE), because right now I have to throw them at someone to destroy them
  • The same applies to Repair Bay – it should be possible to recycle ships from there
  • Ship descriptions are copied from EVE Online and don’t reflect the EVE:WoA specifics
  • Instant fleet Warp? As if there were no Jump Portals in EVE? Come on! Name the things appropriately please.
  • Fleet recall requires microtransactions? It’s free in most other games in the genre vide: Galaxy on fire Alliances, OGame, Supernova

Things that Playraven team could add:

  • Ability to link your EVE Online account and portrait with EVE:WoA (use SSO, download character image)
  • Cross-game promotions with EVE Online and EVE Valkyrie (unique SKINs, etc., unique items)

Update Open beta will go down on September 28th 2018. The game will go live somewhere in 2019. I will miss this little time-killer…

LMeve state – ESI support is not ready

LMeve state – ESI support is not ready

Traffic advisory

I’ve started updating LMeve to ESI four months ago (see the project site on github https://github.com/roxlukas/lmeve/), but due to RL being rather harsh on me for the past couple of years regarding free time, I don’t have enough of it to finish necessary modifications before XML API cutover. I’m truly sorry about that, but there is little I can do to speed it up. Unfortunately I haven’t found any other third party dev interested in helping me update LMeve either.

Here’s the current status:

  • new ESI poller library: DONE
  • ESI base class (token exchange, cache handling, exception handling, performance measurement): DONE
  • GUI for authentication and token echange: DONE
  • corporation sheet ESI-to-database mapping: DONE
  • corporation members ESI-to-database mapping: DONE

As you can see a lot of the low-level stuff is already done, but the most important now to make LMeve work would be to continue mapping data from ESI to LMeve database tables:

  • industry jobs
  • contracts
  • killmails
  • wallet journals
  • market orders
  • market prices

I haven’t abandoned the project, but it has to wait until RL settles a bit (i.e. doing less projects in the evening). This may take a month, or this may take five months, I can’t tell. Maybe if LMeve *was* a commercial project, it would speed things up… but I really want to avoid running a kickstarter for this. I’d like to keep LMeve free for everyone to use.

TL; DR

LMeve will no longer receive data from EVE Online servers after downtime, May 8th, 2018.

Taking a break

Hi,

I’m taking a break from EVE Online (possibly for good), so this blog will not be updated until further notice.

In the meantime, feel free to check out my other projects:

All the above are still supported and updated, so drop me a mail if you have any issues:
email

Yours,
Lukas Rox