PHP, Zend Framework and Other Crazy Stuff
Archive for February, 2008
Eve-Online: Review of days 3 to 7 progress
Feb 22nd
To keep folk informed, I’ll be pushing Eve Online blog posts (and other topics) to a new blog separate from this one. Some quick polling showed people assume this is a near pure PHP medium so a new blog for the non-PHP topics is called for. This fits in with my target of 3 blog posts a week which now won’t be seen as spamming Planet PHP 
.
When I left off my last post I was enjoying ownership of a new Caldari Kestrel Frigate in Uitra, in the game called Eve Online, and had just joined a Corporation to further my experience and have a support network available. You can find me in-game as “Maugrim McFiriba”, the character I invented in the mid-90s with the now infamous “The Reaper” nickname, and later used as my internet handle all over Yahoo from 1998. Best of luck to other PHP developers trailblazing through Eve right now - I’ll add you guys as buddies in-game . Email me if you want in on my chosen Corporation in the next week or two.
This week started off quietly with me outfitting my new Caldari Kestrel. After training the required skills I’m now running with 4 Standard Missile Launchers (1 is held in reserve). To add a little to my “tanking” (the ability of a ship to absorb damage for extended periods without exploding) I’ve fitted a Shield Hardener, a Small Armor Repairer and a Shield Booster. The first is passive, the final two eat Capacitor power. My naming is not exact - still getting the hang of having module names memorised . I figured out recently that I was off the mark about increasing my ship’s capacitor max - I actually need to make modules I install require less by training relevant skills. In any case, I can now fit in those tanking modules and 3 Launchers without stressing my capacitor beyond it’s design limits. If I disable the Armor Repairer I can put an extra Launcher online (at a safe distance from the enemy since it drains my Capacitor dry when activating!) and increase my fire power by 33%. Assuming my shields can take the return beating with the Shield Booster enabled for short periods, and I don’t end up really really needing that Repair module, I can chew on level 1 Pirates from a distance of 20km or so and take out a ship with each grouped launch. I’m sure that won’t last long as the Pirates get wind of my new death dealer .
More after the jump. More >
My First Two Days Playing Eve Online
Feb 18th
It’s a lesser known trait of mine that I enjoy playing computer games, specifically strategy games for the PC. The only console I own is a Nintendo Wii - which is saying something since it’s the first console I’ve owned since the Sega Genesis! So this weekend, with all the free time I have, a new broadband connection courtesy of Eircom (after replacing the crappy Netopia router they give you for free; free as in scrap metal), and a little trepidation, I joined Eve Online.
Eve Online is a MMOG set in space. There are approximately 5000 star systems, 200,000+ subscribers, and perhaps 18,000 to 45,000 players online at any one time. Since I was playing at the weekend for extended periods, I noticed the numbers peaked on my GMT clock each evening. The idea behind Eve Online is to enter the vastness of space and make a name for yourself either through combat, mining, trading, production or research. These are not however true alternatives since any player can train any skill imaginable given enough time. So the name of success is called specialisation, not class leveling…
All star systems have a security rating from 1.0 to 0.0. I spent all my time in 1.0 and 0.9 star systems. The word is that going anywhere with a 0.8 rating or less is not something a Rookie should consider for at least a few weeks. Going to 0.5 or lower could charitably be called suicide. Check out YouTube for a few videos of what happens to players who get cocky and impatient and run off to a 0.4 system to mine. It only takes a high skill player with a few missiles…
As for strategic and tactical gameplay - Eve Online rocks. It’s a thinking man’s dream game. You need to select skills, compare weapons and ammunition types, review Market conditions for the best regional prices (some stations can charge double the average price for items), get used to how ships scale and how to assess which you can take on (which is pretty much nothing since 1.0 sec systems are heavily overwatched by the local race’s police forces and only suicides would attack you, or you them 
). Living in 1.0 space is quite safe and a more than a few corporations stay exclusively there. Even a few of the 0.0 Corporations maintain 1.0 sub-Corporations for you to join.
The game itself is beautifully rendered. Back in December CCP release the Trinity client was released which added an overall graphics update with high resolution textures. My PC was never taxed while running it. I have a pretty good gaming rig so I could easily run two clients at the same time (Eve also let’s you play three characters on your single account). Th only niggle was collision detection on large objects like stations and planets. While it seems an odd flaw, I suspect it’s a simple optimisation. The only annoyance it will serve is trying to reach anything on the opposite side of a station - my advice is to orbit around the station before making a straight-line approach to such objects.
My own experiences from a first weekend after the jump… More >
