Portable EVE Online skill tracking

I recently downloaded EVE Tracker to my iPod Touch to be able to keep track of my character's skill training in EVE Online on the portable device. I'm not entirely sure of the application's utility, because if I'm not near a computer when the training completes there is little point in being told. I hope that there is an alarm function so that if I am near a computer but not paying attention to my skill training my iPod will beep at me to let me know to log in and cue the next skill to be trained. Without a speaker on the iPod this may be difficult, but at least it gives an option that doesn't require the EVEMon utility, which is unavailable on the Mac platform. This is mostly academic, as I didn't have much luck when trying to input the long API key needed to gain access to the limited character information and thus couldn't get my skill training plan to load anyway.

There is another option available for tracking EVE Online skill training on an iPod Touch as after a short wait the Capsuleer application has finally been released. Capsuleer promises the same kind of features as EVE Tracker but without the need to input the API manually. I downloaded the application and fired it up. Unfortunately, that's about as far as I got. The welcome page indicates that the user needs to send a formatted e-mail to the iPod Touch in order to get the API key transferred, but I had already powered-down my computer for the evening and was only interested in seeing if the application worked. Without access to the API key Capsuleer couldn't show me anything.

However, when I downloaded Capsuleer I also saw that EVE Tracker had an update available and remembered that the previous notes for the application promised the ability to get the API key without needing the user to enter it manually. The iPod synchronisation I performed before turning off my computer also updated my copy of EVE Tracker to the latest version, and with Capsuleer unable to give me any information I may as well see what EVE Tracker can do now.

I load EVE Tracker and there is a new selection available to get the API key automatically. The EVE API key page is loaded in a browser window and after I enter my username and password my limited API key is displayed on the page. EVE Tracker then grabs the data and inserts it in to the required fields for the application. After one false start, where the data isn't saved for some reason, my pilot data is loaded in to the application and I am able monitor my skill training progress and wallet's ISK balance.

I have access to my pilot data wherever I have access to a wireless internet connection. Of course, I cannot update or change my skill training, so it is still of limited use, and being able to monitor my skill training at any time seems a bit obsessive. At least I can now see that my twelve-day skill training hasn't accidentally finished earlier than expected.

Posted in Gaming |
Tags: capsuleer, eve online, eve tracker, ipod