Difference between revisions of "EVE:Quick Start Guide"

Latest revision as of 01:07, 10 May 2020

ISBoxer is the most feature-packed multiboxing software available, and over the last few years has also become the easiest to use. As such, there are a lot of guides and videos available, some of which go into great detail on various features, many of which have been superseded by newer and easier to use features.

This guide will help you find the quickest and easiest way to get started multiboxing EVE Online with ISBoxer, and how to get the most out of ISBoxer without confusing yourself. We will try to cover in detail all of the topics a brand new multiboxer might need to know.

If at any point you don't understand something in this guide, please feel free to stop by the ISBoxer Chat Room for help.

Before configuring ISBoxer

Before you can configure ISBoxer, you will need to make sure that Inner Space (installed by ISBoxer) is running in the system tray (usually next to the clock, where all the icons are). ISBoxer is going to generate configuration for Inner Space, based on what you set up in the ISBoxer software.

As of September 2016, EVE Online no longer allows directly launching the EVE Online client, and requires use of a launcher.

• The official EVE Launcher works with ISBoxer;
  • In a nutshell, use Add Game in the Inner Space menu to add EVE Launcher to Inner Space, in the Quick Setup Wizard, choose the Game/Profile from the drop downs (for existing teams set your characters to use the Game/Game Profile), then use the EVE Launcher to launch a single account at a time. For best results, close the launcher after each client is launched; the official EVE Launcher no longer includes an option to close after launching the game.

Getting started

Start by using the Quick Setup Wizard, easily found in the Wizards menu. The Quick Setup Wizard is pretty much self-explanatory, and has as few options in it as possible.

After setting up your configuration in ISBoxer, Export the settings to Inner Space to activate the configuration. This can be done from the File menu. ISBoxer does not need to be running during play, but it is common to leave it open in case you want to make changes during gameplay. We do recommend trying out your configuration before making many changes, so will you know later whether you broke something or it was already broke.

After Exporting, you can launch your team through the Inner Space menu under "ISBoxer Character Sets", or right click on your Character Set in ISBoxer (in the top pane) and select Launch. Once you are comfortable with your setup, you can optionally set up a simple desktop shortcut by right clicking your team and selecting "create desktop shortcut".

Logging into the game

Don't skip this part. If you skip this part, you are going to ask me why your password doesn't work. It's not going to work because Key Maps are enabled and you don't want your keys to be mangled when you're entering your password. You want to type in your password, not activate auto-assisting.

Key Map and Repeater toggles

So, turn off Key Maps to enter your password. To do this, use the Shift+Alt+M hotkey, or click on the "A,Z" icon that starts out with green (activated) arrows.

If your password is the same on all accounts, you can enter your password in all windows at the same time via Key broadcasting. To do this, use the Shift+Alt+R hotkey, or click on the "A,A" icon that starts out with gray (deactivated) arrows. Don't know which is which? Use the hotkeys and the icons will change activation automagically!

Hotkeys created by the Quick Setup Wizard

All ISBoxer Hotkeys are, of course, configurable.

• ISB42 - Always On
  • Shift+Alt+R: Toggle Keyboard and Mouse broadcasting (R for "Repeater") (note: Broadcasting is disabled by default for EVE)
  • Shift+Alt+M: Toggles non-control Key Maps (M for "Maps" as in Key Maps)

Each Key Map (such as Always On) has a short description inside ISBoxer. Select a Key Map in the top pane and a Mapped Key in the bottom left pane to see the descriptions. These descriptions are for you, so please take the time to look at them.

Understanding Key Maps vs Repeater

First, Key Maps are intended to generally be on, and Repeater (Broadcasting Mode) is intended to generally be off. However, as much of EVE Online multiboxing is done via Mouse Broadcasting, it is typical to multibox EVE Online with broadcasting enabled the majority of the time.

Key Maps are powered by various Hotkeys, which when activated do something that you specifically want, like activate a module. The only time Key Maps need to be off is if you intend to use those Hotkeys for other things instead, like to type in your password, or chat in the game.

Repeater is a simple broadcast of exactly the buttons you push, and the way you move your mouse. The only time Repeater needs to be on is if you intend for every button you push and every movement of your mouse to be broadcast to the other windows, like to type in your password on all windows at once, or accept or complete a mission, and so on. It is possible to use Repeater more generally by assigning a white or black list, but this is not recommended –- a Key Map can instead be created with all of the keys and key combinations needed, using the Mapped Key Wizard (see below).

Performance considerations

Instant Swap

One of the things the Quick Setup Wizard sets up is Instant Swap. This feature syncs the actual resolution of all of the game windows, so even when your clients are shrunk from regular size, the windows are still rendering at the full resolution. This will reduce your framerate (FPS) slightly, but is required to enable Instant Swap (as shown in the Isboxer introductory video to your right) and provide perfect precision mouse broadcasting. If you don't need Instant Swap or perfect precision mouse broadcasting, a performance increase can be achieved by simply disabling this option in your Window Layout.

To disable Instant Swap:

1. In the top pane, click on your Window Layout under Window Layouts. It will usually have the same name as your Character Set
2. In the bottom right pane near the top under Main region switcher, uncheck Instant swap.

Profile management and synchronisation

Through the use of Virtual Files you are able to automagically have to have a different profile setup for each team or even synchronise character overview and settings between different characters.

Team based profile

Team based virtual file redirect

Create a virtual file with the name */settings_ISBEL/* and apply it to your team with the new desired settings folder name (For example: {1}/settings_Mining/{2})

Now whenever you start a team you will have a preset settings and overview profile specific to that team. If you would like to share profiles between teams simply redirect to the same folder name.

Settings synchronisation between characters

Proper setup for sharing character settings using virtual files

Create the following virtual files and apply them to your characters with the following redirects (In this example I will be sharing settings between my Mains but if you have multiple groupings of characters then name the redirect accordingly)

*/core_user__.dat      > {1}/Mains_User_Global.dat
*/core_char__.dat      > {1}/Mains_Char_Global.dat
*/core_public__.yaml   > {1}/Mains_Public.yaml
*/core_user_??*.dat    > {1}/Mains_User.dat
*/core_char_??*.dat    > {1}/Mains_Char.dat
*/prefs.ini            > {1}/Mains_Prefs.ini

(Keep in mind this is on a ISBoxer Character level so you cannot have a different layout of shared settings for each team)

Using multiple game folders

In general, using multiple game folders is unnecessary for EVE Online, as the game will work fine and the settings will be saved for each individual instance.

For more information, see Multiple game folders

Other resources

• ISBoxer.com EVE Online forum
• Dual-Boxing.com EVE Online forum
• ISBoxer User Manual
• Configuring multiple computers