Monster 6-PC MMORPG Rig Quickens Farming
One EVE Online subscriber combined six PCs to control multiple characters.
Kotaku points the way to an MMORPG gamer who is really, really serious about EVE Online. Unlike most subscribers however, he doesn't spend hours upon hours performing the same mundane tasks to farm gold and minerals. Instead, Zhek Kromtor has created a six-rig setup that allows him to access six separate characters and get the goods faster than the standard method.
Kromtor was originally kicked off EVE Online for software multiboxing: the act of sending a keyboard or mouse click to multiple computers or clients at the same time using software such as Synergy, Keyclone, and more. CCP banned him from the MMORPG for three days, citing "macro use."
To get around the multiboxing software restriction, Kromtor has now created his current setup. The system consists of four wooden dowels draped across six keypads--each dowel has six screws that come into contact with the same keys on each pad. Also in the mix are six mice connected together with packing tape and skewers.
"Once you tweak it a bit and have the mice aligned properly (if they're angled differently they'll be moving the cursor in different directions) it's not too bad to use," he explained. "You have to use two hands on them if you want to click on 6 buttons, but you get used to that pretty quickly."
The monitor setup looks a little like something ripped out of a science fiction movie: two stacked in the middle while a stack of three sits on the left and a stack of three sits to the right. Rather than purchase a monitor rack mount, he chose to create his own using conduit pipe.
As for the actual PCs, he stacked all six under the table however he didn't reveal any actual specs. Nonetheless, the entire MMORPG setup looks impressive--it certainly doesn't look cheap. Some may call this whole setup cheating, others may call it ingenious.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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gogogadgetliver "Some may call this whole setup cheating, others may call it ingenious."Reply
...and yet others may call it a sign that you need a life.
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restatement3dofted XZin ran a multi-rig multibox setup like this back in WoW's heyday - one priest, 4x mages. Managed to melt faces up to Rank 13 on all five toons. Never saw pics of his setup, but this approach to MMOs isn't new.Reply -
flyinfinni Wow- is it really worth it? I think I'd lose the enjoyment of the game if I did something like that.Reply -
babybeluga When you have to go through such links to win in a game, you should just start playing Farmville.Reply
I use that reference having no clue what Farmville actually is, just that it's hot right now and farm is in the title. -
isamuelson Loser!Reply
All this for virtual cash and goods. How much did THAT set up cost him? Maybe the guy should watch the "Make Love Not Warcraft" Episode of South Park to hopefully get a clue. I can picture him like the loser in that episode with a bag of Cheetos next to him with a can of Raging Bull. Wow.
BTW, does he live in his parents house in the basement? Probably does... -
pojih Not sure how eve works, but if you just leveled 6 people to 80 or w/e in wow you could then sell each character.Reply
I'm hoping this is what he's doing. -
isamuelson babybelugaWhen you have to go through such links to win in a game, you should just start playing Farmville.I use that reference having no clue what Farmville actually is, just that it's hot right now and farm is in the title.Reply
Last night I watched the South Park episode called "You Have Zero Friends" which takes a swipe at the Facebook/Myspace community that does nothing but live and breath on those sites. I have a Facebook account, but I rarely do much on it except to possibly see what old friends from school and my military years are doing, but I don't live 24 hours in front of the PC with it. -
"Wow- is it really worth it? I think I'd lose the enjoyment of the game if I did something like that."Reply
Isn't Eve Online one of the games that doesnt frown upon the interaction of the in-game economy with the real world economy? So whatever he's grinding for is actually making him money? I'm guessing he isnt doing that for the fun of it.