EVE Wine Linux two clients

Ok, so CCP has decided to discontinue support of the Linux EVE client.
Here's how to run EVE on a dual monitor setup using wine.

First, get the latest version of wine.
If you're using Ubuntu/Mint, you can just add this line to your /etc/apt/sources.list file:
deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt hardy main
Add this key: http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/Scott%20Ritchie.gpg
To your apt keyring by saving the file to disk and then:
sudo apt-key add /path/to/the/key.gpg
And then:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine

If you're not a debian derivative user, just get the source.
You're looking for wine version 1.1.15 (or later)

Verify you have the right version:
wine --version

Download the premium EVE windows client here: http://www.eveonline.com/download/windows.asp

And install:
wine /path/to/file/EVE_Premium_Setup_75883.exe

Fix the ever present font issues by obtaining the mstcorefonts pkg:
sudo apt-get install mstcorefonts

Copy the arial.ttf file into your wine installation:
cp /usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/arial.ttf ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/Fonts/
That path may be linuxmint-centric. Doesn't really matter. You can even download this file from most any windows installation. Point is, the EULA won't display properly if this file isn't in the location listed above, and if you can't click thru the EULA, you can't play

At this point, a single client should be working perfectly. Two clients, not so much.
Two get that second client working, create a second copy of your .wine directory. I prefer to do this:
mv .wine .wine1
cp -ra .wine1 .wine2

So what was the point of that, right? Now you have wasted twice as much space as you need to storing ever file twice. Answer: Whatever CCP says in their docs, they are not storing session, or client, or some sort of data properly and you will get file collisions if you try to run two clients out of the same file tree. I've messed with two client setups extensively in Cedega and Wine and the common thread, regardless of emulation engine, is that you're going to save yourself some major headaches by just running them out of their own source directories. The problem is with the EVE client, not wWne.

Now all that's left to do is to create yourself two snazzy launch icons or scripts that run these commands:

env WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.wine1" wine "C:\Program Files\CCP\EVE\eve.exe"
env WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.wine2" wine "C:\Program Files\CCP\EVE\eve.exe"

And you should be set.
Some additional notes:
I originally messed around a bit with having wine emulate a virtual desktop. This seemed to help with the focus change crash issues, but now that I'm running two separate .wine* directories that problem seems to have gone away. If you still experience the focus change crash, open up the wine configuration dialog by running winecfg and turn on this virtual desktop emulation. BE CAREFUL, the focus change crash sounds like its a sound issue because you'll hear a sound hiccup and then your screen will freeze. It's not sound, trust me.

Also, most linux desktops are running ALSA and/or pulseaudio nowadays. You should ensure that your wine install is set to output sound to the ALSA subsystem. Again you'll want to use winecfg to set this.

EDIT:
Wine 1.1.15 == EVIL!!!!
Or at least it's evil with two clients.
Lost a Hac yesterday due to the frequent freezing.
Rolled back to 1.0.0 and it has been solid since then.

1.1.16 was just released.
Release notes mention addressing some freezing issues, but since I don't know the cause of the freezing I was seeing, it's hard to know if the 1.1.16 release addresses this issue or not.

FINAL EDIT:
Ok, after much pain and suffering I finally found this thread:
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17437
I ended up having to upgrade to wine 1.1.16 via src patched using the patches included in the winehq thread above. GL.

apocrypha teaser

http://www.eveonline.com/apocrypha/index.html
Be sure to click the features after you've viewed the trailer.
worm holes.
nummy.

The suck

In the interest of fairness, and the off chance that someone from CCP might actually tune into this blog, here are some of the issues with EVE that bug me.

1. 1850, meet the future:
I can't transmit coordinates and it makes me want to end myself. Short story of EVE is that every point in a solar system exists on an x/y/x coordinate plane/grid. If you set a book mark at any place in space, you can actually pull that bookmark open and see those x/y/z values. Which is cool. What you can't do is you can't transmit this information to anyone else. This means that if you want to get another person to a place you have found and bookmarked, you have two options. You can

1. Form a fleet with them, fly to the location yourself and have them warp to you. Or 2. you can fly to that location, set a bookmark, (and this is where it gets really odd) you can pull that coordinate physically out of your bookmark window and it becomes an object that you can store in your cargo hold. You can then actually trade it over to someone else and they can put it into their bookmark folder. If that's not 1850 I don't know what is.

Basically it amounts to writing the location down on a piece of paper, docking up to another ship or meeting in station and handing the location off. DUMB.

But wait, you're probably thinking "Hey didn't you say you could see the x/y/z coords? Why not just tell someone what the coordiates are and let them use those to get to the location?" First I salute you for thinking this. It's a reasonable thought and very definitely should work. The only reason it doesn't work is that CCP has not provided any way to travel to a given coordinate. Meaning that there's no way for me to type a coordinate in and say "warp to". Just doesn't exist. Again I say: DUMB.

To be fair, I think I know why they do this. It makes it a lot harder for a turn-coat to disclose the location of her/his fleet to enemies in a game that doesn't allow for coordinate transmission. But I still say they should have done it. There's already so many ways a turn-coat can hut you (please see the BoB is no more post). What's the point in removing this one method for treachery when the existing of coordinate transmission would ease so many other aspects of the game. e.g. "Hey guys I just set up a new production tower in system blah-blah-blah. Here let me transmit the coordinates to it to you so you don't have to plan a special time to fly out there with me and/or so I don't have to create 15 bookmarks and hand them all out to you individually."

Enough for now.
I shall rant further later.

More from AT6

This is a match and a half.
Well worth the watch

Alliance Tournament VI finals

Watch it.
Just.....watch it.

There's nothing else out there remotely close to this level of cool.

BoB is no more

And I quote:

GoonSwarm and many other enemies of Band of Brothers are absolutely storming BoB's home systems

Massively is reporting that BoB, the alliance that for so long has single-handedly set the entire EVE universe at defiance is no more. In what I consider to be as honorable a homage as can exist, they were not beaten militarily but by intrigue and ultimately a turn-coat within their ranks.

At its core, the story is fairly simple. One of the higher-ups within BoB decided he liked BoB's primary rival, Goonswarm more than he like BoB and was willing to sell his entire alliance out to show them (Goodswarm) just how highly he thought of them. Entire capital fleets have instantly changed hands. Stations, outposts and more ISK thank you can shake a stick at all now belong to Goonswarm.

Now as is my typical MO, I need to mention how cool it is that such a thing as this is even possible. I'm not going to lie to you. I would have preferred to see BoB go down in a hail of bullets and explosions, but consider the value of this present situation. Let me 'splain.

One of the primary reasons I enjoy EVE is because it gets you as close to "real" as possible. Granted, we're talking about flying spaceships that don't exist in a fictional galaxy. But, like a good Sci-Fi movie, those are the parameters of this world and CCP asks us to suspend our disbelief long enough to accept them. The more valuable question is this: Once I've accepted these few unrealities, how much freedom am I granted? How close to "real" is the situation to what it would be were those fictional parameters real? The answer is very close. And this most recent development with BoB only serves to reinforce this point. Imagine how WWII, for instance, might have changed had a top level American general decided he wanted the Germans to win? How many avenues would he have had available to him to ensure German victory?

You needn't even don your pessimist-hat to believe that the world we live in (on planet earth btw) would be vastly different had a situation like that played out. That a similar situation can and did happen in EVE points the fact that to obtain and secure an empire one must obtain the hearts and secure the lips of its membership in EVE as in RL.

CCP, I salute you.
BoB, while I was no fan you were the source of many a great battle and plenty of intrigue and for that you will be missed.

Edit: here's the official eve news feed on the topic