‘Spreadsheets in Space’, EVE Online, now has actual spreadsheets thanks to Microsoft Excel compatibility
Excel-lent?
Because nothing is just a joke anymore, EVE Online - CCP’s sprawling starship MMO jokingly nicknamed ‘Spreadsheets in Space’ due to its intense level of complex management - now has an official Microsoft Excel add-in that lets you directly export data to the spreadsheet app.
The Excel integration will let players make custom reports and graphs to help track their in-game activity and plan their next raid (that might or might not involve cutting someone’s power).
Among the hard numbers and data you can churn out into an almost certainly overwhelming wall of boxes are item values, locations, market orders and prices, skills and wallet transactions in the game’s currency of ISK, as well as the finances of your galactic corporation if you have the right in-game privileges.
As Graham noted when the collab was announced earlier this year, you’ll need to be a member of EVE’s paid "Omega" subscription tier to be able to use the plugin. If you are, you’ll be able to make use of the tool across any accounts and characters you have registered.
CCP claims that EVE is the “first and only” video game to offer Excel integration, which is both surprising and not surprising at all. Microsoft’s Excel team helped out with developing the tool, with a number of Excel devs apparently being EVE fans. Because of course.
If you’re an EVE player, you can grab the Excel add-in now via Excel’s desktop or web app by clicking through to its Add-ins menu (under the Insert tab) and searching for EVE Online. To help you get started, there’s even a sample workbook and dedicated guides on how to get everything up and running. If you're totally new, though, maybe just start with learning the basics.