The first writable CREST API is live on the main EVE Online Tranquility server. This new API allows you to update your saved fittings from a third party application. The most obvious use is for the dissemination of alliance and corporate fittings to line members with a single click of a button, or copying a fit from a killboard directly to your account.
After the last CSM summit, where the problems with API accesses causing a session change were aired, it wasn’t clear if writable CREST would ever happen. This problem originates in the session code, which is even older than the dreaded POS code. In order to write to certain user records, you need a session identifier. This means that logging in with your phone to send some Eve mail will put your character and ship in the game. This problem is going to take more than part-time development efforts to solve.
The ship fitting records in the database do not require a session identifier to update. This is how CCP is able to bring us this new endpoint without solving the session change issue first.
Third-party developers are able to read saved fits to a JSON array — a data format used in all kinds of applications, and one which is easy for humans to read at a glance. With the unique ID of a given fit, an application can reload information from it, change it, or delete it outright. While there are technical reasons that mean applications will need to wait up to 15 minutes to see updated information, any changes made through applications using the CREST API will be reflected immediately in the game.
A peek behind the scenes at some of the data exposed by the API.
Giving users a way to change in-game data from a mobile device is a vision CCP Seagull had since before she took over as Executive Producer. At the very least, this API will make sharing and managing your fittings much easier. Imagine uploading a fit directly from EFT, or from your alliance services page. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that there will be an EVE player on the beach, drinking a beer, and managing their fittings from a phone in preparation for a large operation when they return.
While this isn’t the writable email, contacts, and standings the community was hoping for, this is still a useful feature. Getting useful (or reimbursable) fits delivered straight to your account is going to get a whole lot easier.
UPDATE: The original text of this article indicated the writable CREST API was only live on the Singularity test server. TMC has confirmation from CCP Foxfour that the system is live on TQ as well, and so this has been corrected.
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by Turk Fezzik.
