The upcoming OpenOffice.org 3 features a new solver in the OpenOffice Calc module. The solver is built on the lp_solve engine, a mixed integer linear programming.
Now how to make use of this in Eternal Lands. 
Say you need 103608 points to reach the next Alchemy Level. You decide to make steel bars. These require that you also make fire essences. Both fire essences and steel bars give alchemy points. Now you need to make just enough fire essences and use them all to make just enough steel bars to reach your next level.
OpenOffice.org 3 helps you make that combination.
First install and open a OpenOffice.org 3 beta build. The create a table that resembles the table below. Click on it to see it in bigger detail.
Follow the following procedure:
- Set cell D4 to 0.
- Set cell D3 to 3*D4 because you need 3 fire essenses for each steel bar.
- In cell C5, insert the points you need to reach your next alchemy level.
- In cell E3 and E4, insert the points you get per fire essence and steel bar made respectively.
- Set cell C3 to D3*E3 and C4 to D4*E4.
- Now set C7 to C3+C4.
- Next open Tools > solver and copy the data from the screenshot. Basically, you set target cell C7 to a value of C5 by changing cells D4. Your only condition is to set C3 to > 0.
- Then click solve.
The solver will fill out cells D3 and D4 by the approximate minimum number of fire essenses and steel bars you need to reach the next alchemy level. This is done with the condition that we are using all the fire essenses we just made to make just enough steel bars to reach the next alchemy level.
Happy playing Eternal Lands.
