New Stats Tracking Program

[Peregrine]

This seems like the best place for this...

For those of you not on the Project Aon mailing list, there's a new stats program available for playing the Lone Wolf books - like Statskeeper, except it's a standalone Java program, not a set of web browser files, and it seeks to overcome some of its problems and limitations. On the downside, it takes up quite a bit of screen space (I can fit it comfortably alongside a Project Aon text, but then I use 1280x1024 resolution). But hey, this is just the first release, there's time to tweak it yet.

On that note, please feel free to use this thread for any questions, suggestions, problems or requests you might have.

[ Edit: Now that this utility has its own board, you are also welcome to create new threads with your questions, suggestions, etc. / Thomas ]

[Thomas Wolmer]

Perhaps those who are not on the mailing list also would like to know where to find it?

www.projectaon.org/~timothy/

[Frying Pan]

Looks fabulous. Great job!

You're inspiring within me the great impulse to write a version with an integrated browser, which will actually process the webpage and modify endurance, etc for you as you read...

Ack! Damn you!

[Peregrine]

Thomas said:

Perhaps those who are not on the mailing list also would like to know where to find it?

Ack! Thanks Thomas!

And double thanks for setting up the board.

@ Frying Pan: Don't worry, I've had the same impulse from time to time. Doing that would probably need (or at least really really want) a change to the XML files we use for the gamebooks, though, to encode things like items, combats, endurance gains and losses...

On the other hand, just setting it up with an integrated browser that merely displays the book is entirely within the realms of possibility. Actually it would be a very good thing, since then the other bits could (theoretically) be made to comfortably fit around it.

[Frying Pan]

Must... resist... urge... to commit to this potential spare time blackhole...

[Frying Pan]

I gues talking about it can't hurt...

What kind of browser code are you considering? Writing from scratch, or borrowing opensource?

I was looking at multivalent earlier...

[Frying Pan]

As for changing the XML, it's not necessary. For example, combats are easily identified since they have their own class, the tag is right there in the html file. You can just pick the CS and EP right out of the text and automate the whole thing.

Also, right now the thing that annoys me the most while playing is adding 1 EP per section without combat. With the above, you can, again automate that whole painful process.

As another example, ENDURANCE and COMBAT SKILL are always in the small caps class. Shouldn't be too hard to pluck out "Subtract" or "Deduct" or "Add" and the number in the same sentence as the word ENDURANCE.

[Peregrine]

Frying said:

What kind of browser code are you considering? Writing from scratch, or borrowing opensource?

I hadn't put too much thought into it. I understand Swing text areas can use HTML formatting, but whether this is complete enough to display whole PA pages, I don't know.

I was looking at multivalent earlier...

Multivalent? Hmm... "Parser/renderer for HTML 3.2." Might be a problem there...

As for changing the XML, it's not necessary.

I suppose you're right, with those examples. Out of personal bias, I was thinking of automating equipment choices. See, a lot of the equipment-handling code would have been much easier if I had a list of items to work from rather than letting the player input the data themselves.

(For the record, I do have a file of all the items from the first two books. It was a learning exercise in XML that I started well before writing LWAC.)

[Frying Pan]

Well given that all PA gamebook webpages have roughly the same format, it'll be overkill to implement a full-fledged browser. Souldn't be too hard to just do a GET for the html, Swing can display the jpgs no problem, the rest is just text.

[Frying Pan]

Peregrine said:

I suppose you're right, with those examples. Out of personal bias, I was thinking of automating equipment choices. See, a lot of the equipment-handling code would have been much easier if I had a list of items to work from rather than letting the player input the data themselves.

(For the record, I do have a file of all the items from the first two books. It was a learning exercise in XML that I started well before writing LWAC.)

Again, not necessary to modify the XML. If someone is patient enough to catalog all the possible items in each book, all we need to know is what items appear on which sections. Since the integrated browser obviously knows which section we're on, voila, done. No modification necessary.

An alternative method is to parse the text for capitalised words in the middle of sentences, which denote either proper nouns or items. You can then figure out which is which by comparing against a canonical list of names vs items.

[outspaced]

Of course, the difficulty with that would be if you have full Backpack of 8 items and the section gives you a choice of what to take.

Or, what if you had 7 items and the section gives you a choice of 3? You would automatically take the first item and them discard the other two, even if they are more useful.

The idea is certainly a good one (automagic bookkeeping! Yay!!), but to implement it will require an awful lot more complicated code, and some more windows, i.e. one that pops up if you have a full consigment of Backpack / Special Items / Weapons and asks whether you want to take what is presented in the numbered section, and what to discard in its favour.

Also, certain items do not count towards your full amount of items, so they would need to be dealt with separately.

And what about Options? Not displaying options that the player cannot take (due to not owning certain Disciplines or items) could be frustrating to a new player, particularly in Tarnalin where it would appear that you cannot win. Displaying but ghosting out non-takeable options might be better? Or even displaying them and allowing the player to cheat?

Additionally, there would need to be variables set in the savegame for whether you've met Gwynian, Banedon, etc., so that the options would only appear if you have; the items that you are sometimes given to track this (i.e. Crystal Star Pendant) can be discarded, causing game-flow issues.

If you automatically enforce the combat, the program will need to know that you can evade after x rounds in certain cases.

I haven't looked at it too much yet, but I like the optional use of Psi-surge, Kai-blast, etc. in combat. Also, the automatic implementation of various Improved Discipline and Lore-circle bonuses really caught my eye. Nice one! Safe-keeping is nicely done, too.

Obviously, this won't come into play until the XML-text and the java is integrated, but a button by the side of the Discipline that takes you to the discplnz page at the correct tag would be nice; similarly so with an Improved Disciplines button that would only appear for each Discipline that has an improvement.

Still, small steps are easier to cope with, so thanks and keep working!

[Peregrine]

What he said.

It's just too complicated to over-automate things. Although, taking items could perhaps be implemented as special hyperlinks... no, no, I said too complicated and I'm sticking to it! Besides, I think it'd lose some of the gamebook feel...

But the item catalogue would still be useful, perhaps. Choose from a list of items rather than entering all its details yourself...

Anyway, enough dreaming. Any less, err, staggering requests to make? Anything you particularly do or don't like?

[Frying Pan]

You are right, it is not very practical ;D

[Ghost Bear]

Nice work Peregrine! I just played through the Legacy Of Vashna using the program, and it holds together very well.

An item list would be very handy, because having to fill in EP points for multiple Potions of Laumspur gets tedious.

And a dual-wielding feature would be sweet too.

I especially like the combat functions, with the automated psychic bonuses. One thing about combat though. You have the x1 and x2 multipliers for damage, but I can remember several times in the books where there was a x3 multiplier.

What if you changed the multiplier radio buttons to a single drop down box, with values from 0-5? That way it allows for every possibility and the components take up less room.

And finally, out of interest - if you're using a metal edged weapon at Sun Lord level, you do an extra 1EP damage per round. Is this included automatically in the program?

An excellent piece of work. I'm impressed.

-GB

[Peregrine]

Ghost said:

An item list would be very handy, because having to fill in EP points for multiple Potions of Laumspur gets tedious.

I've noticed that myself, and I'm pondering ways around it. The item list is good in theory, it's just fairly tedious to do in practice.

And a dual-wielding feature would be sweet too.

Yup, that's topped the "alternate rules to consider implementing" list. I just have to decide exactly what rules to implement!

You have the x1 and x2 multipliers for damage, but I can remember several times in the books where there was a x3 multiplier.

There are? Fair enough then. Your drop-down list idea should do the trick.

And finally, out of interest - if you're using a metal edged weapon at Sun Lord level, you do an extra 1EP damage per round. Is this included automatically in the program?

Sadly no. It will add a note to the weapon summary in combat (I don't know if you saw this or if you were consulting the improved disciplines list), but it's not done automatically. Now that I think back, I'm not sure why, it wouldn't be hard. What would be trickier is applying the Helshezag rules, but it can still be done...

An excellent piece of work. I'm impressed.

Thanks for the feedback!