Development plan

[Gandalf]

By next week I hope to have the first output from v2.0 dev, which is a first version of the match log. This will contain all the information from the match log you can see in BBM, except with some improvements - like blocks being described in 1 row instead of 2-5 rows, and more accurate target dice rolls.

I will need some help with testing this, basically comparing the BBDB match log versus what BBM says and pointing out where it doesn't match (apart from things that will be on the "known limitations" list) - my first draft will hopefully be "pretty good" with a list of things still to do, theory being I can do those whilst you are testing it.

I already have something, but it doesn't really meet "good enough" standard yet, eg doesn't cope with casualty rolls, or log modifiers.

[Gandalf]

Currently lacking the time/inclination to do much here. My daughter stays up until about 11pm most nights which limits things somewhat, if my son is a guide it won't be until May-ish that she starts moving towards a more normal bedtime. I'll try & keep on top of bugs but significant further development of the match log needs some concerted time / concentration which I don't really have at the moment.

[Raveen]

No worries, I totally understand!

[Gandalf]

The dice stats stuff is *hard* and requires brainpower I can't always be bothered to use outside of work.

So instead what I will try to do over the coming weeks are...
- competition tables, like what was in BBM. The players/teams with most TD's, passes, etc. There will be a page with all of these, accessible from the competition page.
- Awards. If you are in the top 3 of any category, then that team/player will receive an award, which will show on the team/player page. I think this will liven things up a bit, and create more fluff/backstory for the teams/players than a wall of numbers does.

In case of a tie for 3rd, the bronze award will be shared, unless this means more than 5 awards being given, cos that's just a bit silly.

This work is easier than dice stats, so I can do bits & bobs here and there whilst still essentially relaxing.

[Gandalf]

So instead what I will try to do over the coming weeks are...
- competition tables, like what was in BBM. The players/teams with most TD's, passes, etc. There will be a page with all of these, accessible from the competition page.

Player page ready for viewing - needs a bit of polishing - http://gandalfgames.net/bbdb/competitio ... omain_id=2

That was less work than expected, hurrah for a well-built backend. The format of the page is based on BBM. It should be updated automatically after a new match is submitted (obviously haven't tested that bit yet).

I'll do the team tables in the next week, awards, and maybe a bit of formatting improvements. I'll also put links to it from the competition page.

[Gandalf]

I have set up a Trello board to track my development work. It should be publicly viewable. I think I've added all outstanding feature requests to it, let me know if not. I'll limit this thread to announcing when work has been completed from now on... for things outstanding & what I am working on, please refer to the Trello board.

[Gandalf]

Progress in last 3 weeks.
- API done for id to go make fancy match report images with.
- player and team tables created (with slight bugs on a couple of the team ones, which will get looked at soon). One feature of this that isn't obvious is that the titles of these tables can be changed on a commissioner's whims. Maybe the season is being sponsored by some in-universe company and they want all the tables named after them.
- player awards done, I quite like this! I nice bit of added-value, over and above what BBM offered. More to come here as per the awards thread.

And currently I am working on...
- A simple login system. Mainly to support other groups using BBDB but also eventually to support advanced user features, commissioner tools etc. There will be a nice big thread/post explaining the changed when they are introduced so don't bother asking any questions about it just yet!

[Gandalf]

I've got 5 things on the "in development" list.

Once they are done I will take a bit of a break from BBDB development, but I will still do support tasks (both for RT & other groups using it). I'll get back to development in probably 3-4 weeks after I stop. It's become a bit all-encompassing and I need to take a step back & do some other things with my time.

I like BBDB, it's come a long way since before Christmas, it'll be in a good place when I take this break.

[Gandalf]

I did it!!! I have got all the skills into BBDB now http://gandalfgames.net/bbdb/standingda ... tatypeid=1. This has been months in the making, every now and then getting another skill description or 2 in, and now finally I'm there.

It's going to be a pretty rare event now that you'll need to open up a huge PDF of the rules just to look up some skill, player stats, spp's need to level up, reroll costs or star players as they are all now in BBDB in the Standing Data menu Woohoo!

[Raveen]

Just in time for Games Workshop to change it all

Good work Gandalf, if there's any way us unskilled folks can help with this sort of thing just give us a shout.

[Gandalf]

Just in time for Games Workshop to change it all

Good job there's functionality to support different games within BBDB then, like Blood Bowl 1, Blood Bowl 2, and Blood Bowl GW 2017. Muahahah!

Good work Gandalf, if there's any way us unskilled folks can help with this sort of thing just give us a shout.

Thanks for the offer, it's one of those things that's more effort htan it's worth. Besides, it was a nice thing to do when I felt like doing some BBDB work but also feeling a bit brain dead, or want a break from hard things.

[Gandalf]

Expanded the "help" section - added a change log page and a "how to upload matches" page.

With the change log, and the the Trello board, this thread is pretty much redundant now. I'll probably start new threads if there is anything particularly big released, or that needs lots of testing.

[Gandalf]

....aaaand that's me done for a few weeks, except for support/bug issues.

I've done quite a lot in the last month -> http://gandalfgames.net/bbdb/changelog.php

[Gandalf]

It's really boring from an end-user point of view but I have finished implementing archiving. Or at least, all the archiving I want to do for now.

Basically the tools are in place to zip the upload files, this will reduce the storage space required on the server by a factor of 6. You can still download the replay from the front end, even if it has been archive, it deals with all that for you (although it does lie about the size of the file, I can't seem to figure that one out). You can also download the zip, I'm thinking here that if you want to upload it to some other tool you can, without having to replay the game through the client. If the zip hasn't been created yet, clicking the link the front end will create it. Hurrah for hiding complexities from the user.

You can also view the raw match logs in the browser too (the TXT files you upload) from the same place... handy if you want to double check the details, or think that something is wrong with the dice stats & you want to check.

[Gandalf]

Feeling like I should do something, but not really wanting to try too hard, I've created the player super-type screen. This is best explained with examples.

Player type = Halfling Treeman, Underworld goblin, wood elf lineman etc.
Player super-type = Treeman, goblin, elf lineman

So... every player type also belongs to a supertype. Just like player types, player supertypes now have their own pages. So you can answer questions like, which elf race has the best linemen? What's the difference between the goblins that different races have? And if you are logged in, you can see all the players that are part of that supertype too, eg who is the best blitzer, the most hit lineman, etc.

Player types can be accessed via the Standing Data menu (second one down, just after player type) or from player type screens (accessible from tons of places).

If you disagree with any of the supertypes I've assigned player types to, let me know & we can discuss.

Might have another break now. Motivation is harder to come by when it's basically a working product, and the big bit that isn't (the dice stats) is really hard. Plus, yknow, life and kids and wife and such are good distractions to have.