L5R Files Update?

[rob]

At 01:32 PM 1/23/2005 -0800, you wrote:
>--- bayushi_karasu <wilkins65@cox.net> wrote:
> > I might add that if the CV editor posessed the ability to import
> > from spreadsheet type applications we wouldn't even be having this
> > thread. Those are readily available on the web for most games. At
> > present the program makes entry tedious for a new set.
>
>The original data files were generated by a set of macros in just such a sheet
>

CV needs a fair bit of extra information that is used to give CV its
"smarts". Just a simple import would be easy for CV if all you wanted was a
simple checklist. If you actually want CV to provide good filtering, rule
enforcement, etc., all that extra "smarts" has to come from somewhere. And
all those "smarts" are unique for every game system. That's where a
game-specific converter is required.

L5R adds yet another nasty layer into the mix: all the meta-game
information. The original files created by Bob were maintained in
spreadsheets. The glaring problem was that all of the keyword
identification, exclusion references (e.g. "Soul of" card references), etc.
were all maintained MANUALLY. While this approach made the conversion to CV
data files much easier, it resulted in a highly complex, error prone,
manual process for generating the raw data that went into the L5R files.
The sheer volume of work involved to maintain it all resulted in too huge a
workload for Bob to keep up with. When he gave me the files, I estimated
the workload to be measured in DAYS for every release of L5R files, and the
results would be very prone to errors.

So I wrote an automated converter that reads in all of the L5R data and
culls out all of this information using an assortment of consistent rules.
It does a pretty darn thorough job (if I say so myself). The same converter
is then able to be invoked on each new set of raw data from AEG, with the
automatic synchronization of not just the new set going backwards but also
all cards from older sets going forward to the new set (which is where the
manual method became unwieldy and collapsed under its own weight).

No other game that I'm aware of has all of this crazy meta-game information
that needs to be culled out and resolved across releases and with highly
inconsistent usage across releases (e.g. multiple changes in terminology
for the same thing). So the converters have been extremely simple for every
other game we've been involved with the data file generation for. L5R is
the glaring exception.

The raw data we get from AEG is simple CSV files. And the converter uses
those files as input. So the raw data can be easily quality controlled
before it is fed into the converter. The converter also allows for "fixups"
to be specified, allowing corrections to be applied that are persistent
with each run of the converter.

If all you guys really want is checklist files for inventory, without any
of the "smarts" for filtering and deck validation, a converter to do only
that would be pretty easy to provide. The nasty issue is the meta-game
logic, which requires a reaonably intelligent converter. And that's what
currently exists. I just need to modify it so that it can be readily used
by someone else (i.e. an L5R-competent individual) to quality control the
input data and generate good output.

Hopefully, this explanation proves helpful....

-Rob

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob Bowes (rob@wolflair.com) (650) 588-8252
Lone Wolf Development www.wolflair.com

--- Rob Bowes <rob@wolflair.com> wrote:
> >The original data files were generated by a set of macros in just such a
> sheet
> >
>
> CV needs a fair bit of extra information that is used to give CV its
> "smarts". Just a simple import would be easy for CV if all you wanted was a
> simple checklist. If you actually want CV to provide good filtering, rule
> enforcement, etc., all that extra "smarts" has to come from somewhere. And
> all those "smarts" are unique for every game system. That's where a
> game-specific converter is required.
>
> L5R adds yet another nasty layer into the mix: all the meta-game
> information.

Apologies to Rob for sounding like it is relatively easy to make the L5R data
files. The rest of his answer does an excellent job of detailing exactly what
an enormous task it is to maintain the data files. Rob was smart to automate it
as much as he did, I did not have the time to build the converter beyond the
"simple" macros I had constructed, and that is why I ended up having to give up
the data files - I did not have time to handle the updates to the existing
bloated structure, nor the time to build a proper conversion program.

If all you want is a checklist, that can be done pretty easily by hand, but it
will not do everything that CV is capable of doing to make your life easier.
However, if people are dropping CV as a tool to manage L5R decks, then perhaps
a checklist can be a stop-gap until something better can be constructed.

BTW: Just to add to the complexity, the data file used to generate the CSV file
that is received is apparently run on a Mac. This means that all the quote
characters and a large number of other characters (em dash, en dash, etc) are
all incompatible with CV's character set and have to be translated. I am sure
that Rob has automated the process, but it did not help me any I have to tell
you


=====
---

Kuni Tetsu
Clan War rules guy
Moderator of ClanWar-l

"Another urban myth dispelled. Ninjas don't bounce" -- Batmanuel.



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