ROE Online - The Programming Effort

[Davout]

Niels,

• Bjorn is too busy. So I guess it's you and me. Anyone else?
• I agree with on preference for open source and web based.

[X-CJS/Ruormad Coumain (Tristan)]

I've made some preliminary ideas to the tables needed to describe a province at the most basic level.

The holdings table will just be a huge list of lines. Each "hit" when looking either at the Ruler_ID or the Prov_ID will indicate one level of the holding type in question.

The ball is in the air I suppose

Secondary terrain would be a feature, as there is no limit to the number a province can have.

[X-Elinie/RiD (Niels)]

Good point Tristan! - I wanted the Province_Tbl to be as slim as possible, so anything there can be more than one of, in a province, should indeed go into the features table.

The Features_Tbl is supposed to contain all the stuff you can stick in a province. It will probably grow to have several fields with special values, but since each type of feature will probably have different values, my initial idea was to reuse the same fields for the same "kinds" of values to save fields.

Using a feature will require looking at the Type first, before trying to apply the processing rules. - Several smaller, dedicated tables could make for easier rules processing, but would give us a forest of tables.

[Davout]

Do you see the players continuing to use the DO spreadsheet and then have the application read it. Or having the players entering their orders directly via a web interface into the application.

Advantages spreadsheet

• Players do not have to be online when working on their orders
• Doing it directly would mean the application would have to hosted somewhere

Advantages web interface

• The code would be less cloodgy ie less of a hack - more straight forward.
• One less step for the GM.
• Depending on what is in the spreadsheet, reading an excel file from PHP or Java can be a pain.

[X-Elinie/RiD (Niels)]

I'm imagining a player web interface. - Where you can save partial progress and only when the player finally submits or the deadline is passed will it be locked.

Everyone has access to the interwebs these days, and with the online interface doing the calculations and some sensible validations, it will also be faster for the user to use.

[Davout]

I concur.

Only concern is find a site to host it. Could this site host it? There are free PHP/Mysql hosting sites but they usually have some limitation of some type.

[X-Elinie/RiD (Niels)]

I have a website... Well, I have two really. Plenty of space, no traffic limitations, got php and mysql.

I have put up a phpbb forum on one of them and the other is still just empty.

www.suremand.dk

and

www.egedeonline.dk

[Davout]

So the P&H xls file - sample found here http://roe.twilightpeaks.net/downloads/Provinces%20&%20Holdings%20%2369%20v1.44.zip - is sent to every player. Is the same P&H file sent to every player? Therefore, each player can sees the same info about each Region and Province. If so, I assume there is some other means of communications for secret info for each player sent only to that player.

[Davout]

I have a website... Well, I have two really. Plenty of space, no traffic limitations, got php and mysql.

I have put up a phpbb forum on one of them and the other is still just empty.

www.suremand.dk

and

www.egedeonline.dk

That's awesome! I'm getting really excited now.

[X-Elinie/RiD (Niels)]

Yea, the P&H is the same for everyone. A new version is released each turn, and usually has to be tweaked for little errors before it is completely done.

The Domain Orders are made using a different excel sheet. A volunteer then assist Bjørn in updating the P&H for the next turn.

In the Domain Order or DO document, the domain in its entirity is described, NPC's, units, actions etc.

The DO's are returned directly to the players, with the GM's comments on each action, if it succeeded or what the player learned. This is where most information is given from the GM's.

Next to those two we have the general flurry of emails between players. The GM's are always CC and play the roles of NPC's in these exchanges.

Adventures are run either here on the forums or hidden in email strings. Stuff on the forums is treated as "unknown" to the other players but its basically down to their conscience if they act on it or not. - Of course some stuff is explicitly known to all if it is on the forums. Its usually clear which is which just by looking at the content of the thread.

[Davout]

I'm going to spend some time reading the Regent Guide and then we can start formalizing requirements.

[Davout]

I've pretty much decided to host the code on sourceforge.net

Now we need a name for the project. I've been bouncing around various combinations of the words Birthright, GM, Campaign, Assistant, Adviser, and Manager.

However, I'm not sure if there would be a trade mark issue with the use of Birthright.

In the project description I want to stress that this is not a replacement for a GM nor for the rules.   

[X-Elinie/RiD (Niels)]

BR Campaign Assistant perhaps.

Figuring "BR" is not trademarked.

[Davout]

Works for me.

[X-Osoerde (Alan)]

Can I suggest:

iSire