Access to Power Data?

[Sucker-Punch]

Hey all!  Not sure if anyone would remember, but I used to make an online Build Planner back in the old days.  I'm kind of interested in doing something like that again.  To do that, I'd need data.  I always used to rely on the data-diving of others as that's beyond me, so I'm at a loss at how do that in this brave new world.

 

Is there a community resource for stuff like that these days? Any pointers would be appreciated!

[_NOPE_]

Well, as I stated in "The Coding Thread", I was actually working on grabbing all of that data just for that purpose. But, as I also stated in that thread, it'd be a static value, and it may not be correct the moment anything changes. I've got the source code to one of the latest Pigg Viewers, and I was thinking of modernizing/debugging that into a DLL that could be used within any program to "DePigg" files, and then I was going to write an algorithm that would take an input .BIN file and "translate" that into a DataTable that could then be queried, but...

 

...Ideally, I'd like to make a planner that actually reads the data from the Powers bin file, but I've realized that since it's server side, and since there's multiple groups out there hosting servers, there's probably going to be unique files for each server.

 

Add to that the fact that the amount of data is ENORMOUS, and that makes me hesitant to continue with my crazy scheme. We could do such a thing by setting up a website where server owners could voluntarily provide to us a copy of their Powers bin file to keep the data updated, and then make an interface that can let the user build based on their chosen server....

 

...yeah, I think that'd be the only way to go, unless you're okay with "static" data that may be stale and/or wrong. I'm not okay with that, personally.

 

 

[Sucker-Punch]

unless you're okay with "static" data that may be stale and/or wrong. I'm not okay with that, personally.

 

My old planners never dove into number crunching.  So having stale data, at least for me, was never a major concern as long as the powers themselves were right.  Yeah I'd like updates for when new powersets are added and stuff like that, but I'm not fussed with balance changes getting updated, if that makes sense.

[_NOPE_]

Ah, well, here's where you can find the source code, etc. If you want to start digging into how to find/get everything. It's all here, somewhere...

[Sucker-Punch]

I just checked out your coding thread, and saw that you're already digging into making a Planner.  I'm just gonna Homer my way back into the bushes.

[_NOPE_]

I just checked out your coding thread, and saw that you're already digging into making a Planner.  I'm just gonna Homer my way back into the bushes.

 

Frankly, I'm already a full time programmer by trade. Anything that I'd make would be in my spare time, and I'm no good at graphics. This could take me MONTHS. No, if you've got the bug, you go do you man and get it done. I'm sure the playerbase would like something RITE NAO ASAP, rather than waiting for my fat a**.  Besides, it's always better to have more options than less options. I think you should make your own planner as well.

 

I'm going to be starting at the very bottom, working with the data itself, and make the tools that I can then use to make a planner "someday". Until I have those tools, that planner is a far off distant future. But once I have those tools, I'm going to release them, and maybe some people that are more graphically inclined can make prettier planners than I ever could.

[Sucker-Punch]

lol, okay.  I mean, I'm also a full time developer by trade, but I get real bored.

 

The real problem is, I'm pretty good with UI and graphics and general front-end web dev stuff, but I'm not good at getting the data into usable formats.  It looks like there were some screenshots of Excel and JSON that could be useful.  I guess I could join the Discord.

[_NOPE_]

Sounds like we need to get together and make something!  :o

[Sucker-Punch]

Sounds like we need to get together and make something!  :o

 

[Bopper]

Bump...because I care. Can we get a dev to comment on this request?

[Sailboat]

Nothing of substance to add except to give props to Sucker-Punch for their planner back in the day.  Something that doesn't require a download and installation was great -- among other things, we're not permitted to install outside software at work.

[_NOPE_]

20 minutes ago, Sailboat said:

Nothing of substance to add except to give props to Sucker-Punch for their planner back in the day.  Something that doesn't require a download and installation was great -- among other things, we're not permitted to install outside software at work.

The biggest drawback to an online planner though is exactly what happened with the Sucker Punch one. Here one day, gone the next. Someone has to host it, and keep it perpetually updated. It's a lot of work. A desktop app on the other hand doesn't require hosting, but is a snapshot in time. That's why Mids is still around (several versions in fact!). Even if it's out of date, it's still usable. Sucker Punch's isn't... if I do end up making a Web Based build planner, I'd make a desktop version as well, along with routines that would allow someone to export from either version a data file that could be imported into either version.