FOF utilities

[QuikSand]

I'm thrilled by the various utilities that are already popping up for FOF 2004. I'm sure that these will add a lot to the gaming experience -- and probably add a lot to the value of a place like this.

I'm not a programmer, so I really don't understand inner workings of these things, but I have some curiosity. What changes are there in this game (FOF 2004) that make is possible for all these wonderful utilities that were apparently unavailable in previous games?

I know that the game plans being saved into a file are a part of this -- but I don't really understand what's different in this game that allows all these roster manipulation and generation utilities to be created (apparently fairly quickly, if not easily).

Is there an easy way to 'splain a simpleton like me?

[CraigSca]

Just the fact that Jim supplied the .csv to .fdt compiler. This allows you to make ANY kind of league using your own algorithms and import it to make it playable by FoF. All you have to do is write a program that can "make up" a series of ratings for players and then write them to a comma-delimited format file. Jim's importer takes care of the rest.

This opens up a whole world of not only making customized one year replay leagues...but purely fictional ones. This is a godsend for the people like me, who don't want to play with real players and/or the dreaded OPU.

[cthomer5000]

I'm most curious about the city editor. to me, that seems like a real step forward in utilities. I also hope that Jim will officially release this with the game in the next version.

[corbes]

No way to use an editor to edit the league size, is there?

[Celeval]

No.. league size is pretty intrinsic.

[Celeval]

QS -

It's also a question of there being more momentum in terms of utilities in general, and more opportunities. The ability to save/load gameplans opens a huge window, as does the multiplayer import/exports.

I think the biggest reason is just the momentum - we have a couple of solid utilities from TCY, and some experience with it now, as a group.

Kevin

[3ric]

In my opinion, we did a small step forward in utilities already with FOF4, and many of the experiences made then (with stuff like the Historical Project) has paved the way. We know more of how Jim stores his data in the games. Also, the excitement generated by FOF2k4 has prompted several talented people like Taco, Daimyo, lighthousekeeper and HeavyReign (apologies to those not mentioned) to step forward and create utilities. The number of people contributing have almost doubled from before when only Fido, Celeval and some others did things.

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by corbes
No way to use an editor to edit the league size, is there?

Must have been sent by Bucc

[corbes]

Originally posted by cuervo72
Must have been sent by Bucc

Just a hopeful shot in the dark. 32 teams is a lot for my little brain to keep up with.

[Kodos]

I think they are just angling to get the 2004 Golden Scribe for Add-On Utility of the Year!

[Taco]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
I'm most curious about the city editor. to me, that seems like a real step forward in utilities. I also hope that Jim will officially release this with the game in the next version.

Cool, I sparked some curiousity! What would you like to know?

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Taco
Cool, I sparked some curiousity! What would you like to know?

How does this work without the game becoming unstable? Would this editor have been possible for FOF2001 or FOF4, or was there something revelealed for this version that made it possible?

[Tasan]

From my beginners understanding of the file structures and such, most of these utilities could have been available in previous version. There just hasn't been the push that we see now. I think we've gotten a big infusion of talented programmers into the community lately, and there was a thread a while back that really got everyone looking into the data files and disecting them. That lead to people doing some limited utilities for FOF4, and now with the new game hype, multiplayer hype, and the programmers having the background knowledge now, we (as a community) are just flying along, only pausing for new ideas.

[Taco]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
How does this work without the game becoming unstable? Would this editor have been possible for FOF2001 or FOF4, or was there something revelealed for this version that made it possible?

Yes, this editor would have been possible for older versions of FOF. What helped me the most was that the file formats of the city files were already partially deciphered from a previous version. I just never had the motivation to write a utility before, but I'm glad that some people are finding it interesting and useful.

As far as not making the game unstable, FOF itself doesn't realize that the data files have been modified from their original values. Without getting into too many technical details, as long as the files follow the same pattern as the originals, then all is well. Does that answer your question?

[WheelsVT]

Tasan and Taco are exactly right.

All you really need to know to make a utility is the layout of the data file in question, and what you want to do with that data.

When writing my utility I just sat down with a hex editor and figured out where each value in the settings went since I was just waiting around for the release. And the people saying we'd like to see this, or that gives some inspiration as well.

[Fido]

I think we can also give some credit to the non-programmer community members. It seems like every utility that is written has received almost exclusively positive comments in the forums. Granted there are bug reports, but I have never seen a message like "man this thing sucks".

I still don't think that the TCY Helper deserved the kind of credit that it got (its nice, but not THAT Nice - it should do more and be much faster), but it is the praise it received and the thanks I got that has prompted me to buy FOF 2004 and start disecting the file format for another utility. Had I gotten negative or no feedback I probably would have stopped releasing the Helper and continued it only to meet my needs.

[Buzzbee]

Originally posted by Fido
I think we can also give some credit to the non-programmer community members. It seems like every utility that is written has received almost exclusively positive comments in the forums. Granted there are bug reports, but I have never seen a message like "man this thing sucks".

I still don't think that the TCY Helper deserved the kind of credit that it got (its nice, but not THAT Nice - it should do more and be much faster), but it is the praise it received and the thanks I got that has prompted me to buy FOF 2004 and start disecting the file format for another utility. Had I gotten negative or no feedback I probably would have stopped releasing the Helper and continued it only to meet my needs.

It's not the "niceness" of the TCY Helper that is important. It is that it broke the barrier. By doing your Helper, you paved the way for others to follow, so I DO think it deserves a great deal of credit. The Helper and the work 3ric, you, and others did dissecting the draft files was key.

[MizzouRah]

I'll say this again, without 'TCY Helper', TCY would be un-downloaded.

I appreciate mods, utilities, or artwork for that matter with FOF4, TCY, and now FOF 2004. Reminds me of the days over at a forum called "The Clubhouse", modding was the main topic for the High Heat series.

I can't believe how long it's been since it Wes took it down (The Clubhouse). It was like a community getting destroyed by a wrecking crew and the land labled, "contaminated".


Todd