FOF Extractor Suite Status

[gstelmack]

To head off any questions:

It'll be a while before I decide what to do with Extractor in light of 2k7 hitting. I'm immediately stopping any work on the set for 2k4 as I won't be playing that any longer ;) GameViewer has also been osboleted by Solevision, so it's a dead-end.

The rest will depend on some time with 2k7. I'm more than open to writing / updating utilities to help with data needs, but we all need to get a feel for the new game before deciding what's needed. I see a few things at first glance (for example, do I still need Extractor output of the staff or a port of the Staff window in Extender so you can more easily browse your staff options?), but I don't want to rush to any conclusions until I play the full game and see if I'm just missing things or if there are better alternatives already in place.

[Coder]

I just want to take this opportunity to thank you though, because your utility-suite has been extremely helpful to me and to the IFL. You've done a great job Greg!

One thing that struck me immediately is the potential difficulty in extracting data from the files, because of Jim's encryption.. and this data is used by many leagues nowadays to create their own MySQL database for a more dynamic league-site.

[gottimd]

I just want to take this opportunity to thank you though, because your utility-suite has been extremely helpful to me and to the IFL. You've done a great job Greg!

274% agree. I use this utility often to run my reports because it exports in a CSV which I can run macros on through excel.

[Dutch]

Thanks for all your contributions and looking forward to seeing you fill in any gaps down the road.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks for all your contributions and looking forward to seeing you fill in any gaps down the road.


Ditto. I was fairly late to the party in using your utilities, but they have greatly added to my enjoyment and you were kind enough to help me when I was having some technical issues. Thank you for your past work and any future work you choose to do :)

[cuervo72]

I just want to take this opportunity to thank you though, because your utility-suite has been extremely helpful to me and to the IFL. You've done a great job Greg!

One thing that struck me immediately is the potential difficulty in extracting data from the files, because of Jim's encryption.. and this data is used by many leagues nowadays to create their own MySQL database for a more dynamic league-site.

Exactly. Just about all the custom stuff done for the FOFL is completely reliant on the Extractor Suite, Interrogator especially. It has been an invaluable tool, and I hope 2k7 won't cut this off.

[Gallifrey]

I echo what everyone here is saying. Great tools. Thanks a billion.

[Ben E Lou]

Word. Greg's work for FOF2K4 was OUTSTANDING!

[Solecismic]

I made some conscious decisions to try and make life a little easier on Greg and others who like to look at the binary data.

Player statistics and some key attributes remain unencrypted. Also, I tried to set up Solevision in such a way where it would become readily apparent how the format works - there's a huge amount of information in there about every play.

I don't release data formats because they may change without notice and it was a disaster when I did this for FOF1 (people calling me at home, really getting angry). But I think there's going to be far more to work with on FOF 2007 than any previous version.

It's great that Greg does so much and releases this work for free. Part of the reason I made Solevision fairly easy to parse and didn't encrypt everything in the data file is because of the community spirit in which Greg does this work.

[wade moore]

I made some conscious decisions to try and make life a little easier on Greg and others who like to look at the binary data.

Player statistics and some key attributes remain unencrypted. Also, I tried to set up Solevision in such a way where it would become readily apparent how the format works - there's a huge amount of information in there about every play.

I don't release data formats because they may change without notice and it was a disaster when I did this for FOF1 (people calling me at home, really getting angry). But I think there's going to be far more to work with on FOF 2007 than any previous version.

It's great that Greg does so much and releases this work for free. Part of the reason I made Solevision fairly easy to parse and didn't encrypt everything in the data file is because of the community spirit in which Greg does this work.

So you're saying that the file that feeds Solevision will be some sort of data file (binary it sounds like) where people will be able to parse out all of the same stuff that you are using for Solevision?

[cuervo72]

Very reassuring - thanks Jim.

[gstelmack]

So you're saying that the file that feeds Solevision will be some sort of data file (binary it sounds like) where people will be able to parse out all of the same stuff that you are using for Solevision?

It sounds to me like the format will be a bit easier to figure out what data is where.

Thanks for the kind words, Jim. I also appreciate any efforts to make this stuff easier and/or obsolete.

[Subby]

Greg - extractor and draft analyzer have helped make the FOF draft the coolest mp experience for me of any game I've played. It completely enhances the mp experience for a lot of folks, I would bet.

Thanks so much.

[cthomer5000]

Good to hear. :thumbsup:

[cuervo72]

It sounds to me like the format will be a bit easier to figure out what data is where.

Thanks for the kind words, Jim. I also appreciate any efforts to make this stuff easier and/or obsolete.

Out of curiousity, do you have a plan on how you might be formatting any output? Meaning, would you just follow Jim's implementation, or might you offer some csv's that closely resemble those from 2k4?

(I guess that really depends on how different Jim's data storage looks...but I'm sure you could see how having files with the same columns in the same order as before might be useful :) )

[gstelmack]

Out of curiousity, do you have a plan on how you might be formatting any output? Meaning, would you just follow Jim's implementation, or might you offer some csv's that closely resemble those from 2k4?

(I guess that really depends on how different Jim's data storage looks...but I'm sure you could see how having files with the same columns in the same order as before might be useful :) )

That'll depend on a number of factors. First, if there's anything missing from the interface that actually requires this kind of output (i.e. there's no guarantee that there's even a need for an Interrogator; I haven't seen the full version of FOF2k7). Second, it'll depend on how compatible the data is. Third, it'll depend on how I write it (what's easiest for me to spit out). If I do end up writing a new version of Interrogator for this version, I'll be spending a while trying to figure out the changes in the file format (keep in mind that the first time around, I had the jumpstart of the spreadsheet compiled by Fido and others here who had done the hard work).

Or in other words, we're jumping the gun a bit here. I have no clue how any of these utilities will look or work, or which ones will still be required. Let's give it a couple of weeks with the new game before we start figuring out what external utilities would be useful.

[Vegas Vic]

Greg - extractor and draft analyzer have helped make the FOF draft the coolest mp experience for me of any game I've played. It completely enhances the mp experience for a lot of folks, I would bet.

Thanks so much.

I couldn't have said it better myself. The draft is a true joy with the extractor to analyze my specific preferences. Without the extractor, analyzing all of the stuff by hand would become a cumbersome, unenjoyable chore.

[Hoya1]

this is fine work. I've enjoyed the utility for over a year, and you did a great job expanding and growing it to the point where it's at now. Words cannot express how big of an impact that your utility has helped the entire community.

Good work.

[flere-imsaho]

Just wanted to add my kudos for Greg here - your suite of utilities is top-notch, thanks for all the work you've done.