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Ista's Tools

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:47 pm
by Istalris
There are a couple threads out there with ZE tools in them, so I thought I'd take a crack at it too. This is the first one of a few I have planned and is also the most complicated, therefore this is a very early and unfinished release, but nevertheless functional and quite useful.

Battle Simulator

For those of you sick of getting screwed over by the built in simulation engine we have, I wanted to build one of my own that would provide 100% accurate and safe results in a single simulation. You can download the latest version of my simulator here (67.5 KB), no installations necessary.

Important Notes: This program is far from finished and therefore may or may not produce minor bugs. In the current release only a 'quick sim' option is available, and it will always display a worst case scenario only, meaning it tells you the amount of ships you need to send to cover the worst possible luck the battle engine can throw at you. This also means that the amount of ships it displays will seem higher than you are used to, the complete worst case is a very rare event, as is the complete best case. Normal results will probably require anywhere from 4-8% less ships than the quick sim currently tells you, but better safe than sorry. ;) This whole calculation will of course be remedied and added to in future releases.

Current Features
  • Quick simulation option, requires no user input for your attacking fleet, just ship type selection.
  • Simulates worst possible battle outcome with 100% accuracy in a single click.
  • Field memory, retains all entered information after each simulation.
Current Bugs

None known.

Planned Upgrades

The following are all upgrades to the program I have planned, but will not necessarily be completed in this order.
  • Best case simulation result.
  • Average case simulation result and recommended fleet.
  • Display possible losses with best and average case results.
  • Display total debris created from the battle and recyclers needed.
  • Enable Full Sim option.
  • Improve general layout.
  • Display theoretical and actual loot results.
  • Integrate coordinate, fuel and flight time system.
  • Develop a fleet recommendation calculator that considers losses, fuel cost and possible profit variables.
  • Integrate blind lanx/return lanx calculator.
  • Develop an espionage report read-in system to lessen user input.
This list of course may change over time and I am always open to others suggestions for improvement.

Construction Calculator

A nifty little tool that lets you calculate the build time in hours, minutes and seconds for ships, defenses, buildings and researches with variable factory/lab levels. Also useful for people designing new units, buildings and techs that need to know their base build times. You can download the latest version of my Construction Calculator here (35 KB), no installations necessary.

Important Notes: The Research block has been temporarily disabled due to a massive bugfest, reason; I need to stop writing code in the middle of the night.

Current Features
  • Calculates the build time for ships, defenses and building structures.
  • Presents construction times to the user in an easy to read H:M:S display.
  • Contains formulas for all three universes.
Current Bugs

None known.

Planned Upgrades
  • Get some sleep then fix the research block, lol.
  • Improve general layout.
  • Change the GUI to dramatically lower user input.
  • Include an optional data table that includes all units, buildings and researches.
  • Remove the calculate button and make results change dynamically on user input (to work with new GUI).
  • Tidy up the internal code for better efficiency.
  • Add a days counter to the time display.
This list of course may change over time and I am always open to others suggestions for improvement.

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:07 pm
by Weresloth
Shiny.

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:32 pm
by SPY
pretty cool. nice job dude.

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:36 pm
by Resurrected
Sounds cool, now if I can only get Norton to quit deleting the file before I run it :x , all would be well.

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:46 pm
by Istalris
Resurrected wrote:Sounds cool, now if I can only get Norton to quit deleting the file before I run it :x , all would be well.
From what I've heard and experienced of Norton I won't be touching it ever again. :P Plenty of free protection software out there that does a better job and is easier to manage.

On a more serious note though, I can assure everyone that there is no malicious software of any kind in my programs. You do of course have to download it at your own risk, but you have my word, for what it's worth. :)

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:45 pm
by Resurrected
Never had a problem with that AV software, this is the first time I've actually encountered an issue. But I'll find a work around. Always good to find someone who invests the time and effort into making useful and beneficial applications, even better when others use them :D

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:35 am
by KarrothMelu
Istalris wrote:[On a more serious note though, I can assure everyone that there is no malicious software of any kind in my programs. You do of course have to download it at your own risk, but you have my word, for what it's worth. :)
I smell a trap.... >.>

:P

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:00 pm
by Istalris
Updated First Post - New Tool!

Ran into some problems with string parsing on my Battle Sim tool, so I decided to give my brain a rest and write this quick calculator for the build times of various items. Looks a bit ugly at the moment, but that will be improved later, it does however serve it's purpose admirably. Below is the quick description and download link, full details at the start of the topic.

Construction Calculator

A nifty little tool that lets you calculate the build time in hours, minutes and seconds for ships, defenses, buildings and researches with variable factory/lab levels. Also useful for people designing new units, buildings and techs that need to know their base build times. You can download the latest version of my Construction Calculator here (35 KB), no installations necessary.

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:07 pm
by Sizzle
These tools seem pretty cool, but, being the absolute genius of computers that I am, I'm not sure how to run it. I believe it's because I'm using a mac. Every time I try to open it I just get a text file. What's up with that?

Re: Ista's Tools

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:09 pm
by Istalris
Sizzle wrote:These tools seem pretty cool, but, being the absolute genius of computers that I am, I'm not sure how to run it. I believe it's because I'm using a mac. Every time I try to open it I just get a text file. What's up with that?
They are Windows Form Applications, that is why you cannot open them on your Mac. I regret there is nothing I can do to remedy that apart from completely scrap the projects and start again. :(