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DarkBASIC Professional Discussion / - DBPro Coding Challenges -

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Ric
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Posted: 11th Feb 2008 19:47
Woah - thought I was getting on a bit, but I sure don't go back as far as punch cards!!



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KISTech
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Posted: 11th Feb 2008 20:07
Cassette Tape, wow, that brings back memories.

I agree, much better than punch cards.

I was just in Fry's Electronics on Saturday and they had a 1 Terabyte external USB hard drive for $259. That sent me back to the days of my Apple //e when I wanted to get a 10 MEG hard drive and I couldn't afford it because it was $1,000.

(damn, dated myself again...)


Don't think, just code.
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 11th Feb 2008 20:32
There are several older folks on the forum that might have done punchcards. Green Gandalf and FLATLANDER are contemporaries. There may be more.

Regarding Blackjack, I also remembered that it is conventional for the dealer to "burn" (expose and put aside) the first card off the deck after the cut. One option is whether a new shuffle & cut is required if the burn card is an Ace. It's critical in single deck games. No reshuffle is done in multi-deck casino games.
BillR
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Posted: 11th Feb 2008 22:57
I did punch cards for one semester, a long time ago!
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 11th Feb 2008 23:48
That settles it. I'm entering this one. There's apparently enough old timers out there that I can garner at least a modicum of sympathy if I exhume something like a "goto". If you do that in some other forums they push you into a mausoleum and close the door on you. If you combine two commands on one line separated by a colon, they sit you on an iceberg with a two day ration of fish, and give it a strong shove.
Ric
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Posted: 12th Feb 2008 03:39
Quote: "I was just in Fry's Electronics on Saturday and they had a 1 Terabyte external USB hard drive "


So that's like, er, equivalent to the capacity of one billion ZX81's (without the 16k memory expansion pack) stacked in a rather large heap.

My ZX81 was still quicker to boot up and shut down than my PC, though. And it made less noise.



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Garzu
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Posted: 12th Feb 2008 13:33
Ric, did you not go for the 64kb expansion pack ?

for me, that was just a dream (but then again, so was getting just one character on pressing the keys)

Finished Projects : Spellmaker (Old Boardgame)
Current Project : PBeM helper for Twilight Imperium III(Boardgame)
yes.... I Like Boardgames!!
Ric
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Posted: 13th Feb 2008 14:03
Heh - my keyboard packed up well before I even heard of a 64K upgrade!



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Rburke
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Posted: 13th Feb 2008 14:16 Edited at: 13th Feb 2008 15:04
Okay I was able to work on my program some more today and I added

* Insurance feature
* Made the Interface more user-friendly (Lights up buttons that are available rather than just lighting up on mouse over)
* It now shows the Dealer's first card properly instead of hiding both cards initally...
* A fix so the player's bet doesn't exceed his or the dealer's causing anybody to have negative funds.

Quote: "the thin I noticed is that it always used the Ace as an 11, not as 1 OR 11.."

Not sure if you meant this towards my program? (I couldn't find this bug)

However I'm not absolutely certain how insurance works if utilized:

1. If the Dealer receives a blackjack does the player get all his money back and the Dealer receive nothing? (Exactly like a push?)

2. If the Dealer doesn't receive a blackjack and the player wins, does the player get the insurance bet back plus the original bet?

3. If the Dealer receives a blackjack does the Dealer earn the original bet plus the insurance bet?

4. If the Dealer's face up card is valued at 10 and the second card is an ace does that count as a blackjack and should an insurance opportunity be offered before the second card is revealed or does this only apply to the first card that initially shown face up?

To do list:

* Add a split function
* Add a restart game button
* Add a drop-down check-box Settings Menu (This hopefully will feature every single known rule variation and is customizable at the start of a new game)
* Add a optional bonus feature that will automatically count cards for you; ie: show percentage that the Dealer has a blackjack before submitting insurance selection (Will require the user to win the game at least once in order to use this feature) <-- Or I might make a password to activate and reward the player with the secret password when the game is won
* Add an option in which the user can choose how many decks will be played in the game
* Tool Tips for game rule variations in the drop down settings menu as the user mouses over the feature selection check box (because not every one knows exactly what a Five-Card Charlie or Multiple splits are and etc..)
* Add a cash-out feature
* After winning a game you will proceed to the next Dealer in which his funds corresponds to how much cash you have won from the last game (A winner take all situation) ie: The first game starts you out at $1,000 and after winning the first game you will then proceed to the second game in which both the player and dealer have $2,000 then $4,000 etc...
* Condense my code since it's starting to get a little chunky and call functions only when neccessary (I'm starting to notice a delay in my button responses) <-- probably will be the most challenging thing on my to do list.

This may sound a bit too much, but adding in all this versatility in a game will be much more appreciated I'm sure. (I have nine days left so hopefully this will be enough. If not then I'll submit what I have finished so far and even if the deadline is due I'll still finish what I planned for my program and post it then and also since it's good philosophy to finish what you start.)
BMacZero
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Posted: 13th Feb 2008 15:27
Insurance is completely seperate from the original bet. It is a bet that the dealer will get a blackjack, so you can recoup your losses. If the dealer has a blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2:1, if he doesn't, the player loses the insurance bet, regardless of whether or not he won the hand.

PS. That does sound like a lot! I don't know if I can keep up with that, especially since I'm working on 2 other projects now.


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Jeff Miller
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Posted: 13th Feb 2008 15:49
RBurke :
1. I encountered the same bug in your program. It declared that I busted after a hit but my total would not have exceeded 21 if the value of the Ace had reverted to 1 instead of 11. I'll try to simulate it and track it down.
2. Regarding insurance:
a. the limit on the bet is UP TO one half of your pending bet. To simplfy your game restrict it to exactly one half, which is what almost everyone bets.
b. it is a totally seperate side bet on whether the dealer has a blackjack.
c. Your regular bet is settled the same way it would be without insurance. E.g. if the Dealer get's a blackjack, you lose your bet if you do not have a blackjack and you push if you do have a blackjack. If the dealer receives a blackjack, you win the insurance bet and it pays 2 to 1. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, you lose your insurance bet and the play then continues.
d. As the play continues, your regular bet is at stake the same way it would have been absent insurance. Thus, it is possible to lose the insurance bet (dealer does not have a blackjack) and also lose the pending bet (he beats you anyway or you bust). Insuring your own blackjack guarantees at least some win. If dealer has a blackjack you push on your initial bet and win the insurance bet. If dealer does not you lose the insurance bet but win the regular bet. Incidentally, when you win with a blackjack you win at 3-2 odds. Even so, automatically insuring a blackjack is not mathematically wise. You lose the opportunity to net the full 3-2 payoff if the dealer does not have the blackjack, because you lost your insurance bet.
e. If the dealer's face card is valued at 10, if he has "an ace in the hole" it still counts as a blackjack. Insurance is generally not offered if the facecard is a 10 because an insurance bet there would be a terrible bet. I've seen idiots ask for insurance in such circumstances, get it, and lose at the appropriate rate.

I'm keeping the one I'm working on a bit simpler than the versatile version you are working on. If you are going to add the option of "counting", the way most people would count entails a "running" count of the richness of the remaining deck in high cards, and a seperate count of aces (remember that most games use 4 or 6 decks). The count is used for many purposes, including whether to increase the bet on the next hand, whether the deck has gone so bad that you should leave a find another table, and how to play a hand (e.g. whether to hit a soft 18, whether to double down on a ten facing a 5). There are several systems, the simplest of which merely counts the percentage of 10's left in the deck. I once made a blackjack game which used that type of count, but for the purpose of AI as a second player so that you could compare your play to the AI play against the dealer (since the dealer has no discretion).
Rburke
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Posted: 15th Feb 2008 17:24 Edited at: 15th Feb 2008 18:14
Thanks Jeff, I think I've got the insurance function to work properly now and I also fixed that bug where it wouldn't count the ace as a 1 if the player busted. What happened before was that I didn't write any code in my program to go back to the aces valued at 11 should the player bust, so I added in a simple ace tracker.



Although not much done compared to what I've planned to add:

Jeff Miller
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Posted: 15th Feb 2008 19:36
That's a cleaner way than I'm doing it. I use arrays for the hands. I'm hitting Atlantic City this weekend to check on what new rules the casino's may be using since I last played about 10 years ago. If there is anything new I'll post them on Monday.
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 16th Feb 2008 01:55
Feedback:

bmaczero:
1. Sometimes your dealer is dealt a 3rd card(face down) before the user plays. Happened to me on a hand where one of my cards was an ace.
2. Sometimes when I take a hit the dealer takes one also (face down). This is while I still have the option of another hit.

Rburke:
1. If your player either busts or has a blackjack, the dealer is not exposing his hole card. This does not prejudice the player in the settlement of the bet, but the player is entitled to see the hole card anyway in the event he wants to take exposed cards into consideration in sizing his next bet or in subsequent play strategy.
2. When the player loses an insurance bet the settlement fails to properly credit the dealer. I am getting imbalanced results like Player 963-Dealer 1025. Your are also apparently rounding the insurance in the cases where the bet is not evenly divisible by 2 in dollars. The casino's reacted to the issue by creating $2.50 chips (pink as I recall). When you use them as a bet and do a surrender or insurance, they toss half dollars in with the chips.
3. Although the Double button is properly functionally disabled when the player has insufficient funds to support the double, it should probably also be graphically disabled.
4. When the player is out of funds, the program still prompts the player to place a bet. There should be some different ending.
BMacZero
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Posted: 16th Feb 2008 02:19
@Jeff

1. I'll look into that, thanks.
2. I thought that was supposed to happen. Player goes, then the dealer, then the player, etc...


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Jeff Miller
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Posted: 16th Feb 2008 04:22
@bmaczero:

In any form of Blackjack that I have encountered, and I've played it since the mid 1950's, all players other than the dealer must play out their hands before the dealer plays his hand. With more than one player the sequence of players is: clockwise from the dealer. This advantage of a player being able to bust before the dealer plays is why in a home-game most people WANT to be the dealer. This is why casinos set up the tables so that maybe 6 or 7 players can sit opposite a casino-dealer. If Players 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 hit and bust, the dealer wins those 5 bets BEFORE the dealer is even obliged to play. If Player 6 stands, and the dealer busts, the dealer loses that bet, but he WON the other five bets even though he busted! This creates great odds in favor of the dealer.

You must restructure your program to have the player complete his play to a stand or bust before the dealer exposes his hole card and starts to play. If the player busts the dealer does not have to play: the dealer wins. When the player stands and has not busted, then the dealer play should begin.
Rburke
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Posted: 16th Feb 2008 18:30 Edited at: 17th Feb 2008 06:29
Jeff, Thanks again for tracking these errors in my program. I managed to fix problems 1 through 3 that you've addressed and I'll set up the end of the game soon as I write my splitting function. Also I want to add that this has been a privilege to be able to get your input on black jack. Honestly, I didn't know as much about black jack before I had started this challenge and you seem to be very experienced in this regard.

EDIT: I've been trying to change the way my program draws the buttons by converting them into sprites rather than having these button images be pasted every program loop. The reason why I wanted to use sprites was so that I can handle button functions more smoothly by relying on the sprite collision command (If the mouse sprite was in collision to one of the button sprites...) however I noticed my program runs too slow to my liking and can notice my mouse pointer skipping along the screen, as if using sprites would make the program work harder. So well for writing a cleaner function of handling button function... I may just stick with paste images if I can't find a solution to speed up my program. And I know My program is set to Sync On rather than a fixed rate.

Also if any one knows how, what is required to display text in front of sprites?

EDIT: Got my program to run smoothly with sprites.
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 17th Feb 2008 13:27
DBP is hostile to elderly blackjack programmers. I need to use lots of mnemonic constants because if I type an array index number and 5 minutes later go back to that line I'll have no recollection of what the number meant. Thus far, the following common blackjack terms have provoked errors when used as constants, on the flimsy excuse that DBP regards them as "reserved words": PLAYER, HIT, SPLIT, DOUBLE.
jason p sage
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Posted: 17th Feb 2008 13:33
@JEff - I use a naming convention so things like this don't bite me in the rear.

Constant? = "c"
Number = "n"
String = "s"

Example:



Or Some Such arrangement.

Hope this helps.

Rburke
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Posted: 17th Feb 2008 15:23
A few imperfections here and there. Sadly, I still don't have a split function ( I don't know why I keep putting that off) but It will definitely be next on my to do. Added in Game Statistics for when you reach the end of the game or cash out.

Jeff Miller
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Posted: 17th Feb 2008 17:03
@Jason P Sage - Thanks. I'll give that method a try.

@Rburke - I failed to notice this in your first draft. The amounts of the bets aren't being reset for some reason. If I bet $10 on a hand and want to bet $5 on the next, I click $5 but it adds the $5 to the previous bet and makes it $15. If I double on a hand, it retains the doubled bet as the previous bet and I can't figure how to reduce it. I think initially carrying a bet amount to the beginning of the next hand is a good default, so players who do not wish to change the bet can just click DEAL and get on with it. Many players bet the table-minimum for many hands until they regard the deck as getting favorable and then increase their bet. But you need to make a click on the bet reset the bet to the amount clicked, not add it on.
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 17th Feb 2008 22:27
Here's how I'm handling the splits, which I would recommend to anyone.

1. No hits after splitting aces, since most joints don't permit it.
2. An ace dealt on a split 10(J,Q,K) or vice versa counts as 21, but is not a BlackJack. The dealer can reach a push. If you win you get paid even money odds, not 3-2. That is how most joints do it.
3. No re-splits. Almost everywhere permits re-splits, but I'm running out of playing room. This will anger the player if, for example, he draws two more 8s on split 8s, since he now has 2 crappy hands and the odds are that he could reach four better hands with a re-split. If time permits, I'll compensate by allowing the player to recall the bet on the re-splittable hand or hands. Other ideas are most welcome.
Rburke
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Posted: 18th Feb 2008 05:37 Edited at: 18th Feb 2008 05:40
Jeff, Try right clicking the betting buttons, that should properly decrease your bet. I may just add small instructional text above the buttons so people know. At this point I don't want to add more sprites then I have to for Betting adjustment arrows.

As for bets not resetting.. To keep the same bets as default was something I had planned for, however I noticed this fact of the bets not resetting from a double down so that just may be the second next thing to do on my list to make sure the bets are reverted back to the original
Garzu
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Posted: 21st Feb 2008 16:22
Just so people know (and post their code in time) I will be judging this tomorrow at 7pm GMT.

Finished Projects : Spellmaker (Old Boardgame)
Current Project : PBeM version of War of the Ring in 3D.
BMacZero
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2008 16:26
Here's my final entry. I added surrender and insurance, but I didn't have time to do much else - I was working on other projects:




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Jeff Miller
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2008 16:37 Edited at: 22nd Feb 2008 16:48
Here's mine. Ran out of time, should do another week of work on it. I want to make betting chips, keyboard control, get rid of bugs.


Edit: apparently too big for a code paste. I'll make a .txt file and attach.
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2008 16:55 Edited at: 22nd Feb 2008 16:58
Let's try this. A .txt file. Open in notepad then copy and paste to editor.

No hits on split aces.
A "Blackjack" on a split hand is just a 21, not a Blackjack
Can double after splits (other than aces).
Blackjack pays player 3-2.
No 5-card Charlies.
Can't surrender to a blackjack
Sometimes presumes you do not want a hit, i.e. on a hard 18+.
Reshuffles at 75% depletion of deck(s).
Set up for 4 decks. You can change to 1-8 decks at line 184.
Depletes your money when you PLACE a bet. Thus it can tell if you don't have enough left to insure/double/split.
On push, replenishes your money with original bet.
On player win, replenishes and pays.
Garzu
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2008 21:41
I hereby declare RBurke the winner of this little challege

Congratulations RBurke, I now pass the mantle of Challenge setter unto you

Thanks to everyone involved in the challenge.

Finished Projects : Spellmaker (Old Boardgame, Dodgy DB Pro Multiplayer commands included!)
Current Project : PBeM version of War of the Ring in 3D.
Rburke
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Posted: 23rd Feb 2008 05:17
Thank you Garzu, this was a great challenge. Didn't quite finish everything I had planned for but got most of what I wanted to get done.

@Jeff Miller- Absolutely amazing graphics and gameplay. You did a great job utilizing the entire game screen for your buttons and cards and you even created the exact shape and had the card symbols flipped around to match what real cards would look like perfectly.

** NEW CHALLENGE: RPG (Role-Playing Game) Engine

Create a tiling system to create maps like you would see in RPG games. You can use double arrays to set up the grid and use a data table to tell the program which graphics to use for a specific tile. You don't necessarily have to use this way, if you another idea to go about this feel free to follow through with it.

Once you have a good working tiling/mapping system, create a character to navigate your new map. As a bonus add monsters, treasure boxes etc..

This is what I made a while ago when someone had asked for help with making a tiling system:



I think two weeks should be enough for this challenge.
DEADLINE: March 8th @ 22:00 PST
Jeff Miller
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Posted: 23rd Feb 2008 12:35
@Rburke - Thanks! I'm going to try to make a cribbage game next, but scan an old public domain deck of genuine cards. Those suit symbols in the Symbol font are murder to work with.
Garzu
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Posted: 25th Feb 2008 12:52
I'll have a go with the RPG map engine thingy

Finished Projects : Spellmaker (Old Boardgame, Dodgy DB Pro Multiplayer commands included!)
Current Project : PBeM version of War of the Ring in 3D.
flashing snall
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Posted: 27th Feb 2008 01:21
hmm. i just looked at this a couple of hours ago, and i took a shot at it.... Its REALLY rough at the moment, but hopfully ill nicen it up....

INFO:
you start out in edit mode.
press space to go into game mode.
to place a spot were the player can be, press 1 to set the object placement category to rooms. then click the mouse to drop rooms. rigt click to take them away.
press 2 to make th object placement catergory be player strat location
press 3 to make the OPC be doors. with these, you first place the door, and then you place the key to the door.
press 4 to place the win zone
press 5 to plce bad guys. At the moment, the bad guys ony go up and down. I will make a nother set that goes left to right, and then maybe a guy who homes in on the player...

when your in game mode, arrow keys move you (the green thing) around the map...




sorry for the length...
Enjoy.


This is my WIP, not even ready for a WIP thread yet though.http://smallgroupproductions.com/
Rburke
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Posted: 28th Feb 2008 05:58 Edited at: 28th Feb 2008 08:21
That's pretty cool flashing. Although in the code you posted here you forgot to make line 14 `Dim playertile(20000) to Dim playertile(20000) otherwise I get an error with your key sprite diffusing back to the ground tile color when you pick up the key sprite. I really like where you are going with this. Perhaps you can have some premade maps and level advancement : )
sindore
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2008 11:15 Edited at: 27th May 2008 12:48
sorry about that, wont happen again.

soul sucking devils, twisted body of the damed, slivering slim drips from ever poor, sin licking at your ears, and the smell stinging your eyes, and if you don't like it, get out of my kitchen!....
Ric
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2008 18:32
Quote: "Iv put out a challenge to any one who is interested,
her is the link

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=124954&b=30

I hope you come and have a go, If you've got the man lumps"


Stop spamming other threads with links to your own - it's getting annoying seeing the same post in multiple threads.



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flashing snall
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2008 18:43
plus man lumps is pushing it i think...

heres my old code with the comment taken out so that it counts in the compo... cause you guys cant modify it and have it be my code obviously..




Im not sure if im going to get around to doing anything else with it though. I might, but that might be my final entry....


This is my WIP, not even ready for a WIP thread yet though.http://smallgroupproductions.com/
Pricey
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2008 19:57
Come on people! Enter!
I will be!

BMacZero
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2008 21:19
Great...another spammer.

Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Mar 2008 02:20 Edited at: 4th Mar 2008 02:24
Its been a while since I've posted on here!

Just to let you know, I want to update the DBP-Site Challenge Database as its got quite out of date...

http://www.dbp-site.com/

I've spent the last 2 days going through it. I've updated the Drupal install and all the modules and its now running much better (I've also learned a LOT in the last 2 years, so the site as a whole is more organized).

I'm going to be doing some more to it soon, but I was wondering if anyone fancied helping me organize some more fresh content?

[center]
BMacZero
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Posted: 4th Mar 2008 02:27 Edited at: 4th Mar 2008 02:28
I've got a little time now, I'll have a lot tomorrow afternoon. What do you mean by content? Like collecting the entries from the recent challenges?

Edit: The site looks spiffy, by the way

Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Mar 2008 08:15
Yeah, thats exactly what I mean by content. The way its been done before (which worked well) was someone created a folder for each challenge and a text file for each entry. They found the last post of the challenge (ie, the judging) and then tracked back from there.

I might make a start today... I've used 'cURL' to download all 144 pages of this thread and I can now use 'grep' on the Mac/Linux command line to scan all files using regex patterns in a fraction of a second - VERY handy!

Thanks for the kind words about the site.

[center]
Garzu
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Posted: 4th Mar 2008 13:55
@ Nicholas,
I have txt files of the entries to my Blackjack contest, how would you like them ?

Finished Projects : Spellmaker (Old Boardgame, Dodgy DB Pro Multiplayer commands included!)
Current Project : PBeM version of War of the Ring in 3D.
Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Mar 2008 14:27
That'd be great - thanks.

Fyi, I'm currently trying to replace my DBPHighlighter module with the Geshi project... It looks like a MUCH better filter (its written by someone who knows what they're doing when it comes to syntax highlighting!)

I'll post back when I got it working...

[center]
McLaine
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Posted: 5th Mar 2008 15:17
Hi Folks,

Glad to see the challenges thread still going.

I might have some DBPro time available again over the coming months so expect me to join in.

It's not my fault!
Ric
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Posted: 6th Mar 2008 11:08
Looking good Nick - and the link which takes you to the first post of each challenge in the thread is extremely useful. Can't tell you how long it takes rooting out an old code snippet from this thread without your website! If bmaczero has the time to help collate the recent stuff, then it would be great to see it up to date. One tip bmaczero - go through the thread backwards, rather than forwards - that way you find the most up to date entries from each person first, in the cases where they posted more than one version in a particular challenge.

I have already collated the entries from the recent Christmas challenge, which were held in a separate thread this year. The rules were very slightly different (entrants had to make use of two small media files), but in essence this was still one of the coding challenges, and replaced the usual challenge for the three weeks over the Christmas period. If you want to include them into the database, let me know and I'll email you the zipped folder with all the 25 entries and the two media files.



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Garzu
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Posted: 6th Mar 2008 11:57 Edited at: 6th Mar 2008 16:32
I just realised, I've only got today to start and finish this challenge aaaargh!!! (will give it a go though!)

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If I learned to stop panicking and look at the date, I would realise that I had tomorrow on it too....
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Finished Projects : Spellmaker (Old Boardgame, Dodgy DB Pro Multiplayer commands included!)
Current Project : PBeM version of War of the Ring in 3D.
Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 6th Mar 2008 14:03 Edited at: 6th Mar 2008 14:08
Ric - I might be able to include the XMas challenge - that'd be really good. Thanks.

I'm actually working on an "api" right now (rather like api.drupal.org) but for DBP. This will then be used in the code highlighting - each command will link to its API page (again, like the Drupal API does).

I'm also going to integrate all the sites together better so if you log into one site, you log into all of them. I will probably change the challenges site from "www.dbp-site.com" to "challenges.dbp-site.com" and then have the "www" site as a kind of portal for all the sites (challenges, codebase, api and anything else that we decide we'd like)

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BMacZero
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Posted: 6th Mar 2008 15:49
Ok, I'm working on this as of now . I wasn't sure if you needed me or not, because you said you had that cURL thing.

Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 6th Mar 2008 15:58
Oh that curl thing only works if you know the title of the challenges And even then - it only tells you which pages that phrase is on - which could be anywhere between none and all of them...

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Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 7th Mar 2008 18:42
Fyi guys,
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=125467&b=1

I've launched the API and the Challenge Database now links up with it when it highlights the code.

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