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Online prototyping tool (bit like vassal, but simpler & no downloads)

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 05:14
TheMob
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Think of this as "vassal goes online, simplified".

Long time ago in the galaxy I did a quick attempt on "online prototyping tool" (discussion here: http://www.bgdf.com/node/1329 ). At that time, I was also working on my other project which required so much attention that I stopped developing the prototyping tool after some time.

The other project was (eventually) completed, and few months ago I started drifting back to this prototyping tool.

The tool is now in such shape that it can be tested, if you wish.

http://www.protohut.com/

The tool is still in "alpha", early version so to speak but it has quite much functionality already. It's online. It's cross-browser. Multiple players. Chat. Upload different size of units (in design mode) with 2 sides. Manipulate units: move (drag), multiple select (by pressing mouse down on top of table, not on top of unit), flip, rotate, send to bottom, hold (others will see only backside of the unit), reveal ("un-hold"). Picked cards go on top automatically. Saves session on every move (you can close browser and come back later). Currently does updates every 3 secs, although this will be most likely optimized & changed.

Here's a brief video that demonstrates this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EueVBvXUDP4

Here you can check out an example on what you can do with this tool:

http://www.protohut.com/index.php?game=32

(It's a deck of cards... play solitaire on your own - or invite your friend and play Texas Hold'em - or any card game you wish)

Thoughts? :)

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 09:32
#1
Dralius
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whats next?

It took me a bit to figure out but im getting it.

For cards and similar items such as tiles a stack command would be nice. Also a way to associate or group items to designate them would be useful. This way if i used the aforementioned stack command and selected an area of the table i could tell it to stack the cards leaving behind the other objects on the table.

What other features are you considering adding?

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 10:35
#2
TheMob
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I do plan to write a bit more

I do plan to write a bit more info on how it works, and do some sort of video to explain how to do stuff. Most immediate ideas I've written in a file:
http://protohut.com/ideas.txt
(that file most likely won't be online forever, I am going to set up blog or forum or something where to discuss things & ideas and everything)

Can you explain me a bit on why this would be useful?

Why can't you simple select stack of cards and move them on their own pile?

I try to keep it simple, and I'm thinking how to handle the current big list of actions in some other way. I do want to simulate "real tabletop gaming" as much as possible, so each possible feature need to be thought thoroughly.

Not saying that I'm against that feature - I just want to know how it could be useful and how you are handling this situation in "real life".

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 12:03
#3
Dralius
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TheMob wrote:Can you explain

TheMob wrote:
Can you explain me a bit on why this would be useful?

Why can't you simple select stack of cards and move them on their own pile?

The stack feature would be a matter of convenience. In game X each player plays a card in a central area adjacent to other cards to form a grid. When a player matches a card already on the table they take both and all the cards between them in the row/column. To do so I can select them in a group but they keep the same relitive position so currently I must pick up each card one at a time to place it in a pile.

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 12:21
#4
TheMob
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Dralius wrote:TheMob

Dralius wrote:
TheMob wrote:
Can you explain me a bit on why this would be useful?

Why can't you simple select stack of cards and move them on their own pile?

The stack feature would be a matter of convenience. In game X each player plays a card in a central area adjacent to other cards to form a grid. When a player matches a card already on the table they take both and all the cards between them in the row/column. To do so I can select them in a group but they keep the same relitive position so currently I must pick up each card one at a time to place it in a pile.

okay, so stack would be like this:

x x x x x

=> stack:

x (5 cards in one stack)

Right?
If so, I see the idea, and agree that it's good & makes sense.

I'm wonder if it should automatically always stack picked cards? Is there a situation where you would not prefer stack picked objects?

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 13:41
#5
Dralius
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I would make it optional.

I would make it optional. There are games where you must keep seperate score piles.

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Fri, 09/24/2010 - 14:36
#6
rcjames14
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Basic Question

What is the format and max size required for a file upload?

I tried to upload a png gameboard with 2100 x1400, then the same one with 1050x700 px and finally a jpg with 200 x 230px, but I keep getting:

Error (empty file, too big file or similar)

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Sat, 09/25/2010 - 02:19
#7
TheMob
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how big filesize? I can

how big filesize? I can adjust that

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Sat, 09/25/2010 - 03:03
#8
TheMob
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Any image file should be fine

Any image file should be fine (jpg, gif, png etc).
Increased this (at least temporarily) to 500kB but not sure if I might need to change this max size at some point.

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Sat, 09/25/2010 - 05:13
#9
DogBoy
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Check out taebl

...for a comparison.

This is a browser-only tool for card games (possibly board games as well)... If I remember correctly, it uses MS Silverlight.

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Sat, 09/25/2010 - 05:30
#10
TheMob
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I fixed one major bug

I fixed one major bug: you could not save data properly in design mode. (if you moved one card somewhere (or flipped/etc), it's location/other info would not be saved)

Now it works right.

DogBoy wrote:
...for a comparison.

This is a browser-only tool for card games (possibly board games as well)... If I remember correctly, it uses MS Silverlight.

Thanks for the tip. Tested a bit.

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Sat, 09/25/2010 - 19:38
#11
rcjames14
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Thanks

I managed to get a board and a few cards uploaded to fool around with it. I can see this being very useful for demoing game play. Do you have a record function built in?

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Sun, 09/26/2010 - 03:38
#12
TheMob
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rcjames14 wrote:I managed to

rcjames14 wrote:
I managed to get a board and a few cards uploaded to fool around with it. I can see this being very useful for demoing game play. Do you have a record function built in?

Okay, cool. Any functionality that you would need?

Right now there's no record functionality, but naturally you can use some screen capture software for doing recording. Screenr.com let's you record 5 min shots, and there's several software that does the trick.

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Sun, 09/26/2010 - 15:06
#13
rcjames14
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Cool

With five minutes of screen capture, I think it will work out well. It's amazing how little time it takes for the visual presentation of information to convey pages worth of rules.

After fooling around with your program for a little bit, I think I'll be able to construct a sample of play not only retrospectively for things that I have made but also for things that I would like to make. It could also come in handy for the App projects that I'm working on right now to show the programmers what I'm talking about.

Thanks.

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