Pre-Game Editor ?

[Rob316]

Heya sim-heads!

I can't thank you guys enough for coming out with this game and the potential for this series is going to be phenomenal. I can finally retire my EHM '07 and move on to greener pastures so to speak and it feels great!

I do have a question, and that questions is, will we be able to use some form of a Pre-Game editor to make our own changes to the players and teams before we start a new season by chance ?

The changes I like to make before I start a brand new season is making sure the lines and positions are in sync and teams aren't stuck with 2 left wingers, 10 right wingers, a handful of Right sided defensemen and a few centers so to speak.

The ratings of certain players will always seem bias in some sense as researchers will have they're own opinions just like anyone else on various players. My sticky point is the "fighting" as Boston's Shawn Thornton is rated a 12 on the chart in that department, while superstar John Tavares is rated a solid 13. Most enforcers in the database are rated very low and a lot of players that don't fight or occasionally scrap are rated way to darn high!
Ratings such as potential as the real life of the NHL zip's by might spark a few bloomers and I'd love to be able to change the numbers and data using a pre-game editor of some sort as time roll's on.

**Note**

The built in Commish mode let's you edit the database only AFTER you have created a season. If I delete the save game or the save game becomes corrupt, or I decide I'm tired of playing the same team all the time for eternity all of my work is lost because I am not actually editing the default database. The game also currently doesn't let you save a game to a specific name so after you and I make all these changes to hundreds of players, we can't actually reload the specific save game name allowing us to start a fresh season consistently with the changes occurred. At the moment you are "stuck" with the team you choose and any of the changes you make is not saving to the actual "default database" so in a sense, it's just a waste of time going thru the league re-rating a ton of players and great for on the fly adjusting.

[drewst18]

The editor is built into the game. If you are in commissioner mode, you select player you want to edit and choose edit player, you can edit every aspect of the player.

[Rob316]

Originally Posted by drewst18

The editor is built into the game. If you are in commissioner mode, you select player you want to edit and choose edit player, you can edit every aspect of the player.

I should have been a little more detailed like the fact Commish mode only let's you edit everything AFTER you create a season. If I delete the savegame or the save game becomes corrupt, or I decide I'm tired of playing the same team all the time all of my work is lost because I am not actually editing the roster database itself.

[yzerwing]

Under game options you can create a Quickstart game after you make the changes you want, so that will preserve the rosters the way you want.

The only issue I have with this, is that you can't say, create a player and then edit his playing stats at all, which would be nice. Also, no way to create a brand new player, you have to take the place of one currently in game, which is fine, if you can edit the stats, and playing potential, as right now, when you give a guy 100 for reputation and 1000 in offense and defense potential, it many times has the scout come back saying your guy shouldn't be on the team, with one star or less. Eventhough he is 20's in everything.

[Rob316]

Originally Posted by yzerwing

Under game options you can create a Quickstart game after you make the changes you want, so that will preserve the rosters the way you want.

The only issue I have with this, is that you can't say, create a player and then edit his playing stats at all, which would be nice. Also, no way to create a brand new player, you have to take the place of one currently in game, which is fine, if you can edit the stats, and playing potential, as right now, when you give a guy 100 for reputation and 1000 in offense and defense potential, it many times has the scout come back saying your guy shouldn't be on the team, with one star or less. Eventhough he is 20's in everything.

Does the quick start game actually work Yzer ? When I load up the game I'm getting a screen which is allowing me to add a name but the "OK" button is non functional and the screen under the "Select a quick start game" is just blank lol

I'm no programmer I'm just a driller working in the Alberta oilfields lol, but couldn't they add hidden additional "blank" slots persay but used for any players created and they can be added into the database smoothly. Kinda like reserved slots that are unseen but there, as you add players and editing them to you liking that "BLANK" slot is now taken, removed from the extra hidden vacant slots and added into the database ?

[yzerwing]

Originally Posted by Rob316

Does the quick start game actually work Yzer ? When I load up the game I'm getting a screen which is allowing me to add a name but the "OK" button is non functional and the screen under the "Select a quick start game" is just blank lol

Not sure, haven't tried it myself, just was told about it. I think if you went to the fhmquickstart file in my documents, and copy and pasted into your save game, that it might work, but not sure, so take that thought with a grain of salt.

[Rob316]

Originally Posted by yzerwing

Not sure, haven't tried it myself, just was told about it. I think if you went to the fhmquickstart file in my documents, and copy and pasted into your save game, that it might work, but not sure, so take that thought with a grain of salt.

I'm guessing it's probably work in progress just not implemented yet. I sure hope that is the intentions though! lol

[Skadhauge]

How about manually renaming the save games? I know it's a drag, and I want what you wish for, but should at least make it doable for now.

[archibalduk]

I've started work on writing my own pre-game editor of sorts. Rather than it being a traditional form of editor, my plan is to import and export data/changefiles between the game and Excel. The reason for taking this approach is that allows multiple people to list their research in spreadsheets and then import this into a single database (the drawback with a pre-game editor is that only one person can work on the database - this used to make keeping EHM databases updated a huge task).

I wrote a similar tool for EHM so that we could maintain our unofficial roster update more quickly and easily. The researchers can list the changes they want in a spreadsheet (e.g. transactions, attribute updates, additional career history entries, new players, etc) and then my tool applies the changes to the database. It also allows us to export data from one database and merge it into another. So this is the sort of thing I'd like to do with FHM (and it would be a way of exporting the ratings from a DB update to a start-of-season DB - see this discussion).

Using a hex editor and a lot of trial and error, I've figured out about 85-90% of the structure of the player data (players.dat). I've found most of the bio data, all of the attributes, most of the contract data, career history/stats, draft data, etc. However, it's the remaining data that is proving really difficult to figure out. Unless I can figure out what these bits are, it's going to be really difficult to write the editor... Even with the missing gaps, I'm able to process the first 28,903 of the 29,281 entries in players.dat (I then reach something as of yet unidentified in the DB which causes my editor to crash). I'll keep working at it every now and again, but I think we'll be very much dependent on OOTP publishing the DB structure in order for fan-made tools to be viable (e.g. figuring out what happens to the DB when you add a termination clause via Commissioner Mode is really difficult!!).

Btw, the players.dat file in the Modern Quickstart folder is the same in the structure as those in saved games - so it'd be possible to edit saved games with the same tool at present.

P.s. here's an example of one of the spreadsheets/changefiles my EHM Updater uses (and the sort of thing I'd look to be adding to my FHM version). You just list the changes like so and then the Updater will make the changes to the DB:

[Rob316]

Originally Posted by archibalduk

I've started work on writing my own pre-game editor of sorts. Rather than it being a traditional form of editor, my plan is to import and export data/changefiles between the game and Excel. The reason for taking this approach is that allows multiple people to list their research in spreadsheets and then import this into a single database (the drawback with a pre-game editor is that only one person can work on the database - this used to make keeping EHM databases updated a huge task).

I wrote a similar tool for EHM so that we could maintain our unofficial roster update more quickly and easily. The researchers can list the changes they want in a spreadsheet (e.g. transactions, attribute updates, additional career history entries, new players, etc) and then my tool applies the changes to the database. It also allows us to export data from one database and merge it into another. So this is the sort of thing I'd like to do with FHM (and it would be a way of exporting the ratings from a DB update to a start-of-season DB - see this discussion).

Using a hex editor and a lot of trial and error, I've figured out about 85-90% of the structure of the player data (players.dat). I've found most of the bio data, all of the attributes, most of the contract data, career history/stats, draft data, etc. However, it's the remaining data that is proving really difficult to figure out. Unless I can figure out what these bits are, it's going to be really difficult to write the editor... Even with the missing gaps, I'm able to process the first 28,903 of the 29,281 entries in players.dat (I then reach something as of yet unidentified in the DB which causes my editor to crash). I'll keep working at it every now and again, but I think we'll be very much dependent on OOTP publishing the DB structure in order for fan-made tools to be viable (e.g. figuring out what happens to the DB when you add a termination clause via Commissioner Mode is really difficult!!).

Btw, the players.dat file in the Modern Quickstart folder is the same in the structure as those in saved games - so it'd be possible to edit saved games with the same tool at present.

P.s. here's an example of one of the spreadsheets/changefiles my EHM Updater uses (and the sort of thing I'd look to be adding to my FHM version). You just list the changes like so and then the Updater will make the changes to the DB:

Your a light in a dark place Archi!

Not to take anything away from the excellent job the OOTP team has done so far, but perhaps it's something they can work on down the road to easily allow a "team" of people to help keep the database updated regulary as is the EHM series. The future and all of it's potential additions could and I believe will propel this game beyond expectations!

I believe one of the greatest abilities anyone can have especially in this game will let an individual adjust and change as they seem fit and they continue to be dead set on achieving that, but as stated, it is an awful long and vigerous task on re-rating virtually the entire database by yourself as real time progress's and new NHL stars are born!

I wish I could lend advice or a hand on your progress with your Pre-game editor Archi, but I'm just a driller in Alberta lol!

[Phantasma]

Awesome work! Will definatly use this in the future.

[archibalduk]

Originally Posted by archibalduk

Unless I can figure out what these bits are, it's going to be really difficult to write the editor... Even with the missing gaps, I'm able to process the first 28,903 of the 29,281 entries in players.dat (I then reach something as of yet unidentified in the DB which causes my editor to crash).

I've figured out the source of the crash! Writing an updating tool is now a real possibility. Even though I don't know the full structure, I have enough to be able to edit attributes and other bits. Contracts might be a bit more complex, but I think I should at least be able to implement trade/transaction updates.

[Rob316]

Originally Posted by archibalduk

I've figured out the source of the crash! Writing an updating tool is now a real possibility. Even though I don't know the full structure, I have enough to be able to edit attributes and other bits. Contracts might be a bit more complex, but I think I should at least be able to implement trade/transaction updates.

Great news indeed!

[landru22]

Arch, just wondering if your tool could be used somehow to drastically change the league. What I mean is, could you change players names and attributes, basically making it into a fictional league, with one fell swoop? In preparation for the game I have made an excel spreadsheet with the players names and attributes from my fictional league, with all attributes converted from a different hockey sim to the present attributes for FHM. I am hoping I can somehow use your tool to import my league into FHM at some later point when we can change league structure.

[Alessandro]

Originally Posted by landru22

Arch, just wondering if your tool could be used somehow to drastically change the league. What I mean is, could you change players names and attributes, basically making it into a fictional league, with one fell swoop? In preparation for the game I have made an excel spreadsheet with the players names and attributes from my fictional league, with all attributes converted from a different hockey sim to the present attributes for FHM. I am hoping I can somehow use your tool to import my league into FHM at some later point when we can change league structure.

... let's wait and see if the editor works in basic things first, then we can start thinking about adding things

[archibalduk]

Originally Posted by landru22

Arch, just wondering if your tool could be used somehow to drastically change the league. What I mean is, could you change players names and attributes, basically making it into a fictional league, with one fell swoop? In preparation for the game I have made an excel spreadsheet with the players names and attributes from my fictional league, with all attributes converted from a different hockey sim to the present attributes for FHM. I am hoping I can somehow use your tool to import my league into FHM at some later point when we can change league structure.

Yeah I would hope that would be something you could achieve easily using my tool.

Having now been able to process all of the player data, I'll now be moving on to generating players.dat files. So once the tool has loaded the players.dat file into the RAM, I want it to then save the file - if all goes well, the newly generated players.dat file should be byte-for-byte identical. Once I've achieved this, I'll be able to move on to some basic editing functions. The two main functions I want to work on first are editing attributes/TAs/PAs, editing contract details, erasing all players, and creating new players (these latter two functions will achieve exactly what you want to do).

Progress is going to be really slow. Partly because I need to spend time on other things (e.g. the FHM database research) and partly because of the complexity of the database files (and because I'm having to figure out the structure myself). Writing the editor for EHM was fairly straightforward because the structure is a lot simpler; but I think writing the same sorts of functions for FHM will be a little more complex.

[Parker27]

Any new info about this editor? :-)

[archibalduk]

Originally Posted by Parker27

Any new info about this editor? :-)

I've put it on hold for a little while. The DB structure/game is still in development and things change on a frequent basis. So I think it's best to wait a little while until things settle down. I'll be picking it up again over the summer. In the mean time, I'm looking at developing a GUI as it would be much easier to use rather than having just a command prompt (which is how the EHM Updater works right now).

[Parker27]

Thanks for the quick respond archibalduk :-)

[Smetana]

Archi, any progress on this project?

Some sort of front-end editing capability is going to be important moving forward. I can't speak for the international leagues, but the NHL and minors are going to need a lot of work done to them, and editing in game is a bit tedious and unwieldly.