Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

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Sesto
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Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sesto »

Hello everyone,

For a university project I have to do a mobile companion app for a game, and my teacher suggested me Wesnoth. So I would like to know what you would like to see and to do in a app like this, or some ideas to develop in this project.

It won't be a mobile version of the game, only a companion app with only a few game features, but it won't let play the game.

Suppose you are at home playing a wesnoth campaign, but you have to go out for some business. What you would like to do to or to see with the game while you're traveling far from the pc? For example see the units status, see the map status, plan your next move...

Write me any ideas you have in your mind and i'll appreciate it!
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Xara
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Xara »

I would like to see access to IRC #wesnoth.
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Tad_Carlucci
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Tad_Carlucci »

"Saved game examinor"

* Load a saved game.
* Display the map with units, labels and other overlays. Allow user to pan and zoom, and select overlays to show.
* Examine each unit's information and current state.
* For developers, swipe to view unit lists, events active, variables, etc.

There are probably other useful features to add, but you may need to pare down this list even further to fit the time and size constraints for a single-term project.
I forked real life and now I'm getting merge conflicts.
Sesto
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sesto »

There are probably other useful features to add, but you may need to pare down this list even further to fit the time and size constraints for a single-term project.
Yeah i know, but i want to collect as many ideas as possible to get a general view of the app, then i'll make a list of the most useful and feasible features.
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Sapient
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sapient »

It's hard for me to imagine a good use case for a companion app. If you want to chat, there's the Discord app. If you want to access the WML Reference or strategy guides, there are web browsers that do a fine job of that. And you can already edit maps and read the help in-game.

I guess something that might be mildly interesting would be a suite of analysis tools. For example, a damage simulator could let you pick an attacker, a defender, some settings like leadership or time of day, and then check to see how much damage each of the attacker's weapon would do.

For Multiplayer, it could be nice to have something that notifies you, e.g.: when your friend is on the MP server, or when a particular match you're interested in has started. And the phone could vibrate when it's your turn. 8)
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Pentarctagon
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Pentarctagon »

Perhaps observing an MP match?
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BTIsaac
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by BTIsaac »

Well, a separate help menu could be interesting, with the option to import campaign-specific data. the way the help menu is set up, one has to load the game to access it, and load a save file from a campaign to be able to view entries unique to that campaign, as only mainline data stays in the menu.
Sesto
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sesto »

I see that are two ways of using a companion app:

1) In the same room/buildings of the PC, so with the game at hand:
a separate help menu
and the phone could vibrate when it's your turn
2) Far from home, so without the game at hand:
damage simulator
Saved game examinor
They're all good ideas, but i would be more happy if you continue, maybe thinking about these 2 scenarios! Thanks!
Tad_Carlucci
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Tad_Carlucci »

Um, It's your class project.

You asked an open-ended question to start. You don't want to keep that up, though; otherwise you'll get bogged down with pie-in-the-sky ideas and never get started. Remember, your FIRST goal is to actually hand in a completed project. (If I were your professor, I'd probably only accept a good medical excuse to convert a failure into an incomplete.)

My advise is to choose something, now. One of our ideas or one of your own.

Write a page or two about what it is, what it should do, why, who it's for, etc. (That is, a requirements analysis.) And you should be considering if it will take one term to complete, maybe a bit less, but definitely not more. We might help with that if you have specific questions. But, remember, it's YOUR assignment.

Remember, when considering the size of your project and your time constraints, that if you need to figure out how something works in Wesnoth so you can do something similar in your project, you'll almost certainly be on your own. Someone might be willing to answer a quick question but .. it's YOUR assignment.
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Sesto
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sesto »

It’s a Human Computer interaction class, and i have to do all the passages of the developement: needfinding, create personas and scenarios, develop a prototype (not necessary a complete app), usability test.

Now i’m on the first step, i interview some people to get ideas to create some general scenarios, then with my professor we choose what can i do. This is why i’m asking these general questions for now, these questions are a real part of the project.

probably i should have told this earlier. Anyway thanks for the advice, maybe this ideas are enough!
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BTIsaac
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by BTIsaac »

I think the "help menu" can exist separate from the game. Basically a database with all the info of the help menu, but also the option to import data relevant to specific campaigns IF it has access to the game files, or if has any other means to acquire them.
Tad_Carlucci
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Tad_Carlucci »

And it needs far fewer resources (like image tiles and sprites) to do a Wesnoth Help app than to paint a map.

Yes, do something mainly text-based like an off-line help system. I don't think you'll have anywhere near the time it would take to do much more than a static mock of a map with units for viewing a save, much less running a replay.
I forked real life and now I'm getting merge conflicts.
Sesto
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sesto »

So I made a prototype of the companion app.

The purpose of the app is to load a saved game, to show all the units in the game and the informations about them and to write some notes (general note or directly on the characters) that can be seen as strategic notes (for example, if you’re far from pc and you want to write a reminder for when you’ll use the game)

IT’S A PROTOTYPE AND A CLASS ASSIGNMENT so it can have bugs or be incomplete: the aim of the project is to evaluate the major functionalities and the usability of the app.

In the app there are 2 fixed save games of 2 scenarios of the first campaign, and the map is only a screenshot of the game (again, it’s a prototype). The app doesn’t save the state so when you close the app all the changes willl be deleted.

I would appreciate it very much if you could try the app and answer a few questions, below there is the link where you can download the apk and the link for the questionnaire. Before answering the questions you will be asked to achieve some simple goals.

link apk (only for Android >= 5.0) https://drive.google.com/open?id=1czp4j ... paZr5oDHhZ

link questionnaire: https://goo.gl/forms/45hWJhN4f3ywXUk73

If you want you can make a video of you using the app, and send it to my e-mail: alessandrosestini92@gmail.com

Thanks for the help!
Sesto
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Joined: January 17th, 2018, 3:24 pm

Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Sesto »

Anyone? Please it's really important, both the app and the questionnaire!
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Pentarctagon
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Re: Companion App for Wesnoth Campaigns

Post by Pentarctagon »

You might have better luck if you post this over in the Android support thread as well.
99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs
take one down, patch it around
-2,147,483,648 little bugs in the code
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