I don’t really update here much anymore, for the latest, make sure you checkout the spelldamage facebook group. Let’s get some discussions going, I’ll work to make spelldamage what you want it to be.
Thanks.
Category Archives: Internet
For the first time ever, I’ve decided to name the next upgrade to SpellDamage. The next version of SpellDamage (version 2.5) is code named Discovery. There’s a very significant reason that it’s named that way. In the coming weeks I’ll be releasing some sneak peeks into the new version.
Let me just say that the next release will blow you away! I’m not kidding here folks, the port to the ASP.NET MVC framework is coming along MUCH better than I expected… In fact, halfway through porting the Mage calculator, I stopped… stunned! At a sudden realization that with just a few tweaks, SpellDamage.com could become a serious contender as one of the most useful WoW fansites.
Here’s a little tidbit of what’s in the works right now. Now think big… no, bigger! I’m cutting the Top feature. “Wait, that’s not big!”, you say? Well, your right… it’s what it’s being replaced with that is HUGE! It’s so huge that I’ve named the feature “Discover” (which has such an impact on SpellDamage, that I’ve named the next upgrade “Discovery”!).
I’m going to leave it at that for now, let you try to imagine what Discovery could possible mean for a site like SpellDamage.com. But, for now, go to the spell damage calculator of your choice, play with it, get used to it… but get ready for it to change drastically (ok, not the calculator itself, although that’s in the works too)!
Thanks for reading!
Well, I’ve found something that will require a revamp of the calculation process… the way Buffs/Debuffs/Talents are added into the calculation. Currently, they’re hand-coded into each class’ calculator. As you may be able to guess, this is a bad thing. Imagine if a buff was changed in a patch, I’d have to change each class’ calculator one-by-one in the code.
So what’s the fix? Well, first I’ll need to create a database to store the buff/debuff/talent data. Then, I’ll need to figure an efficient way to linking buffs/debuffs/talents to spells during calculation. I will also need to dynamically generate checkbox controls into the UI to allow visitors to choose which buffs/debuffs/talents are applied. Essentially I’m creating a spell/buff/debuff/talent content management system for spelldamage 2.5.
How does this help? Well, the initial programming is going to suck. It’s hard work to get something like this working efficiently and error-free. However, once it is done, maintaining the calculators will be drastically improved. No longer would I ever need to touch the code to add a new spell into the calculations. Same for buffs/debuffs/talents… I’d never have to code anything for them again (unless some new mechanic was introduced).
Here’s how I envision it to work. Lets say Blizzard decided to add a new damage doing spell to Mages. Lets call it FrostBlast, an instant cast frost damage spell with a 20 second cooldown (lol). In the SpellDamage admin panel, I’d click “New Spell”, type in the data, choose the buffs/debuffs/talents that can potentially be applied to the spell, and click save. Viola, a new spell, complete with coefficient/modifier changes from buffs, debuffs, and talents. The calculation engine automatically picks up the new spell and performs the calculations on it, and displays the results to the visitor.
Well, turns out there were some changes to the backend XML data output from the WoWArmory. I’ve made the updates needed, everything’s working again… phwew!
SpellDamage.com is not able to grab player data from the WoWArmory at this time. I’ve checked other sites that pull data, and their having problems too. I’ve sent an email to the WoWArmory guys/gals to see if they can fix it. I’ve got my fingers crossed that they aren’t implementing something to stop spelldamage.com, and others, from pulling data.
I sent them errors logs, so hopefully they’ll be kind enough to help us out. In the mean time, if you happen to hear of a fix, let me know. Sorry for the inconvenience, hope it gets resolved soon.
A little while ago, Scott Guthrie introduced the ASP.NET MVC framework, you can read my initial post on the topic here. Well, today I read Scott’s next ASP.NET MVC post, and holy crap the ASP.NET MVC framework looks awesome!
What would the MVC framework do for SpellDamage? I hinted at it in my previous post, but an MVC framework enables some seriously cool features.
First, the native URL routing is simply perfect for my type of application. The URL routing in an MVC framework maps controllers to actions. A template of what a URL would look like in a MVC SpellDamage.com is this, www.spelldamage.com/<class>/<name>/<realm>/<continent>. There would be a controller for the <class> and the other parts would be variables into that controller. The controller would then call on the appropriate view to render the HTML to the visitor.
Second, AJAX! Now, I know… to most AJAX alone means diddly. And, in the world of ASP.NET AJAX it’s generally done wrong simply because the UpdatePanel control is horribly inefficient. But the MVC framework fixes that and allows for smoother calls to ASP.NET AJAX to update only the portions of the page that need to be, severely reducing the amount of traffic to the web server (in turn, increasing performance for the visitor).
Last, but certainly not least, fast, clean, efficient pages. In the MVC model, things like session state, view state, control IDs, etc… are not generated. Only elegant, clean, efficient HTML code is emitted to the browser. In the postback model, there is a ton of extra crap that gets generated into the output to the browser (increasing page size, reducing performance).
In closing, porting SpellDamage to the MVC framework makes perfect sense to me. If MS holds true to their deadline, I should have the MVC framework in my grubby mitts in a few weeks. After that, a quick port to the framework, workout some of the kinks, rework a bit of code, and voila! SpellDamage 2.0 MVC’d!
Since I’ve got more time to work on SpellDamage 2.0, I’m rethinking my calculation output. Here’s some ideas I’m throwing around right now:
- Dynamic. The output must be dynamic. Currently, the output is molded to a preset output that the UI expects to receive. This MUST change, the output simply must be dynamic. I don’t want future ideas/features to get held up because I have to manually jam a bunch of UI changes.
- Advanced calculations. This is sort of a tag-on to the dynamic output. I’d like to code the calculator to give you a choice. Do you want to see a simple, basic calculation? or do you want to see an advanced calculation that takes crit/hit rate into consideration? I also want to code some spell rotations. What are your favorite rotations!?
- Tallies. Under the basic calculations, I want to add tallies that show the total casting time, damage, dps, dpm, etc… for the spells that have been calculated. This will assist players wanting to add up how much damage a few select spells will do all together.
- Compare. I’d love the ability to compare 2 or more characters side-by-side. While this is much lower priority than the dynamic output, this would be a really cool feature. It would be even cooler if the output windows were draggable and you could line them up the way you wanted.
You have any ideas? Share them by commenting to this post. Thanks!
The release of SpellDamage 2.0 hinges on the release of the ASP.NET 3.5 framework. Since the new ASP.NET isn’t out yet, my host cannot install it for me, and I cannot afford to spend over $100 a month for dedicated hosting (on which I could install the 3.5 beta).
Microsoft currently plans to release the next ASP.NET sometime by the end of this year… if they do, my host should have it installed soon after, and I’ll be able to release the next SpellDamage.
However, I will not waste the time that has been given to me. I’m currently rethinking the calculation results output. And I should have enough time to ensure all 6 classes get completed. If I have time, I also want to add in some more advanced calculations such as: taking crit into consideration, spell rotations, etc…
If you have any ideas you’d like to see implemented into the new SpellDamage 2.0, let me know by commenting to this post.
Thank you all for your patience!
Well, the SpellDamage 2.0 Mage damage calculator is complete. I’ve decided once I’ve finished the Warlock calculator, written some articles, and polished the site up a bit more, I’ll release the new SpellDamage. I just can’t stand having that old one online, it’s so crappy compared to the new one.
So, if things go well, I should be able to launch the new SpellDamage by December 1st. After launch, I’ll work on more articles and the other class calculators (and top score pages). Very exciting times… so much goodness in the next release, I can’t wait to show it to you!
Well, I hinted at a very cool feature that I plan to introduce with the next release of SpellDamage.com (version 2.0) in my last post. Today, I wanted to delve a little deeper into the feature.
Statistics… I’m trying to make statistics fun, for more than just the math junkies. So, for SpellDamage 2.0 I’m going to try to turn statistics into something of a top score list (like in an arcade game). Each class will have a statistics page. When you visit, for example, the mage’s statistics page, you’ll see a series of categories and a list of the top 10 mages for those categories. The data is taken directly from the WoWArmory for accuracy.
Now, alone this would be cool. The very best mages could claim they’re the best mage in the world! But that’s not fun for the thousands of other mages. So, I’m building filters and dynamic queries to let you shape the statistics to what you’d like to see. For example, a few of the filters are the min/max level, realm, and guild filters. All the filters can be used in conjunction with each other. So, if you wanted to see who the best level 20-29 mage is on the Tichondrius realm, you can… there are more filters, so just wait… the next update is going to be tons of fun!
That’s all I’m going to say about that for now. Once it’s done, I really hope you’ll enjoy the new spelldamage… it’s really hard for me to be working on the new one and looking at the old one online. The old one just pales in comparison… perhaps I’ll break and put the new one online before it’s complete… but probably not.
