Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: aldo_14 on January 13, 2004, 04:27:02 pm

Title: Need (Java) testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 13, 2004, 04:27:02 pm
(eep... almost typo-ed and forgot the last r.  phew)

I would like to borrow a couple of people to test something... you'd need to have a way of running a java program from the command line, basically, and a wee while to run through stuff.

It's a test for a management game i'm writing for my uni project... it's Speedway managerment (unfortunately...not my preferred choice of sport), but I'll provide any explanation required.

Basically, i want an overview of the overall GUI quality (ease of access, navigation, information finding - aesthetics is minor but still important in terms of placement), and also the 'fairness' of the race simulation.  At the moment the latter uses a single formula to judge results, and I want to try and evaluate how fair it 'feels' with respect to the rider abilities, etc.

I also want to try and get an idea how effective the AI is in it's (very basic) decision making.  I have to ask for help due to the sheer number of possibilites and my own lack of time.... please PM, reply or ICQ me if you're interested.  

Thanks.

(NB: I can't put a link up to the code for public download due to it's ongoing nature and the fact it is an honours project.  Also, there may be copyright issues over club badges, etc, as well as the IPR of the code.  I think it may be released as open source when complete, though - albeit it's effectively only going to be a 'tech-demo')
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 13, 2004, 07:04:38 pm
NB:  contact me before Thursday if you're interested, please.  (have to start work on the league system and don't want to modify the race susbsys too much during that)
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 17, 2004, 06:38:38 pm
Final bump.... this is important to me, and this is the biggest group of people I can ask - everyone at uni is as busy as me on the project and stuff.
Title: Need testers!
Post by: kasperl on January 18, 2004, 02:15:28 am
i ain't got no time, and no way of doing anything with java. i don't have a clue how to run anything but an exe, so i really can't help you, sorry.
Title: Need testers!
Post by: karajorma on January 18, 2004, 05:43:27 am
I'll take a look (as long as I can get a peek at the source code too) :D
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 18, 2004, 05:55:05 am
Quote
Originally posted by karajorma
I'll take a look (as long as I can get a peek at the source code too) :D


Yep, sure.  Give me somewhere (ICQ no / email) to send the file and I'll hurl along a zip file :)
Title: Need testers!
Post by: karajorma on January 18, 2004, 01:56:47 pm
Send it to [email protected]
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 18, 2004, 04:47:08 pm
Quote
Originally posted by karajorma
Send it to [email protected]


Sending now.  Thanks a lot :)
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 20, 2004, 04:56:02 pm
NB:  discovered that my hiedously inefficient debugWindow class is really slowing stuff down.... best turn it off (check command line docs in SpeedwayManager.java or just change the instantation a few lines below) for a better performance.

(don't think this is a major problem in the version I sent, but it is in my current build - should remove those irritating pauses during the heat result generation in single races, though)
Title: Need testers!
Post by: karajorma on January 20, 2004, 05:47:20 pm
I've taken a quick look and it seems okay but I haven't really done any serious testing yet (I've been busy with my own Java problems) :)
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 20, 2004, 06:02:24 pm
:)

Be glad it's not the version with the League in it....that's proving an utter sodding nightmare to do.

NB: - may want to replace the exsting method in debugWindow with this simple fix;

Code: [Select]

/*
* Method for adding debug text to the DebugWindow
*

*@param debugMessage (String) - the message to be passed in.  Linebreaks are automatically added
*/
public void spewMessage(String debugMessage)
{
GregorianCalendar tempDate = new GregorianCalendar ();
String dateString = "\n"+tempDate.get(GregorianCalendar.HOUR_OF_DAY)+":"+tempDate.get(GregorianCalendar.MINUTE)
+":"+tempDate.get(GregorianCalendar.SECOND)+" >> ";
debugText.append(dateString+debugMessage);
/*currentTextString = currentTextString+"\n"+dateString+ ">  "+debugMessage;
debugText.setText(currentTextString);*/ //old & horrible
}


Edit - this massively reduces the parsing time at the start, BTW.
Title: Need testers!
Post by: karajorma on January 21, 2004, 12:29:10 pm
I gave it a try but when I try to create a new league it just outputs a bunch of numbers to the command line (j - followed by a number) and then just sits there until you press cancel.

The addition you made does speed things up though. I don't think it's responsible for the problem (I got it before I made the change too).
Title: Need testers!
Post by: aldo_14 on January 21, 2004, 12:42:53 pm
Quote
Originally posted by karajorma
I gave it a try but when I try to create a new league it just outputs a bunch of numbers to the command line (j - followed by a number) and then just sits there until you press cancel.

The addition you made does speed things up though. I don't think it's responsible for the problem (I got it before I made the change too).


It's alright  - that's suppossed to happen.   That build only has the fixture generation bit in it - the numbers are the results as it generates the fixture.  The only reason it has that output is because the DebugWindow was freezing.

Should have included a readme / list of bugs with it that detailed that, may have forgot ('twas a quick intermediate build because of a minor error in 0.5)