is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

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1573 days, 5 hours, 14 minutes ago

is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu into a spreadsheet? I know it's not like old VGA Planets, where there is a turn file where one could probably find the information and have it automatically fed into a spreadsheet, but is there a way to do it with VGA Planets Nu?

1572 days, 22 hours, 59 minutes ago

singularity

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

I don't know of anyone that has written an export app, but yes it could be done using javascript and the API. Maybe Php (and other scripts) and the API too.

1572 days, 14 hours, 24 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

You'd need to use the API to get the information, and have a program convert the JSON results into a CSV file for the spreadsheet to load.

1572 days, 4 hours, 52 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

Hmm... probably beyond my capacity... I really want to create like a "VGA Planets Accountant" that can help to use all the information to make calculated decisions... I find myself hammering out formulas on a calculator dozens of times per turn in an attempt to make decisions based on available data rather than guessing, and when I started using a spreadsheet, the amount of time it takes to enter the information for each turn is prohibitive...

1572 days, 1 hours, 11 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

which kind of data would you first be interested in?

1571 days, 16 hours, 43 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

You have to decide what data you want and where that data is, if it is available. There are 2 sets of data:

1. The API's
2. The website HTML pages

Example: Back in 2012 I used to publish a ladder. I would,

1. Save the 11 Leaderboards
2. Use a QB4 program to:
- a. extract everyone's data.
- b. build a huge file with everyone's data
- c. Make an HTML page with various ladders in spreadsheet form
3. Upload the HTML pages so they could be viewed, placing the link in the forum.

We had a lot of fun discussing the validity of the ladders, and that was even before Melee and Campaign games and API files. Now, a ladder is even less valid, but still fun. They are like football rankings - no one will ever agree on the proper way to rank college football teams (although we all know Nebraska is always #1).

So, you could use a program to automatically download all the HTML and API files you need. Then use a program to extract all the data you need and orderly place it in a file. Then, using that file, build HTML pages with spreadsheets of the different rankings you want (since you are using a computer, you make multiple rankings (regular, melee, campaign, combined, etc.)) Place the HTML pages somewhere and provide a link here.

1571 days, 16 hours, 30 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

Well, everything really... when it comes down to it, everything in this game affects everything else... I would need a way to extract new data in every turn to the proper place in the spreadsheet to confirm and adjust the projections of the last turn...

I'll give you the most common early game scenario... upon orbiting a new planet and finding out that it has natives, one can use the information on the planet to figure out exactly the amount of colonist population needed to collect the maximum amount of taxes the natives will pay after building x amount of structures (you can also figure out exactly how much money and supplies you should bring along to build those structures), and one can take into account colonist and native population growth during the time it takes to get a delivery to that planet, so once you get there the numbers are still valid...

this can take quite a while with just a calculator, and even when using a spreadsheet, a considerable amount of time is taken just confirming the previous turn's projections for the next turn... if there was a way to automatically extract the data from each turn, then I could just focus on processing that data to give me information that can be useful in making decisions... economics and logistics are such a huge part of this game, and every successful company knows that information is power, as it helps take the guesswork out of important decisions... that's what I want to do with VGA Planets, so to answer your question, I WANT ALL OF IT :)

1571 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

Well, actually that is not necessary.

Tax the natives to see how many clans you will need.
Reset the tax to zero until the clans get there.
When the clans get there, start taxing.

The thing is, clans grow faster than natives. So, once you have enough clans, you will always have enough clans, no matter how many natives you have.

The exception is bad temp planets. You need a bit of a cushion if the natives are growing. But, you can always bring more clans when you pick up goodies from the planet.

1571 days, 16 hours, 15 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

That's more of a "trial and error" approach that I've used myself for a long time but I'm trying to use the information available to be more efficient. Is it necessary? No, but it's how I would like to do things. If you have any advice on how to extract the data, it will be most appreciated.

1571 days, 10 hours, 55 minutes ago

RE: is there a way to extract information from VGA Planets Nu...

Here's a quick and dirty 20-liner to spit out csv data from your ships. Not real robust (some chars in names or FCs will probably break it), but you can use it as a starting point. Just run it in a javascript console or scratchpad. If you do much with javascript, you could turn this into a userscript, or maybe convince one of the other userscript developers to do it.

http://planets.nu/_library/2015/4/csvsample.js