Shield Comparison Program

[Asrial]

MOST RECENT VERSION: http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?49732-Shield-Comparison-Program&p=1996217#post1996217

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So I'm taking some C++ classes and finally figured out a personal project I could make with my newfound knowledge.

This is a command line program (it won't be until next Spring before I learn how to make GUI programs) that is designed (when it's fully finished) for the user to input their stats and it'll spit out the DS for all the shield sizes. The purpose of this program is to help people figure out what shield size is best for their situation.

Right now... the math is off by 1-2 DS and SHIELD DS isn't in place yet. This is pure evade DS, but you can see the impact shield size has on it. This also helps illustrate why your DS can go DOWN with certain shields if you're not careful.

Let me know what you think, but try to keep feedback or feature requests as simple as possible.

Unless requested with good reasoning, my plan is to keep it with just the OFFENSIVE / GUARDED stances.

Again, the purpose is to compare shield SIZES so this is not going to be a good program to figure out your complete DS.

http://home.sprynet.com/~asrial/GemStone/ShieldSize.exe

[phantasm]

when I run this a black box pops up and nothing happens.

[dacatchman]

when I run this a black box pops up and nothing happens.

That's because they don't tell you when a virus is installed!



I make joke!

[Asrial]

Does the box stay up or does it immediately go away? Do you see any text in the box?

Is anyone else having this issue?

[Riltus]

Does the box stay up or does it immediately go away? Do you see any text in the box?

Is anyone else having this issue?

Works fine for me. Nice job!

Mark

[Asrial]

Okay. Thanks Ritus :)

Phantasm, I'm not 'surprised' that it's acting a little weird. I've noticed some other oddities at times with the programs I make for the class. I think it may have to do with missing Microsoft components (doesn't work on my "I don't keep it updated" XP install on my laptop but works on the Windows 7 install on the laptop; neither installs have Visual Studio installed).

[EDIT: A friend of mine (Vista, Visual Studio isn't installed) can use it just fine too. I'm going to go with it being a Microsoft thing Phantasm :| ]

[Asrial]

New release of the program. I've added shield DS and fixed the 1-2 DS errors. This is a fully functional version that can be used to determine the best shield size for your situation.

I'm still going to be working on it to clean it up a bit and to make sure there's no errors in it. All the results match my Excel spreadsheet which is what I've been tweaking through all the years as I've figured out the DS formulas, but it never hurts to do a little double checking with various situations.

Also, if anyone has SAVED the post I did a while back about all the DS formulas, I made a 'fix' to the shield DS portion.. I forgot to divide by 1.5 at the end of it. If you go look at that post now you'll see my edit.

One thing I find interesting, with it laid out as it is, is that there's no 'perfect' shield size for a spell caster with 1x shield training.

Using Arianiss (in brigandine) as an example..

The best OFFENSIVE MELEE DS shield is a MEDIUM shield (tower for ranged).

The best GUARDED MELEE DS shield is a TOWER shield (also tower for ranged).

However, in its defense, the offensive melee DS for the medium shield is 76 and the DS for the tower shield is 75. Still.. I don't like how the formula can allow for these differences.

Also.. if you have 0 ranks in shield (I haven't set the program to protect against this yet), the ONLY DS you'll get above the NO SHIELD DS is +20 (the +20 natural DS for having a shield is being used in this program).

I think that covers what I wanted to say.. I have a feeling I'm forgetting something, but I think it may just have to do with protection so you don't get the wrong idea about the data.

[Asrial]

Another new release. Put in protection so you can't screw things up (like typing in letters instead of numbers or typing in a bad armor subgroup). Added some verbiage to help people understand the results.

I tested the results a bit and they're coming out accurate.

As I think about it.. future projects might be to find the sweet spot for shield/dodge training to get the most DS and also one to determine if you, a spellcaster, should be using a runestaff or a shield.

Anyways, enjoy! Everything is working and the only thing I can think of to change would be the verbiage or layout of the results (to make it easier for non-mechanics people to figure out what's going on).

[EDIT: BTW, being encumbered SCREWS the results and they won't look right. If you're going to test the numbers.. get unencumbered.]

[Drevihyin]

I was just wondering if dodge ranks includes those provided by Song of Tonis?

[Asrial]

Yes. Same with Mass Blurs. However, you have to manually add it.

Meaning...

I have 20 dodge ranks via skill and another 20 via Mass Blurs. I'm going to type in 40.

Thank you for asking that, btw :)

I wasn't thinking, for my own characters, about Mass Blurs.

Having Mass Blurs IS enough to possibly change the results (not in a major degree but in the sense that a large shield gave you 1 DS more than a medium shield.. now a medium shield might give you 1 DS more than a large shield).

Once again.. I hate the system because of this.

[Asrial]

I'm going to be updating this program in two stages...

The first stage is to convert the code from simplistic "Hello World!" code to an object design that makes me happy.

The second stage (which will take longer) is going to be to convert it into a GUI format.

In preparation for this...

I'd like to have a list of all the skills/spells that modify: shield ability (IE: bard lore training with sonic shield), strength (IE: things that don't show up when you type INFO), dexterity (same as strength), agility (same as strength), armor (IE: the cman), and dodge (IE: blurs and Song of Tonis).

Basically, things that can change the results of DODGE DS and SHIELD DS, but aren't reflected on your stats/skills area (blurs adds +20 to dodge, but you never see this listed).

[Asrial]

So I finally got around to getting this program updated into a GUI presentation. It's not super fancy with regards to fonts and colors and overall design, but it gets the job done and that's all I want at the moment.

Still on my to do list is adding the ability to account for Blurs and Tonis and whatever else is out there that adjusts stats and skills.

Feedback is appreciated, both in the mechanical function of it and in general with the design itself.

I've also attached an example image to illustrate what this program is trying to accomplish. Based on the numbers listed, a tower shield is the best shield to use in the example. However, a medium shield will give me the most DS against melee attacks while in offensive.

LINK: Shield Size DS Calculator (http://www.mediafire.com/file/saqdb9jun49tp9u/Shield_Size_DS_Calculator.exe)

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