Tournament Director (updated January 28, 2008)

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by arp12

I downloaded it and also downloaded the .net framework. However, there is an error that occurs while it's running if you click "Swiss Standings". The message says(I've typed it out):
...

What OS are you using? I am wondering if this is YAVA(Yet Another Vista Annoyance). But I am 99% sure what is causing the error. I have the program save the column layout of the user in the Standings page. Under no circumstances should this fail unless there is some sort of strange permissions issue I don't understand. Also you might want to try extracting the program somewhere other than your MyDocuments folder. There might be an issue about programs reading from files in that directory.

Though just might have to remove the feature...

[arp12]

Originally Posted by Sisyphus

What OS are you using? I am wondering if this is YAVA(Yet Another Vista Annoyance). But I am 99% sure what is causing the error. I have the program save the column layout of the user in the Standings page. Under no circumstances should this fail unless there is some sort of strange permissions issue I don't understand. Also you might want to try extracting the program somewhere other than your MyDocuments folder. There might be an issue about programs reading from files in that directory.

Though just might have to remove the feature...

Thanks.

I'm using XP, so it's not YAVA. So I should try extracting it again not in My Documents? (I'm not sure what the sentence before that meant...)

[Sisyphus]

I think there might be something different about running programs in MyDocuments but I am not quite sure.

At any rate I updated the program again to include a fancy installer program. That, I hope solves the problems.

[arp12]

Danke sehr!

The installer recognized what I think was the problem all along- we needed .net framework v3.5. The v2.0 framework was what we installed before. All in all, this caused us to overhaul my dad's laptop(he hadn't gotten security updates in a few years). That's incentive to do things when they're convenient. In the end, Tournament Director works great.

[Rÿchean]

Sisyphus, I recently used your Tournament Director software for NHSD and was very pleased with the results. We ran a 54 person event with almost no duplication of map for any player. We used 9 different maps, built 3-4 times each.

I do have a few questions or requests.

Are there any plans to add reporting or printing capabilities? As one of the main event organizers and volunteers for Heroscape events at GenCon, it would be nice to have these type of functions.

Is there any way to specify parameters within the swiss system? I realize it goes on strength of schedule but it seems to be basing it purely on win totals. To achieve more granular rankings, allowing a point system to be added such as one that awards 3 pts for a win and 1 pt for a tie would be beneficial.

Can the map assigning system be modified to support map numbers in addition to the map title? The system strives to get players on different maps for each match and it works great. However, the ability to still track and assign the maps by number would be highly advantageous for running multiple events simultaneously.

Is there any way to add some sort of additional modifier that could be flagged to pair players or not pair players based on that modifier? There are considerations that could be made for age, experience, region, or even faction being played that might make different event variants easier to manage.

I haven’t tried it but does TD allow multiple events to open at once? Based on my above questions, you can see why that would also be helpful.

[Retlaw]

It's only November and Rÿchean is already thinking about Gencon 2010 (over 9 months away). Is it any wonder he makes running the events seem so easy?

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by Rÿchean

Sisyphus, I recently used your Tournament Director software for NHSD and was very pleased with the results. We ran a 54 person event with almost no duplication of map for any player. We used 9 different maps, built 3-4 times each.

Thanks, I always appreciate hearing about my software of being used. Now for the requests...

Are there any plans to add reporting or printing capabilities? As one of the main event organizers and volunteers for Heroscape events at GenCon, it would be nice to have these type of functions.

Yes, I was planning on having the option to export tournament results to a fancy html page. This would would not only look good but provide an easy way for people to publish tournament results.

Is there any way to specify parameters within the swiss system? I realize it goes on strength of schedule but it seems to be basing it purely on win totals. To achieve more granular rankings, allowing a point system to be added such as one that awards 3 pts for a win and 1 pt for a tie would be beneficial.

This should be trivial to add.

Is there any way to add some sort of additional modifier that could be flagged to pair players or not pair players based on that modifier? There are considerations that could be made for age, experience, region, or even faction being played that might make different event variants easier to manage.

That one I'll have to do a bit of thinking to get right. It would be nice to add this functionality but I don't wish to excessively complicate tournaments don't the use that feature.

Can the map assigning system be modified to support map numbers in addition to the map title? The system strives to get players on different maps for each match and it works great. However, the ability to still track and assign the maps by number would be highly advantageous for running multiple events simultaneously.

I haven’t tried it but does TD allow multiple events to open at once? Based on my above questions, you can see why that would also be helpful.

You could always open multiple copies of TD. Whether this is pleasant I don't know. But please explain more about what you mean by running multiple tournaments at once. Are these tournaments potentially sharing maps and/or players? That could get complicated.

[Rÿchean]

The events would not be sharing maps and players, but we do run events at the same time.

The interest in the numbering the maps is that, in a multiple event, high participant environment, just saying hey go play on Highways and Dieways doesn't work.

I would like to still have the map considerations in the mix so players are less likely to play on the same map, but I need assigned numbers so they know for sure where they are going and what map they are playing on rather than trying to find their map and their opponent.

Don't get me wrong; the way TD handles maps works great for a smaller, single event. I was just hoping to have some other bells and whistles on it that would make it easier to run multiple events at the same time in a crowded hall with other game events going on. (I.E. it isn't practical to yell out all of the matches, I need to be able to print it, post it, and walk away)

[nyys]

I think I know what you mean. You have X maps that are being used by two separate tournaments. So if Map A is being used in tournament 1, then the program needs to know that it cannot assign that map for tournament 2. Is that it? Sounds like a really cool function to have.

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by Rÿchean

The interest in the numbering the maps is that, in a multiple event, high participant environment, just saying hey go play on Highways and Dieways doesn't work. I would like to still have the map considerations in the mix so players are less likely to play on the same map, but I need assigned numbers so they know for sure where they are going and what map they are playing on rather than trying to find their map and their opponent.

Oh, got it. You want TD to say Player A, Player Z on Highways and Dieways #3 and Player D, Player E on Highways and Dieways #2. That should be easy to do.

Don't get me wrong; the way TD handles maps works great for a smaller, single event. I was just hoping to have some other bells and whistles on it that would make it easier to run multiple events at the same time in a crowded hall with other game events going on. (I.E. it isn't practical to yell out all of the matches, I need to be able to print it, post it, and walk away)

I see, printing will be in the next version.

[Sisyphus]

I'm just posting to say that i will not be updating Tournament Director anymore. Now that I am both out of college and have a full time job, my amount spare time has been greatly reduced and so one of my hobbies that is getting the axe is this project. The source code for the last release version is available here. If anyone wishes to take over the project they are welcome to do so and anyone can use the code for whatever purpose they see fit.

[southwest ninja]

Hate to see it go, I have used it many times with great success. Thanks for what you have given us so far though.