2012-12-24T14:28:56Z

Grzechooo:

[[CLOT]] is a framework that allows players to create their own automated ladders or tournaments. This page walks you through how to get started making your own.

== How it works ==

Fundamentally, CLOT is source code that powers a website. The website primarilly serves the following functions:
* Allows players to join and leave the CLOT
* Creates games between players who have signed up to the CLOT
* Determines and displays the state of the tournament or ladder (shows player's ladder ranks or draws a tournament bracket, for example)

The framework provided is only a skeleton that provides a very simple implementation of a ladder. It simply matches up players randomly, and gives out ranks based on who won the most games. It's expected you will modify this to implement your own system.

== Google App Engine ==

The framework provided is set up to work under Google App Engine (GAE). GAE is a great choice for the following reasons:

* All of the website components (database, logging, e-mail, cache, indexes, etc.) are all integrated into one package making setup and sharing of code easy.
* GAE takes care of deployment and scaling for you, making the site practically maintenance-free.
* It's free! As long as traffic doesn't get out of hand (which it shouldn't for a CLOT website), GAE doesn't charge anything.

If you don't want to use GAE, you can always port CLOT to your preferred hosting environment.

== Installation ==

This section shows you how to set up a CLOT website on your own computer so you can start developing your own.

# Download and install Python 2 (http://www.python.org/download/)
# Download and install Google App Engine SDK for Python (https://developers.google.com/appengine/downloads)
# Download CLOT from https://github.com/FizzerWL/CLOT (click the Zip button at the top and then extract it to a directory)
# Run the Google App Engine Launcher
# Select File -> Add Existing Application
# Enter the name of the directory you extracted CLOT to
# Select the app and click Run. Wait a moment as it starts.
# Click Browse to launch the website in your local browser.

That's it! You're up and running. Now you can play around with the website, crack open the code, and figure out how it all works.

== Understanding the Code ==

The most important file of the starter code is '''clot.py'''. This contains two key functions: '''createGames''' and '''setRanks'''.

'''createGames''' is called periodically to check for new games that need to be created. The sample provided just retrieves all players in the database, figures out who isn't currently in a game, and creates Strategic 1v1s randomly between them. You should replace this function with your own logic that determines what game settings and player configurations should be used.

'''setRanks''' is also called periodically to update each player's rank. The sample provided just counts how many wins each player has had and then gives players ranks based on their number of wins. This is the simplest ladder ranking algorithm, but you can plug your own in. If you're making a tournament, you might not need this function at all.

There's a '''templates''' subdirectory that defines all of the html that powers the website. '''base.html''' defines the overall look and feel of the site. It's a good idea to edit the <title> element here to give your site its own name.

There's a '''static''' subdirectory that defines files that never change. Here you can place things like images you want to host. You'll probably want to adjust the stylesheet here to give your site its own look and feel.

Another file to check out is '''urls.py'''. This defines how web addresses map to the different Python files. If you want to add a new page, this is where you'll do it.

'''cron.py''' is called every 6 hours. This is what calls createGames and setRanks, but it also does some other maintenance as it checks for games that have recently finished.

== Development Tips ==

* In the Google App Engine Launcher, there's a button named SDK Console. Under the SDK Console, you'll see the Datastore Viewer which lets you view and manipulate what's stored in the CLOT database.
* In the Google App Engine Launcher, there's a button named Logs. Click this to open up a window that shows information about what the app is doing. You can write to this log in the app by calling logging.info()
* test.py gives you a blank function that you can test code out in. You can activate it by hitting the "/test" page in your browser.

[[Category:CLOT]]

2012-12-04T14:38:41Z

Grzechooo: /* Expiration of Old Games */

WarLight ladders are competitive arenas where players compete for the highest spot on the ladder.

You can find the main ladder pages by clicking the Ladders sub-tab under the Community tab. This is where players can join or leave the ladder, or see the up-to-date standings.

==Ladders==
WarLight currently has three ladders:

* The [[1 v 1 Ladder]].
* The [[2 v 2 Ladder]].
* The [[Seasonal Ladder]].

==How Ladders Work==

In the WarLight ladders, you don't get to choose who you play against. Instead, the ladder sets up games for you. You can, however, pick how many games you'd like to be playing at any given time.

The ladder updates once every other hour starting at midnight GMT, then 2am GMT, 4am GMT, etc. Each update, it updates ratings and rankings of all players and creates new ladder games.

WarLight ladders use an ELO rating system, similar to what is used in professional Chess tournaments, to rank players by their skill level. Based on the results of your ladder games, you will receive a rating that will be used to give you a rank on the ladder's scoreboard.

Your rating will change based on the results of other player's games, too. For example, if you beat a player who ends up becoming the #1 player, you get the full results of beating the #1 player even if they were not #1 when you beat them.

Players must complete a certain number of ladder games before they are given a rank: 15 in the 1v1 ladder, 10 in the 2v2 ladder, and 5 in the seasonal ladder.

Only members can join ladders, however anyone can view all of the ratings and ladder games on the website.

==Leaving the Ladder==

Players are free to leave the ladder and re-join it at any time with no penalty. Leaving the ladder does not delete any on-going games, it just stops new games from being created for you. Your rating continues to be updated even when you’re not participating in the ladder. However, you will not receive a rank while not in the ladder and, therefore, won’t be included on the leaderboard. This is done to ensure high-ranking players have to actively defend their high ranks, and can’t just get into the #1 spot and squat on it. If you re-join the ladder, your existing rating will be used to rank you just as it was before you left. This makes it easy to take breaks in case you’re going to be away from WarLight for a while.

==Automatic Booting==

In Ladder games, WarLight uses the [[auto boot]] feature to automatically boot any players who do not move for more than 72 hours (3 days). This helps keep the ladder fair and balanced for all players. Without automating booting, players with their finger on the boot button would, over time, have an edge in the ratings over players who give their opponents extra leeway. Automatic booting takes booting out of the equation, and ensures ratings are determined the same way for everyone. This also prevents games from stagnating which can clog up the ladder and prevent players from advancing as fast through the ladder as they'd like.

==Slight Advantage for First Pick==

In Chess, it's advantageous to play as the player playing white, since the white player goes first. Similarly, in manual distribution WarLight games, it's advantageous to get first pick. That is, if two players pick the same territory as their #1 choice, the randomly decided player with first pick will get the territory and the other player will get their #2 choice.

To counteract this, WarLight gives a slight ratings advantage to the player who gets first pick in ladder games, similar to how some ELO systems give a ratings advantage to the player playing white. In Chess, the advantage is estimated to be worth about 33 points, whereas in WarLight the advantage is only 10 points.

Only the [[1 v 1 ladder]] and the [[2 v 2 ladder]] give an advantage for first pick. The [[seasonal ladder]] does not.

==Expiration of Old Games==

Games in the [[1 v 1 ladder]] and [[2 v 2 ladder]] will expire after a few months. Once they're expired, they no longer count towards your rankings. Games in the [[1 v 1 Ladder]] expire after two months, and games in the [[2 v 2 Ladder]] expire after 5 months. This date is calculated from the date the game ends, not the day it starts.

Games in the [[seasonal ladder]] never expire, but they only apply to the current season.

Expiring old games keeps the ladder fresh and ensures that ratings don't inflate over time. ELO rating systems are zero-sum systems, meaning that each player that joins the ladder brings new points into the mix. See [[wikipedia:Elo rating system#Ratings_inflation_and_deflation|Ratings Inflation and Deflation]] for a more detailed analysis.

==See Also==

* [[How Ladder Games are Created]]
* [[Ladder Ranks and Ratings]]

[[Category:Ladders]]

2012-10-21T13:21:25Z

Grzechooo: Created page with "Any ideas why the page is screwed up? The wiki code is ok. --~~~~"

User talk:70.52.192.197

2012-10-21T09:33:42Z

Grzechooo: Created page with "== About the game == You forgot to check the settings, it had multi-attack on. --~~~~"

== About the game ==
You forgot to check the settings, it had [[multi-attack]] on. --[[User:Grzechooo|Grzechooo]] ([[User talk:Grzechooo|drop a line]]) 02:33, 21 October 2012 (PDT)

Settings

2012-10-18T15:02:04Z

Grzechooo: removing empty line

One of WarLight's greatest features is how configurable games are. This page enumerates all of the settings that go into a game or tournament.

==Core Game Settings==

* [[Game Name]]
* [[Map]]
* [[Ranked versus Practice]]
* [[Fog|Fog Level]]
* [[Multi Attack]]
* [[Move Order]]
* [[Private Messaging]]
* [[Team Games|Random Teams]]
* [[Open Seat Prerequisites]]
* [[Game creator's personal message]]
* [[Linking your Game]]

==Initial Territory Distribution==

* [[Manual Distribution|Automatic versus Manual distribution]]
* [[Initial Territory Distribution|Distribution Mode]]
* [[Territory Limit]]
* [[Initial Armies per Territory]]
* [[Non-distribution neutrals]]
* [[In-distribution neutrals]]
* [[Wastelands|Number of Wastelands]]
* [[Wastelands|Size of Wastelands]]
* [[Custom Distribution]]

==Army Settings==

* [[Base armies per turn]]
* [[Extra armies for territories]]
* [[Army Cap]]
* [[Luck Modifier]]
* [[Offense and defense kill rates|Offensive Kill Rate]]
* [[Offense and defense kill rates|Defensive Kill Rate]]
* [[Overridden Bonuses]]

==Boot/Surrender Settings==

* [[Real-Time versus Multi-Day]]
* [[Vote-to-boot time]]
* [[Direct boot time]]
* [[Automatic boot time]]
* [[Banking boot amount]]
* [[Vacations honored]]
* [[Players turning into AIs|Booted players turn into AIs]]
* [[Players turning into AIs|Surrendered players turn into AIs]]
* [[Surrendering|Surrenders must be accepted]]
* [[AI surrenders when one human remains]]

==Card Settings==
* [[Number of card pieces per turn]]
* [[Maximum number of cards you can hold]]
* [[Card fog|Visibility of opponents playing cards]]
* [[Card fog|Visibility of opponent's cards]]

==[[Tournament Settings]]==

* [[Tournaments|Tournament Type]]
* Team Size
* Can Forward Invites
* Open Tournament
* Number of Rounds
* Teams per Game (single-elimination only)
* Games at a time (round-robin only)

==Sample Settings Screen==

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff491/lilv47368/WarlightSettings.png

[[Category:Game Settings|!]]

Template:Ambox

2012-10-15T18:10:02Z

Grzechooo:

<includeonly><div class="ambox" style="border: 1px solid {{{2|orange}}}; border-left: 5px solid {{{2|orange}}};">{{{1|Notice}}}</div></includeonly>
<noinclude>{{Ambox/doc}}[[Category:Wiki Templates]]</noinclude>

Talk:Fog

2012-10-12T16:49:42Z

Grzechooo: Created page with "I believe the screenshots need to be updated, to keep up with the new ones in Create Game dialogue. --~~~~"

I believe the screenshots need to be updated, to keep up with the new ones in Create Game dialogue. --[[User:Grzechooo|Grzechooo]] ([[User talk:Grzechooo|drop a line]]) 16:49, 12 October 2012 (UTC)