This is a plugin custom scorer for Avara. To use it simply open it with Avara, either using "Open..." from Avara's "File" menu or by double clicking on it. Once you have opened it and started using it Avara will remember and will try to open it each time you launch Avara. To disable it you can either load another custom plugin scorer or delete it from your HD and restart Avara.
What does it do ?
It provides a breakdown of how the scores of all players were obtained, by keeping track of points scored by successful missile and grenade hits, plasma cannon shots and in all other ways. These are displayed using the 'Custom' panel of the player roster window. Because of the column widths used it will only reliably display scores up to 99999 (or down to -9999) in each category, except for the total score which has no such limitations, and up to 4 lives for each player. Names are limited to 20 characters: longer names are trimmed before they are displayed.
The columns are:
Name - Hopefully Obvious
Total - Total Score
Shot - Score from plasma cannon shots
Grnd - Score from grenade hits
Misl - Score from missile hits
Othr - All other scores
Lives - Lives left
Any of the scores can be negative if your games going badly, as scores are deducted for damage done to you by a weapon.
It optionally logs all of its results to a text file, togther with the level name, date and time (using your Mac's date and time formatting preferences) and all console messages. At the end of the first game with it installed it will prompt you to create a file, and this file will be used as a log until Avara is quit or the plugin is reloaded. The log file is best viewed with a fixed width font, such as Monaco. To disable logging simply cancel the file creation dialog. A game is only logged when a game terminates, and so is not logged if a new level is loaded and a game started while a game is paused.
The addition of console message logging (added in the hope it would also log chat messages) makes it possible to log game events other than raw scores, such as destroying particular objects or achieving other goals. Such messages are under the control of the level, i.e. it is up to the level designer to identify events and post appropriate messages. So this plugin together with a suitably (re-)designed level could provide a high level of very detailed logging, suited perhaps for tournaments.
If you try and create a log on top of an existing file (e.g. if you see a dialog with the message 'Replace existing <filename> ?") it will append to rather than replace the existing file. This makes it easy to keep a log of multiple sessions of games.
Also note that it doesn't keep its log file open between writes to it. This means you can open it, and even edit it or delete it without quitting Avara. But if the plugin can't find the log or can't access it when it needs to it will simply not log the game: it won't ask for a new file unless Avara has been restarted or the plugin reloaded.
While a game is active the updates to its window are very irregular, so are not often up to date, and the window often blanks out. I don't know why this is happening so I don't yet know how to stop it. Also if you are viewing this window you cannot see the main results window, which lists player ratings, or the main chat window. If you exit a game early it may not record scores scored after you leave. Staying in the game after being killed, rather than aborting, may avoid this. Because of its limitations you may prefer to only view game results after a game has ended, or just use it for logging rather than real time reporting.
This plugin is being distributed as freeware, and can be uploaded anywhere as long as this documentation is included, but may not be distributed by other means, or modified and distributed, without my prior express permission. Unsuprisingly the above documentation contains no warranty, express or implied, as to it's fitness for any purpose. In case of it's failiure to function as described my liability is at most double the price you paid for it, or a pint of Guiness to be collected at the drinking establishment of my choice.
Updates will be posted to the Avara ftp server at <ftp://ftp.avara.com> and to my own Avara web page at <http://www.hk.super.net/~johnb/avara.html>. I welcome feedback, including suggestions for improvments and feature requests, at my e-mail address below.
John Blackburne
johnb@hk.super.net
Version 1.0, 5th Jan 1997, initial release
Version 1.1, 5th Feb 1997, added column for lives
Version 1.2, 2nd Jun 1997. added console messages logging
