looking for pc software to manage queing at our club

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by bob506, May 27, 2013.

  1. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    It's an all-in-one binary so it only needs to be copy/pasted where ever you want.

    It looks like the packaging software has built a win64 app - this will not work on Win32, sorry. I can make a 32 bit version, but maybe not right away. I will update when it's available.
     
  2. Tweeter

    Tweeter Regular Member

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    Hi All,

    I've just released a version of my automated peg board which can cater for clubs with up to 16 courts as I know some of you on here are members of clubs this large,

    http://www.badboard.net

    if you'd like to give it a try,

    regards,
    Tweeter
     
  3. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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  4. llpjlau

    llpjlau Regular Member

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    I've also tried Tweeter's BadBoard. It's a fairly good program but there is just not enough "manual control" for it to work for me. For e.g. our club does not use a "play time" system where games are played to a set amount of time. The BadBoard program would be much better for us if this function could be "optional".
     
  5. Tweeter

    Tweeter Regular Member

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    I'd urge you to try the timer based system for one evening in your club, you'll be impressed, I promise. The evening will then run fully automated, the system will make all the playing decisions for you.

    Having said that, there'd be no problem making the timer system otpional, however it's difficult to see what could be automated, i.e. it probably wouldn't have any advantage over a physical peg board.

    Unless of course you have some rules that could facilitate automating your clubs system?? If you do let me know and I'll certainly put together a version that suits your needs,

    regards,
    Tweeter
     
  6. llpjlau

    llpjlau Regular Member

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    I'll try to use the timer system this weekend and see how it goes.

    In your experience, what would be the best time for 3 courts + 20-30 players (30% advanced, 30% mid, 40% beginners) + 3.5 hours court time. I'm guessing 15 minutes but I've not had real-life experience with the system.

    Also, how do you signal when it is time to swap players? Do you use a loudspeaker or a whistle?

    edit:
    We also get a lot of players throughout the session wanting to play with certain people. How easy is it to manipulate this onto the selection process by way of swapping players?
     
    #86 llpjlau, Sep 5, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2013
  7. Tweeter

    Tweeter Regular Member

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    Our club has 4 courts and we use 12 minute timer periods, this is usually enough to play up to a set and a half, but always enough time to play a full set, and it is the fairest way to do it, i.e. everybody gets the same amount of court time.

    When running on Auto Pick, when there is one minute of the playing period left, the system makes the next selection of players and plays an audible sound to indicate that the next pick has been made (so players sitting out can see what court they've been put on). There is seperate audible sound when the playing period is complete. The system then waits one minute (to allow a last point or two of play for those currently on court) before starting the timer again.

    Players can be swapped out at any time very easily. Select the players you'd like to swap and click on the switch players button, or even easier again select the player you'd like to replace and drag them over the player to be replaced.

    If you get stuck or wonder how some of the other features work, then I've written a detailed help guide which can be found by clicking the Help menu then select Help Topics,

    regards,
    Tweeter
     
  8. llpjlau

    llpjlau Regular Member

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    I've been playing around more with the program, Tweeter.

    With regards to the league team "weighting", does a high weighting mean that players who are on the same league team are more likely to be picked to play with/against each other?

    edit:

    Also, in general, do players who are similar level (e.g Level 8 - 10) have a higher probability of playing with each other?
     
  9. Tweeter

    Tweeter Regular Member

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    Yes, that's correct whilst obviously still observing the played with percentage rule, however there is an option to switch this off also.

    Yes again, the system firstly seeks out players who are at the same level from the next batch of eligible players whilst also observing the played with percentage rule.

    Have I explained that properly??

    regards,
    Tweeter
     
  10. Tadashi

    Tadashi Regular Member

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    Congrats, pretty good programmer.
     
  11. bob506

    bob506 Regular Member

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  12. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    yes, it's just a packaging issue - there is a 64bit dll that has been pulled in accidentally into the 32bit version.

    If I released the python source then it would run fine as long as you also have PyQt4. I haven't decided if I want to do that, though.
     
  13. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    #93 amleto, Sep 7, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2013
  14. bob506

    bob506 Regular Member

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    I now can run your program on my win-xp computer. Nice work, this really could replace a peg board.

    Some small things I could suggestion;
    - add a skill level indicator to the name. At our club we use 3 colors to help people choose balanced games. green=beginner, blue=more experienced, red=stronger players.
    - we have 175 members so a way to upload members names would be nice
    - Group the four when they are put into "upnext" or on a court. That way a single mouse point could select the four automatically, making it a bit easier to move the group to a court and then to the waiting list.
    -add a way to remove a name from the Unavailable list.

    Thanks for this great program

    Thanks for
     
  15. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    One of those things you can already do:

    In general you can drag-select players and then move one - they will all move together.
    When players are in an 'up next' area, double-clicking on the green container will move all the players to an available court. Likewise, when the match is finished, double-clicking the court will move all players back to the waiting area.

    The player import feature is probably my next piece of work.

    Thanks for the other suggestions, too.
     
  16. bob506

    bob506 Regular Member

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    Hi amleto,

    Yes I see how how double clicking moves all four players, thats very convenient.

    At the risk of being a too helpful, here are a few more things that came up as I tried out this very handy program;

    - I made an extra court by mistake, is there a way to remove it?
    - we have 15 courts. On occasion for example, #4 will be reserved for lessons. We need a place holder is such a case that won't be loaded automatically after court #3.
    - The "Unavailabe" list might be renamed, something like "All Members, "
    - we have 3 upnext lists. When upnext1 gets moved to a court, it would be nice if the 4 players in upnext 2 got moved automatically to upnext 1.
    - With 15 courts, it would great if the court arrangement was saved as well. As it is, the courts are there, but one needs to re place them when restarting the program.

    ...good luck.

    Regards
     
  17. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    The "Unavailabe" list might be renamed, something like "All Members, "

    Right-click on the icon you want to rename... ;)

    As regards to removing icons, and saving locations - they are on my to-do list. Thanks for the other suggestions as well
     
    #97 amleto, Sep 10, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2013
  18. MrHoang

    MrHoang Regular Member

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    Nice work on your project amleto. I apologize for not replying here for a while, but things have been so busy ever since school started again. I'm going to try to work on it during my spare time.
     
  19. Tweeter

    Tweeter Regular Member

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    Hi All,

    due to numerous requests for a game based peg system (as opposed to the timer based one that I currently offer) I am now in the process of developing a game based peg system. So the program will now cater for both system types and will be a selectable option.

    I'm only familiar with the timer based system, so I'll be using the suggested rules from this thread (in particular bob506's input) to complete a first draft, which I hope to make available for trial download within a couple of weeks max. Development is already at an advanced stage,

    regards,
    Tweeter
     
  20. Tweeter

    Tweeter Regular Member

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    Hi All,

    new version now available with one major addition as promised, a game based version in additon to the original timer version, simply choose the one that your club uses, full details and download available at the usual location,

    http://www.badboard.net

    As always all feedback greatly appreciated, whether good, bad or indifferent. I haven't been able to test the game based simulation in a live setting as we use the timer version in our club, so I'm particularly keen to hear from anyone using the game based option,

    regards,
    Tweeter
     

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