Author Topic: NANY 2012 Release: Kyrathaba's Hangman (Read 135242 times)

Deozaan · « **Reply #25 on:** June 25, 2011, 11:07 AM »

I'm loathe to change the Wheel Of Fortune themes, even though I am sympathetic to your arguments, because they're so entrenched in the format of the default puzzle file, and so much time and effort was spent coding around those themes. But I agree that for people not familiar with WOF, it's more difficult. Still, it is a variant of hangman, rather than sticking strictly to the historical game. I appreciate your allowances in that direction.
-kyrathaba (June 25, 2011, 10:14 AM)

I too found his comments useful and persuasive. What I think is the correct way of dealing with this part of it though, would be to add a help that explained what is meant by those categories. It doesn't take much to add (I don't think anyway) and it can leave everything else as is without detracting from it in any way.
-steeladept (June 25, 2011, 10:41 AM)

I think this is a good solution. Before the round starts, there's a popup that tells you what the theme of the round will be, along with other things to be aware of. Perhaps in this popup it could explain or have a button to press to find the explanation for the theme.

Another thing I just thought of: When I first ran the game and it popped up a message recommending that I read the help file, I decided not to because I didn't realize that this wasn't your standard Hangman game. I thought "Pshaw! I don't need a stinking help file for hangman!" Perhaps it would be useful to explain in that popup that this isn't your Grandpa's Hangman (no offense meant to anyone who's grandpa was hanged) and that it plays quite differently from traditional hangman, thus reading the help file is strongly recommended.

By the way, I also just want to say thank you for being so receptive to my feedback.

wraith808 · « **Reply #26 on:** June 25, 2011, 11:37 AM »

Does anyone know what exactly I'd need to change in my Inno Setup script so that the "File Version" info (as shown in the screenshot) is correct?
(see attachment in previous post)
-kyrathaba (June 25, 2011, 09:51 AM)

Does it get it from your assembly information, perhaps? Is the version number in your assembly correct?

kyrathaba · « **Reply #27 on:** June 25, 2011, 01:55 PM »

Good suggestion, steeladept. And I need to update the help anyway, to remove the keyboard/mouse toggle option from the Help file. Working on it...

steeladept · « **Reply #28 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:03 PM »

Glad I could help.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #29 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:30 PM »

I've included the updated help file in the version 1031 installer. But for anyone who has already installed that version, I've attached it here as a zip.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #30 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:33 PM »

Does it get it from your assembly information, perhaps? Is the version number in your assembly correct?

@wraith:

Here's screenshots from my assembly info within the IDE, then the version info I supply in the Inno Setup script:

kyrathaba · « **Reply #31 on:** June 25, 2011, 03:07 PM »

I think this is a good solution. Before the round starts, there's a popup that tells you what the theme of the round will be, along with other things to be aware of. Perhaps in this popup it could explain or have a button to press to find the explanation for the theme.

Another thing I just thought of: When I first ran the game and it popped up a message recommending that I read the help file, I decided not to because I didn't realize that this wasn't your standard Hangman game. I thought "Pshaw! I don't need a stinking help file for hangman!" Perhaps it would be useful to explain in that popup that this isn't your Grandpa's Hangman (no offense meant to anyone who's grandpa was hanged) and that it plays quite differently from traditional hangman, thus reading the help file is strongly recommended.

By the way, I also just want to say thank you for being so receptive to my feedback. Thmbsup

You're quite welcome for my receptiveness. In my experience, there's nothing more valuable than user-feedback to make my app more intuitive, more enjoyable, and -- most of all -- one that people will want to use!

As for your two ideas above, both are good, I think. I'm not sure how to launch the help file with a pointer into a particular location within the help file. But check out version 1032 and lemme know what you think. If you want to see, again, the message box that pops up and says "It looks like this is the first time you've used the program...", you'll need to go into c:\users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Kyrathasoft\KyrHangman\ and delete file "previousRuns.dat".

Version 1.0.3.2 is available.

Deozaan · « **Reply #32 on:** June 25, 2011, 03:36 PM »

Not to nitpick (he says as he nitpicks) but I think it might be beneficial to adjust that first-run popup a little bit. It's somewhat embarrassing to admit, but I don't think I would finish reading it before I clicked "No." I would probably read the first two sentences, decide I don't need help with a simple game like Hangman, and click "No."

May I suggest something similar to the following adjustment:

This appears to be the first time you've run "Kyrathaba's Hangman." This isn't your grandpa's hangman, so it is recommended that you visit a webpage that will show you how to get started. Additionally you may press F1 at any time to read the PDF Help file.

I'm not trying to tell you what to say or how to say it, but I do think it is important to make it clear that the game is different at the beginning of the popup rather than at the very end. Most people don't read popups; they just skim along until they find out what yes and no do and then click the one they think suits their desires, sometimes (often?) without really comprehending what was being asked of them.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #33 on:** June 25, 2011, 03:52 PM »

I agree 100% and like your wording better, Deo. You can now update to v1.0.3.3.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #34 on:** June 26, 2011, 09:02 AM »

Wow, yesterday was a busy day for "Kyrathaba's Hangman". It incremented five complete revisions, thanks to the excellent feedback from Deozaan, steeladept, and Wraith808. Thanks to all of you

I've updated my OP's download URL to reflect the most current version, even though you can just update from within the program itself. And I've added the PAD file's URL.

Deozaan · « **Reply #35 on:** June 26, 2011, 02:31 PM »

I've got a question for you. Is the in-game update supposed to update itself?

What it does for me is just download a zip file containing the installer and then launch the zip file in Explorer (instead of my default zip/archive program).

kyrathaba · « **Reply #36 on:** June 26, 2011, 04:16 PM »

Is the in-game update supposed to update itself?

The in-game updater isn't really a separate component. It's just a small method that checks a small file hosted on DC for available version number. It then compares that available version # against the running app's version number. If the online version # is greater, it let's the user know that an update is available for download.

What I do is update both this small "available version #" file and the same-version-number installer simultaneously, whenever I finish a new revision.

All the in-game updater does is let you know if there's an update available. In the same Yes/No messagebox, it asks if you'd like to download it. If you answer "Yes", it does so, then let's you know that it's opening to the downloaded file's location in Explorer, and exiting. The assumption is you'll install.

I could fix it to where:

(a) yes, download it but don't exit: I'll install it later.
(b) yes, download it and launch the installer before exiting the current program instance.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #37 on:** June 27, 2011, 11:56 AM »

I've updated the relevant links in my OP to reflect the current online scoreboard URL. Also, noted that we've gained our 9th competitor (welcome Jazper).

If anyone has any hangman puzzles they'd like to contribute, please PM me. I will acknowledge receipt. If I choose to use your suggestion, you'll receive recognition in the text accessed via the "Help" menu.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #38 on:** June 28, 2011, 05:18 PM »

Nice email today from 'benubird' (a registered "Kyrathaba's Hangman" user). He emailed me from the link within the app and states, "Cool app, and a nice site you have there at DC!". I encouraged him to drop by the forum and visit us, and even consider joining!

mouser · « **Reply #39 on:** June 28, 2011, 06:32 PM »

neat

kyrathaba · « **Reply #40 on:** June 29, 2011, 10:18 PM »

Version 1.0.3.4 is out. I've addressed a request made by a couple of people: now you have the option to compete only against yourself (the program will submit a score if it beats your own previous scores) or against everyone registered to your application instance (all user-names that've played the game on a particular computer). The default is to compete against yourself:

The inline Help pdf addresses this option.

If you've already installed the program, you need only update it using "Help"->"Update".

This version also addresses a small cosmetic "bug" in previous versions (which others may not have noticed, but which caught my eye). While the splash screen is showing, there is no longer a funky taskbar icon related to it.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #41 on:** July 01, 2011, 09:12 AM »

I've updated the PDF help to elaborate a bit more on the newest option. It'll automatically be included in v1035. For those currently using v1034, I've attached it. It should be placed in the application's directory, wherever you installed it (by default, C:\Program Files(x86)\Kyrathasoft\KyrHangman).

kyrathaba · « **Reply #42 on:** July 01, 2011, 10:42 AM »

Application version 1035 has been released. It fixes a bug introduced by the previous version, and now shows # of program runs in About box. The number of program executions is not reset when you update to a later version, because this data is stored in AppData rather than the C:\Program Files\... application directory. So, the number of program executions shown reflects the number of executions since the very first version of the program the user installed (note that the yellow highlighting shown in the second screen-shot is for the purpose of this post only, and doesn't appear in the actual running program):

Deozaan · « **Reply #43 on:** July 01, 2011, 03:12 PM »

That stickman is wearing a mighty fine top hat to his execution. I guess he knows how to go out in style

kyrathaba · « **Reply #44 on:** July 01, 2011, 04:45 PM »

That stickman is wearing a mighty fine top hat to his execution. I guess he knows how to go out in style Thmbsup

He is a rather dapper fellow, I admit

kyrathaba · « **Reply #45 on:** July 01, 2011, 04:56 PM »

I'm using HelpNDoc to generate my PDF help file. Do you guys prefer PDF as the help file format, or would CHM be preferable?

Because CHM compresses the internal HTML, its file size is smaller than the corresponding PDF, but I wondered if CHM is natively supported by all versions of Windows, whereas I know that PDF support is nearly ubiquitous. Can't remember the last time I found a system that didn't have some sort of PDF reader software installed.

Deozaan · « **Reply #46 on:** July 02, 2011, 02:47 AM »

I'm using HelpNDoc to generate my PDF help file. Do you guys prefer PDF as the help file format, or would CHM be preferable?

Because CHM compresses the internal HTML, its file size is smaller than the corresponding PDF, but I wondered if CHM is natively supported by all versions of Windows, whereas I know that PDF support is nearly ubiquitous. Can't remember the last time I found a system that didn't have some sort of PDF reader software installed.
-kyrathaba (July 01, 2011, 04:56 PM)

I don't believe I've ever had a problem opening a CHM file, and I've never had to actively search out a plugin or software to open it. This is opposite to my experience with PDF. I personally don't like PDF, but that's just one person's opinion.

Ath · « **Reply #47 on:** July 02, 2011, 05:25 AM »

Do you guys prefer PDF as the help file format, or would CHM be preferable?
-kyrathaba (July 01, 2011, 04:56 PM)

I was quite surprised you use pdf for help contents, as that's rather non-standard, AFAICS. The biggest pest being the non-availability of a pdf viewer on Windows by default. The chm format is supported at least from XP and up, and I hope nobody is using an older Windows version any longer

The biggest advantage of chm is that you can jump to the correct information in the file to show really context sensitive information

, to do that with pdf would require a specific reader that does support that even from external applications, and I'm quite sure that isn't standardized in any way.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #48 on:** July 02, 2011, 07:22 AM »

Very well! Version 1.0.3.6 is available, and changes PDF format to CHM for Help file. Thanks for the feedback.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #49 on:** July 02, 2011, 07:23 AM »

This has the added benefit of reducing the setup file from 1.51 Mb to 1.16 Mb.