Crowd-source the Card database.

[gaddlord]

Skarsol: Really the main area I'd like to see more open is the database updates. If you're making it more cloud-forward (which I'd love instead of managing installs/collections across computers), having the database accept submissions, possibly with peer review might go a long way to alleviating that.

[texasaggie1994]

Definitely would be up for this option. I think it would help alleviate the workload on gad and allow some of the more active users to help contribute. Peer review/moderators would add a level of protection against rogue updates.

[gaddlord]

Moobu: I figured either an option to add a new card yourself or even a to do notepad where you can track how many of the cards you have with some form of text while you wait for MTG studio to be updated would be greatly helpful. This shouldn't take too long to code either am I correct?

[gaddlord]

Allow me to add cards to a user defined card file. My Game club has made several cards for our club use. Basically evry body in the club gets together and makes a card for each person that reflects thier personality and play style. this card they can then place in thier decks and use...

if we had the ability to create these custom cards and then print "proxies" of them on a template such that we could import a picture from an existing card, or add our own graphic & series icons. thi also allows us to make "counter" cards and print them as a "proxie" as well.

Of course all this depends on the ability to print a proxy card, and unless i have missed it, we do not have this abaility yet?

Votes: 1 by 1 supporters id: 2605464 Created: 17.02.2012 04:20 by Thallid Shooter (e_swallie [at] hotmail.com) Updated: 21.05.2019 21:09

[gaddlord]

Schwanke: Have you considered the possibility of making a system where users can add stuff to your database?

I mean maybe long way down on the feature list but for example create an interface to your database that allows your loading of csv files and then release the format to the user base here.

You could tag each record with a contributer and then that contributer is responsible for those cards until maybe a certain expiration time (in the event a contributer walks off).

Then all you do is import their file (assuming you put in enough error checking to keep their mistakes from messing you up.) and if it fails you output the results and post it back to the user.

Might let people import sets they care about while at the same time being available to everyone and increasing the saleability of studio to nichey markets.

Just an idea. Be cool if people could do language cards or bizzare sets that aren't typical or whatever.

[gaddlord]

Schwanke: That can all be handled inside the TOS.

Something to the effect of: "All work contributed to the management of the card database via this website or any other means is considered a donation and no type of compensation monetary or otherwise will be given or should be expected."

I think the bigger issue would be the work involved. More code means more bugs and people contributing means 'other sources' of bugs. Like what happens if someone puts a weird character into their listing or something and he didn't think of it and it eats the database somehow.

Weirder things happen the more people you have contributing to a project.

[gaddlord]

xguild: I noticed that part of the planned updates to MTG studio is to allow for personal library tracking via a database using XML. I think this is a briliant Idea, I can't imagine why it hasn't been done already. The only question I have is ... how soon will we have it?

My dream is to use this wonderful deck editing tool to track my personal collection which is vast.. so vast in fact that I don't even know what I have and I'm at a point where I'm buying cards I later realize I already own. I would be willing to put in the hours to input my library if the feature was available....

[gaddlord]

Keeping the core MTG Studio card pool up-to-date has got to be a lot of work. Work that could otherwise be spent on developing lovely new features. So, a suggestion:

Why not crowd-source the updating of the card pool file?

It would mean having 100s of people all sending through corrections, updates etc. You could vet them and release a new card pool.

It would mean that the development of a new edition, i.e. Conflux, would begin at the spoiler stage (people already want to note which cards they are going to buy) and would be almost instantly available come the release.

The ideal is (1) a mechanism whereby people can freely submit content, (2) a pool of people who can approve content and (3) a mechanism to update the client, as you suggest.

You do comment though that there are a number of manual steps in the process which take time and effort. It is this kind of activity, e.g. entering the FAQ, that benefits from crowd-sourcing. This does not mean errors enter into the process as you control it through content approval. It does mean that some of the strain is distributed through willing contributors.

What would be interesting is the database understanding Draft and Approved content. People could then choose whether to see Draft content, e.g. cards entered pre-release. This allows for a mechanism by which people can already start to build, say, Conflux decks in anticipation of the release.

Ultimately I see it as it an upfront expenditure (submission, approval, download mechanisms) for a long term reduction in effort.

Votes: 0 by 0 supporters id: 1610705 Created: 19.03.2011 13:22 by Gad D Lord (gaddlord [at] mtgstudio.com) Updated: 21.05.2019 21:09

[gaddlord]

Zzardum: Alternatively, is there a way for me to add additional "temporary" cards to a database somehow, to cover just this occasion?

[gaddlord]

Shwanke: Is there a way to add cards manually till they get in the database?

[gaddlord]

Some of the reasons are mentioned at https://github.com/gaddlord/mtg.studio/wiki/FAQ#q1