Forum

Poll

12 Years of Skylanders, Have You Played Any?
View Results
First | Previous | Page 3 of 13 | Next | Last
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Skylanders Figure Tool for Windows
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#101 Posted: 20:35:46 26/10/2013 | Topic Creator
So. I received an email from Mega saying that they had received a takedown notice for this file.

I would like to point out that this is ILLEGAL use of the DMCA as the app was not in breach of copyright.
It contained no copyright code or Activision patented/copyrighted property.

I had recently contacted Staff at Toys for Bob in regard to preventing exactly this from happening. I sincerely hope it was NOT Activision who have done this but instead is simply a malicious trick from somebody who didn't like what I was doing.

In order to get the link, whoever did this MUST have read this thread.

I therefor issue a challenge, provide here, the LEGAL JUSTIFICATION for this takedown notice.

I have been honest and open with my development and would hope for whoever has done this to be as honest and open so the community can see what is happening.
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#102 Posted: 20:38:11 26/10/2013
Sad, but rather expected. smilie
DMCA is a horrible piece of legislation.
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#103 Posted: 21:12:16 26/10/2013 | Topic Creator
Sad, but totally a miss-use of the DMCA.

The App is completely legal and I have already demonstrated the DMCA exemption that covers it. There is no copyright violation at all.
The app contains nothing copyright Activision.

EVEN if it DID contain the key, this section on the DMCA clearly states why my App is legal,

" Technical protection measures (TPMs)—which may prevent interoperability—may
be built into consumer electronics products to protect copyrighted
material. Provisions in the DMCA prohibit the circumvention of or
distribution of means to circumvent these TPMs in order to access or use
the copyrighted software inside the products.
Exceptions to those provisions permit consumers to circumvent these TPMs to enable
interoperability, but to do so usually requires a degree or specialized
knowledge in the fields of electrical engineering, computer engineering,
or computer science.
The DMCA tries to solve this problem by allowing
companies or those skilled in the relevant areas to distribute solutions to these technical incompatibilities"

ie, You can protect your stuff but people like me are allowed to break it for interoperability.

Further more, the DMCA stops you breaking security that protects copyrighted work. IE, an encrypted movie or copy protection on a game.
This app does neither of these things. The data on the figure is NOT a copyrighted work and as such is not protected by the DMCA.

The information stored on the figure is not copyright and as such bypassing any protection to get to it does is not illegal,

"A fundamental concept of copyright is that protection is given, not for ideas or information, but for the form in which ideas or information are expressed. Mere facts are not protected by copyright. Copyright does not exist until the idea or information is expressed in words"

The information stored in the figures is simply data, information. It is NOT expressed in words. You cannot copyright information.

Even if somebody were to argue that the data on the figures is copyright, the following is true,

"The general rule of ownership is that the author or creator of the material is the first copyright owner "

This means the data on the figure, which was created by ME while playing the game is MY COPYRIGHT.
Which means Activisions protection is preventing MY access to MY data, which is illegal.

I would appreciate the person responsible for this false take down notice explaining why the feel the Law doesn't apply to them and they have the right to file a false notice to maliciously remove my app for accessing my data?

So the TLsmilieR summary,

I have shown an exemption in the DMCA to allow my app.
IF the exemption for whatever didn't apply, it doesn't matter as the data isn't copyright.
IF somebody argues that it IS copyright I have shown that the copyright belongs to the creator of the data, ie ME.

Threefold I have demonstrated that using the DMCA to remove this app is malicious and false.
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 21:15:18 26/10/2013 by Pyrofer
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#104 Posted: 21:36:55 26/10/2013
It's a shame you probably don't have enough bank to take this to court. smilie
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#105 Posted: 21:46:23 26/10/2013 | Topic Creator
This should never get anywhere near a court. If it does somebody is giving very poor legal advise to whoever takes it there.

The thing that annoys me most is I had just contacted them explaining that I wanted this to be a legitimate app that they could approve of. They didn't even response, simply send out a false DMCA to kill the app? That link was didn't have the key in it!
There was NOTHING in that link that could have actually been objected to.

I was trying to be nice and somebody has acted like a petty child. I won't say it was Activision because there is still the hope it was some random person who just wanted to wind me up. I will live in hope that they will contact me and we can discuss the app in a friendly way.
darkrai848 Emerald Sparx Gems: 3096
#106 Posted: 22:16:10 26/10/2013
This is very sad news as I was eagerly waiting for the final version of the app to backup my over 120 skylanders. And I truly hope this is just a false claim and it does not stop this app. As I have been looking for a good way to backup and store my skylanders data after the iOS portal glitch (the glitch that reset all skylanders used on the iOS portal) the glitch has been fixed but my trust of the security of my data has not. That is why I was looking for a good way to backup and sort my over 120 skylanders data. I hope this gets worked out soon.
---
If you like toys to life, you might be interested in Lightseekers!
Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playfusion/lightseekers/description
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 22:17:20 26/10/2013 by darkrai848
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#107 Posted: 22:27:01 26/10/2013
Considering that Activision still sells figures with packaging that indicates that they can be used on the PC and there's no way to use many of the characters on the PC (you *could* play with SSA compatible characters in the PC version, if you can still find it for sale... but with the demise of Universe, there's no way to use anyone introduced post-Giants)... considering that, you'd think they'd want *something* on the PC to interact with the figures to prevent any kind of false advertising or anything.
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#108 Posted: 22:35:45 26/10/2013 | Topic Creator
As I said, the app without the key is completely legal, hence my confusion about the file being taken down!

I have no issue with publishing the app in a form that doesn't require the key to backup and restore your figures. That app would not need a key, would not decrypt or do ANYTHING to the data other than request it from the portal and save it.

There is nothing Activision can say about my app using the portal, there is no restriction on communicating with it.

I still have hope that this can be resolved with Activision and I will not be simply giving up.
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#109 Posted: 22:47:43 26/10/2013
I don't know why you're confused or why you think there's much of a chance of Activision working with you (or, at least, not against you).

Previous efforts to do *anything* with the figures outside of the game, no matter how legal, have been met with C&D orders from Activision. Activision simply isn't interested in the off chance of anyone using the brand in a way that doesn't make Activision money. I'm quite surprised Apple hasn't received takedown notices for apps like SkyLister.

Activision has shown before that they're not interested in consumer rights and will bully consumers with their lawyers, no matter how right or wrong they are (and, in this case, they're wrong).
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#110 Posted: 23:00:24 26/10/2013 | Topic Creator
Well, I can't say much until I receive some form of reply from them.

The guy I spoke to from TFB seemed nice enough and certainly didn't give any indication that this would be the result of our conversation.

What's worse, I am going to assume that they are going to do NOTHING at all till Monday, not even reply. If it was them it's quite a disgusting way to do business, sending out a false takedown then going home for the weekend on a "job well done" basically sucks.

I am actually away at the moment so can't even upload the app again. I will be removing the banking from it and fixing it so it works better without the key before I do, but rest assured I will not just give up.
niceguy1 Blue Sparx Gems: 532
#111 Posted: 02:55:18 27/10/2013
Quote: darkrai848
Quote: niceguy1
Connect says "Can't connect Portal", then the subsequent Read Figure does nothing. Congrats, no crash! Yay! smilie

Finally tried my 3DS portal, first time ever connecting it, and same thing, unfortunately, "Can't connect to portal". It's possible that the only cord I found isn't wired the way the portal needs, though...

Okay, two questions:
1) I think I saw/heard that the surface of the portal doubles as an on/off button, is that so?
2) Before I kill myself trying to find it, does the Giants 3DS starter pack come with a cord?


Nope only the SSA 3DS portal came with a cord.


Okay, thanks, LOL! Luckily I found another cord that fits, and it works now!


Quote: Pyrofer
Yes, the surface of the 3DS portal IS a button but that only matters if it's on battery with the 3DS. Via a USB cable the button does nothing.

A standard USB mini cable should work. There are some that only have power connected (rare) but other than that it should just work.
Does it light up? Does it show in device manager?

Make sure you plug the portal in BEFORE you launch the app. Not just before hitting "connect" but before launching the .exe

Actually, my XBox portal didn't light up about half the time, so I didn't take much notice when the 3DS portal didn't. I also wasn't sure it should. When I plugged it in this time, it lit up for about 1 second before turning off. Unplugged, replugged, same thing. However, now it works! Yay! And with the app running, the portal light is now staying on. And yes, of course I connected the portal before starting the app, every time. smilie

You'd be surprised about the cord... I worked testing cell phone games, you'd be surprised how cords which LOOK the same, including Mini-USB, can still work differently. I must have gone through hundreds of cell phones while working there.

And I wouldn't even know what to look for in Device Manager, wow! I didn't bother to check. Under the USB categories I feel like it wouldn't say anything but "USB hub" or whatever it usually does. smilie

[Image removed by request]


SO cool! Though I notice it's listing no SG Hat, and I'm PRETTY sure I have the Knight's Helm on him (the one you earn for finishing Nightmare Mode). (I only got this guy a couple of months ago, when they get all their heroics I give them the Gold Top Hat, so if it isn't the Knight's Helm he's wearing the Gold Top Hat). Cute that it lists all the completed Heroics. I notice you can click the Heroics, so it would be nice if that did something, like double-clicking would bring up details on the heroic, like whose it is, what you have to do (basically) and what reward it gives. Especially in the Heroics Remaining list. Though Who and Reward are sometimes different in SSA and Giants. smilie

Not sure what's going on next to the picture, though... A couple of lines talk about upgrades, but those "44" lines seem unfinished... I see they all end in powers of 2...

I tried my Molten Hot Dog, I get this:

Figure ID: 0069
Nickname: M
Variant: Dark
Level: 10
SG Hat: Funnel Hat

I set his nickname to "Mustard Hot Dog" (I declared to myself if I got them both I'd call them Mustard and Ketchup, so I did). His variant is "Molten', not "Dark". I feel SURE his level is 15 (if not, it's definitely above 10). And I found them both to have PATHETIC armour, they die quickly, so I put the Trucker Hat on both of them to raise their armour as much as possible. They're my only figures with something besides the Knight's Helm or the Gold Top Hat.

Your legal issues sucks... Especially as you've been clear on wanting to remain legitimate and above-board with this, breaking no rules or laws or anything. I note that every link I see here, including the one you sent me privately, no longer works.
---
SSA- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilie
SG- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilieLCsmilie
Edited 5 times - Last edited at 02:25:59 28/10/2013 by niceguy1
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#112 Posted: 03:03:01 27/10/2013
Dude. Don't say that.
exosquad Gold Sparx Gems: 2667
#113 Posted: 04:57:56 27/10/2013
i stop checking the thread and this crazy happens.

@pyrofer
if this was a legit activision action. they would have shown up with a lawyer at your door on saturday or even sunday, giving you papers saying how screwed you are. this has to be some person from the board being a jerk/troll. until you get an official cease and desist dont worry too much.

if this stuff does get real though. get in contact with http://www.eff.org/ so there will be someone to have your back in this crazy copyright dmca misused world we live in.

we cant keep letting corporate bullying keep us from innovation!!!!!!! we bought our toys! we own the data on them!!! EVERYONE CHEER FOR STANDING UP FOR THE LITTLE GUY!!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAH

<sorry bout the last bit, i got worked up>
---
I am going to have 1 of everything. someday...
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#114 Posted: 05:00:17 27/10/2013
Activision can't show up at his door if they don't know where he lives.

Not that it's impossible to track someone down, but I don't think they'd put that much effort into it at this point.
exosquad Gold Sparx Gems: 2667
#115 Posted: 05:04:05 27/10/2013
unclebob, uh, with 1 call they can get his IP address, with another call they get his home address. and since the dmca is so exploited, any site they contacted would give his information over in a second.
---
I am going to have 1 of everything. someday...
N3od3ath Green Sparx Gems: 197
#116 Posted: 05:15:02 27/10/2013
Yeah pretty much it
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#117 Posted: 05:21:19 27/10/2013
Tracing an IP address isn't as simple as making a phone call. I have a wireless router that runs a specialized script on it that rotates MAC Addresses and Proxy IP addresses. I bought the router on eBay for $25 and installing the script took less than ten minutes.

*If* I was up to no good, it's that easy to make it difficult (but not impossible) to trace you back. And I'm not even up to no good. Imagine if I was.
exosquad Gold Sparx Gems: 2667
#118 Posted: 06:42:30 27/10/2013
well, for those normal people not using proxys, tors, vhosts, some other type of ip routing. yes it is that simple to get someones information.
---
I am going to have 1 of everything. someday...
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#119 Posted: 06:53:35 27/10/2013
Even then, it's not.

Even if you're a simple internet user, many content hosts would require a court subpoena to release one's IP address. Then, most service providers would require a court subpoena to release the account information related to that IP address.

And that's hoping that the service provider/account holder is even in the same country. If the individual is located overseas, you've got a whole different set of hoops to jump through.

*Again*, not saying it's impossible. Just saying it's unlikely that they'd go through the effort for *this* at this juncture. Even when the last group was supposedly trying to make an app that emulated the portal and characters was noticed by Activision, they just received an e-mail'd C&D... And what they were doing most likely crossed the legal line.

What Pyrofer is doing here would be very hard to build a case against - which means it'd be rather hard for lawyers representing Activision to get the court orders that would be needed to trace his info back to his doorstep.
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 06:57:03 27/10/2013 by UncleBob
exosquad Gold Sparx Gems: 2667
#120 Posted: 07:06:31 27/10/2013
actually they sent a real lawyer to the guy's (was a single guy, not a group) door to serve the c&d papers. but he did have his own domain name registered with his information, so that was easier for them to do.

UncleBob, do you think the takedown request on mega was done by activision or just someone on this forum?
---
I am going to have 1 of everything. someday...
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#121 Posted: 09:36:13 27/10/2013 | Topic Creator
The original stuff got confused because Mr BW was not involved with others making a more concentrated hack against the game.
HE got a personally delivered C&D at his door because he was very forthcoming in what he was doing and not involved in anything he thought would get a C&D.
Activision had learned of the other people making things like the SkylandersEditor and blamed him for it all! I sort of know him and he wasn't involved. He was quick to react and do as Activision said but the tool and information still leaked because it wasn't him doing it.

So in my Case I don't live in the USA. That means that doing anything against me legally would be a lot of work for them, False DMCA take-downs aside.
I have contacted mega and informed them that this was a misuse of the DMCA. No matter what I will not stand for misuse of foreign laws to bully people on the other side of the world! The file contains nothing copyright and as-is on the hosting service allowed no copyright violation in any way.
Having that app pulled was a bit like arresting somebody for having hands because they could be used to make a weapon that could be used to hurt somebody.

The USA seems to be on a crusade against tools. Tools are not illegal. Sometimes their USE is illegal but in all cases it is the action of the user that is the crime, not the tool. Legislating against every unique tool is a road to nowhere.

@niceguy1,
I am aware of the issues you raise. There is something odd with the way hats are stored and while I am SURE I found the right data byte odd things happen. Sometimes the hat shows correctly, others the LAST hat they wore shows and sometimes none. No idea...
Experience over Level 10 is different and again I haven't sorted which bytes store it. Think of it as an SSA compatible app, Giants data and SF data don't work yet.
This goes for Heroics too. There are 10 missing from Giants. 32 from SSA work perfect, 8 from Giants work perfect but there are 10 I didn't locate.
The Heroics are clickable because I use a standard clickable list box. There is too much work in adding info for every Heroic, especially with them all but removed from SF.

Please don't post Screen shots like this btw, I would appreciate it if you could remove it too from that post. With current Activision actions it's not a good idea.
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#122 Posted: 16:07:26 27/10/2013
Quote: exosquad
UncleBob, do you think the takedown request on mega was done by activision or just someone on this forum?


Unknown. I'd guess Activision, because I really like to think that no one on this forum is quite that petty...

Quote: Pyrofer
Activision had learned of the other people making things like the SkylandersEditor and blamed him for it all!


This. The folks doing the actual illegal stuff never received any type of direct communication from Activision. This isn't to be confused with the singular guy who was just tinkering around.
GhostRoaster Yellow Sparx Gems: 1803
#123 Posted: 16:31:54 27/10/2013
Quote: Pyrofer
So. I received an email from Mega saying that they had received a takedown notice for this file.

I would like to point out that this is ILLEGAL use of the DMCA as the app was not in breach of copyright.
It contained no copyright code or Activision patented/copyrighted property.

I had recently contacted Staff at Toys for Bob in regard to preventing exactly this from happening. I sincerely hope it was NOT Activision who have done this but instead is simply a malicious trick from somebody who didn't like what I was doing.

In order to get the link, whoever did this MUST have read this thread.

I therefor issue a challenge, provide here, the LEGAL JUSTIFICATION for this takedown notice.

I have been honest and open with my development and would hope for whoever has done this to be as honest and open so the community can see what is happening.


You are on a plane where intellect resides, however those with the financial backing can pretty much do anything they want and therefore has the power. power > intellect very day of the week. Do you think more legislation helps everyone, or those who are in power to make the changes?

Sad this has happened obviously, but not surprised. Not a bit. Maybe the video showcasing characters not released was pushing it a bit smilie
---
RIP GhostRoaster. He's reanimated as TakeYourLemons but occasionally is resurrected from the beyond when needed.
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 16:34:13 27/10/2013 by GhostRoaster
GhostRoaster Yellow Sparx Gems: 1803
#124 Posted: 17:25:25 27/10/2013
Quote: UncleBob
I don't know why you're confused or why you think there's much of a chance of Activision working with you (or, at least, not against you).

Previous efforts to do *anything* with the figures outside of the game, no matter how legal, have been met with C&D orders from Activision. Activision simply isn't interested in the off chance of anyone using the brand in a way that doesn't make Activision money. I'm quite surprised Apple hasn't received takedown notices for apps like SkyLister.

Activision has shown before that they're not interested in consumer rights and will bully consumers with their lawyers, no matter how right or wrong they are (and, in this case, they're wrong).


You might want to contact the author....
---
RIP GhostRoaster. He's reanimated as TakeYourLemons but occasionally is resurrected from the beyond when needed.
niceguy1 Blue Sparx Gems: 532
#125 Posted: 02:40:07 28/10/2013
Quote: Pyrofer
@niceguy1,
I am aware of the issues you raise. There is something odd with the way hats are stored and while I am SURE I found the right data byte odd things happen. Sometimes the hat shows correctly, others the LAST hat they wore shows and sometimes none. No idea...
Experience over Level 10 is different and again I haven't sorted which bytes store it. Think of it as an SSA compatible app, Giants data and SF data don't work yet.
This goes for Heroics too. There are 10 missing from Giants. 32 from SSA work perfect, 8 from Giants work perfect but there are 10 I didn't locate.
The Heroics are clickable because I use a standard clickable list box. There is too much work in adding info for every Heroic, especially with them all but removed from SF.

Please don't post Screen shots like this btw, I would appreciate it if you could remove it too from that post. With current Activision actions it's not a good idea.

Okay, I didn't think there was any harm in seeing the thing. smilie With you being open about what you're doing. And I seriously doubt this is Activision. They would do more than complain to Mega, they'd find a way to contact you. Someone is being a jerk. Anyways, I posted the screenshot to show what I meant. You saw what I wanted you to see, so it did its job, picture removed. smilie

I'm thinking that for anything which changed in Giants - new hats, levels above 10, new heroics - they had to store it elsewhere, to not mess with SSA. Granted, characters like Molten don't work in SSA anyways, but for the ones who do, they store it THERE like THAT, and they do it the same way with everybody. The Knight's Helm didn't exist in SSA, so it's new, so it might be stored elsewhere or otherwise. But with Molten, I can almost guarantee that he has NEVER worn the Funnel Hat. I don't know what it looks like or what it does, and I only pick hats based on the boosts they give. So before this, Molten was wearing the Knight's Helm. Maybe new stuff works in conjunction with the old stuff? Like hat #10 is Funnel, #110 is the Trucker Hat, and your app is only finding the "10" part, while the "100" is stored elsewhere? Though that would mess with SSA, so I dunno...

As for listing Heroics information, I know it's adding a lot of data, but adding the text is most of the work. And with it removed in SF, that means the list won't get longer, once it's done it's done. Anyways, just an idea.

And you never answered me, what's with the numbers in the Upgrade list?
---
SSA- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilie
SG- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilieLCsmilie
N3od3ath Green Sparx Gems: 197
#126 Posted: 07:51:38 28/10/2013
I've been playing around with the old editor since giants came out and from what i can tell there are 4 lines in the decrypted files that contain the hats, giants/swap experience, giants heroic challenges, and quests.
my guess would be is that there was some level of encryption or compression? added to those lines that causes the confusion with the hats.
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#127 Posted: 08:12:51 28/10/2013 | Topic Creator
@niceguy1, That upgrades box is half-finished. It's like that as I was trying to work out which bits of data relate to which upgrades.
I was also trying to find a way to describe them that worked for all characters and was generic. The alternative would be to type out every single upgrade for every character, again a lot of data entry I don't want to do!

@N3od3ath, I don't think there is any extra encryption over the normal stuff done on all the data. Also, I have found SOME of the giants data already so I don't think it's compressed either. I think it's just a matter of finding the write bytes. There are a lot that change every time you use your figure so it's hard to find what they do. I have to put the figure on the game to check it's stats and then do lots of testing in the app to see if I can read the same data. Lots of back and forward.
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#128 Posted: 17:03:50 28/10/2013 | Topic Creator
I have had NO formal contact from anybody in regards to the takedown. I asked here for the person responsible (who must have found the link via this thread as it's NOT posted anywhere else) to explain why.
They have failed to do so, which is not surprising as there is no legal basis for having it removed.

As I know my app is legal I shall be uploading the newest version soon, after some testing. Should this mysterious person responsible for the takedown not wish me to upload it again, the very least they could do is contact me and explain why. If they can show a legal basis for me not doing so, I won't. HOWEVER,
I will take further lack of communication as acceptance that my app is legal.

New in 1.8.
Works without Key File!
You can read your figure, back it up to the DB and write that file back to the figure without a key file.
Extra stats like showing your money/exerience, heroics etc will NOT work without the key file.

Collection Stats!
Details on numbers of figures by Base and series.

I will have to start putting together some sort of documents as it will be essentially the first public release as it works without the key file smilie
UncleBob Ripto Gems: 4565
#129 Posted: 19:05:46 28/10/2013
Pryofer - *If* someone from Activision's legal team is seriously responsible for the takedown, I don't expect that they'd reply to your request for contact via a public forum.

Perhaps you should supply an extra email address for them to contact you at.
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#130 Posted: 21:22:11 28/10/2013 | Topic Creator
I have provided them with my email.

For now I will keep working on debugging, improving and cleaning the code.

I've done a lot in the last 48 hours to get it more robust and work better. I have some more ideas for improving the code smilie It's time to fix some of my short cuts and bodge jobs.
johnsonsteven86 Yellow Sparx Gems: 1563
#131 Posted: 00:07:39 29/10/2013
Glad to see your still working on it. I would like to figure out what each part of the code means but it sounds like its not as simple as leveling up and completing quests and seeing what changes.
---
WTB: Frito-lay Hotdog as cheap as possible
Kevinvert Gold Sparx Gems: 2146
#132 Posted: 00:58:07 29/10/2013
this is cool but seems fake.
---
Team Hot Dog!
niceguy1 Blue Sparx Gems: 532
#133 Posted: 07:09:50 29/10/2013
Quote: Pyrofer
@niceguy1, That upgrades box is half-finished. It's like that as I was trying to work out which bits of data relate to which upgrades.
I was also trying to find a way to describe them that worked for all characters and was generic. The alternative would be to type out every single upgrade for every character, again a lot of data entry I don't want to do!

Oh yeah, I understand that... I faced the exact same problem. Back in SSA I designed a spreadsheet to keep track of my progress with each character, and part of it was having columns to check off for which upgrades I bought. I generalized it, that ROUGHLY the two you start with is Attack 1 Level 1 and Attack 2 Level 1, then the next 4 upgrades (until you choose a path) is Level 2 and 3 for each attack. Now obviously that's not true, at least one is Attack 3 Level 1 instead, but that seems to fluctuate from character to character, so I couldn't nail it down when naming the columns, LOL! So I just went with Attack 1 and Attack 2, Levels 1, 2 and 3. Then IN the path switch I just called them Upgrade 1, 2 and 3. Then the Soul Gem and Wow Pow are obvious.


Quote: Kevinvert
this is cool but seems fake.

WHAT exactly seems fake????!?!?!?! Have you not heard about the SkylandersEditor before? Plenty of people have used and referred to THAT... I'm not kidding, I'm truly mystified what you think sounds fake...
---
SSA- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilie
SG- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilieLCsmilie
exosquad Gold Sparx Gems: 2667
#134 Posted: 08:10:49 29/10/2013
@niceguy1,
you should type out all the upgrades and path data and give it to pyrofer. thatd be pretty boss. well someone should do it.

@kevinvert
having tested everything pyrofer has put here. there is nothing "fake" about it. his program works, does exactly what he says.


everyday im excited at a possible new version with better code or new features. i love this kind of tinkering.
---
I am going to have 1 of everything. someday...
niceguy1 Blue Sparx Gems: 532
#135 Posted: 02:34:24 30/10/2013
Well, here's a portion of the spreadsheet, I took a screenshot a while ago to make a meme, LOL!

[User Posted Image]


The pertinent parts are there... To show what I mean... Columns I and J are the powers you get by default (so they probably aren't even stored in any way). K through N are the initial upgrades you buy, P, Q and R are the upgrades after the path choice.
---
SSA- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilie
SG- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilieLCsmilie
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 02:36:22 30/10/2013 by niceguy1
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#136 Posted: 23:06:05 30/10/2013 | Topic Creator
Hey, just like to say thanks to all those who have helped me with this.
I won't mention names but you know who you are smilie

I couldn't have got this app done without a lot of help from people testing, dumping figures and helping sift through the data. Just wanted to publicly let you all know how much I appreciate it.

The latest version is looking GOOD.
evileyeball Green Sparx Gems: 284
#137 Posted: 15:03:07 04/11/2013
Heres to Hoping you can continue your work, I'd love to try this even for just the backup portion
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#138 Posted: 15:42:43 04/11/2013 | Topic Creator
Rest assured I am continuing my work. There is lots to do! I am never happy.

This has evolved and changed and is now much more than I imagined smilie I am sure everybody will like it.
Still no formal response from Activision, it's beyond rude and into downright insulting after I made the effort to contact them.
I have a few people helping me test and find bugs (You can always rely on others to find bugs in your code smilie) so the next time you see it posted here there should be a fairly stable, pretty and accurate app.
evileyeball Green Sparx Gems: 284
#139 Posted: 16:18:05 04/11/2013
I was unable to find this before the whole all your links went down thing so here's hoping you can get it back up.

I've even taken the time to find my spare portal in Anticipation
I also found the old editor that has the spec for the FORBIDDEN file I just have to work on translating that spec into a file (I want to view stats of my guys)
Its sad that you removed banking from the app, I always wondered why activision never put Banking into the game. It would have been the perfect use for Auric in SSA who really does not that much at all.

I have a Prism Break with thousands of $$$ on him who has all his upgrades/heroics etc why shouldn't there be a legal in game way for me to move that money to someone who is new and needs money is what I always thought while playing.

I don't get much time for gaming now so I've been slow to beat SSA (not done yet) But I plan to beat it and then move on to Giants and Swap force both I have and have lots of figs for

Best of luck and PS, This topic is my newest bookmark
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#140 Posted: 18:29:42 04/11/2013 | Topic Creator
Thanks for the feedback.

There have been major changes and the app is much improved from even the last version I published smilie

It's now easier to input whole collections, much less buggy and much more reliable!

I am working mostly on making it better rather than adding features now so every day brings improvements. What are people feelings on the UI design. Basically I SUCK at UI design.

If anybody has design skills/artistic skill I wouldn't mind some help smilie It's currently 950x650 and I am running out of space. I considered having a single background image and fitting the text into it.
evileyeball Green Sparx Gems: 284
#141 Posted: 05:57:16 05/11/2013
Is there a link to the current version now? or is it still offline?
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#142 Posted: 15:50:10 05/11/2013 | Topic Creator
Ok, so I added a feature where if you don't have the key file it will give you a box to enter the special constant required. Hit a button (make key) and if you typed the right data in it will save a valid key file and exit the program.
Simply re-launch and enjoy the full app.
This uses the data leaked previously in the source/doc for the existing command line tool.
So you have 2 options. Get they key file from somebody that has it or make your own by finding the info with Google.

It HAS to be this way so my App contains NOTHING copyright or protected in any way.
niceguy1 Blue Sparx Gems: 532
#143 Posted: 06:59:13 06/11/2013
Just FYI, last time I tried, this key file stuff is SO not as easy to Google as you make it sound, LOL! I got NOTHING last time. smilie

As for the UI, I tend to struggle with that too... I would suggest menus, but you already use those, smilie Perhaps pop-up windows? Double-click a character and most of his information pops up in a separate window? Stuff like that? Like dialogue windows?
---
SSA- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilie
SG- smiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmiliesmilieLCsmilie
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#144 Posted: 09:39:06 06/11/2013 | Topic Creator
Ok, So finding the keyfile for MY app is not easy, because it is NOT out there. You will never find it with Google as I have never released it. The plan was always to provide the information on making a key file after release of the app, which is not released yet.

What you CAN find however is the existing Skylander Editor V2 and it's source code.
Most of the downloads for that contain either the source or a spec.txt file that have the special key information in them.
All you need to do is type that information EXACTLY into the text entry box on my App and it will make the key file for you.

I will not ever distribute or link to anything that in any way infringes copyright. Without that special key my app is just a normal windows app that anybody could write and is 100% completely legal to write, maintain and distribute.

The app is getting close to a point where I feel it could be "released" as it does most of what I want it to do and seems to work reasonably well. I am squashing bugs daily and working on reliability at the moment. What I don't want is a load of people downloading an unfinished app and having problems with corrupt databases or figures and moaning at me!

I will keep people updated on progress here so you all know it's being worked on and will release it as soon as I can.

EDIT- Sorry, that all sounded a bit moany and preachy. It's early morning for me, please forgive the tone and concentrate on the info.
TL ; DR, It's getting better and easier, will be out soon.
Edited 2 times - Last edited at 09:41:36 06/11/2013 by Pyrofer
Pyrofer Gold Sparx Gems: 2495
#145 Posted: 15:32:50 06/11/2013 | Topic Creator
Ok. This is a BETA version of the App.
I am putting it here for wider feedback/testing.

Please only use "write" on figures if you are ok with possible corruption of the figure. This can usually be fixed by writing the data again after restarting everything but in the worst case the figure may need to be reset in game. It is no more possible for this app to cause actual damage to a figure than it is for the game itself (impossible). All this said, please be careful.

http://keychests.com/.2851&r=241

Please report any issues/bugs and suggestions to me here!

I hope you all like it.
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 12:00:32 07/11/2013 by Pyrofer
evileyeball Green Sparx Gems: 284
#146 Posted: 00:24:03 07/11/2013
My System reports that it is not a valid Win32 application (Though It could be as I'm in the minority and am running Windows XPx64) I will atempt to run the tool on my wifes machine which is windows 7
exosquad Gold Sparx Gems: 2667
#147 Posted: 07:00:14 07/11/2013
evileyeball,
it doesnt work on windows xp. only vista/7/8 x86 and x64 doesnt seem to matter.
---
I am going to have 1 of everything. someday...
evileyeball Green Sparx Gems: 284
#148 Posted: 11:28:48 07/11/2013
Sounds good, I'll run it on my wife's machine then lol I thought that might be the case. Its among a select few apps my PC won't run
So it should count itself lucky smilie
AWal Blue Sparx Gems: 640
#149 Posted: 02:49:48 08/11/2013
Allrighty. This version is ace! Love that it just sits and monitors the portal, just like the games do. Was able to dump all my characters, and even detects unused characters. Spot On!

The glaring things I'm not too keen on are the nicknames and first/last playtime not working properly for some characters. Characters that have nicknames don't show the full nickname (if it ends up taking all the space).

Also looks like experience is calculated the nSpace way, where some characters that were buffed using the old tool show level 20, like they do on 3DS Swap Force (but that's incorrect by the console versions, which use some other memory location for experience calculation as well.)

If you would like some sample data to bug test against, send me a PM. I'd be more than happy to collaborate.

On a side note...my crusher's unique number begins with six 0x00 digits...Interesting, didn't notice that before.

On the line of suggestions, have the keyfile creation be a system text popup accessed by a menu item like Developer -> Calculate/Create Key File.


Also, my inner tinkerer would like to thank you for continuing to not encrypt the save files smilie
---
NinNetID: Its.AWal || 3DS FC: 5241-1904-9333 || SSA: 37/37 +3 17/17
SG: 63/63 +4 8/8 || SSF: 75/75 +1 9/9 || STT: 42/72 18/60 8/8 || SEE: 8/8
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 02:50:35 08/11/2013 by AWal
evileyeball Green Sparx Gems: 284
#150 Posted: 07:58:51 15/11/2013
I just read my Wrecking ball
a Figure that has only ever been in my SSA game
I figured he'd be Level 10 with 32 Heroics yadda yadda.

He shows up as Level 11 with More heroics than he should have SSA only has 32, It tells me he completed a giants chalenge as well
I got him brand new before the release of giants. If you would like pyrofer, I can fling you the dump for bug testing.

or if someone knows why he comes up like this then let me know
First | Previous | Page 3 of 13 | Next | Last
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Please login or register a forum account to post a message.

Username Password Remember Me