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Automated Sleuth Helper complete!
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Pidgeot
Pidgeot

Jan-30-2007 12:13

Hello, fellow Sleuths!

Over the last two months, I've been working on a brand new Sleuth helper. You might not think that sounds all that special - after all, great helpers are already available - but what makes this one different is that it's automated!

What it does is monitor your progress in the game, and extract relevant information from the pages. The information is stored and analyzed, in order to help you determine who did it, and who didn't.

It's heavily inspired by Evita's JavaScript-based Sleuth Helper, so a special "thank you" goes out there.

The application is made with Delphi 2005, and should run on any machine with Windows NT/98/ME/2K/XP/Vista and Internet Explorer 4 or later. Additionally, source code is included (ZLib license) in case someone wants to port it to another platform and/or language (such as Java).

The program can be downloaded from http://download.birdiesoft.dk/SleuthHelper.exe (330 KB), and a screenshot of the program can be seen at http://download.birdiesoft.dk/sleuth_helper.png.

Please take a look at the help file before using the program (it's very short), so you are familiar with how the program works.

(Disclaimer: The application depends heavily on the current structure of the game pages, and changes to this may break the program. Although the application is designed in such a way that it should fail entirely if something goes wrong, this cannot be guaranteed. Use of this program is entirely at your own risk, and any cases lost because of errors in the program should not be blamed on the program or the author.)

Replies

John Q. Publik
John Q. Publik
Old Shoe

May-27-2007 08:10

Just updated from 1.10 to 1.11. Went to start it up, and got this error message.

SleuthHelper.exe - Entry Point Not Found

The procedure entry point CoInternetIsFeatureEnabled could not be located in the dynamic link library URLMON.DLL.

Pidgeot
Pidgeot

May-27-2007 08:32

That would be the pop-up blocker, though I was certain it was supposed to not complain if it wasn't available (if you don't have IE7 or Windows XP SP2 installed).

I'll fix it ASAP. It should be checking for updates BEFORE it gets to this part, so you should get the update.

Pidgeot
Pidgeot

May-27-2007 08:59

v1.12 is up and fixes the pop-up blocker. Sorry for the problem.

The same URLs apply for those of you that are having trouble.

John Q. Publik
John Q. Publik
Old Shoe

May-27-2007 09:55

did not check for updates before that screen popped up. I did, however, uninstall and re-download the program. Works like a champ now. This really is a great program, Pidgeot. Job well done.

Detective Matteo
Detective Matteo

May-27-2007 23:52

The program crashed with pick locking reporting a no alibi

If i can suggest a modification the Knows column should be filled by ?
And become a NO when the townies say.. X doesn't know anything
and a YES when they say Y thinks to know who committed the murder

Detective Matteo
Detective Matteo

May-27-2007 23:54

I autodownloaded the patch that installed version 1.11 in the Help>About menu i still see version 1.10 is this normal?

Version 1.12 is not yet available for autodownload?

TY

Pidgeot
Pidgeot

May-28-2007 03:19

My mistake - I forgot to update the about box. If you hold your mouse over the actual executable, you should see the real version number, 1.12.

As for lockpicking, it would seem I still don't have no alibi detection working. I'll put up a fix as soon as I think I've got it working, but in the meantime, I believe that alibi is registered on his case file, so you should be able to see it there (optionally restarting the helper to make sure nothing's gone wrong).

I'm planning to make the Knows column work like that, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Piccolo
Piccolo

Jun-8-2007 05:33

Hi Pidgeot. Many, many thanks for all your hard work. The Helper is absolutely fabulous. I appreciate the memo box as well, it's very helpful.

Can I ask you to consider one more alteration please? The memo box - can it hold/remember the info when we quit please. It would be great to keep a bit of info there for when I next open up. Thanks. Piccolo

Pidgeot
Pidgeot

Jun-9-2007 14:53

The thing is that I want the helper to be flexible enough that multiple detectives can play without having to install the client multiple times, and until I make some kind of profile system, that prevents me from saving ANYTHING - if I don't stick to that rule, part of that ability is removed, and I'd really just be adding more trouble for myself when it's time for me to actually make the profile system.

While I realize auto-login might seem like it's doing the entirely opposite, that's not truly the case, as it only takes effect if you actually do something on your own - if you have multiple detectives playing from the same computer, you can simply choose not to use it.

To put it a little differently, I DO intend to save it eventually, but before I can do that, I need to decide on and implement a profile system, and I'm currently trying to figure out how I can make things work as well as possible.

Robbie Rose
Robbie Rose

Jun-9-2007 17:17

when I do favors, and i solve the case, I can't see what the prize is , that is I can't see what it's worth in Toughness or Charm or Smarts.
It's very frustrating. What can I do? Anything?

By the way, it makes the game a lot easier to keep track of what is going on. I've played about a dozen games so far and it's made all the difference at high levels of difficulty.

THANKS!

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