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New Sleuth VH Helper
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Adam Carter
Adam Carter
Big Winner

Mar-28-2009 08:58

I have created a VH clue helper in PHP. It will show you who your co-conspirator is from the clues you give. If you don't have all the clues, it will give a list of all possible co-conspirators. It has been tested using the clues found on the DPI agency website, so if it is wrong, so are they ;)

You can find it at www.sleuthvhhelper.co.cc/

If you do find any wrong clues, please PM me the details.

Replies

nicnic
nicnic
Battered Shoe

Apr-6-2009 20:54

How did this move to page 2? Putting it up again in case someone missed it :-)

Lolita Marinez
Lolita Marinez
Sleuth About Town

Apr-16-2009 16:28

Squirrel those clues weren't a secret anyway. Ctown gave them all out in his spreadsheet on DPI's website and I'm sure there are other places I could have found them.

It sure does look a nice program. Exactly the same principle I use on my notepad :)

ctown28
ctown28
Huntsman

Apr-16-2009 16:47

Actually the spreadsheet doesnt give them away, but they are on the the website. I am contemplating taking them down however for reasons that SS has stated. The spreadsheet is just used for tracking purposes

Lolita Marinez
Lolita Marinez
Sleuth About Town

Apr-16-2009 17:13

Well I looked at the spreadsheet and saw all the clues. I even checked the spreadsheet when I was down to 2 same gender townies to see which clue I was looking for to distinguish them from each other. It's not a criticism in any way, I'm just saying that one way or another the clues are out there to be had and it doesn't take too much research to find the answer to any question and have most of the game laid out for you.

I much prefer to do my own research and find things out in game but I also know there are detectives I can ask for help when I'm frustrated or just lazy and some who will just give me the answers straight up and not just hints.

P.S ctown. your hint is still so obscure that I am no closer to finding the next step towards the goal. I have stared at that page and tried reading it in the vertical and decoding and I even did a search and read thru SS clues about Cantaloupe and geese riding elephants high on pumpernickel! Arrggghhh

Joey
Joey "Bulldog" Bane
Washed Up Punter

Apr-20-2009 16:14

Since I seem to be in a 'community mood' tonight and have touched most of the hot threads around, I guess it makes no difference if I poke this one too.

SS, I can understand there can appear a slight shade of frustration from doing a lot of work in acquiring and shaping information and then see everybody taking advantage of the results, and I trully don't want this to sound as lowering the importance of your work, but...as I said in another thread...it's not exactly brain surgery to point a villain when you have enough clues. It's simply a matter of drawing lines on a map and checking the gender of the contacts. The hard part in a VH is solving enough AI cases to get enough clues and do this in a reasonable amount of time. The VH helper and the spread sheets are simply tools to reduce your deduction time by a couple of minutes.

Secret_Squirrel
Secret_Squirrel
Safety Officer

Apr-20-2009 16:55

(sorry Adam here I go again)

Nope. Wrong. Sorry, but wrong!

I'll give the whole game away shall I as I explain myself.

The AVH helper makes you use of ALL the clues, and solves the hunt FOR you!

For Example go to New York
Plug in 'Not the waiter' as your ONLY clue.
'Who ever could it be'.

If you were doing it yourself on a piece of paper your answer should be Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Make etc etc as a process of elimination allowing you to move on to your next clue...

But nope...

One clue, one answer, BUTCHER ... move on.

AND That IS giving the game away on a silver platter.

I'm sorry it's not about the work I've done and people getting that given to them, if anyone somehow thinks this is about 'me' and sour grapes coz I had to do all the hard work they are barking up the wrong tree...

...it's about people experiencing the game the way it was intended to be experienced.

...it's about letting new players solve their own hunts without someone saying 'here's the shortcut newb go for it', and experiencing the satisfaction of a job well done and a job 'complete'.

... of finding out after X amount of hunts, 'hey, Not the Waiter... I could have just solved that one by accusing the butcher!'

The AVH helper doesn't just 'eliminate', it actually solves the hunt for you.

You might as well just say please do X amount AI cases and there will be a reward at the end for you.

[Adam's a clever man. I have nothing but respect for his hard work and intelligence. I just happen not to like this particular thing, who the creator is is irrelevant.]

Adam Carter
Adam Carter
Big Winner

Apr-20-2009 17:10

I knew I wouldn't be able to win everybody over. I was quite surprised SS was the one to complain about it, but I let him have his rant. Its good to let it out sometimes.

For the sake of trying to get some closure for the argument of whether or not this helper is "dumbing down" the game, allow me to explain how it came about.

I made this up as a pet project to practice PHP with. Nobody had yet made a clue helper, and while I knew there were a number of spreadsheets flying around, there wasn't anything that could be labelled a viable 'home/office' solution. So I got to work. I included the NOT clues on the list because they are clues, which just about everyone by now should know will bring your list of people down to 1 or 2. I know when I got my first one I asked everyone in Bar if they had seen one before. Someone was kind enough to point out the answer to me and I was actually glad. Plus, if I hadn't included them someone would have pointed out at some point that it's not accurate enough.

Let's not forget also that its been 3 years since VHs started. Something like this almost ended up alongside the AVL just months after they began, but for some reason it never ended up bearing fruit. 3 years is plenty of time for most people to have come up with systems of their own, and certainly for agency message boards to be littered with theorycraft discussions about patterns. It's not as if I gave away secret #1 hours after it was released, is it?

So, some people will like it, some wont. All I can say is this:

If you are on one of your first Villain Hunts, and you would like to find out the magic yourself, don't use this guide. If you prefer to double-check yourself, or are not inclined to look at the map screen, then this is for you. If you have done loads of VHs and just don't want to have to reach for the notepad full of scribbles you have, then you can use it to. If you object to it in any way, you can't end up on it by accident ;)

I think that should do it :)

Joey
Joey "Bulldog" Bane
Washed Up Punter

Apr-21-2009 00:40

Hmmm…I have to admit that I missed the ‘NOT THE X’ clue functioning. So, by seeing this I have to agree with you, SS: that function of the helper does indeed cut to the chase and solve the hunt.

Considering this, I think Adam should’ve put it in as a possible clue as it is a real one, but should’ve limited the function to just removing that townie from the list of possible conspirators. This would bring the helper back to its ‘helper’ status…well, if there’s not also other inside information contained.

So, SS, now I understand what you mean and I realize I’d feel the same way if I were in your shoes. I also agree that getting the solution of a hunt like that, kinda’ takes all the fun out of it (being still a newbie, I ain’t gonna touch the subject of what should and should not be handed to new players…hehehe).

Adam, please don’t take any of what I said as criticism or anything of the kind and…not even as an advice. Basically the issue about the helper is that it is…too smart :)

Lolita Marinez
Lolita Marinez
Sleuth About Town

Apr-21-2009 17:04

^ What he said.

I'm glad I didn't use it on my VH now. I had the pleasure of resizing my little notepad and moving it around the screen to cut the map and downsizing my list each time I got a new clue. I feel like I solved my own VH :) I did research and see a list of the clues as stated earlier but they are available on countless sites and I don't feel like it was a cheat to look and see what I was waiting on. I still worked the cases and said "Yipee" when I got that final clue that I was waiting on. And as I don't understand the reasoning behind the clue that SS gave, my mind won't let me just take it as a given that if I get that clue I can solve.



Just a note on what Adam said about people saying "It's incomplete" etc. You are the author/creator and are allowed to include or exclude whatever you choose. My answer to that would have been. "If you don't like it, make your own."

Vulkie3
Vulkie3
Haynes

Apr-26-2011 11:04

It's a shame it's down atm... I really enjoyed using this site. Well, back to notepad and pencil then *goes searching for notepad and pencil* xD

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