The Super Mafia Spreadsheet (yeah, I suck at names, if someone can come up with a better one then we can change it ), is a template to create spreadsheets, that allow hosts, players, and observers to keep up with the game, and gives them tools to improve their experience. Hosts can easily create the spreadsheet by using web interfaces, as well as manage it when it runs. They can also have all the necessary info easily accessible in said spreadsheet. Players can have that info accessible as well. They will also have automatic votecounts to instantly check, as well as an accurate countdown to the deadline in every cycle.
Each spreadsheet includes features like:
Player list, with the roles and alignments of all flipped players, as well as a link to their filters
General information about the game. For example, what the current cycle it is, who the hosts and cohosts are, as well as having a link to their filters, when is the deadline to the current cycle, as well as a list of possible roles, etc
Info about each cycle, with the players that died, got modkilled, or got lynched. It also includes the deadlines for each cycle, and in day cycles a table of who voted who, along an automatic votecount
The purpose of this spreadsheet is for hosts to update it as the game goes along, so players and observers alike can have the most current info possible. It may also server as a quick game database. For instance, if you want to quickly check info about a specific game (which players it had, who died in which cycle, etc), then you go to that game's spreadsheet and get that info.
Structure:
The structure of the spreadsheet is divided in 5:
Information Tab
General Tab
Players Tab
Day Phase Tab
Night Phase Tab
Information Tab:
The Information Tab has the same info this guide has (in a shorter format). If as a host or player, you forget to do a specific action, and don’t have access to this thread, then you can quickly check the Information Tab and find out what you want to do.
General Tab:
The General Tab has (as its name says), general information about the game.
Link to the game: This panel has the link to the mafia game in question Host: This panel has the username and filter of the host of the game. If you want to PM the host, you can just click his filter, check any post of his, and click the “PM” button Cohosts: This is a list of (up to 5) cohosts for the game. Each cohosts has a username and a filter, the same as the host has. For spreadsheet reasons, the cohost list can only have a maximum amount of cohosts. For now it is 5, which I think is a reasonable amount Endgame Post: This panel will have the link to the endgame post, once the game is over Roles: This is just an informative panel. The host can include the names of the roles and their description. However, it’s not necessary since those will be in the game’s OP, and the roles themselves play no part in the logic of the spreadsheet (as of now) Number of Players: This panel shows the number of players total, the ones that are alive at the current cycle, and the ones that are dead at the current cycle Current Cycle: Shows the current cycle of the game. It is either “Day” or “Night” phase, with the cycle next to it. Game Status: Shows the status of the current game. It can be in pregame, running, or it could end in a town win, a mafia win, a 3rd party win, or a draw. Deadline: Shows the deadline for the current cycle. It is in the timezone the host decides it to be (it’s up to him) Time: Shows the current time. It is in the timezone the host decides it to be (it’s up to him) Time before deadline: It just uses the difference between the “Deadline” and “Time” times, to show how much time is left before the deadline. It shows it in terms of days, and in terms of time. It updates ifself every minute (doesn’t include seconds).
Players Tab:
The Players tab has information about every player in the game.
Username: Shows the username of a player in the game Alignment: Once a player dies, it shows the alignment he has Role: Once a player dies, it shows the role he has Fate: Once a player dies, or the game ends, it shows his fate. If the player died, it tells you in which cycle he died, and in which way he did so. For instance, if it says “Lynched D2”, it means that player was lynched on D2, etc. There are 3 possible death causes (Lynched, Modkilled, Killed). If the player was alive when the game ended, it will state “Endgame” Filter: Shows the filter of that player
Day Phase Tab:
There exists a Day Phase Tab for every day phase in the game. E.g “Day 1”, “Day 2”, etc. This tab has all the information about that day phase.
Nº Players Start of Cycle: It shows the number of players that were alive when the cycle started. This number remains the same no matter who dies in the day phase Nº Players Current: This shows the number of players currently alive in the day phase. This number differs from the above, in the sense that if someone dies in the middle of the day phase, this number is reduced. For example, if a player is modkilled in the middle of the day, this number is reduced by 1 Day Post: Shows the link to the day post in the thread. Deadline: Shows you when is the deadline for this day phase (same as in the General Tab). Time: Shows you the current time (same as in the General Tab). Time Before Deadline: Shows you the amount of days and time before the deadline hits (same as in the General Tab) Lynch: Once the day phase ends, next to this panel will show the name of the player that got lynched, or nothing if there was a NL. Modkills: Shows the players that got modkilled in this day phase Player Deaths: Shows the players that died in this phase for other reasons. These could be: day vig shot, nuke, assassin shot, kingmaker lynch, etc. These player deaths can be instantaneous (like a day vig), or happen right at the deadline (like a nuke). Both appear the same in this panel. Votes: This panel shows the votes and votecount for the current cycle. Username: It shows the name of the player Vote: It shows who that player is voting Votecount: Shows the current votecount, considering the votes in the “Vote” column.
Night Phase Tab:
There exists a Night Phase Tab for every night phase in the game. E.g “Night 1”, “Night 2”, etc. This tab has all the information about that nightphase.
Nº Players Start of Cycle: It shows the number of players that were alive when the cycle started. This number remains the same no matter who dies in the night phase Nº Players Current: This shows the number of players currently alive in the night phase. This number differs from the above, in the sense that if someone dies in the middle of the night phase, this number is reduced. For example, if a player is modkilled in the middle of the night, this number is reduced by 1 Night Post: Shows the link to the night post in the thread. Deadline: Shows you when is the deadline for this night phase (same as in the General Tab). Time: Shows you the current time (same as in the General Tab). Time Before Deadline: Shows you the amount of days and time before the deadline hits (same as in the General Tab) Modkills: Shows the players that got modkilled in this night phase Player Deaths: Shows the players that died in this night phase. Mafia night kills are included, but it can also be any other player death, like a vig shot, etc.
This is a guide showing hosts what they have to do to set up the spreadsheet, and manage it as the game is playing. Note: I’ll be using “Shadowed Mini Mafia: The Reboot” as an example in the following guide.
Here you need to introduce information about the game, so the spreadsheet can be created
Game Name: Name of the game. This will create the title of the spreadsheet, as well as the title it shows in the General Tab Link to the Game: Link to the thread. This will include the link to the game in the General Tab, as well as be the basis to create the filters of the hosts, cohosts and players Host: Username of the host of the game Cohosts: List with the cohosts of the game. Add a new cohost pressing the “Add a Co-host” button, and remove cohosts by pressing the “x” button next to one. You can include at most 5 co-hosts, but if you want you can also include none Players: List with the players of the game. As with cohosts, use the buttons to add or remove players. You must include the exact username of the player (since the filter of him will be created based on it). Also, you have to at least include 1 player.
When you are done, click the “Create” button. If you had an error in the form, a red text will appear above with the info that was wrong. If everything went smoothly, a link “Go to Spreadsheet” will appear at the bottom. Follow this link to go to your newly created spreadsheet
Setting up the Spreadsheet:
Now that the spreadsheet is created, you first need to set some things before being able to start
Setting up the library:
First of all, you need to use the “SuperMafiaSpreadsheet” library. This is the code responsible for creating the menus, automatic votecount, and formatting in the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet alone can’t do that stuff.
To start, you need to go to the Tools -> Script Editor menu in the spreadsheet
You’ll appear in a new web site, with a bunch of stuff going on. First of all, save your script with CTRL+S, and give it any name you want (it doesn’t matter)
Afterwards, you need to open the Resources -> Libraries menu
A window will popup. In the place where it says Find a Library, you need to input this code: M64jWnK3Y8YuXKFuOs8B6ih586WaA0cXN Afterwards, click Select. New info will appear above. This is the SuperMafiaSpreadsheet library, and doing this indicates that you will be using it. In the Version box, check the latest version you can find (right now it is version 66). In the Identifier box, be sure to not touch it, and make sure it says “SuperMafiaSpreadsheet”. In the Development Mode, be sure it says “Off”. After that, click Save
Afterwards, copy this code into the open file you have in front of you (most likely called “Code.gs”):
function onEdit(event){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.whenEdited(); }
function onOpen(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.whenOpened(); }
function menuStartGame(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.menuStartGame(); }
function menuModkill(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.menuModkill(); }
function menuKillPlayer(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.menuKillPlayer(); }
function menuEndDayPhase(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.menuEndDayPhase(); }
function menuEndNightPhase(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.menuEndNightPhase(); }
function menuEndGame(){ SuperMafiaSpreadsheet.menuEndGame(); }
Then hit CTRL+S to save the file, and leave the Script Editor menu. Make sure to refresh the page (hit F5) to make sure all changes are applied.
Setting up the Timezone:
Now it is time to determine what timezone the deadlines will be in. To do so, go to the File -> Spreadsheet Settings menu
In the timezone box, select which timezone you want the game to be in
Make sure you tell the players what timezone it is, or that you write it somewhere. All the dates and times in the spreadsheet will use this timezone from now on. This includes the deadlines, and the current time shown in various tabs/sheets
Sharing the spreadsheet with cohosts and players:
The spreadsheet is now ready to go. However, you need players, observers and cohosts to have access to it now. To do so, first head to the File -> Share menu
Share with cohosts: Cohosts will be able to edit the spreadsheet, and do any action you can do. This means they can end any of the day/night phases, modkill players, edit any cell from the spreadsheet, etc. In the new window that popups, introduce the gmail address of every cohosts into the Invite people box (each address separated by a comma). Make sure it says Can edit at the right, and that the Notify people via email checkbox is active. After that, hit the Send button
Share with players and observers: Players and observers can view every tab of the spreadsheet, but can’t edit any of them. They also can’t access the menus that allow you to manage the game. In the previous window, under Who has access, follow the Change link. In the new window, under Visibility options, make sure Anyone with a link is checked. Also make sure it says “Can view” next to Access
Starting the game:
After all that, the spreadsheet is set. The only thing left is to start the game. When the game actually starts, head to the Game Management -> Start Game menu
A new window will popup. Here you can include the deadline and day post for the next Day 1 cycle. However, these are not obligatory and you can include them at a later date.
Deadline: You can input the deadline for when the Day 1 cycle will end. The deadline is in the following format: MM/DD/YYY hh:mm:ss MM = Month, DD = Days, YYYY = 4 digit year, hh = hours (in 24h fashion), mm = minutes, ss = seconds. For example, a possible deadline would be "3/2/2014 10:00:00" which is March 2nd, 2014, at 10am.
After doing so, the Day 1 tab will be created with all the necessary info.
You can also include any roles you want in the General Tab.
Managing Day Phases:
When a day phase is running, you can input the votes of each player into the dropdown lists below the "Votes" column. This will update the votecount automatically.
Once the day phase is over, you can end it by going to the Game Management -> End Day Phase menu
A new window will popup.
Lynch: Here you will introduce the player that got lynched, and the info about his flip. In the Player dropdown list, select the player that was lynched in the previous day phase (note that you can select “-- None --” if there was no lynch in the previous day phase). In the Alignment dropdown list, select what alignment that player flipped. You can select between “Town”, “Mafia” and “Third Party”. In the Role box, select the role that that player flipped. Modkills: In this list, you can include all players that got modkilled right at the deadline of the previous day phase. Click the Add button to add a player to modkill. A new row will appear, where you can include information similar to the previous “Lynch” category (you have to include the player, his alignment and his role). You can click the “x” delete button next to the modkilled player to delete that row Other Deaths: In this list, you can include all players that died at the end of the day phase for other reasons (for example, nukes). It works the same way as the modkills list from above. Deadline and Day Post: You can include the deadline for the next night phase, and the link to the night post, similar to previous occasions.
Managing Night Phases:
Managing night phases work similarly to day phases. Once a night phase is over, head to the Game Management -> End Night Phase menu
A new window will popup.
Night Kills: In this list, include all players that died in the previous night cycle. The list works in the same way as previous ones (add players with the Add button, etc). Modkills: This list works exactly the same as in day phases. Use it when a player is modkilled right at the deadline Deadline and NightPost: You can include the deadline for the next day phase, and the link to the day post, similar to previous occasions.
Kills and Modkills:
At any cycle and phase, you can instantly modkill a player. To do so, go to the Game Management -> Modkill Player menu
A new window will popup. Like in previous menus, you have to select the player that died, and the alignment and role he flipped.
Also, at any cycle, you can instantly kill a player for other reasons (in-game reasons most likely). These could be an instant day-vig shot, or any other kind of instantaneous death. To do so, go to the Game Management -> Kill Player Menu.
The menu works exactly the same as the Modkill Player one
End the Game:
When the game ends at a certain cycle, you will first have to end that phase (using the methods described above), before ending the game itself. For example, if a game ends after town lynches the last scum, first you will have to end the day phase with the scum lynch, and once in the next night cycle (which would be inexistent in the actual game), and then end the game. To end the game, go to the Game Management -> End Game menu
A new window will popup.
Winner faction: Here you have to indicate which faction won the game. You can choose between “Town”, “Mafia”, “3rd party” (if the winner was Sleeper Cell, or a Serial Killer), or “Draw” if the game ended in a draw somehow. Endgame Post: Here you can post the link to the endgame post (from the game thread) Remaining Players: Here you have to post the roles and alignments of all the players still alive. Once you do, the fate of each player will be “Endgame” in the Player Tab
Dealing with new versions of the Spreadsheet:
At some points, new versions of this spreadsheet will be released. Maybe a bug will be fixed, or a new feature will be added. In the case the host has an ongoing game, when such new version is released, then if appropiate, he can update his spreadsheet to the new version.
In this case, just follow through the steps in Setting up the Library above. Once you arrive at the “Select a Library” step, in the Version column, select the new version (instead of the old one). Then Save, and your spreadsheet will be updated.
Note that there may be times where it’s not appropiate to update an ongoing spreadsheet to a new version. If new features are added to a new version, then doing so may break the spreadsheet. In such cases, either consult me beforehand, or just use the previous version, and only update the version in new spreadsheets you create.
Does this only work for TL Mafia games? In theory no. You can use everything in the spreadsheet for any other forum game of mafia. The thing is that the mechanism of creating filters only currently works for games in TL Mafia. If you are from another forum and create a mafia game, the filter mechanism won’t work, and maybe others won’t either. But ignoring those, yes, you can still create games and manage them.
Can I use the spreadsheet for games that have double lynches? Yes you can. The menu itself didn’t include this option, because I thought better to start small, with normal lynches, for normal games (since double lynches is most likely reserved for heavily themed games, which I doubt would even work with this spreadsheet). However, if you have THAT much need to use double lynches, you can do it like this:
End the day phase normally, and select 1 of the guys that were lynched
When you are done, go to the Players Tab, and kill the other player (select his alignment from the dropdown list, put his role, and put “Lynched DX” in the Fate column)
In the General Tab, reduce the number of players alive in the Number of Players panel
In the Day Phase tab he was lynched, add him to the Lynch row
In the new Night Phase tab, reduce the Nº of Players at Start of Cycle and the Nº of Players Current number by one
After doing so, everything will work as normal from the next Day Phase onwards. This feature may be added later if it’s requested a lot.
Can I use the new Google Sheets? No. I tried testing this with the new Google Sheets ( http://googledrive.blogspot.com/2013/12/newsheets.html ), but I kept having errors when creating the spreadsheets. Dunno, maybe you can make it work, and if you do, great, give me a tip on how it works! However, for now, I’d tell you to not use the new Google Sheets for now if you want to create spreadsheets, or even view them (haven’t thoroughly tested this either).
What is the “app asks for authorization to run” stuff? Nah it’s okay. It just asks you because the app creates and controls spreadsheets and stuff in your behalf, thus needs your permission to do so.
How do I deal with replacements? Hmm. This is something I was kind of stuck when creating the spreadsheet app. I didn’t really find a way to intuitively add it to the spreadsheets. Mostly because the mechanic is a little bit complex, at least compared to other stuff about mafia games. For now, the best bet is to just change the username of the player being replaced, with the guy that is the replacement, in every place. Change him in the Players Tab, and change him in the Day/Night Phase tab he was replaced. Everything should work accordingly from then on. The only thing you won’t have is info about the previous player in the Player Tab (for example the filter of the replaced).
If you have any idea how to add this in a clever and intuitive fashion to the spreadsheets, spread the word man!
Frecuently Asked Questions:
1) As a host, can I include the roles and alignments of players before the game starts? + Show Spoiler +
No, you need to have the alignments and roles of players written down somewhere else. In this spreadsheet, you reveal their roles and alignments as they die. You put the same information in the spreadsheet as you would in the game's thread.
2) Can we see the history of votecounts? Or just the current one? + Show Spoiler +
Yes, you can see the history of votecounts. This feature was added in the 1.1 version. Check the corresponding post for more information
3) I am a player, and want to view the spreadsheet. However, I don't want my account to be shown in the "Online Users" tab! What can I do? + Show Spoiler +
You have 2 options. The first one is to just log out of your Gmail/Google account, and then view the spreadsheet.
However, the best option is to use a private browsing window to view it. Google Chrome: In Google Chrome, you'd just need to go into Incognito mode (CTRL+SHIFT+N). In a new Incognito window, just paste the spreadsheet's link, and you can view it anonymously. Firefox: Similar to Chrome, open a Private Window. Or just follow these steps: http://browsers.about.com/od/firef2/ss/How-To-Activate-Private-Browsing-In-Firefox-20_5.htm
4) Is there a "Reads" or "Thoughts" section, like you had in that spreadsheet from the "Shadowed Game: The Reboot" game? + Show Spoiler +
No. The spreadsheet I made for jaybrundage in that game, was one directed only at him, and that he alone could use, view and edit. The spreadsheet created from the process described above, is single. It is one spreadsheet alone, where every host, cohost and player has access to. I can't add a "Reads/Thoughts" section, because nobody would be able to use it. Only hosts and cohosts can edit said spreadsheet, players can only view. Not only that, but because of the fact that EVERYBODY has access to this spreadsheet, no single player can put his reads or thoughts in it, since everybody else would be able to view it, or edit it themselves.
Don't really know how to add this feature in a future version. I'll try my best to come up with something
5) When I try to confirm an action in the menu of the spreadsheet, or try to open a menu, the spreadsheets gets stuck for a long time. Do I confirm it again, or do something? + Show Spoiler +
This would be some lag from the spreadsheet. Either it is normal internet lag, or for some reason the action is taking too long to be executed in the spreadsheet server. However, it will be executed at some point The best thing to do is to wait. If it gets stuck for too long, then maybe you could try closing the spreadsheet and opening it again. If you are at a menu (for instance the "End Day Phase" one), do not hit the Confirm button again. This will only cause the same action to be executed twice (at some point) in the spreadsheet. This will cause the spreadsheet to have inconsistent data (for example have a player be lynched twice), and it may break the spreadsheet somehow (it's hard to know beforehand, it depends on the action, how much time was spent between the two confirmations, and more variables). So it's safer to just wait, or close the spreadsheet and try again later (if the action hasn't completed by then)
Use this version history to check each new version of the Mafia Spreadsheet. A new version of the spreadsheet can be released to: -Fix bugs -Add new features -Just because
When a new version is released, the host should follow the steps described above in Dealing with new versions of the Spreadsheet. Each version has this info: Version Number: Just the number of the version. For instance, the 1st one is 1.0 Description: A description of the new version Google Script Version: This is the “version” that you have to put in the “Select Library” step when you create a new mafia spreadsheet. Link to Post: This is the link to the post in this very thread where the new version is posted.
Version Number: 1.1 Notes: -Now you can edit the votecount manually, without it automatically updating it (thus ruining your changes). It only updates the votecount when votes are edited, nowhere else. -Removed data validation from the “Number of Players” section in the General Tab. There apparently was a problem with validation in the General Tab when creating a game. -When ending a game, the host can add the scum QT and the obs QT, so they can be seen in the “General” tab Google Script Version: 68 Link to Post:http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/mafia/445046-the-mafia-spreadsheet?page=3#42
If you find any problems, or think any things that should be added to new versions of it, or ways the spreadsheets can be improved, please post in this thread.
If you have any questions about it, not answered in the guides above, ask as well too (and if it's important I may add it to the FAQ section above).
I can't do everything in ever alone, at least not very fast. If this thing gets rolling, I'd appreciate someone else to help perhaps. If you know stuff about Google Spreadsheets, Google App Script, Javascript, etc, and you want to be part of this, then feel free to PM me about it or post it here and we can improve this shit together. Also...knowledge about that stuff above is not necessary either; it's not that hard to learn.
You can PM me about any of this stuff to me directly instead of posting it in the thread as well if you want.
Also, dunno how the procedures will work, but talk with Foolishness to know how stuff will work with these spreadsheets and hosted games, etc.
Now, all we need is buttons for each player to push in order to vote so they don't have to type in video mafia. Then we can move on to virtual reality mafia later.
Happy 4727!!
On March 03 2014 13:23 gonzaw wrote: if someone can come up with a better one then we can change it
On March 03 2014 13:33 Balla24 wrote: Why do you want to modkill me and kill me so bad ((((
Sorry, can't help it. Your face is too killable.
Now I know why you rarely live as town in games.
WAT!
wat indeed.
On March 03 2014 13:37 Chezinu wrote: Now, all we need is buttons for each player to push in order to vote so they don't have to type in video mafia. Then we can move on to virtual reality mafia later.
I developed integration with Oculus Rift as well, but since it hasn't been released yet I had to scrap it
it looks like you never enter alignment or role information until it's time to flip a player, is that correct? and there's no way to keep track of night actions so that only hosts can view them? so that means I'll still need to use another spreadsheet to keep track of all that stuff... basically all the things your spreadsheet doesn't account for (things that players in the game can't know about)
so assuming all the above, what's the purpose of the spreadsheet? i'm getting that it's an easy way for anyone (hosts obs and players) to view all relevant information such as votecounts, flips, and deadlines. but those things are required to be taken care of by hosts in the thread. in-thread vote counts will still be made, the OP will still have to be updated with flips, etc.
sooooo I'm not exactly sure why i'd use the spreadsheet, because everything I enter into the spreadsheet will have to be entered somewhere else, and the spreadsheet can't take the place of the existing spreadsheet I use where I keep track of roles and night actions.
anyways i've already set one up to run along with foundation mafia. I guess that after the game ends i'll try to figure out if any of the players or obsers felt like it was a thing worth having
i'd want to use the spreadsheet, but NOT have to do in thread votecounts or OP flip updates. i would prefer things be this way but i don't know if that's reasonable
i don't know if this is possible but it'd be really cool if I didn't have to use two spreadsheets, if somehow 1 spreadsheet could have a section viewable only by hosts where you can keep track of alignments and actions. is that possible?
On March 03 2014 14:09 thrawn2112 wrote: it looks like you never enter alignment or role information until it's time to flip a player, is that correct? and there's no way to keep track of night actions so that only hosts can view them? so that means I'll still need to use another spreadsheet to keep track of all that stuff... basically all the things your spreadsheet doesn't account for (things that players in the game can't know about)
so assuming all the above, what's the purpose of the spreadsheet? i'm getting that it's an easy way for anyone (hosts obs and players) to view all relevant information such as votecounts, flips, and deadlines. but those things are required to be taken care of by hosts in the thread. in-thread vote counts will still be made, the OP will still have to be updated with flips, etc.
sooooo I'm not exactly sure why i'd use the spreadsheet, because everything I enter into the spreadsheet will have to be entered somewhere else, and the spreadsheet can't take the place of the existing spreadsheet I use where I keep track of roles and night actions.
anyways i've already set one up to run along with foundation mafia. I guess that after the game ends i'll try to figure out if any of the players or obsers felt like it was a thing worth having
I wanted to start slow.
I think that as of now, this will be better for players than for hosts. My first "template" was made for a player in the game, to have all the info structured in a nice place, etc. It was Foo who convinced me to use it "universally" for hosts and the like.
Surely players will greatly benefit of the "remaining time until deadline" and the voting count stuff, and it'd be worth the while just for those.
it looks like you never enter alignment or role information until it's time to flip a player, is that correct? and there's no way to keep track of night actions so that only hosts can view them? so that means I'll still need to use another spreadsheet to keep track of all that stuff... basically all the things your spreadsheet doesn't account for (things that players in the game can't know about)
Yes, you'd have to keep track of players alignments and roles from the get go, as well as night actions, somewhere else.
I want this to be "universal", so those stuff are included in the spreadsheet as well some time in the future.
Right now, hosts AND players can see the same spreadsheet. I.e they can see the same information, the only thing differentiating a host and a player is that the hosts can edit it, while players can't. Introducing the roles and alignments (and night actions) of players in a sheet at the start of the game, would mean EVERYBODY can see it. There would have to be a way so that there exists a sheet ONLY hosts and cohosts can see, but not players or observers. I'm not exactly sure how to do that with the Google stuff. If someone knows we can discuss it. In the future I'll try some stuff I think may work (perhaps).
But this shit took quite some time, and I'm going to have way less free time in the near future, so I can't promise anything. Also...you have to press 2 buttons and add 2 lines of info each time, it's not such a heavy job to update this spreadsheet Or just do like all hosts do and command your cohost to do all the dirty work for you! :D
On March 03 2014 14:14 thrawn2112 wrote: i think what i'm trying to say is
i'd want to use the spreadsheet, but NOT have to do in thread votecounts or OP flip updates. i would prefer things be this way but i don't know if that's reasonable
i don't know if this is possible but it'd be really cool if I didn't have to use two spreadsheets, if somehow 1 spreadsheet could have a section viewable only by hosts where you can keep track of alignments and actions. is that possible?
I don't see why you'd need to post voting counts in the thread anymore though. If Foo and CO are okay with it, you just need to update the spreadsheet with the votes, and everybody can just check it out there.
Same with OP flip counts. That's entirely up to you, and others; dunno how it will work out.
But theoretically, yes, you could just use the spreadsheet for those, and assume every player will have access to it, so you wouldn't bother with votecounts, nor OP updates anymore.
Hell, maybe in the future the whole "Info in the OP" structure could be discarded, and leave everything in the spreadsheet (like the info about roles, and rules, etc).
One problem I can see, is that the spreadsheet is not "annonymous". I.e, if I go check it, then my google account will show up there. So, imagine I'm a lurking scum. I come home, and start checking the thread and the spreadsheet, and my scum QT to see how things are going. Right now, I could say "Hmm, I'll go lurk some more" and never post in the thread. But if my google account shows up in the spreadsheet, every townie in there will see me opening it. Thus, everybody knows I'm active, and I can't hide my lurking anymore.
This is similar to the "Who is online" feature OMGUS has. It doesn't break the games, since they keep playing mafia games there, but it is a significant change from the usual stuff TL does.
Either we live with it, or find a way to overcome it. I'm not too sure how to overcome it using Google stuff, but we could discuss it (maybe have people have dummy accounts to access it, or something I dunno).
EDIT: Anyways...
On March 03 2014 14:09 thrawn2112 wrote: anyways i've already set one up to run along with foundation mafia. I guess that after the game ends i'll try to figure out if any of the players or obsers felt like it was a thing worth having
Cool! Nice to know you didn't encounter problems doing so.
Anyways, yeah, I'm just the dude developing all this shit. You guys decide if it's worth it, or how to use it
i don't think the lurking thing is an issue. if that is a problem for someone they can open a window in private browsing a view it anonymously
But theoretically, yes, you could just use the spreadsheet for those, and assume every player will have access to it, so you wouldn't bother with votecounts, nor OP updates anymore.
Hell, maybe in the future the whole "Info in the OP" structure could be discarded, and leave everything in the spreadsheet (like the info about roles, and rules, etc).
this is what I'm wondering... if i have permission to use the SS in lieu of what you'd normally have to do. the problem with that is that maybe for some reason there's a person who cannot view the spreadsheet? maybe some type of problem with mobile browsing? idk
There've been plenty of games that hinged on the "everybody can read a spreadsheet" idea. Liar Game was one of them. I mean, well, maybe at some time the Google servers crash and people won't be able to see them at that point, but that's unlikely.
I think Google has mobile support for their spreadsheets. The only "downside" is that players would have to bookmark it in their mobile phones as well and open it in another tab... ...but don't they have to do the same with QTs (for example the scum QT)?
yeah i guess at this point i'm just being obstinate.
however it would be nice for foolishness or somebody to endorse the idea of allowing hosts to use the spreadsheet instead of having to do all that other stuff. you know.. something *official* like "thrawn you are no longer required to post vote counts or keep an up to date OP"
Re: votecounts, unless it saves votecounts at various points it's useless. One of the major points about votecounts is that they are snapshots of the game at a particular stage and useful to go back to.
Thanks for putting this together gonzaw! Looks pretty cool.
I think I'd be more likely to use this as a player, assuming those thoughts/reads pages are still there, but I'll have to give it a try from both sides.
I can see how vote counts that are automated using dropdowns could save time, especially in some of the larger games. It would also ensure that you don't accidentally count a player twice. I think you would still have the snapshot, assuming you copy and paste it into the thread periodically, although I suppose you don't have the unvote records wouldn't be there.
I meant to try it out when you posted it in the newbie thread, but then I totally forgot about it until day three XD
On March 03 2014 18:43 marvellosity wrote: No way I'm reading all that.
Re: votecounts, unless it saves votecounts at various points it's useless. One of the major points about votecounts is that they are snapshots of the game at a particular stage and useful to go back to.
The current votecount is useful for....you know....knowing who is getting lynched and shit. Like, wasn't it the Shadowed Mafia game where jay claimed Doctor on D1 because he didn't know if he was getting lynched or not, and he wasn't or something like that? Having an easy to access votecount is important.
But yes, the "history of votecounts" thing is important too. But since this "history" would be updated every time someone unvotes or votes, it would grow large VERY soon. We'd have to figure out how to make this super large history be easily accessible in the spreadsheet, where to put it, etc. Also how exactly you and others would want to use it. Right now, the "historic votecounts" appear in the thread, and you know what posts appear after and before it. If this votecount appeared in the spreadsheet, would you know to what post, or what time in the thread it corresponds to? How would you like to know?
One thing that can be made possible, is to have the host/cohost add the link to the post in the thread (where the vote happened) when he adds a vote or unvote in the spreadsheet. This creates a new snapshot of the votecount, but it includes the post in the thread where it happened. Then this is stored somewhere in the spreadsheet. Now you can see the votecount, know at what time it happened, and check the post that made it possible. But this still has that "cumbersome" problem from above (too many votecounts, may be impossible to check them), and it gives the hosts more problems (instead of using the dropdown list, they'd have to use a menu, go check a guy's post, copy the link, put it in the menu, confirm, etc; this is too slow when the host needs to keep a very updated votecount, for instance when last minute shenannigans happen)
On March 04 2014 00:28 kitaman27 wrote: I think I'd be more likely to use this as a player, assuming those thoughts/reads pages are still there, but I'll have to give it a try from both sides.
The "thoughts/reads" pages would work for single players though. This is a single spreadsheet every player has access too. Don't know how to make it work that way :/
I can see how vote counts that are automated using dropdowns could save time, especially in some of the larger games. It would also ensure that you don't accidentally count a player twice. I think you would still have the snapshot, assuming you copy and paste it into the thread periodically, although I suppose you don't have the unvote records wouldn't be there.
I never really understood the "unvote records" thing. Like, they just look like someone's name crossed out, it doesn't give me much info other than at some random point in the day phase that guy voted him? But it doesn't tell you when he voted him, or the context information about the vote (i.e the actual votecount).
I never paid attention to those. Hell, in fact at some points they were kind of annoying since at times I think someone has lots of votes when skimming, but they just have lots of "unvotes"
On March 03 2014 14:50 thrawn2112 wrote: yeah i guess at this point i'm just being obstinate.
however it would be nice for foolishness or somebody to endorse the idea of allowing hosts to use the spreadsheet instead of having to do all that other stuff. you know.. something *official* like "thrawn you are no longer required to post vote counts or keep an up to date OP"
On March 03 2014 14:26 gonzaw wrote: One problem I can see, is that the spreadsheet is not "annonymous". I.e, if I go check it, then my google account will show up there. So, imagine I'm a lurking scum. I come home, and start checking the thread and the spreadsheet, and my scum QT to see how things are going. Right now, I could say "Hmm, I'll go lurk some more" and never post in the thread. But if my google account shows up in the spreadsheet, every townie in there will see me opening it. Thus, everybody knows I'm active, and I can't hide my lurking anymore.
This is similar to the "Who is online" feature OMGUS has. It doesn't break the games, since they keep playing mafia games there, but it is a significant change from the usual stuff TL does.
Either we live with it, or find a way to overcome it. I'm not too sure how to overcome it using Google stuff, but we could discuss it (maybe have people have dummy accounts to access it, or something I dunno).
On March 03 2014 14:09 thrawn2112 wrote: anyways i've already set one up to run along with foundation mafia. I guess that after the game ends i'll try to figure out if any of the players or obsers felt like it was a thing worth having
Cool! Nice to know you didn't encounter problems doing so.
Anyways, yeah, I'm just the dude developing all this shit. You guys decide if it's worth it, or how to use it
Easy, just like irc. Have it open 24/7 so noone knows wether you're really there or just afk while leaving your PC on.
In the "time before deadline section," there are 2 rows, one called "days" and one called "time." Right now if you look at the time section it says there are about 21 hours left in D1. At first I thought this was an error (there are actually about 45 hours left) until I noticed that in the "days" row it says "1." So I'm assuming that it's meant to mean there is 1 day + 21 hours remaining in the cycle?
At first it was a little confusing because I read "time" as meaning "total time remaing." It's not a glitch or anything, just something that tripped me up a little and maybe could use some clairfication.
If nobody else had this problem then i'm probably just a little slow
@Toad: Yeah, I followed thrawn's advice on how to deal with it. Updated the FAQ section
@thrawn: I don't think I fully understand your problem. But ideally, when you start the Day Phase, it will say "2 Days remaining", then from then on "1 Day remaining, X time remaining". At the 24 hour mark, it will then say "0 Days remaining, X time remaining", etc.
I think it's more clear to talk with days, and use a 24h time cycle, than just put everything in the time, and maybe have stuff like "The time remaining is 56:34:00" which is less clear than "There are 2 days remaining, with remaining time 8:34:00"
So, it seems most of the "problems" stem from the fact that the host/cohosts and players ALWAYS view the same info, and you can't make specific players, host/cohosts, etc, view and edit specific info themselves.
I'm not exactly sure if this problem has a solution (whether clean or dirty). Is someone familiar with Google Spreadsheets and Google App Script enough to know if such a thing could be done? If so please PM me.
On March 04 2014 11:28 gonzaw wrote: So, it seems most of the "problems" stem from the fact that the host/cohosts and players ALWAYS view the same info, and you can't make specific players, host/cohosts, etc, view and edit specific info themselves.
bingo
It's kinda a slippery slope. For example at first I wanted the spreadsheet to contain role information. If I get that I will probably want the spreadsheet to have a perfect knowledge of role/setup mechanics and be able to resolve night actions for me so that I only have to input the actions. Then I would probably want to allow specific players the ability to submit their own actions and votes while keeping their role identiy hidden. Then I'll probably demand a TL forum bot that can take information from the spreadsheet and use it to autmatically post day and night posts.
But the main issue still remains: Forum mafia is "archaic".
Everything is done manually, there are little tools to help, and even less (i.e nonexistent) tools to automate the process. I think this spreadsheet is a step in the right direction.
We can embellish it and add more features to it as time goes by. For instance, we can make the spreadsheet create 1 "master" spreadsheet with all the info only hosts can view (roles, alignments, night and day actions, etc). We can also create 1 spreadsheet per player, so that each player has a spreadsheet with all the info they want. You can include their role and alignment there, a link to their obs qt, one sheet per night/day phase with all the stuff they may need in there (yes, perhaps even the "Reads/Thoughts" section).
That would be my vision for version 2.0 of the spreadsheet. But...it's kind of hard work, so it'll take time and effort and shit (not really literal shit).
It is indeed a "slippery slope", because those are stuff EVERYBODY needs or wants, but it just doesn't exist. If there were actually tools and shit to help hosts and players with their forum mafia games, there would be no "slippery slope", we'd already be at the end of it.
Hell, if places like epicmafia have this kind of stuff, why not forum mafia?
WE CAN DO IT PEOPLE, I HAVE A DREAM, I.....
...okay maybe I'm getting too overexcited. But the point is there, we have to slowly grow and evolve with time. The seeds are already planted.
My main "dream" was doing that "Mafia System" from before (which would have all the stuff you said in there). But that would be a fucking huge project I could not possibly do on my own (with my spare time and motivation). I think this spreadsheet thing is a better place to start
5)When I try to confirm an action in the menu of the spreadsheet, or try to open a menu, the spreadsheets gets stuck for a long time. Do I confirm it again, or do something?
Yes, this would be some lag from the spreadsheet. Either it is normal internet lag, or for some reason the action is taking too long to be executed in the spreadsheet server. Either way, the best thing to do is to wait. If it gets stuck for too long, then maybe you could try closing the spreadsheet and opening it again. If you are at a menu (for instance the "End Day Phase" one), do not hit the Confirm button again. This will only cause the same action to be executed twice (at some point) in the spreadsheet. This will cause the spreadsheet to have inconsistent data (for example have a player be lynched twice), and it may break the spreadsheet somehow (it's hard to know beforehand, it depends on the action, how much time was spent between the two confirmations, and more variables). So it's safer to just wait, or close the spreadsheet and try again later (if the action hasn't completed by then)
How does exactly the "official" votecounts work? You know, with the unvote thingy. When someone voted for someone else at ANY point in the day phase, but is now not currently voting him, you add him with that crossed out thingy? If not, how does it work then?
So I'm trying to implement a new type of voting in the spreadsheet. This voting is done in a "sequential" way. The host puts each vote and each unvote as it happens in the thread. He does so under the Voting History section, which is a new one I created.
Here are the new columns there: Username: The host here chooses the username of the player casting the vote Vote: The host here chooses the username of the player that dude is voting. Alternatively, he can choose "Unvote" if it means the player is unvoting. Votecount ... Here, you get a "snapshot" of the voting count, the moment that vote happened. So if in the line it says "Balla - Unvote", next to it, it shows you the voting count the moment Balla made his unvote. Since I found it impossible to show an entire votecount in a single row, without it being a fucking monster with 1000 foot tall rows, I decided to add each votecount as a "comment". To see the votecount, you just need to hover over the dark cell next to it. Then a popup will appear (like the one shown in the image above), with the votecount in "plain" text.
Yeah, it is ugly. But you can just copy+paste the votecount somewhere else if you want to get a good look at it. The point is that it allows said info to be there without breaking the whole sheet.
Also, because there can be a lot of votes in a single day, there is a new menu entry "Add New Rows To Voting Count" or something like that, which adds 5 more rows to the "Voting History" section.
Oh, also the stuff from the "Votes" section above (each single vote, and the current votecount), are automatically updated too.
Also, to make it easier to copy+paste this votecount into the thread, I added the "Unvote" thing. Since you can't have a strikethrough (e.g test) in the same cell as normal text, I had to add the unvotes next to that "Unvotes (X): " line. It's ugly, and hosts may need some work to add the strikethrough to them before posting them in the thread, but it's a start.
Anyways, what do you guys think about it? I almost have it finished (just have to test it a little more). But tell me if I'm missing some core feature there that you guys may want.
Is there a way to replace a voting thread with your spreadsheet instead so as to avoid host error and whatnot? Enables real time counts and makes people use it more.
Dunno. Google Spreadsheet kind of sucks in the permission area, so dunno if it'd be possible. Either way, not having the votes, either in the thread or in a voting thread, makes it so unless you have the spreadsheet it's impossible to know the voting count.
Anyways, I'm going to test the new voting count feature and other new shiny stuff via the "Create Game" website. Since it might be faulty yet (since I'm going to test it), it's adviced you guys don't create a spreadsheet just yet, and wait for me to finish testing it and releasing version 1.1.
Actually, if you want to create a game, just PM me so I can revert the version to 1.0. After you finish creating the game, I can continue testing.
A new version of the Mafia Spreadsheet has been released, version 1.1. This version is a small, but meaty update for the spreadsheet. It includes a new voting count system that improves the one that was released in 1.0. Some people (marv) were complaining that the voting count would be useless, unless you had a record of every voting count as it happened in the game. In this version the voting count now records all the votecounts that happen with every single vote, so you can always check any votecount that you want. Another new feature, is the ability for the hosts to include the Scum QT and Obs QT once the game ends. Also, I tried to fix a problem that happened when creating a game.
New Votecount system:
This new votecount system, works by keeping a list of all the votes and unvotes every player makes. You can see said list under the "Voting History" section. The votes are counted chronologically from the top to the bottom. I.e, the top votes are the oldest ones, and the bottom votes the most recent. Each vote or unvote, defines a unique votecount for that specific row, which can be seen as a popup.
Let's start by describing each column: Username: This is the username of the player making the vote Vote: This is either "Unvote", or the name of a player. It represents who the player voted (or unvoted) Votecount when the vote/unvote was casted: This seems weird, right? Well, notice those dark cells, right next to the "Vote" column? Each of those cells houses a "hidden" votecount. As the title says, you just have to hover over said cell, and the votecount corresponding to the vote/unvote of that row will appear as a popup. The popup will contain plain text, so you'll have to copy+paste the votecount somewhere else if you want to see it more thoroughly. However, the information is there. Also, the votecount shown in the popups has the exact same format as the ones shown in the main "Votecount" section above.
Aditional info:
Another new thing, is that because the new votecount system records unvotes, the votecount itself also records the unvotes players had. A regular line of the votecount will be like this: [Player who has votes] ([Nº votes]): [List of votes] - Unvotes ([Nº unvotes total]): [List of unvotes]
It works like regular TL Mafia votecounts do
Host Guide:
To handle the new voting system, you simply have to select the Voter from the dropdown list under "Username", and then select the Voted from the dropdown list under "Vote". After that, the votecount is updated automatically. If you find out there are no more space left to add new votes (there are no more free rows left), you have to go to Game Management ->Add New Rows to Voting History, and click it. This will add 10 more rows to the bottom of the screen, so you can add more votes as they come along.
Regarding the scum/obs QT feature, you just have to input the link to said QTs when you go to the End Game window
Anyways, like always, post some feedback when you guys start using it. I'm sure it can be tweaked a little bit to improve it. One area I'm a little concerned with is speed. The more votes you add, the slower it calculates the votecount, since it has to recalculate the whole history of votes from scratch. In some games, it may get very slow. But I'm not sure how much it would impact the game, at least not without experiencing it in action with a real game (for instance, I don't really know how much votes/unvotes will be in total per day phase in any game).
I'd also like to know if hosts feel comfortable adding the votes this way (instead of the old way, where they added them in the section above). If they are not, depending on their feedback and advice we can tweak it.
I'm planning on releasing these "tweaks" and such in the next few releases. However, I'm thinking of making a "big" release (most likely 2.0), where instead of 1 spreadsheet, 2 of them are created. A "master" one where the hosts and cohosts have ALL the info they need, and that's where they work in (via menus, etc). Then the "slave" spreadsheet, which would be exactly the same as the current one. In the "slave" one, players and observers would only be able to read the info of the game as it's posted there by the master spreadsheet. This takes a lot of work though, and I'm short of time these days, so I'm postponing it for later. But at least the very least this should put your hopes up
Yes. In the "Host Guide" from page 1, it gives you the steps you have to do to update the version.
However, know that just updating the version mean that everything you do from NOW ON uses 1.1. It doesn't change stuff you already did.
For example, in 1.1, when you create a game, it creates the Scum QT and Obs QT section in the General Tab automatically. If you update to 1.1 AFTER creating the game, that section WON'T BE CREATED (since it was not created when you created the game in 1.0). In that case, you have to make the ScumQT and ObsQT sections manually (you can create a new spreadsheet and copy it from there, then delete the previous spreadsheet).
This happens equally with previous Day phases. If you change to 1.1 on Night 2, then when you create Day 3, it will have the new votecount system. However, Day 1 and Day 2 won't (since you already created them)
So, after almost 1 month from this release, I'm bumpin this thread (for exposure and stuff). If you have more feedback it'll be appreciated.
Sadly I don't believe I can improve this for a while. Well, I don't see the rush to do it anyways. Maybe on May I could start doing some stuff (the thing is that the new changes are "big", so it's not like I can pull them off on one night)
So I'm trying to use this to host YOSO Mafia. I filled out all the information and finished copy/paste-ing the script. However I can't find for the life of me where the game management tab is to start the game.
OK I'm having problems managing votes. There are 10 rows given to me for voting history and player votes. However in a larger game, how do I save more than 10 votes in the system?
Check Host Guide above. In the "Game Management" menu thingy, there is a button you can press to add more votes to that history
Host Guide:
To handle the new voting system, you simply have to select the Voter from the dropdown list under "Username", and then select the Voted from the dropdown list under "Vote". After that, the votecount is updated automatically. If you find out there are no more space left to add new votes (there are no more free rows left), you have to go to Game Management ->Add New Rows to Voting History, and click it. This will add 10 more rows to the bottom of the screen, so you can add more votes as they come along.
EDIT: Are you using it for You Only Shoot Once Mafia? I don't see it in the OP from that thread.
Ideally yes. The spreadsheet has info about the game as it "plays out", so any player and observer can check it out and see stuff like the current votecount, player filters, etc. As a host, you'd have your "secret" info (player roles, night actions, etc) in a separate place.
Hmm. Go to the 1st post (the Host Guide) and follow this:
At some points, new versions of this spreadsheet will be released. Maybe a bug will be fixed, or a new feature will be added. In the case the host has an ongoing game, when such new version is released, then if appropiate, he can update his spreadsheet to the new version.
In this case, just follow through the steps in Setting up the Library above. Once you arrive at the “Select a Library” step, in the Version column, select the new version (instead of the old one). Then Save, and your spreadsheet will be updated.
Note that there may be times where it’s not appropiate to update an ongoing spreadsheet to a new version. If new features are added to a new version, then doing so may break the spreadsheet. In such cases, either consult me beforehand, or just use the previous version, and only update the version in new spreadsheets you create.
The version you need is the last one which is 68. If you have one that's lesser than that, change it to 68. If you already have the 68 version, hit me back so we can see what other stuff is the problem
So there is a problem people found when trying to add new voting rows. I'll try getting that fixed.
Also, the "new" Google Sheets apparently are the default now (or something). So yeah a lot of stuff gets broken because of that. I'll see if I can get something done.....
Okay, in version 70 there's the fix for the new voting rows problem. For existing spreadsheets, you have to copy and paste the code from the "Information Tab" again (since new code was added there that you need)
Hey gonzaw- I tried re-making a spreadsheet for Order Mafia using version 70. I was re-filling day 1 with votes, and although the voting function now runs without giving me an error, it didn't actually add any new rows ^^ sorry to keep bugging you!
Check the bottom of the sheet. Right now when you create a new Day X sheet it gives you like 1000 rows. The "Add new row" function adds rows to the end (previously there were only 30 or so rows, so you could see them in the sheet). You could delete the excess rows in this case while I try fixing it
Ahh I see! Thanks, I think it is working properly now I'll go through and update it to present later today and then see if anything else comes up, that seems to resolve all current problems though.
Hey gonzaw! So I did add new voting lines, but for some reason it stops auto-updating the votes properly around line 130. At first I thought it happened because I was entering the information too quickly, so I started entering one vote every two minutes or so. But, when I caught the spreadsheet auto-updating the information, it started to skip some players.
I did leave it alone for a while and reloaded but it didn't seem to work.
I have a few guesses at what might be causing this - it seems like the script stopped working when people were voting for justanothertownie and TheKingofTheCats - these players had the longest names. Is it possible that there's some length limit that is causing a problem? I did try using another spreadsheet where I wrote in that someone voted for justanothertownie as the first vote and that worked, though, so the problem could be something else... any ideas?
Voting works pretty good now for me - no idea about the names. Adding more rows doesn't though, it might because for some reason spreadsheet created itself with version 68 not 70. Could you add something for replacements? If you change name manually it works funny ie. person who is replaced both votes and is not voting, people voting for replacement are both voting and not.
Oh one other thing- I noticed that sometimes the filters it generates doesn't seem to work for players with spaces in their names (I had to replace it for Chairman Ray) or underscores (ExO_) - not too important and pretty easy to fix manually, but figured I should mention at least for something for hosts to keep an eye out for
On June 25 2014 14:15 gonzaw wrote: Agghh...sorry guys, you'll have to wait a little bit. World Cup, uni and work don't really go together well with this
Don't worry man, you've never signed up any contracts for that. I am happy to have this tool to help me host games!
On July 01 2014 06:09 Amiko wrote: Oh one other thing- I noticed that sometimes the filters it generates doesn't seem to work for players with spaces in their names (I had to replace it for Chairman Ray) or underscores (ExO_) - not too important and pretty easy to fix manually, but figured I should mention at least for something for hosts to keep an eye out for
It should work for players with any kind of name, even weird stuff like Artanis[Xp] with brackets and stuff. If it doesn't work now, it worked before.
I was giving this a shot again and now for some reason "Game Management" no longer appears in the menu :o
But, it's not too bad to work around it - if you you run the scripts from the 'Script Editor' (select the script to run such as "menuStartGame" to start the game and press the play button to the left of it) it still runs the scripts. So, the scripts work it's just you have to do a roundabout thing to run them.