Ideas for bored programmers

If I was a programmer and I got bored, I'd try to make myself a robot, with intelligence and all.

Fraps in background works best for screenshots as well as quality in my opinion.

I have a couple ideas for useful programs, but I don't have the time to implement them. So if there are any programmers looking for something for useful to make, here are a few things I'd like to see:

1. An APQ blacklist checker. We have an APQ blacklist and go through the trouble of adding people to it, but how many APQ leaders actually check it? This program would run in the background, listening on some key or key combination. The APQ leader would copy a potential party member's name to the clipboard using the option when you right-click someone and press the key or combination that triggers the program. When it gets triggered, it would get the text currently on the Windows clipboard, scan a blacklist file for that name, and play a different sound depending on if the name was found in the blacklist, not found in the blacklist, or some error occurred (like the blacklist file couldn't be opened). This way, the blacklist could be checked without windowed mode or alt-tabbing and without having a browser open. People who lead APQ's would have to regularly update their blacklist file.

2. A screenshot cropper. My buddy list and guild often say rather amusing things that I screenshot and post to the guild forum. The only important part of the screenshot is the chat. Posting the whole screenshot takes up more more space, both in terms of bytes and screen real estate, but it's time-consuming considering how many screenshots I'd have to do that for. What would be nice is a program that integrates with Windows Explorer, so you can select a bunch of screenshot files, right-click, and choose an option that will crop the image so it has only the chat. The original image would be kept in case you still want it.

3. A general-purpose Maple Story calculator with all known formulas and easy access to the most frequently used ones (eg accuracy needed to hit a monster). And open-source please, so it can be updated after the original author no longer cares about it.

APQ blacklist is rather useless due to a lot of reasons. The most obvious is that not a lot of people would let a program run in background, that you need a server for this, that you need a way to add APQ-people in the blacklist.

Screenshot cropper is useless. We have other tools for that.

Number 3 is found many places. I have however yet to see an open source-version, but that shouldn't be too hard to make (The engine, not the GUI-pomegranate)

tl;dr Number 3 is the only thing worth making.

1. A blacklist is nice, but I don't think reading the clipboard would be any convenience. For one, there is no easy way for the program to distinguish between normal chat and APQ character name. Would be easier to just compile an online database.

2. If you have a bunch of screenshots and wants to crop the chat area you can easily do it with photoshop's built-in "Actions".

3. Already done.

1. A blacklist is nice, but I don't think reading the clipboard would be any convenience. For one, there is no easy way for the program to distinguish between normal chat and APQ character name. Would be easier to just compile an online database.

2. If you have a bunch of screenshots and wants to crop the chat area you can easily do it with photoshop's built-in "Actions".

3. Already done.

1. Problem with leaving it as online will create abuse.

I don't like #1. Too much potential for abuse.

If you have a bunch of actual APQ leaders who reference each other for this sort of thing, you get a feel for who is reliable and who isn't. If some random guy parties with his friends and maliciously blacklists a reliable person, the other APQ leaders will probably see something is wrong, where if an established APQ leader blacklists, everyone can see that, and if necessary question the leader about the blacklist choice. My point is, if you implement this thing, I can go and put anyone on the blacklist, with my multiple accounts if necessary. However, with the old system that would lead to me losing credibility in everyone's eyes.

I have a couple ideas for useful programs, but I don't have the time to implement them. So if there are any programmers looking for something for useful to make, here are a few things I'd like to see:

1. An APQ blacklist checker. We have an APQ blacklist and go through the trouble of adding people to it, but how many APQ leaders actually check it? This program would run in the background, listening on some key or key combination. The APQ leader would copy a potential party member's name to the clipboard using the option when you right-click someone and press the key or combination that triggers the program. When it gets triggered, it would get the text currently on the Windows clipboard, scan a blacklist file for that name, and play a different sound depending on if the name was found in the blacklist, not found in the blacklist, or some error occurred (like the blacklist file couldn't be opened). This way, the blacklist could be checked without windowed mode or alt-tabbing and without having a browser open. People who lead APQ's would have to regularly update their blacklist file.

2. A screenshot cropper. My buddy list and guild often say rather amusing things that I screenshot and post to the guild forum. The only important part of the screenshot is the chat. Posting the whole screenshot takes up more more space, both in terms of bytes and screen real estate, but it's time-consuming considering how many screenshots I'd have to do that for. What would be nice is a program that integrates with Windows Explorer, so you can select a bunch of screenshot files, right-click, and choose an option that will crop the image so it has only the chat. The original image would be kept in case you still want it.

3. A general-purpose Maple Story calculator with all known formulas and easy access to the most frequently used ones (eg accuracy needed to hit a monster). And open-source please, so it can be updated after the original author no longer cares about it.

I'd do 1 and maybe 2 myself over winter break, but if I have the time and energy to program, I'll be working on openMSsig.

#1: requires listening to packets or reading memory from the game (zomg hax D. what you can do is make a software not related to maplestory that use a blacklist database that you create and reads it.

#2: pretty easy to make, you print screen and then press a hotkey, the software reads your clipboard and crop it.

#3: exists.

also, i heard many people asking for a hotkey that hides the maplestory window. ill post it here if the mods allow me to. should be really, really easy to make.

I don't see what the problem with #1 is. He never said anything about using the game itself. It just requires just a simple text file with IGNs...you'd have to go get it yourself from somewhere like here, unless you're keen on updating the blacklist yourself.

It also uses the clipboard. When you right-click someone in MS, you have the option of clicking "save name" which saves it on the clipboard. By hitting a hotkey, then the program running compares the saved IGN on the clipboard to each line of the list. If there's a match, it plays a sound indicating there was a match, otherwise it plays a non-match sound.

It's not "third-party" software, in that it modifies the game, as it doesn't even require MS to function. (You can start the program up, copy anything onto the clipboard, and hit the hotkey without MS running, and it'll probably play the sound indicating no matches.)

I don't see what the problem with #1 is. He never said anything about using the game itself. It just requires just a simple text file with IGNs...you'd have to go get it yourself from somewhere like here, unless you're keen on updating the blacklist yourself.

It also uses the clipboard. When you right-click someone in MS, you have the option of clicking "save name" which saves it on the clipboard. By hitting a hotkey, then the program running compares the saved IGN on the clipboard to each line of the list. If there's a match, it plays a sound indicating there was a match, otherwise it plays a non-match sound.

It's not "third-party" software, in that it modifies the game, as it doesn't even require MS to function. (You can start the program up, copy anything onto the clipboard, and hit the hotkey without MS running, and it'll probably play the sound indicating no matches.)

Yeah, of course. However, how many people will actually use this other program every time they maple?

Beats me. If someone finds it useful, awesome, otherwise oh well. It's not particularly a difficult program.

If #1 has the idea of putting it onto a server for public access, you can forget it. That will be horribly abused like mad. A client is more viable. Then again, so is pencil and paper, lol.

idea 1 can be done, but its probably useless. why go through the hassle of creating an outside-of-game blacklist, and then right clicking someone and saving his name, then using the hotkey, when you can just take a quick look at the maple based blacklist.

anybody needs the maple hiding hotkey thing, tho?