Monster Life Breeding and Play Reference (WIP)

[MENTION=4093]SaptaZapta[/MENTION]: No problem. I was so happy on my new SS. Specially the 2 Prime Ministers I have. Well I got ABSOLUTELY NO LUCK on Spirit of Light + Dunas... Oh well... But I was expected another Speigelframe but I was in shock that I got a NooNoo :3

...

I am not sure what you have asked in the bolded section.

I will consider reapplying the chinchilla or some bold/italics combo. I agree that attention should be drawn to reliable farms, I try to own a few single-typed, high-ranking farms, myself. I think the qualifications for special recognition will be as you state: reliably single-typed, or consistently updated farms.

My only hangup with the chinchilla was the two tiers it creates in these original tables; it just doesn't translate well to the spreadsheet, especially if you want sorting. I think some combination of color, font and boldness on the farm name will draw sufficient attention to farms regardless of their position in the table. I would like the chinchilla to be present, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to get it there.

Send me another request, I didn't get your previous one. I think comments were locked, too.

The bold section is my lack of communication. What I was referring to was not knowing what farm I was on, and didn't realize the farm type was at the bottom. I may suggest another row on top saying what farm you are on(Aliens,Toys,etc.), but you can easily look at the bottom for that. It was just at the time, I was still figuring out how to use it and didn't realize what farm type I was on.

As for the chinchilla or the extra for the reliable farms, perhaps an "*" or the in a column before the farm name could be used. I am not sure how that would affect the overall sorting, and it may be too much trouble, so a bold or something simply may need to be implemented. If you really did want to add the chinchilla, you can "Insert" -> "Image" into a column before the the farm name. Like I said before though, I am not sure how that would work with the sorting.

As for the specials I think another spreadsheet would be best. Like SaptaZapta said, I think that would work, but I would suggest perhaps two rows per monster like this.

Dunas | Farm Name 1 | Farms Name 2 | etc
[empty] | (Number) Expires on | (Number) Expires on | etc

King Rombot | Farm Name 1 | Farms Name 2 | etc
[empty] | (Number) Expires on | (Number) Expires on | etc

It would look better on the spreadsheet but you get the idea. Separation into two spreadsheets may have to be done if it becomes too big. Just my ideas.

It is looking really good so far.

I'm not really used to Google Docs but are we not allowed to sort unless we switch to List view?

Either way it's a lot easier to find exactly what rank and type of monster I'm looking for now.

The bold section is my lack of communication. What I was referring to was not knowing what farm I was on, and didn't realize the farm type was at the bottom. I may suggest another row on top saying what farm you are on(Aliens,Toys,etc.), but you can easily look at the bottom for that. It was just at the time, I was still figuring out how to use it and didn't realize what farm type I was on.

It is looking really good so far.

I think the GoogleDocs spreadsheet is a great idea. Thanks Chilly for all your updates so far!

One thing we might do is at the top of the spread sheet where it currently says "Farm Names" is change it to "Alien Farms" ect, so that the type of farm is listed at the top of the sheet also.

My Moon Bunny Twin is renewed as well, thanks to [MENTION=12830]JackFrostFanatic[/MENTION]; :]

I'm ditching ReneMule, and Preez, again, has 4 A+ Pigs.

Got a Lilynouch today, that expires 8/28.

Except I'm considering releasing my Aufheben, Queen Pepe, and most of my Soldiers if I'm going to try for Twin Moon Bunnies, Crimson Balrog, Pipsqueak Magnus, Pipsqueak Orchid, and Pipsqueak Von Leon. :/

Unless Nexon finally gets around to readding Gems to the Cash Shop, that is.

You're welcome, [MENTION=9114]tecul1[/MENTION] I guess my farm is getting good luck lately. Hehehe. Don't forget to play with my monsters. I would really need some regulars as well. :3

Just for reference around how much did you guys spend going from A+ to S? Trying to upgrade my Shroom but also trying to save enough for a Shinshoo if it ever shows up.

Oh, DragonOnly are all expired.

I've spent well over 1m waru trying to get an S mushroom to no avail.

Just for reference around how much did you guys spend going from A+ to S? Trying to upgrade my Shroom but also trying to save enough for a Shinshoo if it ever shows up.

Oh, DragonOnly are all expired.

I had about a 1 in 20 success rate on S whether the parents were A+ or S ranked (S+S combos are almost all A+ ranks)

My bad about DragonOnly, I'm not paying as much attention to Monster Life this month and I'm not sure what ranks are most useful for infrequently-updated farms. When I set those up there were no pig/plant/dragon farms on the list with more than 1-2 of each.

My current priority is to have an A+ in each of the types I find most useful (Bovine, Mushroom, Slimes/Snails) that doesn't expire until the end of August.


If you are interested in my assistance on the spreadsheet thing (I have some experience with google docs) feel free to poke me about it. I'm gonna set up my own version as a demo to test out some Form options which should make user input easier.

Double posting because I've made substantial progress and want people watching this thread to know there's something new to look at.

First, an update form.

Second, a viewable spreadsheet that updates on its own.

Basically the form lets you quickly enter a farm's monster info, the spreadsheet lets you view the accumulated info. I currently have it protected so only I can edit everything, unfortunately this causes the dumb looking stripes all over it.

The top right cell will let you pick the type of monster to display farm info for - it's a dropdown in Chrome, maybe other browsers - if it's not, just enter a name from the 'Details' spreadsheet.


If someone vandalises it I'll have to think about better ways to protect the form, right now it'll let anyone submit info and immediately list it.

L2 and A3 are the operative 'code' cells; if you want to duplicate this on your own you'll need to figure those out.



It'd be quite easy to paste other data into this or implement this for an existing table, I did it separately cause I wasn't certain it would work (and it does have a bit of a kludge). It'd probably be best to go with non-editable tables, I'm just lazy about copying the code 22 times. Can probably also retarget the form to enter another spreadsheet.

Hopefully the form is close to as easy to use as posting direct to this thread, if you have suggestions to make it more like the way you track farms then let me know.

Second, a viewable spreadsheet that updates on its own.

You might want to change the owner of the spreadsheet to a fake account. Right now it's showing a "last edited by" with your (?) initial and last name.

I like [MENTION=128]Stereo[/MENTION]'s idea. I really like the drop-down menu, it is much cleaner than having 20+ tabs at the bottom. I don't care for the "type" column though, it just makes the table messy, especially for long names like Aliens and Humanoids, Dogs, etc. If we do keep the type it should be after the median expire and last checked. I think there needs to be a last checked/updated so we know when someone with permission has updated it last, or at least a time stamp besides in the submission part.

My concern with an auto update, if I am understanding it correctly, there is way to differentiate between reliable/our farms and other farms that don't get checked every couple of days. Another form on the "update form" can fix this by asking something like, "Is this a farm that is owned by someone who has a Southperry account?" The abuse of the auto update is iffy to me, I personally prefer if a moderator were to update it manually to check to see if all the information submitted is actually correct. We can also then control it, to make sure people are not just adding random monsters they may not have.

Just small concern, but they may not even be relevant.

______

To another point I have fully updated the section for Toys, Undead, and Yeti and Pepe. This update includes up to this post and a check of farms to see if any farms have expired. I just need to know where to put this information.

 Toys

#	Farm Name	SS	S	A+	A	B+	B	C	Median Expire	Last Checked
1	PassingWind	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	8/13	7/30
2	Apus	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	8/4	7/30
3	Legcula	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	8/25	7/30
4	ChaoticCJ	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/17	7/30
5	Xibalba	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	8/9	7/30
6	PhrostPharm	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/13	7/30
7	LexyLand	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/12	7/30
8	Wutdis	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/2	7/30
9	NovaMystical	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/25	7/30
10	CityOnAHill	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/11	7/30
11	Aster	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	8/8	7/30
12	Nausicaa	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/7	7/30
13	Pray	0	0	1	5	1	0	0	8/4	7/30
14	EdenGrove	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	8/27	7/30
15	PixelToys	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	8/25	7/30
16	Ctoy	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	8/25	7/30
17	iliketoy	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	8/25	7/30

 Undead

#	Farm Name	SS	S	A+	A	B+	B	C	Median Expire	Last Checked
1	WaIkingDead	0	1	2	1	0	2	3	8/5	7/30
2	Bear	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	8/1	7/30
3	Turdump	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/9	7/30
4	Weirdoville	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/9	7/30
5	Vulva	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/6	7/30
6	ChaoticCJ	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/29	7/30
7	Aster	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/22	7/30
8	Champa	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	8/8	7/30
9	SnowPrincess	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	8/5	7/30
10	Snowfield	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	8/10	7/30
11	CuteMobTamer	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	8/27	7/30
12	QTPi	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	8/24	7/30
13	Caldrien	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	7/31	7/30
14	Apocalypst	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	8/24	7/30
15	ilikeundead	0	0	0	2	7	0	1	8/25	7/30
16	Apus	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8/6	7/30
17	Blackhill	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	8/19	7/30
18	PixelUndead	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	8/27	7/30
19	LillPrincess	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	8/24	7/30
20	Cundead	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	8/26	7/30

 Yeti and Pepe

#	Farm Name	SS	S	A+	A	B+	B	C	Median Expire	Last Checked
1	Highwind	1							8/13	7/30
2	Vulva		1						8/6	7/30
3	ChaoticCJ		1						8/22	7/30
4	YetiAndPepe			2	5				8/1	7/30
5	WarrenX			1	1				8/26	7/30
6	Smasher			1					8/18	7/30
7	CuteMobTamer			1					8/28	7/30
8	windyfarm				1				8/18	7/30
9	LukMyLife			1	1				8/19	7/30
10	Aster				1				8/11	7/30
11	mistercool					1			8/8	7/30
12	PixelPepes					3	3		8/24	7/30
13	Silesia		1	2	1	2	2	3	8/24	7/30
14	OhYeti							5	8/22	7/30
15	Cyeti							6	8/26	7/30

I will post the undead updates and yeti and pepe updates later or when we decide on a spreadsheet and update it automatically.
Updated Toys, Undead, and Yeti and Pepe have been posted.
Edit: There are a few mistakes, all dates should be 8/X, I will double check later today.

I will update my farm later today, since all my monsters have been renewed(or semi-renewed) and I got a Jack-O-Lantern; also I lost my Master Dummy and King Rombot. Hopefully I will be able to get Spirit of Light next. I just wish those gems were in the Cash Shop again.

[MENTION=4093]SaptaZapta[/MENTION];
Any non-owners who want to sort by other columns can simply make a copy of the spreadsheet. The copy will be saved on their own account with full privileges.

Chilly can also use this method to save a backup copy periodically to use if a user with permissions deletes everything.

[MENTION=5248]Chilly[/MENTION];
I've got a lot of experience with google docs from creating my BM damage calculator. If you need any help implementing ideas give me a shout.

Possible solutions:
1. Individuals updating only their own farms
User permissions can be defined on a per page basis. You can create a page for a specific farm or group of farms that can be edited by the owner and then displayed in the general farm pages. There should be a way to hide these sheets from non-owners as well, but this may clutter things up for you as the owner of everything. It also means a lot of set-up work for you, but I don't know of any other ways of implementing this with sufficient protection from general editing.

2. Special (parents)
There's really only two options for this. Either a separate sheet or separate columns. I definitely favor the former.

3. Indicating trustworthy farms
You can use conditional formatting to change the color of farm names based on the update date. This would make it pretty obvious for users to quickly find accurate information.

4. Backup in case of emergency
Simple save a private copy of the entire spreadsheet periodically (I wish there was a way to automate this).

I like [MENTION=128]Stereo[/MENTION];'s idea. I really like the drop-down menu, it is much cleaner than having 20+ tabs at the bottom. I don't care for the "type" column though, it just makes the table messy, especially for long names like Aliens and Humanoids, Dogs, etc.

Yeah, I didn't realize GoogleDocs was going to have some dumb restrictions on how this stuff works. If I went ahead with filling the rest of the data in, I'd probably use another hidden table or two to tidy that sort of thing up for the leading spreadsheet.

 Gripes

SQL's 'GROUP BY' is the main offender. The syntax to define what you do with each group is sorely lacking; there's no way to tell it to pick the row with the largest value in a particular column, and then to do other operations using that row (eg. ORDER BY the value, to get sorting done during the select).

This is fine now, but once there are more than 50 farms for a given type, it'll cause problems where I can't make it pick the top 50. I guess I can toss in a 'max(update date)' column and order by update date, so that the most recent updates return first.

Ways of representing a range of values is next on the list, it doesn't seem to be possible to say "A1:A & C1:J" in certain places where it'd be useful (eg. when retrieving the result of a query). Instead I have to get all columns A to J, and then manually copy the ones I'm interested in over to the primary table of interest.

The dropdown is mostly laziness on my end, it's problematic in that it propagates the change to anyone viewing the spreadsheet, rather than being an individual view of the results. Might still be nicer to use overall as long as the spreadsheet's not very busy. Of course, it's easy enough to duplicate and lock whichever monster types are popular to view, as long as I write the whole deal into a single sheet. I'll develop it with that in mind, and if it becomes a problem I can just make copies of each type.


Reliable users (as in visiting their farm regularly to update it with the same types)... hmm. It'd definitely be feasible to have a separate sheet listing all their farm names (with room for notes - contact info on SP or whatever) and then query that sheet for each farm on the front page to fill in a reliability column, or to sort the output with those farms on top. It would be easy to make that sheet editable by anyone trusted to make that call.

Some of this stuff is just a matter of replacing the default array fills (note to self: 'NOEXPAND(QUERY())') and changing the behaviour to look nicer using IFs. For example, I like the look of the data better with empty cells instead of 0's, both because it's less to read and less to input. But it's easy enough to wrap it in IF(string0"' ; "" ; string) type logic and be able to accept it either way, which is probably more robust for general usage anyway. And the '--' entries are ugly and behave funny; I'd get rid of those.


I'm implementing some of these things in 'Copy of Information' tab to make sure they actually work; check that out.
[edit] that tab now has some of these features running, seems quite doable. Also found out how to hide columns so it doesn't have a bunch off to the right.

Here is what I was thinking for Specials

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?...sp=sharing

I don't know how to program these spreadsheets so it's effectively just an image, really. (and obviously the data is just a few samples, I haven't actually added morein because the first post is woefully out of date anyway).
Is there a way to fix the first row and first column on the screen, so when scrolling right or down you don't lose sight of them?

The matrix is going to be very sparse, naturally, but I still think it would be better than a sheet per monster or columns/rows of farm names (because those would be messy to delete/clear). Might have the matrix as the main data repository, and a way to generate more concise reports as text.

What do you think?

Is it possible to have an update form that allows multiple submissions at once? Preferably one that allows text submissions so I can copy paste from excel.

I don't feel like clicking for 44 different farms lul

Stereo has a lot more experience working with Google Sheets than I do, as evidenced by her work, her version is probably a better version to work with from here on out. I'd hate to have people, specifically ChaoticCJ, start working on one version only to have everyone adopt another. We should probably decide, I've already indicated what I prefer.

[MENTION=128]Stereo[/MENTION]; I think the "Sorted by Rank" should be the main page. You can also duplicate that page so that your reference will essentially have, what we refer to in Maplestory as, "channels," so that multiple users can work on their farms without interfering with others as they work on theirs.

Oh, maybe not, I didn't realize that it was based on "Information," you'd have to do multiple duplications for channels to work. Of course, I'd simply download a version and update as necessary if this came to fruition so maybe you ought to just tell people to do that.

Farm name - LosAngeles

Amor Spores (7) expires 8/11~8/19

Prime Minister (1) expires 8/12

Zombie Mushmom (1) expires 8/19

Moon Bunny Twin (1) expires 8/20

Timer (1) expires 8/29

Pipsqueak Orchid (1) expires 8/30

Timestamp Farm Name Monster Type SS S A+ A B+ B C Median Expiry Southperry.net name
Calien Aliens and Humanoids 1 5 7/25/2013
Cbird Birds 5 7/25/2013
Cbovine Bovines 5 7/25/2013
Ccanid Canines 6 7/25/2013
Ccat Cats 6 7/25/2013
Cdevil Devilish 6 7/25/2013
Cdragon Dragons 6 7/25/2013
Cfairy Fairies 6 7/25/2013
Cghost Ghosts and Goblins 6 7/25/2013
Cgolem Golems 6 7/25/2013
Cmonkey Monkeys & Bears 6 7/25/2013
Cmushroom Mushrooms 5 7/25/2013
Coddity Oddities 5 7/25/2013
Cpig Pigs 6 7/25/2013
Cplant Plants 6 7/25/2013
Creptile Reptiles 5 7/25/2013
Cslime Slime and Snail 6 7/25/2013
Csoldier Soldier and Sailor 5 7/25/2013
Cspirit Spirit and Sentinel 5 7/25/2013
Ctoy Toys 5 7/25/2013
Cundead Undead 6 7/25/2013
Cyeti Yeti and Pepe 6 7/25/2013

This can be copy pasted directly into Form Responses 1 I guess.