Local Deck Manager & Instant Recommended Decks For FGs

[Tha_Playa_Slaya]

EtG Deck Manager(v1.0.5)    (Github repo.)    (Github release)    (Windows direct download)    (Mac/Linux direct download)

Please upgrade to v1.0.5 if you are using any older version. Many improvements and bug fixes were introduced.

EtG Deck Manager is a local deck manager (everything is stored on your computer) and includes features to compliment the Oracle's daily predictions.
If you are trying to update EtG Deck Manager, see the spoiler "Updating" below.

The first tab of EtG Deck Manager is where you can save, edit and organize all of your decks. Decks are grouped together by Deck Binders. Have as many decks and deck binders as you want. Click "Copy Code" and your deck's import code is saved to your clipboard. "View Deck" shows your deck's picture from dek.im. You can edit your decks' names, import codes, and visual appearances with "Edit Deck". When you are ready to share your experience, export your decks as a forum-ready post.

The next tab, labeled "Oracle", is your one-stop-shop for getting all the information you need in order to defeat your predicted False God. Find your predicted False God in the list or just start typing and let auto-complete take care of the rest. After you click on "Go", EtG Deck Manager searches these forums for precise information on your False God. Once the search is done, you will see the deck that the False God will use. A list of community-recommended decks will also appear that each have a good chance of beating the False God. You can also save custom False God counters in the Custom Deck(s) section. Clicking on any of the recommended decks will copy its import code to your clipboard, so you can paste it in-game.

ATTENTION:
       Thank you for your interest in EtG Deck Manager. If you try it out, I'd love hear back from you; suggestions, comments, bugs, or anything at all. Trust me, if you have something to say, I want to hear it. Post a comment or pm me.

{Nothing in development. No remaining suggestions.}

Spoiler for MAC USERS:

DO NOT USE COMMAND+Q TO CLOSE THE APPLICATION. Any changes made will not be saved!

Please read this guide to learn how to copy and paste deck import codes (and notes) to and from EtGDM.

In order to Copy from an outside source (Elements/Website/Text document...), use Command+C. (like usual)
In order to Paste into EtGDM, user Control+V. (special case)
In order to Copy from EtGDM, use Control+C. (special case)
In order to Paste into an outside source, use Command+V. (like usual)

Also,

In order to Undo an action in EtGDM, use Command+Z. (like usual)
In order to Redo an action in EtGDM, use Command+Y. (like usual)

If you don't want to think about it, just do both (Command+Key and Control+Key) whenever you want to perform an action. That should always work.
Sorry for the inconvenience. Fixing this is on the to-do list.

Spoiler for Why:

       I designed this program to be small, efficient and effective. I wanted something that wouldn't take up much screen space so I could have access to all my decks while playing Elements. Basically, I was tired of using sticky notes to store walls of deck import codes. So EtG Deck Manager happened.
       There were times when I would get burned out on Elements too, but I'd log in to check the Oracle's card (hoping for a nymph) and fight my daily FG. It was quite tedious having to look up what the forums said about the particular FG I was facing. That's when I decided to incorporate a quick way to to see any FG and a few good options for beating him (or her).

Spoiler for Things being added:

• Nothing in development. Suggest something.
• Filter feature to sort deck binders. (rob77dp) Added in v1.0.5
• Export feature for easy forum posting. (rob77dp) Added in v1.0.3
• Ability to save specific (custom) FG counters in oracle tab. (kirbylover314) Added in v1.0.2
• Undo/Redo feature for deck code and deck notes text boxes. (kirbylover314) Added in v1.0.2
• Deck notes to store extra info. (rob77dp) Added in v1.0.1
• More hotkeys. Mnemonics and Accelerators. (rob77dp) Added in v1.0.1

Spoiler for Updating:

When it comes time to update, these are the steps.

• Download and unzip the new version of EtG Deck Manager.
• Simply delete the old version and place the new version in the same spot. (this way, the new version will be able to "see" the data saved in the cfg.json file)
• It is probably a good idea to replace the old README with the new one as well.

Alternatively,

• Download and unzip the new version of EtG Deck Manager.
• Take the cfg.json file out of the old version's folder and place it in the new folder where the new version is.

Spoiler for Updating to v1.0.2:

The first time you attempt to search for False God information, you might get a prompt saying that an error occurred with your save data. This is normal. It's a result of the old version of EtG Deck Manager not having an area to save custom False God counter decks locally. Just click OK. You will be able to save custom FG counter decks from now on and the prompt will not appear again.

Spoiler for Help:

• After downloading, you will need to unzip the file
• Read the README
• Some users must run EtG Deck Manager as an administrator for it to work (I'm seeing what I can do about this; thanks Higurashi)
• Mac users might have to change their security settings to allow non app-store applications to run
• If you are stuck in-application, try the "Help" menu

Spoiler for Thanks/Acknowledgments:

• Special thanks to Elements forum member and administrator, Antiaverage, for developing the extremely helpful dek.im which this program uses for some features.
• Acknowledgment to legendary Elements forum member, Xenocidious, for creating the first Deck Manager for Elements the Game, available here

[kirbylover314]

This looks really nice, and now I have a way to organize my Farming decks, BL and CL decks, and test decks without screwing around in a spreadsheet or wasting time swimming through txt/html files. (Before anyone says about Xeno's deck organizer, I don't use it because once, I couldn't delete a deck, and I got pissed at that one deck, because I went all OCD on it. I kept trying to delete that one deck, gave up, and never looked at Xeno's deck organizer again.)

Would add Pdials along with the "default" Gold/Plat farming decks. Also, when you maximize it, it looks really weird.

Going to start using this to track my decks, and see if anything strange happens.

[Tha_Playa_Slaya]

Thank you for your comment, I hope you enjoy it.

Would add Pdials along with the "default" Gold/Plat farming decks. Also, when you maximize it, it looks really weird.

As for Pdials, I included it in the "Gods" Deck Binder and thought it would be strange to include it twice. Although, new people may not know it is used for both... I might change what the default config includes in a later version.
Would you believe me if I said I've never maximized it  . I pretty much built it around being as small as possible and everything is optimized for the default size: 3 Deck Binders show without incident, up to 5 recommended decks are able to display at once. Did you know Serket is the only FG with 5 recommended decks. I would have made the size nonadjustable but sometimes I liked making the window taller and seeing all the Deck Binders at once.

[rob77dp]

I _really_ like this idea and implementation!

Comments so far:

- Consider adding keyboard shortcuts for common actions like Ctrl+B (New Binder) and Ctrl+D (New Deck, in current/in-focus binder), etc

- The View > Deck Images > "options here" do not seem to affect where the deck image is displayed...

- What about a "Deck Notes" feature that is a pop-up text box that you can type anything into that is visible somehow on selecting a deck or viewing it? (I like to include notes on decks I build on where I got the idea and who had that idea.  Also, having something like a Notes feature is a good place for text-dump if one likes to have more than deck name and code available)

- What about a "Filter" feature?  A dropdown adjacent to the deck list dropdown on each binder for filtering by deck mark or a card-code -- inclusive or exclusive options (i.e. - click second dropdown and pick "Entropy" and "exclude" and the list now hides decks with Entropy mark... pick "Life" "Death" enter "52r" and check "include" "include" "exclude" to filter to decks with Life Mark or Death Mark and without unupped Bone Wall).

I'll continue to modify this list as I get to use the tool more.  So far so good!  (Basically a lot of comments I'll generate are geared toward this being able to function as replacement for the 20+ GDoc spreadsheet files I have built for various purposes and events over the years.)


--Rob

[kirbylover314]

Apparently, using a shortcut gives a different set of deck binders than if you open it from my documents.

Spoiler for Hidden:

The one on the left is when I was about to start importing decks from various places (which I didn't because I was doing other stuff) and came from a shortcut, while the one on the right is the one if I open program from My Documents.

[Chapuz]

Cool Tool.
+ rep.

[Tha_Playa_Slaya]

This is gonna be a big one.

@rob77dp:
- Extra keyboard shortcuts is a great idea, I'll add those or something similar in the next version.
- The "View > Deck Images > options" only affects the Oracle tab. Since hovering over the thumbnail images produce a windowless (unmovable/nonadjustable) image, I gave the user those options to adjust where the full image pops up. I usually stick the window in the top right corner of my screen and specify "Bottom" and "Flush Right" for where I want pop-up images to appear. In contrast, the "View Deck" button creates a window that the user can move wherever they like (and multiple deck image windows can be open for multiple decks for easy comparison). Let me know if my reasoning doesn't make sense.
- I could definitely add a "Deck Notes" button on the right side, I think I have some room there.
- A filter or sort feature isn't out of the question, I just need to think of a creative way to do it in-GUI without bloating the window. Maybe a "Filter" button on the right side that opens a dialog window with the filter options you listed, and once you hit "OK" it re-orders the Deck Binder. Let me know what you think, I'm unsure atm.
Thanks for the feedback, Rob!

@kirbylover314:
I think I can see what happened in that picture. The program saves on exit, so if you open a second one before you close the first, then the second program won't reflect any changes made since editing the first. This also means if you close the first one (it saves to the cfg.json file) and then close the second one (it saves to the cfg.json file as well) only the data in the second one will be saved, or rather, the second one overwrites whatever the first one saved. Anyways, I use a shortcut to open my Deck Manager as well (I keep the folder that contains .exe and cfg.json files off the desktop) and it works fine.

*If you ever feel a need to, you can back up your data by saving a copy of the cfg.json somewhere else; everything is stored there. Although, there isn't really a case where all of your data is at risk besides opening multiples, which only jeopardizes the most recent changes.
Thanks for the corner-case 

@Chapuz:
Thanks, man!

[bripod]

Looks pretty impressive so far... I've dnld'd it but haven't used it yet. (java update) I'll letcha know what I think about it...

I was thinking that if you get really bored you could include a way to import your "decka" info and it would tell a player what cards they are lacking for a specific deck... just a thought.

Anyways, thanks for the upload and the hard work!

[rob77dp]

This is gonna be a big one.

@rob77dp:
- Extra keyboard shortcuts is a great idea, I'll add those or something similar in the next version.
As a person who does a lot of drafting and PC work in his day job, keyboard shortcuts are MUY FRIENDLY!

- The "View > Deck Images > options" only affects the Oracle tab. Since hovering over the thumbnail images produce a windowless (unmovable/nonadjustable) image, I gave the user those options to adjust where the full image pops up. I usually stick the window in the top right corner of my screen and specify "Bottom" and "Flush Right" for where I want pop-up images to appear. In contrast, the "View Deck" button creates a window that the user can move wherever they like (and multiple deck image windows can be open for multiple decks for easy comparison). Let me know if my reasoning doesn't make sense.
Ah ha - it was for a feature/view I had not yet tried out... I may look into the Oracle tab and features at some point and comment with anything that comes to mind.

- I could definitely add a "Deck Notes" button on the right side, I think I have some room there.
How about this for Deck Notes idea/area/placement?

Spoiler for Images:

_OR_

- A filter or sort feature isn't out of the question, I just need to think of a creative way to do it in-GUI without bloating the window. Maybe a "Filter" button on the right side that opens a dialog window with the filter options you listed, and once you hit "OK" it re-orders the Deck Binder. Let me know what you think, I'm unsure atm.
How about these ideas for filtering?

Spoiler for Imags:

Which brings up this...

Thanks for the feedback, Rob!

-snip- kirby and Chap replies from TPS -snip-

Additional comments and ideas, as they occur to me:

- How about an Export feature that generates a forum post code putting decks into some kind of table for posting collections on the forum?  The format of such a table is not really my forte but perhaps others could provide input there... The export button could live among the current "Copy Code" "View Deck" "Edit Deck" "Delete" button grouping.

- ...

[Tha_Playa_Slaya]

Spoiler for bripod:

Looks pretty impressive so far... I've dnld'd it but haven't used it yet. (java update) I'll letcha know what I think about it...

I was thinking that if you get really bored you could include a way to import your "decka" info and it would tell a player what cards they are lacking for a specific deck... just a thought.

Anyways, thanks for the upload and the hard work!

Hi bripod! Some things keeping me from implementing that idea is that I would need to store every card you have in-game, in the program as well. I'd probably throw it into the cfg.json file as a giant String. This isn't necessarily bad, but you would have to constantly update that giant wall of card codes every time you buy/win a card. I think for now, the time it would save (letting you know what you need) is less than the time it would take to keep your card list updated. I will try to think about approaching it differently however, and maybe I'll think of a more efficient way to give some user-feedback on what cards they are lacking.
A good suggestion nonetheless, thanks bripod.
It really seems like a feature that Elements would have by default.

Spoiler for rob77dp:

This is gonna be a big one.

@rob77dp:
- Extra keyboard shortcuts is a great idea, I'll add those or something similar in the next version.
As a person who does a lot of drafting and PC work in his day job, keyboard shortcuts are MUY FRIENDLY!

- The "View > Deck Images > options" only affects the Oracle tab. Since hovering over the thumbnail images produce a windowless (unmovable/nonadjustable) image, I gave the user those options to adjust where the full image pops up. I usually stick the window in the top right corner of my screen and specify "Bottom" and "Flush Right" for where I want pop-up images to appear. In contrast, the "View Deck" button creates a window that the user can move wherever they like (and multiple deck image windows can be open for multiple decks for easy comparison). Let me know if my reasoning doesn't make sense.
Ah ha - it was for a feature/view I had not yet tried out... I may look into the Oracle tab and features at some point and comment with anything that comes to mind.

- I could definitely add a "Deck Notes" button on the right side, I think I have some room there.
How about this for Deck Notes idea/area/placement?

Spoiler for Images:

_OR_

- A filter or sort feature isn't out of the question, I just need to think of a creative way to do it in-GUI without bloating the window. Maybe a "Filter" button on the right side that opens a dialog window with the filter options you listed, and once you hit "OK" it re-orders the Deck Binder. Let me know what you think, I'm unsure atm.
How about these ideas for filtering?

Spoiler for Imags:

Which brings up this...

Thanks for the feedback, Rob!

-snip- kirby and Chap replies from TPS -snip-

Additional comments and ideas, as they occur to me:

- How about an Export feature that generates a forum post code putting decks into some kind of table for posting collections on the forum?  The format of such a table is not really my forte but perhaps others could provide input there... The export button could live among the current "Copy Code" "View Deck" "Edit Deck" "Delete" button grouping.

- ...

@rob
- Keyboard shortcuts are in-place!
- I'll probably end up making the view deck images options affect where the "View Deck" button initially displays its image as well.
- I hadn't thought of displaying deck notes on roll-over/hover. I'll look into it but it's a very neat answer to saving screen space.
- Yup, that filter button looks pretty nice. I'll try working around that. One thing, a filter feature would push me more towards not supporting a custom order (available now by moving decks around with Shft + UP/DOWN Arrow). If the filter is going to be moving decks around on-the-fly, I'd have to keep a copy of the custom order at all times. I'm going to push implementing a filter to the back of the queue and think some more  .
- Exporting would be very easy but let me make sure of what you mean. An export feature that encompasses a particular deck binder or your entire Case (The Case refers to the left side of the Deck Manager: It stores all of your Deck Binders)? Either way (probably both, right?), super easy. I'd just like someone to come up with an agreeable sample post and I'll mirror that. Or if I get done with the updates I'll try my hand.
Anyways, thanks for the illustrations, it made your suggestions a lot clearer and makes designing easier on me  .

[bripod]

yeah, if you check out http://elementscommunity.org/forum/elements-tools/elements-card-tracking-spreadsheet-1-324/
(antiaverage's card tracking SS) you can see how he used the "decka" data from the game to import a players card base.
It's pretty simple actually.

[AD TienzuStorm]

Hmm, looks really good!

One thing though, is it possible to use this on a Mac? I've tried, but it said it couldn't support it.