CubeTutor update - now available on www.cubetutor.com!

[Ben Titmarsh]

I've finally got around to updating Cube Tutor!  It's only a small update but maybe you'll find it useful.  Please note that a lot of this stuff has only been tested in Firefox so I make no guarantees in other browsers yet (this will come if more people start using it).  For those who missed it, here is the old thread explaining what it's about:

https://demonictutor.ning.com/forum/topics/introducing-cubetutor-com

Changes
======

- You can put cards on a watch list
- You can tag cards how you like
- You can mark whether the card is FOIL, NON FOIL, ALTERED or PROMO FOIL (for those like me who care about such things)
- Fixed an issue where the app was leaking database connections (resulting in the exception page on the first load after a long period of inactivity)
- Removed unnecessary side bar from the layout
- Lots of minor UI improvements

Make sure to hit the 'OK' button after making any changes (no proper Ajax just yet).  Unfortunately the column filtering that is in place for Name and Set does not work on the Tags column yet as this column contains text fields and not just blank text.  Once this is done it will make the feature particularly useful.

Coming Next
=========

- A nicer way to upload cards!  The initial upload is a bit labourious with the popup
- Proper onChange ajax request - no more clicking that OK button
- More Analysis

http://cubetutor.playworks.cloudbees.net

[Kieran Symington]

As soon as I work out what's going in my cube I'm definitely going to try the upload feature. Current 'Kieran Cube' highlight - Trenching Steed.

[Simon O'Keeffe]

Trenching Steed - so good I actually had to go and look up what it did again!

Prophecy was a totally weird draft format, and without mana burn, one that probably is even worse now.

[Ben Titmarsh]

I have just fixed deletion so it now no longer redirects!  Also the display of the 'remaining file' when bulk uploading now clears out the unecessary whitespace so hopefully it should be a bit more readable.

Kieran - when you start using it, do make sure to report back any issues or improvement suggestions.  As you can see I've taken on board and fixed most of what Simon has asked for.  I do intend to release it to the wider world at some point so am keen to iron out any issues and make it as useful as I can.

[Kieran Symington]

So I've uploaded my whole cube list onto the site. The text uploading feature definitely has my approval. Here's some random thoughts so far:

- I really want to be able to see  other cubes! The only available ones I have are Ben's cube and my own. It would be nice to be able to see what other people have put on there (though I'm not sure I want people to be able to comment on my cube!)

- Really minor issue, but the card image window only goes down from the card name even when you're at the bottom of the screen (Zulaport Enforcer is almost completely off-screen). Also, it seems to always show one particular version of the card art regardless of which set the actual card is from (e.g. it has the rubbish Visions version of Giant Caterpillar).

- There should definitely be a way to change the set the card is from without having to delete it and put it back in again.

- In the cube list, it would be handy to have a field for card type and a field for subtypes. Then you could see at a glance if it would be worth including cards that care about creature type. This would also let you have a graph for card types in the analysis so you can see if your cube has the right spell to creature ratio. It would also be nice if you could sort the cube list by more than just card name (especially by whether or not the card is on the watch list).

- It would no doubt be an absolute nightmare to implement, but it would be awesome if there was a rating system for cards on Cube Tutor. Then if you were considering a card to put in your cube you could see how other people have found it.

[Thomas David Baker]

Awesome - I used bulk upload and it went perfectly.  Love the "here's what's left" that showed me my comments.

I added my Standard cube I've drafted about five times now.  It's pretty fun.

http://cubetutor.playworks.cloudbees.net/cubeblog/7

[Kieran Symington]

This looks quite good. I did some sample packs (the best feature on Cube Tutor for sure) and had no idea what the best card was in most of them!

As a comparison, here's my cube

http://cubetutor.playworks.cloudbees.net/viewcube/12

Your cube had a pack with Aurelia's Fury vs Olivia Voldaren. Mine has Varchild's Crusader v Thrashing Mudspawn. Sweet.

Thomas David Baker said:

Awesome - I used bulk upload and it went perfectly.  Love the "here's what's left" that showed me my comments.

I added my Standard cube I've drafted about five times now.  It's pretty fun.

http://cubetutor.playworks.cloudbees.net/cubeblog/7

[Ben Titmarsh]

Both of your cubes look great guys!  I like the idea of building a themed cube too. Kieran do you have all of the cards for yours?  We should draft it at the club.  Tom do you plan on keeping this cube up to date as standard rotates?  On the Edit Cube page you can easily see all of the cards of a particular set (although some of those sets may be incorrect in the case of reprints), so you should be able to easily work out which cards to remove and add on rotation.

Making Set editable will be next on the to do list as it is useful for a variety of things.  I have also now got the following on my todo list:

Cube Index
Card Popup doesnt display properly at bottom of screen
Card Popup doesnt display in lightbox
Add Card Type to view cube page

You can currently just stick any number on the end of the "viewcube" url to see a random cube but I think the idea of an index is nice.  As far as rating cards is concerned I think that CubeTutor would need to have a real volume of users to make this worthwhile, so it's not something I will look at yet.

I'm particularly interested to hear what additional graphs or other metrics you would like to see on the Analysis page?

[Kieran Symington]

I don't have all the cards yet, but I'm working on it! Should have it all sorted in a few weeks and ready for a test run.

Once you get the Card Types sorted out, a chart splitting the cards by type would obviously be great.

[Ben Titmarsh]

Kieran I just checked out your Cube Blog.  Plenty of Quag Vampires available here!

https://www.magiccardmarket.eu/Quag_Vampires_Worldwake.c1p22190.prod

[Simon O'Keeffe]

I'm sure I have a ton languishing in a box somewhere. Kieran - If I find them I'll bring you one you Twilight Fanboy!

Ben Titmarsh said:

Kieran I just checked out your Cube Blog.  Plenty of Quag Vampires available here!

https://www.magiccardmarket.eu/Quag_Vampires_Worldwake.c1p22190.prod

[Ben Titmarsh]

He told me that he was "on Team Jedward".  I'm not really sure what that means.

[Thomas David Baker]

I think top missing feature is a full visual spoiler Ben.  I am probably going to start a thread about my Standard cube and I'd link to cubetutor only it's just a list of words.  Not so exciting!

It should probably also be in "cube sort" order which I define in my ruby prog like this:

def cube_sort

  s = ""
  if !self.colorless?
    s += self.monocolored? ? "A" : "B"
    s += self.color.map { |color| Color.from_s(color).sort_order.to_s }.to_s
  else
    s += "C"
  end
  if self.creature?
    s += "A"
  else
    s += "B"
  end
  s += "%09d" % self.converted
  s += self.name
end

That is, by color, then creature/noncreature, then CMC, then name.

Helps to see the curve, whether aggro is viable in a color, that you are missing three drops, that a color has too many spells, etc.