Hello guys,
I was wondering about ID number that identifies players. Don’t know if you had an experience from MtG, where for certain points in the season you can go to the certain events.
If FFG implemented this system would you be pleased or not?
Thanks for your opinion!
Yes please
I would like this sort of thing, but don’t think FFG’s able to set it up yet.
(For one thing, it would need development work on a database that FFG simply doesn’t seem equipped to handle without hiring people and at least a year of dev work. … Source: I’m a Software Engineer.)
They could just use NRDB for that…
That’s possible, but they’d have to buy the site somehow. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but it’s super rare for a large company like FFG to do something like that.
Especially after they already tried that once with cgdb and cgdb is still mega terribad.
They could just use it.
What is it about? Every one having a unique ID and NRDB has an interface to use the IDs like ABR is doing it…
NRDB would need to expose an API to allow a third-party (FFG) to access their User IDs and track them. Which, at that point, since NRDB doesn’t track games/matches or a ‘points’ system, FFG would need to make that. Which, again, would need Developers/Time that they currently don’t appear to have.
They’d need to buy a license or something similar or open themselves to a lawsuit from NRDB for using their database without permission. (Not that NRDB would probably ever try that, but companies exist to avoid lawsuits, so…)
As said https://alwaysberunning.net/ is doing it and I think it would be enough
See Deckbuilder · NetrunnerDB
But yes it involves work for sure. But I also think ABR is a way in this direction
What language u know?
You’re talking about two fan-run not-for-profit websites doing a crossover. A for-profit company can’t just ride on their backs, there are legal ramifications to that.
Basically any Imperative language with Object-Oriented methodology. So the C family of languages,(including Java there) and a bit of Python/Ruby exposure. Procedural languages I’m much fuzzier on.
Yeah, I’m struggling with programming at the college. It’s a new coffie for me
Honestly, if they do player tracking I think it would make more sense for it to be keyed on email address. Email addresses are unique, people don’t forget them, and they makes it easy to connect the player ID to some kind of online account. Player numbers definitely made sense in the 90s, but it isn’t the 90s.
That said, I would definitely be in favour of player tracking and rankings and so on.
Edited to add: I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for this. They don’t even collect data from TOME, so far as I can tell.
I think the best answer is ABR plus encouraging tournament hosts to encourage players to register on there. Jason does this quite a bit in Colorado and it’s very helpful, but he’s an outlier because he’s personally involved in it. The next step might be to have ABR remember who is who and auto-fill results in tournaments for players’ names, but I think players would cry foul at that, because it sounds like an involuntary tracking system.
My apologies for interrupting your dialogue, but I am confused… What are you talking about? o.O
A registration number? 
Why do you need develop a “software” for an “ID number”?
And why would it take 1 year to do so? 
Why would FFG need to buy NRDB, CGDB or ABR? 
For Magic the Gathering, Wizards of the Coast has a system that tracks players’ participation in official events and how well they do. They assign every player an ID number in their system to track them by.
The discussion here is about how FFG might do something similar for Netrunner. They would need to have both software to do the tracking and ID numbers or some equivalent to track players by.
A cross game system ID would be a nice thing for FFG, even just for marketing purpose.
To say nothing of the fact that the last time FFG officially corresponded with NRDB, FFG was telling it to please die.
I would estimate at least one year for the following reasons:
It must be a database that, at the absolute minimum, contains Win/Loss record and Player Identifier (ID number or Email or anything else…). Most likely it would contain more than that, such as Name, and so forth. This database won’t take long to create and isn’t the main source of time required, except that you have to ensure that the hardware it runs on is capable of serving worldwide requests for this data, and any updates to it.
You must create an interface to this database that at bare minimum, allows searching of records, adding/retrieving data (like W/L Record, and new Players), and can handle internet/service outages. Most likely this would take the form of tournament software to assist in running tournaments. Last I knew, FFG’s current strategy for this was an Excel sheet sent to tournament organizers, but it HAS been a very long time since I was up to date on this sort of thing.
In all likeliness, if you were to make the bare minimum, I would expect it to take 6 months between Development, Hardware Procurement, and QA Testing. If you were to add features to it, like being able to run a tournament that it gives you pairings for, I would expect it to take around a year, though potentially as quickly as 8 months.
The problem with these estimations is that they come from my background as a Software Engineer in a company that’s built around delivering Software. FFG is not. They would need to either promote internal IT into Developers (possible, but unlikely) or hire a new Development arm of the company. (super difficult.) This is honestly what will take the most time. Alternately, they could contract out the work, but that also adds in the time to negotiate the contract and so forth.
Developing software at a business level to be used by customers is not a simple undertaking. 