We've been running TradeWars since the 90's when DOS BBS's were still running. Now we have telnet. I'm curious to find out more about these tradewars "helpers". I assume it is to help keep your game playing a bit more organized than my method, which is to telnet into the game and write everything down. Being new to the helper idea, could someone take time to explain to us if it is a good idea to use these helpers? Some of our clients are also curious.

Thanks for the time.

quote:Originally posted by GateKeeper

We've been running TradeWars since the 90's when DOS BBS's were still running. Now we have telnet. I'm curious to find out more about these tradewars "helpers". I assume it is to help keep your game playing a bit more organized than my method, which is to telnet into the game and write everything down. Being new to the helper idea, could someone take time to explain to us if it is a good idea to use these helpers? Some of our clients are also curious.

Thanks for the time.

Helpers basically do two things. They help keep track of game data for you and they help you do certain tasks. The majority of helper features hinge around doing repative tasks for you. For example, instead of coloing by hand for 400 turns, the helper will send the commands for you while you watch what it's doing. Helpers will also allow you to do things that you couldn't do fast enough by hand. For example, warping planet next to a fig hit and photoning the person. Perhaps you should check out http://www.twxproxy.com and http://www.swath.net. Those are two of the most popular and can give you a pretty good idea of what helpers are and what they do.

Just a note to add some information to kempers reply. There are numerous helpers available now to aid players in games all of which have their own unique designs, pros, and cons. However all helpers are not created equal. Some of the helpers are designed to be a little more flexible than others. Some come with their own scripting languages added so that you may write your own customs scripts and macros for your own personal needs as the situation warrants. Examples would be swath, attac, j-twat etc. Twxproxy acts as a go between server for your helper, telnet app, and the tradewars server and also has scripts to compliment most any kind of playing style. Zoc is not an actual tradewars helper but has evolved as one of the more popular telnet apps where you can either d/l numerous scripts from various tw sites or write your own scripts. One of the most popular setups is using ZOC through the twxproxy server and can make a very deadly combination. I prefer ZOC because of its easily definable macro buttons, automacro buttons, and Fkey button designations to make an almost endless array of macro combinations for on the fly editing either for combat or repetitive needs where a prewritten script may not quite fit the need.

The best advice for your clients would be to try all the different helpers and pick the one that best fits their playing style and needs. Some players might actually prefer to use different helpers for different applications. Some may like swaths graphical map but prefer to use attac for the script designs so forth so on. All the helpers I’ve seen usually have a trial period where you may use it for 30 days or so then purchase a license to unlock all the extended features. J-twat is one that is a open source free application you can use and learn how to modify to fit your own needs.

Also have your clients ask specific questions in any forum eis for example and I’m sure other players will be happy to report their personal reviews of the different helpers and their functionality.

Long winded but hope it helps

shagnasti

Thank you both for the time and insight. We're trying to keep up with the changes in the software abilities, and I really appreciate the help. I will look at the links you've supplied us and tell my clients to check out the forums here as well.

My hat's off to you both.

I agree with the both of those two (Kemper and shagnasti) I use Swath/Zoc& Twx... Swath is a excellent mapper, Zoc is great with macro's and TWX is the heart and Speed of the three. The thing i have over most is i use Dual monitor's so i have all three going at once for one game.

If you're new or returning to the game, try SWATH first, since it's probably the easiest to use. Once you get a little more experienced, you will probably want to add TWX Proxy, which you run as a frontend to SWATH.

quote:Originally posted by midnight

If you're new or returning to the game, try SWATH first, since it's probably the easiest to use. Once you get a little more experienced, you will probably want to add TWX Proxy, which you run as a frontend to SWATH.


Well, we've had this game running for a year now from the BBS, and I never heard of helpers until I joined the forums. We kept everything written down on paper (sectors, ports, etc). I've taken a look at SWATH and also downloaded TWX Proxy. Work pretty good. New concept for us to use, but good. Thank you all for the help.