Board Game Arena - User contributions [en]

Game art: img directory

2024-02-22T13:09:31Z

Archduke: /* Game art */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

__TOC__

== Metadata images ==

Game metadata images are images of game box, banner, title, etc. These images are no longer stored in project directory.

Metadata images are managed through the [[Game_metadata_manager|Game Metadata Manager]]. After you go there select the link to the game you want to upload images for.

== Game art ==

You must upload in img directory all images of your game interface.

=== Images naming constraints ===

To be correctly deployed your images file names should not contain spaces or parentheses.

=== Images loading ===

'''Be careful''': by default, ALL images of your img directory are loaded on a player's browser when he loads the game. For this reason, don't let in your img directory images that are not useful, otherwise it's going to slowdown the game load.

Note that you can tune the way images are loaded with Javascript method "dontPreloadImage" (see [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js|Game Interface Logic]]).

General recommendation it to have no more than dozen of image files, 2Mb max each. However if there is heavy game resources specific to a player (i.e. player board of specific color or set of cards) it is better to separate them and "don't pre-load" since in any given game only some of them will be used.

=== Images format ===

You can use these image formats while building your game interface:
;jpg images

should be used for non-transparent images. Jpg are usually lighter than pngs, so please choose Jpg for big pictures (ex: game board, cards) when you don't need transparency to accelerate game load. You don't need transparency for rounded card corners, it can be done using css.

;png images

should be used for images with transparency, such as non-square tokens, meeples, etc (combined into sprite).

;gif images

can be used for animated images. This is not recommended to use gif animated images as they can upset players, but for some specific interface element this could be useful.

;svg images

svg images can be really efficient for icons or abstract images. Note: consider also using font awesome for icons instead of separate asset file.

=== Webp ===
png and jpg images are automatically converted to webp during deployment. Webp's are lighter weight.

When requesting a png/jpg file, many modern browsers will specify a preference for webp in their Accept header, and our CDN will comply with this request serving the converted webp image instead of the original png you uploaded. You can confirm which format your browser requests by checking request and response headers for the image in the network tab of your browser's developer tools.

In rare cases, this can cause a problem because the conversion is lossy.

If and only if this does cause a problem, then you can capitalise the first letter of your image's extension, <code>.Png</code> or <code>.Jpg</code>, and reference <code>image.Png</code> instead of <code>image.png</code> in the CSS. This will bypass the webp conversion and ensure you use the original image. This should not be done unless it is required.

=== Use background-size ===

In order to allow for players to use the browser zoom without your images becoming pixelated, it's recommended to use higher resolution images than needed for the normal display of your interface, and to use the css property '''background-size''' to fit the image to the size you need for your interface.

=== Use CSS Sprites ===

To limit the number of images load and make the game load faster, you must use CSS sprites, i.e. you must gather several images in a single one. However, there are limitations. Do not make any CSS image sprite with dimensions that exceed 4096x4096 pixels or it will not work on mobile devices (Android max texture size is 4096 pixels, test your own browser at [http://webglreport.com/ WebGL Report]).

To learn more on CSS Sprites:
* [http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_image_sprites.asp CSS sprites (W3C documentation)].
* [[Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css]]

'''Important:''' the maximum image size should be 4096x4096 (otherwise, some devices may not display parts of the image, see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/34682482/what-is-the-maximum-sprite-sheet-size-i-can-use-for-android-devices)

Tools:
* Sprite Generator https://www.toptal.com/developers/css/sprite-generator/

=== Shrink images ===

If you get high resolution images from publisher you need to shrink them since web display requires much lower resolution than printing.

* Shrink images size without visible loss of quality
** Offline tool for PNG: https://pngquant.org/
** Online tools for PNG/JPG: https://tinypng.com/ or http://www.iloveimg.com/ or https://squoosh.app/
** Online tool for SVG: https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/

== Image Manipulation Tools ==

You have no choice but to use one of the image manipulating tools to create a successful game adaptation, you would have to
deal with
* Converting to supported formats
* Adding transparency
* Stitching
* Shrinking with no quality loss
* Resizing

For that you need a good tools, recommended tools (if you know more add them here)
* Gimp (all platforms) - general GUI image editor
* Paint.net (Windows) - general GUI image editor
* ImageMagic (All platforms) - https://www.imagemagick.org/script/download.php - command line image editor, great for mass manipulations and scripting

=== Examples ===

PDF to png convertion (linux)
gs -sDEVICE=pngalpha -o output.png -r600 -dDownScaleFactor=3 input.pdf

PDF to jpg using image magic and cropping page
montage -colorspace sRGB -density 300 -geometry 452x+0+0 -tile 5 -crop 82x87%+130+126 input.pdf output.jpg

PSD Extraction (image magic - CMYK to sRBG - one layer per file)
for i in *.psd; do convert $i -profile /usr/share/color/icc/colord/sRGB.icc `basename $i .psd`.png; done;

Tiling - The order of the images will match the 'ls' order. If needed change the filenames if you need a specific order.

montage -colorspace sRGB -density 300 *.png -tile 6 -background transparent ../tokens.png

PDF scrabber (linux) - extract all graphics file from pdf
pdfimages my.pdf prefix-

=== Online tools ===

PSD extraction (adobe file format)

https://www.photopea.com/

Seamless background (for tiled background wallpaper)

https://www.imgonline.com.ua/eng/make-seamless-texture.php

Download game assets from tabletop simulator

https://www.npmjs.com/package/ttsbackup

[[Category:Studio]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2024-02-21T10:13:17Z

Archduke: /* Migration */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In <code>gameoptions.json</code>, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants).

In <code>gamepreferences.json</code>, you can define user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify these files.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after edits to these files, you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for player count, which is automatically handled). For example, whether to include ''The River'' in Carcassonne.
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, whether or not to prompt for action, whether or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in <code>gameoptions.json</code> as an object:

{
"100": { ... },
"101": { ... }
}

Each key corresponds to the option id, and each value is that option's definition, which is defined below.

'''Note:''' the file must be valid [https://www.json.org/ JSON]. That is, trailing commas and comments are not allowed.

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the values of the option definition object:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (an array of values is not supported here)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
**0 = Normal
**1 = Training
**2 = Arena
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile
**[0, 1, 2] - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php)
**values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21)
**Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

'''Example:'''
<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "my game option",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "option 1"
},
"2": {
"name": "option 2",
"tmdisplay": "option 2"
},
"3": {
"name": "option 3",
"beta": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"default": 1
},
"101": {
"name": "Draft variant",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "No draft"
},
"2": {
"name": "Draft",
"tmdisplay": "Draft",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 2, 3, 4 ]
},
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"startcondition": {
"1": [],
"2": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 3,
"message": "Draft option is available for 3 players maximum."
}
]
}
},
"102": {
"name": "Takeovers",
"values": {
"2": {
"name": "No takeover"
},
"1": {
"name": "Allow takeovers",
"tmdisplay": "Takeovers",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 3, 4 ]
}
],
"startcondition": {
"2": [],
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only."
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

'''Example of option that condition on ELO off:'''
{
"100": {
"name": "Learning Game (No Research)",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"tmdisplay": ""
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Learning Game"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Learning variant available only with ELO off"
}
}
'''Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode:'''
<pre>
"displaycondition": [
{ "type": "otheroption", "id": 200, "value": [0, 1, 2] }
],
</pre>

'''Example of using condition on your own option:'''
<pre>
{
"102": {
"name": "Scenarios",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"nobeginner": false
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Scenarios",
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroptionisnot",
"id": 100,
"value": 2
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen"
}
}

</pre>

'''Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:'''<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Board setup",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Mirror setup",
"description": "The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.",
"tmdisplay": "Mirror setup"
},
"2": {
"name": "Random setup",
"description": "Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.",
"tmdisplay": "Random setup"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "minplayers",
"value": [
2,
3,
4
]
}
]
},
"102": {
"name": "Solo difficulty",
"values": [
{
"name": "Banan-apprentice",
"description": "Do not remove any seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Banan-apprentice"
},
{
"name": "Pear to the Throne",
"description": "Remove 1 seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Pear to the Throne"
}
],
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 1
}
]
}
}

</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"startcondition": {
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "This option is available for 2 players only.",
"gamestartonly": true
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"level": "major"
}
}
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)
* the naming of major variant values should be concise and the values should have descriptive text (not just "enabled" or "disabled")
** 👍 Option name "Expansion", option values "Base game", "Bigger is Better" => Displayed as ''"Expansion: Base game"'' or ''"Expansion: Bigger is Better"''
** 👎 Option name "Bigger is Better", option values "Enabled", "Disabled => Displayed as ''"Bigger is Better: Enabled"'' or ''"Bigger is Better: Disabled"''

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Colorblind Support",
"needReload": true,
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "None",
"cssPref": "colorblind_off"
},
"2": {
"name": "Numbers",
"cssPref": "colorblind_on"
},
"3": {
"name": "Shapes",
"cssPref": "colorblind_shapes"
}
},
"default": 1
}
}
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

== Translations ==
Note that any name or description values in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in <code>totranslate()</code> calls.

== Migration ==
Previously, options and preferences were specified in a single <code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> file.

BGA has switched to a JSON format to make parsing easier on the server-side, and to avoid a reliance on PHP for static config.

The PHP format will continue to work for ''existing'' games, and although preferred, there is no need to migrate unless you want to. However, newly created games must use the new format.

'''Note''': once a game has been committed with a <code>gameoptions.json</code> file, however, it is not possible to go back without admin intervention.

If you want to migrate, then:

* Remove all calls to <code>totranslate()</code>, and replace with the plain string
* Remove any references to BGA's PHP constants, such as GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE, and replace with the plain value (in this case, 201)
* You can populate <code>gameinfos.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_options, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* You can populate <code>gamepreferences.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_preferences, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* If you include gameoptions.inc.php directly, to read the values, then replace those calls with <code>$this->getTableOptions()</code> or <code>$this->getTablePreferences()</code> as appropriate which return arrays parsed from the JSON files
This message was posted to the developer Discord channel:<blockquote>'''Game options change (Optional!)'''

<code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> is now considered legacy, and <code>gameoptions.json</code> and <code>gamepreferences.json</code> are recommended for new projects:

* The wiki and the template project have been updated: [[/en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json|https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.json,_gamepreferences.json]]
* Any questions/problems can come to me, or can be asked here.
* The format of the json files matches the format of the old php files

We realise there are some drawbacks (sorry!):

* No comments in the JSON file, meaning you have to check the wiki for examples
* No PHP constants in the JSON file, meaning magic numbers

However, we hope it's good for BGA because:

* Simpler to parse (for robots and humans)
* Easier to check for errors (we could perhaps use an XSLT one day)
* No need to run game-specific PHP code on the metasite

'''NOTE''': Switching is totally optional, and the legacy files will still work for existing projects, and for those who know about them. </blockquote>
[[Category:Studio]]

Tutorials checklist

2024-02-20T09:24:03Z

Archduke:

In order to allow for a full-fledged tutorial to be built for the game you have adapted on BGA studio:
# the game replay archive generated for the game must be valid (you should be able to run the replay from start to finish without errors using the "Replay game" function on a finished table)
# each action of the replay should be replayable by triggering it manually (i.e. by reproducing the exact same sequence as done played originally during the game
# each element of the game interface should be available for attaching a comment or a highlight component on it.

You can read more about building tutorials in practice here: https://boardgamearena.com/tutorialfaq

If a player trying to create a tutorial reports you an issue about 1) or 2), the most likely reasons for the issue are:
* that you have triggered this.ajaxcall() programmatically in a notification handling function or a callback instead of only on a user interface action.
* or (for 2) ), that there are several way to trigger the next action with different URL/arguments. You should make sure that the same game actions are triggered with the same "ajaxcall" whatever the UX path used.

If a player trying to create a tutorial reports you an issue about 3):
* you might have some overlapping elements preventing to access the "div" tag of an important interface element to attach tutorial content to it.
* you might have some missing "ID" on elements of the interface, preventing the tutorial author to attach elements to them.

== Publishing Tutorials ==
Tutorials, in general, are only published if they satisfy these conditions:

* They have an average rating of 4.2 or higher
* They have been rated at least 10 times (for moving to BETA)
* They have been rated at least 100 times (for moving to LIVE)

If a tutorial should be published, but does not meet these requirements, the help of a BGA admin is required.

== Tutorial Game release override ==

In case someone already wrote a tutorial that did not work well because something small must be changed in the game adaptation code, it may be possible to make the existing tutorial works with a newer version of the game adaptation.

Example:
* You wrote 90% of a tutorial for game Carcassonne, based on a game replay which is using BGA version V1.
* Because of a problem in the game adaptation, you cannot write the remaining 10%.
* The developer of the Carcassonne adaptation fixes the issue in a new version of Carcassonne for BGA: version V2.
* You will have to rewrite the entire tutorial using a replay based on a game played with this new version V2.
* HOWEVER, using Tutorial game release override, you can ask a BGA admin to switch your tutorial to the newer version of the game.

Important: This can only works if the game release updates are limited. To be more specific: the new version must be compatible with the moves notifications sent by the previous version. For example, if on the new version you expect on Client side a new parameter in a move notification, the version override will just break the replay and make your tutorial unplayable.

As a tutorial author, if you want to do this switch, please write an email to studio(at)boardgamearena.com specifying:
* The tutorial ID (you must be the tutorial author or the game adaptation developer)
* The game version that the tutorial should use
* "Tutorial game release override" as email subject

Game metadata manager

2024-02-15T08:47:35Z

Archduke: /* Artist(s) and Designer(s) */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".
__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: https://boxshot.com/3d-box/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* max 2MB
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* max 2MB
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* max 2MB
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

Please consider that for the '''Awarded game''' tag (Win a prestigious award), the game must have been at the '''first''' place of one the [http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Gaming_Industry_Awards# following major awards list].

== Metadata ==
Some text metadata is also managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] . After release, the metadata is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all metadata changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

====== Artist(s) and Designer(s) ======
The artists and designers of the game. These should be comma-separated lists in the case there is more than one.

====== Publication year ======
The year of first publication of the game. (Can be negative to represent BC.)

====== Game page warning ======
If a specific warning is needed on the game page (to discuss and validate with admins) it can be displayed from the game infos. For example for Texas Hold'em:
There is no real money involved on BGA: this game has the mechanism of Poker but is using points instead of real money.

====== Description ======
Short game presentation text that will appear on the game description page, structured as an array of paragraphs.

Each paragraph should not contain html (plain text without formatting). A good length for this text is between 100 and 150 words (about 6 to 9 lines on a standard display.)
This wonderful game is about geometric shapes!

It was awarded best triangle game of the year in 2005 and nominated for the Spiel des Jahres.

== Migration ==

Metadata images used to be served from the [[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of the image files prefixed with <code>game_</code> are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

Text metadata used to be managed by changing values in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any of the deprecated fields specified in this file are now ignored, and you will be warned about them when using the "Reload game informations" button.

== Access Permissions ==

Currently, the GMM is available to developers and maintainers.

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher) be managed her

[[Category:Studio]]

Game metadata manager

2024-02-15T08:39:06Z

Archduke: /* Metadata */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".
__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: https://boxshot.com/3d-box/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* max 2MB
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* max 2MB
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* max 2MB
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

Please consider that for the '''Awarded game''' tag (Win a prestigious award), the game must have been at the '''first''' place of one the [http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Gaming_Industry_Awards# following major awards list].

== Metadata ==
Some text metadata is also managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] . After release, the metadata is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all metadata changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

====== Artist(s) and Designer(s) ======
The artists and designers of the game. These should be comma-separated lists in there case there is more than one.

====== Publication year ======
The year of first publication of the game. (Can be negative to represent BC.)

====== Game page warning ======
If a specific warning is needed on the game page (to discuss and validate with admins) it can be displayed from the game infos. For example for Texas Hold'em:
There is no real money involved on BGA: this game has the mechanism of Poker but is using points instead of real money.

====== Description ======
Short game presentation text that will appear on the game description page, structured as an array of paragraphs.

Each paragraph should not contain html (plain text without formatting). A good length for this text is between 100 and 150 words (about 6 to 9 lines on a standard display.)
This wonderful game is about geometric shapes!

It was awarded best triangle game of the year in 2005 and nominated for the Spiel des Jahres.

== Migration ==

Metadata images used to be served from the [[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of the image files prefixed with <code>game_</code> are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

Text metadata used to be managed by changing values in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any of the deprecated fields specified in this file are now ignored, and you will be warned about them when using the "Reload game informations" button.

== Access Permissions ==

Currently, the GMM is available to developers and maintainers.

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher) be managed her

[[Category:Studio]]

Game meta-information: gameinfos.jsonc

2024-02-14T08:45:13Z

Archduke: /* Publisher/Designer fields */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

__TOC__

== Overview ==

From this file, you can edit the various meta-information of your game.

After modifying the file, don't forget to click on "Reload game informations" from the Control Panel so that the changes can be taken into account.

Note: if you break gameinfos and cannot load the management page, then reload using the direct URL: https://studio.boardgamearena.com/admin/studio/reloadGameInfos.html?game= (with your game name at the end of url).

Most of the information provided in this file is self-explanatory.

See sections below for specific cases.

==Publisher==

These fields should match the publisher of the game. In the case of a public domain name, they should be left empty (empty string)

==Beta==

You are not allowed to set the "'''is_beta'''" to 0 before the game has been released on BGA and stabilized.

==Time Profiles==
'''fast/medium/slow_additional_time''': please set high values here: after the game has been released, we will lower these values to match the real game duration.

==Number of players==

'''players'''
'players' => array( 3, 4, 6 ),

*during the first step of development of a game, it is recommended to have a "1 player" configuration: it is much easier to start/stop a game this way, as you don't need to switch players.
*if you change the minimum number of players from 1 to 2, for example, make sure the new tables you create are not restricted from 1 to 1 player otherwise when you create a new table and this account setting is used, there will be a conflict with the new minimum number of players allowed and you will be blocked from creating the game.
But you can also unblock yourself by changing the number of players again, launching a game with a larger number, and then getting back to the number you want.

'''suggest_player_number''' / '''not_recommend_player_number'''
'suggest_player_number' => 3,
'not_recommend_player_number' => array( 6 ),

Don't specify anything here (null) if there is no configuration that is REALLY better/worse than another one. You can check player's poll on BoardGameGeek game page if you have any doubt. Note that there can be at most one suggested player count (provide either null or a single number), but there can be several not recommended player counts (provide either null or an array of values).

Another reason to leave it blank unless there is really strong reason to do so is that suggest_player_number also has an implication on the ELO calculation, whereby the K-factor is multiplied by the number of players up to a maximum of this value (or, no max if it's not provided). That is to say, a 6-player game with a suggestion of 3-players will have ELO calculated as if it were a 3-player game.

'''Important exception:''' in the automatic lobby, if 'suggest_player_number' is not specified, the system will try first the lowest. So if the lowest player number is not compatible with the default options for your game (especially if there is a Solo mode that can only be played in training mode) you have to specify a suggest_player_number of your choice, so that players launching a game in the automatic lobby without checking the option don't get an error with the default configuration.

==Colors==

'''player_colors'''
'player_colors' => array( "ff0000", "008000", "0000ff", "ffa500", "ffffff" ),

This array defines the default player colors, theoretically this can be bigger then maximum number of players but you have to support all of the in your game.
Your setupNewGame in php is responsible for attributing these values to players. See section "Player color preferences" in [[Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php]] for details.

== Losers not ranked between themselves==

By default, all player are ranked, but in some games, the rules say that all non-winners are losers and not ranked between themselves. You can set this option to true so that for your game, there are only winners and losers, without a full ranking of all players.

The score in this case should be the same for the winners and 0 for the losers.

'''Warning: Do not use this option in 2-player games or games where perfect ties are frequent, as ELO will not change when everyone is perfectly tied (including tiebreakers).'''

// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => false,

==Disable player rotation in case of rematch==

By default, in case of a rematch players are rotated so that the first player changes. If for your game it's better to always have a random player order you can change this option.

// When doing a rematch, the player order is swapped using a "rotation" so the starting player is not the same
// If you want to disable this, set this to true (even if the comment in your game file say the opposite).
'disable_player_order_swap_on_rematch' => false,

==Custom "buy this game" button==

By default, the "buy this game" button is a link to an Amazon search with the name of the game.

You can replace it by a different URL / game button label with :

'custom_buy_button' => array(
'url' => 'http://yoururl.com',
'label' => 'Name of the website'
),

Note : button label will be "Buy on <Name of the website>"

==Deprecated fields==

* Tags (<code>tags</code>)
* Game presentation (<code>presentation</code>)
* Game page warning (<code>gamepanel_page_warning</code>)

'''⚠ Note''': these fields are <b style="color:darkred">no longer read from this file</b>; these are now managed via the [[Game_metadata_manager|Game Metadata Manager]].

==Tie breaker description==
Describe tie breaker score calculation (player_score_aux in player table).

Important: This is used in the javascript too, which is automatically generated. Using newlines in here will cause errors in the javascript, which will cause the game to not load.

Example:
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Number of remaining cards in hand"),

== Multiple tie breaker management ==

If your game has multiple tie breakers, here is what you should do.

Let's take this example: "In case of a tie, the winner is the game with the most remaining money, then number of buildings built, then number of cards in your hand".

In this example, your "player_score_aux" field might be calculated like this:

10000 * (remaining_money ) + 100 * (buildings_built) + (number_of_cards)

In this case, you should add the following in gameinfos.inc.php:

'tie_breaker_split' => array( 10000, 100 , 1 ),

It means that the first tie breaker has been multiplied by 10000, the second by 100, and the third by 1.

Using this, the result screen will be adapted to show exactly what is needed. For example:
* When 2 players are tied, it will show their remaining money.
* If their remaining money are equal, it will show the number of building built in addition to the remaining money.
*If these two tie breaker are still the same, it will show the 3 tie breaking values.

==Language dependency==

If you have a game that is language dependent, you can use the option described here: [[Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Language_dependent_games_API]]

== Coop Elo Mode==

For cooperative games, by default players will earn as many rating points as the score. Games ended with a positive score counts as wins, and scores of 0 or below count as losses.

For games where there is no or little variable difficulty (such as for example Bandido) the fixed amount of score can be assigned across all settings. However, for all coop games where we have options to change the difficulty level and/or where the score reached indicates a higher level of skill and/or where the number of players has a significant impact on the difficulty, the final score should be adjusted according to the difficulty level and the number of players.

If needed, a reference scale for Elo points (between 1300 and 2500) can be set up. Players regularly winning with a specific difficulty setting will have their Elo nearing this value asymptotically over time. For this, you can set up the coop_elo_mode parameter.

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
'''Warning: While this can reflect player skills more precisely compared to flat rating gain, this parameter is generally not recommended as players may abandon losing games or avoid new players to prevent rating loss.'''
</div>

Related discussion:

https://forum.boardgamearena.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24363

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32289

Here is an example using options and win/loss (score 1/0):

'coop_elo_mode' => [
'type' => 'points_references',
'references' => [
// Difficulty 1
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1400]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1470]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1350]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1400]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1400]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1470]],
// Difficulty 2
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1450]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
// Difficulty 3
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1910]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1910]],
// Difficulty 4
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1830]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2120]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1640]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1830]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1830]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2120]],
// Difficulty 5
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1980]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2340]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1740]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1980]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1980]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2340]],
],
],

Here is an example using different scoring values to indicate the level of difficulty mastered by the players winning the game:

'coop_elo_mode' => array(
'type' => 'points_references',
'references' => array(
array(
'players_nbr' => 2,
//'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1350,
2 => 1425,
3 => 1500,
4 => 1576,
5 => 1651,
6 => 1727,
7 => 1802,
8 => 1878,
9 => 1953,
10 => 2029,
11 => 2104,
12 => 2180
)
),
array(
'players_nbr' => 3,
//'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1400,
2 => 1470,
3 => 1541,
4 => 1612,
5 => 1683,
6 => 1754,
7 => 1825,
8 => 1895,
9 => 1966,
10 => 2018,
11 => 2095,
12 => 2250
)
),
array(
'players_nbr' => 4,
//'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1430,
2 => 1505,
3 => 1580,
4 => 1655,
5 => 1730,
6 => 1805,
7 => 1880,
8 => 1955,
9 => 2030,
10 => 2105,
11 => 2180,
12 => 2330
)
),
array(
'players_nbr' => 5,
// 'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1480,
2 => 1558,
3 => 1636,
4 => 1714,
5 => 1792,
6 => 1870,
7 => 1949,
8 => 2027,
9 => 2105,
10 => 2183,
11 => 2261,
12 => 2340
)
)
)
),

[[Category:Studio]]

Game metadata manager

2024-02-14T08:45:00Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".
__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: https://boxshot.com/3d-box/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* max 2MB
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* max 2MB
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* max 2MB
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

Please consider that for the '''Awarded game''' tag (Win a prestigious award), the game must have been at the '''first''' place of one the [http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Gaming_Industry_Awards# following major awards list].

== Metadata ==
Some text metadata is also managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] . After release, the metadata is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all metadata changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

===== Game page warning =====
If a specific warning is needed on the game page (to discuss and validate with admins) it can be displayed from the game infos. For example for Texas Hold'em:
There is no real money involved on BGA: this game has the mechanism of Poker but is using points instead of real money.
'''Description'''

Short game presentation text that will appear on the game description page, structured as an array of paragraphs.

Each paragraph should not contain html (plain text without formatting). A good length for this text is between 100 and 150 words (about 6 to 9 lines on a standard display.)
This wonderful game is about geometric shapes!

It was awarded best triangle game of the year in 2005 and nominated for the Spiel des Jahres.

== Migration ==

Metadata images used to be served from the [[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of the image files prefixed with <code>game_</code> are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

Text metadata used to be managed by changing values in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any of the deprecated fields specified in this file are now ignored, and you will be warned about them when using the "Reload game informations" button.

== Access Permissions ==

Currently, the GMM is available to developers and maintainers.

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher) be managed her

[[Category:Studio]]

Game metadata manager

2024-02-14T08:39:59Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".
__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: https://boxshot.com/3d-box/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* max 2MB
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* max 2MB
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* max 2MB
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

Please consider that for the '''Awarded game''' tag (Win a prestigious award), the game must have been at the '''first''' place of one the [http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Gaming_Industry_Awards# following major awards list].

== Metadata ==
Some text metadata is also managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the metadata is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all metadata changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

This metadata used to be managed through

== Migration ==

Metadata images used to be served from the [[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of the image files prefixed with <code>game_</code> are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

Text metadata used to be managed by changing values in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any of the deprecated fields specified in this file are now ignored, and you will be warned about them when using the "Reload game informations" button.

== Access Permissions ==

Currently, the GMM is available to developers and maintainers.

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher) be managed here

[[Category:Studio]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2024-02-09T16:59:12Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In <code>gameoptions.json</code>, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants).

In <code>gamepreferences.json</code>, you can define user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify these files.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after edits to these files, you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for player count, which is automatically handled). For example, whether to include ''The River'' in Carcassonne.
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, whether or not to prompt for action, whether or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in <code>gameoptions.json</code> as an object:

{
"100": { ... },
"101": { ... }
}

Each key corresponds to the option id, and each value is that option's definition, which is defined below.

'''Note:''' the file must be valid [https://www.json.org/ JSON]. That is, trailing commas and comments are not allowed.

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the values of the option definition object:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (an array of values is not supported here)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
**0 = Normal
**1 = Training
**2 = Arena
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile
**[0, 1, 2] - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php)
**values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21)
**Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

'''Example:'''
<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "my game option",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "option 1"
},
"2": {
"name": "option 2",
"tmdisplay": "option 2"
},
"3": {
"name": "option 3",
"beta": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"default": 1
},
"101": {
"name": "Draft variant",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "No draft"
},
"2": {
"name": "Draft",
"tmdisplay": "Draft",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 2, 3, 4 ]
},
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"startcondition": {
"1": [],
"2": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 3,
"message": "Draft option is available for 3 players maximum."
}
]
}
},
"102": {
"name": "Takeovers",
"values": {
"2": {
"name": "No takeover"
},
"1": {
"name": "Allow takeovers",
"tmdisplay": "Takeovers",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 3, 4 ]
}
],
"startcondition": {
"2": [],
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only."
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

'''Example of option that condition on ELO off:'''
{
"100": {
"name": "Learning Game (No Research)",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"tmdisplay": ""
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Learning Game"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Learning variant available only with ELO off"
}
}
'''Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode:'''
<pre>
"displaycondition": [
{ "type": "otheroption", "id": 200, "value": [0, 1, 2] }
],
</pre>

'''Example of using condition on your own option:'''
<pre>
{
"102": {
"name": "Scenarios",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"nobeginner": false
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Scenarios",
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroptionisnot",
"id": 100,
"value": 2
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen"
}
}

</pre>

'''Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:'''<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Board setup",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Mirror setup",
"description": "The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.",
"tmdisplay": "Mirror setup"
},
"2": {
"name": "Random setup",
"description": "Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.",
"tmdisplay": "Random setup"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "minplayers",
"value": [
2,
3,
4
]
}
]
},
"102": {
"name": "Solo difficulty",
"values": [
{
"name": "Banan-apprentice",
"description": "Do not remove any seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Banan-apprentice"
},
{
"name": "Pear to the Throne",
"description": "Remove 1 seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Pear to the Throne"
}
],
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 1
}
]
}
}

</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"startcondition": {
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "This option is available for 2 players only.",
"gamestartonly": true
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"level": "major"
}
}
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)
* the naming of major variant values should be concise and the values should have descriptive text (not just "enabled" or "disabled")
** 👍 Option name "Expansion", option values "Base game", "Bigger is Better" => Displayed as ''"Expansion: Base game"'' or ''"Expansion: Bigger is Better"''
** 👎 Option name "Bigger is Better", option values "Enabled", "Disabled => Displayed as ''"Bigger is Better: Enabled"'' or ''"Bigger is Better: Disabled"''

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Colorblind Support",
"needReload": true,
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "None",
"cssPref": "colorblind_off"
},
"2": {
"name": "Numbers",
"cssPref": "colorblind_on"
},
"3": {
"name": "Shapes",
"cssPref": "colorblind_shapes"
}
},
"default": 1
}
}
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

== Translations ==
Note that any name or description values in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in <code>totranslate()</code> calls.

== Migration ==
Previously, options and preferences were specified in a single <code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> file.

BGA has switched to a JSON format to make parsing easier on the server-side, and to avoid a reliance on PHP for static config.

The PHP format will continue to work for ''existing'' games, and although preferred, there is no need to migrate unless you want to.

'''Note''': once a game has been committed with a <code>gameoptions.json</code> file, however, it is not possible to go back without admin intervention.

If you want to migrate, then:

* Remove all calls to <code>totranslate()</code>, and replace with the plain string
* Remove any references to BGA's PHP constants, such as GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE, and replace with the plain value (in this case, 201)
* You can populate <code>gameinfos.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_options, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* You can populate <code>gamepreferences.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_preferences, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* If you include gameoptions.inc.php directly, to read the values, then replace those calls with <code>$this->getTableOptions()</code> or <code>$this->getTablePreferences()</code> as appropriate which return arrays parsed from the JSON files
This message was posted to the developer Discord channel:<blockquote>
=== Game options change (Optional!) ===
<code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> is now considered legacy, and <code>gameoptions.json</code> and <code>gamepreferences.json</code> are recommended for new projects:

* The wiki and the template project have been updated: [[/en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json|https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.json,_gamepreferences.json]]
* Any questions/problems can come to me, or can be asked here.
* The format of the json files matches the format of the old php files

We realise there are some drawbacks (sorry!):

* No comments in the JSON file, meaning you have to check the wiki for examples
* No PHP constants in the JSON file, meaning magic numbers

However, we hope it's good for BGA because:

* Simpler to parse (for robots and humans)
* Easier to check for errors (we could perhaps use an XSLT one day)
* No need to run game-specific PHP code on the metasite

'''NOTE''': Switching is totally optional, and the legacy files will still work for existing projects, and for those who know about them. </blockquote>
[[Category:Studio]]

Game statistics: stats.json

2024-02-09T16:58:03Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you are describing game statistics, that will be displayed at the end of the
game.

After modifying this file, you must use "Reload statistics configuration"
in BGA Studio Control Panel -> Manage Games ("Game Configuration" section):

https://studio.boardgamearena.com/#!studio

There are 2 types of statistics:
* table statistics, that are not associated to a specific player (i.e.: one value for each game).
* player statistics, that are associated to each players (i.e.: one value for each player in the game).

Statistics types can be "int" for integer, "float" for floating point values, and "bool" for boolean.

Once you defined your statistics there, you can start using "initStat", "setStat" and "incStat" methods
in your game logic, using statistics names defined below.
See API https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Game_statistics.

If you want to skip some of your statistics according to game variants, do not init it, or call set or inc on it. It will be displayed as "-" (instead of 0 if you init it and don't update it afterwards)

!! It is not a good idea to modify this file when a game is running !!

If your game is already public on BGA, please read the following before any change:
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Post-release_phase#Changes_that_breaks_the_games_in_progress

Notes:
* Statistic index is the reference used in setStat/incStat/initStat PHP method
* Statistic index must contains alphanumerical characters and no space. Example: 'turn_played'
* Statistics IDs must be >=10
* Two table statistics can't share the same ID, two player statistics can't share the same ID
* A table statistic can have the same ID as a player statistics, however its not recommended unless it is same conceptually (like turns_number is same statistic in both per table and per player)
* Statistics ID is the reference used by BGA website. If you change the ID, you lost all historical statistic data. Do NOT re-use an ID of a deleted statistic.
* Statistic name is the English description of the statistic as shown to players
* The order in which the stats will appear in the endscreen is determined by the order in the array, NOT by the ID. That is helpful for stats which getting added later but need to be higher up in the list.
* Statistic names and labels are automatically added to the translations system, so there is no need to wrap them in totranslate() calls
* Previously, this was a PHP file (stats.inc.php). You can continue to use this format for old projects. ('''Note''': once a game has been committed with a <code>stats.json</code> file, it is not possible to go back without admin intervention.)

{
"table": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
}
},
"player": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat1": {
"id": 11,
"name": "player test stat 1",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float"
}
}
}
Sometimes you may want to display a label instead of a number (for instance if you want to indicate the winning faction as a table statistic, and the faction chosen by each player as a player statistic in a game like Terra Mystica).

You can do this by adding a "value_labels" key following the "table" and "players" keys. Please note that the labels apply to both table and player statistics, so you should pay attention to use the same statistic number for the same type of statistic (or to skip one number if labelling should not be applied for both)

<pre>
{
"table": {
"winning_race": {
"id": 11,
"name": "Winning race",
"type": "int"
},
},
"value_labels": {
"11": [
"None (or tied)",
"Auren",
"Witches",
"Fakirs",
"Nomads",
"Chaos Magicians",
"Giants",
"Swarmlings",
"Mermaids",
"Dwarves",
"Engineers",
"Halflings",
"Cultists",
"Alchemists",
"Darklings"
]
}
}
</pre>

If you want to consider some internal game statistics for game developer, publisher or admins's purpose only, simply add the following extra property : "display" => "limited". For instance :
<pre>
{
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float",
"display": "limited"
}
}
</pre>

=== Translations ===
Note that any name or value_labels text in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in totranslate() calls.

[[Category:Studio]]

Main game logic: Game.php

2024-01-17T20:29:29Z

Archduke: /* File Structure */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This is the main file for your game logic. Here you initialize the game, persist data, implement the rules and notify the client interface of changes.

This is the main class that implements the "server" callbacks. As it is a server it cannot initiate any data communicate with the game client (running in browser) and only can respond to client using notifications.

Your php class instance won't be in memory between two callbacks, every time client send a request a new class will be created, constructor will be called and eventually your callback function.

== File Structure ==

The details of how the file is structured are described directly with comments in the code skeleton provided to you.

Here is the basic structure:

* '''__construct''': the game constructor, where you define global variables and initiaze class members.
* '''setupNewGame''': initial setup of the game. Takes an array of players, indexed by player_id. Structure of each player includes player_name, player_canal, player_avatar, and flags indicating admin/ai/premium/order/language/beginner.
* '''getAllDatas''': where you retrieve all game data during a complete reload of the game. Return value must be associative array. Value of 'players' is reserved for returning players data from players table, if you set it it must follow certain rules
$result ['players'] = self::getCollectionFromDb("SELECT player_id id, player_score score, player_no no, player_color color FROM player");
// Returned value must include ['players'][$player_id]]['score'] for scores to populate when F5 is pressed.
* '''getGameProgression''': where you compute the game progression indicator. Returns a number indicating percent of progression (0-100). Used to calculate ELO changes of remaining players when a player quits, or as a conceding requirement (in non-tournament 2 player games, a player may concede if the progression is at least 50%).
* Utility functions: your utility functions.
* Player actions: the entry points for players actions ([https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Players_actions:_yourgamename.action.php more info here]).
* Game state arguments: methods to return additional data on specific game states ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#args more info here]).
* Game state actions: the logic to run when entering a new game state ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#action more info here]).
* '''initTable''': (not part of template) - this function is called for every php callback by the framework and it can be implement by the game (empty by default). You can use it in rare cases where you need to read database and manipulate some data before any ANY php entry functions are called (such as getAllDatas,action*,st*, etc). Note: it is not called before arg* methods
* '''zombieTurn''': what to do it's the turn of a zombie player.
* '''upgradeTableDb''': function to migrate database if you change it after release on production.
* '''getGameName''': returns the game name. This will be setup when you create the project. If you are copying files in from another project, make sure you keep this function intact. It must return the right game name, or lots of things will be broken.

== Accessing player information ==

'''Important''': In the following methods, be mindful of the difference between the "active" player and the "current" player. The '''active''' player is the player whose turn it is - not necessarily the player who sent a request! The '''current''' player is the player who sent the request and will see the results returned by your methods: not necessarily the player whose turn it is!

; getPlayersNumber()
: Returns the number of players playing at the table
: Note: doesn't work in the beggining of setupNewGame (use count($players) instead). It will work after initialization of player table.

; getActivePlayerId()
: Get the "active_player", whatever what is the current state type.
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multiplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getActivePlayerName()
: Get the "active_player" name
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getPlayerNameById($player_id)
: Get the name by id

; getPlayerColorById($player_id)
: Get the color by id

; getPlayerNoById($player_id)
: Get 'player_no' (number) by id

; loadPlayersBasicInfos()
: Get an associative array with generic data about players (ie: not game specific data).
: The key of the associative array is the player id. The returned table is cached, so ok to call multiple times without performance concerns.
: The content of each value is:
: * player_name - the name of the player
: * player_color (ex: ff0000) - the color code of the player (as string)
: * player_no - the position of the player at the start of the game in natural table order, i.e. 1,2,3

<pre>
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ($players as $player_id => $info) {
$player_color = $info['player_color'];
...
}
</pre>
Note: if you want array of player ids only you can do this:
$player_ids = array_keys($this->loadPlayersBasicInfos());

; getCurrentPlayerId(bool $bReturnNullIfNotLogged = false) int
: Get the "current_player". The current player is the one from which the action originated (the one who sent the request).
: '''Be careful''': This is not necessarily the active player!
: In general, you shouldn't use this method, unless you are in "multiplayer" state.
: '''Very important''': in your setupNewGame and zombieTurn function, you must never use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(),
: otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message (these actions are triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to these actions).

; getCurrentPlayerName(bool $bReturnEmptyIfNotLogged = false) string
: Get the "current_player" name.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; getCurrentPlayerColor()
: Get the "current_player" color.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; isCurrentPlayerZombie()
: Check the "current_player" zombie status. If true, player is zombie, i.e. left or was kicked out of the game.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator

; isSpectator()
: Check the "current_player" spectator status. If true, the user accessing the game is a spectator (not part of the game). For this user, the interface should display all public information, and no private information (like a friend sitting at the same table as players and just spectating the game).

; getActivePlayerColor()
: This function does not seems to exist in API, if you need it here is implementation
function getActivePlayerColor() {
$player_id = self::getActivePlayerId();
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (isset($players[$player_id]))
return $players[$player_id]['player_color'];
else
return null;
}
; isPlayerZombie($player_id)
: This method does not exists, but if you need it it looks like this
protected function isPlayerZombie($player_id) {
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (! isset($players[$player_id]))
throw new BgaSystemException("Player $player_id is not playing here");

return ($players[$player_id]['player_zombie'] == 1);
}

== Accessing the database ==

The main game logic should be the only point from which you should access the game database. You access your database using SQL queries with the methods below.

'''IMPORTANT'''

BGA uses [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax-transactions.html database transactions]. This means that your database changes WON'T BE APPLIED to the database until your request ends normally (web request, not database request). Using transactions is in fact very useful for you; at any time, if your game logic detects that something is wrong (example: a disallowed move), you just have to throw an exception and all changes to the game situation will be removed. This also means that you need not (and in fact cannot) use your own transactions for multiple related database operations.

However there are sets of database operation that will do implicit commit (most common mistake is to use "TRUNCATE"), you cannot use these operations during the game, it breaks the unrolling of transactions and will lead to nasty issues
(https://mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-statements-that-cause-an-implicit-commit).

All methods below are part of game class (and view class) and can be accessed using $this-> or self::

; DbQuery( string $sql )
: This is the generic method to access the database.
: It can execute any type of SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE/REPLACE/INSERT query on the database. Returns result of the query.
: For SELECT queries, the specialized methods below are much better.
: Do not use method for TUNCATE, DROP and other table altering operations. See disclamer above about implicit commits. If you really need TRUNCATE use DELETE FROM xxx instead.

; getUniqueValueFromDB( string $sql )
: Returns a unique value from DB or null if no value is found.
: $sql must be a SELECT query.
: Raise an exception if more than 1 row is returned.

; getCollectionFromDB( string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false ) array
: Returns an associative array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The key of the resulting associative array is the first field specified in the SELECT query.
: The value of the resulting associative array is an associative array with all the field specified in the SELECT query and associated values.
: First column must be a primary or alternate key (semantically, it does not actually have to declared in sql as such).
: The resulting collection can be empty (it won't be null).
: If you specified $bSingleValue=true and if your SQL query requests 2 fields A and B, the method returns an associative array "A=>B", otherwise its A=>[A,B]
: Note: The name a bit misleading, it really return associative array, i.e. map and NOT a collection. You cannot use it to get list of values which may have duplicates (hence primary key requirement on first column). If you need simple array use getObjectListFromDB() method.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
1234 => [ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
1235 => [ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
1234 => 'myuser0',
1235 => 'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getNonEmptyCollectionFromDB(string $sql) array
: Same as getCollectionFromDB($sdl), but raise an exception if the collection is empty. Note: this function does NOT have 2nd argument as previous one does.

; getObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Returns one row for the sql SELECT query as an associative array or null if there is no result (where fields are keys mapped to values)
: Raise an exception if the query return more than one row (you can use LIMIT 1 in the query to avoid the exception)

Example:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'" );

Result:
array(
'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1
)
</pre>

; getNonEmptyObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Similar to previous one, but raise an exception if no row is found

; getObjectListFromDB(string $sql, bool $bUniqueValue=false) array
: Return an array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The result is the same as "getCollectionFromDB" except that the result is a simple array (and not an associative array).
: The result can be empty.
: If you specified $bUniqueValue=true and if your SQL query request 1 field, the method returns directly an array of values.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
[ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
[ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
'myuser0',
'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getDoubleKeyCollectionFromDB(string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false) array
: Return an associative array of associative array, from a SQL SELECT query.
: First array level correspond to first column specified in SQL query.
: Second array level correspond to second column specified in SQL query.
: If $bSingleValue = true, keep only third column on result

; DbGetLastId()
: Return the PRIMARY key of the last inserted row (see PHP mysql_insert_id function).

; DbAffectedRow() int
: Return the number of row affected by the last operation

; escapeStringForDB(string $string) string
: You must use this function on every string type data in your database that contains unsafe data.
: (unsafe = can be modified by a player).
: This method makes sure that no SQL injection will be done through the string used.
: Note: if you using standard types in ajax actions, like AT_alphanum it is sanitized before arrival,
: this is only needed if you manage to get unchecked string, like in the games where user has to enter text as a response.

<pre>

</pre>

Note: see Editing [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]] to know how to define your database model.

== Use globals ==

Sometimes, you want a single global integer value for your game, and you don't want to create a DB table specifically for it.

You can do this with the BGA framework "global". Your value will be stored in the "global" table in the database, and you can access it with simple methods.

All methods below are memeber of game class and should be accessed $this-> or self::

'''initGameStateLabels(array $labelsMap): void'''

This method should be located at the beginning of constructor of ''yourgamename.game.php''. This is where you define the globals used in your game logic, by assigning them IDs.

You can define up to 80 globals, with IDs from 10 to 89 (inclusive, there can be gaps).
Also you must use this method to access value of game options [[Game_options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.inc.php]], in that case, IDs need to be between 100 and 199.
You must '''not''' use globals outside the range defined above, as those values are used by other components of the framework.

<pre>
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->initGameStateLabels([
"my_first_global_variable" => 10,
"my_second_global_variable" => 11,
"my_game_variant" => 100
]);
// other code ...
}
</pre>

NOTE: The methods below WILL throw an exception if label is not defined using the call above.

'''setGameStateInitialValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Initialize global value. This is not required if you ok with default value if 0. This should be called from setupNewGame function.

'''getGameStateValue( string $label, int $default = 0): int'''

Retrieve the value of a global. Returns $default if global is not been initialized (by setGameStateInitialValue).

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->getGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable');
</pre>

For debugging purposes, you can have labels and value pairs send to client side by inserting that code in your "getAllDatas":

<pre>
$labels = array_keys($this->mygamestatelabels);
$result['myglobals'] = array_combine($labels, array_map([$this,'getGameStateValue'],$labels));
</pre>

That assumes you stored your label mapping in $this->mygamestatelabels in constructor
<pre>
$this->mygamestatelabels=["my_first_global_variable" => 10, ...];
$this->initGameStateLabels($this->mygamestatelabels);
</pre>

'''setGameStateValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Set the current value of a global.
<pre>
$this->setGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 42);
</pre>

'''incGameStateValue( string $label, int $increment ): int'''

Increment the current value of a global. If increment is negative, decrement the value of the global.

Return the final value of the global. If global was not initialized it will initialize it as 0.

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->incGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 1);
</pre>

=== BGA predefined globals ===

BGA already defines some globals in the ''global'' database table. You should not change them directly but it can be useful to know what they mean when debugging:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! global_id !! label !! Meaning
|-
| 1 || || Current state
|-
| 2 || || Active player id
|-
| 3 || next_move_id || Next move number
|-
| 4 || || Game id
|-
| 5 || || Table creator id
|-
| 6 || playerturn_nbr || Player turn number
|-
| 7 || gameprogression || Game progression
|-
| 8 || initial_reflexion_time || Initial reflection time
|-
| 9 || additional_reflexion_time || Additional reflection time
|-
| 200 || reflexion_time_profile || Reflexion time profile
|-
| 201 || bgaranking_mode || BGA ranking mode
|-
| 207 || game_language ||GAMESTATE_GAME_LANG
|-
| 300 || game_db_version ||GAMESTATE_GAMEVERSION: Current version of the game (when in production)
|-
| 301 || game_result_neutralized ||GAMESTATE_GAME_RESULT_NEUTRALIZED
|-
| 302 || neutralized_player_id ||GAMESTATE_NEUTRALIZED_PLAYER_ID
|-
| 304 || undo_moves_stored ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_STORED
|-
| 305 || undo_moves_player ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_PLAYER
|-
| 306 || lock_screen_timestamp ||GAMESTATE_LOCK_TIMESTAMP
|}

== Game states and active players ==

=== Activate player handling ===

; $this->activeNextPlayer()
: Make the next player active in the natural player order.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->activePrevPlayer()
: Make the previous player active (in the natural player order).
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer( $player_id )
: You can call this method to make any player active.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->getActivePlayerId()
: Return the "active_player" id
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multipleactiveplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multipleactiveplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

=== Multiple activate player handling ===

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()
: All playing players are made active. Update notification is sent to all players (this will trigger '''onUpdateActionButtons''').
: Usually, you use this method at the beginning of a game state (e.g., "stGameState") which transitions to a ''multipleactiveplayer'' state in which multiple players have to perform some action. Do not use this method if you going to make some more changes in the active player list. (I.e., if you want to take away multipleactiveplayer status immediately afterwards, use setPlayersMultiactive instead.)

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

; $this->stMakeEveryoneActive()
:this method can be used in state machine to make everybody active as "st" method of multiplayeractive state, it just calls $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()

This is to be used in state declaration:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'stMakeEveryoneActive',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "actionBla" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersNonMultiactive( $next_state )
: All playing players are made inactive. Transition to next state

; $this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive( $players, $next_state, $bExclusive = false )
: Make a specific list of players active during a multiactive gamestate. Update notification is sent to all players whose state changed.
: "players" is the array of player id that should be made active. If "players" is not empty the value of "next_state" will be ignored (you can put whatever you want)
: If "exclusive" parameter is not set or false it doesn't deactivate other previously active players. If its set to true, the players who will be multiactive at the end are only these in "$players" array

: In case "players" is empty, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise

; $this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $player_id, $next_state )
: During a multiactive game state, make the specified player inactive.
: Usually, you call this method during a multiactive game state after a player did his action. It is also possible to call it directly from multiplayer action handler.
: If this player was the last active player, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise
Example of usage (see state declaration of playerTurnPlace above):
<pre>
function actionBla($args) {
self::checkAction('actionBla');
// handle the action using $this->getCurrentPlayerId()
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'next');
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getActivePlayerList()
: With this method you can retrieve the list of the active player at any time.
: During a "game" type gamestate, it will return a void array.
: During a "activeplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array with one value (the active player id).
: During a "multipleactiveplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array of the active players id.
: Note: you should only use this method in the latter case.

; $this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( $next_state_if_none )
: Sends update notification about multiplayer changes. All multiactive set* functions above do that, however if you want to change state manually using db queries for complex calculations, you have to call this yourself after. Do not call this if you calling one of the other setters above.
Example: you have player teams and you want to activate all players in one team
<pre>
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='0'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='1' WHERE player_id='$player_id' AND player_team='$team_no'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );

$this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( 'error' );
</pre>

; updating database manually
: Use this helper function to change multiactive state without sending notification
<pre>
/**
* Changes values of multiactivity in db, does not sent notifications.
* To send notifications after use updateMultiactiveOrNextState
* @param number $player_id, player id <=0 or null - means ALL
* @param number $value - 1 multiactive, 0 non multiactive
*/
function dbSetPlayerMultiactive($player_id = -1, $value = 1) {
if (! $value)
$value = 0;
else
$value = 1;
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive = '$value' WHERE player_zombie = 0 and player_eliminated = 0";
if ($player_id > 0) {
$sql .= " AND player_id = $player_id";
}
self::DbQuery($sql);
}
</pre>

;$this->gamestate->isPlayerActive($player_id)
:Return true if specified player is active right now.
:This method take into account game state type, ie nobody is active if game state is "game" and several players can be active if game state is "multiplayer"

;$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable
:This flag can be set to true in constructor of game.php to force creation of second table to handle multiplayer states (normally these are in player table), this is very advanced feature.
:ONLY use it after you deploy you game to production if you receive unusual amount of bug report with dead lock symptoms DURING multiactiveplayer states
function __construct() {
...
$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true;
}

=== States functions ===
; $this->gamestate->nextState( $transition )
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $transition parameter is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.

'''$this->gamestate->jumpToState($stateNum)'''
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $stateNum parameter is the key of the state. See [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.
: Note: this is very advanced method, it should not be used in normal cases. Specific advanced cases include - jumping to specific state from "do_anytime" actions, jumping to dispatcher state or jumping to recovery state from zombie player function

; $this->checkAction( $actionName, $bThrowException=true )
: Check if the current player can perform a specific action in the current game state, and optionally throw an exception if they can't.
: The action is valid if it is listed in the "possibleactions" array for the current game state (see game state description).
: This method MUST be the first one called in ALL your PHP methods that handle player actions, in order to make sure a player doesn't perform an action not allowed by the rules at the point in the game. It should not be called from methods where the current player is not necessarily the active player, otherwise it may fail with an "It is not your turn" exception.
: If "bThrowException" is set to "false", the function returns '''false''' in case of failure instead of throwing an exception. This is useful when several actions are possible, in order to test each of them without throwing exceptions.

; $this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction( $action )
: (rarely used)
: This works exactly like "checkAction" (above), except that it does NOT check if the current player is active.
: '''Note: This does NOT check either spectator or eliminated status, so those checks must be done manually.'''
: This is used specifically in certain game states when you want to authorize additional actions for players that are not active at the moment.
: Example: in ''Libertalia'', you want to authorize players to change their mind about the card played. They are of course not active at the time they change their mind, so you cannot use "checkAction"; use "checkPossibleAction" instead.

This is how PHP action looks that returns player to active state (only for multiplayeractive states). To be able to execute this on client do not call checkAction on js side for this specific action.

function actionUnpass() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionUnpass'); // player changed mind about passing while others were thinking
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

; $this->gamestate->state()
: Get an associative array of current game state attributes, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for state attributes.

$state=$this->gamestate->state(); if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' ) {...}

I suggest to define and use this function in your php class to access state name:

public function getStateName() {
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
return $state['name'];
}

; $this->gamestate->state_id()
: Get the id of the current game state (rarely useful, its best to use name, unless you use constants for state ids)

; $this->gamestate->isMutiactiveState()
: Return true if we are in multipleactiveplayer state, false otherwise

=== Private parallel states ===

See the overview of private parallel states [[Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers()
: All active players in a multiactive state are entering a first private state defined in the master state's initialprivate parameter.
: Every time you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods below.
: Note: at least one player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating some or all players
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method

$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds)
: Players with specified ids are entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateState($playerId)
: Player with the specified id is entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Everytime you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods above
: Note: player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating that player
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_ChangeMind() {
// This player finished his move before, but now decides change something while other players are still active
// We activate the player and initialize his private state
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive([$this->getCurrentPlayerId()], "");
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateState(this->getCurrentPlayerId());

// It is also possible to move the player to some other specific state immediately
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers($transition)
: All active players will transition to next private state by specified transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state
: Note: this is usually used after initializing the private state to move players to specific private state according to the game logic

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

if ($specificOption) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: Players with specified ids will transition to next private state specified by provided transition.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($playerId, $transition)
: Player with specified id will transition to next private state specified by provided transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player
: Note: this is usually used after some player actions to move to next private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers()
: All players private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used to clean up after leaving a master state in which private states were used, but can be used in other cases when we want to exit private parallel states and use a regular multiactive state for all players
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private states as they will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state after exiting private parallel states to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stNextRound() {
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers();
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: For players with specified ids private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($playerId)
: For player with specified id private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used when deactivating player to clean up their parallel state
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private state as it will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state when not needed to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function done() {
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "newTurn" );
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId());
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($playerId, $newStateId)
: For player with specified id a new private state would be set
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this should be rarely used as it doesn't check if the transition is allowed (it doesn't even specifies transition). This can be useful in very complex cases when standard state machine is not adequate (i.e. specific cards can lead to some micro action in various states where defining transitions back and forth can become very tedious.)
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state

if ($playerHaveSpecificCard)
return $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 35);

$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getPrivateState($playerId)
: This return the private state or null if not initialized or not in private state

==== State Arguments in Private parallel states ====

The args method called for private states will have the player_id passed to it, allowing you to customise the arguments returned for that player.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function argMyPrivateState($player_id) {
return array(
'my_data' => $this->getPlayerSpecificData($player_id)
);
}
</pre>

==== Inactive Players ====

During Private Parallel State, active players will be managed by the private state that is current assigned to them.

Inactive players will be managed by the master multipleactiveplayer state, so your client should respond to that state in order to display any status message advising players that they are waiting for others to have their turn, or to add any buttons that allow players to potentially "break in" and become active.

== Players turn order ==

When table is created the "natural" player order is assigned to player at random, and stored in "read-only" field "player_no".
If you need to create a custom order you should never change natural order but have a separate data structure.
For example you can alter the players table to add another "custom_order" field, you can use state globals or you can use your natural board database,
to store meeple_color/position_location pair.
BGA currently does not provide any API to create/store custom player order.

'''getNextPlayerTable()'''

Return an associative array which associate each player with the next player around the table.

In addition, key 0 is associated to the first player to play.

Example: if three player with ID 1000, 2000 and 3000 are around the table, in this order, the method returns:
<pre>
array(
1000 => 2000,
2000 => 3000,
3000 => 1000,
0 => 1000
);
</pre>

'''getPrevPlayerTable()'''

Same as above, but the associative array associate the previous player around the table. However there no 0 index here.

'''getPlayerAfter( $player_id )'''

Get player playing after given player in natural playing order.

'''getPlayerBefore( $player_id )'''

Get player playing before given player in natural playing order.

Note: There is no API to modify this order, if you have custom player order you have to maintain it in your database
and have custom function to access it.

'''createNextPlayerTable( $players, $bLoop=true )'''

Using $players array creates a map of current => next as in example from getNextPlayerTable(), however you can use custom order here.
If parmeter $bLoop is set to true then last player will points to first (creaing a loop), false otherwise.
In any case index 0 points to first player (first element of $players array). $players is array of player ids in desired order.

Note: This function '''DOES NOT''' change the order in database, it only creates a map using key/values as descibed.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function getNextPlayerTableCustom() {
$starting = $this->getStartingPlayer(); // custom function to get starting player
$player_ids = $this->getPlayerIdsInOrder($starting); // custom function to create players array starting from starting player
return $this->createNextPlayerTable($player_ids, false); // create next player table in custom order
}
</pre>

<pre>
$table = $this->createNextPlayerTable([3000,2000,1000], false);

will return:
[
3000 => 2000,
2000 => 1000,
1000 => null,
0 => 3000
]
</pre>

== Notify players ==

To understand notifications, please read [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] first.

'''IMPORTANT'''

Notifications are sent at the very end of the request, when it ends normally. It means that if you throw an exception for any reason (ex: move not allowed), no notifications will be sent to players.
Notifications sent between the game start (setupNewGame) and the end of the "action" method of the first active state will never reach their destination.

=== NotifyAllPlayers ===

'''notifyAllPlayers(string $notification_type,string $notification_log,array $notification_args )'''

Send a notification to all players of the game.

* notification_type: A string that defines the type of your notification.

Your game interface Javascript logic will use this to know what is the type of the received notification (and to trigger the corresponding method).

* notification_log: A string that defines what is to be displayed in the game log.

You can use an empty string here (''). In this case, nothing is displayed in the game log.

Unless its empty, use "clienttranslate" method to make sure string is translated.

You can use arguments in your $notification_log string, that refers to values defines in the "$notification_args" argument (see below).
Note: Make sure you only use single quotes ('), otherwise PHP will try to interpolate the variable and will ignore the values in the args array.

* notification_args: The arguments of your notifications, as an associative array.

This array will be transmitted to the game interface logic, in order the game interface can be updated.

Complete notifyAllPlayers example (from "Reversi"):

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y
) );
</pre>

You can see in the example above the use of the "clienttranslate" method, and the use of 2 arguments "player_name" and "returned_nbr" in the notification log.

'''Important''': NO private data must be sent with this method, as a cheater could see it even if it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic. If you want to send private information to a player, please use notifyPlayer below.

'''Important''': this array is serialized to be sent to the browsers, and will be saved with the notification to be able to replay the game later. If it is too big, it can make notifications slower / less reliable, and replay archives very big (to the point of failing). So as a general rule, you should send only the minimum of information necessary to update the client interface with no overhead in order to keep the notifications as light as possible.

'''Important''': When the game page is reloaded (i.e. F5 or when loading turn based game) all previous notifications are replayed as history notifications. These notifications do not trigger notification handlers and are used basically to build the game log. Because of that most of the notification arguments, except i18n, player_id and all arguments used in the message, are removed from these history notifications. If you need additional arguments in history notifications you can add special field <b>preserve</b> to notification arguments, like this:

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y,
'preserve' => [ 'x', 'y' ]
) );
</pre>
In this example, fields x and y will be preserved when replaying history notification at the game load.

NOTE: The ONLY reason 'preserve' is useful if you have custom method to render notifications (or logs) which changes some text arguments into html (i.e. to insert the images instead of plain text). Do not use preserve "just in case" - it will only bloat the logs and make game load VERY slow.

'''Important''': If both public and private notifications are sent to the same player in the same action (AJAX call), they will initially appear in the log in the order in which they were called, but they are placed into the game log in the following order: All private notifications first, then all public notifications. This means that when the page is refreshed, or when a player loads an asynchronous game, if you have called any public notifications ''before'' the last private notification, they will appear out of order in the log.

==== HTML in Notifications ====

You CAN use some HTML inside your notification log, however it not recommended for many reasons:
* Its bad architecture, ui elements leak into server now you have to manage ui in many places
* If you decided to change something in ui in a future version, old games replay and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications
* When you read log preview for old games its unreadable (this is log before you enter the game replay, useful for troubleshooting or game analysis)
* Its more data to transfer and store in db
* Its nightmare for translators, at least don't put HTML tags inside the "clienttranslate" method. You can use a notification argument instead, and provide your HTML through this argument.

If you still want to have pretty pictures in the log check this [[BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Inject_images_and_styled_html_in_the_log]].

==== Recursive Notifications ====

If your notification contains some phrases that build programmatically you may need to use recursive notifications. In this case the argument can be not only the string but
an array itself, which contains 'log' and 'args', i.e.

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name_rec}'),
['token_name_rec'=>['log'=>'${token_name} #${token_number}',
'args'=> ['token_name'=>clienttranslate('Boo'), 'token_number'=>$number, 'i18n'=>['token_name'] ]
]
]);

Special handling of arguments:
* ${player_name} - this will be wrapped in html and text shown using color of the corresponding player, some colors also have reserved background. This will apply recursively as well.
* ${player_name1}, ${player_name2}, ${player_name3}, etc. - same

==== Excluding some players ====

Sometimes you want to notify all players of a message but not have it appear in the log of specific players (for example, have every player see "Player X draws a card" but have Player X see "You draw the Ace of Spades").

To send a notification to all players but have some clients ignore it, send it as normal from the server, but implement '''setIgnoreNotificationCheck''' on the client to ignore the message under given conditions. See the [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Ignoring_notifications]] documentation for more details.

=== NotifyPlayer ===

'''notifyPlayer( $player_id, $notification_type, $notification_log, $notification_args )'''

Same as above, except that the notification is sent to one player only.

This method must be used each time some private information must be transmitted to a player.

Important: the variable for player name must be ${player_name} in order to be highlighted with the player color in the game log. If you want a second player name in the log, name the variable ${player_name2}, etc.

Note that spectators cannot be notified using this method, because their player ID is not available via loadPlayersBasicInfos() or otherwise. You must use notifyAllPlayers() for any notification that spectators should get.

== Randomization ==

A large number of board games rely on random, most often based on dice, cards shuffling, picking some item in a bag, and so on. This is very important to ensure a high level of randomness for each of these situations.

Here's are a list of techniques you should use in these situations, from the best to the worst.

=== Dice and bga_rand ===

'''bga_rand( min, max )'''
This is a BGA framework function that provides you a random number between "min" and "max" (inclusive), using the best available random method available on the system.

This is the preferred function you should use, because we are updating it when a better method is introduced.

As of now, bga_rand is based on the PHP function "random_int", which ensures a cryptographic level of randomness.

In particular, it is '''mandatory''' to use it for all '''dice throw''' (ie: games using other methods for dice throwing will be rejected by BGA during review).

Note: rand() and mt_rand() are deprecated on BGA and should not be used anymore, as their randomness is not as good as "bga_rand".

=== Arrays ===

Although PHP's "shuffle()" is generally considered good enough (see below, BGA's own Deck component uses this), the following PHP code based on "random_int" provides a cryptographically-secure method to choose a random key, value, or slice of an array. (the slice preserves keys)

<pre>
private function getRandomKey(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomKey(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $key;
}
}

private function getRandomValue(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomValue(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $value;
}
}

private function getRandomSlice(array &$array, int $count)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
if ($count < 1 || $count > $size) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Invalid count $count for array with size $size", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$slice = [];
$randUnique = [];
while (count($randUnique) < $count) {
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
if (array_key_exists($rand, $randUnique)) {
continue;
}
$randUnique[$rand] = true;
$slice += array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
}
return $slice;
}
</pre>

=== shuffle and cards shuffling ===

To shuffle items, like a pile of cards, the best way is to use the BGA PHP [[Deck]] component and to use "shuffle" method. This ensures that the best available shuffling method is used, and that if in the future we improve it your game will be up to date.

As of now, the Deck component shuffle method is based on PHP "shuffle" method, which has quite good randomness (even if not as good as bga_rand). In consequence, we accept other shuffling methods during reviews, as long as they are based on PHP "shuffle" function (or similar, like "array_rand").

=== Other methods ===

Mysql "RAND()" function has not enough randomness to be a valid method to get a random element on BGA. This function has been used in some existing games and has given acceptable results, but now it should be avoided and you should use other methods instead.

== Game statistics ==

There are 2 types of statistics:
* a "player" statistic is a statistic associated to a player
* a "table" statistic is a statistic not associated to a player (global statistic for this game).

See [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]] to see how you define statistics for your game.

'''initStat( $table_or_player, $name, $value, $player_id = null )'''

Create a statistic entry with a default value.

This method must be called for each statistic of your game, in your setupNewGame method.
If you neglect to call this for a statistic, and also do not update the value during the course of a certain game using setStat or incStat, the value of the stat will be undefined rather than 0. This will result in it being ignored at the end of the game, as if it didn't apply to that particular game, and excluded from cumulative statistics. As a consequence - if do not want statistic to be applied, do not init it, or call set or inc on it.

'$table_or_player' must be set to "table" if this is a table statistic, or "player" if this is a player statistic.

'$name' is the name of your statistic, as it has been defined in your stats.inc.php file.

'$value' is the initial value of the statistic. If this is a player statistic and if the player is not specified by "$player_id" argument, the value is set for ALL players.

'''setStat( $value, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Set a statistic $name to $value.

If "$player_id" is not specified, setStat consider it is a TABLE statistic.

If "$player_id" is specified, setStat consider it is a PLAYER statistic.

'''incStat( $delta, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Increment (or decrement) specified statistic value by $delta value. Same behavior as setStat function.

'''getStat( $name, $player_id = null )'''

Return the value of statistic specified by $name. Useful when creating derivative statistics such as average.

== Translations ==

See [[Translations]]

== Manage player scores and Tie breaker ==

=== Normal scoring ===

At the end of the game, players automatically get a rank depending on their score: the player with the biggest score is #1, the player with the second biggest score is #2, and so on...

During the game, you update player's score directly by updating "player_score" field of "player" table in database.

Examples:
<pre>

// +2 points to active player
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=player_score+2 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

// Set score of active player to 5
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=5 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

</pre>

Note: don't forget to notify the client side in order the score control can be updated accordingly.

=== Tie breaker ===

Tie breaker is used when two players get the same score at the end of a game.

Tie breaker is using "player_score_aux" field of "player" table. It is updated exactly like the "player_score" field.

Tie breaker score is displayed only for players who are tied at the end of the game. Most of the time, it is not supposed to be displayed explicitly during the game.

When you are using "player_score_aux" functionality, you must describe the formula to use in your gameinfos.inc.php file like this:

<pre>
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Describe here your tie breaker formula"),
</pre>

This description will be used as a tooltip to explain to players how this auxiliary score has been calculated.

See also [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_meta-information:_gameinfos.inc.php#Multiple_tie_breaker_management Multiple Tie Breaker Management].

=== Co-operative game ===

To make everyone win/lose together in a full-coop game:

Add the following in gameinfos.inc.php :
'is_coop' => 1, // full cooperative

Assign a score of zero to everyone if it's a loss.
Assign the same score > 0 to everyone if it's a win.

=== Semi-coop ===

If the game is not full-coop, then everyone loses = everyone is tied. I.e. set score to 0 to everybody.

=== Only "winners" and "losers" ===

For some games, there is only a group (or a single) "winner", and everyone else is a "loser", with no "end of game rank" (1st, 2nd, 3rd...).

Examples:
* Coup
* Not Alone
* Werewolves
* Quantum

In this case:
* Set the scores so that the winner has the best score, and the other players have the same (lower) score.
* Add the following lines to gameinfos.inc.php:

<pre>
// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => true,
</pre>

Werewolves and Coup are implemented like this, as you can see here:
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=werewolves&section=lastresults
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=coupcitystate&section=lastresults

Adding this has the following effects:
* On game results for this game, "Winner" or "Loser" is going to appear instead of the usual "1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...".
* When a game is over, the result of the game will be "End of game: Victory" or "End of game: Defeat" depending on the result of the CURRENT player (instead of the usual "Victory of XXX").
* When calculating ELO points, if there is at least one "Loser", no "victorious" player can lose ELO points, and no "losing" player can win ELO point. Usually it may happened because being tie with many players with a low rank is considered as a tie and may cost you points. If losers_not_ranked is set, we prevent this behavior and make sure you only gain/loss ELO when you get the corresponding results.

Important: this SHOULD NOT be used for cooperative games (see is_coop parameter), or for 2 players games (it makes no sense in this case).

=== Solo ===

If game supports solo variant, a negative or zero score means defeat, a positive score means victory.

=== Player elimination ===

In some games, this is useful to eliminate a player from the game in order he/she can start another game without waiting for the current game end.

This case should be rare. Please don't use player elimination feature if some player just has to wait the last 10% of the game for game end. This feature should be used only in games where players are eliminated all along the game (typical examples: "Perudo" or "The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow").

Usage:

* Player to eliminate should NOT be active anymore (preferably use the feature in a "game" type game state).
* In your PHP code:
self::eliminatePlayer( <player_to_eliminate_id> );
* the player is informed in a dialog box that he no longer have to play and can start another game if he/she wants too (with buttons "stay at this table" "quit table and back to main site"). In any case, the player is free to start & join another table from now.
* When your game is over, all players who have been eliminated before receive a "notification" (the small "!" icon on the top right of the BGA interface) that indicate them that "the game has ended" and invite them to review the game results.

'''Important:''' this should not be used on a player who has already left the game ("zombie") as leaving/being kicked of the game (outside of the scope of the rules) is not the same as being eliminated from the game (according to the rules), except if in the course of the game, the zombie player is eliminated according to the rules.

'''Important:''' When all surviving players are eliminated at the same time BGA framework causes the game to be abandoned automatically.
To circumvent this, the game should leave 1 player not eliminated but change final scores accordingly and end the game.

=== Scoring Helper functions ===

These functions should have been API but they are not, just add them to your php game and use for every game.

// get score
function dbGetScore($player_id) {
return $this->getUniqueValueFromDB("SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set score
function dbSetScore($player_id, $count) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score='$count' WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set aux score (tie breaker)
function dbSetAuxScore($player_id, $score) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score_aux=$score WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// increment score (can be negative too)
function dbIncScore($player_id, $inc) {
$count = $this->dbGetScore($player_id);
if ($inc != 0) {
$count += $inc;
$this->dbSetScore($player_id, $count);
}
return $count;
}

== Reflexion time ==

; function giveExtraTime( $player_id, $specific_time=null )
: Give standard extra time to this player.
: Standard extra time depends on the speed of the game (small with "slow" game option, bigger with other options).
: You can also specify an exact time to add, in seconds, with the "specified_time" argument (rarely used).

; function isAsync()
: Returns true if game is turn based, false if it is realtime

== Undo moves ==

Please read our [[BGA Undo policy]] before.

'''Important''': Before using these methods, you must also add the following to your "gameinfos.inc.php" file, otherwise these methods are ineffective:
'db_undo_support' => true

Note: if you deploy undo support after game is in production this will take into effect for new games only, old games will give user an error if user choses Undo action, but otherwise it should not affect them.

; function undoSavepoint( )
: Save the whole game situation inside an "Undo save point".
: There is only ONE undo save point available (see [[BGA Undo policy]]). Cannot use in multiactivate state or in game state where next state is multiactive.
: Note: this function does not actually do anything when it is called, it only raises the flag to store the database AFTER transaction is over. So the actual state will be saved when you exit the function calling it (technically before first queued notification is sent, which matters if you transition to game state not to user state after), this may affect what you end up saving.

; function undoRestorePoint()
: Restore the situation previously saved as an "Undo save point".
: You must make sure that the active player is the same after and before the undoRestorePoint (ie: this is your responsibility to ensure that the player that is active when this method is called is exactly the same than the player that was active when the undoSavePoint method has been called).

function actionUndo() {
self::checkAction('actionUndo');
$this->undoRestorePoint();
$this->gamestate->nextState('next'); // transition to single player state (i.e. beginning of player actions for this turn)
}

'''Important note''': if you are reading game state variable right after restore (without changing state first) it won't work properly as the global table cache is not automatically refreshed after undoRestorePoint(). So you should either change state immediately to refresh game state values, or use $this->gamestate->reloadState() to refresh the state. If you choose to do the latest, be aware that this will bring the state machine back to the state during which the save point snapshot has been taken using undoSavepoint() (which means your transition you do after has to declared in the state which was saved, not in the state which was active for your actionUndo())

== Managing errors and exceptions ==

Note: when you throw an exception, all database changes and all notifications are cancelled immediately. This way, the game situation that existed before the request is completely restored.

; throw new BgaUserException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a user error
: You must throw this exception when a player wants to do something that they are not allowed to do.
: The error message will be shown to the player as a "red message".
: The error message must be translated, make sure you use self::_() or $this->_() here and NOT clientranslate()
: Throwing such an exception is NOT considered a bug, so it is not traced in BGA error logs.

Example from Gomoku:
<pre>
throw new BgaUserException( self::_("There is already a stone on this intersection, you can't play there") );
</pre>

; throw new BgaVisibleSystemException ( $error_message)
: You must throw this exception when you detect something that is not supposed to happened in your code.
: The error message is shown to the user as an "Unexpected error", in order that he can report it in the forum.
: The error message is logged in BGA error logs. If it happens regularly, we will report it to you.

; throw new BgaSystemException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a system exception. The message will be hidden from the user, but show in the logs. Use this if the message contains technical information.
: You shouldn't use this type of exception except if you think the information shown could be critical. Indeed: a generic error message will be shown to the user, so it's going to be difficult for you to see what happened.

== Zombie mode ==

When a player leaves a game for any reason (expelled, quit), he becomes a "zombie player". In this case, the results of the game won't count for statistics, but this is cool if the other players can finish the game anyway. That's why zombie mode exists: allow the other player to finish the game, even if the situation is not ideal.

While developing your zombie mode, keep in mind that:
* Do not refer to the rules, because this situation is not planned by the rules.
* Try to figure that you are playing with your friends and one of them has to leave: how can we finish the game without killing the spirit of the game?
* The idea is NOT to develop an artificial intelligence for the game.
* Do not try to end the game early, even in a two-player game. The zombie is there to allow the game to continue, not to end it. Trying to end the game is not supported by the framework and will likely cause unexpected errors.

Most of the time, the best thing to do when it is zombie player turn is to jump immediately to a state where he is not active anymore. For example, if he is in a game state where he has a choice between playing A and playing B, the best thing to do is NOT to choose A or B, but to pass. So, even if there's no "pass" action in the rules, add a "zombiepass" transitition in your game state and use it.

Each time a zombie player must play, your "zombieTurn" method is called.

Parameters:
* $state: the name of the current game state.
* $active_player: the id of the active player.

Most of the time, your zombieTurn method looks like this:

<pre>
function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player )
{
$statename = $state['name'];

if( $statename == 'myFirstGameState'
|| $statename == 'my2ndGameState'
|| $statename == 'my3rdGameState'
....
)
{
$this->gamestate->nextState( "zombiePass" );
}
else
throw new BgaVisibleSystemException( "Zombie mode not supported at this game state: ".$statename );
}
</pre>

Note that in the example above, all corresponding game state should implement "zombiePass" as a transition.

'''Very important''': your zombie code will be called when the player leaves the game. This action is triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to this action. In your zombieTurn function, you must '''never''' use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(), otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message.

== Player color preferences ==

BGA premium users may choose their preferred color for playing. For example, if they are used to play green for every board game, they can select "green" in their BGA preferences page.

Making your game compatible with colors preferences is very easy and requires only 1 line of configuration change:

On your gameinfos.inc.php file, add the following lines :

// Favorite colors support: if set to "true", support attribution of favorite colors based on player's preferences (see reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method)
// NB: this parameter is used only to flag games supporting this feature; you must use (or not use) reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method to actually enable or disable the feature.
'favorite_colors_support' => true,

Then, on your main <your_game>.game.php file check the code of "setupNewGame". New template already have correct code, but if you editing very old game and it may be absent.

$gameinfos = $this->getGameinfos();
...
if ($gameinfos['favorite_colors_support'])
$this->reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences($players, $gameinfos['player_colors']); // this should be above reloadPlayersBasicInfos()
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();

The "reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences" method reattributes all colors, taking into account players color preferences and available colors.

Note that you must update the colors to indicate the colors available for your game.

Some important remarks:
* for some games (i.e. Chess), the color has an influence on a mechanism of the game, most of the time by giving a special advantage to a player (i.e. Starting the game). Color preference mechanism must NOT be used in such a case.
* your logic should NEVER consider that the first player has the color X, that the second player has the color Y, and so on. If this is the case, your game will NOT be compatible with reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences as this method attribute colors to players based on their preferences and not based as their order at the table.

=== Custom color assignments ===
Some colors don't play nicely with BGA's color difference algorithm. If you receive feedback that colors are not well chosen, you can bypass the BGA algorithm by specifying a map from user preference colors to game colors.

For example, you may wish to assign BGA's blue to your game's baby blue: <code>"0000ff" /* Blue */ => "89CFF0",</code> whereas otherwise, a deep purple might be chosen instead. Just be sure that the assigned colors are also present in the <code>player_colors</code> array passed to <code>reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences</code>, otherwise the assignment will be ignored.

To do this, implement this method in your <code>X.game.php</code> class.

Note: the user preference colors (the keys in the returned array) should not be modified, or the code may not work as expected. These are the colors players can choose between in their profile.
/**
* Returns an array of user preference colors to game colors.
* Game colors must be among those which are passed to reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences()
* Each game color can be an array of suitable colors, or a single color:
* [
* // The first available color chosen:
* 'ff0000' => ['990000', 'aa1122'],
* // This color is chosen, if available
* '0000ff' => '000099',
* ]
* If no color can be matched from this array, then the default implementation is used.
*/
function getSpecificColorPairings(): array {
return array(
"ff0000" /* Red */ => null,
"008000" /* Green */ => null,
"0000ff" /* Blue */ => null,
"ffa500" /* Yellow */ => null,
"000000" /* Black */ => null,
"ffffff" /* White */ => null,
"e94190" /* Pink */ => null,
"982fff" /* Purple */ => null,
"72c3b1" /* Cyan */ => null,
"f07f16" /* Orange */ => null,
"bdd002" /* Khaki green */ => null,
"7b7b7b" /* Gray */ => null,
);
}

== Legacy games API ==

For some very specific games ("legacy", "campaign"), you need to keep some informations from a game to another.

This should be an exceptional situation: the legacy API is costing resources on Board Game Arena databases, and is slowing down the game setup process + game end of game process. Please do not use it for things like:
* keeping a player preference/settings (=> player preferences and game options should be used instead)
* keeping a statistics, a score, or a ranking, while it is not planned in the physical board game, or while there is no added value compared to BGA statistics / rankings.

You should use it for:
* legacy games: when some components of the game has been altered in a previous game and should be kept as it is.
* "campaign style" games: when a player is getting a "reward" at the end of a game, and should be able to use it in further games.

Important: you cannot store more than 64k of data (serialized as JSON) per player per game. If you go over 64k, storeLegacyData function is going to FAIL, and there is a risk to create a major bug (= players blocked) in your game. You MUST make sure that no more than 64k of data is used for each player for your game. For example, if you are implementing a "campaign style" game and if you allow a player to start multiple campaign, you must LIMIT the number of different campaign so that the total data size to not go over the limit. We strongly recommend you to use this:

try
{
$this->storeLegacyTeamData( $my_data );
}
catch( feException $e ) // feException is a base class of BgaSystemException and others...
{
if( $e->getCode() == FEX_legacy_size_exceeded )
{
// Do something here to free some space in Legacy data (ex: by removing some variables)
}
else
throw $e;
}

The keys may only contain letters and numbers, underscore seems not to be allowed.

; function storeLegacyData( $player_id, $key, $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Store some data associated with $key for the given user / current game
: In the opposite of all other game data, this data will PERSIST after the end of this table, and can be re-used
: in a future table with the same game.
: IMPORTANT: The only possible place where you can use this method is when the game is over at your table (last game action). Otherwise, there is a risk of conflicts between ongoing games.
: TTL is a time-to-live: the maximum, and default, is 365 days.
: In any way, the total data (= all keys) you can store for a given user+game is 64k (note: data is store serialized as JSON data)
: NOTICE: You can store some persistant data across all tables from your game using the specific player_id 0 which is unused. In such case, it's even more important to manage correctly the size of your data to avoid any exception or issue while storing updated data (ie. you can use this for some kind of leaderbord for solo game or contest)
: Note: This function cannot be called during game setup (will throw an error).

; function retrieveLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Get data associated with $key for the current game
: This data is common to ALL tables from the same game for this player, and persist from one table to another.
: Note: calling this function has an important cost => please call it few times (possibly: only ONCE) for each player for 1 game if possible
: Note: you can use '%' in $key to retrieve all keys matching the given patterns

; function removeLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Remove some legacy data with the given key
: (useful to free some data to avoid going over 64k)

; function storeLegacyTeamData( $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Same as storeLegacyData, except that it stores some data for the whole team within the current table and does not use a key
: Ie: if players A, B and C are at a table, the legacy data will be saved for future table with (exactly) A, B and C on the table.
: This is useful for games which are intended to be played several time by the same team.
: Note: the data total size is still limited, so you must implement catch the FEX_legacy_size_exceeded exception if it happens

; function retrieveLegacyTeamData()
: Same as retrieveLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

; function removeLegacyTeamData()
: Same as removeLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

== Players text input and moderation ==
This section concerns only games where the players have to write some words to play: games based on words, like "Just one" or "Codenames".

Some players will use your game to write insults or profanities. As this is part of the game and not in the game chat, these words cannot be reported by players and moderated.

If you met the following situation:

* You are asking a player to type a text (word(s) or sentence)
* The player can enter any text (this is not a pre-selection or anything you can control)
* This text is visible by at least one other player

Then, you must use the following method:

'''function logTextForModeration( $player_id, $text )'''

player_id = player who write the text

text = text that has been written

This function will have no visible consequence for your game, but will allow players to report the text to moderators if something happens.

== Language dependent games API ==

This API is used for games that are heavily language dependent. Two most common use cases are:
* Games that have a language dependent component that are not necessarily translatable, typically a list of words. (Think of games like Codenames, Decrypto, Just One...)
* Games with massive communication where players would like to ensure that all participants speak the same language. (Think of games like Werewolf, The Resistance, maybe even dixit...)

If this option is used, the table created will be limited only to users that have specific language in their profile. Player starting the game would be able to chose one of the languages they speak.

There is a new property language_dependency in gameinfos.inc.php which can be set like this:
'language_dependency' => false, //or if the property is missing, the game is not language dependent
'language_dependency' => true, //all players at the table must speak the same language
'language_dependency' => array( 1 => 'en', 2 => 'fr', 3 => 'it' ), //1-based list of supported languages

In the gamename.game.php file, you can get the id of selected language with the method '''getGameLanguage'''.
; function getGameLanguage()
: Returns an index of the selected language as defined in gameinfos.inc.php.

Languages currently available on BGA are:
'ar' => array( 'name' => "العربية", 'code' => 'ar_AE' ), // Arabic
'be' => array( 'name' => "беларуская мова", 'code' => 'be_BY' ), // Belarusian
'bn' => array( 'name' => "বাংলা", 'code' => 'bn_BD' ), // Bengali
'bg' => array( 'name' => "български език", 'code' => 'bg_BG' ), // Bulgarian
'ca' => array( 'name' => "català", 'code' => 'ca_ES' ), // Catalan
'cs' => array( 'name' => "čeština", 'code' => 'cs_CZ' ), // Czech
'da' => array( 'name' => "dansk", 'code' => 'da_DK' ), // Danish
'de' => array( 'name' => "deutsch", 'code' => 'de_DE' ), // German
'el' => array( 'name' => "Ελληνικά", 'code' => 'el_GR' ), // Greek
'en' => array( 'name' => "English", 'code' => 'en_US' ), // English
'es' => array( 'name' => "español", 'code' => 'es_ES' ), // Spanish
'et' => array( 'name' => "eesti keel", 'code' => 'et_EE' ), // Estonian
'fi' => array( 'name' => "suomi", 'code' => 'fi_FI' ), // Finnish
'fr' => array( 'name' => "français", 'code' => 'fr_FR' ), // French
'he' => array( 'name' => "עברית", 'code' => 'he_IL' ), // Hebrew
'hi' => array( 'name' => "हिन्दी", 'code' => 'hi_IN' ), // Hindi
'hr' => array( 'name' => "Hrvatski", 'code' => 'hr_HR' ), // Croatian
'hu' => array( 'name' => "magyar", 'code' => 'hu_HU' ), // Hungarian
'id' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Indonesia", 'code' => 'id_ID' ), // Indonesian
'ms' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Malaysia", 'code' => 'ms_MY' ), // Malaysian
'it' => array( 'name' => "italiano", 'code' => 'it_IT' ), // Italian
'ja' => array( 'name' => "日本語", 'code' => 'ja_JP' ), // Japanese
'jv' => array( 'name' => "Basa Jawa", 'code' => 'jv_JV' ), // Javanese
'ko' => array( 'name' => "한국어", 'code' => 'ko_KR' ), // Korean
'lt' => array( 'name' => "lietuvių", 'code' => 'lt_LT' ), // Lithuanian
'lv' => array( 'name' => "latviešu", 'code' => 'lv_LV' ), // Latvian
'nl' => array( 'name' => "nederlands", 'code' => 'nl_NL' ), // Dutch
'no' => array( 'name' => "norsk", 'code' => 'nb_NO' ), // Norwegian
'oc' => array( 'name' => "occitan", 'code' => 'oc_FR' ), // Occitan
'pl' => array( 'name' => "polski", 'code' => 'pl_PL' ), // Polish
'pt' => array( 'name' => "português", 'code' => 'pt_PT' ), // Portuguese
'ro' => array( 'name' => "română", 'code' => 'ro_RO' ), // Romanian
'ru' => array( 'name' => "Русский язык", 'code' => 'ru_RU' ), // Russian
'sk' => array( 'name' => "slovenčina", 'code' => 'sk_SK' ), // Slovak
'sl' => array( 'name' => "slovenščina", 'code' => 'sl_SI' ), // Slovenian
'sr' => array( 'name' => "Српски", 'code' => 'sr_RS' ), // Serbian
'sv' => array( 'name' => "svenska", 'code' => 'sv_SE' ), // Swedish
'tr' => array( 'name' => "Türkçe", 'code' => 'tr_TR' ), // Turkish
'uk' => array( 'name' => "Українська мова", 'code' => 'uk_UA' ), // Ukrainian
'zh' => array( 'name' => "中文 (漢)", 'code' => 'zh_TW' ), // Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan)
'zh-cn' => array( 'name' => "中文 (汉)", 'code' => 'zh_CN' ), // Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, Singapore)

== Debugging and Tracing ==

To debug php code you can use some tracing functions available from the parent class such as debug, trace, error, warn, dump.

self::debug("Ahh!");
self::dump('my_var',$my_var);

See [[Practical_debugging]] section for complete information about debugging interfaces and where to find logs.

[[Category:Studio]]

Game statistics: stats.json

2024-01-09T15:39:28Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you are describing game statistics, that will be displayed at the end of the
game.

After modifying this file, you must use "Reload statistics configuration"
in BGA Studio Control Panel -> Manage Games ("Game Configuration" section):

https://studio.boardgamearena.com/#!studio

There are 2 types of statistics:
* table statistics, that are not associated to a specific player (i.e.: one value for each game).
* player statistics, that are associated to each players (i.e.: one value for each player in the game).

Statistics types can be "int" for integer, "float" for floating point values, and "bool" for boolean.

Once you defined your statistics there, you can start using "initStat", "setStat" and "incStat" methods
in your game logic, using statistics names defined below.
See API https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Game_statistics.

If you want to skip some of your statistics according to game variants, do not init it, or call set or inc on it. It will be displayed as "-" (instead of 0 if you init it and don't update it afterwards)

!! It is not a good idea to modify this file when a game is running !!

If your game is already public on BGA, please read the following before any change:
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Post-release_phase#Changes_that_breaks_the_games_in_progress

Notes:
* Statistic index is the reference used in setStat/incStat/initStat PHP method
* Statistic index must contains alphanumerical characters and no space. Example: 'turn_played'
* Statistics IDs must be >=10
* Two table statistics can't share the same ID, two player statistics can't share the same ID
* A table statistic can have the same ID as a player statistics, however its not recommended unless it is same conceptually (like turns_number is same statistic in both per table and per player)
* Statistics ID is the reference used by BGA website. If you change the ID, you lost all historical statistic data. Do NOT re-use an ID of a deleted statistic.
* Statistic name is the English description of the statistic as shown to players
* The order in which the stats will appear in the endscreen is determined by the order in the array, NOT by the ID. That is helpful for stats which getting added later but need to be higher up in the list.
* Statistic names and labels are automatically added to the translations system, so there is no need to wrap them in totranslate() calls
* Previously, this was a PHP file (stats.inc.php). You can continue to use this format for old projects.

{
"table": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
}
},
"player": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat1": {
"id": 11,
"name": "player test stat 1",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float"
}
}
}
Sometimes you may want to display a label instead of a number (for instance if you want to indicate the winning faction as a table statistic, and the faction chosen by each player as a player statistic in a game like Terra Mystica).

You can do this by adding a "value_labels" key following the "table" and "players" keys. Please note that the labels apply to both table and player statistics, so you should pay attention to use the same statistic number for the same type of statistic (or to skip one number if labelling should not be applied for both)

<pre>
{
"table": {
"winning_race": {
"id": 11,
"name": "Winning race",
"type": "int"
},
},
"value_labels": {
"11": [
"None (or tied)",
"Auren",
"Witches",
"Fakirs",
"Nomads",
"Chaos Magicians",
"Giants",
"Swarmlings",
"Mermaids",
"Dwarves",
"Engineers",
"Halflings",
"Cultists",
"Alchemists",
"Darklings"
]
}
}
</pre>

If you want to consider some internal game statistics for game developer, publisher or admins's purpose only, simply add the following extra property : "display" => "limited". For instance :
<pre>
{
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float",
"display": "limited"
}
}
</pre>

=== Translations ===
Note that any name or value_labels text in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in totranslate() calls.

[[Category:Studio]]

Game statistics: stats.json

2024-01-09T15:39:08Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you are describing game statistics, that will be displayed at the end of the
game.

After modifying this file, you must use "Reload statistics configuration"
in BGA Studio Control Panel -> Manage Games ("Game Configuration" section):

https://studio.boardgamearena.com/#!studio

There are 2 types of statistics:
* table statistics, that are not associated to a specific player (i.e.: one value for each game).
* player statistics, that are associated to each players (i.e.: one value for each player in the game).

Statistics types can be "int" for integer, "float" for floating point values, and "bool" for boolean.

Once you defined your statistics there, you can start using "initStat", "setStat" and "incStat" methods
in your game logic, using statistics names defined below.
See API https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Game_statistics.

If you want to skip some of your statistics according to game variants, do not init it, or call set or inc on it. It will be displayed as "-" (instead of 0 if you init it and don't update it afterwards)

!! It is not a good idea to modify this file when a game is running !!

If your game is already public on BGA, please read the following before any change:
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Post-release_phase#Changes_that_breaks_the_games_in_progress

Notes:
* Statistic index is the reference used in setStat/incStat/initStat PHP method
* Statistic index must contains alphanumerical characters and no space. Example: 'turn_played'
* Statistics IDs must be >=10
* Two table statistics can't share the same ID, two player statistics can't share the same ID
* A table statistic can have the same ID as a player statistics, however its not recommended unless it is same conceptually (like turns_number is same statistic in both per table and per player)
* Statistics ID is the reference used by BGA website. If you change the ID, you lost all historical statistic data. Do NOT re-use an ID of a deleted statistic.
* Statistic name is the English description of the statistic as shown to players
* The order in which the stats will appear in the endscreen is determined by the order in the array, NOT by the ID. That is helpful for stats which getting added later but need to be higher up in the list.
* Statistic names and labels are automatically added to the translations system, so there is no need to wrap them in totranslate() calls
* Previously, this was a PHP file (stats.inc.php). You can continue to use this format for old projects.

{
"table": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
}
},
"player": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat1": {
"id": 11,
"name": "player test stat 1",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float"
}
}
}
Sometimes you may want to display a label instead of a number (for instance if you want to indicate the winning faction as a table statistic, and the faction chosen by each player as a player statistic in a game like Terra Mystica).

You can do this by adding a "value_labels" key following the "table" and "players" keys. Please note that the labels apply to both table and player statistics, so you should pay attention to use the same statistic number for the same type of statistic (or to skip one number if labelling should not be applied for both)

<pre>
{
"table": {
"winning_race": {
"id": 11,
"name": "Winning race",
"type": "int"
},
},
"value_labels": {
"11": [
"None (or tied)",
"Auren",
"Witches",
"Fakirs",
"Nomads",
"Chaos Magicians",
"Giants",
"Swarmlings",
"Mermaids",
"Dwarves",
"Engineers",
"Halflings",
"Cultists",
"Alchemists",
"Darklings"
]
}
}
</pre>

If you want to consider some internal game statistics for game developer, publisher or admins's purpose only, simply add the following extra property : "display" => "limited". For instance :
<pre>
{
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float",
"display": "limited"
}
}
</pre>

T

Note that any name or value_labels text in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in totranslate() calls.

[[Category:Studio]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2023-12-13T11:34:19Z

Archduke: /* Game Options */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In <code>gameoptions.json</code>, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants).

In <code>gamepreferences.json</code>, you can define user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify these files.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after edits to these files, you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for player count, which is automatically handled). For example, whether to include ''The River'' in Carcassonne.
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, whether or not to prompt for action, whether or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in <code>gameoptions.json</code> as an object:

{
"100": { ... },
"101": { ... }
}

Each key corresponds to the option id, and each value is that option's definition, which is defined below.

'''Note:''' the file must be valid [https://www.json.org/ JSON]. That is, trailing commas and comments are not allowed.

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the values of the option definition object:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (an array of values is not supported here)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
**0 = Normal
**1 = Training
**2 = Arena
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile
**[0, 1, 2] - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php)
**values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21)
**Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

'''Example:'''
<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "my game option",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "option 1"
},
"2": {
"name": "option 2",
"tmdisplay": "option 2"
},
"3": {
"name": "option 3",
"beta": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"default": 1
},
"101": {
"name": "Draft variant",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "No draft"
},
"2": {
"name": "Draft",
"tmdisplay": "Draft",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 2, 3, 4 ]
},
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"startcondition": {
"1": [],
"2": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 3,
"message": "Draft option is available for 3 players maximum."
}
]
}
},
"102": {
"name": "Takeovers",
"values": {
"2": {
"name": "No takeover"
},
"1": {
"name": "Allow takeovers",
"tmdisplay": "Takeovers",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 3, 4 ]
}
],
"startcondition": {
"2": [],
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only."
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

'''Example of option that condition on ELO off:'''
{
"100": {
"name": "Learning Game (No Research)",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"tmdisplay": ""
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Learning Game"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Learning variant available only with ELO off"
}
}
'''Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode:'''
<pre>
"displaycondition": [
{ "type": "otheroption", "id": 200, "value": [0, 1, 2] }
],
</pre>

'''Example of using condition on your own option:'''
<pre>
{
"102": {
"name": "Scenarios",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"nobeginner": false
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Scenarios",
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroptionisnot",
"id": 100,
"value": 2
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen"
}
}

</pre>

'''Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:'''<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Board setup",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Mirror setup",
"description": "The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.",
"tmdisplay": "Mirror setup"
},
"2": {
"name": "Random setup",
"description": "Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.",
"tmdisplay": "Random setup"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "minplayers",
"value": [
2,
3,
4
]
}
]
},
"102": {
"name": "Solo difficulty",
"values": [
{
"name": "Banan-apprentice",
"description": "Do not remove any seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Banan-apprentice"
},
{
"name": "Pear to the Throne",
"description": "Remove 1 seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Pear to the Throne"
}
],
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 1
}
]
}
}

</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"startcondition": {
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "This option is available for 2 players only.",
"gamestartonly": true
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"level": "major"
}
}
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)
* the naming of major variant values should be concise and the values should have descriptive text (not just "enabled" or "disabled")
** 👍 Option name "Expansion", option values "Base game", "Bigger is Better" => Displayed as ''"Expansion: Base game"'' or ''"Expansion: Bigger is Better"''
** 👎 Option name "Bigger is Better", option values "Enabled", "Disabled => Displayed as ''"Bigger is Better: Enabled"'' or ''"Bigger is Better: Disabled"''

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Colorblind Support",
"needReload": true,
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "None",
"cssPref": "colorblind_off"
},
"2": {
"name": "Numbers",
"cssPref": "colorblind_on"
},
"3": {
"name": "Shapes",
"cssPref": "colorblind_shapes"
}
},
"default": 1
}
}
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

== Translations ==
Note that any name or description values in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in <code>totranslate()</code> calls.

== Migration ==
Previously, options and preferences were specified in a single <code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> file.

BGA has switched to a JSON format to make parsing easier on the server-side, and to avoid a reliance on PHP for static config.

However, the PHP format will continue to work for existing games, and there is no need to migrate unless you want to.

If you want to migrate, then:

* Remove all calls to <code>totranslate()</code>, and replace with the plain string
* Remove any references to BGA's PHP constants, such as GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE, and replace with the plain value (in this case, 201)
* You can populate <code>gameinfos.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_options, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* You can populate <code>gamepreferences.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_preferences, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* If you include gameoptions.inc.php directly, to read the values, then replace those calls with <code>$this->getTableOptions()</code> or <code>$this->getTablePreferences()</code> as appropriate which return arrays parsed from the JSON files
This message was posted to the developer Discord channel:<blockquote>
=== Game options change (Optional!) ===
<code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> is now considered legacy, and <code>gameoptions.json</code> and <code>gamepreferences.json</code> are recommended for new projects:

* The wiki and the template project have been updated: [[/en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json|https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.json,_gamepreferences.json]]
* Any questions/problems can come to me, or can be asked here.
* The format of the json files matches the format of the old php files

We realise there are some drawbacks (sorry!):

* No comments in the JSON file, meaning you have to check the wiki for examples
* No PHP constants in the JSON file, meaning magic numbers

However, we hope it's good for BGA because:

* Simpler to parse (for robots and humans)
* Easier to check for errors (we could perhaps use an XSLT one day)
* No need to run game-specific PHP code on the metasite

'''NOTE''': Switching is totally optional, and the legacy files will still work for existing projects, and for those who know about them. </blockquote>
[[Category:Studio]]

Game statistics: stats.json

2023-12-12T11:19:27Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you are describing game statistics, that will be displayed at the end of the
game.

After modifying this file, you must use "Reload statistics configuration"
in BGA Studio Control Panel -> Manage Games ("Game Configuration" section):

https://studio.boardgamearena.com/#!studio

There are 2 types of statistics:
* table statistics, that are not associated to a specific player (i.e.: one value for each game).
* player statistics, that are associated to each players (i.e.: one value for each player in the game).

Statistics types can be "int" for integer, "float" for floating point values, and "bool" for boolean.

Once you defined your statistics there, you can start using "initStat", "setStat" and "incStat" methods
in your game logic, using statistics names defined below.
See API https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Game_statistics.

If you want to skip some of your statistics according to game variants, do not init it, or call set or inc on it. It will be displayed as "-" (instead of 0 if you init it and don't update it afterwards)

!! It is not a good idea to modify this file when a game is running !!

If your game is already public on BGA, please read the following before any change:
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Post-release_phase#Changes_that_breaks_the_games_in_progress

Notes:
* Statistic index is the reference used in setStat/incStat/initStat PHP method
* Statistic index must contains alphanumerical characters and no space. Example: 'turn_played'
* Statistics IDs must be >=10
* Two table statistics can't share the same ID, two player statistics can't share the same ID
* A table statistic can have the same ID as a player statistics, however its not recommended unless it is same conceptually (like turns_number is same statistic in both per table and per player)
* Statistics ID is the reference used by BGA website. If you change the ID, you lost all historical statistic data. Do NOT re-use an ID of a deleted statistic.
* Statistic name is the English description of the statistic as shown to players
* The order in which the stats will appear in the endscreen is determined by the order in the array, NOT by the ID. That is helpful for stats which getting added later but need to be higher up in the list.
* Statistic names and labels are automatically added to the translations system, so there is no need to wrap them in totranslate() calls
* Previously, this was a PHP file (stats.inc.php). You can continue to use this format for old projects.

{
"table": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
}
},
"player": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat1": {
"id": 11,
"name": "player test stat 1",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float"
}
}
}
Sometimes you may want to display a label instead of a number (for instance if you want to indicate the winning faction as a table statistic, and the faction chosen by each player as a player statistic in a game like Terra Mystica).

You can do this by adding a "value_labels" key following the "table" and "players" keys. Please note that the labels apply to both table and player statistics, so you should pay attention to use the same statistic number for the same type of statistic (or to skip one number if labelling should not be applied for both)

<pre>
{
"table": {
"winning_race": {
"id": 11,
"name": "Winning race",
"type": "int"
},
},
"value_labels": {
"11": [
"None (or tied)",
"Auren",
"Witches",
"Fakirs",
"Nomads",
"Chaos Magicians",
"Giants",
"Swarmlings",
"Mermaids",
"Dwarves",
"Engineers",
"Halflings",
"Cultists",
"Alchemists",
"Darklings"
]
}
}
</pre>

If you want to consider some internal game statistics for game developer, publisher or admins's purpose only, simply add the following extra property : "display" => "limited". For instance :
<pre>
{
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float",
"display": "limited"
}
}
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Template:Studio Framework Navigation

2023-12-12T11:18:54Z

Archduke:

<div class="studio-framework-navigation" style="float: right; width: 300px; border: solid #000 1px; padding: 1em; margin-left: 1em; background: #fff;">

<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Game File Reference'''</center></div>

<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''[[Studio file reference|Overview]]'''</center></div>

* [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql|<b>dbmodel.sql</b>]] - database model
* [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|<b>gameinfos.inc.php</b>]] - meta-information
* [[Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json|<b>gameoptions.json</b>]] - game options & user preferences
* [[Game art: img directory|<b>img/</b>]] - game art
* [[Game_metadata_manager|<b>Game Metadata Manager</b>]] - tags and metadata media
* [[Game material description: material.inc.php|<b>material.inc.php</b>]] - static data
* <b>misc/</b> - studio-only storage
* <b>modules/</b> - additional game code
* [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php|<b>states.inc.php</b>]] - state machine
* [[Game statistics: stats.json|<b>stats.json</b>]] - statistics
* [[Players actions: yourgamename.action.php|X.<b>action.php</b>]] - player actions
* [[Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css|X<b>.css</b>]] - interface stylesheet
* [[Main game logic: yourgamename.game.php|X.<b>game.php</b>]] - main logic
* [[Game interface logic: yourgamename.js|X.<b>js</b>]] - interface logic
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl|X.<b>view.php</b>]] - dynamic game layout
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl|X_X.<b>tpl</b>]] - static game layout
<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Useful Components'''</center></div>

'''Official'''

* [[Deck]]: a PHP component to manage cards (deck, hands, picking cards, moving cards, shuffle deck, ...).
* [[Draggable]]: a JS component to manage drag'n'drop actions.
* [[Counter]]: a JS component to manage a counter that can increase/decrease (ex: player's score).
* [[ExpandableSection]]: a JS component to manage a rectangular block of HTML than can be displayed/hidden.
* [[Scrollmap]]: a JS component to manage a scrollable game area (useful when the game area can be infinite. Examples: Saboteur or Takenoko games).
* [[Stock]]: a JS component to manage and display a set of game elements displayed at a position.
* [[Zone]]: a JS component to manage a zone of the board where several game elements can come and leave, but should be well displayed together (See for example: token's places at Can't Stop).

Undocumented component (if somebody knows please help with docs)
* [[Wrapper]]: a JS component to wrap a <div> element around its child, even if these elements are absolute positioned.

'''Unofficial'''

* [[BGA Code Sharing]] - Shared resources, projects on git hub, common code, other links
* [[BGA Studio Cookbook]] - Tips and instructions on using API's, libraries and frameworks
* [[Some usual board game elements image ressources]]

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Game Development Process'''</center></div>

* [[First steps with BGA Studio]]
* [[Create a game in BGA Studio: Complete Walkthrough]]
* [[Tutorial reversi]]
* [[Tutorial gomoku]]
* [[Tutorial hearts]]
* [[BGA Studio Guidelines]]
* [[BGA game Lifecycle]]
* [[Pre-release checklist]]
* [[Post-release phase]]
* [[Help|Player Resources]] - add player help/rules to your game page

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Guides for Common Topics'''</center></div>

* [[Translations]] - make your game translatable
* [[Game replay|Game Replay]]
* [[Your game mobile version|Mobile Users]]
* [[3D]]
* [[Compatibility]]

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Miscellaneous Resources'''</center></div>

* [[Studio FAQ]]
* [[Tools and tips of BGA Studio]] - Tips and instructions on setting up development environment
* [[Studio logs]] - Instructions for log access
* [[Practical debugging]] - Tips focused on debugging
* [[Troubleshooting]] - Most common "I am really stuck" situations
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bugs Studio Bugs] - Reports against Studio itself (not BGA!)
</div>

Game statistics: stats.inc.php

2023-12-12T11:16:54Z

Archduke: Archduke moved page Game statistics: stats.inc.php to Game statistics: stats.json

#REDIRECT [[Game statistics: stats.json]]

Game statistics: stats.json

2023-12-12T11:16:54Z

Archduke: Archduke moved page Game statistics: stats.inc.php to Game statistics: stats.json

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you are describing game statistics, that will be displayed at the end of the
game.

After modifying this file, you must use "Reload statistics configuration"
in BGA Studio Control Panel -> Manage Games ("Game Configuration" section):

https://studio.boardgamearena.com/#!studio

There are 2 types of statistics:
* table statistics, that are not associated to a specific player (i.e.: one value for each game).
* player statistics, that are associated to each players (i.e.: one value for each player in the game).

Statistics types can be "int" for integer, "float" for floating point values, and "bool" for boolean.

Once you defined your statistics there, you can start using "initStat", "setStat" and "incStat" methods
in your game logic, using statistics names defined below.
See API https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Game_statistics.

If you want to skip some of your statistics according to game variants, do not init it, or call set or inc on it. It will be displayed as "-" (instead of 0 if you init it and don't update it afterwards)

!! It is not a good idea to modify this file when a game is running !!

If your game is already public on BGA, please read the following before any change:
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Post-release_phase#Changes_that_breaks_the_games_in_progress

Notes:
* Statistic index is the reference used in setStat/incStat/initStat PHP method
* Statistic index must contains alphanumerical characters and no space. Example: 'turn_played'
* Statistics IDs must be >=10
* Two table statistics can't share the same ID, two player statistics can't share the same ID
* A table statistic can have the same ID as a player statistics, however its not recommended unless it is same conceptually (like turns_number is same statistic in both per table and per player)
* Statistics ID is the reference used by BGA website. If you change the ID, you lost all historical statistic data. Do NOT re-use an ID of a deleted statistic.
* Statistic name is the English description of the statistic as shown to players
* The order in which the stats will appear in the endscreen is determined by the order in the array, NOT by the ID. That is helpful for stats which getting added later but need to be higher up in the list.
* Statistic names and labels are automatically added to the translations system, so there is no need to wrap them in totranslate() calls

{
"table": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
}
},
"player": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat1": {
"id": 11,
"name": "player test stat 1",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float"
}
}
}
Sometimes you may want to display a label instead of a number (for instance if you want to indicate the winning faction as a table statistic, and the faction chosen by each player as a player statistic in a game like Terra Mystica).

You can do this by adding a "value_labels" key following the "table" and "players" keys. Please note that the labels apply to both table and player statistics, so you should pay attention to use the same statistic number for the same type of statistic (or to skip one number if labelling should not be applied for both)

<pre>
{
"table": {
"winning_race": {
"id": 11,
"name": "Winning race",
"type": "int"
},
},
"value_labels": {
"11": [
"None (or tied)",
"Auren",
"Witches",
"Fakirs",
"Nomads",
"Chaos Magicians",
"Giants",
"Swarmlings",
"Mermaids",
"Dwarves",
"Engineers",
"Halflings",
"Cultists",
"Alchemists",
"Darklings"
]
}
}
</pre>

If you want to consider some internal game statistics for game developer, publisher or admins's purpose only, simply add the following extra property : "display" => "limited". For instance :
<pre>
{
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float",
"display": "limited"
}
}
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Game statistics: stats.json

2023-12-12T11:16:42Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you are describing game statistics, that will be displayed at the end of the
game.

After modifying this file, you must use "Reload statistics configuration"
in BGA Studio Control Panel -> Manage Games ("Game Configuration" section):

https://studio.boardgamearena.com/#!studio

There are 2 types of statistics:
* table statistics, that are not associated to a specific player (i.e.: one value for each game).
* player statistics, that are associated to each players (i.e.: one value for each player in the game).

Statistics types can be "int" for integer, "float" for floating point values, and "bool" for boolean.

Once you defined your statistics there, you can start using "initStat", "setStat" and "incStat" methods
in your game logic, using statistics names defined below.
See API https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Game_statistics.

If you want to skip some of your statistics according to game variants, do not init it, or call set or inc on it. It will be displayed as "-" (instead of 0 if you init it and don't update it afterwards)

!! It is not a good idea to modify this file when a game is running !!

If your game is already public on BGA, please read the following before any change:
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Post-release_phase#Changes_that_breaks_the_games_in_progress

Notes:
* Statistic index is the reference used in setStat/incStat/initStat PHP method
* Statistic index must contains alphanumerical characters and no space. Example: 'turn_played'
* Statistics IDs must be >=10
* Two table statistics can't share the same ID, two player statistics can't share the same ID
* A table statistic can have the same ID as a player statistics, however its not recommended unless it is same conceptually (like turns_number is same statistic in both per table and per player)
* Statistics ID is the reference used by BGA website. If you change the ID, you lost all historical statistic data. Do NOT re-use an ID of a deleted statistic.
* Statistic name is the English description of the statistic as shown to players
* The order in which the stats will appear in the endscreen is determined by the order in the array, NOT by the ID. That is helpful for stats which getting added later but need to be higher up in the list.
* Statistic names and labels are automatically added to the translations system, so there is no need to wrap them in totranslate() calls

{
"table": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
}
},
"player": {
"turns_number": {
"id": 10,
"name": "Number of turns",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat1": {
"id": 11,
"name": "player test stat 1",
"type": "int"
},
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float"
}
}
}
Sometimes you may want to display a label instead of a number (for instance if you want to indicate the winning faction as a table statistic, and the faction chosen by each player as a player statistic in a game like Terra Mystica).

You can do this by adding a "value_labels" key following the "table" and "players" keys. Please note that the labels apply to both table and player statistics, so you should pay attention to use the same statistic number for the same type of statistic (or to skip one number if labelling should not be applied for both)

<pre>
{
"table": {
"winning_race": {
"id": 11,
"name": "Winning race",
"type": "int"
},
},
"value_labels": {
"11": [
"None (or tied)",
"Auren",
"Witches",
"Fakirs",
"Nomads",
"Chaos Magicians",
"Giants",
"Swarmlings",
"Mermaids",
"Dwarves",
"Engineers",
"Halflings",
"Cultists",
"Alchemists",
"Darklings"
]
}
}
</pre>

If you want to consider some internal game statistics for game developer, publisher or admins's purpose only, simply add the following extra property : "display" => "limited". For instance :
<pre>
{
"player_teststat2": {
"id": 12,
"name": "player test stat 2",
"type": "float",
"display": "limited"
}
}
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Troubleshooting

2023-11-15T12:48:39Z

Archduke:

Describing common errors which are hard to understand and debug. This may be useful for troubleshooting.

__TOC__

== Game does not start at all ==

=== Undefined offset: 0 in table/table.game.php on line 1417 ===

Do not call self::getActivePlayerName() during setupNewGame()

Ensure you're calling $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer() at the end of your game setup. You must always have at least one active player.

=== Javascript error: During pageload n is null ===

When calling dojo.place(), the name of the container (second parameter) to place the new block into is not defined in the page template.

=== Unexpected error: Wrong formatted data from BGA gameserver 1 (method: createGame): ... ===

This is generic message usually followed by exact position in your source code, and usually its syntax error in one of yours php script

=== Unexpected error: Propagating error from GS 1 (method: createGame): Fatal error during yourgame setup: Not logged ===

Calling self::getCurrentPlayerId () or using $g_user from 'args' state function, see also below

=== Unexpected error: Propagating error from GS 1 (method: createGame): Fatal error during yourgame setup: Unknow player statistic: ===

Calling self::incStat() with second parameter which is an empty string

=== Unexpected error: Propagating error from GS 1 (method: createGame): Fatal error during yourgame setup: Error while processing SQL request: INSERT INTO stats ... ===

Fatal error during yourgame setup: Error while processing SQL request: INSERT INTO stats (stats_type, stats_player_id, stats_value) VALUES ('10','2300663','0'),('10','2300662','0')
Duplicate entry '10-2300663' for key 'stats_table_id'

Why? In the stats.inc.php you declared two keys with the same integer "id"

=== Unexpected error: Propagating error from GS 1 (method: createGame): Fatal error during yourgame setup: BGA main website do not respond ===

Check if other games work; if not, it's a problem with BGA Studio; if so, your game likely reaches an end state immediately. Check your states.inc.php and your transitions.

=== Unexpected error: Propagating error from GS 1 (method: createGame): BGA service error ===

You may have a syntax error in your dbmodel.sql.

Or, you may be calling self::initStat() for a statistic that does not exist. Check the statistic name, and make sure you clicked "Reload statistics configuration" button in the admin console after making changes to stats.inc.php

Or you may not have your states.inc.php set up correctly.

You may have an error in your table.game.php file in setupNewGame (such as <code>$result['x'] = y;</code> when $result is not an array).

=== Unexpected error: Table status of a starting game should be 'setup' ===

This error message appears when you start a one player game using the "Express Start" button.

In normal situation, the game starts just after this message and everything should works normally. In this case, you can just ignore this message.

If the games does not start, it is most probable that there is a syntax error in any of your php code (Check your states.inc.php and X.game.php)

=== Fatal error during creation of database ebd_quoridor_389 Not logged ===

Check that you didn't use $g_user or getCurrentPlayerId() in setupNewGame() function or in an 'args' function of your state.

As these functions are not consequences of a user action, there is no current player defined.

As a general rule, you should use getActivePlayerId() and not getCurrentPlayerId(). See the [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/bga-studio-focus-on-bga-game-state-machine presentation on the game state machine] for more information.

=== Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in table.game.php ===

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/tournoi/release/tournoi-151226-1240-gs/www/game/module/table/table.game.php on line 129
Fatal error: Cannot unset string offsets in /var/tournoi/release/tournoi-151226-1240-gs/www/game/module/table/table.game.php on line 143

That appears when your arg* function that suppose to return array of state arguments returns a scalar (a non-array) value

=== The server reported an error ===

During table creation: "The server reported an error" error shown and nothing else.

If you cannot even create a table - there is syntax error in gameinfos.php, check it, reload it from management panel.
If still no luck copy clean version from template https://github.com/elaskavaia/bga-sharedcode/blob/master/gameinfos.inc.php

=== Unexpected Error : Invalid player number for this game : 4 ===

This error may comes when trying to change the player number configuration in gameinfos.inc.php from a higher to lower number of players (for example from 4 to 2).

The following steps will help to change a player config from array(4) to array(2) :

* change in gameinfos.inc.php the entry to 'players' => array( 2,3,4 )
* In game management page (Control Panel > Manage Games > "Your Game"), press the "Reload Game information" button
* create a new table
* reduce the number of players to 2 and start the game
* (express) Stop the game
* change in gameinfos.inc.php the entry to 'players' => array( 2 )
* press again the "Reload Game information" button

=== Blank page ===
If you see no html at all check
* if you have syntax error in your view.php file
* class name of your view.php file does not match the project name (should be view_foo_foo if project is foo)
* game name return by getGameName() does not match the project name (should be "foo" if project is foo)

class view_russianrailroads_russianrailroads extends game_view {
function getGameName() {
return "russianrailroads";
}

=== "Ooooops, this page does not exists :/" ===
If your table is created, but you are redirected to <code><nowiki>https://studio.boardgamearena.com/1/index.php</nowiki></code> when you try to launch your table, then you are most likely missing the [[Players actions: yourgamename.action.php|action PHP file]].

No other error is displayed or logged, meaning this can be tough to debug.

Make sure the file is correctly named, as any typo means the studio won't be able to find the file.

== Game starts but I can't make a move ==

=== When I do a move, I got "Move recorded, waiting for update ..." forever ===

"Move recorded" means that your ajaxcall request has been sent to the server and returned normally.

"Waiting for update" means that your client interface is waiting for some notifications from the server that correspond to the move we just did.

If this message stays forever, it is probably that your PHP code does not send any notification when the move happens, which is abnormal. To fix this: add a notifyAllPlayers or a notifyPlayer call in your PHP code.

=== When I do a move, I get "Sending move to server..." then nothing and game resets to state before the move ===

Its possible that server code get into infinite loops or thinks too much, in which case it will timeout and will be aborted without any extra logs (and db transaction you saw in the log won't be committed). You will usually see "Unable to connect to server" message on console in this case. You have to put more logging into server
to trace where it hangs.

You may also see this error in the log in this case: "Error (2006) while processing SQL request: MySQL server has gone away"

=== When I do a move, I get "Ajaxcall error: empty answer" ===

You either have missing self::ajaxResponse(); in your [[Players actions: yourgamename.action.php|game.action.php]] method, or there is some problem with getting arguments (check that you are using btoa() on client when using AT_base64 arg type in action.php)

=== When I do a move, I get "Gameserver is locked by configuration". ===

You may have an error in your AJAX path, such as /reversi/reversi when your game's name is different.

=== Some player action is triggered randomly when I click somewhere on the game area ===

You probably used "dojo.connect" on a null object. In this case, dojo.connect associate the event (ex: "onclick") to the whole game area.

Most of the time it happens in this situation, when my_object element does not exists:
<pre>
dojo.connect( $("my_object"), "onclick", this, (event)=>{})
</pre>

To determine if this is the case, place "alert( $("my_object") )" before the dojo.connect to check if the object exists or not.

=== Error: This is not your turn ===

This happens when checkAction() is called and current player is NOT the active player.

You can change the active player in studio by clicking the red arrow next to their name in the player panel (right side of the page).

[[File:Change_active_player.jpg]]

=== Error: Please wait, an action is already in progress ===
Its followed by error "(Generated by checkAction / XXX)" on studio.

This error is triggered in the JS by the checkAction function for XXX action.

This can happen when the player sent an Ajax request action earlier, and:
* action is not complete yet - i.e. takes some time, and user clicked something again
* if there is bug in interface where MULTIPLE handlers are fired on same click. To debug this add some console.trace() in place this specific checkAction is called.
* did not get any notification from the PHP side. To avoid this, put an empty notifyPlayer in the PHP side of the Ajax handler to ensure the client receives a response. This line of code should do it:
<pre>
$this->notifyPlayer($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'message', '', []); // sent to current player, who originated the action
</pre>

=== Error: This move is not authorized now ===
This is generic error message generated by this.showMoveUnauthorized() function. If you did not call this function yourself, check the console log, it may have additional information.
If you see "Move not authorized now : XXX" in the log, where XXX is your action name - this means that action XXX is not defined in list of possible actions for your current state. This error generated by checkAction() function.

=== Error: You are not connected - after waiting for the submitted move ===
In the log you may find:
Query execution was interrupted, maximum statement execution time exceeded - Request: SELECT global_id, global_value FROM global WHERE 1

The error message above is because of failed attempt to lock a table, which happens because of infinite loop in you game.
* Check that don't enter same game state over and over again
* Check that you reverse for loop actually descrease counter or other loop issues
* Check that recursive function ends

== Predefined server errors ==

=== Unexpected error: Unexpected final game state (XX) ===

The action function does not transition to any state, i.e.
function selectField($field) {
self::checkAction ( 'selectField' );
if ($field!=0) $this->gamestate->nextState ( 'next' );
}
Here if $field is 0 there is no transition

=== This game action is impossible right now ===

Check the game log. Usually your state does not define the action you trying to perform in 'possibleactions' array.

Also check your onActionName javascript function. Make sure you are calling the right "actionname.html".

=== Unexpected error: This transition (playerTurn) is impossible at this state (42) ===

This is pretty self explanatory. Function nextState() takes transition name not a state name, so you probably did not
define this transition that the given state

== Game interface hangs during reload or on start ==

Showing "Application Loading..."

=== Javascript error: During pageload undefined no_stack_avail Script: ===

This error usually has no useful data, but it means you called somes API that require a callback and did not define callback function, i.e
in dojo.connect, this.connectClass, dojo.subscribe, etc

this.connectClass('field', 'onclick', 'onField'); // <-- onField is not defined

=== Other errors with "Application loading..." ===

You probably have a syntax error in your Javascript code, and the interface refuses to load.

To find this error, check if there is an error message in the Javascript console (F12).

If there is really nothing on the log, it's probably that the system was unable to load your Javascript because of an syntax error that affect the structure of the Javascript file, typically a missing "}" or a missing "," after a method definition.

If you have "Uncaught ReferenceError: bgagame is not defined" you have major syntax error in your js file, you should see some other clues in the log where the errors is.

If you have "dojo.publish is not defined" or something similar, this could be caused by another error earlier. For example, a syntax error caused by a malformed generated file (such as using newlines in tiebreaker description). Also you might have left some images in the /img directory with special characters in the name which must be removed. If you edited images for the game box and website, ensure that you have not left any unnecessary files there.

=== Unexpected Syntax Error: ===

No further details in the log. When log is filling with some social connect errors.

Possible Reason: Syntax error in of the php script which is loaded before the start, such as gameoptions.inc.php, gameinfos.inc.php and such.

=== Game interface spins in a loop throwing error ===

Errors is something like "Cannot read property 'is_ai' of undefined". Cannot restart the game because cannot access UI to stop.
Likely you get in actplayer state with player id == 0. The only way to fix it is to edit database, globals index == 2 set player id to one of your test dudes
(can copy from row 5 for example).

=== Unable to find table database (1): ebd_yourgame_112222 ===

Its either temporarily server error especially on studio it timeouts sometimes, just try reloading again.
Or check if you have syntax errors in your php game file or sql.

== Type conversion / juggling errors ==

=== On php side I get a number instead of string I expect ===

$num = 3;
$meeple = "meeple_" + $num; // <-- suppose to be "meeple_3"!

When you switch between JS and PHP it easy to type this and not notice the +. Plus sign (+) in php does not mean string concatenation (in javascript does!),
in php + means integer arithmetic. So change + to . (dot)

=== On php side my string comparison does not work ===

if ($color == '4baae2' || $color == '000000') {
}

Apparently you should not be using '==' in php to compare strings! You should use '==='. The (==) operator will typecast the strings
to numbers then do comparison!
Its not very apparent because usually you can get away with it, but not when strings resemble numbers like hex 'colors'.

=== Integer columns in the database are returned as strings ===

This is normal PHP behavior. All fields are returned as string type, regardless of their actual type in the database. This also applies to global variables accessed via getGameStateValue(), since they are stored in a database table.

You can use type-casting to convert them to the correct type after they come out of the database.

$myValueInt = (int)self::getGameStateValue(GLOBAL_ROUND_NUMBER);

or

$myValueInt = self::getGameStateValue(GLOBAL_ROUND_NUMBER) + 0; // adding 0 casts to int

same with direct qdb ueries
$sql = "SELECT my_int_column FROM my_table WHERE my_condition";
$myResult = self::getUniqueValueFromDB($sql); <-- this is a string
$myResultAsInt = (int)$myResult;

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5323146/mysql-integer-field-is-returned-as-string-in-php

== Zombie mode ==

=== Unexpected error: Propagating error from GS 1 (method: zombie): Not logged ===

You are probably calling getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName() in your zombieTurn method or any of the methods it uses. Instead, use the $active_player_id provided as parameter to zombieTurn().

If you do not see these commands within "function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player ){}", check all the functions called from zombieTurn, also "function getGameProgression(){}" and all the functions THAT calls.

=== Unexpected error: Can't manage zombie player in this game state ===

The state the game was in at the time the error was generated didn't have "transitions" => array( "zombiePass" => 27 )" in states.inc.php (27 was an arbitrary example, but everything else must be spelled exactly that way.)

To correct this error, either add "zombiePass" => ## to the transitions array or work out why the game is in a state it should not be in.

=== Unexpected error: Wrong formatted data from BGA gameserver 1 (method: zombie): ===

This is almost certainly an undefined value in PHP code. Look for a warning or error message in the game replay log on the right side of the table UI.

=== Unexpected error: BGA gameserver 1 do not respond (method: zombie) (timeout: cluster) ===

You are trying to end the game from a zombie method. This is not allowed. The zombie logic must continue the game as best it can. See [[Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Zombie_mode|Zombie mode]] for more info.

=== Game unexpectedly ends when one player becomes zombie ===

There is an error in handling zombie mode, check error log. Example: if the zombie turn is called again, framework detects a infinite loop and cancels the game. On the studio there is a notification called ZombieTurnFailed

== Dead locks ==

=== Database dead lock in multiplayer state ===
You normally won't see this error until game is released because to reproduce game it have to be hit with 2 players doing an action simultaneosly.
You only can reprodoce this on studio if you either very fast or you use a script (with direct REST calls).

There is few types of deadlocks
I) Try-lock - this one you don't need to worry about even it does appear in the log, this is 2 player doing the action and second cannot lock db, it will re-try up to 3 times and hopefully it be ok
II) Real dead lock - when 2 tables are locked in reversed by 2 actions, its unclar if this really happen but workaround number 2 theorically should solved it (but it will increase number of deadlocks of type I)

There are two known workarounds:

1) Use $this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true in constructor which will force usage of playermultiactive table, but this does not eliminate dead lock completely.

2) Before every action explictly lock tables in specific order (add this code in your game.php file)
<pre>
// Due to deadlock issues involving the playersmultiactive and player tables,
// standard tables are queried FOR UPDATE when any operation occurs -- AJAX or refreshing a game table.
//
// Otherwise at least two situations have been observed to cause deadlocks:
// * Multiple players in a live game with tabs open, two players trading multiactive state back and forth.
// * Two players trading multiactive state back and forth, another player refreshes their game page.
private function queryStandardTables() {
// Query the standard global table.
$this->DbQuery("SELECT global_id, global_value FROM global WHERE 1 ORDER BY global_id FOR UPDATE");
// Query the standard player table.
$this->DbQuery("SELECT player_id id, player_score score FROM player WHERE 1 ORDER BY player_id FOR UPDATE");
// Query the playermultiactive table. DO NOT USE THIS is you don't use $this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true
$this->DbQuery("SELECT ma_player_id player_id, ma_is_multiactive player_is_multiactive FROM playermultiactive ORDER BY player_id FOR UPDATE");

// TODO should the stats table be queried as well?
}

/** This is action function that canbe called from multiplayer state */
protected function actionXXX() {
$this->queryStandardTables();
... // your arg function code
}
/** This is arg function of multiplayer state, XXX is replaced by actual name of state.
You need to do it for EVERY arg function in multiplayer states which accesses the database.
You don't need to do it for arg function for single player states
*/
protected function argXXX() {
$this->queryStandardTables();
... // your arg function code
}
</pre>

== Other errors ==

=== Javascript does not know how to sum two numbers ===

Be careful when you manipulate integers returned by notifications: most of the time, Javascript considers they are Strings and not Integers.

As a result:
<pre>
var i=1;
i += notif.args.increment; // With notif.args.increment='1'
alert( i ); // i=11 instead of 2 !! Javascript concatenate 2 strings !
</pre>

To solve this, you should use the "toint" function:
<pre>
var i=1;
i += toint( notif.args.increment ); // With notif.args.increment='1'
alert( i ); // i=2 :)
</pre>

=== Javascript: do not use substr with negative numbers ===

To get the last characters of a string, use "slice" instead of "substr" which has a bug on IE:
<pre>
var three_last_characters = string.substr( -3 ); // Wrong
var three_last_characters = string.slice( -3 ); // Correct
</pre>

=== Game "spontaneously" transition to a new state without user input ===

Make sure on php side you have no code after $this->gamestate->nextState(...) code.
Because if you do accidentally have code that goes to another state it will cause another state transition without user interaction.

function selectField($field) {
self::checkAction ( 'selectField' );
if ($field!=0) $this->gamestate->nextState ( 'next' );
$this->gamestate->nextState ( 'last' ); // <-- here is missing else, so it will cause double state transition
}

=== Message "Invalid or missing substitution argument for log message: ${actplayer} ... " when entering a state ===

You probably have an args function defined for that state that does '''not''' return an array

=== Server syntax error: Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /var/tournoi/release/tournoi-220308-1000-gs/www/game/module/table/gamestate.game.php on line 823 ===

Generally comes with that syntax error : Warning: implode(): Invalid arguments passed in /var/tournoi/release/tournoi-220308-1000-gs/www/game/module/table/gamestate.game.php on line 845

It is most probable that you used setPlayersMultiactive method with id of a single player not included in an array -> you should use: ... setPlayersMultiactive( array($player_id), ...

=== Red banner "Uncaught EvalError: Possible side-effect in debug-evaluate" ===

This is a known issue that can be ignored (for most of case). Generally happening when working on devtool.
A workaround is to disable the "error" event listener. To do so, you can temporarily disable the event listener in DevTools, like this:

- At the top of DevTools, open the "Elements" tab
- Press "»", on the right of "Styles", "Computed", "Layout"
- Choose "Event listeners"
- Find and expand "error"
- Click "Remove"

This will remove the event listener, but the issue will return after you refresh the page.

[[Category:Studio]]

Game replay

2023-11-15T10:42:32Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

Game replay is managed by the framework. You do not need to do anything special about it in your code, except taking care of updating the client interface through the framework notification system (and not for example, by using the callback function of an ajaxcall).

The game replay works like this:
* The static files for the game at the time of the game start are archived
* All notifications sent to the browser are added to the archive
* When replaying, the static files are loaded in the browser, then notifications are sent back to replay the game moves.

So in essence, the replay works like an exact recording.

NB: the game replay feature is now available on the studio (since December 2020). Please note that there may be a delay before the replay becomes available.

=== Preview Videos ===
Example games are periodically selected from which videos are generated to show off the game on the game panel.

Wingspan: https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/gamepreviews/1635/en-w640.webm

=== Hiding UI elements from preview video ===

Some games have pop-up modals which are displayed in some cases, these should be hidden for the replay video so you can show off the gameplay right from the game page!

[[File:Mycity-with-modal.png|500px]]

Previews are generated with a query variable set <code>target=video</code>. You can check for this query param in the following way:

const searchParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
if (searchParams) {
const target = searchParams.get('target');
if (target === "video") {
// Hide modal popups...
}
}

[[Category:Studio]]

File:Mycity-with-modal.png

2023-11-15T10:39:59Z

Archduke:

Preview video with obstructing modal

Compatibility

2023-11-14T08:48:19Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

The mainsite is built with compatibility for several old browsers.

We use a [https://browsersl.ist/#q=last+2+versions%2C+not+dead%2C+%3E+0.2%25 browserslist] config to define the targeted browsers: <code>last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%, safari >= 11</code>.

There are currently no hard rules about what you should target, but it is recommended to follow the same targets as the mainsite. You can use [https://babeljs.io/ babel] to compile your modern JavaScript code into backwards compatible code. Babel accepts a browserslist targets string, so you can use the targets above.

== Current list ==

As of November 2023, <code>last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%, safari >= 11</code> corresponds to:

* and_chr 113
* and_ff 113
* and_qq 13.1
* and_uc 13.4
* android 113
* android 4.4.3-4.4.4
* chrome 113
* chrome 112
* chrome 111
* chrome 110
* chrome 109
* chrome 108
* chrome 103
* chrome 79
* edge 113
* edge 112
* edge 111
* firefox 113
* firefox 112
* firefox 111
* ios_saf 16.4
* ios_saf 16.3
* ios_saf 16.2
* ios_saf 16.1
* ios_saf 16.0
* ios_saf 15.6
* ios_saf 15.5
* ios_saf 14.5-14.8
* ios_saf 14.0-14.4
* ios_saf 12.2-12.5
* kaios 3.0-3.1
* kaios 2.5
* op_mini all
* op_mob 73
* opera 98
* opera 97
* opera 96
* safari 16.4
* safari 16.3
* safari 16.2
* safari 16.1
* safari 16.0
* safari 15.6
* safari 15.5
* safari 15.4
* safari 15.2-15.3
* safari 15.1
* safari 15
* safari 14.1
* safari 14
* safari 13.1
* safari 13
* safari 12.1
* safari 12
* safari 11.1
* safari 11
* samsung 20
* samsung 19.0

[[Category:Studio]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2023-11-13T17:19:41Z

Archduke: /* Migration */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In <code>gameoptions.json</code>, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants).

In <code>gamepreferences.json</code>, you can define user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify these files.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after edits to these files, you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for player count, which is automatically handled). For example, whether to include ''The River'' in Carcassonne.
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, whether or not to prompt for action, whether or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in <code>gameoptions.json</code> as an object:

{
"100": { ... },
"101": { ... }
}

Each key corresponds to the option id, and each value is that option's definition, which is defined below.

'''Note:''' the file must be valid [https://www.json.org/ JSON]. That is, trailing commas and comments are not allowed.

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the values of the option definition object:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
**0 = Normal
**1 = Training
**2 = Arena
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile
**[0, 1, 2] - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php)
**values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21)
**Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

'''Example:'''
<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "my game option",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "option 1"
},
"2": {
"name": "option 2",
"tmdisplay": "option 2"
},
"3": {
"name": "option 3",
"beta": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"default": 1
},
"101": {
"name": "Draft variant",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "No draft"
},
"2": {
"name": "Draft",
"tmdisplay": "Draft",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 2, 3, 4 ]
},
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"startcondition": {
"1": [],
"2": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 3,
"message": "Draft option is available for 3 players maximum."
}
]
}
},
"102": {
"name": "Takeovers",
"values": {
"2": {
"name": "No takeover"
},
"1": {
"name": "Allow takeovers",
"tmdisplay": "Takeovers",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 3, 4 ]
}
],
"startcondition": {
"2": [],
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only."
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

'''Example of option that condition on ELO off:'''
{
"100": {
"name": "Learning Game (No Research)",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"tmdisplay": ""
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Learning Game"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Learning variant available only with ELO off"
}
}
'''Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode:'''
<pre>
"displaycondition": [
{ "type": "otheroption", "id": 200, "value": [0, 1, 2] }
],
</pre>

'''Example of using condition on your own option:'''
<pre>
{
"102": {
"name": "Scenarios",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"nobeginner": false
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Scenarios",
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroptionisnot",
"id": 100,
"value": 2
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen"
}
}

</pre>

'''Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:'''<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Board setup",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Mirror setup",
"description": "The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.",
"tmdisplay": "Mirror setup"
},
"2": {
"name": "Random setup",
"description": "Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.",
"tmdisplay": "Random setup"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "minplayers",
"value": [
2,
3,
4
]
}
]
},
"102": {
"name": "Solo difficulty",
"values": [
{
"name": "Banan-apprentice",
"description": "Do not remove any seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Banan-apprentice"
},
{
"name": "Pear to the Throne",
"description": "Remove 1 seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Pear to the Throne"
}
],
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 1
}
]
}
}

</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"startcondition": {
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "This option is available for 2 players only.",
"gamestartonly": true
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"level": "major"
}
}
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)
* the naming of major variant values should be concise and the values should have descriptive text (not just "enabled" or "disabled")
** 👍 Option name "Expansion", option values "Base game", "Bigger is Better" => Displayed as ''"Expansion: Base game"'' or ''"Expansion: Bigger is Better"''
** 👎 Option name "Bigger is Better", option values "Enabled", "Disabled => Displayed as ''"Bigger is Better: Enabled"'' or ''"Bigger is Better: Disabled"''

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Colorblind Support",
"needReload": true,
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "None",
"cssPref": "colorblind_off"
},
"2": {
"name": "Numbers",
"cssPref": "colorblind_on"
},
"3": {
"name": "Shapes",
"cssPref": "colorblind_shapes"
}
},
"default": 1
}
}
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

== Translations ==
Note that any name or description values in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in <code>totranslate()</code> calls.

== Migration ==
Previously, options and preferences were specified in a single <code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> file.

BGA has switched to a JSON format to make parsing easier on the server-side, and to avoid a reliance on PHP for static config.

However, the PHP format will continue to work for existing games, and there is no need to migrate unless you want to.

If you want to migrate, then:

* Remove all calls to <code>totranslate()</code>, and replace with the plain string
* Remove any references to BGA's PHP constants, such as GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE, and replace with the plain value (in this case, 201)
* You can populate <code>gameinfos.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_options, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* You can populate <code>gamepreferences.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_preferences, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* If you include gameoptions.inc.php directly, to read the values, then replace those calls with <code>$this->getTableOptions()</code> or <code>$this->getTablePreferences()</code> as appropriate which return arrays parsed from the JSON files
This message was posted to the developer Discord channel:<blockquote>
=== Game options change (Optional!) ===
<code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> is now considered legacy, and <code>gameoptions.json</code> and <code>gamepreferences.json</code> are recommended for new projects:

* The wiki and the template project have been updated: [[/en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json|https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.json,_gamepreferences.json]]
* Any questions/problems can come to me, or can be asked here.
* The format of the json files matches the format of the old php files

We realise there are some drawbacks (sorry!):

* No comments in the JSON file, meaning you have to check the wiki for examples
* No PHP constants in the JSON file, meaning magic numbers

However, we hope it's good for BGA because:

* Simpler to parse (for robots and humans)
* Easier to check for errors (we could perhaps use an XSLT one day)
* No need to run game-specific PHP code on the metasite

'''NOTE''': Switching is totally optional, and the legacy files will still work for existing projects, and for those who know about them. </blockquote>
[[Category:Studio]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2023-11-13T16:56:11Z

Archduke: Swap to JSON format

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In <code>gameoptions.json</code>, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants).

In <code>gamepreferences.json</code>, you can define user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify these files.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after edits to these files, you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for player count, which is automatically handled). For example, whether to include ''The River'' in Carcassonne.
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, whether or not to prompt for action, whether or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in <code>gameoptions.json</code> as an object:

{
"100": { ... },
"101": { ... }
}

Each key corresponds to the option id, and each value is that option's definition, which is defined below.

'''Note:''' the file must be valid [https://www.json.org/ JSON]. That is, trailing commas and comments are not allowed.

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the values of the option definition object:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
**0 = Normal
**1 = Training
**2 = Arena
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile
**[0, 1, 2] - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php)
**values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21)
**Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

'''Example:'''
<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "my game option",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "option 1"
},
"2": {
"name": "option 2",
"tmdisplay": "option 2"
},
"3": {
"name": "option 3",
"beta": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"default": 1
},
"101": {
"name": "Draft variant",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "No draft"
},
"2": {
"name": "Draft",
"tmdisplay": "Draft",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 2, 3, 4 ]
},
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"startcondition": {
"1": [],
"2": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 3,
"message": "Draft option is available for 3 players maximum."
}
]
}
},
"102": {
"name": "Takeovers",
"values": {
"2": {
"name": "No takeover"
},
"1": {
"name": "Allow takeovers",
"tmdisplay": "Takeovers",
"premium": true,
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 100,
"value": [ 3, 4 ]
}
],
"startcondition": {
"2": [],
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only."
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

'''Example of option that condition on ELO off:'''
{
"100": {
"name": "Learning Game (No Research)",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"tmdisplay": ""
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Learning Game"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroption",
"id": 201,
"value": 1
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Learning variant available only with ELO off"
}
}
'''Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode:'''
<pre>
"displaycondition": [
{ "type": "otheroption", "id": 200, "value": [0, 1, 2] }
],
</pre>

'''Example of using condition on your own option:'''
<pre>
{
"102": {
"name": "Scenarios",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Off",
"nobeginner": false
},
"2": {
"name": "On",
"tmdisplay": "Scenarios",
"nobeginner": true
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "otheroptionisnot",
"id": 100,
"value": 2
}
],
"notdisplayedmessage": "Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen"
}
}

</pre>

'''Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:'''<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Board setup",
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "Mirror setup",
"description": "The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.",
"tmdisplay": "Mirror setup"
},
"2": {
"name": "Random setup",
"description": "Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.",
"tmdisplay": "Random setup"
}
},
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "minplayers",
"value": [
2,
3,
4
]
}
]
},
"102": {
"name": "Solo difficulty",
"values": [
{
"name": "Banan-apprentice",
"description": "Do not remove any seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Banan-apprentice"
},
{
"name": "Pear to the Throne",
"description": "Remove 1 seed before starting the game.",
"tmdisplay": "Pear to the Throne"
}
],
"displaycondition": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 1
}
]
}
}

</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"startcondition": {
"1": [
{
"type": "maxplayers",
"value": 2,
"message": "This option is available for 2 players only.",
"gamestartonly": true
}
]
}
}
}
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Option name",
"values": [],
"level": "major"
}
}
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)
* the naming of major variant values should be concise and the values should have descriptive text (not just "enabled" or "disabled")
** 👍 Option name "Expansion", option values "Base game", "Bigger is Better" => Displayed as ''"Expansion: Base game"'' or ''"Expansion: Bigger is Better"''
** 👎 Option name "Bigger is Better", option values "Enabled", "Disabled => Displayed as ''"Bigger is Better: Enabled"'' or ''"Bigger is Better: Disabled"''

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
{
"100": {
"name": "Colorblind Support",
"needReload": true,
"values": {
"1": {
"name": "None",
"cssPref": "colorblind_off"
},
"2": {
"name": "Numbers",
"cssPref": "colorblind_on"
},
"3": {
"name": "Shapes",
"cssPref": "colorblind_shapes"
}
},
"default": 1
}
}
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

== Translations ==
Note that any name or description values in these JSON files are automatically added to the translation system, even though they aren't wrapped in <code>totranslate()</code> calls.

== Migration ==
Previously, options and preferences were specified in a single <code>gameoptions.inc.php</code> file.

BGA has switched to a JSON format to make parsing easier on the server-side, and to avoid a reliance on PHP for static config.

However, the PHP format will continue to work for existing games, and there is no need to migrate unless you want to.

If you want to migrate, then:

* Remove all calls to <code>totranslate()</code>, and replace with the plain string
* Remove any references to BGA's PHP constants, such as GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE, and replace with the plain value (in this case, 201)
* You can populate <code>gameinfos.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_options, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* You can populate <code>gamepreferences.json</code> with the result of <code>json_encode($game_preferences, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)</code>
* If you include gameoptions.inc.php directly, to read the values, then replace those calls with <code>$this->getTableOptions()</code> or <code>$this->getTablePreferences()</code> as appropriate which return arrays parsed from the JSON files

[[Category:Studio]]

Template:Studio Framework Navigation

2023-11-13T16:25:28Z

Archduke:

<div class="studio-framework-navigation" style="float: right; width: 300px; border: solid #000 1px; padding: 1em; margin-left: 1em; background: #fff;">

<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Game File Reference'''</center></div>

<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''[[Studio file reference|Overview]]'''</center></div>

* [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql|<b>dbmodel.sql</b>]] - database model
* [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|<b>gameinfos.inc.php</b>]] - meta-information
* [[Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json|<b>gameoptions.json</b>]] - game options & user preferences
* [[Game art: img directory|<b>img/</b>]] - game art
* [[Game_metadata_manager|<b>Game Metadata Manager</b>]] - tags and metadata media
* [[Game material description: material.inc.php|<b>material.inc.php</b>]] - static data
* <b>misc/</b> - studio-only storage
* <b>modules/</b> - additional game code
* [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php|<b>states.inc.php</b>]] - state machine
* [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php|<b>stats.inc.php</b>]] - statistics
* [[Players actions: yourgamename.action.php|X.<b>action.php</b>]] - player actions
* [[Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css|X<b>.css</b>]] - interface stylesheet
* [[Main game logic: yourgamename.game.php|X.<b>game.php</b>]] - main logic
* [[Game interface logic: yourgamename.js|X.<b>js</b>]] - interface logic
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl|X.<b>view.php</b>]] - dynamic game layout
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl|X_X.<b>tpl</b>]] - static game layout
<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Useful Components'''</center></div>

'''Official'''

* [[Deck]]: a PHP component to manage cards (deck, hands, picking cards, moving cards, shuffle deck, ...).
* [[Draggable]]: a JS component to manage drag'n'drop actions.
* [[Counter]]: a JS component to manage a counter that can increase/decrease (ex: player's score).
* [[ExpandableSection]]: a JS component to manage a rectangular block of HTML than can be displayed/hidden.
* [[Scrollmap]]: a JS component to manage a scrollable game area (useful when the game area can be infinite. Examples: Saboteur or Takenoko games).
* [[Stock]]: a JS component to manage and display a set of game elements displayed at a position.
* [[Zone]]: a JS component to manage a zone of the board where several game elements can come and leave, but should be well displayed together (See for example: token's places at Can't Stop).

Undocumented component (if somebody knows please help with docs)
* [[Wrapper]]: a JS component to wrap a <div> element around its child, even if these elements are absolute positioned.

'''Unofficial'''

* [[BGA Code Sharing]] - Shared resources, projects on git hub, common code, other links
* [[BGA Studio Cookbook]] - Tips and instructions on using API's, libraries and frameworks
* [[Some usual board game elements image ressources]]

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Game Development Process'''</center></div>

* [[First steps with BGA Studio]]
* [[Create a game in BGA Studio: Complete Walkthrough]]
* [[Tutorial reversi]]
* [[Tutorial gomoku]]
* [[Tutorial hearts]]
* [[BGA Studio Guidelines]]
* [[BGA game Lifecycle]]
* [[Pre-release checklist]]
* [[Post-release phase]]
* [[Help|Player Resources]] - add player help/rules to your game page

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Guides for Common Topics'''</center></div>

* [[Translations]] - make your game translatable
* [[Game replay|Game Replay]]
* [[Your game mobile version|Mobile Users]]
* [[3D]]
* [[Compatibility]]

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Miscellaneous Resources'''</center></div>

* [[Studio FAQ]]
* [[Tools and tips of BGA Studio]] - Tips and instructions on setting up development environment
* [[Studio logs]] - Instructions for log access
* [[Practical debugging]] - Tips focused on debugging
* [[Troubleshooting]] - Most common "I am really stuck" situations
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bugs Studio Bugs] - Reports against Studio itself (not BGA!)
</div>

Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php

2023-11-13T16:24:25Z

Archduke: Archduke moved page Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php to Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

#REDIRECT [[Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2023-11-13T16:24:25Z

Archduke: Archduke moved page Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php to Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants) and user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify this file.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after you edited this file and syncronized to ftp folder you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for 2,3,X people - that is automatically handled - you can query it)
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, either or not to prompt for action, either or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in gameoptions.inc.php as the $game_options variable:

$game_options = [ // exactly named that
// options start with 100
100 => [ /*option description array for option 100*/ ],
101 => [ /*option description array for option 101*/ ],
// etc
];

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the parameters of option description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile, array(0,1,2) - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php), values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21). Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

Example:
<pre>
$game_options = array(
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('my game option'),
'values' => array(
// A simple value for this option:
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate('option 1')
),

// A simple value for this option.
// If this value is chosen, the value of "tmdisplay" is displayed in the game lobby
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate('option 2'),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate('option 2')
),

// Another value, with other options:
// beta=true => this option is in beta version right now.
// nobeginner=true => this option is not recommended for beginners
3 => array(
'name' => totranslate('option 3'),
'beta' => true,
'nobeginner' => true
),
),
'default' => 1
),

101 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Draft variant'),
'values' => array(
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate('No draft')
),
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Draft'),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Draft'),
'premium' => true,
'nobeginner' => true
),
),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array(
'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 100, // Game specific option defined in the same array above
'value' => array(2, 3, 4)
),
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array( 'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 201, // ELO OFF hardcoded framework option
'value' => 1 // 1 if OFF
)
),

'startcondition' => array(
1 => array(),
2 => array(
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 3,
'message' => totranslate('Draft option is available for 3 players maximum.')
)
),
),
),

102 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Takeovers'),
'values' => array(
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate('No takeover')
),
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Allow takeovers'),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Takeovers'),
'premium' => true,
'nobeginner' => true
),
),
'displaycondition' => array( // Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array(
'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 100,
'value' => array(3, 4)
)
),
'startcondition' => array(
2 => array(),
1 => array(
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 2,
'message' => totranslate('Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only.')
)
),
),
)
);
</pre>

Example of option that condition on ELO off

<pre>
$game_options = array(

100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Learning Game (No Research)'),
'values' => array(

1 => array( 'name' => totranslate('Off'), 'tmdisplay' => totranslate('') ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate('On'), 'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Learning Game') ),

),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array( 'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 201, // ELO OFF hardcoded framework option
'value' => 1, // 1 if OFF

)
),
'notdisplayedmessage' => totranslate('Learning variant available only with ELO off')
),

);
</pre>

Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode
<pre>
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option until these conditions are met - game speed is selected as realtime
array( 'type' => 'otheroption', 'id' => GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE, 'value' => array(0,1,2) )
),
</pre>

Example of using condition on your own option
<pre>
102 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Scenarios'),
'values' => array(
1 => array( 'name' => totranslate('Off'),
'nobeginner' => false ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate('On'), 'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Scenarios'),
'nobeginner' => true ),

),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array( 'type' => 'otheroptionisnot',
'id' => 100, // learning variant
'value' => 2, // 1 if OFF,2 is ON

)
),
'notdisplayedmessage' => totranslate('Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen')
),
</pre>

Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:

<pre>
$game_options = array(

100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Board setup'),
'values' => array(
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Mirror setup' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Mirror setup' ),
),
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Random setup' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Random setup' ),
),
),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: only display for non-solo mode
array(
'type' => 'minplayers',
'value' => array (2, 3, 4),
),
),
),

102 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Solo difficulty'),
'values' => array(
0 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Banan-apprentice' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'Do not remove any seed before starting the game.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Banan-apprentice' ),
),
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Pear to the Throne' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'Remove 1 seed before starting the game.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Pear to the Throne' ),
)
),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: only display for solo mode
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 1
),
),
),

);
</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
$game_options = array(
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Option name'),
'values' => array( ... ),
'startcondition' => array(
1 => array(
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 2,
'message' => totranslate('This option is available for 2 players only.'),
'gamestartonly' => true, // true = check only on gamestart, false = don't allow player to even select this combination
)
),
),
),
);
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
$game_options = [
100 => [
'name' => totranslate('Option name'),
'values' => [...],
'level' => 'major'
]
];
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)
* the naming of major variant values should be concise and the values should have descriptive text (not just "enabled" or "disabled")
** 👍 Option name "Expansion", option values "Base game", "Bigger is Better" => Displayed as ''"Expansion: Base game"'' or ''"Expansion: Bigger is Better"''
** 👎 Option name "Bigger is Better", option values "Enabled", "Disabled => Displayed as ''"Bigger is Better: Enabled"'' or ''"Bigger is Better: Disabled"''

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
$game_preferences = array(
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Colorblind Support'),
'needReload' => true, // after user changes this preference game interface would auto-reload
'values' => array(
1 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'None' ), 'cssPref' => 'colorblind_off' ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'Numbers' ), 'cssPref' => 'colorblind_on' ),
3 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'Shapes' ), 'cssPref' => 'colorblind_shapes' )
),
'default' => 1
),
);
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Game metadata manager

2023-11-07T15:47:44Z

Archduke: /* Migration */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".

__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: https://boxshot.com/3d-box/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* max 2MB
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* max 2MB
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* max 2MB
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

== Migration ==

Metadata images used to be served from the [[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of the image files prefixed with <code>game_</code> are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

== Access Permissions ==

Currently, the GMM is available to developers and maintainers.

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher and designer names, or presentation text) be managed here

[[Category:Studio]]

Main game logic: Game.php

2023-10-19T09:30:58Z

Archduke: /* Custom color assignments */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This is the main file for your game logic. Here you initialize the game, persist data, implement the rules and notify the client interface of changes.

This is the main class that implements the "server" callbacks. As it is a server it cannot initiate any data communicate with the game client (running in browser) and only can respond to client using notifications.

Your php class instance won't be in memory between two callbacks, every time client send a request a new class will be created, constructor will be called and eventually your callback function.

== File Structure ==

The details of how the file is structured are described directly with comments in the code skeleton provided to you.

Here is the basic structure:

* '''__construct''': the game constructor, where you define global variables and initiaze class members.
* '''setupNewGame''': initial setup of the game. Takes an array of players, indexed by player_id. Structure of each player includes player_name, player_canal, player_avatar, and flags indicating admin/ai/premium/order/language/beginner.
* '''getAllDatas''': where you retrieve all game data during a complete reload of the game. Return value must be associative array. Value of 'players' is reserved for returning players data from players table, if you set it it must follow certain rules
$result ['players'] = self::getCollectionFromDb("SELECT player_id id, player_score score, player_no no, player_color color FROM player");
// Returned value must include ['players'][$player_id]]['score'] for scores to populate when F5 is pressed.
* '''getGameProgression''': where you compute the game progression indicator. Returns a number indicating percent of progression (0-100)
* Utility functions: your utility functions.
* Player actions: the entry points for players actions ([https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Players_actions:_yourgamename.action.php more info here]).
* Game state arguments: methods to return additional data on specific game states ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#args more info here]).
* Game state actions: the logic to run when entering a new game state ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#action more info here]).
* '''initTable''': (not part of template) - this function is called for every php callback by the framework and it can be implement by the game (empty by default). You can use it in rare cases where you need to read database and manipulate some data before any ANY php entry functions are called (such as getAllDatas,action*,st*, etc). Note: it is not called before arg* methods
* '''zombieTurn''': what to do it's the turn of a zombie player.
* '''upgradeTableDb''': function to migrate database if you change it after release on production.

== Accessing player information ==

'''Important''': In the following methods, be mindful of the difference between the "active" player and the "current" player. The '''active''' player is the player whose turn it is - not necessarily the player who sent a request! The '''current''' player is the player who sent the request and will see the results returned by your methods: not necessarily the player whose turn it is!

; getPlayersNumber()
: Returns the number of players playing at the table
: Note: doesn't work in the beggining of setupNewGame (use count($players) instead). It will work after initialization of player table.

; getActivePlayerId()
: Get the "active_player", whatever what is the current state type.
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multiplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getActivePlayerName()
: Get the "active_player" name
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getPlayerNameById($player_id)
: Get the name by id

; getPlayerColorById($player_id)
: Get the color by id

; getPlayerNoById($player_id)
: Get 'player_no' (number) by id

; loadPlayersBasicInfos()
: Get an associative array with generic data about players (ie: not game specific data).
: The key of the associative array is the player id. The returned table is cached, so ok to call multiple times without performance concerns.
: The content of each value is:
: * player_name - the name of the player
: * player_color (ex: ff0000) - the color code of the player (as string)
: * player_no - the position of the player at the start of the game in natural table order, i.e. 1,2,3

<pre>
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ($players as $player_id => $info) {
$player_color = $info['player_color'];
...
}
</pre>
Note: if you want array of player ids only you can do this:
$player_ids = array_keys($this->loadPlayersBasicInfos());

; getCurrentPlayerId(bool $bReturnNullIfNotLogged = false) int
: Get the "current_player". The current player is the one from which the action originated (the one who sent the request).
: '''Be careful''': This is not necessarily the active player!
: In general, you shouldn't use this method, unless you are in "multiplayer" state.
: '''Very important''': in your setupNewGame and zombieTurn function, you must never use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(),
: otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message (these actions are triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to these actions).

; getCurrentPlayerName(bool $bReturnEmptyIfNotLogged = false) string
: Get the "current_player" name.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; getCurrentPlayerColor()
: Get the "current_player" color.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; isCurrentPlayerZombie()
: Check the "current_player" zombie status. If true, player is zombie, i.e. left or was kicked out of the game.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator

; isSpectator()
: Check the "current_player" spectator status. If true, the user accessing the game is a spectator (not part of the game). For this user, the interface should display all public information, and no private information (like a friend sitting at the same table as players and just spectating the game).

; getActivePlayerColor()
: This function does not seems to exist in API, if you need it here is implementation
function getActivePlayerColor() {
$player_id = self::getActivePlayerId();
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (isset($players[$player_id]))
return $players[$player_id]['player_color'];
else
return null;
}
; isPlayerZombie($player_id)
: This method does not exists, but if you need it it looks like this
protected function isPlayerZombie($player_id) {
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (! isset($players[$player_id]))
throw new BgaSystemException("Player $player_id is not playing here");

return ($players[$player_id]['player_zombie'] == 1);
}

== Accessing the database ==

The main game logic should be the only point from which you should access the game database. You access your database using SQL queries with the methods below.

'''IMPORTANT'''

BGA uses [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax-transactions.html database transactions]. This means that your database changes WON'T BE APPLIED to the database until your request ends normally (web request, not database request). Using transactions is in fact very useful for you; at any time, if your game logic detects that something is wrong (example: a disallowed move), you just have to throw an exception and all changes to the game situation will be removed. This also means that you need not (and in fact cannot) use your own transactions for multiple related database operations.

However there are sets of database operation that will do implicit commit (most common mistake is to use "TRUNCATE"), you cannot use these operations during the game, it breaks the unrolling of transactions and will lead to nasty issues
(https://mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-statements-that-cause-an-implicit-commit).

All methods below are part of game class (and view class) and can be accessed using $this-> or self::

; DbQuery( string $sql )
: This is the generic method to access the database.
: It can execute any type of SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE/REPLACE/INSERT query on the database. Returns result of the query.
: For SELECT queries, the specialized methods below are much better.
: Do not use method for TUNCATE, DROP and other table altering operations. See disclamer above about implicit commits. If you really need TRUNCATE use DELETE FROM xxx instead.

; getUniqueValueFromDB( string $sql )
: Returns a unique value from DB or null if no value is found.
: $sql must be a SELECT query.
: Raise an exception if more than 1 row is returned.

; getCollectionFromDB( string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false ) array
: Returns an associative array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The key of the resulting associative array is the first field specified in the SELECT query.
: The value of the resulting associative array is an associative array with all the field specified in the SELECT query and associated values.
: First column must be a primary or alternate key (semantically, it does not actually have to declared in sql as such).
: The resulting collection can be empty (it won't be null).
: If you specified $bSingleValue=true and if your SQL query requests 2 fields A and B, the method returns an associative array "A=>B", otherwise its A=>[A,B]
: Note: The name a bit misleading, it really return associative array, i.e. map and NOT a collection. You cannot use it to get list of values which may have duplicates (hence primary key requirement on first column). If you need simple array use getObjectListFromDB() method.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
1234 => [ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
1235 => [ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
1234 => 'myuser0',
1235 => 'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getNonEmptyCollectionFromDB(string $sql) array
: Same as getCollectionFromDB($sdl), but raise an exception if the collection is empty. Note: this function does NOT have 2nd argument as previous one does.

; getObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Returns one row for the sql SELECT query as an associative array or null if there is no result (where fields are keys mapped to values)
: Raise an exception if the query return more than one row (you can use LIMIT 1 in the query to avoid the exception)

Example:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'" );

Result:
array(
'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1
)
</pre>

; getNonEmptyObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Similar to previous one, but raise an exception if no row is found

; getObjectListFromDB(string $sql, bool $bUniqueValue=false) array
: Return an array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The result is the same as "getCollectionFromDB" except that the result is a simple array (and not an associative array).
: The result can be empty.
: If you specified $bUniqueValue=true and if your SQL query request 1 field, the method returns directly an array of values.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
[ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
[ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
'myuser0',
'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getDoubleKeyCollectionFromDB(string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false) array
: Return an associative array of associative array, from a SQL SELECT query.
: First array level correspond to first column specified in SQL query.
: Second array level correspond to second column specified in SQL query.
: If $bSingleValue = true, keep only third column on result

; DbGetLastId()
: Return the PRIMARY key of the last inserted row (see PHP mysql_insert_id function).

; DbAffectedRow() int
: Return the number of row affected by the last operation

; escapeStringForDB(string $string) string
: You must use this function on every string type data in your database that contains unsafe data.
: (unsafe = can be modified by a player).
: This method makes sure that no SQL injection will be done through the string used.
: Note: if you using standard types in ajax actions, like AT_alphanum it is sanitized before arrival,
: this is only needed if you manage to get unchecked string, like in the games where user has to enter text as a response.

<pre>

</pre>

Note: see Editing [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]] to know how to define your database model.

== Use globals ==

Sometimes, you want a single global integer value for your game, and you don't want to create a DB table specifically for it.

You can do this with the BGA framework "global". Your value will be stored in the "global" table in the database, and you can access it with simple methods.

All methods below are memeber of game class and should be accessed $this-> or self::

'''initGameStateLabels(array $labelsMap): void'''

This method should be located at the beginning of constructor of ''yourgamename.game.php''. This is where you define the globals used in your game logic, by assigning them IDs.

You can define up to 80 globals, with IDs from 10 to 89 (inclusive, there can be gaps).
Also you must use this method to access value of game options [[Game_options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.inc.php]], in that case, IDs need to be between 100 and 199.
You must '''not''' use globals outside the range defined above, as those values are used by other components of the framework.

<pre>
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->initGameStateLabels([
"my_first_global_variable" => 10,
"my_second_global_variable" => 11,
"my_game_variant" => 100
]);
// other code ...
}
</pre>

NOTE: The methods below WILL throw an exception if label is not defined using the call above.

'''setGameStateInitialValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Initialize global value. This is not required if you ok with default value if 0. This should be called from setupNewGame function.

'''getGameStateValue( string $label, int $default = 0): int'''

Retrieve the value of a global. Returns $default if global is not been initialized (by setGameStateInitialValue).

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->getGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable');
</pre>

For debugging purposes, you can have labels and value pairs send to client side by inserting that code in your "getAllDatas":

<pre>
$labels = array_keys($this->mygamestatelabels);
$result['myglobals'] = array_combine($labels, array_map([$this,'getGameStateValue'],$labels));
</pre>

That assumes you stored your label mapping in $this->mygamestatelabels in constructor
<pre>
$this->mygamestatelabels=["my_first_global_variable" => 10, ...];
$this->initGameStateLabels($this->mygamestatelabels);
</pre>

'''setGameStateValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Set the current value of a global.
<pre>
$this->setGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 42);
</pre>

'''incGameStateValue( string $label, int $increment ): int'''

Increment the current value of a global. If increment is negative, decrement the value of the global.

Return the final value of the global. If global was not initialized it will initialize it as 0.

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->incGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 1);
</pre>

=== BGA predefined globals ===

BGA already defines some globals in the ''global'' database table. You should not change them directly but it can be useful to know what they mean when debugging:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! global_id !! label !! Meaning
|-
| 1 || || Current state
|-
| 2 || || Active player id
|-
| 3 || next_move_id || Next move number
|-
| 4 || || Game id
|-
| 5 || || Table creator id
|-
| 6 || playerturn_nbr || Player turn number
|-
| 7 || gameprogression || Game progression
|-
| 8 || initial_reflexion_time || Initial reflection time
|-
| 9 || additional_reflexion_time || Additional reflection time
|-
| 200 || reflexion_time_profile || Reflexion time profile
|-
| 201 || bgaranking_mode || BGA ranking mode
|-
| 207 || game_language ||GAMESTATE_GAME_LANG
|-
| 300 || game_db_version ||GAMESTATE_GAMEVERSION: Current version of the game (when in production)
|-
| 301 || game_result_neutralized ||GAMESTATE_GAME_RESULT_NEUTRALIZED
|-
| 302 || neutralized_player_id ||GAMESTATE_NEUTRALIZED_PLAYER_ID
|-
| 304 || undo_moves_stored ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_STORED
|-
| 305 || undo_moves_player ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_PLAYER
|-
| 306 || lock_screen_timestamp ||GAMESTATE_LOCK_TIMESTAMP
|}

== Game states and active players ==

=== Activate player handling ===

; $this->activeNextPlayer()
: Make the next player active in the natural player order.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->activePrevPlayer()
: Make the previous player active (in the natural player order).
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer( $player_id )
: You can call this method to make any player active.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->getActivePlayerId()
: Return the "active_player" id
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multipleactiveplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multipleactiveplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

=== Multiple activate player handling ===

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()
: All playing players are made active. Update notification is sent to all players (this will trigger '''onUpdateActionButtons''').
: Usually, you use this method at the beginning of a game state (e.g., "stGameState") which transitions to a ''multipleactiveplayer'' state in which multiple players have to perform some action. Do not use this method if you going to make some more changes in the active player list. (I.e., if you want to take away multipleactiveplayer status immediately afterwards, use setPlayersMultiactive instead.)

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

; $this->stMakeEveryoneActive()
:this method can be used in state machine to make everybody active as "st" method of multiplayeractive state, it just calls $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()

This is to be used in state declaration:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'stMakeEveryoneActive',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "actionBla" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersNonMultiactive( $next_state )
: All playing players are made inactive. Transition to next state

; $this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive( $players, $next_state, $bExclusive = false )
: Make a specific list of players active during a multiactive gamestate. Update notification is sent to all players whose state changed.
: "players" is the array of player id that should be made active. If "players" is not empty the value of "next_state" will be ignored (you can put whatever you want)
: If "exclusive" parameter is not set or false it doesn't deactivate other previously active players. If its set to true, the players who will be multiactive at the end are only these in "$players" array

: In case "players" is empty, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise

; $this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $player_id, $next_state )
: During a multiactive game state, make the specified player inactive.
: Usually, you call this method during a multiactive game state after a player did his action. It is also possible to call it directly from multiplayer action handler.
: If this player was the last active player, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise
Example of usage (see state declaration of playerTurnPlace above):
<pre>
function actionBla($args) {
self::checkAction('actionBla');
// handle the action using $this->getCurrentPlayerId()
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'next');
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getActivePlayerList()
: With this method you can retrieve the list of the active player at any time.
: During a "game" type gamestate, it will return a void array.
: During a "activeplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array with one value (the active player id).
: During a "multipleactiveplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array of the active players id.
: Note: you should only use this method in the latter case.

; $this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( $next_state_if_none )
: Sends update notification about multiplayer changes. All multiactive set* functions above do that, however if you want to change state manually using db queries for complex calculations, you have to call this yourself after. Do not call this if you calling one of the other setters above.
Example: you have player teams and you want to activate all players in one team
<pre>
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='0'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='1' WHERE player_id='$player_id' AND player_team='$team_no'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );

$this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( 'error' );
</pre>

; updating database manually
: Use this helper function to change multiactive state without sending notification
<pre>
/**
* Changes values of multiactivity in db, does not sent notifications.
* To send notifications after use updateMultiactiveOrNextState
* @param number $player_id, player id <=0 or null - means ALL
* @param number $value - 1 multiactive, 0 non multiactive
*/
function dbSetPlayerMultiactive($player_id = -1, $value = 1) {
if (! $value)
$value = 0;
else
$value = 1;
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive = '$value' WHERE player_zombie = 0 and player_eliminated = 0";
if ($player_id > 0) {
$sql .= " AND player_id = $player_id";
}
self::DbQuery($sql);
}
</pre>

;$this->gamestate->isPlayerActive($player_id)
:Return true if specified player is active right now.
:This method take into account game state type, ie nobody is active if game state is "game" and several players can be active if game state is "multiplayer"

;$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable
:This flag can be set to true in constructor of game.php to force creation of second table to handle multiplayer states (normally these are in player table), this is very advanced feature.
:ONLY use it after you deploy you game to production if you receive unusual amount of bug report with dead lock symptoms DURING multiactiveplayer states
function __construct() {
...
$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true;
}

=== States functions ===
; $this->gamestate->nextState( $transition )
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $transition parameter is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.

'''$this->gamestate->jumpToState($stateNum)'''
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $stateNum parameter is the key of the state. See [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.
: Note: this is very advanced method, it should not be used in normal cases. Specific advanced cases include - jumping to specific state from "do_anytime" actions, jumping to dispatcher state or jumping to recovery state from zombie player function

; $this->checkAction( $actionName, $bThrowException=true )
: Check if the current player can perform a specific action in the current game state, and optionally throw an exception if they can't.
: The action is valid if it is listed in the "possibleactions" array for the current game state (see game state description).
: This method MUST be the first one called in ALL your PHP methods that handle player actions, in order to make sure a player doesn't perform an action not allowed by the rules at the point in the game. It should not be called from methods where the current player is not necessarily the active player, otherwise it may fail with an "It is not your turn" exception.
: If "bThrowException" is set to "false", the function returns '''false''' in case of failure instead of throwing an exception. This is useful when several actions are possible, in order to test each of them without throwing exceptions.

; $this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction( $action )
: (rarely used)
: This works exactly like "checkAction" (above), except that it does NOT check if the current player is active.
: '''Note: This does NOT check either spectator or eliminated status, so those checks must be done manually.'''
: This is used specifically in certain game states when you want to authorize additional actions for players that are not active at the moment.
: Example: in ''Libertalia'', you want to authorize players to change their mind about the card played. They are of course not active at the time they change their mind, so you cannot use "checkAction"; use "checkPossibleAction" instead.

This is how PHP action looks that returns player to active state (only for multiplayeractive states). To be able to execute this on client do not call checkAction on js side for this specific action.

function actionUnpass() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionUnpass'); // player changed mind about passing while others were thinking
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

; $this->gamestate->state()
: Get an associative array of current game state attributes, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for state attributes.

$state=$this->gamestate->state(); if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' ) {...}

I suggest to define and use this function in your php class to access state name:

public function getStateName() {
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
return $state['name'];
}

; $this->gamestate->state_id()
: Get the id of the current game state (rarely useful, its best to use name, unless you use constants for state ids)

; $this->gamestate->isMutiactiveState()
: Return true if we are in multipleactiveplayer state, false otherwise

=== Private parallel states ===

See the overview of private parallel states [[Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers()
: All active players in a multiactive state are entering a first private state defined in the master state's initialprivate parameter.
: Every time you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods below.
: Note: at least one player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating some or all players
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method

$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds)
: Players with specified ids are entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateState($playerId)
: Player with the specified id is entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Everytime you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods above
: Note: player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating that player
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_ChangeMind() {
// This player finished his move before, but now decides change something while other players are still active
// We activate the player and initialize his private state
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive([$this->getCurrentPlayerId()], "");
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateState(this->getCurrentPlayerId());

// It is also possible to move the player to some other specific state immediately
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers($transition)
: All active players will transition to next private state by specified transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state
: Note: this is usually used after initializing the private state to move players to specific private state according to the game logic

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

if ($specificOption) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: Players with specified ids will transition to next private state specified by provided transition.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($playerId, $transition)
: Player with specified id will transition to next private state specified by provided transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player
: Note: this is usually used after some player actions to move to next private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers()
: All players private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used to clean up after leaving a master state in which private states were used, but can be used in other cases when we want to exit private parallel states and use a regular multiactive state for all players
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private states as they will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state after exiting private parallel states to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stNextRound() {
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers();
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: For players with specified ids private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($playerId)
: For player with specified id private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used when deactivating player to clean up their parallel state
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private state as it will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state when not needed to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function done() {
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "newTurn" );
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId());
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($playerId, $newStateId)
: For player with specified id a new private state would be set
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this should be rarely used as it doesn't check if the transition is allowed (it doesn't even specifies transition). This can be useful in very complex cases when standard state machine is not adequate (i.e. specific cards can lead to some micro action in various states where defining transitions back and forth can become very tedious.)
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state

if ($playerHaveSpecificCard)
return $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 35);

$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getPrivateState($playerId)
: This return the private state or null if not initialized or not in private state

==== State Arguments in Private parallel states ====

The args method called for private states will have the player_id passed to it, allowing you to customise the arguments returned for that player.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function argMyPrivateState($player_id) {
return array(
'my_data' => $this->getPlayerSpecificData($player_id)
);
}
</pre>

==== Inactive Players ====

During Private Parallel State, active players will be managed by the private state that is current assigned to them.

Inactive players will be managed by the master multipleactiveplayer state, so your client should respond to that state in order to display any status message advising players that they are waiting for others to have their turn, or to add any buttons that allow players to potentially "break in" and become active.

== Players turn order ==

When table is created the "natural" player order is assigned to player at random, and stored in "read-only" field "player_no".
If you need to create a custom order you should never change natural order but have a separate data structure.
For example you can alter the players table to add another "custom_order" field, you can use state globals or you can use your natural board database,
to store meeple_color/position_location pair.
BGA currently does not provide any API to create/store custom player order.

'''getNextPlayerTable()'''

Return an associative array which associate each player with the next player around the table.

In addition, key 0 is associated to the first player to play.

Example: if three player with ID 1000, 2000 and 3000 are around the table, in this order, the method returns:
<pre>
array(
1000 => 2000,
2000 => 3000,
3000 => 1000,
0 => 1000
);
</pre>

'''getPrevPlayerTable()'''

Same as above, but the associative array associate the previous player around the table. However there no 0 index here.

'''getPlayerAfter( $player_id )'''

Get player playing after given player in natural playing order.

'''getPlayerBefore( $player_id )'''

Get player playing before given player in natural playing order.

Note: There is no API to modify this order, if you have custom player order you have to maintain it in your database
and have custom function to access it.

'''createNextPlayerTable( $players, $bLoop=true )'''

Using $players array creates a map of current => next as in example from getNextPlayerTable(), however you can use custom order here.
If parmeter $bLoop is set to true then last player will points to first (creaing a loop), false otherwise.
In any case index 0 points to first player (first element of $players array). $players is array of player ids in desired order.

Note: This function '''DOES NOT''' change the order in database, it only creates a map using key/values as descibed.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function getNextPlayerTableCustom() {
$starting = $this->getStartingPlayer(); // custom function to get starting player
$player_ids = $this->getPlayerIdsInOrder($starting); // custom function to create players array starting from starting player
return $this->createNextPlayerTable($player_ids, false); // create next player table in custom order
}
</pre>

<pre>
$table = $this->createNextPlayerTable([3000,2000,1000], false);

will return:
[
3000 => 2000,
2000 => 1000,
1000 => null,
0 => 3000
]
</pre>

== Notify players ==

To understand notifications, please read [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] first.

'''IMPORTANT'''

Notifications are sent at the very end of the request, when it ends normally. It means that if you throw an exception for any reason (ex: move not allowed), no notifications will be sent to players.
Notifications sent between the game start (setupNewGame) and the end of the "action" method of the first active state will never reach their destination.

=== NotifyAllPlayers ===

'''notifyAllPlayers(string $notification_type,string $notification_log,array $notification_args )'''

Send a notification to all players of the game.

* notification_type: A string that defines the type of your notification.

Your game interface Javascript logic will use this to know what is the type of the received notification (and to trigger the corresponding method).

* notification_log: A string that defines what is to be displayed in the game log.

You can use an empty string here (''). In this case, nothing is displayed in the game log.

Unless its empty, use "clienttranslate" method to make sure string is translated.

You can use arguments in your $notification_log string, that refers to values defines in the "$notification_args" argument (see below).
Note: Make sure you only use single quotes ('), otherwise PHP will try to interpolate the variable and will ignore the values in the args array.

* notification_args: The arguments of your notifications, as an associative array.

This array will be transmitted to the game interface logic, in order the game interface can be updated.

Complete notifyAllPlayers example (from "Reversi"):

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y
) );
</pre>

You can see in the example above the use of the "clienttranslate" method, and the use of 2 arguments "player_name" and "returned_nbr" in the notification log.

'''Important''': NO private data must be sent with this method, as a cheater could see it even if it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic. If you want to send private information to a player, please use notifyPlayer below.

'''Important''': this array is serialized to be sent to the browsers, and will be saved with the notification to be able to replay the game later. If it is too big, it can make notifications slower / less reliable, and replay archives very big (to the point of failing). So as a general rule, you should send only the minimum of information necessary to update the client interface with no overhead in order to keep the notifications as light as possible.

'''Important''': When the game page is reloaded (i.e. F5 or when loading turn based game) all previous notifications are replayed as history notifications. These notifications do not trigger notification handlers and are used basically to build the game log. Because of that most of the notification arguments, except i18n, player_id and all arguments used in the message, are removed from these history notifications. If you need additional arguments in history notifications you can add special field <b>preserve</b> to notification arguments, like this:

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y,
'preserve' => [ 'x', 'y' ]
) );
</pre>
In this example, fields x and y will be preserved when replaying history notification at the game load.

NOTE: The ONLY reason 'preserve' is useful if you have custom method to render notifications (or logs) which changes some text arguments into html (i.e. to insert the images instead of plain text). Do not use preserve "just in case" - it will only bloat the logs and make game load VERY slow.

==== HTML in Notifications ====

You CAN use some HTML inside your notification log, however it not recommended for many reasons:
* Its bad architecture, ui elements leak into server now you have to manage ui in many places
* If you decided to change something in ui in a future version, old games replay and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications
* When you read log preview for old games its unreadable (this is log before you enter the game replay, useful for troubleshooting or game analysis)
* Its more data to transfer and store in db
* Its nightmare for translators, at least don't put HTML tags inside the "clienttranslate" method. You can use a notification argument instead, and provide your HTML through this argument.

If you still want to have pretty pictures in the log check this [[BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Inject_images_and_styled_html_in_the_log]].

==== Recursive Notifications ====

If your notification contains some phrases that build programmatically you may need to use recursive notifications. In this case the argument can be not only the string but
an array itself, which contains 'log' and 'args', i.e.

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name_rec}'),
['token_name_rec'=>['log'=>'${token_name} #${token_number}',
'args'=> ['token_name'=>clienttranslate('Boo'), 'token_number'=>$number, 'i18n'=>['token_name'] ]
]
]);

Special handling of arguments:
* ${player_name} - this will be wrapped in html and text shown using color of the corresponding player, some colors also have reserved background. This will apply recursively as well.
* ${player_name1}, ${player_name2}, ${player_name3}, etc. - same

==== Excluding some players ====

Sometimes you want to notify all players of a message but not have it appear in the log of specific players (for example, have every player see "Player X draws a card" but have Player X see "You draw the Ace of Spades").

To send a notification to all players but have some clients ignore it, send it as normal from the server, but implement '''setIgnoreNotificationCheck''' on the client to ignore the message under given conditions. See the [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Ignoring_notifications]] documentation for more details.

=== NotifyPlayer ===

'''notifyPlayer( $player_id, $notification_type, $notification_log, $notification_args )'''

Same as above, except that the notification is sent to one player only.

This method must be used each time some private information must be transmitted to a player.

Important: the variable for player name must be ${player_name} in order to be highlighted with the player color in the game log. If you want a second player name in the log, name the variable ${player_name2}, etc.

Note that spectators cannot be notified using this method, because their player ID is not available via loadPlayersBasicInfos() or otherwise. You must use notifyAllPlayers() for any notification that spectators should get.

== Randomization ==

A large number of board games rely on random, most often based on dice, cards shuffling, picking some item in a bag, and so on. This is very important to ensure a high level of randomness for each of these situations.

Here's are a list of techniques you should use in these situations, from the best to the worst.

=== Dice and bga_rand ===

'''bga_rand( min, max )'''
This is a BGA framework function that provides you a random number between "min" and "max" (inclusive), using the best available random method available on the system.

This is the preferred function you should use, because we are updating it when a better method is introduced.

As of now, bga_rand is based on the PHP function "random_int", which ensures a cryptographic level of randomness.

In particular, it is '''mandatory''' to use it for all '''dice throw''' (ie: games using other methods for dice throwing will be rejected by BGA during review).

Note: rand() and mt_rand() are deprecated on BGA and should not be used anymore, as their randomness is not as good as "bga_rand".

=== Arrays ===

Although PHP's "shuffle()" is generally considered good enough (see below, BGA's own Deck component uses this), the following PHP code based on "random_int" provides a cryptographically-secure method to choose a random key, value, or slice of an array. (the slice preserves keys)

<pre>
private function getRandomKey(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomKey(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $key;
}
}

private function getRandomValue(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomValue(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $value;
}
}

private function getRandomSlice(array &$array, int $count)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
if ($count < 1 || $count > $size) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Invalid count $count for array with size $size", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$slice = [];
$randUnique = [];
while (count($randUnique) < $count) {
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
if (array_key_exists($rand, $randUnique)) {
continue;
}
$randUnique[$rand] = true;
$slice += array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
}
return $slice;
}
</pre>

=== shuffle and cards shuffling ===

To shuffle items, like a pile of cards, the best way is to use the BGA PHP [[Deck]] component and to use "shuffle" method. This ensures that the best available shuffling method is used, and that if in the future we improve it your game will be up to date.

As of now, the Deck component shuffle method is based on PHP "shuffle" method, which has quite good randomness (even if not as good as bga_rand). In consequence, we accept other shuffling methods during reviews, as long as they are based on PHP "shuffle" function (or similar, like "array_rand").

=== Other methods ===

Mysql "RAND()" function has not enough randomness to be a valid method to get a random element on BGA. This function has been used in some existing games and has given acceptable results, but now it should be avoided and you should use other methods instead.

== Game statistics ==

There are 2 types of statistics:
* a "player" statistic is a statistic associated to a player
* a "table" statistic is a statistic not associated to a player (global statistic for this game).

See [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]] to see how you define statistics for your game.

'''initStat( $table_or_player, $name, $value, $player_id = null )'''

Create a statistic entry with a default value.

This method must be called for each statistic of your game, in your setupNewGame method.
If you neglect to call this for a statistic, and also do not update the value during the course of a certain game using setStat or incStat, the value of the stat will be undefined rather than 0. This will result in it being ignored at the end of the game, as if it didn't apply to that particular game, and excluded from cumulative statistics. As a consequence - if do not want statistic to be applied, do not init it, or call set or inc on it.

'$table_or_player' must be set to "table" if this is a table statistic, or "player" if this is a player statistic.

'$name' is the name of your statistic, as it has been defined in your stats.inc.php file.

'$value' is the initial value of the statistic. If this is a player statistic and if the player is not specified by "$player_id" argument, the value is set for ALL players.

'''setStat( $value, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Set a statistic $name to $value.

If "$player_id" is not specified, setStat consider it is a TABLE statistic.

If "$player_id" is specified, setStat consider it is a PLAYER statistic.

'''incStat( $delta, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Increment (or decrement) specified statistic value by $delta value. Same behavior as setStat function.

'''getStat( $name, $player_id = null )'''

Return the value of statistic specified by $name. Useful when creating derivative statistics such as average.

== Translations ==

See [[Translations]]

== Manage player scores and Tie breaker ==

=== Normal scoring ===

At the end of the game, players automatically get a rank depending on their score: the player with the biggest score is #1, the player with the second biggest score is #2, and so on...

During the game, you update player's score directly by updating "player_score" field of "player" table in database.

Examples:
<pre>

// +2 points to active player
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=player_score+2 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

// Set score of active player to 5
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=5 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

</pre>

Note: don't forget to notify the client side in order the score control can be updated accordingly.

=== Tie breaker ===

Tie breaker is used when two players get the same score at the end of a game.

Tie breaker is using "player_score_aux" field of "player" table. It is updated exactly like the "player_score" field.

Tie breaker score is displayed only for players who are tied at the end of the game. Most of the time, it is not supposed to be displayed explicitly during the game.

When you are using "player_score_aux" functionality, you must describe the formula to use in your gameinfos.inc.php file like this:

<pre>
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Describe here your tie breaker formula"),
</pre>

This description will be used as a tooltip to explain to players how this auxiliary score has been calculated.

See also [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_meta-information:_gameinfos.inc.php#Multiple_tie_breaker_management Multiple Tie Breaker Management].

=== Co-operative game ===

To make everyone win/lose together in a full-coop game:

Add the following in gameinfos.inc.php :
'is_coop' => 1, // full cooperative

Assign a score of zero to everyone if it's a loss.
Assign the same score > 0 to everyone if it's a win.

=== Semi-coop ===

If the game is not full-coop, then everyone loses = everyone is tied. I.e. set score to 0 to everybody.

=== Only "winners" and "losers" ===

For some games, there is only a group (or a single) "winner", and everyone else is a "loser", with no "end of game rank" (1st, 2nd, 3rd...).

Examples:
* Coup
* Not Alone
* Werewolves
* Quantum

In this case:
* Set the scores so that the winner has the best score, and the other players have the same (lower) score.
* Add the following lines to gameinfos.inc.php:

<pre>
// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => true,
</pre>

Werewolves and Coup are implemented like this, as you can see here:
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=werewolves&section=lastresults
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=coupcitystate&section=lastresults

Adding this has the following effects:
* On game results for this game, "Winner" or "Loser" is going to appear instead of the usual "1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...".
* When a game is over, the result of the game will be "End of game: Victory" or "End of game: Defeat" depending on the result of the CURRENT player (instead of the usual "Victory of XXX").
* When calculating ELO points, if there is at least one "Loser", no "victorious" player can lose ELO points, and no "losing" player can win ELO point. Usually it may happened because being tie with many players with a low rank is considered as a tie and may cost you points. If losers_not_ranked is set, we prevent this behavior and make sure you only gain/loss ELO when you get the corresponding results.

Important: this SHOULD NOT be used for cooperative games (see is_coop parameter), or for 2 players games (it makes no sense in this case).

=== Solo ===

If game supports solo variant, a negative or zero score means defeat, a positive score means victory.

=== Player elimination ===

In some games, this is useful to eliminate a player from the game in order he/she can start another game without waiting for the current game end.

This case should be rare. Please don't use player elimination feature if some player just has to wait the last 10% of the game for game end. This feature should be used only in games where players are eliminated all along the game (typical examples: "Perudo" or "The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow").

Usage:

* Player to eliminate should NOT be active anymore (preferably use the feature in a "game" type game state).
* In your PHP code:
self::eliminatePlayer( <player_to_eliminate_id> );
* the player is informed in a dialog box that he no longer have to play and can start another game if he/she wants too (with buttons "stay at this table" "quit table and back to main site"). In any case, the player is free to start & join another table from now.
* When your game is over, all players who have been eliminated before receive a "notification" (the small "!" icon on the top right of the BGA interface) that indicate them that "the game has ended" and invite them to review the game results.

'''Important:''' this should not be used on a player who has already left the game ("zombie") as leaving/being kicked of the game (outside of the scope of the rules) is not the same as being eliminated from the game (according to the rules), except if in the course of the game, the zombie player is eliminated according to the rules.

'''Important:''' When all surviving players are eliminated at the same time BGA framework causes the game to be abandoned automatically.
To circumvent this, the game should leave 1 player not eliminated but change final scores accordingly and end the game.

=== Scoring Helper functions ===

These functions should have been API but they are not, just add them to your php game and use for every game.

// get score
function dbGetScore($player_id) {
return $this->getUniqueValueFromDB("SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set score
function dbSetScore($player_id, $count) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score='$count' WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set aux score (tie breaker)
function dbSetAuxScore($player_id, $score) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score_aux=$score WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// increment score (can be negative too)
function dbIncScore($player_id, $inc) {
$count = $this->dbGetScore($player_id);
if ($inc != 0) {
$count += $inc;
$this->dbSetScore($player_id, $count);
}
return $count;
}

== Reflexion time ==

; function giveExtraTime( $player_id, $specific_time=null )
: Give standard extra time to this player.
: Standard extra time depends on the speed of the game (small with "slow" game option, bigger with other options).
: You can also specify an exact time to add, in seconds, with the "specified_time" argument (rarely used).

; function isAsync()
: Returns true if game is turn based, false if it is realtime

== Undo moves ==

Please read our [[BGA Undo policy]] before.

'''Important''': Before using these methods, you must also add the following to your "gameinfos.inc.php" file, otherwise these methods are ineffective:
'db_undo_support' => true

Note: if you deploy undo support after game is in production this will take into effect for new games only, old games will give user an error if user choses Undo action, but otherwise it should not affect them.

; function undoSavepoint( )
: Save the whole game situation inside an "Undo save point".
: There is only ONE undo save point available (see [[BGA Undo policy]]). Cannot use in multiactivate state or in game state where next state is multiactive.
: Note: this function does not actually do anything when it is called, it only raises the flag to store the database AFTER transaction is over. So the actual state will be saved when you exit the function calling it (technically before first queued notification is sent, which matters if you transition to game state not to user state after), this may affect what you end up saving.

; function undoRestorePoint()
: Restore the situation previously saved as an "Undo save point".
: You must make sure that the active player is the same after and before the undoRestorePoint (ie: this is your responsibility to ensure that the player that is active when this method is called is exactly the same than the player that was active when the undoSavePoint method has been called).

function actionUndo() {
self::checkAction('actionUndo');
$this->undoRestorePoint();
$this->gamestate->nextState('next'); // transition to single player state (i.e. beginning of player actions for this turn)
}

'''Important note''': if you are reading game state variable right after restore (without changing state first) it won't work properly as the global table cache is not automatically refreshed after undoRestorePoint(). So you should either change state immediately to refresh game state values, or use $this->gamestate->reloadState() to refresh the state. If you choose to do the latest, be aware that this will bring the state machine back to the state during which the save point snapshot has been taken using undoSavepoint() (which means your transition you do after has to declared in the state which was saved, not in the state which was active for your actionUndo())

== Managing errors and exceptions ==

Note: when you throw an exception, all database changes and all notifications are cancelled immediately. This way, the game situation that existed before the request is completely restored.

; throw new BgaUserException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a user error
: You must throw this exception when a player wants to do something that they are not allowed to do.
: The error message will be shown to the player as a "red message".
: The error message must be translated, make sure you use self::_() or $this->_() here and NOT clientranslate()
: Throwing such an exception is NOT considered a bug, so it is not traced in BGA error logs.

Example from Gomoku:
<pre>
throw new BgaUserException( self::_("There is already a stone on this intersection, you can't play there") );
</pre>

; throw new BgaVisibleSystemException ( $error_message)
: You must throw this exception when you detect something that is not supposed to happened in your code.
: The error message is shown to the user as an "Unexpected error", in order that he can report it in the forum.
: The error message is logged in BGA error logs. If it happens regularly, we will report it to you.

; throw new BgaSystemException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a system exception. The message will be hidden from the user, but show in the logs. Use this if the message contains technical information.
: You shouldn't use this type of exception except if you think the information shown could be critical. Indeed: a generic error message will be shown to the user, so it's going to be difficult for you to see what happened.

== Zombie mode ==

When a player leaves a game for any reason (expelled, quit), he becomes a "zombie player". In this case, the results of the game won't count for statistics, but this is cool if the other players can finish the game anyway. That's why zombie mode exists: allow the other player to finish the game, even if the situation is not ideal.

While developing your zombie mode, keep in mind that:
* Do not refer to the rules, because this situation is not planned by the rules.
* Try to figure that you are playing with your friends and one of them has to leave: how can we finish the game without killing the spirit of the game?
* The idea is NOT to develop an artificial intelligence for the game.
* Do not try to end the game early, even in a two-player game. The zombie is there to allow the game to continue, not to end it. Trying to end the game is not supported by the framework and will likely cause unexpected errors.

Most of the time, the best thing to do when it is zombie player turn is to jump immediately to a state where he is not active anymore. For example, if he is in a game state where he has a choice between playing A and playing B, the best thing to do is NOT to choose A or B, but to pass. So, even if there's no "pass" action in the rules, add a "zombiepass" transitition in your game state and use it.

Each time a zombie player must play, your "zombieTurn" method is called.

Parameters:
* $state: the name of the current game state.
* $active_player: the id of the active player.

Most of the time, your zombieTurn method looks like this:

<pre>
function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player )
{
$statename = $state['name'];

if( $statename == 'myFirstGameState'
|| $statename == 'my2ndGameState'
|| $statename == 'my3rdGameState'
....
)
{
$this->gamestate->nextState( "zombiePass" );
}
else
throw new BgaVisibleSystemException( "Zombie mode not supported at this game state: ".$statename );
}
</pre>

Note that in the example above, all corresponding game state should implement "zombiePass" as a transition.

'''Very important''': your zombie code will be called when the player leaves the game. This action is triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to this action. In your zombieTurn function, you must '''never''' use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(), otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message.

== Player color preferences ==

BGA premium users may choose their preferred color for playing. For example, if they are used to play green for every board game, they can select "green" in their BGA preferences page.

Making your game compatible with colors preferences is very easy and requires only 1 line of configuration change:

On your gameinfos.inc.php file, add the following lines :

// Favorite colors support: if set to "true", support attribution of favorite colors based on player's preferences (see reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method)
// NB: this parameter is used only to flag games supporting this feature; you must use (or not use) reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method to actually enable or disable the feature.
'favorite_colors_support' => true,

Then, on your main <your_game>.game.php file check the code of "setupNewGame". New template already have correct code, but if you editing very old game and it may be absent.

$gameinfos = $this->getGameinfos();
...
if ($gameinfos['favorite_colors_support'])
$this->reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences($players, $gameinfos['player_colors']); // this should be above reloadPlayersBasicInfos()
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();

The "reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences" method reattributes all colors, taking into account players color preferences and available colors.

Note that you must update the colors to indicate the colors available for your game.

Some important remarks:
* for some games (i.e. Chess), the color has an influence on a mechanism of the game, most of the time by giving a special advantage to a player (i.e. Starting the game). Color preference mechanism must NOT be used in such a case.
* your logic should NEVER consider that the first player has the color X, that the second player has the color Y, and so on. If this is the case, your game will NOT be compatible with reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences as this method attribute colors to players based on their preferences and not based as their order at the table.

=== Custom color assignments ===
Some colors don't play nicely with BGA's color difference algorithm. If you receive feedback that colors are not well chosen, you can bypass the BGA algorithm by specifying a map from user preference colors to game colors.

For example, you may wish to assign BGA's blue to your game's baby blue: <code>"0000ff" /* Blue */ => "89CFF0",</code> whereas otherwise, a deep purple might be chosen instead. Just be sure that the assigned colors are also present in the <code>player_colors</code> array passed to <code>reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences</code>, otherwise the assignment will be ignored.

To do this, implement this method in your <code>X.game.php</code> class.

Note: the user preference colors (the keys in the returned array) should not be modified, or the code may not work as expected. These are the colors players can choose between in their profile.
/**
* Returns an array of user preference colors to game colors.
* Game colors must be among those which are passed to reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences()
* Each game color can be an array of suitable colors, or a single color:
* [
* // The first available color chosen:
* 'ff0000' => ['990000', 'aa1122'],
* // This color is chosen, if available
* '0000ff' => '000099',
* ]
* If no color can be matched from this array, then the default implementation is used.
*/
function getSpecificColorPairings(): array {
return array(
"ff0000" /* Red */ => null,
"008000" /* Green */ => null,
"0000ff" /* Blue */ => null,
"ffa500" /* Yellow */ => null,
"000000" /* Black */ => null,
"ffffff" /* White */ => null,
"e94190" /* Pink */ => null,
"982fff" /* Purple */ => null,
"72c3b1" /* Cyan */ => null,
"f07f16" /* Orange */ => null,
"bdd002" /* Khaki green */ => null,
"7b7b7b" /* Gray */ => null,
);
}

== Legacy games API ==

For some very specific games ("legacy", "campaign"), you need to keep some informations from a game to another.

This should be an exceptional situation: the legacy API is costing resources on Board Game Arena databases, and is slowing down the game setup process + game end of game process. Please do not use it for things like:
* keeping a player preference/settings (=> player preferences and game options should be used instead)
* keeping a statistics, a score, or a ranking, while it is not planned in the physical board game, or while there is no added value compared to BGA statistics / rankings.

You should use it for:
* legacy games: when some components of the game has been altered in a previous game and should be kept as it is.
* "campaign style" games: when a player is getting a "reward" at the end of a game, and should be able to use it in further games.

Important: you cannot store more than 64k of data (serialized as JSON) per player per game. If you go over 64k, storeLegacyData function is going to FAIL, and there is a risk to create a major bug (= players blocked) in your game. You MUST make sure that no more than 64k of data is used for each player for your game. For example, if you are implementing a "campaign style" game and if you allow a player to start multiple campaign, you must LIMIT the number of different campaign so that the total data size to not go over the limit. We strongly recommend you to use this:

try
{
$this->storeLegacyTeamData( $my_data );
}
catch( feException $e ) // feException is a base class of BgaSystemException and others...
{
if( $e->getCode() == FEX_legacy_size_exceeded )
{
// Do something here to free some space in Legacy data (ex: by removing some variables)
}
else
throw $e;
}

The keys may only contain letters and numbers, underscore seems not to be allowed.

; function storeLegacyData( $player_id, $key, $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Store some data associated with $key for the given user / current game
: In the opposite of all other game data, this data will PERSIST after the end of this table, and can be re-used
: in a future table with the same game.
: IMPORTANT: The only possible place where you can use this method is when the game is over at your table (last game action). Otherwise, there is a risk of conflicts between ongoing games.
: TTL is a time-to-live: the maximum, and default, is 365 days.
: In any way, the total data (= all keys) you can store for a given user+game is 64k (note: data is store serialized as JSON data)
: NOTICE: You can store some persistant data across all tables from your game using the specific player_id 0 which is unused. In such case, it's even more important to manage correctly the size of your data to avoid any exception or issue while storing updated data (ie. you can use this for some kind of leaderbord for solo game or contest)
: Note: This function cannot be called during game setup (will throw an error).

; function retrieveLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Get data associated with $key for the current game
: This data is common to ALL tables from the same game for this player, and persist from one table to another.
: Note: calling this function has an important cost => please call it few times (possibly: only ONCE) for each player for 1 game if possible
: Note: you can use '%' in $key to retrieve all keys matching the given patterns

; function removeLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Remove some legacy data with the given key
: (useful to free some data to avoid going over 64k)

; function storeLegacyTeamData( $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Same as storeLegacyData, except that it stores some data for the whole team within the current table and does not use a key
: Ie: if players A, B and C are at a table, the legacy data will be saved for future table with (exactly) A, B and C on the table.
: This is useful for games which are intended to be played several time by the same team.
: Note: the data total size is still limited, so you must implement catch the FEX_legacy_size_exceeded exception if it happens

; function retrieveLegacyTeamData()
: Same as retrieveLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

; function removeLegacyTeamData()
: Same as removeLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

== Players text input and moderation ==
This section concerns only games where the players have to write some words to play: games based on words, like "Just one" or "Codenames".

Some players will use your game to write insults or profanities. As this is part of the game and not in the game chat, these words cannot be reported by players and moderated.

If you met the following situation:

* You are asking a player to type a text (word(s) or sentence)
* The player can enter any text (this is not a pre-selection or anything you can control)
* This text is visible by at least one other player

Then, you must use the following method:

'''function logTextForModeration( $player_id, $text )'''

player_id = player who write the text

text = text that has been written

This function will have no visible consequence for your game, but will allow players to report the text to moderators if something happens.

== Language dependent games API ==

This API is used for games that are heavily language dependent. Two most common use cases are:
* Games that have a language dependent component that are not necessarily translatable, typically a list of words. (Think of games like Codenames, Decrypto, Just One...)
* Games with massive communication where players would like to ensure that all participants speak the same language. (Think of games like Werewolf, The Resistance, maybe even dixit...)

If this option is used, the table created will be limited only to users that have specific language in their profile. Player starting the game would be able to chose one of the languages they speak.

There is a new property language_dependency in gameinfos.inc.php which can be set like this:
'language_dependency' => false, //or if the property is missing, the game is not language dependent
'language_dependency' => true, //all players at the table must speak the same language
'language_dependency' => array( 1 => 'en', 2 => 'fr', 3 => 'it' ), //1-based list of supported languages

In the gamename.game.php file, you can get the id of selected language with the method '''getGameLanguage'''.
; function getGameLanguage()
: Returns an index of the selected language as defined in gameinfos.inc.php.

Languages currently available on BGA are:
'ar' => array( 'name' => "العربية", 'code' => 'ar_AE' ), // Arabic
'be' => array( 'name' => "беларуская мова", 'code' => 'be_BY' ), // Belarusian
'bn' => array( 'name' => "বাংলা", 'code' => 'bn_BD' ), // Bengali
'bg' => array( 'name' => "български език", 'code' => 'bg_BG' ), // Bulgarian
'ca' => array( 'name' => "català", 'code' => 'ca_ES' ), // Catalan
'cs' => array( 'name' => "čeština", 'code' => 'cs_CZ' ), // Czech
'da' => array( 'name' => "dansk", 'code' => 'da_DK' ), // Danish
'de' => array( 'name' => "deutsch", 'code' => 'de_DE' ), // German
'el' => array( 'name' => "Ελληνικά", 'code' => 'el_GR' ), // Greek
'en' => array( 'name' => "English", 'code' => 'en_US' ), // English
'es' => array( 'name' => "español", 'code' => 'es_ES' ), // Spanish
'et' => array( 'name' => "eesti keel", 'code' => 'et_EE' ), // Estonian
'fi' => array( 'name' => "suomi", 'code' => 'fi_FI' ), // Finnish
'fr' => array( 'name' => "français", 'code' => 'fr_FR' ), // French
'he' => array( 'name' => "עברית", 'code' => 'he_IL' ), // Hebrew
'hi' => array( 'name' => "हिन्दी", 'code' => 'hi_IN' ), // Hindi
'hr' => array( 'name' => "Hrvatski", 'code' => 'hr_HR' ), // Croatian
'hu' => array( 'name' => "magyar", 'code' => 'hu_HU' ), // Hungarian
'id' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Indonesia", 'code' => 'id_ID' ), // Indonesian
'ms' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Malaysia", 'code' => 'ms_MY' ), // Malaysian
'it' => array( 'name' => "italiano", 'code' => 'it_IT' ), // Italian
'ja' => array( 'name' => "日本語", 'code' => 'ja_JP' ), // Japanese
'jv' => array( 'name' => "Basa Jawa", 'code' => 'jv_JV' ), // Javanese
'ko' => array( 'name' => "한국어", 'code' => 'ko_KR' ), // Korean
'lt' => array( 'name' => "lietuvių", 'code' => 'lt_LT' ), // Lithuanian
'lv' => array( 'name' => "latviešu", 'code' => 'lv_LV' ), // Latvian
'nl' => array( 'name' => "nederlands", 'code' => 'nl_NL' ), // Dutch
'no' => array( 'name' => "norsk", 'code' => 'nb_NO' ), // Norwegian
'oc' => array( 'name' => "occitan", 'code' => 'oc_FR' ), // Occitan
'pl' => array( 'name' => "polski", 'code' => 'pl_PL' ), // Polish
'pt' => array( 'name' => "português", 'code' => 'pt_PT' ), // Portuguese
'ro' => array( 'name' => "română", 'code' => 'ro_RO' ), // Romanian
'ru' => array( 'name' => "Русский язык", 'code' => 'ru_RU' ), // Russian
'sk' => array( 'name' => "slovenčina", 'code' => 'sk_SK' ), // Slovak
'sl' => array( 'name' => "slovenščina", 'code' => 'sl_SI' ), // Slovenian
'sr' => array( 'name' => "Српски", 'code' => 'sr_RS' ), // Serbian
'sv' => array( 'name' => "svenska", 'code' => 'sv_SE' ), // Swedish
'tr' => array( 'name' => "Türkçe", 'code' => 'tr_TR' ), // Turkish
'uk' => array( 'name' => "Українська мова", 'code' => 'uk_UA' ), // Ukrainian
'zh' => array( 'name' => "中文 (漢)", 'code' => 'zh_TW' ), // Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan)
'zh-cn' => array( 'name' => "中文 (汉)", 'code' => 'zh_CN' ), // Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, Singapore)

== Debugging and Tracing ==

To debug php code you can use some tracing functions available from the parent class such as debug, trace, error, warn, dump.

self::debug("Ahh!");
self::dump('my_var',$my_var);

See [[Practical_debugging]] section for complete information about debugging interfaces and where to find logs.

[[Category:Studio]]

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2023-10-18T13:22:00Z

Archduke: /* level */

Options and preferences: gameoptions.json, gamepreferences.json

2023-10-18T13:15:45Z

Archduke: /* Game Options */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

In this file, you can define your game options (i.e. game variants) and user preferences.

Note: If your game has no variants or preferences, you don't have to modify this file.

'''IMPORTANT:''' after you edited this file and syncronized to ftp folder you have to go to the control panel and press "Reload game options configuration" for your changes '''to take effect'''.

Make sure you understand difference between options and preferences:
* Game options - something usually in the rule book defined as "variant" (except for 2,3,X people - that is automatically handled - you can query it)
* User preferences - personal choices of each player only visible to that specific player - i.e. layout, either or not to prompt for action, either or not auto-opt in in some actions, etc

__TOC__

== Game Options ==

Game options are selected by the table creator and usually correspond to game variants, for example if the game includes expansions or certain special rules.

These variants are defined in gameoptions.inc.php as the $game_options variable:

$game_options = [ // exactly named that
// options start with 100
100 => [ /*option description array for option 100*/ ],
101 => [ /*option description array for option 101*/ ],
// etc
];

All options defined in this file should have a corresponding "game state label" with the same ID (see "initGameStateLabels" in yourgame.game.php)

self::initGameStateLabels ([
...
"my_game_variant" => 100,
]);

Numbers have to be exactly from 100 to 199 (there can be gaps).

That is how you access them during runtime:

public function isSecondVariant() {
return $this->getGameStateValue('my_game_variant') == 2;
}

Or this
$this->gamestate->table_globals[100]

The following are the parameters of option description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the option visible for table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value visible to table creator. Value must be wrapped in totranslate function.
** '''description''' - String description of this value to use when the name of the option is not self-explanatory. Displayed at the table under the option when this value is selected. Note: if there is no description, this should be omitted.
** '''tmdisplay''' - String representation of the option visible in the table description in the lobby. Usually if a variant values are On and Off (default), the tmdisplay would be same as description name when On, and nothing (empty string) when Off. ('''Warning''': due to some caching, a change in tmdisplay may not be effective immediately in the studio, even after forcing a reload of gameoptions.inc.php.) '''Pro Tip:''' You can use this as a pre-game communication by adding fake options that just do nothing in the game but make it easier to find other player wanted the same game configuration (see the crew deep sea for example).
** '''nobeginner''' - Set to true if not recommended for beginners
** '''firstgameonly''' - Set to true if this option is recommended only for the first game (discovery option)
** '''beta''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "beta" development stage (there will be a warning for players starting the game)
** '''alpha''' - Set to true to indicate that this option is in "alpha" development stage (there will be a warning, and starting the game will be allowed only in training mode except for the developer)
** '''premium''' - Option can be only used by premium members
* '''default''' - indicates the default value to use for this option (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default)
* '''displaycondition''' - checks the conditions before displaying the option for selection. All conditions must be true for the option to display. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' condition ensures another option is set to this given values.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given values
* '''displayconditionoperand''' - can be 'and' (this is the default) or 'or'. Allows to change the behaviour to display the option if one of the conditions is true instead of all of them.
* '''startcondition''' - checks the conditions (on options VALUES) before starting the game. All conditions must be true for the game to start, otherwise players will get a red error message when attempting to begin the game. Supported condition types:
** ''minplayers'' condition ensures at least this many players (Note: if your game works with a disjoint interval of player counts, you can supply an array of valid counts instead of a single value)
** ''maxplayers'' conditions ensure at most this many players
** ''otheroption'' conditions ensure another option is set to this given values. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
** ''otheroptionisnot'' conditions ensure another option is NOT set to this given value. That works the same as in '''displaycondition'''.
*: For all these condition types, a ''gamestartonly'' boolean option can be added, if you have options that are exclusive. Setting this boolean to ''true'' will defer the evaluation of the startcondition to the game creation, instead of preventing the player to select options that are exclusive at all. See [[#gamestartonly|below]] for an example. <span style="background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C; padding: 2px;">But this should never be used -- see the warning below</span>
* '''notdisplayedmessage''' - if option is not suppose to be visible because of displaycondition but this is set, the text will be visible instead of combo drop down
* '''level''' - what kind of option it is: ''base'', ''major'', or ''additional''. See [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#level|below]] for more informations.

Common options for all tables (reserved range 200-299):
*201 (const GAMESTATE_RATING_MODE) - ELO OFF (aka Training mode),
*200 (const GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE) - game speed profile, array(0,1,2) - realtime (technically <10 realtime but you cannot define range in php), values >=10 - turn based (currently 10..21). Note there are two similar values, 9 = realtime "no time limit with friends only" vs. 20 = turn-based "no time limit with friends only"

Example:
<pre>
$game_options = array(
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('my game option'),
'values' => array(
// A simple value for this option:
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate('option 1')
),

// A simple value for this option.
// If this value is chosen, the value of "tmdisplay" is displayed in the game lobby
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate('option 2'),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate('option 2')
),

// Another value, with other options:
// beta=true => this option is in beta version right now.
// nobeginner=true => this option is not recommended for beginners
3 => array(
'name' => totranslate('option 3'),
'beta' => true,
'nobeginner' => true
),
),
'default' => 1
),

101 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Draft variant'),
'values' => array(
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate('No draft')
),
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Draft'),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Draft'),
'premium' => true,
'nobeginner' => true
),
),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array(
'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 100, // Game specific option defined in the same array above
'value' => array(2, 3, 4)
),
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array( 'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 201, // ELO OFF hardcoded framework option
'value' => 1 // 1 if OFF
)
),

'startcondition' => array(
1 => array(),
2 => array(
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 3,
'message' => totranslate('Draft option is available for 3 players maximum.')
)
),
),
),

102 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Takeovers'),
'values' => array(
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate('No takeover')
),
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Allow takeovers'),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Takeovers'),
'premium' => true,
'nobeginner' => true
),
),
'displaycondition' => array( // Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array(
'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 100,
'value' => array(3, 4)
)
),
'startcondition' => array(
2 => array(),
1 => array(
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 2,
'message' => totranslate('Rebel vs Imperium Takeover Scenario is available for 2 players only.')
)
),
),
)
);
</pre>

Example of option that condition on ELO off

<pre>
$game_options = array(

100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Learning Game (No Research)'),
'values' => array(

1 => array( 'name' => totranslate('Off'), 'tmdisplay' => totranslate('') ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate('On'), 'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Learning Game') ),

),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array( 'type' => 'otheroption',
'id' => 201, // ELO OFF hardcoded framework option
'value' => 1, // 1 if OFF

)
),
'notdisplayedmessage' => totranslate('Learning variant available only with ELO off')
),

);
</pre>

Example of condition that is only available for REALTIME game mode
<pre>
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option until these conditions are met - game speed is selected as realtime
array( 'type' => 'otheroption', 'id' => GAMESTATE_CLOCK_MODE, 'value' => array(0,1,2) )
),
</pre>

Example of using condition on your own option
<pre>
102 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Scenarios'),
'values' => array(
1 => array( 'name' => totranslate('Off'),
'nobeginner' => false ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate('On'), 'tmdisplay' => totranslate('Scenarios'),
'nobeginner' => true ),

),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: do not display this option unless these conditions are met
array( 'type' => 'otheroptionisnot',
'id' => 100, // learning variant
'value' => 2, // 1 if OFF,2 is ON

)
),
'notdisplayedmessage' => totranslate('Scenarios variant is not available if Learning variant is chosen')
),
</pre>

Example of handling solo vs multiplayer options:

<pre>
$game_options = array(

100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Board setup'),
'values' => array(
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Mirror setup' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'The starting player shuffles their 6 Farm Cards and randomly lays a card face up in each of the round spaces of their Fruit Island Board. The other players then lay their cards in exactly the same way, copying the order of the starting player.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Mirror setup' ),
),
2 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Random setup' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'Instead of every player copying the same card configuration as the starting player, every player shuffles their Farm Cards and lays down the cards randomly on their Fruit Island Board.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Random setup' ),
),
),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: only display for non-solo mode
array(
'type' => 'minplayers',
'value' => array (2, 3, 4),
),
),
),

102 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Solo difficulty'),
'values' => array(
0 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Banan-apprentice' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'Do not remove any seed before starting the game.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Banan-apprentice' ),
),
1 => array(
'name' => totranslate( 'Pear to the Throne' ),
'description' => totranslate( 'Remove 1 seed before starting the game.' ),
'tmdisplay' => totranslate( 'Pear to the Throne' ),
)
),
'displaycondition' => array(
// Note: only display for solo mode
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 1
),
),
),

);
</pre>

==== displaycondition vs startcondition ====

<code>displaycondition</code> should be used when an option should not be present in the list under certain conditions.

For example, displaying the option which is consistent with the player count.

* 2 player maps: A B C D
* 3 player maps: E F G H
* 4 player maps: I J K L

<code>startcondition</code> should be used when a specific combination of option values is invalid, but the option itself still makes sense to show.

For example:

* Player 1 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* Player 2 faction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
* startcondition: both players can't be the same faction

These options should both be displayed at all times, but there are some invalid configurations.

The other difference is displaycondition affect option itself, while startcondition affect specific values selected

==== gamestartonly ====

<div style="padding: 1em; background: #FFCDD2; color: #B71C1C">
<b>WARNING:</b> [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=104 See studio bug #104]. You should <b>NEVER</b> use <code>gamestartonly</code>! Otherwise, you allow players to (unknowingly!) create a turn-based table with impossible options that can never start. Players receive no indication that the option combination they selected is invalid until the last player joins the table (hours or days later) and the game attempts to auto-start. The table won't start because of the <code>startcondition</code>, and the table options cannot be changed because it's a turn-based table, so the table must be abandoned. This is a horrible user experience. Please don't subject players to this.
</div>

On the table configuration page, it won't let you select a combination which is invalid according to <code>startcondition</code>. Doing so will show a red warning, and will revert the option to the previous value. This means you could end up in a situation where you can't easily change between certain options (requiring you to set or unset options in a specific order).

The consequence of the <code>gamestartonly</code> flag is that the player _can_ select an invalid combination. However, when clicking "Start", an invalid combination will produce an error.

Probably the easiest way to see what the difference is is with an example.

With a _Clans of Caledonia_ table:
* set to training mode
* set player count to 1
* try setting "Clan Auction" to one of the "On" options
* try starting the game, there's an error! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => true</code>

Then, with a _Sushi Go Party!_ table:
* set number of players to 7
* try setting "Sushi Go! / Sushi Go Party!" to "Sushi Go!"
* you can't set the option! Ie. <code>"gamestartonly" => false</code>

In code:

<pre>
$game_options = array(
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Option name'),
'values' => array( ... ),
'startcondition' => array(
1 => array(
array(
'type' => 'maxplayers',
'value' => 2,
'message' => totranslate('This option is available for 2 players only.'),
'gamestartonly' => true, // true = check only on gamestart, false = don't allow player to even select this combination
)
),
),
),
);
</pre>

==== level ====
Note: at this moment this only have impact in fancy lobby mode, presentation of level or checkboxes are not avaiable via normal table creation ui (such as in studio, or when you click Play button in control panel)<pre>
$game_options = [
100 => [
'name' => totranslate('Option name'),
'values' => [...],
'level' => 'major'
]
];
</pre>

* '''base''' is the default value (you don't need to specify it).
* '''major''' denotes a major option, which will always be displayed on top, and with a specific UI.
* '''additional''' means this option will not be displayed by default, to unclutter the option panel.

About major options:
* a game can only have '''1 major option''', and of course, it must be a important game changer.
* the pictures will default to the standard Game Box, and can be set independently for each value, from the [[Game metadata manager]] (in the "Major Variants" section). Note: this cannot be tested from Studio as there is not studio-only Game metadata manager, to see Major Variants option - the game has to be deployed at least as alpha.
* the major option can have more than 2 values (there will then be an arrow to slide to the other values, carousel-like)

About additional options:
* please set each option that concerns small details in this category: advanced players will find this option anyway, and it will simplify the interface of the page of your game.

[[File:Option-levels.png|800px|Option levels]]

==== option presentation ====

An option WILL be displayed as a '''Checkbox''' instead of a selector if certain conditions are met:

* option has only '''2 values'''
* values are either (case insensitive):
** ''yes'' and ''no''
** ''on'' and ''off''
** ''enabled'' and ''disabled''

The "default" value still has to be specified, and can be "on" or "off" (it's actually just a difference in display).

[[File:Option-display.png|800px|Example of checkbox display]]

== User Preferences ==

User preferences is something cosmetic about the game interface which however can create user wars, so you can satisfy all users
by giving them individual preferences. You should use this only if it significantly improves the interface for a large proportion of users.
These preferences appear in the three-line hamburger menu in the top corner of the bga menu. "Display game logs" and Display tooltips" are baked-in by default, but you can extend this list as below.

[[File:century_preferences_menu.PNG|400px|The user preferences menu for the game Century]]

<blockquote>
''These preferences are a good place to put accessibility options - as Century did for its Colorblind Support.''
</blockquote>

<pre>
$game_preferences = array(
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Colorblind Support'),
'needReload' => true, // after user changes this preference game interface would auto-reload
'values' => array(
1 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'None' ), 'cssPref' => 'colorblind_off' ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'Numbers' ), 'cssPref' => 'colorblind_on' ),
3 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'Shapes' ), 'cssPref' => 'colorblind_shapes' )
),
'default' => 1
),
);
</pre>

There is two ways to check/apply this. In java Script

if (this.prefs[100].value == 2) ...

This checks if preferences 100 has selected value 2.

Second, if cssPref specified it will be applied to the '''<html>''' tag. So you can use different css styling for the preference. Note: it seems needed to set needReload to true for that class change to be effective.

As user you have to select them from the Gear menu when game is started. On studio only user0 will have it actually working (bug?).

The following are the parameters of preferences description array:
* '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. The name of the preference. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
* '''needReload''' - If set to true, the game interface will auto-reload after a change of the preference.
* '''values''' - '''mandatory'''. The array (map) of values with additional parameters per value.
** '''name''' - '''mandatory'''. String representation of the numeric value. Value will be automatically wrapped in totranslate if you don't.
** '''cssPref''' - CSS class to add to the '''<html>''' tag. Currently it is added or removed only after a reload (see needReload).
* '''default''' - Indicates the default value to use for this preference (optional, if not present the first value listed is the default).

=== Listening for preference changes ===

The BGA framework lacks any callback to notify your game when a user preference is changed (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to run some UI code in response to a preference change.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
setup: function (gamedatas) {
// your setup code here ...

this.initPreferencesObserver();
},

initPreferencesObserver: function () {
// Call onPreferenceChange() when any value changes
dojo.query('.preference_control').on('change', (e) => {
const match = e.target.id.match(/^preference_[cf]ontrol_(\d+)$/);
if (!match) {
return;
}
const pref = match[1];
const newValue = e.target.value;
this.prefs[pref].value = newValue;
this.onPreferenceChange(pref, newValue);
});
},

onPreferenceChange: function (prefId, prefValue) {
console.log("Preference changed", prefId, prefValue);
// your code here to handle the change
},
</pre>

=== Updating preference from code ===
The BGA framework lacks any method to update a user preference from the code (see [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bug?id=36 proposal #36]), but you can create your own if you need to.

; In ggg.js
<pre>
updatePreference: function(prefId, newValue) {
// Select preference value in control:
dojo.query('#preference_control_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
// Also select fontrol to fix a BGA framework bug:
+ '"], #preference_fontrol_' + prefId + ' > option[value="' + newValue
+ '"]').forEach((value) => dojo.attr(value, 'selected', true));
// Generate change event on control to trigger callbacks:
const newEvt = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
newEvt.initEvent('change', false, true);
$('preference_control_' + prefId).dispatchEvent(newEvt);
},
</pre>

=== Accessing User Preferences on the server ===
PHP has a variable called $this->player_preferences.
This contains a table of player preferences, ONLY accessible in setupNewGame().
You can use this to populate a table that you manage yourself.
You have to update the table when a player changes preference (and you have to hook up a listener and initiate an AJAX call out-of-turn).
Check the code of Agricola for details but this should work:

; In dbmodel.sql
<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `user_preferences` (
`player_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_id` int(10) NOT NULL,
`pref_value` int(10) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`, `pref_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
</pre>

; In ggg.game.php
<pre>
protected function setupNewGame($players, $options = array())
{
// TODO: Save $this->player_preferences: key is player_id, value is array with pref_id as key and pref_value as value
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js

<pre>

// use code for initPreferencesObserver from above example

onPreferenceChange(prefId, prefValue) {
prefId = parseInt(prefId);
if (prefId === 101 /*TODO: You probably want to send only some preferences*/) {
// TODO: Code your own action in ggg.action.php and send it prefId and prefValue
// The on the server side you can save it all in the user_preferences
// table you created above.
}
},
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Main game logic: Game.php

2023-10-16T11:00:45Z

Archduke: /* Custom color assignments */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This is the main file for your game logic. Here you initialize the game, persist data, implement the rules and notify the client interface of changes.

This is the main class that implements the "server" callbacks. As it is a server it cannot initiate any data communicate with the game client (running in browser) and only can respond to client using notifications.

Your php class instance won't be in memory between two callbacks, every time client send a request a new class will be created, constructor will be called and eventually your callback function.

== File Structure ==

The details of how the file is structured are described directly with comments in the code skeleton provided to you.

Here is the basic structure:

* '''__construct''': the game constructor, where you define global variables and initiaze class members.
* '''setupNewGame''': initial setup of the game. Takes an array of players, indexed by player_id. Structure of each player includes player_name, player_canal, player_avatar, and flags indicating admin/ai/premium/order/language/beginner.
* '''getAllDatas''': where you retrieve all game data during a complete reload of the game. Return value must be associative array. Value of 'players' is reserved for returning players data from players table, if you set it it must follow certain rules
$result ['players'] = self::getCollectionFromDb("SELECT player_id id, player_score score, player_no no, player_color color FROM player");
// Returned value must include ['players'][$player_id]]['score'] for scores to populate when F5 is pressed.
* '''getGameProgression''': where you compute the game progression indicator. Returns a number indicating percent of progression (0-100)
* Utility functions: your utility functions.
* Player actions: the entry points for players actions ([https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Players_actions:_yourgamename.action.php more info here]).
* Game state arguments: methods to return additional data on specific game states ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#args more info here]).
* Game state actions: the logic to run when entering a new game state ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#action more info here]).
* '''initTable''': (not part of template) - this function is called for every php callback by the framework and it can be implement by the game (empty by default). You can use it in rare cases where you need to read database and manipulate some data before any ANY php entry functions are called (such as getAllDatas,action*,st*, etc). Note: it is not called before arg* methods
* '''zombieTurn''': what to do it's the turn of a zombie player.
* '''upgradeTableDb''': function to migrate database if you change it after release on production.

== Accessing player information ==

'''Important''': In the following methods, be mindful of the difference between the "active" player and the "current" player. The '''active''' player is the player whose turn it is - not necessarily the player who sent a request! The '''current''' player is the player who sent the request and will see the results returned by your methods: not necessarily the player whose turn it is!

; getPlayersNumber()
: Returns the number of players playing at the table
: Note: doesn't work in the beggining of setupNewGame (use count($players) instead). It will work after initialization of player table.

; getActivePlayerId()
: Get the "active_player", whatever what is the current state type.
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multiplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getActivePlayerName()
: Get the "active_player" name
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getPlayerNameById($player_id)
: Get the name by id

; getPlayerColorById($player_id)
: Get the color by id

; getPlayerNoById($player_id)
: Get 'player_no' (number) by id

; loadPlayersBasicInfos()
: Get an associative array with generic data about players (ie: not game specific data).
: The key of the associative array is the player id. The returned table is cached, so ok to call multiple times without performance concerns.
: The content of each value is:
: * player_name - the name of the player
: * player_color (ex: ff0000) - the color code of the player (as string)
: * player_no - the position of the player at the start of the game in natural table order, i.e. 1,2,3

<pre>
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ($players as $player_id => $info) {
$player_color = $info['player_color'];
...
}
</pre>
Note: if you want array of player ids only you can do this:
$player_ids = array_keys($this->loadPlayersBasicInfos());

; getCurrentPlayerId(bool $bReturnNullIfNotLogged = false) int
: Get the "current_player". The current player is the one from which the action originated (the one who sent the request).
: '''Be careful''': This is not necessarily the active player!
: In general, you shouldn't use this method, unless you are in "multiplayer" state.
: '''Very important''': in your setupNewGame and zombieTurn function, you must never use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(),
: otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message (these actions are triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to these actions).

; getCurrentPlayerName(bool $bReturnEmptyIfNotLogged = false) string
: Get the "current_player" name.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; getCurrentPlayerColor()
: Get the "current_player" color.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; isCurrentPlayerZombie()
: Check the "current_player" zombie status. If true, player is zombie, i.e. left or was kicked out of the game.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator

; isSpectator()
: Check the "current_player" spectator status. If true, the user accessing the game is a spectator (not part of the game). For this user, the interface should display all public information, and no private information (like a friend sitting at the same table as players and just spectating the game).

; getActivePlayerColor()
: This function does not seems to exist in API, if you need it here is implementation
function getActivePlayerColor() {
$player_id = self::getActivePlayerId();
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (isset($players[$player_id]))
return $players[$player_id]['player_color'];
else
return null;
}
; isPlayerZombie($player_id)
: This method does not exists, but if you need it it looks like this
protected function isPlayerZombie($player_id) {
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (! isset($players[$player_id]))
throw new BgaSystemException("Player $player_id is not playing here");

return ($players[$player_id]['player_zombie'] == 1);
}

== Accessing the database ==

The main game logic should be the only point from which you should access the game database. You access your database using SQL queries with the methods below.

'''IMPORTANT'''

BGA uses [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax-transactions.html database transactions]. This means that your database changes WON'T BE APPLIED to the database until your request ends normally (web request, not database request). Using transactions is in fact very useful for you; at any time, if your game logic detects that something is wrong (example: a disallowed move), you just have to throw an exception and all changes to the game situation will be removed. This also means that you need not (and in fact cannot) use your own transactions for multiple related database operations.

However there are sets of database operation that will do implicit commit (most common mistake is to use "TRUNCATE"), you cannot use these operations during the game, it breaks the unrolling of transactions and will lead to nasty issues
(https://mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-statements-that-cause-an-implicit-commit).

All methods below are part of game class (and view class) and can be accessed using $this-> or self::

; DbQuery( string $sql )
: This is the generic method to access the database.
: It can execute any type of SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE/REPLACE/INSERT query on the database. Returns result of the query.
: For SELECT queries, the specialized methods below are much better.
: Do not use method for TUNCATE, DROP and other table altering operations. See disclamer above about implicit commits. If you really need TRUNCATE use DELETE FROM xxx instead.

; getUniqueValueFromDB( string $sql )
: Returns a unique value from DB or null if no value is found.
: $sql must be a SELECT query.
: Raise an exception if more than 1 row is returned.

; getCollectionFromDB( string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false ) array
: Returns an associative array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The key of the resulting associative array is the first field specified in the SELECT query.
: The value of the resulting associative array is an associative array with all the field specified in the SELECT query and associated values.
: First column must be a primary or alternate key (semantically, it does not actually have to declared in sql as such).
: The resulting collection can be empty (it won't be null).
: If you specified $bSingleValue=true and if your SQL query requests 2 fields A and B, the method returns an associative array "A=>B", otherwise its A=>[A,B]
: Note: The name a bit misleading, it really return associative array, i.e. map and NOT a collection. You cannot use it to get list of values which may have duplicates (hence primary key requirement on first column). If you need simple array use getObjectListFromDB() method.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
1234 => [ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
1235 => [ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
1234 => 'myuser0',
1235 => 'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getNonEmptyCollectionFromDB(string $sql) array
: Same as getCollectionFromDB($sdl), but raise an exception if the collection is empty. Note: this function does NOT have 2nd argument as previous one does.

; getObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Returns one row for the sql SELECT query as an associative array or null if there is no result (where fields are keys mapped to values)
: Raise an exception if the query return more than one row (you can use LIMIT 1 in the query to avoid the exception)

Example:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'" );

Result:
array(
'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1
)
</pre>

; getNonEmptyObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Similar to previous one, but raise an exception if no row is found

; getObjectListFromDB(string $sql, bool $bUniqueValue=false) array
: Return an array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The result is the same as "getCollectionFromDB" except that the result is a simple array (and not an associative array).
: The result can be empty.
: If you specified $bUniqueValue=true and if your SQL query request 1 field, the method returns directly an array of values.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
[ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
[ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
'myuser0',
'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getDoubleKeyCollectionFromDB(string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false) array
: Return an associative array of associative array, from a SQL SELECT query.
: First array level correspond to first column specified in SQL query.
: Second array level correspond to second column specified in SQL query.
: If $bSingleValue = true, keep only third column on result

; DbGetLastId()
: Return the PRIMARY key of the last inserted row (see PHP mysql_insert_id function).

; DbAffectedRow() int
: Return the number of row affected by the last operation

; escapeStringForDB(string $string) string
: You must use this function on every string type data in your database that contains unsafe data.
: (unsafe = can be modified by a player).
: This method makes sure that no SQL injection will be done through the string used.
: Note: if you using standard types in ajax actions, like AT_alphanum it is sanitized before arrival,
: this is only needed if you manage to get unchecked string, like in the games where user has to enter text as a response.

<pre>

</pre>

Note: see Editing [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]] to know how to define your database model.

== Use globals ==

Sometimes, you want a single global integer value for your game, and you don't want to create a DB table specifically for it.

You can do this with the BGA framework "global". Your value will be stored in the "global" table in the database, and you can access it with simple methods.

All methods below are memeber of game class and should be accessed $this-> or self::

'''initGameStateLabels(array $labelsMap): void'''

This method should be located at the beginning of constructor of ''yourgamename.game.php''. This is where you define the globals used in your game logic, by assigning them IDs.

You can define up to 80 globals, with IDs from 10 to 89 (inclusive, there can be gaps).
Also you must use this method to access value of game options [[Game_options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.inc.php]], in that case, IDs need to be between 100 and 199.
You must '''not''' use globals outside the range defined above, as those values are used by other components of the framework.

<pre>
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->initGameStateLabels([
"my_first_global_variable" => 10,
"my_second_global_variable" => 11,
"my_game_variant" => 100
]);
// other code ...
}
</pre>

NOTE: The methods below WILL throw an exception if label is not defined using the call above.

'''setGameStateInitialValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Initialize global value. This is not required if you ok with default value if 0. This should be called from setupNewGame function.

'''getGameStateValue( string $label, int $default = 0): int'''

Retrieve the value of a global. Returns $default if global is not been initialized (by setGameStateInitialValue).

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->getGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable');
</pre>

For debugging purposes, you can have labels and value pairs send to client side by inserting that code in your "getAllDatas":

<pre>
$labels = array_keys($this->mygamestatelabels);
$result['myglobals'] = array_combine($labels, array_map([$this,'getGameStateValue'],$labels));
</pre>

That assumes you stored your label mapping in $this->mygamestatelabels in constructor
<pre>
$this->mygamestatelabels=["my_first_global_variable" => 10, ...];
$this->initGameStateLabels($this->mygamestatelabels);
</pre>

'''setGameStateValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Set the current value of a global.
<pre>
$this->setGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 42);
</pre>

'''incGameStateValue( string $label, int $increment ): int'''

Increment the current value of a global. If increment is negative, decrement the value of the global.

Return the final value of the global. If global was not initialized it will initialize it as 0.

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->incGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 1);
</pre>

=== BGA predefined globals ===

BGA already defines some globals in the ''global'' database table. You should not change them directly but it can be useful to know what they mean when debugging:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! global_id !! label !! Meaning
|-
| 1 || || Current state
|-
| 2 || || Active player id
|-
| 3 || next_move_id || Next move number
|-
| 4 || || Game id
|-
| 5 || || Table creator id
|-
| 6 || playerturn_nbr || Player turn number
|-
| 7 || gameprogression || Game progression
|-
| 8 || initial_reflexion_time || Initial reflection time
|-
| 9 || additional_reflexion_time || Additional reflection time
|-
| 200 || reflexion_time_profile || Reflexion time profile
|-
| 201 || bgaranking_mode || BGA ranking mode
|-
| 207 || game_language ||GAMESTATE_GAME_LANG
|-
| 300 || game_db_version ||GAMESTATE_GAMEVERSION: Current version of the game (when in production)
|-
| 301 || game_result_neutralized ||GAMESTATE_GAME_RESULT_NEUTRALIZED
|-
| 302 || neutralized_player_id ||GAMESTATE_NEUTRALIZED_PLAYER_ID
|-
| 304 || undo_moves_stored ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_STORED
|-
| 305 || undo_moves_player ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_PLAYER
|-
| 306 || lock_screen_timestamp ||GAMESTATE_LOCK_TIMESTAMP
|}

== Game states and active players ==

=== Activate player handling ===

; $this->activeNextPlayer()
: Make the next player active in the natural player order.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->activePrevPlayer()
: Make the previous player active (in the natural player order).
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer( $player_id )
: You can call this method to make any player active.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->getActivePlayerId()
: Return the "active_player" id
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multipleactiveplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multipleactiveplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

=== Multiple activate player handling ===

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()
: All playing players are made active. Update notification is sent to all players (this will trigger '''onUpdateActionButtons''').
: Usually, you use this method at the beginning of a game state (e.g., "stGameState") which transitions to a ''multipleactiveplayer'' state in which multiple players have to perform some action. Do not use this method if you going to make some more changes in the active player list. (I.e., if you want to take away multipleactiveplayer status immediately afterwards, use setPlayersMultiactive instead.)

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

; $this->stMakeEveryoneActive()
:this method can be used in state machine to make everybody active as "st" method of multiplayeractive state, it just calls $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()

This is to be used in state declaration:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'stMakeEveryoneActive',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "actionBla" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersNonMultiactive( $next_state )
: All playing players are made inactive. Transition to next state

; $this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive( $players, $next_state, $bExclusive = false )
: Make a specific list of players active during a multiactive gamestate. Update notification is sent to all players whose state changed.
: "players" is the array of player id that should be made active. If "players" is not empty the value of "next_state" will be ignored (you can put whatever you want)
: If "exclusive" parameter is not set or false it doesn't deactivate other previously active players. If its set to true, the players who will be multiactive at the end are only these in "$players" array

: In case "players" is empty, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise

; $this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $player_id, $next_state )
: During a multiactive game state, make the specified player inactive.
: Usually, you call this method during a multiactive game state after a player did his action. It is also possible to call it directly from multiplayer action handler.
: If this player was the last active player, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise
Example of usage (see state declaration of playerTurnPlace above):
<pre>
function actionBla($args) {
self::checkAction('actionBla');
// handle the action using $this->getCurrentPlayerId()
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'next');
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getActivePlayerList()
: With this method you can retrieve the list of the active player at any time.
: During a "game" type gamestate, it will return a void array.
: During a "activeplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array with one value (the active player id).
: During a "multipleactiveplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array of the active players id.
: Note: you should only use this method in the latter case.

; $this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( $next_state_if_none )
: Sends update notification about multiplayer changes. All multiactive set* functions above do that, however if you want to change state manually using db queries for complex calculations, you have to call this yourself after. Do not call this if you calling one of the other setters above.
Example: you have player teams and you want to activate all players in one team
<pre>
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='0'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='1' WHERE player_id='$player_id' AND player_team='$team_no'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );

$this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( 'error' );
</pre>

; updating database manually
: Use this helper function to change multiactive state without sending notification
<pre>
/**
* Changes values of multiactivity in db, does not sent notifications.
* To send notifications after use updateMultiactiveOrNextState
* @param number $player_id, player id <=0 or null - means ALL
* @param number $value - 1 multiactive, 0 non multiactive
*/
function dbSetPlayerMultiactive($player_id = -1, $value = 1) {
if (! $value)
$value = 0;
else
$value = 1;
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive = '$value' WHERE player_zombie = 0 and player_eliminated = 0";
if ($player_id > 0) {
$sql .= " AND player_id = $player_id";
}
self::DbQuery($sql);
}
</pre>

;$this->gamestate->isPlayerActive($player_id)
:Return true if specified player is active right now.
:This method take into account game state type, ie nobody is active if game state is "game" and several players can be active if game state is "multiplayer"

;$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable
:This flag can be set to true in constructor of game.php to force creation of second table to handle multiplayer states (normally these are in player table), this is very advanced feature.
:ONLY use it after you deploy you game to production if you receive unusual amount of bug report with dead lock symptoms DURING multiactiveplayer states
function __construct() {
...
$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true;
}

=== States functions ===
; $this->gamestate->nextState( $transition )
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $transition parameter is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.

'''$this->gamestate->jumpToState($stateNum)'''
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $stateNum parameter is the key of the state. See [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.
: Note: this is very advanced method, it should not be used in normal cases. Specific advanced cases include - jumping to specific state from "do_anytime" actions, jumping to dispatcher state or jumping to recovery state from zombie player function

; $this->checkAction( $actionName, $bThrowException=true )
: Check if the current player can perform a specific action in the current game state, and optionally throw an exception if they can't.
: The action is valid if it is listed in the "possibleactions" array for the current game state (see game state description).
: This method MUST be the first one called in ALL your PHP methods that handle player actions, in order to make sure a player doesn't perform an action not allowed by the rules at the point in the game. It should not be called from methods where the current player is not necessarily the active player, otherwise it may fail with an "It is not your turn" exception.
: If "bThrowException" is set to "false", the function returns '''false''' in case of failure instead of throwing an exception. This is useful when several actions are possible, in order to test each of them without throwing exceptions.

; $this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction( $action )
: (rarely used)
: This works exactly like "checkAction" (above), except that it does NOT check if the current player is active.
: '''Note: This does NOT check either spectator or eliminated status, so those checks must be done manually.'''
: This is used specifically in certain game states when you want to authorize additional actions for players that are not active at the moment.
: Example: in ''Libertalia'', you want to authorize players to change their mind about the card played. They are of course not active at the time they change their mind, so you cannot use "checkAction"; use "checkPossibleAction" instead.

This is how PHP action looks that returns player to active state (only for multiplayeractive states). To be able to execute this on client do not call checkAction on js side for this specific action.

function actionUnpass() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionUnpass'); // player changed mind about passing while others were thinking
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

; $this->gamestate->state()
: Get an associative array of current game state attributes, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for state attributes.

$state=$this->gamestate->state(); if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' ) {...}

I suggest to define and use this function in your php class to access state name:

public function getStateName() {
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
return $state['name'];
}

; $this->gamestate->state_id()
: Get the id of the current game state (rarely useful, its best to use name, unless you use constants for state ids)

; $this->gamestate->isMutiactiveState()
: Return true if we are in multipleactiveplayer state, false otherwise

=== Private parallel states ===

See the overview of private parallel states [[Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers()
: All active players in a multiactive state are entering a first private state defined in the master state's initialprivate parameter.
: Every time you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods below.
: Note: at least one player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating some or all players
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method

$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds)
: Players with specified ids are entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateState($playerId)
: Player with the specified id is entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Everytime you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods above
: Note: player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating that player
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_ChangeMind() {
// This player finished his move before, but now decides change something while other players are still active
// We activate the player and initialize his private state
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive([$this->getCurrentPlayerId()], "");
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateState(this->getCurrentPlayerId());

// It is also possible to move the player to some other specific state immediately
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers($transition)
: All active players will transition to next private state by specified transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state
: Note: this is usually used after initializing the private state to move players to specific private state according to the game logic

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

if ($specificOption) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: Players with specified ids will transition to next private state specified by provided transition.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($playerId, $transition)
: Player with specified id will transition to next private state specified by provided transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player
: Note: this is usually used after some player actions to move to next private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers()
: All players private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used to clean up after leaving a master state in which private states were used, but can be used in other cases when we want to exit private parallel states and use a regular multiactive state for all players
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private states as they will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state after exiting private parallel states to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stNextRound() {
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers();
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: For players with specified ids private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($playerId)
: For player with specified id private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used when deactivating player to clean up their parallel state
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private state as it will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state when not needed to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function done() {
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "newTurn" );
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId());
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($playerId, $newStateId)
: For player with specified id a new private state would be set
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this should be rarely used as it doesn't check if the transition is allowed (it doesn't even specifies transition). This can be useful in very complex cases when standard state machine is not adequate (i.e. specific cards can lead to some micro action in various states where defining transitions back and forth can become very tedious.)
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state

if ($playerHaveSpecificCard)
return $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 35);

$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getPrivateState($playerId)
: This return the private state or null if not initialized or not in private state

==== State Arguments in Private parallel states ====

The args method called for private states will have the player_id passed to it, allowing you to customise the arguments returned for that player.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function argMyPrivateState($player_id) {
return array(
'my_data' => $this->getPlayerSpecificData($player_id)
);
}
</pre>

==== Inactive Players ====

During Private Parallel State, active players will be managed by the private state that is current assigned to them.

Inactive players will be managed by the master multipleactiveplayer state, so your client should respond to that state in order to display any status message advising players that they are waiting for others to have their turn, or to add any buttons that allow players to potentially "break in" and become active.

== Players turn order ==

When table is created the "natural" player order is assigned to player at random, and stored in "read-only" field "player_no".
If you need to create a custom order you should never change natural order but have a separate data structure.
For example you can alter the players table to add another "custom_order" field, you can use state globals or you can use your natural board database,
to store meeple_color/position_location pair.
BGA currently does not provide any API to create/store custom player order.

'''getNextPlayerTable()'''

Return an associative array which associate each player with the next player around the table.

In addition, key 0 is associated to the first player to play.

Example: if three player with ID 1000, 2000 and 3000 are around the table, in this order, the method returns:
<pre>
array(
1000 => 2000,
2000 => 3000,
3000 => 1000,
0 => 1000
);
</pre>

'''getPrevPlayerTable()'''

Same as above, but the associative array associate the previous player around the table. However there no 0 index here.

'''getPlayerAfter( $player_id )'''

Get player playing after given player in natural playing order.

'''getPlayerBefore( $player_id )'''

Get player playing before given player in natural playing order.

Note: There is no API to modify this order, if you have custom player order you have to maintain it in your database
and have custom function to access it.

'''createNextPlayerTable( $players, $bLoop=true )'''

Using $players array creates a map of current => next as in example from getNextPlayerTable(), however you can use custom order here.
If parmeter $bLoop is set to true then last player will points to first (creaing a loop), false otherwise.
In any case index 0 points to first player (first element of $players array). $players is array of player ids in desired order.

Note: This function '''DOES NOT''' change the order in database, it only creates a map using key/values as descibed.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function getNextPlayerTableCustom() {
$starting = $this->getStartingPlayer(); // custom function to get starting player
$player_ids = $this->getPlayerIdsInOrder($starting); // custom function to create players array starting from starting player
return $this->createNextPlayerTable($player_ids, false); // create next player table in custom order
}
</pre>

<pre>
$table = $this->createNextPlayerTable([3000,2000,1000], false);

will return:
[
3000 => 2000,
2000 => 1000,
1000 => null,
0 => 3000
]
</pre>

== Notify players ==

To understand notifications, please read [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] first.

'''IMPORTANT'''

Notifications are sent at the very end of the request, when it ends normally. It means that if you throw an exception for any reason (ex: move not allowed), no notifications will be sent to players.
Notifications sent between the game start (setupNewGame) and the end of the "action" method of the first active state will never reach their destination.

=== NotifyAllPlayers ===

'''notifyAllPlayers(string $notification_type,string $notification_log,array $notification_args )'''

Send a notification to all players of the game.

* notification_type: A string that defines the type of your notification.

Your game interface Javascript logic will use this to know what is the type of the received notification (and to trigger the corresponding method).

* notification_log: A string that defines what is to be displayed in the game log.

You can use an empty string here (''). In this case, nothing is displayed in the game log.

Unless its empty, use "clienttranslate" method to make sure string is translated.

You can use arguments in your $notification_log string, that refers to values defines in the "$notification_args" argument (see below).
Note: Make sure you only use single quotes ('), otherwise PHP will try to interpolate the variable and will ignore the values in the args array.

* notification_args: The arguments of your notifications, as an associative array.

This array will be transmitted to the game interface logic, in order the game interface can be updated.

Complete notifyAllPlayers example (from "Reversi"):

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y
) );
</pre>

You can see in the example above the use of the "clienttranslate" method, and the use of 2 arguments "player_name" and "returned_nbr" in the notification log.

'''Important''': NO private data must be sent with this method, as a cheater could see it even if it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic. If you want to send private information to a player, please use notifyPlayer below.

'''Important''': this array is serialized to be sent to the browsers, and will be saved with the notification to be able to replay the game later. If it is too big, it can make notifications slower / less reliable, and replay archives very big (to the point of failing). So as a general rule, you should send only the minimum of information necessary to update the client interface with no overhead in order to keep the notifications as light as possible.

'''Important''': When the game page is reloaded (i.e. F5 or when loading turn based game) all previous notifications are replayed as history notifications. These notifications do not trigger notification handlers and are used basically to build the game log. Because of that most of the notification arguments, except i18n, player_id and all arguments used in the message, are removed from these history notifications. If you need additional arguments in history notifications you can add special field <b>preserve</b> to notification arguments, like this:

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y,
'preserve' => [ 'x', 'y' ]
) );
</pre>
In this example, fields x and y will be preserved when replaying history notification at the game load.

NOTE: The ONLY reason 'preserve' is useful if you have custom method to render notifications (or logs) which changes some text arguments into html (i.e. to insert the images instead of plain text). Do not use preserve "just in case" - it will only bloat the logs and make game load VERY slow.

==== HTML in Notifications ====

You CAN use some HTML inside your notification log, however it not recommended for many reasons:
* Its bad architecture, ui elements leak into server now you have to manage ui in many places
* If you decided to change something in ui in a future version, old games replay and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications
* When you read log preview for old games its unreadable (this is log before you enter the game replay, useful for troubleshooting or game analysis)
* Its more data to transfer and store in db
* Its nightmare for translators, at least don't put HTML tags inside the "clienttranslate" method. You can use a notification argument instead, and provide your HTML through this argument.

If you still want to have pretty pictures in the log check this [[BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Inject_images_and_styled_html_in_the_log]].

==== Recursive Notifications ====

If your notification contains some phrases that build programmatically you may need to use recursive notifications. In this case the argument can be not only the string but
an array itself, which contains 'log' and 'args', i.e.

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name_rec}'),
['token_name_rec'=>['log'=>'${token_name} #${token_number}',
'args'=> ['token_name'=>clienttranslate('Boo'), 'token_number'=>$number, 'i18n'=>['token_name'] ]
]
]);

Special handling of arguments:
* ${player_name} - this will be wrapped in html and text shown using color of the corresponding player, some colors also have reserved background. This will apply recursively as well.
* ${player_name1}, ${player_name2}, ${player_name3}, etc. - same

==== Excluding some players ====

Sometimes you want to notify all players of a message but not have it appear in the log of specific players (for example, have every player see "Player X draws a card" but have Player X see "You draw the Ace of Spades").

To send a notification to all players but have some clients ignore it, send it as normal from the server, but implement '''setIgnoreNotificationCheck''' on the client to ignore the message under given conditions. See the [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Ignoring_notifications]] documentation for more details.

=== NotifyPlayer ===

'''notifyPlayer( $player_id, $notification_type, $notification_log, $notification_args )'''

Same as above, except that the notification is sent to one player only.

This method must be used each time some private information must be transmitted to a player.

Important: the variable for player name must be ${player_name} in order to be highlighted with the player color in the game log. If you want a second player name in the log, name the variable ${player_name2}, etc.

Note that spectators cannot be notified using this method, because their player ID is not available via loadPlayersBasicInfos() or otherwise. You must use notifyAllPlayers() for any notification that spectators should get.

== Randomization ==

A large number of board games rely on random, most often based on dice, cards shuffling, picking some item in a bag, and so on. This is very important to ensure a high level of randomness for each of these situations.

Here's are a list of techniques you should use in these situations, from the best to the worst.

=== Dice and bga_rand ===

'''bga_rand( min, max )'''
This is a BGA framework function that provides you a random number between "min" and "max" (inclusive), using the best available random method available on the system.

This is the preferred function you should use, because we are updating it when a better method is introduced.

As of now, bga_rand is based on the PHP function "random_int", which ensures a cryptographic level of randomness.

In particular, it is '''mandatory''' to use it for all '''dice throw''' (ie: games using other methods for dice throwing will be rejected by BGA during review).

Note: rand() and mt_rand() are deprecated on BGA and should not be used anymore, as their randomness is not as good as "bga_rand".

=== Arrays ===

Although PHP's "shuffle()" is generally considered good enough (see below, BGA's own Deck component uses this), the following PHP code based on "random_int" provides a cryptographically-secure method to choose a random key, value, or slice of an array. (the slice preserves keys)

<pre>
private function getRandomKey(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomKey(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $key;
}
}

private function getRandomValue(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomValue(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $value;
}
}

private function getRandomSlice(array &$array, int $count)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
if ($count < 1 || $count > $size) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Invalid count $count for array with size $size", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$slice = [];
$randUnique = [];
while (count($randUnique) < $count) {
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
if (array_key_exists($rand, $randUnique)) {
continue;
}
$randUnique[$rand] = true;
$slice += array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
}
return $slice;
}
</pre>

=== shuffle and cards shuffling ===

To shuffle items, like a pile of cards, the best way is to use the BGA PHP [[Deck]] component and to use "shuffle" method. This ensures that the best available shuffling method is used, and that if in the future we improve it your game will be up to date.

As of now, the Deck component shuffle method is based on PHP "shuffle" method, which has quite good randomness (even if not as good as bga_rand). In consequence, we accept other shuffling methods during reviews, as long as they are based on PHP "shuffle" function (or similar, like "array_rand").

=== Other methods ===

Mysql "RAND()" function has not enough randomness to be a valid method to get a random element on BGA. This function has been used in some existing games and has given acceptable results, but now it should be avoided and you should use other methods instead.

== Game statistics ==

There are 2 types of statistics:
* a "player" statistic is a statistic associated to a player
* a "table" statistic is a statistic not associated to a player (global statistic for this game).

See [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]] to see how you define statistics for your game.

'''initStat( $table_or_player, $name, $value, $player_id = null )'''

Create a statistic entry with a default value.

This method must be called for each statistic of your game, in your setupNewGame method.
If you neglect to call this for a statistic, and also do not update the value during the course of a certain game using setStat or incStat, the value of the stat will be undefined rather than 0. This will result in it being ignored at the end of the game, as if it didn't apply to that particular game, and excluded from cumulative statistics. As a consequence - if do not want statistic to be applied, do not init it, or call set or inc on it.

'$table_or_player' must be set to "table" if this is a table statistic, or "player" if this is a player statistic.

'$name' is the name of your statistic, as it has been defined in your stats.inc.php file.

'$value' is the initial value of the statistic. If this is a player statistic and if the player is not specified by "$player_id" argument, the value is set for ALL players.

'''setStat( $value, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Set a statistic $name to $value.

If "$player_id" is not specified, setStat consider it is a TABLE statistic.

If "$player_id" is specified, setStat consider it is a PLAYER statistic.

'''incStat( $delta, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Increment (or decrement) specified statistic value by $delta value. Same behavior as setStat function.

'''getStat( $name, $player_id = null )'''

Return the value of statistic specified by $name. Useful when creating derivative statistics such as average.

== Translations ==

See [[Translations]]

== Manage player scores and Tie breaker ==

=== Normal scoring ===

At the end of the game, players automatically get a rank depending on their score: the player with the biggest score is #1, the player with the second biggest score is #2, and so on...

During the game, you update player's score directly by updating "player_score" field of "player" table in database.

Examples:
<pre>

// +2 points to active player
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=player_score+2 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

// Set score of active player to 5
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=5 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

</pre>

Note: don't forget to notify the client side in order the score control can be updated accordingly.

=== Tie breaker ===

Tie breaker is used when two players get the same score at the end of a game.

Tie breaker is using "player_score_aux" field of "player" table. It is updated exactly like the "player_score" field.

Tie breaker score is displayed only for players who are tied at the end of the game. Most of the time, it is not supposed to be displayed explicitly during the game.

When you are using "player_score_aux" functionality, you must describe the formula to use in your gameinfos.inc.php file like this:

<pre>
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Describe here your tie breaker formula"),
</pre>

This description will be used as a tooltip to explain to players how this auxiliary score has been calculated.

See also [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_meta-information:_gameinfos.inc.php#Multiple_tie_breaker_management Multiple Tie Breaker Management].

=== Co-operative game ===

To make everyone win/lose together in a full-coop game:

Add the following in gameinfos.inc.php :
'is_coop' => 1, // full cooperative

Assign a score of zero to everyone if it's a loss.
Assign the same score > 0 to everyone if it's a win.

=== Semi-coop ===

If the game is not full-coop, then everyone loses = everyone is tied. I.e. set score to 0 to everybody.

=== Only "winners" and "losers" ===

For some games, there is only a group (or a single) "winner", and everyone else is a "loser", with no "end of game rank" (1st, 2nd, 3rd...).

Examples:
* Coup
* Not Alone
* Werewolves
* Quantum

In this case:
* Set the scores so that the winner has the best score, and the other players have the same (lower) score.
* Add the following lines to gameinfos.inc.php:

<pre>
// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => true,
</pre>

Werewolves and Coup are implemented like this, as you can see here:
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=werewolves&section=lastresults
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=coupcitystate&section=lastresults

Adding this has the following effects:
* On game results for this game, "Winner" or "Loser" is going to appear instead of the usual "1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...".
* When a game is over, the result of the game will be "End of game: Victory" or "End of game: Defeat" depending on the result of the CURRENT player (instead of the usual "Victory of XXX").
* When calculating ELO points, if there is at least one "Loser", no "victorious" player can lose ELO points, and no "losing" player can win ELO point. Usually it may happened because being tie with many players with a low rank is considered as a tie and may cost you points. If losers_not_ranked is set, we prevent this behavior and make sure you only gain/loss ELO when you get the corresponding results.

Important: this SHOULD NOT be used for cooperative games (see is_coop parameter), or for 2 players games (it makes no sense in this case).

=== Solo ===

If game supports solo variant, a negative or zero score means defeat, a positive score means victory.

=== Player elimination ===

In some games, this is useful to eliminate a player from the game in order he/she can start another game without waiting for the current game end.

This case should be rare. Please don't use player elimination feature if some player just has to wait the last 10% of the game for game end. This feature should be used only in games where players are eliminated all along the game (typical examples: "Perudo" or "The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow").

Usage:

* Player to eliminate should NOT be active anymore (preferably use the feature in a "game" type game state).
* In your PHP code:
self::eliminatePlayer( <player_to_eliminate_id> );
* the player is informed in a dialog box that he no longer have to play and can start another game if he/she wants too (with buttons "stay at this table" "quit table and back to main site"). In any case, the player is free to start & join another table from now.
* When your game is over, all players who have been eliminated before receive a "notification" (the small "!" icon on the top right of the BGA interface) that indicate them that "the game has ended" and invite them to review the game results.

'''Important:''' this should not be used on a player who has already left the game ("zombie") as leaving/being kicked of the game (outside of the scope of the rules) is not the same as being eliminated from the game (according to the rules), except if in the course of the game, the zombie player is eliminated according to the rules.

'''Important:''' When all surviving players are eliminated at the same time BGA framework causes the game to be abandoned automatically.
To circumvent this, the game should leave 1 player not eliminated but change final scores accordingly and end the game.

=== Scoring Helper functions ===

These functions should have been API but they are not, just add them to your php game and use for every game.

// get score
function dbGetScore($player_id) {
return $this->getUniqueValueFromDB("SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set score
function dbSetScore($player_id, $count) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score='$count' WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set aux score (tie breaker)
function dbSetAuxScore($player_id, $score) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score_aux=$score WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// increment score (can be negative too)
function dbIncScore($player_id, $inc) {
$count = $this->dbGetScore($player_id);
if ($inc != 0) {
$count += $inc;
$this->dbSetScore($player_id, $count);
}
return $count;
}

== Reflexion time ==

; function giveExtraTime( $player_id, $specific_time=null )
: Give standard extra time to this player.
: Standard extra time depends on the speed of the game (small with "slow" game option, bigger with other options).
: You can also specify an exact time to add, in seconds, with the "specified_time" argument (rarely used).

; function isAsync()
: Returns true if game is turn based, false if it is realtime

== Undo moves ==

Please read our [[BGA Undo policy]] before.

'''Important''': Before using these methods, you must also add the following to your "gameinfos.inc.php" file, otherwise these methods are ineffective:
'db_undo_support' => true

Note: if you deploy undo support after game is in production this will take into effect for new games only, old games will give user an error if user choses Undo action, but otherwise it should not affect them.

; function undoSavepoint( )
: Save the whole game situation inside an "Undo save point".
: There is only ONE undo save point available (see [[BGA Undo policy]]). Cannot use in multiactivate state or in game state where next state is multiactive.
: Note: this function does not actually do anything when it is called, it only raises the flag to store the database AFTER transaction is over. So the actual state will be saved when you exit the function calling it (technically before first queued notification is sent, which matters if you transition to game state not to user state after), this may affect what you end up saving.

; function undoRestorePoint()
: Restore the situation previously saved as an "Undo save point".
: You must make sure that the active player is the same after and before the undoRestorePoint (ie: this is your responsibility to ensure that the player that is active when this method is called is exactly the same than the player that was active when the undoSavePoint method has been called).

function actionUndo() {
self::checkAction('actionUndo');
$this->undoRestorePoint();
$this->gamestate->nextState('next'); // transition to single player state (i.e. beginning of player actions for this turn)
}

'''Important note''': if you are reading game state variable right after restore (without changing state first) it won't work properly as the global table cache is not automatically refreshed after undoRestorePoint(). So you should either change state immediately to refresh game state values, or use $this->gamestate->reloadState() to refresh the state. If you choose to do the latest, be aware that this will bring the state machine back to the state during which the save point snapshot has been taken using undoSavepoint() (which means your transition you do after has to declared in the state which was saved, not in the state which was active for your actionUndo())

== Managing errors and exceptions ==

Note: when you throw an exception, all database changes and all notifications are cancelled immediately. This way, the game situation that existed before the request is completely restored.

; throw new BgaUserException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a user error
: You must throw this exception when a player wants to do something that they are not allowed to do.
: The error message will be shown to the player as a "red message".
: The error message must be translated, make sure you use self::_() or $this->_() here and NOT clientranslate()
: Throwing such an exception is NOT considered a bug, so it is not traced in BGA error logs.

Example from Gomoku:
<pre>
throw new BgaUserException( self::_("There is already a stone on this intersection, you can't play there") );
</pre>

; throw new BgaVisibleSystemException ( $error_message)
: You must throw this exception when you detect something that is not supposed to happened in your code.
: The error message is shown to the user as an "Unexpected error", in order that he can report it in the forum.
: The error message is logged in BGA error logs. If it happens regularly, we will report it to you.

; throw new BgaSystemException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a system exception. The message will be hidden from the user, but show in the logs. Use this if the message contains technical information.
: You shouldn't use this type of exception except if you think the information shown could be critical. Indeed: a generic error message will be shown to the user, so it's going to be difficult for you to see what happened.

== Zombie mode ==

When a player leaves a game for any reason (expelled, quit), he becomes a "zombie player". In this case, the results of the game won't count for statistics, but this is cool if the other players can finish the game anyway. That's why zombie mode exists: allow the other player to finish the game, even if the situation is not ideal.

While developing your zombie mode, keep in mind that:
* Do not refer to the rules, because this situation is not planned by the rules.
* Try to figure that you are playing with your friends and one of them has to leave: how can we finish the game without killing the spirit of the game?
* The idea is NOT to develop an artificial intelligence for the game.
* Do not try to end the game early, even in a two-player game. The zombie is there to allow the game to continue, not to end it. Trying to end the game is not supported by the framework and will likely cause unexpected errors.

Most of the time, the best thing to do when it is zombie player turn is to jump immediately to a state where he is not active anymore. For example, if he is in a game state where he has a choice between playing A and playing B, the best thing to do is NOT to choose A or B, but to pass. So, even if there's no "pass" action in the rules, add a "zombiepass" transitition in your game state and use it.

Each time a zombie player must play, your "zombieTurn" method is called.

Parameters:
* $state: the name of the current game state.
* $active_player: the id of the active player.

Most of the time, your zombieTurn method looks like this:

<pre>
function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player )
{
$statename = $state['name'];

if( $statename == 'myFirstGameState'
|| $statename == 'my2ndGameState'
|| $statename == 'my3rdGameState'
....
)
{
$this->gamestate->nextState( "zombiePass" );
}
else
throw new BgaVisibleSystemException( "Zombie mode not supported at this game state: ".$statename );
}
</pre>

Note that in the example above, all corresponding game state should implement "zombiePass" as a transition.

'''Very important''': your zombie code will be called when the player leaves the game. This action is triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to this action. In your zombieTurn function, you must '''never''' use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(), otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message.

== Player color preferences ==

BGA premium users may choose their preferred color for playing. For example, if they are used to play green for every board game, they can select "green" in their BGA preferences page.

Making your game compatible with colors preferences is very easy and requires only 1 line of configuration change:

On your gameinfos.inc.php file, add the following lines :

// Favorite colors support: if set to "true", support attribution of favorite colors based on player's preferences (see reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method)
// NB: this parameter is used only to flag games supporting this feature; you must use (or not use) reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method to actually enable or disable the feature.
'favorite_colors_support' => true,

Then, on your main <your_game>.game.php file check the code of "setupNewGame". New template already have correct code, but if you editing very old game and it may be absent.

$gameinfos = $this->getGameinfos();
...
if ($gameinfos['favorite_colors_support'])
$this->reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences($players, $gameinfos['player_colors']); // this should be above reloadPlayersBasicInfos()
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();

The "reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences" method reattributes all colors, taking into account players color preferences and available colors.

Note that you must update the colors to indicate the colors available for your game.

Some important remarks:
* for some games (i.e. Chess), the color has an influence on a mechanism of the game, most of the time by giving a special advantage to a player (i.e. Starting the game). Color preference mechanism must NOT be used in such a case.
* your logic should NEVER consider that the first player has the color X, that the second player has the color Y, and so on. If this is the case, your game will NOT be compatible with reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences as this method attribute colors to players based on their preferences and not based as their order at the table.

=== Custom color assignments ===
'''⚠️ This is not yet live; however, you may implement the code now, ready for when it is deployed.'''

Some colors don't play nicely with BGA's color difference algorithm. If you receive feedback that colors are not well chosen, you can bypass the BGA algorithm by specifying a map from user preference colors to game colors.

For example, you may wish to assign BGA's blue to your game's baby blue: <code>"0000ff" /* Blue */ => "89CFF0",</code> whereas otherwise, a deep purple might be chosen instead. Just be sure that the assigned colors are also present in the <code>player_colors</code> array passed to <code>reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences</code>, otherwise the assignment will be ignored.

To do this, implement this method in your <code>X.game.php</code> class.

Note: the user preference colors (the keys in the returned array) should not be modified, or the code may not work as expected. These are the colors players can choose between in their profile.
/**
* Returns an array of user preference colors to game colors.
* Game colors must be among those which are passed to reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences()
* Each game color can be an array of suitable colors, or a single color:
* [
* // The first available color chosen:
* 'ff0000' => ['990000', 'aa1122'],
* // This color is chosen, if available
* '0000ff' => '000099',
* ]
* If no color can be matched from this array, then the default implementation is used.
*/
function getSpecificColorPairings(): array {
return array(
"ff0000" /* Red */ => null,
"008000" /* Green */ => null,
"0000ff" /* Blue */ => null,
"ffa500" /* Yellow */ => null,
"000000" /* Black */ => null,
"ffffff" /* White */ => null,
"e94190" /* Pink */ => null,
"982fff" /* Purple */ => null,
"72c3b1" /* Cyan */ => null,
"f07f16" /* Orange */ => null,
"bdd002" /* Khaki green */ => null,
"7b7b7b" /* Gray */ => null,
);
}

== Legacy games API ==

For some very specific games ("legacy", "campaign"), you need to keep some informations from a game to another.

This should be an exceptional situation: the legacy API is costing resources on Board Game Arena databases, and is slowing down the game setup process + game end of game process. Please do not use it for things like:
* keeping a player preference/settings (=> player preferences and game options should be used instead)
* keeping a statistics, a score, or a ranking, while it is not planned in the physical board game, or while there is no added value compared to BGA statistics / rankings.

You should use it for:
* legacy games: when some components of the game has been altered in a previous game and should be kept as it is.
* "campaign style" games: when a player is getting a "reward" at the end of a game, and should be able to use it in further games.

Important: you cannot store more than 64k of data (serialized as JSON) per player per game. If you go over 64k, storeLegacyData function is going to FAIL, and there is a risk to create a major bug (= players blocked) in your game. You MUST make sure that no more than 64k of data is used for each player for your game. For example, if you are implementing a "campaign style" game and if you allow a player to start multiple campaign, you must LIMIT the number of different campaign so that the total data size to not go over the limit. We strongly recommend you to use this:

try
{
$this->storeLegacyTeamData( $my_data );
}
catch( feException $e ) // feException is a base class of BgaSystemException and others...
{
if( $e->getCode() == FEX_legacy_size_exceeded )
{
// Do something here to free some space in Legacy data (ex: by removing some variables)
}
else
throw $e;
}

The keys may only contain letters and numbers, underscore seems not to be allowed.

; function storeLegacyData( $player_id, $key, $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Store some data associated with $key for the given user / current game
: In the opposite of all other game data, this data will PERSIST after the end of this table, and can be re-used
: in a future table with the same game.
: IMPORTANT: The only possible place where you can use this method is when the game is over at your table (last game action). Otherwise, there is a risk of conflicts between ongoing games.
: TTL is a time-to-live: the maximum, and default, is 365 days.
: In any way, the total data (= all keys) you can store for a given user+game is 64k (note: data is store serialized as JSON data)
: NOTICE: You can store some persistant data across all tables from your game using the specific player_id 0 which is unused. In such case, it's even more important to manage correctly the size of your data to avoid any exception or issue while storing updated data (ie. you can use this for some kind of leaderbord for solo game or contest)
: Note: This function cannot be called during game setup (will throw an error).

; function retrieveLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Get data associated with $key for the current game
: This data is common to ALL tables from the same game for this player, and persist from one table to another.
: Note: calling this function has an important cost => please call it few times (possibly: only ONCE) for each player for 1 game if possible
: Note: you can use '%' in $key to retrieve all keys matching the given patterns

; function removeLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Remove some legacy data with the given key
: (useful to free some data to avoid going over 64k)

; function storeLegacyTeamData( $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Same as storeLegacyData, except that it stores some data for the whole team within the current table and does not use a key
: Ie: if players A, B and C are at a table, the legacy data will be saved for future table with (exactly) A, B and C on the table.
: This is useful for games which are intended to be played several time by the same team.
: Note: the data total size is still limited, so you must implement catch the FEX_legacy_size_exceeded exception if it happens

; function retrieveLegacyTeamData()
: Same as retrieveLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

; function removeLegacyTeamData()
: Same as removeLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

== Players text input and moderation ==
This section concerns only games where the players have to write some words to play: games based on words, like "Just one" or "Codenames".

Some players will use your game to write insults or profanities. As this is part of the game and not in the game chat, these words cannot be reported by players and moderated.

If you met the following situation:

* You are asking a player to type a text (word(s) or sentence)
* The player can enter any text (this is not a pre-selection or anything you can control)
* This text is visible by at least one other player

Then, you must use the following method:

'''function logTextForModeration( $player_id, $text )'''

player_id = player who write the text

text = text that has been written

This function will have no visible consequence for your game, but will allow players to report the text to moderators if something happens.

== Language dependent games API ==

This API is used for games that are heavily language dependent. Two most common use cases are:
* Games that have a language dependent component that are not necessarily translatable, typically a list of words. (Think of games like Codenames, Decrypto, Just One...)
* Games with massive communication where players would like to ensure that all participants speak the same language. (Think of games like Werewolf, The Resistance, maybe even dixit...)

If this option is used, the table created will be limited only to users that have specific language in their profile. Player starting the game would be able to chose one of the languages they speak.

There is a new property language_dependency in gameinfos.inc.php which can be set like this:
'language_dependency' => false, //or if the property is missing, the game is not language dependent
'language_dependency' => true, //all players at the table must speak the same language
'language_dependency' => array( 1 => 'en', 2 => 'fr', 3 => 'it' ), //1-based list of supported languages

In the gamename.game.php file, you can get the id of selected language with the method '''getGameLanguage'''.
; function getGameLanguage()
: Returns an index of the selected language as defined in gameinfos.inc.php.

Languages currently available on BGA are:
'ar' => array( 'name' => "العربية", 'code' => 'ar_AE' ), // Arabic
'be' => array( 'name' => "беларуская мова", 'code' => 'be_BY' ), // Belarusian
'bn' => array( 'name' => "বাংলা", 'code' => 'bn_BD' ), // Bengali
'bg' => array( 'name' => "български език", 'code' => 'bg_BG' ), // Bulgarian
'ca' => array( 'name' => "català", 'code' => 'ca_ES' ), // Catalan
'cs' => array( 'name' => "čeština", 'code' => 'cs_CZ' ), // Czech
'da' => array( 'name' => "dansk", 'code' => 'da_DK' ), // Danish
'de' => array( 'name' => "deutsch", 'code' => 'de_DE' ), // German
'el' => array( 'name' => "Ελληνικά", 'code' => 'el_GR' ), // Greek
'en' => array( 'name' => "English", 'code' => 'en_US' ), // English
'es' => array( 'name' => "español", 'code' => 'es_ES' ), // Spanish
'et' => array( 'name' => "eesti keel", 'code' => 'et_EE' ), // Estonian
'fi' => array( 'name' => "suomi", 'code' => 'fi_FI' ), // Finnish
'fr' => array( 'name' => "français", 'code' => 'fr_FR' ), // French
'he' => array( 'name' => "עברית", 'code' => 'he_IL' ), // Hebrew
'hi' => array( 'name' => "हिन्दी", 'code' => 'hi_IN' ), // Hindi
'hr' => array( 'name' => "Hrvatski", 'code' => 'hr_HR' ), // Croatian
'hu' => array( 'name' => "magyar", 'code' => 'hu_HU' ), // Hungarian
'id' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Indonesia", 'code' => 'id_ID' ), // Indonesian
'ms' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Malaysia", 'code' => 'ms_MY' ), // Malaysian
'it' => array( 'name' => "italiano", 'code' => 'it_IT' ), // Italian
'ja' => array( 'name' => "日本語", 'code' => 'ja_JP' ), // Japanese
'jv' => array( 'name' => "Basa Jawa", 'code' => 'jv_JV' ), // Javanese
'ko' => array( 'name' => "한국어", 'code' => 'ko_KR' ), // Korean
'lt' => array( 'name' => "lietuvių", 'code' => 'lt_LT' ), // Lithuanian
'lv' => array( 'name' => "latviešu", 'code' => 'lv_LV' ), // Latvian
'nl' => array( 'name' => "nederlands", 'code' => 'nl_NL' ), // Dutch
'no' => array( 'name' => "norsk", 'code' => 'nb_NO' ), // Norwegian
'oc' => array( 'name' => "occitan", 'code' => 'oc_FR' ), // Occitan
'pl' => array( 'name' => "polski", 'code' => 'pl_PL' ), // Polish
'pt' => array( 'name' => "português", 'code' => 'pt_PT' ), // Portuguese
'ro' => array( 'name' => "română", 'code' => 'ro_RO' ), // Romanian
'ru' => array( 'name' => "Русский язык", 'code' => 'ru_RU' ), // Russian
'sk' => array( 'name' => "slovenčina", 'code' => 'sk_SK' ), // Slovak
'sl' => array( 'name' => "slovenščina", 'code' => 'sl_SI' ), // Slovenian
'sr' => array( 'name' => "Српски", 'code' => 'sr_RS' ), // Serbian
'sv' => array( 'name' => "svenska", 'code' => 'sv_SE' ), // Swedish
'tr' => array( 'name' => "Türkçe", 'code' => 'tr_TR' ), // Turkish
'uk' => array( 'name' => "Українська мова", 'code' => 'uk_UA' ), // Ukrainian
'zh' => array( 'name' => "中文 (漢)", 'code' => 'zh_TW' ), // Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan)
'zh-cn' => array( 'name' => "中文 (汉)", 'code' => 'zh_CN' ), // Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, Singapore)

== Debugging and Tracing ==

To debug php code you can use some tracing functions available from the parent class such as debug, trace, error, warn, dump.

self::debug("Ahh!");
self::dump('my_var',$my_var);

See [[Practical_debugging]] section for complete information about debugging interfaces and where to find logs.

[[Category:Studio]]

Main game logic: Game.php

2023-10-16T10:50:15Z

Archduke: /* Custom color assignments */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This is the main file for your game logic. Here you initialize the game, persist data, implement the rules and notify the client interface of changes.

This is the main class that implements the "server" callbacks. As it is a server it cannot initiate any data communicate with the game client (running in browser) and only can respond to client using notifications.

Your php class instance won't be in memory between two callbacks, every time client send a request a new class will be created, constructor will be called and eventually your callback function.

== File Structure ==

The details of how the file is structured are described directly with comments in the code skeleton provided to you.

Here is the basic structure:

* '''__construct''': the game constructor, where you define global variables and initiaze class members.
* '''setupNewGame''': initial setup of the game. Takes an array of players, indexed by player_id. Structure of each player includes player_name, player_canal, player_avatar, and flags indicating admin/ai/premium/order/language/beginner.
* '''getAllDatas''': where you retrieve all game data during a complete reload of the game. Return value must be associative array. Value of 'players' is reserved for returning players data from players table, if you set it it must follow certain rules
$result ['players'] = self::getCollectionFromDb("SELECT player_id id, player_score score, player_no no, player_color color FROM player");
// Returned value must include ['players'][$player_id]]['score'] for scores to populate when F5 is pressed.
* '''getGameProgression''': where you compute the game progression indicator. Returns a number indicating percent of progression (0-100)
* Utility functions: your utility functions.
* Player actions: the entry points for players actions ([https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Players_actions:_yourgamename.action.php more info here]).
* Game state arguments: methods to return additional data on specific game states ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#args more info here]).
* Game state actions: the logic to run when entering a new game state ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#action more info here]).
* '''initTable''': (not part of template) - this function is called for every php callback by the framework and it can be implement by the game (empty by default). You can use it in rare cases where you need to read database and manipulate some data before any ANY php entry functions are called (such as getAllDatas,action*,st*, etc). Note: it is not called before arg* methods
* '''zombieTurn''': what to do it's the turn of a zombie player.
* '''upgradeTableDb''': function to migrate database if you change it after release on production.

== Accessing player information ==

'''Important''': In the following methods, be mindful of the difference between the "active" player and the "current" player. The '''active''' player is the player whose turn it is - not necessarily the player who sent a request! The '''current''' player is the player who sent the request and will see the results returned by your methods: not necessarily the player whose turn it is!

; getPlayersNumber()
: Returns the number of players playing at the table
: Note: doesn't work in the beggining of setupNewGame (use count($players) instead). It will work after initialization of player table.

; getActivePlayerId()
: Get the "active_player", whatever what is the current state type.
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multiplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getActivePlayerName()
: Get the "active_player" name
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getPlayerNameById($player_id)
: Get the name by id

; getPlayerColorById($player_id)
: Get the color by id

; getPlayerNoById($player_id)
: Get 'player_no' (number) by id

; loadPlayersBasicInfos()
: Get an associative array with generic data about players (ie: not game specific data).
: The key of the associative array is the player id. The returned table is cached, so ok to call multiple times without performance concerns.
: The content of each value is:
: * player_name - the name of the player
: * player_color (ex: ff0000) - the color code of the player (as string)
: * player_no - the position of the player at the start of the game in natural table order, i.e. 1,2,3

<pre>
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ($players as $player_id => $info) {
$player_color = $info['player_color'];
...
}
</pre>
Note: if you want array of player ids only you can do this:
$player_ids = array_keys($this->loadPlayersBasicInfos());

; getCurrentPlayerId(bool $bReturnNullIfNotLogged = false) int
: Get the "current_player". The current player is the one from which the action originated (the one who sent the request).
: '''Be careful''': This is not necessarily the active player!
: In general, you shouldn't use this method, unless you are in "multiplayer" state.
: '''Very important''': in your setupNewGame and zombieTurn function, you must never use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(),
: otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message (these actions are triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to these actions).

; getCurrentPlayerName(bool $bReturnEmptyIfNotLogged = false) string
: Get the "current_player" name.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; getCurrentPlayerColor()
: Get the "current_player" color.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; isCurrentPlayerZombie()
: Check the "current_player" zombie status. If true, player is zombie, i.e. left or was kicked out of the game.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator

; isSpectator()
: Check the "current_player" spectator status. If true, the user accessing the game is a spectator (not part of the game). For this user, the interface should display all public information, and no private information (like a friend sitting at the same table as players and just spectating the game).

; getActivePlayerColor()
: This function does not seems to exist in API, if you need it here is implementation
function getActivePlayerColor() {
$player_id = self::getActivePlayerId();
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (isset($players[$player_id]))
return $players[$player_id]['player_color'];
else
return null;
}
; isPlayerZombie($player_id)
: This method does not exists, but if you need it it looks like this
protected function isPlayerZombie($player_id) {
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (! isset($players[$player_id]))
throw new BgaSystemException("Player $player_id is not playing here");

return ($players[$player_id]['player_zombie'] == 1);
}

== Accessing the database ==

The main game logic should be the only point from which you should access the game database. You access your database using SQL queries with the methods below.

'''IMPORTANT'''

BGA uses [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax-transactions.html database transactions]. This means that your database changes WON'T BE APPLIED to the database until your request ends normally (web request, not database request). Using transactions is in fact very useful for you; at any time, if your game logic detects that something is wrong (example: a disallowed move), you just have to throw an exception and all changes to the game situation will be removed. This also means that you need not (and in fact cannot) use your own transactions for multiple related database operations.

However there are sets of database operation that will do implicit commit (most common mistake is to use "TRUNCATE"), you cannot use these operations during the game, it breaks the unrolling of transactions and will lead to nasty issues
(https://mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-statements-that-cause-an-implicit-commit).

All methods below are part of game class (and view class) and can be accessed using $this-> or self::

; DbQuery( string $sql )
: This is the generic method to access the database.
: It can execute any type of SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE/REPLACE/INSERT query on the database. Returns result of the query.
: For SELECT queries, the specialized methods below are much better.
: Do not use method for TUNCATE, DROP and other table altering operations. See disclamer above about implicit commits. If you really need TRUNCATE use DELETE FROM xxx instead.

; getUniqueValueFromDB( string $sql )
: Returns a unique value from DB or null if no value is found.
: $sql must be a SELECT query.
: Raise an exception if more than 1 row is returned.

; getCollectionFromDB( string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false ) array
: Returns an associative array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The key of the resulting associative array is the first field specified in the SELECT query.
: The value of the resulting associative array is an associative array with all the field specified in the SELECT query and associated values.
: First column must be a primary or alternate key (semantically, it does not actually have to declared in sql as such).
: The resulting collection can be empty (it won't be null).
: If you specified $bSingleValue=true and if your SQL query requests 2 fields A and B, the method returns an associative array "A=>B", otherwise its A=>[A,B]
: Note: The name a bit misleading, it really return associative array, i.e. map and NOT a collection. You cannot use it to get list of values which may have duplicates (hence primary key requirement on first column). If you need simple array use getObjectListFromDB() method.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
1234 => [ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
1235 => [ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
1234 => 'myuser0',
1235 => 'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getNonEmptyCollectionFromDB(string $sql) array
: Same as getCollectionFromDB($sdl), but raise an exception if the collection is empty. Note: this function does NOT have 2nd argument as previous one does.

; getObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Returns one row for the sql SELECT query as an associative array or null if there is no result (where fields are keys mapped to values)
: Raise an exception if the query return more than one row (you can use LIMIT 1 in the query to avoid the exception)

Example:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'" );

Result:
array(
'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1
)
</pre>

; getNonEmptyObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Similar to previous one, but raise an exception if no row is found

; getObjectListFromDB(string $sql, bool $bUniqueValue=false) array
: Return an array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The result is the same as "getCollectionFromDB" except that the result is a simple array (and not an associative array).
: The result can be empty.
: If you specified $bUniqueValue=true and if your SQL query request 1 field, the method returns directly an array of values.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
[ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
[ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
'myuser0',
'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getDoubleKeyCollectionFromDB(string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false) array
: Return an associative array of associative array, from a SQL SELECT query.
: First array level correspond to first column specified in SQL query.
: Second array level correspond to second column specified in SQL query.
: If $bSingleValue = true, keep only third column on result

; DbGetLastId()
: Return the PRIMARY key of the last inserted row (see PHP mysql_insert_id function).

; DbAffectedRow() int
: Return the number of row affected by the last operation

; escapeStringForDB(string $string) string
: You must use this function on every string type data in your database that contains unsafe data.
: (unsafe = can be modified by a player).
: This method makes sure that no SQL injection will be done through the string used.
: Note: if you using standard types in ajax actions, like AT_alphanum it is sanitized before arrival,
: this is only needed if you manage to get unchecked string, like in the games where user has to enter text as a response.

<pre>

</pre>

Note: see Editing [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]] to know how to define your database model.

== Use globals ==

Sometimes, you want a single global integer value for your game, and you don't want to create a DB table specifically for it.

You can do this with the BGA framework "global". Your value will be stored in the "global" table in the database, and you can access it with simple methods.

All methods below are memeber of game class and should be accessed $this-> or self::

'''initGameStateLabels(array $labelsMap): void'''

This method should be located at the beginning of constructor of ''yourgamename.game.php''. This is where you define the globals used in your game logic, by assigning them IDs.

You can define up to 80 globals, with IDs from 10 to 89 (inclusive, there can be gaps).
Also you must use this method to access value of game options [[Game_options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.inc.php]], in that case, IDs need to be between 100 and 199.
You must '''not''' use globals outside the range defined above, as those values are used by other components of the framework.

<pre>
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->initGameStateLabels([
"my_first_global_variable" => 10,
"my_second_global_variable" => 11,
"my_game_variant" => 100
]);
// other code ...
}
</pre>

NOTE: The methods below WILL throw an exception if label is not defined using the call above.

'''setGameStateInitialValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Initialize global value. This is not required if you ok with default value if 0. This should be called from setupNewGame function.

'''getGameStateValue( string $label, int $default = 0): int'''

Retrieve the value of a global. Returns $default if global is not been initialized (by setGameStateInitialValue).

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->getGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable');
</pre>

For debugging purposes, you can have labels and value pairs send to client side by inserting that code in your "getAllDatas":

<pre>
$labels = array_keys($this->mygamestatelabels);
$result['myglobals'] = array_combine($labels, array_map([$this,'getGameStateValue'],$labels));
</pre>

That assumes you stored your label mapping in $this->mygamestatelabels in constructor
<pre>
$this->mygamestatelabels=["my_first_global_variable" => 10, ...];
$this->initGameStateLabels($this->mygamestatelabels);
</pre>

'''setGameStateValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Set the current value of a global.
<pre>
$this->setGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 42);
</pre>

'''incGameStateValue( string $label, int $increment ): int'''

Increment the current value of a global. If increment is negative, decrement the value of the global.

Return the final value of the global. If global was not initialized it will initialize it as 0.

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->incGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 1);
</pre>

=== BGA predefined globals ===

BGA already defines some globals in the ''global'' database table. You should not change them directly but it can be useful to know what they mean when debugging:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! global_id !! label !! Meaning
|-
| 1 || || Current state
|-
| 2 || || Active player id
|-
| 3 || next_move_id || Next move number
|-
| 4 || || Game id
|-
| 5 || || Table creator id
|-
| 6 || playerturn_nbr || Player turn number
|-
| 7 || gameprogression || Game progression
|-
| 8 || initial_reflexion_time || Initial reflection time
|-
| 9 || additional_reflexion_time || Additional reflection time
|-
| 200 || reflexion_time_profile || Reflexion time profile
|-
| 201 || bgaranking_mode || BGA ranking mode
|-
| 207 || game_language ||GAMESTATE_GAME_LANG
|-
| 300 || game_db_version ||GAMESTATE_GAMEVERSION: Current version of the game (when in production)
|-
| 301 || game_result_neutralized ||GAMESTATE_GAME_RESULT_NEUTRALIZED
|-
| 302 || neutralized_player_id ||GAMESTATE_NEUTRALIZED_PLAYER_ID
|-
| 304 || undo_moves_stored ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_STORED
|-
| 305 || undo_moves_player ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_PLAYER
|-
| 306 || lock_screen_timestamp ||GAMESTATE_LOCK_TIMESTAMP
|}

== Game states and active players ==

=== Activate player handling ===

; $this->activeNextPlayer()
: Make the next player active in the natural player order.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->activePrevPlayer()
: Make the previous player active (in the natural player order).
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer( $player_id )
: You can call this method to make any player active.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->getActivePlayerId()
: Return the "active_player" id
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multipleactiveplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multipleactiveplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

=== Multiple activate player handling ===

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()
: All playing players are made active. Update notification is sent to all players (this will trigger '''onUpdateActionButtons''').
: Usually, you use this method at the beginning of a game state (e.g., "stGameState") which transitions to a ''multipleactiveplayer'' state in which multiple players have to perform some action. Do not use this method if you going to make some more changes in the active player list. (I.e., if you want to take away multipleactiveplayer status immediately afterwards, use setPlayersMultiactive instead.)

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

; $this->stMakeEveryoneActive()
:this method can be used in state machine to make everybody active as "st" method of multiplayeractive state, it just calls $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()

This is to be used in state declaration:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'stMakeEveryoneActive',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "actionBla" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersNonMultiactive( $next_state )
: All playing players are made inactive. Transition to next state

; $this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive( $players, $next_state, $bExclusive = false )
: Make a specific list of players active during a multiactive gamestate. Update notification is sent to all players whose state changed.
: "players" is the array of player id that should be made active. If "players" is not empty the value of "next_state" will be ignored (you can put whatever you want)
: If "exclusive" parameter is not set or false it doesn't deactivate other previously active players. If its set to true, the players who will be multiactive at the end are only these in "$players" array

: In case "players" is empty, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise

; $this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $player_id, $next_state )
: During a multiactive game state, make the specified player inactive.
: Usually, you call this method during a multiactive game state after a player did his action. It is also possible to call it directly from multiplayer action handler.
: If this player was the last active player, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise
Example of usage (see state declaration of playerTurnPlace above):
<pre>
function actionBla($args) {
self::checkAction('actionBla');
// handle the action using $this->getCurrentPlayerId()
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'next');
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getActivePlayerList()
: With this method you can retrieve the list of the active player at any time.
: During a "game" type gamestate, it will return a void array.
: During a "activeplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array with one value (the active player id).
: During a "multipleactiveplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array of the active players id.
: Note: you should only use this method in the latter case.

; $this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( $next_state_if_none )
: Sends update notification about multiplayer changes. All multiactive set* functions above do that, however if you want to change state manually using db queries for complex calculations, you have to call this yourself after. Do not call this if you calling one of the other setters above.
Example: you have player teams and you want to activate all players in one team
<pre>
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='0'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='1' WHERE player_id='$player_id' AND player_team='$team_no'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );

$this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( 'error' );
</pre>

; updating database manually
: Use this helper function to change multiactive state without sending notification
<pre>
/**
* Changes values of multiactivity in db, does not sent notifications.
* To send notifications after use updateMultiactiveOrNextState
* @param number $player_id, player id <=0 or null - means ALL
* @param number $value - 1 multiactive, 0 non multiactive
*/
function dbSetPlayerMultiactive($player_id = -1, $value = 1) {
if (! $value)
$value = 0;
else
$value = 1;
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive = '$value' WHERE player_zombie = 0 and player_eliminated = 0";
if ($player_id > 0) {
$sql .= " AND player_id = $player_id";
}
self::DbQuery($sql);
}
</pre>

;$this->gamestate->isPlayerActive($player_id)
:Return true if specified player is active right now.
:This method take into account game state type, ie nobody is active if game state is "game" and several players can be active if game state is "multiplayer"

;$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable
:This flag can be set to true in constructor of game.php to force creation of second table to handle multiplayer states (normally these are in player table), this is very advanced feature.
:ONLY use it after you deploy you game to production if you receive unusual amount of bug report with dead lock symptoms DURING multiactiveplayer states
function __construct() {
...
$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true;
}

=== States functions ===
; $this->gamestate->nextState( $transition )
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $transition parameter is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.

'''$this->gamestate->jumpToState($stateNum)'''
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $stateNum parameter is the key of the state. See [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.
: Note: this is very advanced method, it should not be used in normal cases. Specific advanced cases include - jumping to specific state from "do_anytime" actions, jumping to dispatcher state or jumping to recovery state from zombie player function

; $this->checkAction( $actionName, $bThrowException=true )
: Check if the current player can perform a specific action in the current game state, and optionally throw an exception if they can't.
: The action is valid if it is listed in the "possibleactions" array for the current game state (see game state description).
: This method MUST be the first one called in ALL your PHP methods that handle player actions, in order to make sure a player doesn't perform an action not allowed by the rules at the point in the game. It should not be called from methods where the current player is not necessarily the active player, otherwise it may fail with an "It is not your turn" exception.
: If "bThrowException" is set to "false", the function returns '''false''' in case of failure instead of throwing an exception. This is useful when several actions are possible, in order to test each of them without throwing exceptions.

; $this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction( $action )
: (rarely used)
: This works exactly like "checkAction" (above), except that it does NOT check if the current player is active.
: '''Note: This does NOT check either spectator or eliminated status, so those checks must be done manually.'''
: This is used specifically in certain game states when you want to authorize additional actions for players that are not active at the moment.
: Example: in ''Libertalia'', you want to authorize players to change their mind about the card played. They are of course not active at the time they change their mind, so you cannot use "checkAction"; use "checkPossibleAction" instead.

This is how PHP action looks that returns player to active state (only for multiplayeractive states). To be able to execute this on client do not call checkAction on js side for this specific action.

function actionUnpass() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionUnpass'); // player changed mind about passing while others were thinking
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

; $this->gamestate->state()
: Get an associative array of current game state attributes, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for state attributes.

$state=$this->gamestate->state(); if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' ) {...}

I suggest to define and use this function in your php class to access state name:

public function getStateName() {
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
return $state['name'];
}

; $this->gamestate->state_id()
: Get the id of the current game state (rarely useful, its best to use name, unless you use constants for state ids)

; $this->gamestate->isMutiactiveState()
: Return true if we are in multipleactiveplayer state, false otherwise

=== Private parallel states ===

See the overview of private parallel states [[Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers()
: All active players in a multiactive state are entering a first private state defined in the master state's initialprivate parameter.
: Every time you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods below.
: Note: at least one player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating some or all players
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method

$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds)
: Players with specified ids are entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateState($playerId)
: Player with the specified id is entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Everytime you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods above
: Note: player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating that player
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_ChangeMind() {
// This player finished his move before, but now decides change something while other players are still active
// We activate the player and initialize his private state
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive([$this->getCurrentPlayerId()], "");
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateState(this->getCurrentPlayerId());

// It is also possible to move the player to some other specific state immediately
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers($transition)
: All active players will transition to next private state by specified transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state
: Note: this is usually used after initializing the private state to move players to specific private state according to the game logic

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

if ($specificOption) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: Players with specified ids will transition to next private state specified by provided transition.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($playerId, $transition)
: Player with specified id will transition to next private state specified by provided transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player
: Note: this is usually used after some player actions to move to next private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers()
: All players private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used to clean up after leaving a master state in which private states were used, but can be used in other cases when we want to exit private parallel states and use a regular multiactive state for all players
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private states as they will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state after exiting private parallel states to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stNextRound() {
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers();
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: For players with specified ids private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($playerId)
: For player with specified id private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used when deactivating player to clean up their parallel state
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private state as it will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state when not needed to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function done() {
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "newTurn" );
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId());
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($playerId, $newStateId)
: For player with specified id a new private state would be set
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this should be rarely used as it doesn't check if the transition is allowed (it doesn't even specifies transition). This can be useful in very complex cases when standard state machine is not adequate (i.e. specific cards can lead to some micro action in various states where defining transitions back and forth can become very tedious.)
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state

if ($playerHaveSpecificCard)
return $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 35);

$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getPrivateState($playerId)
: This return the private state or null if not initialized or not in private state

==== State Arguments in Private parallel states ====

The args method called for private states will have the player_id passed to it, allowing you to customise the arguments returned for that player.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function argMyPrivateState($player_id) {
return array(
'my_data' => $this->getPlayerSpecificData($player_id)
);
}
</pre>

==== Inactive Players ====

During Private Parallel State, active players will be managed by the private state that is current assigned to them.

Inactive players will be managed by the master multipleactiveplayer state, so your client should respond to that state in order to display any status message advising players that they are waiting for others to have their turn, or to add any buttons that allow players to potentially "break in" and become active.

== Players turn order ==

When table is created the "natural" player order is assigned to player at random, and stored in "read-only" field "player_no".
If you need to create a custom order you should never change natural order but have a separate data structure.
For example you can alter the players table to add another "custom_order" field, you can use state globals or you can use your natural board database,
to store meeple_color/position_location pair.
BGA currently does not provide any API to create/store custom player order.

'''getNextPlayerTable()'''

Return an associative array which associate each player with the next player around the table.

In addition, key 0 is associated to the first player to play.

Example: if three player with ID 1000, 2000 and 3000 are around the table, in this order, the method returns:
<pre>
array(
1000 => 2000,
2000 => 3000,
3000 => 1000,
0 => 1000
);
</pre>

'''getPrevPlayerTable()'''

Same as above, but the associative array associate the previous player around the table. However there no 0 index here.

'''getPlayerAfter( $player_id )'''

Get player playing after given player in natural playing order.

'''getPlayerBefore( $player_id )'''

Get player playing before given player in natural playing order.

Note: There is no API to modify this order, if you have custom player order you have to maintain it in your database
and have custom function to access it.

'''createNextPlayerTable( $players, $bLoop=true )'''

Using $players array creates a map of current => next as in example from getNextPlayerTable(), however you can use custom order here.
If parmeter $bLoop is set to true then last player will points to first (creaing a loop), false otherwise.
In any case index 0 points to first player (first element of $players array). $players is array of player ids in desired order.

Note: This function '''DOES NOT''' change the order in database, it only creates a map using key/values as descibed.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function getNextPlayerTableCustom() {
$starting = $this->getStartingPlayer(); // custom function to get starting player
$player_ids = $this->getPlayerIdsInOrder($starting); // custom function to create players array starting from starting player
return $this->createNextPlayerTable($player_ids, false); // create next player table in custom order
}
</pre>

<pre>
$table = $this->createNextPlayerTable([3000,2000,1000], false);

will return:
[
3000 => 2000,
2000 => 1000,
1000 => null,
0 => 3000
]
</pre>

== Notify players ==

To understand notifications, please read [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] first.

'''IMPORTANT'''

Notifications are sent at the very end of the request, when it ends normally. It means that if you throw an exception for any reason (ex: move not allowed), no notifications will be sent to players.
Notifications sent between the game start (setupNewGame) and the end of the "action" method of the first active state will never reach their destination.

=== NotifyAllPlayers ===

'''notifyAllPlayers(string $notification_type,string $notification_log,array $notification_args )'''

Send a notification to all players of the game.

* notification_type: A string that defines the type of your notification.

Your game interface Javascript logic will use this to know what is the type of the received notification (and to trigger the corresponding method).

* notification_log: A string that defines what is to be displayed in the game log.

You can use an empty string here (''). In this case, nothing is displayed in the game log.

Unless its empty, use "clienttranslate" method to make sure string is translated.

You can use arguments in your $notification_log string, that refers to values defines in the "$notification_args" argument (see below).
Note: Make sure you only use single quotes ('), otherwise PHP will try to interpolate the variable and will ignore the values in the args array.

* notification_args: The arguments of your notifications, as an associative array.

This array will be transmitted to the game interface logic, in order the game interface can be updated.

Complete notifyAllPlayers example (from "Reversi"):

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y
) );
</pre>

You can see in the example above the use of the "clienttranslate" method, and the use of 2 arguments "player_name" and "returned_nbr" in the notification log.

'''Important''': NO private data must be sent with this method, as a cheater could see it even if it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic. If you want to send private information to a player, please use notifyPlayer below.

'''Important''': this array is serialized to be sent to the browsers, and will be saved with the notification to be able to replay the game later. If it is too big, it can make notifications slower / less reliable, and replay archives very big (to the point of failing). So as a general rule, you should send only the minimum of information necessary to update the client interface with no overhead in order to keep the notifications as light as possible.

'''Important''': When the game page is reloaded (i.e. F5 or when loading turn based game) all previous notifications are replayed as history notifications. These notifications do not trigger notification handlers and are used basically to build the game log. Because of that most of the notification arguments, except i18n, player_id and all arguments used in the message, are removed from these history notifications. If you need additional arguments in history notifications you can add special field <b>preserve</b> to notification arguments, like this:

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y,
'preserve' => [ 'x', 'y' ]
) );
</pre>
In this example, fields x and y will be preserved when replaying history notification at the game load.

NOTE: The ONLY reason 'preserve' is useful if you have custom method to render notifications (or logs) which changes some text arguments into html (i.e. to insert the images instead of plain text). Do not use preserve "just in case" - it will only bloat the logs and make game load VERY slow.

==== HTML in Notifications ====

You CAN use some HTML inside your notification log, however it not recommended for many reasons:
* Its bad architecture, ui elements leak into server now you have to manage ui in many places
* If you decided to change something in ui in a future version, old games replay and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications
* When you read log preview for old games its unreadable (this is log before you enter the game replay, useful for troubleshooting or game analysis)
* Its more data to transfer and store in db
* Its nightmare for translators, at least don't put HTML tags inside the "clienttranslate" method. You can use a notification argument instead, and provide your HTML through this argument.

If you still want to have pretty pictures in the log check this [[BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Inject_images_and_styled_html_in_the_log]].

==== Recursive Notifications ====

If your notification contains some phrases that build programmatically you may need to use recursive notifications. In this case the argument can be not only the string but
an array itself, which contains 'log' and 'args', i.e.

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name_rec}'),
['token_name_rec'=>['log'=>'${token_name} #${token_number}',
'args'=> ['token_name'=>clienttranslate('Boo'), 'token_number'=>$number, 'i18n'=>['token_name'] ]
]
]);

Special handling of arguments:
* ${player_name} - this will be wrapped in html and text shown using color of the corresponding player, some colors also have reserved background. This will apply recursively as well.
* ${player_name1}, ${player_name2}, ${player_name3}, etc. - same

==== Excluding some players ====

Sometimes you want to notify all players of a message but not have it appear in the log of specific players (for example, have every player see "Player X draws a card" but have Player X see "You draw the Ace of Spades").

To send a notification to all players but have some clients ignore it, send it as normal from the server, but implement '''setIgnoreNotificationCheck''' on the client to ignore the message under given conditions. See the [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Ignoring_notifications]] documentation for more details.

=== NotifyPlayer ===

'''notifyPlayer( $player_id, $notification_type, $notification_log, $notification_args )'''

Same as above, except that the notification is sent to one player only.

This method must be used each time some private information must be transmitted to a player.

Important: the variable for player name must be ${player_name} in order to be highlighted with the player color in the game log. If you want a second player name in the log, name the variable ${player_name2}, etc.

Note that spectators cannot be notified using this method, because their player ID is not available via loadPlayersBasicInfos() or otherwise. You must use notifyAllPlayers() for any notification that spectators should get.

== Randomization ==

A large number of board games rely on random, most often based on dice, cards shuffling, picking some item in a bag, and so on. This is very important to ensure a high level of randomness for each of these situations.

Here's are a list of techniques you should use in these situations, from the best to the worst.

=== Dice and bga_rand ===

'''bga_rand( min, max )'''
This is a BGA framework function that provides you a random number between "min" and "max" (inclusive), using the best available random method available on the system.

This is the preferred function you should use, because we are updating it when a better method is introduced.

As of now, bga_rand is based on the PHP function "random_int", which ensures a cryptographic level of randomness.

In particular, it is '''mandatory''' to use it for all '''dice throw''' (ie: games using other methods for dice throwing will be rejected by BGA during review).

Note: rand() and mt_rand() are deprecated on BGA and should not be used anymore, as their randomness is not as good as "bga_rand".

=== Arrays ===

Although PHP's "shuffle()" is generally considered good enough (see below, BGA's own Deck component uses this), the following PHP code based on "random_int" provides a cryptographically-secure method to choose a random key, value, or slice of an array. (the slice preserves keys)

<pre>
private function getRandomKey(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomKey(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $key;
}
}

private function getRandomValue(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomValue(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $value;
}
}

private function getRandomSlice(array &$array, int $count)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
if ($count < 1 || $count > $size) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Invalid count $count for array with size $size", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$slice = [];
$randUnique = [];
while (count($randUnique) < $count) {
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
if (array_key_exists($rand, $randUnique)) {
continue;
}
$randUnique[$rand] = true;
$slice += array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
}
return $slice;
}
</pre>

=== shuffle and cards shuffling ===

To shuffle items, like a pile of cards, the best way is to use the BGA PHP [[Deck]] component and to use "shuffle" method. This ensures that the best available shuffling method is used, and that if in the future we improve it your game will be up to date.

As of now, the Deck component shuffle method is based on PHP "shuffle" method, which has quite good randomness (even if not as good as bga_rand). In consequence, we accept other shuffling methods during reviews, as long as they are based on PHP "shuffle" function (or similar, like "array_rand").

=== Other methods ===

Mysql "RAND()" function has not enough randomness to be a valid method to get a random element on BGA. This function has been used in some existing games and has given acceptable results, but now it should be avoided and you should use other methods instead.

== Game statistics ==

There are 2 types of statistics:
* a "player" statistic is a statistic associated to a player
* a "table" statistic is a statistic not associated to a player (global statistic for this game).

See [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]] to see how you define statistics for your game.

'''initStat( $table_or_player, $name, $value, $player_id = null )'''

Create a statistic entry with a default value.

This method must be called for each statistic of your game, in your setupNewGame method.
If you neglect to call this for a statistic, and also do not update the value during the course of a certain game using setStat or incStat, the value of the stat will be undefined rather than 0. This will result in it being ignored at the end of the game, as if it didn't apply to that particular game, and excluded from cumulative statistics. As a consequence - if do not want statistic to be applied, do not init it, or call set or inc on it.

'$table_or_player' must be set to "table" if this is a table statistic, or "player" if this is a player statistic.

'$name' is the name of your statistic, as it has been defined in your stats.inc.php file.

'$value' is the initial value of the statistic. If this is a player statistic and if the player is not specified by "$player_id" argument, the value is set for ALL players.

'''setStat( $value, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Set a statistic $name to $value.

If "$player_id" is not specified, setStat consider it is a TABLE statistic.

If "$player_id" is specified, setStat consider it is a PLAYER statistic.

'''incStat( $delta, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Increment (or decrement) specified statistic value by $delta value. Same behavior as setStat function.

'''getStat( $name, $player_id = null )'''

Return the value of statistic specified by $name. Useful when creating derivative statistics such as average.

== Translations ==

See [[Translations]]

== Manage player scores and Tie breaker ==

=== Normal scoring ===

At the end of the game, players automatically get a rank depending on their score: the player with the biggest score is #1, the player with the second biggest score is #2, and so on...

During the game, you update player's score directly by updating "player_score" field of "player" table in database.

Examples:
<pre>

// +2 points to active player
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=player_score+2 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

// Set score of active player to 5
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=5 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

</pre>

Note: don't forget to notify the client side in order the score control can be updated accordingly.

=== Tie breaker ===

Tie breaker is used when two players get the same score at the end of a game.

Tie breaker is using "player_score_aux" field of "player" table. It is updated exactly like the "player_score" field.

Tie breaker score is displayed only for players who are tied at the end of the game. Most of the time, it is not supposed to be displayed explicitly during the game.

When you are using "player_score_aux" functionality, you must describe the formula to use in your gameinfos.inc.php file like this:

<pre>
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Describe here your tie breaker formula"),
</pre>

This description will be used as a tooltip to explain to players how this auxiliary score has been calculated.

See also [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_meta-information:_gameinfos.inc.php#Multiple_tie_breaker_management Multiple Tie Breaker Management].

=== Co-operative game ===

To make everyone win/lose together in a full-coop game:

Add the following in gameinfos.inc.php :
'is_coop' => 1, // full cooperative

Assign a score of zero to everyone if it's a loss.
Assign the same score > 0 to everyone if it's a win.

=== Semi-coop ===

If the game is not full-coop, then everyone loses = everyone is tied. I.e. set score to 0 to everybody.

=== Only "winners" and "losers" ===

For some games, there is only a group (or a single) "winner", and everyone else is a "loser", with no "end of game rank" (1st, 2nd, 3rd...).

Examples:
* Coup
* Not Alone
* Werewolves
* Quantum

In this case:
* Set the scores so that the winner has the best score, and the other players have the same (lower) score.
* Add the following lines to gameinfos.inc.php:

<pre>
// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => true,
</pre>

Werewolves and Coup are implemented like this, as you can see here:
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=werewolves&section=lastresults
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=coupcitystate&section=lastresults

Adding this has the following effects:
* On game results for this game, "Winner" or "Loser" is going to appear instead of the usual "1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...".
* When a game is over, the result of the game will be "End of game: Victory" or "End of game: Defeat" depending on the result of the CURRENT player (instead of the usual "Victory of XXX").
* When calculating ELO points, if there is at least one "Loser", no "victorious" player can lose ELO points, and no "losing" player can win ELO point. Usually it may happened because being tie with many players with a low rank is considered as a tie and may cost you points. If losers_not_ranked is set, we prevent this behavior and make sure you only gain/loss ELO when you get the corresponding results.

Important: this SHOULD NOT be used for cooperative games (see is_coop parameter), or for 2 players games (it makes no sense in this case).

=== Solo ===

If game supports solo variant, a negative or zero score means defeat, a positive score means victory.

=== Player elimination ===

In some games, this is useful to eliminate a player from the game in order he/she can start another game without waiting for the current game end.

This case should be rare. Please don't use player elimination feature if some player just has to wait the last 10% of the game for game end. This feature should be used only in games where players are eliminated all along the game (typical examples: "Perudo" or "The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow").

Usage:

* Player to eliminate should NOT be active anymore (preferably use the feature in a "game" type game state).
* In your PHP code:
self::eliminatePlayer( <player_to_eliminate_id> );
* the player is informed in a dialog box that he no longer have to play and can start another game if he/she wants too (with buttons "stay at this table" "quit table and back to main site"). In any case, the player is free to start & join another table from now.
* When your game is over, all players who have been eliminated before receive a "notification" (the small "!" icon on the top right of the BGA interface) that indicate them that "the game has ended" and invite them to review the game results.

'''Important:''' this should not be used on a player who has already left the game ("zombie") as leaving/being kicked of the game (outside of the scope of the rules) is not the same as being eliminated from the game (according to the rules), except if in the course of the game, the zombie player is eliminated according to the rules.

'''Important:''' When all surviving players are eliminated at the same time BGA framework causes the game to be abandoned automatically.
To circumvent this, the game should leave 1 player not eliminated but change final scores accordingly and end the game.

=== Scoring Helper functions ===

These functions should have been API but they are not, just add them to your php game and use for every game.

// get score
function dbGetScore($player_id) {
return $this->getUniqueValueFromDB("SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set score
function dbSetScore($player_id, $count) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score='$count' WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set aux score (tie breaker)
function dbSetAuxScore($player_id, $score) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score_aux=$score WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// increment score (can be negative too)
function dbIncScore($player_id, $inc) {
$count = $this->dbGetScore($player_id);
if ($inc != 0) {
$count += $inc;
$this->dbSetScore($player_id, $count);
}
return $count;
}

== Reflexion time ==

; function giveExtraTime( $player_id, $specific_time=null )
: Give standard extra time to this player.
: Standard extra time depends on the speed of the game (small with "slow" game option, bigger with other options).
: You can also specify an exact time to add, in seconds, with the "specified_time" argument (rarely used).

; function isAsync()
: Returns true if game is turn based, false if it is realtime

== Undo moves ==

Please read our [[BGA Undo policy]] before.

'''Important''': Before using these methods, you must also add the following to your "gameinfos.inc.php" file, otherwise these methods are ineffective:
'db_undo_support' => true

Note: if you deploy undo support after game is in production this will take into effect for new games only, old games will give user an error if user choses Undo action, but otherwise it should not affect them.

; function undoSavepoint( )
: Save the whole game situation inside an "Undo save point".
: There is only ONE undo save point available (see [[BGA Undo policy]]). Cannot use in multiactivate state or in game state where next state is multiactive.
: Note: this function does not actually do anything when it is called, it only raises the flag to store the database AFTER transaction is over. So the actual state will be saved when you exit the function calling it (technically before first queued notification is sent, which matters if you transition to game state not to user state after), this may affect what you end up saving.

; function undoRestorePoint()
: Restore the situation previously saved as an "Undo save point".
: You must make sure that the active player is the same after and before the undoRestorePoint (ie: this is your responsibility to ensure that the player that is active when this method is called is exactly the same than the player that was active when the undoSavePoint method has been called).

function actionUndo() {
self::checkAction('actionUndo');
$this->undoRestorePoint();
$this->gamestate->nextState('next'); // transition to single player state (i.e. beginning of player actions for this turn)
}

'''Important note''': if you are reading game state variable right after restore (without changing state first) it won't work properly as the global table cache is not automatically refreshed after undoRestorePoint(). So you should either change state immediately to refresh game state values, or use $this->gamestate->reloadState() to refresh the state. If you choose to do the latest, be aware that this will bring the state machine back to the state during which the save point snapshot has been taken using undoSavepoint() (which means your transition you do after has to declared in the state which was saved, not in the state which was active for your actionUndo())

== Managing errors and exceptions ==

Note: when you throw an exception, all database changes and all notifications are cancelled immediately. This way, the game situation that existed before the request is completely restored.

; throw new BgaUserException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a user error
: You must throw this exception when a player wants to do something that they are not allowed to do.
: The error message will be shown to the player as a "red message".
: The error message must be translated, make sure you use self::_() or $this->_() here and NOT clientranslate()
: Throwing such an exception is NOT considered a bug, so it is not traced in BGA error logs.

Example from Gomoku:
<pre>
throw new BgaUserException( self::_("There is already a stone on this intersection, you can't play there") );
</pre>

; throw new BgaVisibleSystemException ( $error_message)
: You must throw this exception when you detect something that is not supposed to happened in your code.
: The error message is shown to the user as an "Unexpected error", in order that he can report it in the forum.
: The error message is logged in BGA error logs. If it happens regularly, we will report it to you.

; throw new BgaSystemException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a system exception. The message will be hidden from the user, but show in the logs. Use this if the message contains technical information.
: You shouldn't use this type of exception except if you think the information shown could be critical. Indeed: a generic error message will be shown to the user, so it's going to be difficult for you to see what happened.

== Zombie mode ==

When a player leaves a game for any reason (expelled, quit), he becomes a "zombie player". In this case, the results of the game won't count for statistics, but this is cool if the other players can finish the game anyway. That's why zombie mode exists: allow the other player to finish the game, even if the situation is not ideal.

While developing your zombie mode, keep in mind that:
* Do not refer to the rules, because this situation is not planned by the rules.
* Try to figure that you are playing with your friends and one of them has to leave: how can we finish the game without killing the spirit of the game?
* The idea is NOT to develop an artificial intelligence for the game.
* Do not try to end the game early, even in a two-player game. The zombie is there to allow the game to continue, not to end it. Trying to end the game is not supported by the framework and will likely cause unexpected errors.

Most of the time, the best thing to do when it is zombie player turn is to jump immediately to a state where he is not active anymore. For example, if he is in a game state where he has a choice between playing A and playing B, the best thing to do is NOT to choose A or B, but to pass. So, even if there's no "pass" action in the rules, add a "zombiepass" transitition in your game state and use it.

Each time a zombie player must play, your "zombieTurn" method is called.

Parameters:
* $state: the name of the current game state.
* $active_player: the id of the active player.

Most of the time, your zombieTurn method looks like this:

<pre>
function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player )
{
$statename = $state['name'];

if( $statename == 'myFirstGameState'
|| $statename == 'my2ndGameState'
|| $statename == 'my3rdGameState'
....
)
{
$this->gamestate->nextState( "zombiePass" );
}
else
throw new BgaVisibleSystemException( "Zombie mode not supported at this game state: ".$statename );
}
</pre>

Note that in the example above, all corresponding game state should implement "zombiePass" as a transition.

'''Very important''': your zombie code will be called when the player leaves the game. This action is triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to this action. In your zombieTurn function, you must '''never''' use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(), otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message.

== Player color preferences ==

BGA premium users may choose their preferred color for playing. For example, if they are used to play green for every board game, they can select "green" in their BGA preferences page.

Making your game compatible with colors preferences is very easy and requires only 1 line of configuration change:

On your gameinfos.inc.php file, add the following lines :

// Favorite colors support: if set to "true", support attribution of favorite colors based on player's preferences (see reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method)
// NB: this parameter is used only to flag games supporting this feature; you must use (or not use) reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method to actually enable or disable the feature.
'favorite_colors_support' => true,

Then, on your main <your_game>.game.php file check the code of "setupNewGame". New template already have correct code, but if you editing very old game and it may be absent.

$gameinfos = $this->getGameinfos();
...
if ($gameinfos['favorite_colors_support'])
$this->reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences($players, $gameinfos['player_colors']); // this should be above reloadPlayersBasicInfos()
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();

The "reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences" method reattributes all colors, taking into account players color preferences and available colors.

Note that you must update the colors to indicate the colors available for your game.

Some important remarks:
* for some games (i.e. Chess), the color has an influence on a mechanism of the game, most of the time by giving a special advantage to a player (i.e. Starting the game). Color preference mechanism must NOT be used in such a case.
* your logic should NEVER consider that the first player has the color X, that the second player has the color Y, and so on. If this is the case, your game will NOT be compatible with reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences as this method attribute colors to players based on their preferences and not based as their order at the table.

=== Custom color assignments ===
'''⚠️ This is not yet live; however, you may implement the code now, ready for when it is deployed.'''

Some colors don't play nicely with BGA's color difference algorithm. If you receive feedback that colors are not well chosen, you can bypass the BGA algorithm by specifying a map from user preference colors to game colors.

For example, you may wish to assign BGA's blue to your game's baby blue: <code>"0000ff" /* Blue */ => "89CFF0",</code> whereas otherwise, a deep purple might be chosen instead. Just be sure that the assigned colors are also present in the <code>player_colors</code> array passed to <code>reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences</code>, otherwise the assignment will be ignored.

To do this, implement this method in your <code>X.game.php</code> class.

Note: the user preference colors (the keys in the returned array) should be modified, or the code may not work as expected. These are the colors players can choose between in their profile.
/**
* Returns an array of user preference colors to game colors.
* Game colors must be among those which are passed to reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences()
* Each game color can be an array of suitable colors, or a single color:
* [
* // The first available color chosen:
* 'ff0000' => ['990000', 'aa1122'],
* // This color is chosen, if available
* '0000ff' => '000099',
* ]
* If no color can be matched from this array, then the default implementation is used.
*/
function getSpecificColorPairings(): array {
return array(
"ff0000" /* Red */ => null,
"008000" /* Green */ => null,
"0000ff" /* Blue */ => null,
"ffa500" /* Yellow */ => null,
"000000" /* Black */ => null,
"ffffff" /* White */ => null,
"e94190" /* Pink */ => null,
"982fff" /* Purple */ => null,
"72c3b1" /* Cyan */ => null,
"f07f16" /* Orange */ => null,
"bdd002" /* Khaki green */ => null,
"7b7b7b" /* Gray */ => null,
);
}

== Legacy games API ==

For some very specific games ("legacy", "campaign"), you need to keep some informations from a game to another.

This should be an exceptional situation: the legacy API is costing resources on Board Game Arena databases, and is slowing down the game setup process + game end of game process. Please do not use it for things like:
* keeping a player preference/settings (=> player preferences and game options should be used instead)
* keeping a statistics, a score, or a ranking, while it is not planned in the physical board game, or while there is no added value compared to BGA statistics / rankings.

You should use it for:
* legacy games: when some components of the game has been altered in a previous game and should be kept as it is.
* "campaign style" games: when a player is getting a "reward" at the end of a game, and should be able to use it in further games.

Important: you cannot store more than 64k of data (serialized as JSON) per player per game. If you go over 64k, storeLegacyData function is going to FAIL, and there is a risk to create a major bug (= players blocked) in your game. You MUST make sure that no more than 64k of data is used for each player for your game. For example, if you are implementing a "campaign style" game and if you allow a player to start multiple campaign, you must LIMIT the number of different campaign so that the total data size to not go over the limit. We strongly recommend you to use this:

try
{
$this->storeLegacyTeamData( $my_data );
}
catch( feException $e ) // feException is a base class of BgaSystemException and others...
{
if( $e->getCode() == FEX_legacy_size_exceeded )
{
// Do something here to free some space in Legacy data (ex: by removing some variables)
}
else
throw $e;
}

The keys may only contain letters and numbers, underscore seems not to be allowed.

; function storeLegacyData( $player_id, $key, $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Store some data associated with $key for the given user / current game
: In the opposite of all other game data, this data will PERSIST after the end of this table, and can be re-used
: in a future table with the same game.
: IMPORTANT: The only possible place where you can use this method is when the game is over at your table (last game action). Otherwise, there is a risk of conflicts between ongoing games.
: TTL is a time-to-live: the maximum, and default, is 365 days.
: In any way, the total data (= all keys) you can store for a given user+game is 64k (note: data is store serialized as JSON data)
: NOTICE: You can store some persistant data across all tables from your game using the specific player_id 0 which is unused. In such case, it's even more important to manage correctly the size of your data to avoid any exception or issue while storing updated data (ie. you can use this for some kind of leaderbord for solo game or contest)
: Note: This function cannot be called during game setup (will throw an error).

; function retrieveLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Get data associated with $key for the current game
: This data is common to ALL tables from the same game for this player, and persist from one table to another.
: Note: calling this function has an important cost => please call it few times (possibly: only ONCE) for each player for 1 game if possible
: Note: you can use '%' in $key to retrieve all keys matching the given patterns

; function removeLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Remove some legacy data with the given key
: (useful to free some data to avoid going over 64k)

; function storeLegacyTeamData( $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Same as storeLegacyData, except that it stores some data for the whole team within the current table and does not use a key
: Ie: if players A, B and C are at a table, the legacy data will be saved for future table with (exactly) A, B and C on the table.
: This is useful for games which are intended to be played several time by the same team.
: Note: the data total size is still limited, so you must implement catch the FEX_legacy_size_exceeded exception if it happens

; function retrieveLegacyTeamData()
: Same as retrieveLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

; function removeLegacyTeamData()
: Same as removeLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

== Players text input and moderation ==
This section concerns only games where the players have to write some words to play: games based on words, like "Just one" or "Codenames".

Some players will use your game to write insults or profanities. As this is part of the game and not in the game chat, these words cannot be reported by players and moderated.

If you met the following situation:

* You are asking a player to type a text (word(s) or sentence)
* The player can enter any text (this is not a pre-selection or anything you can control)
* This text is visible by at least one other player

Then, you must use the following method:

'''function logTextForModeration( $player_id, $text )'''

player_id = player who write the text

text = text that has been written

This function will have no visible consequence for your game, but will allow players to report the text to moderators if something happens.

== Language dependent games API ==

This API is used for games that are heavily language dependent. Two most common use cases are:
* Games that have a language dependent component that are not necessarily translatable, typically a list of words. (Think of games like Codenames, Decrypto, Just One...)
* Games with massive communication where players would like to ensure that all participants speak the same language. (Think of games like Werewolf, The Resistance, maybe even dixit...)

If this option is used, the table created will be limited only to users that have specific language in their profile. Player starting the game would be able to chose one of the languages they speak.

There is a new property language_dependency in gameinfos.inc.php which can be set like this:
'language_dependency' => false, //or if the property is missing, the game is not language dependent
'language_dependency' => true, //all players at the table must speak the same language
'language_dependency' => array( 1 => 'en', 2 => 'fr', 3 => 'it' ), //1-based list of supported languages

In the gamename.game.php file, you can get the id of selected language with the method '''getGameLanguage'''.
; function getGameLanguage()
: Returns an index of the selected language as defined in gameinfos.inc.php.

Languages currently available on BGA are:
'ar' => array( 'name' => "العربية", 'code' => 'ar_AE' ), // Arabic
'be' => array( 'name' => "беларуская мова", 'code' => 'be_BY' ), // Belarusian
'bn' => array( 'name' => "বাংলা", 'code' => 'bn_BD' ), // Bengali
'bg' => array( 'name' => "български език", 'code' => 'bg_BG' ), // Bulgarian
'ca' => array( 'name' => "català", 'code' => 'ca_ES' ), // Catalan
'cs' => array( 'name' => "čeština", 'code' => 'cs_CZ' ), // Czech
'da' => array( 'name' => "dansk", 'code' => 'da_DK' ), // Danish
'de' => array( 'name' => "deutsch", 'code' => 'de_DE' ), // German
'el' => array( 'name' => "Ελληνικά", 'code' => 'el_GR' ), // Greek
'en' => array( 'name' => "English", 'code' => 'en_US' ), // English
'es' => array( 'name' => "español", 'code' => 'es_ES' ), // Spanish
'et' => array( 'name' => "eesti keel", 'code' => 'et_EE' ), // Estonian
'fi' => array( 'name' => "suomi", 'code' => 'fi_FI' ), // Finnish
'fr' => array( 'name' => "français", 'code' => 'fr_FR' ), // French
'he' => array( 'name' => "עברית", 'code' => 'he_IL' ), // Hebrew
'hi' => array( 'name' => "हिन्दी", 'code' => 'hi_IN' ), // Hindi
'hr' => array( 'name' => "Hrvatski", 'code' => 'hr_HR' ), // Croatian
'hu' => array( 'name' => "magyar", 'code' => 'hu_HU' ), // Hungarian
'id' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Indonesia", 'code' => 'id_ID' ), // Indonesian
'ms' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Malaysia", 'code' => 'ms_MY' ), // Malaysian
'it' => array( 'name' => "italiano", 'code' => 'it_IT' ), // Italian
'ja' => array( 'name' => "日本語", 'code' => 'ja_JP' ), // Japanese
'jv' => array( 'name' => "Basa Jawa", 'code' => 'jv_JV' ), // Javanese
'ko' => array( 'name' => "한국어", 'code' => 'ko_KR' ), // Korean
'lt' => array( 'name' => "lietuvių", 'code' => 'lt_LT' ), // Lithuanian
'lv' => array( 'name' => "latviešu", 'code' => 'lv_LV' ), // Latvian
'nl' => array( 'name' => "nederlands", 'code' => 'nl_NL' ), // Dutch
'no' => array( 'name' => "norsk", 'code' => 'nb_NO' ), // Norwegian
'oc' => array( 'name' => "occitan", 'code' => 'oc_FR' ), // Occitan
'pl' => array( 'name' => "polski", 'code' => 'pl_PL' ), // Polish
'pt' => array( 'name' => "português", 'code' => 'pt_PT' ), // Portuguese
'ro' => array( 'name' => "română", 'code' => 'ro_RO' ), // Romanian
'ru' => array( 'name' => "Русский язык", 'code' => 'ru_RU' ), // Russian
'sk' => array( 'name' => "slovenčina", 'code' => 'sk_SK' ), // Slovak
'sl' => array( 'name' => "slovenščina", 'code' => 'sl_SI' ), // Slovenian
'sr' => array( 'name' => "Српски", 'code' => 'sr_RS' ), // Serbian
'sv' => array( 'name' => "svenska", 'code' => 'sv_SE' ), // Swedish
'tr' => array( 'name' => "Türkçe", 'code' => 'tr_TR' ), // Turkish
'uk' => array( 'name' => "Українська мова", 'code' => 'uk_UA' ), // Ukrainian
'zh' => array( 'name' => "中文 (漢)", 'code' => 'zh_TW' ), // Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan)
'zh-cn' => array( 'name' => "中文 (汉)", 'code' => 'zh_CN' ), // Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, Singapore)

== Debugging and Tracing ==

To debug php code you can use some tracing functions available from the parent class such as debug, trace, error, warn, dump.

self::debug("Ahh!");
self::dump('my_var',$my_var);

See [[Practical_debugging]] section for complete information about debugging interfaces and where to find logs.

[[Category:Studio]]

Main game logic: Game.php

2023-10-16T10:48:39Z

Archduke: /* Custom color assignments */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This is the main file for your game logic. Here you initialize the game, persist data, implement the rules and notify the client interface of changes.

This is the main class that implements the "server" callbacks. As it is a server it cannot initiate any data communicate with the game client (running in browser) and only can respond to client using notifications.

Your php class instance won't be in memory between two callbacks, every time client send a request a new class will be created, constructor will be called and eventually your callback function.

== File Structure ==

The details of how the file is structured are described directly with comments in the code skeleton provided to you.

Here is the basic structure:

* '''__construct''': the game constructor, where you define global variables and initiaze class members.
* '''setupNewGame''': initial setup of the game. Takes an array of players, indexed by player_id. Structure of each player includes player_name, player_canal, player_avatar, and flags indicating admin/ai/premium/order/language/beginner.
* '''getAllDatas''': where you retrieve all game data during a complete reload of the game. Return value must be associative array. Value of 'players' is reserved for returning players data from players table, if you set it it must follow certain rules
$result ['players'] = self::getCollectionFromDb("SELECT player_id id, player_score score, player_no no, player_color color FROM player");
// Returned value must include ['players'][$player_id]]['score'] for scores to populate when F5 is pressed.
* '''getGameProgression''': where you compute the game progression indicator. Returns a number indicating percent of progression (0-100)
* Utility functions: your utility functions.
* Player actions: the entry points for players actions ([https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Players_actions:_yourgamename.action.php more info here]).
* Game state arguments: methods to return additional data on specific game states ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#args more info here]).
* Game state actions: the logic to run when entering a new game state ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#action more info here]).
* '''initTable''': (not part of template) - this function is called for every php callback by the framework and it can be implement by the game (empty by default). You can use it in rare cases where you need to read database and manipulate some data before any ANY php entry functions are called (such as getAllDatas,action*,st*, etc). Note: it is not called before arg* methods
* '''zombieTurn''': what to do it's the turn of a zombie player.
* '''upgradeTableDb''': function to migrate database if you change it after release on production.

== Accessing player information ==

'''Important''': In the following methods, be mindful of the difference between the "active" player and the "current" player. The '''active''' player is the player whose turn it is - not necessarily the player who sent a request! The '''current''' player is the player who sent the request and will see the results returned by your methods: not necessarily the player whose turn it is!

; getPlayersNumber()
: Returns the number of players playing at the table
: Note: doesn't work in the beggining of setupNewGame (use count($players) instead). It will work after initialization of player table.

; getActivePlayerId()
: Get the "active_player", whatever what is the current state type.
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multiplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getActivePlayerName()
: Get the "active_player" name
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getPlayerNameById($player_id)
: Get the name by id

; getPlayerColorById($player_id)
: Get the color by id

; getPlayerNoById($player_id)
: Get 'player_no' (number) by id

; loadPlayersBasicInfos()
: Get an associative array with generic data about players (ie: not game specific data).
: The key of the associative array is the player id. The returned table is cached, so ok to call multiple times without performance concerns.
: The content of each value is:
: * player_name - the name of the player
: * player_color (ex: ff0000) - the color code of the player (as string)
: * player_no - the position of the player at the start of the game in natural table order, i.e. 1,2,3

<pre>
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ($players as $player_id => $info) {
$player_color = $info['player_color'];
...
}
</pre>
Note: if you want array of player ids only you can do this:
$player_ids = array_keys($this->loadPlayersBasicInfos());

; getCurrentPlayerId(bool $bReturnNullIfNotLogged = false) int
: Get the "current_player". The current player is the one from which the action originated (the one who sent the request).
: '''Be careful''': This is not necessarily the active player!
: In general, you shouldn't use this method, unless you are in "multiplayer" state.
: '''Very important''': in your setupNewGame and zombieTurn function, you must never use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(),
: otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message (these actions are triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to these actions).

; getCurrentPlayerName(bool $bReturnEmptyIfNotLogged = false) string
: Get the "current_player" name.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; getCurrentPlayerColor()
: Get the "current_player" color.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; isCurrentPlayerZombie()
: Check the "current_player" zombie status. If true, player is zombie, i.e. left or was kicked out of the game.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator

; isSpectator()
: Check the "current_player" spectator status. If true, the user accessing the game is a spectator (not part of the game). For this user, the interface should display all public information, and no private information (like a friend sitting at the same table as players and just spectating the game).

; getActivePlayerColor()
: This function does not seems to exist in API, if you need it here is implementation
function getActivePlayerColor() {
$player_id = self::getActivePlayerId();
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (isset($players[$player_id]))
return $players[$player_id]['player_color'];
else
return null;
}
; isPlayerZombie($player_id)
: This method does not exists, but if you need it it looks like this
protected function isPlayerZombie($player_id) {
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (! isset($players[$player_id]))
throw new BgaSystemException("Player $player_id is not playing here");

return ($players[$player_id]['player_zombie'] == 1);
}

== Accessing the database ==

The main game logic should be the only point from which you should access the game database. You access your database using SQL queries with the methods below.

'''IMPORTANT'''

BGA uses [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax-transactions.html database transactions]. This means that your database changes WON'T BE APPLIED to the database until your request ends normally (web request, not database request). Using transactions is in fact very useful for you; at any time, if your game logic detects that something is wrong (example: a disallowed move), you just have to throw an exception and all changes to the game situation will be removed. This also means that you need not (and in fact cannot) use your own transactions for multiple related database operations.

However there are sets of database operation that will do implicit commit (most common mistake is to use "TRUNCATE"), you cannot use these operations during the game, it breaks the unrolling of transactions and will lead to nasty issues
(https://mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-statements-that-cause-an-implicit-commit).

All methods below are part of game class (and view class) and can be accessed using $this-> or self::

; DbQuery( string $sql )
: This is the generic method to access the database.
: It can execute any type of SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE/REPLACE/INSERT query on the database. Returns result of the query.
: For SELECT queries, the specialized methods below are much better.
: Do not use method for TUNCATE, DROP and other table altering operations. See disclamer above about implicit commits. If you really need TRUNCATE use DELETE FROM xxx instead.

; getUniqueValueFromDB( string $sql )
: Returns a unique value from DB or null if no value is found.
: $sql must be a SELECT query.
: Raise an exception if more than 1 row is returned.

; getCollectionFromDB( string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false ) array
: Returns an associative array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The key of the resulting associative array is the first field specified in the SELECT query.
: The value of the resulting associative array is an associative array with all the field specified in the SELECT query and associated values.
: First column must be a primary or alternate key (semantically, it does not actually have to declared in sql as such).
: The resulting collection can be empty (it won't be null).
: If you specified $bSingleValue=true and if your SQL query requests 2 fields A and B, the method returns an associative array "A=>B", otherwise its A=>[A,B]
: Note: The name a bit misleading, it really return associative array, i.e. map and NOT a collection. You cannot use it to get list of values which may have duplicates (hence primary key requirement on first column). If you need simple array use getObjectListFromDB() method.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
1234 => [ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
1235 => [ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
1234 => 'myuser0',
1235 => 'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getNonEmptyCollectionFromDB(string $sql) array
: Same as getCollectionFromDB($sdl), but raise an exception if the collection is empty. Note: this function does NOT have 2nd argument as previous one does.

; getObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Returns one row for the sql SELECT query as an associative array or null if there is no result (where fields are keys mapped to values)
: Raise an exception if the query return more than one row (you can use LIMIT 1 in the query to avoid the exception)

Example:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'" );

Result:
array(
'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1
)
</pre>

; getNonEmptyObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Similar to previous one, but raise an exception if no row is found

; getObjectListFromDB(string $sql, bool $bUniqueValue=false) array
: Return an array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The result is the same as "getCollectionFromDB" except that the result is a simple array (and not an associative array).
: The result can be empty.
: If you specified $bUniqueValue=true and if your SQL query request 1 field, the method returns directly an array of values.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
[ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
[ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
'myuser0',
'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getDoubleKeyCollectionFromDB(string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false) array
: Return an associative array of associative array, from a SQL SELECT query.
: First array level correspond to first column specified in SQL query.
: Second array level correspond to second column specified in SQL query.
: If $bSingleValue = true, keep only third column on result

; DbGetLastId()
: Return the PRIMARY key of the last inserted row (see PHP mysql_insert_id function).

; DbAffectedRow() int
: Return the number of row affected by the last operation

; escapeStringForDB(string $string) string
: You must use this function on every string type data in your database that contains unsafe data.
: (unsafe = can be modified by a player).
: This method makes sure that no SQL injection will be done through the string used.
: Note: if you using standard types in ajax actions, like AT_alphanum it is sanitized before arrival,
: this is only needed if you manage to get unchecked string, like in the games where user has to enter text as a response.

<pre>

</pre>

Note: see Editing [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]] to know how to define your database model.

== Use globals ==

Sometimes, you want a single global integer value for your game, and you don't want to create a DB table specifically for it.

You can do this with the BGA framework "global". Your value will be stored in the "global" table in the database, and you can access it with simple methods.

All methods below are memeber of game class and should be accessed $this-> or self::

'''initGameStateLabels(array $labelsMap): void'''

This method should be located at the beginning of constructor of ''yourgamename.game.php''. This is where you define the globals used in your game logic, by assigning them IDs.

You can define up to 80 globals, with IDs from 10 to 89 (inclusive, there can be gaps).
Also you must use this method to access value of game options [[Game_options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.inc.php]], in that case, IDs need to be between 100 and 199.
You must '''not''' use globals outside the range defined above, as those values are used by other components of the framework.

<pre>
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->initGameStateLabels([
"my_first_global_variable" => 10,
"my_second_global_variable" => 11,
"my_game_variant" => 100
]);
// other code ...
}
</pre>

NOTE: The methods below WILL throw an exception if label is not defined using the call above.

'''setGameStateInitialValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Initialize global value. This is not required if you ok with default value if 0. This should be called from setupNewGame function.

'''getGameStateValue( string $label, int $default = 0): int'''

Retrieve the value of a global. Returns $default if global is not been initialized (by setGameStateInitialValue).

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->getGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable');
</pre>

For debugging purposes, you can have labels and value pairs send to client side by inserting that code in your "getAllDatas":

<pre>
$labels = array_keys($this->mygamestatelabels);
$result['myglobals'] = array_combine($labels, array_map([$this,'getGameStateValue'],$labels));
</pre>

That assumes you stored your label mapping in $this->mygamestatelabels in constructor
<pre>
$this->mygamestatelabels=["my_first_global_variable" => 10, ...];
$this->initGameStateLabels($this->mygamestatelabels);
</pre>

'''setGameStateValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Set the current value of a global.
<pre>
$this->setGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 42);
</pre>

'''incGameStateValue( string $label, int $increment ): int'''

Increment the current value of a global. If increment is negative, decrement the value of the global.

Return the final value of the global. If global was not initialized it will initialize it as 0.

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->incGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 1);
</pre>

=== BGA predefined globals ===

BGA already defines some globals in the ''global'' database table. You should not change them directly but it can be useful to know what they mean when debugging:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! global_id !! label !! Meaning
|-
| 1 || || Current state
|-
| 2 || || Active player id
|-
| 3 || next_move_id || Next move number
|-
| 4 || || Game id
|-
| 5 || || Table creator id
|-
| 6 || playerturn_nbr || Player turn number
|-
| 7 || gameprogression || Game progression
|-
| 8 || initial_reflexion_time || Initial reflection time
|-
| 9 || additional_reflexion_time || Additional reflection time
|-
| 200 || reflexion_time_profile || Reflexion time profile
|-
| 201 || bgaranking_mode || BGA ranking mode
|-
| 207 || game_language ||GAMESTATE_GAME_LANG
|-
| 300 || game_db_version ||GAMESTATE_GAMEVERSION: Current version of the game (when in production)
|-
| 301 || game_result_neutralized ||GAMESTATE_GAME_RESULT_NEUTRALIZED
|-
| 302 || neutralized_player_id ||GAMESTATE_NEUTRALIZED_PLAYER_ID
|-
| 304 || undo_moves_stored ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_STORED
|-
| 305 || undo_moves_player ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_PLAYER
|-
| 306 || lock_screen_timestamp ||GAMESTATE_LOCK_TIMESTAMP
|}

== Game states and active players ==

=== Activate player handling ===

; $this->activeNextPlayer()
: Make the next player active in the natural player order.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->activePrevPlayer()
: Make the previous player active (in the natural player order).
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer( $player_id )
: You can call this method to make any player active.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->getActivePlayerId()
: Return the "active_player" id
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multipleactiveplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multipleactiveplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

=== Multiple activate player handling ===

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()
: All playing players are made active. Update notification is sent to all players (this will trigger '''onUpdateActionButtons''').
: Usually, you use this method at the beginning of a game state (e.g., "stGameState") which transitions to a ''multipleactiveplayer'' state in which multiple players have to perform some action. Do not use this method if you going to make some more changes in the active player list. (I.e., if you want to take away multipleactiveplayer status immediately afterwards, use setPlayersMultiactive instead.)

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

; $this->stMakeEveryoneActive()
:this method can be used in state machine to make everybody active as "st" method of multiplayeractive state, it just calls $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()

This is to be used in state declaration:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'stMakeEveryoneActive',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "actionBla" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersNonMultiactive( $next_state )
: All playing players are made inactive. Transition to next state

; $this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive( $players, $next_state, $bExclusive = false )
: Make a specific list of players active during a multiactive gamestate. Update notification is sent to all players whose state changed.
: "players" is the array of player id that should be made active. If "players" is not empty the value of "next_state" will be ignored (you can put whatever you want)
: If "exclusive" parameter is not set or false it doesn't deactivate other previously active players. If its set to true, the players who will be multiactive at the end are only these in "$players" array

: In case "players" is empty, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise

; $this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $player_id, $next_state )
: During a multiactive game state, make the specified player inactive.
: Usually, you call this method during a multiactive game state after a player did his action. It is also possible to call it directly from multiplayer action handler.
: If this player was the last active player, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise
Example of usage (see state declaration of playerTurnPlace above):
<pre>
function actionBla($args) {
self::checkAction('actionBla');
// handle the action using $this->getCurrentPlayerId()
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'next');
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getActivePlayerList()
: With this method you can retrieve the list of the active player at any time.
: During a "game" type gamestate, it will return a void array.
: During a "activeplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array with one value (the active player id).
: During a "multipleactiveplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array of the active players id.
: Note: you should only use this method in the latter case.

; $this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( $next_state_if_none )
: Sends update notification about multiplayer changes. All multiactive set* functions above do that, however if you want to change state manually using db queries for complex calculations, you have to call this yourself after. Do not call this if you calling one of the other setters above.
Example: you have player teams and you want to activate all players in one team
<pre>
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='0'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='1' WHERE player_id='$player_id' AND player_team='$team_no'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );

$this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( 'error' );
</pre>

; updating database manually
: Use this helper function to change multiactive state without sending notification
<pre>
/**
* Changes values of multiactivity in db, does not sent notifications.
* To send notifications after use updateMultiactiveOrNextState
* @param number $player_id, player id <=0 or null - means ALL
* @param number $value - 1 multiactive, 0 non multiactive
*/
function dbSetPlayerMultiactive($player_id = -1, $value = 1) {
if (! $value)
$value = 0;
else
$value = 1;
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive = '$value' WHERE player_zombie = 0 and player_eliminated = 0";
if ($player_id > 0) {
$sql .= " AND player_id = $player_id";
}
self::DbQuery($sql);
}
</pre>

;$this->gamestate->isPlayerActive($player_id)
:Return true if specified player is active right now.
:This method take into account game state type, ie nobody is active if game state is "game" and several players can be active if game state is "multiplayer"

;$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable
:This flag can be set to true in constructor of game.php to force creation of second table to handle multiplayer states (normally these are in player table), this is very advanced feature.
:ONLY use it after you deploy you game to production if you receive unusual amount of bug report with dead lock symptoms DURING multiactiveplayer states
function __construct() {
...
$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true;
}

=== States functions ===
; $this->gamestate->nextState( $transition )
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $transition parameter is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.

'''$this->gamestate->jumpToState($stateNum)'''
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $stateNum parameter is the key of the state. See [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.
: Note: this is very advanced method, it should not be used in normal cases. Specific advanced cases include - jumping to specific state from "do_anytime" actions, jumping to dispatcher state or jumping to recovery state from zombie player function

; $this->checkAction( $actionName, $bThrowException=true )
: Check if the current player can perform a specific action in the current game state, and optionally throw an exception if they can't.
: The action is valid if it is listed in the "possibleactions" array for the current game state (see game state description).
: This method MUST be the first one called in ALL your PHP methods that handle player actions, in order to make sure a player doesn't perform an action not allowed by the rules at the point in the game. It should not be called from methods where the current player is not necessarily the active player, otherwise it may fail with an "It is not your turn" exception.
: If "bThrowException" is set to "false", the function returns '''false''' in case of failure instead of throwing an exception. This is useful when several actions are possible, in order to test each of them without throwing exceptions.

; $this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction( $action )
: (rarely used)
: This works exactly like "checkAction" (above), except that it does NOT check if the current player is active.
: '''Note: This does NOT check either spectator or eliminated status, so those checks must be done manually.'''
: This is used specifically in certain game states when you want to authorize additional actions for players that are not active at the moment.
: Example: in ''Libertalia'', you want to authorize players to change their mind about the card played. They are of course not active at the time they change their mind, so you cannot use "checkAction"; use "checkPossibleAction" instead.

This is how PHP action looks that returns player to active state (only for multiplayeractive states). To be able to execute this on client do not call checkAction on js side for this specific action.

function actionUnpass() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionUnpass'); // player changed mind about passing while others were thinking
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

; $this->gamestate->state()
: Get an associative array of current game state attributes, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for state attributes.

$state=$this->gamestate->state(); if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' ) {...}

I suggest to define and use this function in your php class to access state name:

public function getStateName() {
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
return $state['name'];
}

; $this->gamestate->state_id()
: Get the id of the current game state (rarely useful, its best to use name, unless you use constants for state ids)

; $this->gamestate->isMutiactiveState()
: Return true if we are in multipleactiveplayer state, false otherwise

=== Private parallel states ===

See the overview of private parallel states [[Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers()
: All active players in a multiactive state are entering a first private state defined in the master state's initialprivate parameter.
: Every time you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods below.
: Note: at least one player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating some or all players
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method

$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds)
: Players with specified ids are entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateState($playerId)
: Player with the specified id is entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Everytime you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods above
: Note: player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating that player
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_ChangeMind() {
// This player finished his move before, but now decides change something while other players are still active
// We activate the player and initialize his private state
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive([$this->getCurrentPlayerId()], "");
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateState(this->getCurrentPlayerId());

// It is also possible to move the player to some other specific state immediately
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers($transition)
: All active players will transition to next private state by specified transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state
: Note: this is usually used after initializing the private state to move players to specific private state according to the game logic

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

if ($specificOption) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: Players with specified ids will transition to next private state specified by provided transition.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($playerId, $transition)
: Player with specified id will transition to next private state specified by provided transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player
: Note: this is usually used after some player actions to move to next private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers()
: All players private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used to clean up after leaving a master state in which private states were used, but can be used in other cases when we want to exit private parallel states and use a regular multiactive state for all players
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private states as they will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state after exiting private parallel states to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stNextRound() {
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers();
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: For players with specified ids private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($playerId)
: For player with specified id private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used when deactivating player to clean up their parallel state
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private state as it will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state when not needed to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function done() {
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "newTurn" );
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId());
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($playerId, $newStateId)
: For player with specified id a new private state would be set
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this should be rarely used as it doesn't check if the transition is allowed (it doesn't even specifies transition). This can be useful in very complex cases when standard state machine is not adequate (i.e. specific cards can lead to some micro action in various states where defining transitions back and forth can become very tedious.)
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state

if ($playerHaveSpecificCard)
return $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 35);

$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getPrivateState($playerId)
: This return the private state or null if not initialized or not in private state

==== State Arguments in Private parallel states ====

The args method called for private states will have the player_id passed to it, allowing you to customise the arguments returned for that player.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function argMyPrivateState($player_id) {
return array(
'my_data' => $this->getPlayerSpecificData($player_id)
);
}
</pre>

==== Inactive Players ====

During Private Parallel State, active players will be managed by the private state that is current assigned to them.

Inactive players will be managed by the master multipleactiveplayer state, so your client should respond to that state in order to display any status message advising players that they are waiting for others to have their turn, or to add any buttons that allow players to potentially "break in" and become active.

== Players turn order ==

When table is created the "natural" player order is assigned to player at random, and stored in "read-only" field "player_no".
If you need to create a custom order you should never change natural order but have a separate data structure.
For example you can alter the players table to add another "custom_order" field, you can use state globals or you can use your natural board database,
to store meeple_color/position_location pair.
BGA currently does not provide any API to create/store custom player order.

'''getNextPlayerTable()'''

Return an associative array which associate each player with the next player around the table.

In addition, key 0 is associated to the first player to play.

Example: if three player with ID 1000, 2000 and 3000 are around the table, in this order, the method returns:
<pre>
array(
1000 => 2000,
2000 => 3000,
3000 => 1000,
0 => 1000
);
</pre>

'''getPrevPlayerTable()'''

Same as above, but the associative array associate the previous player around the table. However there no 0 index here.

'''getPlayerAfter( $player_id )'''

Get player playing after given player in natural playing order.

'''getPlayerBefore( $player_id )'''

Get player playing before given player in natural playing order.

Note: There is no API to modify this order, if you have custom player order you have to maintain it in your database
and have custom function to access it.

'''createNextPlayerTable( $players, $bLoop=true )'''

Using $players array creates a map of current => next as in example from getNextPlayerTable(), however you can use custom order here.
If parmeter $bLoop is set to true then last player will points to first (creaing a loop), false otherwise.
In any case index 0 points to first player (first element of $players array). $players is array of player ids in desired order.

Note: This function '''DOES NOT''' change the order in database, it only creates a map using key/values as descibed.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function getNextPlayerTableCustom() {
$starting = $this->getStartingPlayer(); // custom function to get starting player
$player_ids = $this->getPlayerIdsInOrder($starting); // custom function to create players array starting from starting player
return $this->createNextPlayerTable($player_ids, false); // create next player table in custom order
}
</pre>

<pre>
$table = $this->createNextPlayerTable([3000,2000,1000], false);

will return:
[
3000 => 2000,
2000 => 1000,
1000 => null,
0 => 3000
]
</pre>

== Notify players ==

To understand notifications, please read [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] first.

'''IMPORTANT'''

Notifications are sent at the very end of the request, when it ends normally. It means that if you throw an exception for any reason (ex: move not allowed), no notifications will be sent to players.
Notifications sent between the game start (setupNewGame) and the end of the "action" method of the first active state will never reach their destination.

=== NotifyAllPlayers ===

'''notifyAllPlayers(string $notification_type,string $notification_log,array $notification_args )'''

Send a notification to all players of the game.

* notification_type: A string that defines the type of your notification.

Your game interface Javascript logic will use this to know what is the type of the received notification (and to trigger the corresponding method).

* notification_log: A string that defines what is to be displayed in the game log.

You can use an empty string here (''). In this case, nothing is displayed in the game log.

Unless its empty, use "clienttranslate" method to make sure string is translated.

You can use arguments in your $notification_log string, that refers to values defines in the "$notification_args" argument (see below).
Note: Make sure you only use single quotes ('), otherwise PHP will try to interpolate the variable and will ignore the values in the args array.

* notification_args: The arguments of your notifications, as an associative array.

This array will be transmitted to the game interface logic, in order the game interface can be updated.

Complete notifyAllPlayers example (from "Reversi"):

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y
) );
</pre>

You can see in the example above the use of the "clienttranslate" method, and the use of 2 arguments "player_name" and "returned_nbr" in the notification log.

'''Important''': NO private data must be sent with this method, as a cheater could see it even if it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic. If you want to send private information to a player, please use notifyPlayer below.

'''Important''': this array is serialized to be sent to the browsers, and will be saved with the notification to be able to replay the game later. If it is too big, it can make notifications slower / less reliable, and replay archives very big (to the point of failing). So as a general rule, you should send only the minimum of information necessary to update the client interface with no overhead in order to keep the notifications as light as possible.

'''Important''': When the game page is reloaded (i.e. F5 or when loading turn based game) all previous notifications are replayed as history notifications. These notifications do not trigger notification handlers and are used basically to build the game log. Because of that most of the notification arguments, except i18n, player_id and all arguments used in the message, are removed from these history notifications. If you need additional arguments in history notifications you can add special field <b>preserve</b> to notification arguments, like this:

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y,
'preserve' => [ 'x', 'y' ]
) );
</pre>
In this example, fields x and y will be preserved when replaying history notification at the game load.

NOTE: The ONLY reason 'preserve' is useful if you have custom method to render notifications (or logs) which changes some text arguments into html (i.e. to insert the images instead of plain text). Do not use preserve "just in case" - it will only bloat the logs and make game load VERY slow.

==== HTML in Notifications ====

You CAN use some HTML inside your notification log, however it not recommended for many reasons:
* Its bad architecture, ui elements leak into server now you have to manage ui in many places
* If you decided to change something in ui in a future version, old games replay and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications
* When you read log preview for old games its unreadable (this is log before you enter the game replay, useful for troubleshooting or game analysis)
* Its more data to transfer and store in db
* Its nightmare for translators, at least don't put HTML tags inside the "clienttranslate" method. You can use a notification argument instead, and provide your HTML through this argument.

If you still want to have pretty pictures in the log check this [[BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Inject_images_and_styled_html_in_the_log]].

==== Recursive Notifications ====

If your notification contains some phrases that build programmatically you may need to use recursive notifications. In this case the argument can be not only the string but
an array itself, which contains 'log' and 'args', i.e.

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name_rec}'),
['token_name_rec'=>['log'=>'${token_name} #${token_number}',
'args'=> ['token_name'=>clienttranslate('Boo'), 'token_number'=>$number, 'i18n'=>['token_name'] ]
]
]);

Special handling of arguments:
* ${player_name} - this will be wrapped in html and text shown using color of the corresponding player, some colors also have reserved background. This will apply recursively as well.
* ${player_name1}, ${player_name2}, ${player_name3}, etc. - same

==== Excluding some players ====

Sometimes you want to notify all players of a message but not have it appear in the log of specific players (for example, have every player see "Player X draws a card" but have Player X see "You draw the Ace of Spades").

To send a notification to all players but have some clients ignore it, send it as normal from the server, but implement '''setIgnoreNotificationCheck''' on the client to ignore the message under given conditions. See the [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Ignoring_notifications]] documentation for more details.

=== NotifyPlayer ===

'''notifyPlayer( $player_id, $notification_type, $notification_log, $notification_args )'''

Same as above, except that the notification is sent to one player only.

This method must be used each time some private information must be transmitted to a player.

Important: the variable for player name must be ${player_name} in order to be highlighted with the player color in the game log. If you want a second player name in the log, name the variable ${player_name2}, etc.

Note that spectators cannot be notified using this method, because their player ID is not available via loadPlayersBasicInfos() or otherwise. You must use notifyAllPlayers() for any notification that spectators should get.

== Randomization ==

A large number of board games rely on random, most often based on dice, cards shuffling, picking some item in a bag, and so on. This is very important to ensure a high level of randomness for each of these situations.

Here's are a list of techniques you should use in these situations, from the best to the worst.

=== Dice and bga_rand ===

'''bga_rand( min, max )'''
This is a BGA framework function that provides you a random number between "min" and "max" (inclusive), using the best available random method available on the system.

This is the preferred function you should use, because we are updating it when a better method is introduced.

As of now, bga_rand is based on the PHP function "random_int", which ensures a cryptographic level of randomness.

In particular, it is '''mandatory''' to use it for all '''dice throw''' (ie: games using other methods for dice throwing will be rejected by BGA during review).

Note: rand() and mt_rand() are deprecated on BGA and should not be used anymore, as their randomness is not as good as "bga_rand".

=== Arrays ===

Although PHP's "shuffle()" is generally considered good enough (see below, BGA's own Deck component uses this), the following PHP code based on "random_int" provides a cryptographically-secure method to choose a random key, value, or slice of an array. (the slice preserves keys)

<pre>
private function getRandomKey(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomKey(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $key;
}
}

private function getRandomValue(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomValue(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $value;
}
}

private function getRandomSlice(array &$array, int $count)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
if ($count < 1 || $count > $size) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Invalid count $count for array with size $size", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$slice = [];
$randUnique = [];
while (count($randUnique) < $count) {
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
if (array_key_exists($rand, $randUnique)) {
continue;
}
$randUnique[$rand] = true;
$slice += array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
}
return $slice;
}
</pre>

=== shuffle and cards shuffling ===

To shuffle items, like a pile of cards, the best way is to use the BGA PHP [[Deck]] component and to use "shuffle" method. This ensures that the best available shuffling method is used, and that if in the future we improve it your game will be up to date.

As of now, the Deck component shuffle method is based on PHP "shuffle" method, which has quite good randomness (even if not as good as bga_rand). In consequence, we accept other shuffling methods during reviews, as long as they are based on PHP "shuffle" function (or similar, like "array_rand").

=== Other methods ===

Mysql "RAND()" function has not enough randomness to be a valid method to get a random element on BGA. This function has been used in some existing games and has given acceptable results, but now it should be avoided and you should use other methods instead.

== Game statistics ==

There are 2 types of statistics:
* a "player" statistic is a statistic associated to a player
* a "table" statistic is a statistic not associated to a player (global statistic for this game).

See [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]] to see how you define statistics for your game.

'''initStat( $table_or_player, $name, $value, $player_id = null )'''

Create a statistic entry with a default value.

This method must be called for each statistic of your game, in your setupNewGame method.
If you neglect to call this for a statistic, and also do not update the value during the course of a certain game using setStat or incStat, the value of the stat will be undefined rather than 0. This will result in it being ignored at the end of the game, as if it didn't apply to that particular game, and excluded from cumulative statistics. As a consequence - if do not want statistic to be applied, do not init it, or call set or inc on it.

'$table_or_player' must be set to "table" if this is a table statistic, or "player" if this is a player statistic.

'$name' is the name of your statistic, as it has been defined in your stats.inc.php file.

'$value' is the initial value of the statistic. If this is a player statistic and if the player is not specified by "$player_id" argument, the value is set for ALL players.

'''setStat( $value, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Set a statistic $name to $value.

If "$player_id" is not specified, setStat consider it is a TABLE statistic.

If "$player_id" is specified, setStat consider it is a PLAYER statistic.

'''incStat( $delta, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Increment (or decrement) specified statistic value by $delta value. Same behavior as setStat function.

'''getStat( $name, $player_id = null )'''

Return the value of statistic specified by $name. Useful when creating derivative statistics such as average.

== Translations ==

See [[Translations]]

== Manage player scores and Tie breaker ==

=== Normal scoring ===

At the end of the game, players automatically get a rank depending on their score: the player with the biggest score is #1, the player with the second biggest score is #2, and so on...

During the game, you update player's score directly by updating "player_score" field of "player" table in database.

Examples:
<pre>

// +2 points to active player
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=player_score+2 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

// Set score of active player to 5
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=5 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

</pre>

Note: don't forget to notify the client side in order the score control can be updated accordingly.

=== Tie breaker ===

Tie breaker is used when two players get the same score at the end of a game.

Tie breaker is using "player_score_aux" field of "player" table. It is updated exactly like the "player_score" field.

Tie breaker score is displayed only for players who are tied at the end of the game. Most of the time, it is not supposed to be displayed explicitly during the game.

When you are using "player_score_aux" functionality, you must describe the formula to use in your gameinfos.inc.php file like this:

<pre>
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Describe here your tie breaker formula"),
</pre>

This description will be used as a tooltip to explain to players how this auxiliary score has been calculated.

See also [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_meta-information:_gameinfos.inc.php#Multiple_tie_breaker_management Multiple Tie Breaker Management].

=== Co-operative game ===

To make everyone win/lose together in a full-coop game:

Add the following in gameinfos.inc.php :
'is_coop' => 1, // full cooperative

Assign a score of zero to everyone if it's a loss.
Assign the same score > 0 to everyone if it's a win.

=== Semi-coop ===

If the game is not full-coop, then everyone loses = everyone is tied. I.e. set score to 0 to everybody.

=== Only "winners" and "losers" ===

For some games, there is only a group (or a single) "winner", and everyone else is a "loser", with no "end of game rank" (1st, 2nd, 3rd...).

Examples:
* Coup
* Not Alone
* Werewolves
* Quantum

In this case:
* Set the scores so that the winner has the best score, and the other players have the same (lower) score.
* Add the following lines to gameinfos.inc.php:

<pre>
// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => true,
</pre>

Werewolves and Coup are implemented like this, as you can see here:
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=werewolves&section=lastresults
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=coupcitystate&section=lastresults

Adding this has the following effects:
* On game results for this game, "Winner" or "Loser" is going to appear instead of the usual "1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...".
* When a game is over, the result of the game will be "End of game: Victory" or "End of game: Defeat" depending on the result of the CURRENT player (instead of the usual "Victory of XXX").
* When calculating ELO points, if there is at least one "Loser", no "victorious" player can lose ELO points, and no "losing" player can win ELO point. Usually it may happened because being tie with many players with a low rank is considered as a tie and may cost you points. If losers_not_ranked is set, we prevent this behavior and make sure you only gain/loss ELO when you get the corresponding results.

Important: this SHOULD NOT be used for cooperative games (see is_coop parameter), or for 2 players games (it makes no sense in this case).

=== Solo ===

If game supports solo variant, a negative or zero score means defeat, a positive score means victory.

=== Player elimination ===

In some games, this is useful to eliminate a player from the game in order he/she can start another game without waiting for the current game end.

This case should be rare. Please don't use player elimination feature if some player just has to wait the last 10% of the game for game end. This feature should be used only in games where players are eliminated all along the game (typical examples: "Perudo" or "The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow").

Usage:

* Player to eliminate should NOT be active anymore (preferably use the feature in a "game" type game state).
* In your PHP code:
self::eliminatePlayer( <player_to_eliminate_id> );
* the player is informed in a dialog box that he no longer have to play and can start another game if he/she wants too (with buttons "stay at this table" "quit table and back to main site"). In any case, the player is free to start & join another table from now.
* When your game is over, all players who have been eliminated before receive a "notification" (the small "!" icon on the top right of the BGA interface) that indicate them that "the game has ended" and invite them to review the game results.

'''Important:''' this should not be used on a player who has already left the game ("zombie") as leaving/being kicked of the game (outside of the scope of the rules) is not the same as being eliminated from the game (according to the rules), except if in the course of the game, the zombie player is eliminated according to the rules.

'''Important:''' When all surviving players are eliminated at the same time BGA framework causes the game to be abandoned automatically.
To circumvent this, the game should leave 1 player not eliminated but change final scores accordingly and end the game.

=== Scoring Helper functions ===

These functions should have been API but they are not, just add them to your php game and use for every game.

// get score
function dbGetScore($player_id) {
return $this->getUniqueValueFromDB("SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set score
function dbSetScore($player_id, $count) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score='$count' WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set aux score (tie breaker)
function dbSetAuxScore($player_id, $score) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score_aux=$score WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// increment score (can be negative too)
function dbIncScore($player_id, $inc) {
$count = $this->dbGetScore($player_id);
if ($inc != 0) {
$count += $inc;
$this->dbSetScore($player_id, $count);
}
return $count;
}

== Reflexion time ==

; function giveExtraTime( $player_id, $specific_time=null )
: Give standard extra time to this player.
: Standard extra time depends on the speed of the game (small with "slow" game option, bigger with other options).
: You can also specify an exact time to add, in seconds, with the "specified_time" argument (rarely used).

; function isAsync()
: Returns true if game is turn based, false if it is realtime

== Undo moves ==

Please read our [[BGA Undo policy]] before.

'''Important''': Before using these methods, you must also add the following to your "gameinfos.inc.php" file, otherwise these methods are ineffective:
'db_undo_support' => true

Note: if you deploy undo support after game is in production this will take into effect for new games only, old games will give user an error if user choses Undo action, but otherwise it should not affect them.

; function undoSavepoint( )
: Save the whole game situation inside an "Undo save point".
: There is only ONE undo save point available (see [[BGA Undo policy]]). Cannot use in multiactivate state or in game state where next state is multiactive.
: Note: this function does not actually do anything when it is called, it only raises the flag to store the database AFTER transaction is over. So the actual state will be saved when you exit the function calling it (technically before first queued notification is sent, which matters if you transition to game state not to user state after), this may affect what you end up saving.

; function undoRestorePoint()
: Restore the situation previously saved as an "Undo save point".
: You must make sure that the active player is the same after and before the undoRestorePoint (ie: this is your responsibility to ensure that the player that is active when this method is called is exactly the same than the player that was active when the undoSavePoint method has been called).

function actionUndo() {
self::checkAction('actionUndo');
$this->undoRestorePoint();
$this->gamestate->nextState('next'); // transition to single player state (i.e. beginning of player actions for this turn)
}

'''Important note''': if you are reading game state variable right after restore (without changing state first) it won't work properly as the global table cache is not automatically refreshed after undoRestorePoint(). So you should either change state immediately to refresh game state values, or use $this->gamestate->reloadState() to refresh the state. If you choose to do the latest, be aware that this will bring the state machine back to the state during which the save point snapshot has been taken using undoSavepoint() (which means your transition you do after has to declared in the state which was saved, not in the state which was active for your actionUndo())

== Managing errors and exceptions ==

Note: when you throw an exception, all database changes and all notifications are cancelled immediately. This way, the game situation that existed before the request is completely restored.

; throw new BgaUserException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a user error
: You must throw this exception when a player wants to do something that they are not allowed to do.
: The error message will be shown to the player as a "red message".
: The error message must be translated, make sure you use self::_() or $this->_() here and NOT clientranslate()
: Throwing such an exception is NOT considered a bug, so it is not traced in BGA error logs.

Example from Gomoku:
<pre>
throw new BgaUserException( self::_("There is already a stone on this intersection, you can't play there") );
</pre>

; throw new BgaVisibleSystemException ( $error_message)
: You must throw this exception when you detect something that is not supposed to happened in your code.
: The error message is shown to the user as an "Unexpected error", in order that he can report it in the forum.
: The error message is logged in BGA error logs. If it happens regularly, we will report it to you.

; throw new BgaSystemException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a system exception. The message will be hidden from the user, but show in the logs. Use this if the message contains technical information.
: You shouldn't use this type of exception except if you think the information shown could be critical. Indeed: a generic error message will be shown to the user, so it's going to be difficult for you to see what happened.

== Zombie mode ==

When a player leaves a game for any reason (expelled, quit), he becomes a "zombie player". In this case, the results of the game won't count for statistics, but this is cool if the other players can finish the game anyway. That's why zombie mode exists: allow the other player to finish the game, even if the situation is not ideal.

While developing your zombie mode, keep in mind that:
* Do not refer to the rules, because this situation is not planned by the rules.
* Try to figure that you are playing with your friends and one of them has to leave: how can we finish the game without killing the spirit of the game?
* The idea is NOT to develop an artificial intelligence for the game.
* Do not try to end the game early, even in a two-player game. The zombie is there to allow the game to continue, not to end it. Trying to end the game is not supported by the framework and will likely cause unexpected errors.

Most of the time, the best thing to do when it is zombie player turn is to jump immediately to a state where he is not active anymore. For example, if he is in a game state where he has a choice between playing A and playing B, the best thing to do is NOT to choose A or B, but to pass. So, even if there's no "pass" action in the rules, add a "zombiepass" transitition in your game state and use it.

Each time a zombie player must play, your "zombieTurn" method is called.

Parameters:
* $state: the name of the current game state.
* $active_player: the id of the active player.

Most of the time, your zombieTurn method looks like this:

<pre>
function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player )
{
$statename = $state['name'];

if( $statename == 'myFirstGameState'
|| $statename == 'my2ndGameState'
|| $statename == 'my3rdGameState'
....
)
{
$this->gamestate->nextState( "zombiePass" );
}
else
throw new BgaVisibleSystemException( "Zombie mode not supported at this game state: ".$statename );
}
</pre>

Note that in the example above, all corresponding game state should implement "zombiePass" as a transition.

'''Very important''': your zombie code will be called when the player leaves the game. This action is triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to this action. In your zombieTurn function, you must '''never''' use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(), otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message.

== Player color preferences ==

BGA premium users may choose their preferred color for playing. For example, if they are used to play green for every board game, they can select "green" in their BGA preferences page.

Making your game compatible with colors preferences is very easy and requires only 1 line of configuration change:

On your gameinfos.inc.php file, add the following lines :

// Favorite colors support: if set to "true", support attribution of favorite colors based on player's preferences (see reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method)
// NB: this parameter is used only to flag games supporting this feature; you must use (or not use) reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method to actually enable or disable the feature.
'favorite_colors_support' => true,

Then, on your main <your_game>.game.php file check the code of "setupNewGame". New template already have correct code, but if you editing very old game and it may be absent.

$gameinfos = $this->getGameinfos();
...
if ($gameinfos['favorite_colors_support'])
$this->reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences($players, $gameinfos['player_colors']); // this should be above reloadPlayersBasicInfos()
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();

The "reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences" method reattributes all colors, taking into account players color preferences and available colors.

Note that you must update the colors to indicate the colors available for your game.

Some important remarks:
* for some games (i.e. Chess), the color has an influence on a mechanism of the game, most of the time by giving a special advantage to a player (i.e. Starting the game). Color preference mechanism must NOT be used in such a case.
* your logic should NEVER consider that the first player has the color X, that the second player has the color Y, and so on. If this is the case, your game will NOT be compatible with reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences as this method attribute colors to players based on their preferences and not based as their order at the table.

=== Custom color assignments ===
'''⚠️ This is not yet live; however, you may implement the code now, ready for when it is deployed.'''

Some colors don't play nicely with BGA's color difference algorithm. If you receive feedback that colors are not well chosen, you can bypass the BGA algorithm by specifying a map from user preference colors to game colors.

For example, you may wish to assign BGA's blue to your game's baby blue: <code>"0000ff" /* Blue */ => "89CFF0",</code> whereas otherwise, a deep purple might be chosen instead. Just be sure that the assigned colors are also present in the <code>player_colors</code> array passed to <code>reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences</code>, otherwise the assignment will be ignored.

To do this, implement this method in your <code>X.game.php</code> class.
/**
* Returns an array of user preference colors to game colors.
* Game colors must be among those which are passed to reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences()
* Each game color can be an array of suitable colors, or a single color:
* [
* // The first available color chosen:
* 'ff0000' => ['990000', 'aa1122'],
* // This color is chosen, if available
* '0000ff' => '000099',
* ]
* If no color can be matched from this array, then the default implementation is used.
*/
function getSpecificColorPairings(): array {
return array(
"ff0000" /* Red */ => null,
"008000" /* Green */ => null,
"0000ff" /* Blue */ => null,
"ffa500" /* Yellow */ => null,
"000000" /* Black */ => null,
"ffffff" /* White */ => null,
"e94190" /* Pink */ => null,
"982fff" /* Purple */ => null,
"72c3b1" /* Cyan */ => null,
"f07f16" /* Orange */ => null,
"bdd002" /* Khaki green */ => null,
"7b7b7b" /* Gray */ => null,
);
}

== Legacy games API ==

For some very specific games ("legacy", "campaign"), you need to keep some informations from a game to another.

This should be an exceptional situation: the legacy API is costing resources on Board Game Arena databases, and is slowing down the game setup process + game end of game process. Please do not use it for things like:
* keeping a player preference/settings (=> player preferences and game options should be used instead)
* keeping a statistics, a score, or a ranking, while it is not planned in the physical board game, or while there is no added value compared to BGA statistics / rankings.

You should use it for:
* legacy games: when some components of the game has been altered in a previous game and should be kept as it is.
* "campaign style" games: when a player is getting a "reward" at the end of a game, and should be able to use it in further games.

Important: you cannot store more than 64k of data (serialized as JSON) per player per game. If you go over 64k, storeLegacyData function is going to FAIL, and there is a risk to create a major bug (= players blocked) in your game. You MUST make sure that no more than 64k of data is used for each player for your game. For example, if you are implementing a "campaign style" game and if you allow a player to start multiple campaign, you must LIMIT the number of different campaign so that the total data size to not go over the limit. We strongly recommend you to use this:

try
{
$this->storeLegacyTeamData( $my_data );
}
catch( feException $e ) // feException is a base class of BgaSystemException and others...
{
if( $e->getCode() == FEX_legacy_size_exceeded )
{
// Do something here to free some space in Legacy data (ex: by removing some variables)
}
else
throw $e;
}

The keys may only contain letters and numbers, underscore seems not to be allowed.

; function storeLegacyData( $player_id, $key, $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Store some data associated with $key for the given user / current game
: In the opposite of all other game data, this data will PERSIST after the end of this table, and can be re-used
: in a future table with the same game.
: IMPORTANT: The only possible place where you can use this method is when the game is over at your table (last game action). Otherwise, there is a risk of conflicts between ongoing games.
: TTL is a time-to-live: the maximum, and default, is 365 days.
: In any way, the total data (= all keys) you can store for a given user+game is 64k (note: data is store serialized as JSON data)
: NOTICE: You can store some persistant data across all tables from your game using the specific player_id 0 which is unused. In such case, it's even more important to manage correctly the size of your data to avoid any exception or issue while storing updated data (ie. you can use this for some kind of leaderbord for solo game or contest)
: Note: This function cannot be called during game setup (will throw an error).

; function retrieveLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Get data associated with $key for the current game
: This data is common to ALL tables from the same game for this player, and persist from one table to another.
: Note: calling this function has an important cost => please call it few times (possibly: only ONCE) for each player for 1 game if possible
: Note: you can use '%' in $key to retrieve all keys matching the given patterns

; function removeLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Remove some legacy data with the given key
: (useful to free some data to avoid going over 64k)

; function storeLegacyTeamData( $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Same as storeLegacyData, except that it stores some data for the whole team within the current table and does not use a key
: Ie: if players A, B and C are at a table, the legacy data will be saved for future table with (exactly) A, B and C on the table.
: This is useful for games which are intended to be played several time by the same team.
: Note: the data total size is still limited, so you must implement catch the FEX_legacy_size_exceeded exception if it happens

; function retrieveLegacyTeamData()
: Same as retrieveLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

; function removeLegacyTeamData()
: Same as removeLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

== Players text input and moderation ==
This section concerns only games where the players have to write some words to play: games based on words, like "Just one" or "Codenames".

Some players will use your game to write insults or profanities. As this is part of the game and not in the game chat, these words cannot be reported by players and moderated.

If you met the following situation:

* You are asking a player to type a text (word(s) or sentence)
* The player can enter any text (this is not a pre-selection or anything you can control)
* This text is visible by at least one other player

Then, you must use the following method:

'''function logTextForModeration( $player_id, $text )'''

player_id = player who write the text

text = text that has been written

This function will have no visible consequence for your game, but will allow players to report the text to moderators if something happens.

== Language dependent games API ==

This API is used for games that are heavily language dependent. Two most common use cases are:
* Games that have a language dependent component that are not necessarily translatable, typically a list of words. (Think of games like Codenames, Decrypto, Just One...)
* Games with massive communication where players would like to ensure that all participants speak the same language. (Think of games like Werewolf, The Resistance, maybe even dixit...)

If this option is used, the table created will be limited only to users that have specific language in their profile. Player starting the game would be able to chose one of the languages they speak.

There is a new property language_dependency in gameinfos.inc.php which can be set like this:
'language_dependency' => false, //or if the property is missing, the game is not language dependent
'language_dependency' => true, //all players at the table must speak the same language
'language_dependency' => array( 1 => 'en', 2 => 'fr', 3 => 'it' ), //1-based list of supported languages

In the gamename.game.php file, you can get the id of selected language with the method '''getGameLanguage'''.
; function getGameLanguage()
: Returns an index of the selected language as defined in gameinfos.inc.php.

Languages currently available on BGA are:
'ar' => array( 'name' => "العربية", 'code' => 'ar_AE' ), // Arabic
'be' => array( 'name' => "беларуская мова", 'code' => 'be_BY' ), // Belarusian
'bn' => array( 'name' => "বাংলা", 'code' => 'bn_BD' ), // Bengali
'bg' => array( 'name' => "български език", 'code' => 'bg_BG' ), // Bulgarian
'ca' => array( 'name' => "català", 'code' => 'ca_ES' ), // Catalan
'cs' => array( 'name' => "čeština", 'code' => 'cs_CZ' ), // Czech
'da' => array( 'name' => "dansk", 'code' => 'da_DK' ), // Danish
'de' => array( 'name' => "deutsch", 'code' => 'de_DE' ), // German
'el' => array( 'name' => "Ελληνικά", 'code' => 'el_GR' ), // Greek
'en' => array( 'name' => "English", 'code' => 'en_US' ), // English
'es' => array( 'name' => "español", 'code' => 'es_ES' ), // Spanish
'et' => array( 'name' => "eesti keel", 'code' => 'et_EE' ), // Estonian
'fi' => array( 'name' => "suomi", 'code' => 'fi_FI' ), // Finnish
'fr' => array( 'name' => "français", 'code' => 'fr_FR' ), // French
'he' => array( 'name' => "עברית", 'code' => 'he_IL' ), // Hebrew
'hi' => array( 'name' => "हिन्दी", 'code' => 'hi_IN' ), // Hindi
'hr' => array( 'name' => "Hrvatski", 'code' => 'hr_HR' ), // Croatian
'hu' => array( 'name' => "magyar", 'code' => 'hu_HU' ), // Hungarian
'id' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Indonesia", 'code' => 'id_ID' ), // Indonesian
'ms' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Malaysia", 'code' => 'ms_MY' ), // Malaysian
'it' => array( 'name' => "italiano", 'code' => 'it_IT' ), // Italian
'ja' => array( 'name' => "日本語", 'code' => 'ja_JP' ), // Japanese
'jv' => array( 'name' => "Basa Jawa", 'code' => 'jv_JV' ), // Javanese
'ko' => array( 'name' => "한국어", 'code' => 'ko_KR' ), // Korean
'lt' => array( 'name' => "lietuvių", 'code' => 'lt_LT' ), // Lithuanian
'lv' => array( 'name' => "latviešu", 'code' => 'lv_LV' ), // Latvian
'nl' => array( 'name' => "nederlands", 'code' => 'nl_NL' ), // Dutch
'no' => array( 'name' => "norsk", 'code' => 'nb_NO' ), // Norwegian
'oc' => array( 'name' => "occitan", 'code' => 'oc_FR' ), // Occitan
'pl' => array( 'name' => "polski", 'code' => 'pl_PL' ), // Polish
'pt' => array( 'name' => "português", 'code' => 'pt_PT' ), // Portuguese
'ro' => array( 'name' => "română", 'code' => 'ro_RO' ), // Romanian
'ru' => array( 'name' => "Русский язык", 'code' => 'ru_RU' ), // Russian
'sk' => array( 'name' => "slovenčina", 'code' => 'sk_SK' ), // Slovak
'sl' => array( 'name' => "slovenščina", 'code' => 'sl_SI' ), // Slovenian
'sr' => array( 'name' => "Српски", 'code' => 'sr_RS' ), // Serbian
'sv' => array( 'name' => "svenska", 'code' => 'sv_SE' ), // Swedish
'tr' => array( 'name' => "Türkçe", 'code' => 'tr_TR' ), // Turkish
'uk' => array( 'name' => "Українська мова", 'code' => 'uk_UA' ), // Ukrainian
'zh' => array( 'name' => "中文 (漢)", 'code' => 'zh_TW' ), // Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan)
'zh-cn' => array( 'name' => "中文 (汉)", 'code' => 'zh_CN' ), // Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, Singapore)

== Debugging and Tracing ==

To debug php code you can use some tracing functions available from the parent class such as debug, trace, error, warn, dump.

self::debug("Ahh!");
self::dump('my_var',$my_var);

See [[Practical_debugging]] section for complete information about debugging interfaces and where to find logs.

[[Category:Studio]]

Main game logic: Game.php

2023-10-16T10:47:12Z

Archduke: /* Player color preferences */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This is the main file for your game logic. Here you initialize the game, persist data, implement the rules and notify the client interface of changes.

This is the main class that implements the "server" callbacks. As it is a server it cannot initiate any data communicate with the game client (running in browser) and only can respond to client using notifications.

Your php class instance won't be in memory between two callbacks, every time client send a request a new class will be created, constructor will be called and eventually your callback function.

== File Structure ==

The details of how the file is structured are described directly with comments in the code skeleton provided to you.

Here is the basic structure:

* '''__construct''': the game constructor, where you define global variables and initiaze class members.
* '''setupNewGame''': initial setup of the game. Takes an array of players, indexed by player_id. Structure of each player includes player_name, player_canal, player_avatar, and flags indicating admin/ai/premium/order/language/beginner.
* '''getAllDatas''': where you retrieve all game data during a complete reload of the game. Return value must be associative array. Value of 'players' is reserved for returning players data from players table, if you set it it must follow certain rules
$result ['players'] = self::getCollectionFromDb("SELECT player_id id, player_score score, player_no no, player_color color FROM player");
// Returned value must include ['players'][$player_id]]['score'] for scores to populate when F5 is pressed.
* '''getGameProgression''': where you compute the game progression indicator. Returns a number indicating percent of progression (0-100)
* Utility functions: your utility functions.
* Player actions: the entry points for players actions ([https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Players_actions:_yourgamename.action.php more info here]).
* Game state arguments: methods to return additional data on specific game states ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#args more info here]).
* Game state actions: the logic to run when entering a new game state ([http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#action more info here]).
* '''initTable''': (not part of template) - this function is called for every php callback by the framework and it can be implement by the game (empty by default). You can use it in rare cases where you need to read database and manipulate some data before any ANY php entry functions are called (such as getAllDatas,action*,st*, etc). Note: it is not called before arg* methods
* '''zombieTurn''': what to do it's the turn of a zombie player.
* '''upgradeTableDb''': function to migrate database if you change it after release on production.

== Accessing player information ==

'''Important''': In the following methods, be mindful of the difference between the "active" player and the "current" player. The '''active''' player is the player whose turn it is - not necessarily the player who sent a request! The '''current''' player is the player who sent the request and will see the results returned by your methods: not necessarily the player whose turn it is!

; getPlayersNumber()
: Returns the number of players playing at the table
: Note: doesn't work in the beggining of setupNewGame (use count($players) instead). It will work after initialization of player table.

; getActivePlayerId()
: Get the "active_player", whatever what is the current state type.
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multiplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getActivePlayerName()
: Get the "active_player" name
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multiplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

; getPlayerNameById($player_id)
: Get the name by id

; getPlayerColorById($player_id)
: Get the color by id

; getPlayerNoById($player_id)
: Get 'player_no' (number) by id

; loadPlayersBasicInfos()
: Get an associative array with generic data about players (ie: not game specific data).
: The key of the associative array is the player id. The returned table is cached, so ok to call multiple times without performance concerns.
: The content of each value is:
: * player_name - the name of the player
: * player_color (ex: ff0000) - the color code of the player (as string)
: * player_no - the position of the player at the start of the game in natural table order, i.e. 1,2,3

<pre>
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ($players as $player_id => $info) {
$player_color = $info['player_color'];
...
}
</pre>
Note: if you want array of player ids only you can do this:
$player_ids = array_keys($this->loadPlayersBasicInfos());

; getCurrentPlayerId(bool $bReturnNullIfNotLogged = false) int
: Get the "current_player". The current player is the one from which the action originated (the one who sent the request).
: '''Be careful''': This is not necessarily the active player!
: In general, you shouldn't use this method, unless you are in "multiplayer" state.
: '''Very important''': in your setupNewGame and zombieTurn function, you must never use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(),
: otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message (these actions are triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to these actions).

; getCurrentPlayerName(bool $bReturnEmptyIfNotLogged = false) string
: Get the "current_player" name.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; getCurrentPlayerColor()
: Get the "current_player" color.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator
: Be careful using this method (see above).

; isCurrentPlayerZombie()
: Check the "current_player" zombie status. If true, player is zombie, i.e. left or was kicked out of the game.
: Note: this will throw an exception if current player is not at the table, i.e. spectator

; isSpectator()
: Check the "current_player" spectator status. If true, the user accessing the game is a spectator (not part of the game). For this user, the interface should display all public information, and no private information (like a friend sitting at the same table as players and just spectating the game).

; getActivePlayerColor()
: This function does not seems to exist in API, if you need it here is implementation
function getActivePlayerColor() {
$player_id = self::getActivePlayerId();
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (isset($players[$player_id]))
return $players[$player_id]['player_color'];
else
return null;
}
; isPlayerZombie($player_id)
: This method does not exists, but if you need it it looks like this
protected function isPlayerZombie($player_id) {
$players = self::loadPlayersBasicInfos();
if (! isset($players[$player_id]))
throw new BgaSystemException("Player $player_id is not playing here");

return ($players[$player_id]['player_zombie'] == 1);
}

== Accessing the database ==

The main game logic should be the only point from which you should access the game database. You access your database using SQL queries with the methods below.

'''IMPORTANT'''

BGA uses [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax-transactions.html database transactions]. This means that your database changes WON'T BE APPLIED to the database until your request ends normally (web request, not database request). Using transactions is in fact very useful for you; at any time, if your game logic detects that something is wrong (example: a disallowed move), you just have to throw an exception and all changes to the game situation will be removed. This also means that you need not (and in fact cannot) use your own transactions for multiple related database operations.

However there are sets of database operation that will do implicit commit (most common mistake is to use "TRUNCATE"), you cannot use these operations during the game, it breaks the unrolling of transactions and will lead to nasty issues
(https://mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-statements-that-cause-an-implicit-commit).

All methods below are part of game class (and view class) and can be accessed using $this-> or self::

; DbQuery( string $sql )
: This is the generic method to access the database.
: It can execute any type of SELECT/UPDATE/DELETE/REPLACE/INSERT query on the database. Returns result of the query.
: For SELECT queries, the specialized methods below are much better.
: Do not use method for TUNCATE, DROP and other table altering operations. See disclamer above about implicit commits. If you really need TRUNCATE use DELETE FROM xxx instead.

; getUniqueValueFromDB( string $sql )
: Returns a unique value from DB or null if no value is found.
: $sql must be a SELECT query.
: Raise an exception if more than 1 row is returned.

; getCollectionFromDB( string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false ) array
: Returns an associative array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The key of the resulting associative array is the first field specified in the SELECT query.
: The value of the resulting associative array is an associative array with all the field specified in the SELECT query and associated values.
: First column must be a primary or alternate key (semantically, it does not actually have to declared in sql as such).
: The resulting collection can be empty (it won't be null).
: If you specified $bSingleValue=true and if your SQL query requests 2 fields A and B, the method returns an associative array "A=>B", otherwise its A=>[A,B]
: Note: The name a bit misleading, it really return associative array, i.e. map and NOT a collection. You cannot use it to get list of values which may have duplicates (hence primary key requirement on first column). If you need simple array use getObjectListFromDB() method.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
1234 => [ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
1235 => [ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getCollectionFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
1234 => 'myuser0',
1235 => 'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getNonEmptyCollectionFromDB(string $sql) array
: Same as getCollectionFromDB($sdl), but raise an exception if the collection is empty. Note: this function does NOT have 2nd argument as previous one does.

; getObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Returns one row for the sql SELECT query as an associative array or null if there is no result (where fields are keys mapped to values)
: Raise an exception if the query return more than one row (you can use LIMIT 1 in the query to avoid the exception)

Example:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'" );

Result:
array(
'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1
)
</pre>

; getNonEmptyObjectFromDB(string $sql) array
: Similar to previous one, but raise an exception if no row is found

; getObjectListFromDB(string $sql, bool $bUniqueValue=false) array
: Return an array of rows for a sql SELECT query.
: The result is the same as "getCollectionFromDB" except that the result is a simple array (and not an associative array).
: The result can be empty.
: If you specified $bUniqueValue=true and if your SQL query request 1 field, the method returns directly an array of values.

Example 1:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_id id, player_name name, player_score score FROM player" );

Result:
[
[ 'id'=>1234, 'name'=>'myuser0', 'score'=>1 ],
[ 'id'=>1235, 'name'=>'myuser1', 'score'=>0 ]
]
</pre>

Example 2:
<pre>
$result = self::getObjectListFromDB( "SELECT player_name name FROM player", true );

Result:
[
'myuser0',
'myuser1'
]

</pre>

; getDoubleKeyCollectionFromDB(string $sql, bool $bSingleValue=false) array
: Return an associative array of associative array, from a SQL SELECT query.
: First array level correspond to first column specified in SQL query.
: Second array level correspond to second column specified in SQL query.
: If $bSingleValue = true, keep only third column on result

; DbGetLastId()
: Return the PRIMARY key of the last inserted row (see PHP mysql_insert_id function).

; DbAffectedRow() int
: Return the number of row affected by the last operation

; escapeStringForDB(string $string) string
: You must use this function on every string type data in your database that contains unsafe data.
: (unsafe = can be modified by a player).
: This method makes sure that no SQL injection will be done through the string used.
: Note: if you using standard types in ajax actions, like AT_alphanum it is sanitized before arrival,
: this is only needed if you manage to get unchecked string, like in the games where user has to enter text as a response.

<pre>

</pre>

Note: see Editing [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]] to know how to define your database model.

== Use globals ==

Sometimes, you want a single global integer value for your game, and you don't want to create a DB table specifically for it.

You can do this with the BGA framework "global". Your value will be stored in the "global" table in the database, and you can access it with simple methods.

All methods below are memeber of game class and should be accessed $this-> or self::

'''initGameStateLabels(array $labelsMap): void'''

This method should be located at the beginning of constructor of ''yourgamename.game.php''. This is where you define the globals used in your game logic, by assigning them IDs.

You can define up to 80 globals, with IDs from 10 to 89 (inclusive, there can be gaps).
Also you must use this method to access value of game options [[Game_options_and_preferences:_gameoptions.inc.php]], in that case, IDs need to be between 100 and 199.
You must '''not''' use globals outside the range defined above, as those values are used by other components of the framework.

<pre>
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->initGameStateLabels([
"my_first_global_variable" => 10,
"my_second_global_variable" => 11,
"my_game_variant" => 100
]);
// other code ...
}
</pre>

NOTE: The methods below WILL throw an exception if label is not defined using the call above.

'''setGameStateInitialValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Initialize global value. This is not required if you ok with default value if 0. This should be called from setupNewGame function.

'''getGameStateValue( string $label, int $default = 0): int'''

Retrieve the value of a global. Returns $default if global is not been initialized (by setGameStateInitialValue).

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->getGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable');
</pre>

For debugging purposes, you can have labels and value pairs send to client side by inserting that code in your "getAllDatas":

<pre>
$labels = array_keys($this->mygamestatelabels);
$result['myglobals'] = array_combine($labels, array_map([$this,'getGameStateValue'],$labels));
</pre>

That assumes you stored your label mapping in $this->mygamestatelabels in constructor
<pre>
$this->mygamestatelabels=["my_first_global_variable" => 10, ...];
$this->initGameStateLabels($this->mygamestatelabels);
</pre>

'''setGameStateValue( string $label, int $value ): void'''

Set the current value of a global.
<pre>
$this->setGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 42);
</pre>

'''incGameStateValue( string $label, int $increment ): int'''

Increment the current value of a global. If increment is negative, decrement the value of the global.

Return the final value of the global. If global was not initialized it will initialize it as 0.

NOTE: this method use globals "cache" if you directly manipulated globals table OR call this function after undoRestorePoint() - it won't work as expected.

<pre>
$value = $this->incGameStateValue('my_first_global_variable', 1);
</pre>

=== BGA predefined globals ===

BGA already defines some globals in the ''global'' database table. You should not change them directly but it can be useful to know what they mean when debugging:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! global_id !! label !! Meaning
|-
| 1 || || Current state
|-
| 2 || || Active player id
|-
| 3 || next_move_id || Next move number
|-
| 4 || || Game id
|-
| 5 || || Table creator id
|-
| 6 || playerturn_nbr || Player turn number
|-
| 7 || gameprogression || Game progression
|-
| 8 || initial_reflexion_time || Initial reflection time
|-
| 9 || additional_reflexion_time || Additional reflection time
|-
| 200 || reflexion_time_profile || Reflexion time profile
|-
| 201 || bgaranking_mode || BGA ranking mode
|-
| 207 || game_language ||GAMESTATE_GAME_LANG
|-
| 300 || game_db_version ||GAMESTATE_GAMEVERSION: Current version of the game (when in production)
|-
| 301 || game_result_neutralized ||GAMESTATE_GAME_RESULT_NEUTRALIZED
|-
| 302 || neutralized_player_id ||GAMESTATE_NEUTRALIZED_PLAYER_ID
|-
| 304 || undo_moves_stored ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_STORED
|-
| 305 || undo_moves_player ||GAMESTATE_UNDO_MOVES_PLAYER
|-
| 306 || lock_screen_timestamp ||GAMESTATE_LOCK_TIMESTAMP
|}

== Game states and active players ==

=== Activate player handling ===

; $this->activeNextPlayer()
: Make the next player active in the natural player order.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->activePrevPlayer()
: Make the previous player active (in the natural player order).
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer( $player_id )
: You can call this method to make any player active.
: Note: you CANNOT use this method in a "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer" state. You must use a "game" type game state for this.

; $this->getActivePlayerId()
: Return the "active_player" id
: Note: it does NOT mean that this player is active right now, because state type could be "game" or "multipleactiveplayer"
: Note: avoid using this method in a "multipleactiveplayer" state because it does not mean anything.

=== Multiple activate player handling ===

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()
: All playing players are made active. Update notification is sent to all players (this will trigger '''onUpdateActionButtons''').
: Usually, you use this method at the beginning of a game state (e.g., "stGameState") which transitions to a ''multipleactiveplayer'' state in which multiple players have to perform some action. Do not use this method if you going to make some more changes in the active player list. (I.e., if you want to take away multipleactiveplayer status immediately afterwards, use setPlayersMultiactive instead.)

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

; $this->stMakeEveryoneActive()
:this method can be used in state machine to make everybody active as "st" method of multiplayeractive state, it just calls $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive()

This is to be used in state declaration:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'stMakeEveryoneActive',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "actionBla" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setAllPlayersNonMultiactive( $next_state )
: All playing players are made inactive. Transition to next state

; $this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive( $players, $next_state, $bExclusive = false )
: Make a specific list of players active during a multiactive gamestate. Update notification is sent to all players whose state changed.
: "players" is the array of player id that should be made active. If "players" is not empty the value of "next_state" will be ignored (you can put whatever you want)
: If "exclusive" parameter is not set or false it doesn't deactivate other previously active players. If its set to true, the players who will be multiactive at the end are only these in "$players" array

: In case "players" is empty, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise

; $this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $player_id, $next_state )
: During a multiactive game state, make the specified player inactive.
: Usually, you call this method during a multiactive game state after a player did his action. It is also possible to call it directly from multiplayer action handler.
: If this player was the last active player, the method trigger the "next_state" transition to go to the next game state.
: returns true if state transition happened, false otherwise
Example of usage (see state declaration of playerTurnPlace above):
<pre>
function actionBla($args) {
self::checkAction('actionBla');
// handle the action using $this->getCurrentPlayerId()
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 'next');
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getActivePlayerList()
: With this method you can retrieve the list of the active player at any time.
: During a "game" type gamestate, it will return a void array.
: During a "activeplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array with one value (the active player id).
: During a "multipleactiveplayer" type gamestate, it will return an array of the active players id.
: Note: you should only use this method in the latter case.

; $this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( $next_state_if_none )
: Sends update notification about multiplayer changes. All multiactive set* functions above do that, however if you want to change state manually using db queries for complex calculations, you have to call this yourself after. Do not call this if you calling one of the other setters above.
Example: you have player teams and you want to activate all players in one team
<pre>
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='0'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive='1' WHERE player_id='$player_id' AND player_team='$team_no'";
self::DbQuery( $sql );

$this->gamestate->updateMultiactiveOrNextState( 'error' );
</pre>

; updating database manually
: Use this helper function to change multiactive state without sending notification
<pre>
/**
* Changes values of multiactivity in db, does not sent notifications.
* To send notifications after use updateMultiactiveOrNextState
* @param number $player_id, player id <=0 or null - means ALL
* @param number $value - 1 multiactive, 0 non multiactive
*/
function dbSetPlayerMultiactive($player_id = -1, $value = 1) {
if (! $value)
$value = 0;
else
$value = 1;
$sql = "UPDATE player SET player_is_multiactive = '$value' WHERE player_zombie = 0 and player_eliminated = 0";
if ($player_id > 0) {
$sql .= " AND player_id = $player_id";
}
self::DbQuery($sql);
}
</pre>

;$this->gamestate->isPlayerActive($player_id)
:Return true if specified player is active right now.
:This method take into account game state type, ie nobody is active if game state is "game" and several players can be active if game state is "multiplayer"

;$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable
:This flag can be set to true in constructor of game.php to force creation of second table to handle multiplayer states (normally these are in player table), this is very advanced feature.
:ONLY use it after you deploy you game to production if you receive unusual amount of bug report with dead lock symptoms DURING multiactiveplayer states
function __construct() {
...
$this->bIndependantMultiactiveTable=true;
}

=== States functions ===
; $this->gamestate->nextState( $transition )
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $transition parameter is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.

'''$this->gamestate->jumpToState($stateNum)'''
: Change current state to a new state. Important: the $stateNum parameter is the key of the state. See [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for more information about states.
: Note: this is very advanced method, it should not be used in normal cases. Specific advanced cases include - jumping to specific state from "do_anytime" actions, jumping to dispatcher state or jumping to recovery state from zombie player function

; $this->checkAction( $actionName, $bThrowException=true )
: Check if the current player can perform a specific action in the current game state, and optionally throw an exception if they can't.
: The action is valid if it is listed in the "possibleactions" array for the current game state (see game state description).
: This method MUST be the first one called in ALL your PHP methods that handle player actions, in order to make sure a player doesn't perform an action not allowed by the rules at the point in the game. It should not be called from methods where the current player is not necessarily the active player, otherwise it may fail with an "It is not your turn" exception.
: If "bThrowException" is set to "false", the function returns '''false''' in case of failure instead of throwing an exception. This is useful when several actions are possible, in order to test each of them without throwing exceptions.

; $this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction( $action )
: (rarely used)
: This works exactly like "checkAction" (above), except that it does NOT check if the current player is active.
: '''Note: This does NOT check either spectator or eliminated status, so those checks must be done manually.'''
: This is used specifically in certain game states when you want to authorize additional actions for players that are not active at the moment.
: Example: in ''Libertalia'', you want to authorize players to change their mind about the card played. They are of course not active at the time they change their mind, so you cannot use "checkAction"; use "checkPossibleAction" instead.

This is how PHP action looks that returns player to active state (only for multiplayeractive states). To be able to execute this on client do not call checkAction on js side for this specific action.

function actionUnpass() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionUnpass'); // player changed mind about passing while others were thinking
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

; $this->gamestate->state()
: Get an associative array of current game state attributes, see [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]] for state attributes.

$state=$this->gamestate->state(); if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' ) {...}

I suggest to define and use this function in your php class to access state name:

public function getStateName() {
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
return $state['name'];
}

; $this->gamestate->state_id()
: Get the id of the current game state (rarely useful, its best to use name, unless you use constants for state ids)

; $this->gamestate->isMutiactiveState()
: Return true if we are in multipleactiveplayer state, false otherwise

=== Private parallel states ===

See the overview of private parallel states [[Your_game_state_machine:_states.inc.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers()
: All active players in a multiactive state are entering a first private state defined in the master state's initialprivate parameter.
: Every time you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods below.
: Note: at least one player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating some or all players
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method

$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds)
: Players with specified ids are entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->initializePrivateState($playerId)
: Player with the specified id is entering a first private state defined in the master state initialprivate parameter.
: Everytime you need to start a private parallel states you need to call this or similar methods above
: Note: player needs to be active (see [[#Multiple_activate_player_handling|above]]) and current game state must be a multiactive state with initialprivate parameter defined
: Note: initialprivate parameter of master state should be set to the id of the first private state. This private state needs to be defined in states.php with the type set to 'private'.
: Note: this method is usually preceded with activating that player
: Note: initializing private state can run action or args methods of the initial private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function st_ChangeMind() {
// This player finished his move before, but now decides change something while other players are still active
// We activate the player and initialize his private state
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive([$this->getCurrentPlayerId()], "");
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateState(this->getCurrentPlayerId());

// It is also possible to move the player to some other specific state immediately
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers($transition)
: All active players will transition to next private state by specified transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state
: Note: this is usually used after initializing the private state to move players to specific private state according to the game logic

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stStartPlayerTurn() {
// This is usually done in master state action method
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

if ($specificOption) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("some_transition");
}
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: Players with specified ids will transition to next private state specified by provided transition.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($playerId, $transition)
: Player with specified id will transition to next private state specified by provided transition
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: transition should lead to another private state (i.e. a state with type defined as 'private'
: Note: transition should be defined in private state in which the players currently are.
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player
: Note: this is usually used after some player actions to move to next private state

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers()
: All players private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used to clean up after leaving a master state in which private states were used, but can be used in other cases when we want to exit private parallel states and use a regular multiactive state for all players
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private states as they will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state after exiting private parallel states to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function stNextRound() {
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForAllPlayers();
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateStateForPlayers($playerIds, $transition)
: For players with specified ids private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used.
: Same considerations apply as for the method above.

; $this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($playerId)
: For player with specified id private state will be reset to null, which means they will get out of private parallel states and be in a master state like the private states are not used
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this is usually used when deactivating player to clean up their parallel state
: Note: After unseting private state only actions on master state are possible
: Note: Usually it is not necessary to unset private state as it will be initialized to first private state when private states are needed again. Nevertheless it is generally better to clean private state when not needed to avoid bugs.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function done() {
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive( $this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "newTurn" );
$this->gamestate->unsetPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId());
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($playerId, $newStateId)
: For player with specified id a new private state would be set
: Note: game needs to be in a master state which allows private parallel states
: Note: this should be rarely used as it doesn't check if the transition is allowed (it doesn't even specifies transition). This can be useful in very complex cases when standard state machine is not adequate (i.e. specific cards can lead to some micro action in various states where defining transitions back and forth can become very tedious.)
: Note: this method can run action or args methods of the target state for specified player

Example of usage:
<pre>
function someAction() {
$this->checkAction("someAction"); //needs to be defined in the current state

if ($playerHaveSpecificCard)
return $this->gamestate->setPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), 35);

$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "some_transition");
}
</pre>

; $this->gamestate->getPrivateState($playerId)
: This return the private state or null if not initialized or not in private state

==== State Arguments in Private parallel states ====

The args method called for private states will have the player_id passed to it, allowing you to customise the arguments returned for that player.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function argMyPrivateState($player_id) {
return array(
'my_data' => $this->getPlayerSpecificData($player_id)
);
}
</pre>

==== Inactive Players ====

During Private Parallel State, active players will be managed by the private state that is current assigned to them.

Inactive players will be managed by the master multipleactiveplayer state, so your client should respond to that state in order to display any status message advising players that they are waiting for others to have their turn, or to add any buttons that allow players to potentially "break in" and become active.

== Players turn order ==

When table is created the "natural" player order is assigned to player at random, and stored in "read-only" field "player_no".
If you need to create a custom order you should never change natural order but have a separate data structure.
For example you can alter the players table to add another "custom_order" field, you can use state globals or you can use your natural board database,
to store meeple_color/position_location pair.
BGA currently does not provide any API to create/store custom player order.

'''getNextPlayerTable()'''

Return an associative array which associate each player with the next player around the table.

In addition, key 0 is associated to the first player to play.

Example: if three player with ID 1000, 2000 and 3000 are around the table, in this order, the method returns:
<pre>
array(
1000 => 2000,
2000 => 3000,
3000 => 1000,
0 => 1000
);
</pre>

'''getPrevPlayerTable()'''

Same as above, but the associative array associate the previous player around the table. However there no 0 index here.

'''getPlayerAfter( $player_id )'''

Get player playing after given player in natural playing order.

'''getPlayerBefore( $player_id )'''

Get player playing before given player in natural playing order.

Note: There is no API to modify this order, if you have custom player order you have to maintain it in your database
and have custom function to access it.

'''createNextPlayerTable( $players, $bLoop=true )'''

Using $players array creates a map of current => next as in example from getNextPlayerTable(), however you can use custom order here.
If parmeter $bLoop is set to true then last player will points to first (creaing a loop), false otherwise.
In any case index 0 points to first player (first element of $players array). $players is array of player ids in desired order.

Note: This function '''DOES NOT''' change the order in database, it only creates a map using key/values as descibed.

Example of usage:
<pre>
function getNextPlayerTableCustom() {
$starting = $this->getStartingPlayer(); // custom function to get starting player
$player_ids = $this->getPlayerIdsInOrder($starting); // custom function to create players array starting from starting player
return $this->createNextPlayerTable($player_ids, false); // create next player table in custom order
}
</pre>

<pre>
$table = $this->createNextPlayerTable([3000,2000,1000], false);

will return:
[
3000 => 2000,
2000 => 1000,
1000 => null,
0 => 3000
]
</pre>

== Notify players ==

To understand notifications, please read [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] first.

'''IMPORTANT'''

Notifications are sent at the very end of the request, when it ends normally. It means that if you throw an exception for any reason (ex: move not allowed), no notifications will be sent to players.
Notifications sent between the game start (setupNewGame) and the end of the "action" method of the first active state will never reach their destination.

=== NotifyAllPlayers ===

'''notifyAllPlayers(string $notification_type,string $notification_log,array $notification_args )'''

Send a notification to all players of the game.

* notification_type: A string that defines the type of your notification.

Your game interface Javascript logic will use this to know what is the type of the received notification (and to trigger the corresponding method).

* notification_log: A string that defines what is to be displayed in the game log.

You can use an empty string here (''). In this case, nothing is displayed in the game log.

Unless its empty, use "clienttranslate" method to make sure string is translated.

You can use arguments in your $notification_log string, that refers to values defines in the "$notification_args" argument (see below).
Note: Make sure you only use single quotes ('), otherwise PHP will try to interpolate the variable and will ignore the values in the args array.

* notification_args: The arguments of your notifications, as an associative array.

This array will be transmitted to the game interface logic, in order the game interface can be updated.

Complete notifyAllPlayers example (from "Reversi"):

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y
) );
</pre>

You can see in the example above the use of the "clienttranslate" method, and the use of 2 arguments "player_name" and "returned_nbr" in the notification log.

'''Important''': NO private data must be sent with this method, as a cheater could see it even if it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic. If you want to send private information to a player, please use notifyPlayer below.

'''Important''': this array is serialized to be sent to the browsers, and will be saved with the notification to be able to replay the game later. If it is too big, it can make notifications slower / less reliable, and replay archives very big (to the point of failing). So as a general rule, you should send only the minimum of information necessary to update the client interface with no overhead in order to keep the notifications as light as possible.

'''Important''': When the game page is reloaded (i.e. F5 or when loading turn based game) all previous notifications are replayed as history notifications. These notifications do not trigger notification handlers and are used basically to build the game log. Because of that most of the notification arguments, except i18n, player_id and all arguments used in the message, are removed from these history notifications. If you need additional arguments in history notifications you can add special field <b>preserve</b> to notification arguments, like this:

<pre>
self::notifyAllPlayers( "playDisc", clienttranslate( '${player_name} plays a disc and turns over ${returned_nbr} disc(s)' ),
array(
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getActivePlayerName(),
'returned_nbr' => count( $turnedOverDiscs ),
'x' => $x,
'y' => $y,
'preserve' => [ 'x', 'y' ]
) );
</pre>
In this example, fields x and y will be preserved when replaying history notification at the game load.

NOTE: The ONLY reason 'preserve' is useful if you have custom method to render notifications (or logs) which changes some text arguments into html (i.e. to insert the images instead of plain text). Do not use preserve "just in case" - it will only bloat the logs and make game load VERY slow.

==== HTML in Notifications ====

You CAN use some HTML inside your notification log, however it not recommended for many reasons:
* Its bad architecture, ui elements leak into server now you have to manage ui in many places
* If you decided to change something in ui in a future version, old games replay and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications
* When you read log preview for old games its unreadable (this is log before you enter the game replay, useful for troubleshooting or game analysis)
* Its more data to transfer and store in db
* Its nightmare for translators, at least don't put HTML tags inside the "clienttranslate" method. You can use a notification argument instead, and provide your HTML through this argument.

If you still want to have pretty pictures in the log check this [[BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Inject_images_and_styled_html_in_the_log]].

==== Recursive Notifications ====

If your notification contains some phrases that build programmatically you may need to use recursive notifications. In this case the argument can be not only the string but
an array itself, which contains 'log' and 'args', i.e.

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name_rec}'),
['token_name_rec'=>['log'=>'${token_name} #${token_number}',
'args'=> ['token_name'=>clienttranslate('Boo'), 'token_number'=>$number, 'i18n'=>['token_name'] ]
]
]);

Special handling of arguments:
* ${player_name} - this will be wrapped in html and text shown using color of the corresponding player, some colors also have reserved background. This will apply recursively as well.
* ${player_name1}, ${player_name2}, ${player_name3}, etc. - same

==== Excluding some players ====

Sometimes you want to notify all players of a message but not have it appear in the log of specific players (for example, have every player see "Player X draws a card" but have Player X see "You draw the Ace of Spades").

To send a notification to all players but have some clients ignore it, send it as normal from the server, but implement '''setIgnoreNotificationCheck''' on the client to ignore the message under given conditions. See the [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Ignoring_notifications]] documentation for more details.

=== NotifyPlayer ===

'''notifyPlayer( $player_id, $notification_type, $notification_log, $notification_args )'''

Same as above, except that the notification is sent to one player only.

This method must be used each time some private information must be transmitted to a player.

Important: the variable for player name must be ${player_name} in order to be highlighted with the player color in the game log. If you want a second player name in the log, name the variable ${player_name2}, etc.

Note that spectators cannot be notified using this method, because their player ID is not available via loadPlayersBasicInfos() or otherwise. You must use notifyAllPlayers() for any notification that spectators should get.

== Randomization ==

A large number of board games rely on random, most often based on dice, cards shuffling, picking some item in a bag, and so on. This is very important to ensure a high level of randomness for each of these situations.

Here's are a list of techniques you should use in these situations, from the best to the worst.

=== Dice and bga_rand ===

'''bga_rand( min, max )'''
This is a BGA framework function that provides you a random number between "min" and "max" (inclusive), using the best available random method available on the system.

This is the preferred function you should use, because we are updating it when a better method is introduced.

As of now, bga_rand is based on the PHP function "random_int", which ensures a cryptographic level of randomness.

In particular, it is '''mandatory''' to use it for all '''dice throw''' (ie: games using other methods for dice throwing will be rejected by BGA during review).

Note: rand() and mt_rand() are deprecated on BGA and should not be used anymore, as their randomness is not as good as "bga_rand".

=== Arrays ===

Although PHP's "shuffle()" is generally considered good enough (see below, BGA's own Deck component uses this), the following PHP code based on "random_int" provides a cryptographically-secure method to choose a random key, value, or slice of an array. (the slice preserves keys)

<pre>
private function getRandomKey(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomKey(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $key;
}
}

private function getRandomValue(array &$array)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomValue(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
$slice = array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
foreach ($slice as $key => $value) {
return $value;
}
}

private function getRandomSlice(array &$array, int $count)
{
$size = count($array);
if ($size == 0) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Array is empty", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
if ($count < 1 || $count > $size) {
trigger_error("getRandomSlice(): Invalid count $count for array with size $size", E_USER_WARNING);
return null;
}
$slice = [];
$randUnique = [];
while (count($randUnique) < $count) {
$rand = random_int(0, $size - 1);
if (array_key_exists($rand, $randUnique)) {
continue;
}
$randUnique[$rand] = true;
$slice += array_slice($array, $rand, 1, true);
}
return $slice;
}
</pre>

=== shuffle and cards shuffling ===

To shuffle items, like a pile of cards, the best way is to use the BGA PHP [[Deck]] component and to use "shuffle" method. This ensures that the best available shuffling method is used, and that if in the future we improve it your game will be up to date.

As of now, the Deck component shuffle method is based on PHP "shuffle" method, which has quite good randomness (even if not as good as bga_rand). In consequence, we accept other shuffling methods during reviews, as long as they are based on PHP "shuffle" function (or similar, like "array_rand").

=== Other methods ===

Mysql "RAND()" function has not enough randomness to be a valid method to get a random element on BGA. This function has been used in some existing games and has given acceptable results, but now it should be avoided and you should use other methods instead.

== Game statistics ==

There are 2 types of statistics:
* a "player" statistic is a statistic associated to a player
* a "table" statistic is a statistic not associated to a player (global statistic for this game).

See [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]] to see how you define statistics for your game.

'''initStat( $table_or_player, $name, $value, $player_id = null )'''

Create a statistic entry with a default value.

This method must be called for each statistic of your game, in your setupNewGame method.
If you neglect to call this for a statistic, and also do not update the value during the course of a certain game using setStat or incStat, the value of the stat will be undefined rather than 0. This will result in it being ignored at the end of the game, as if it didn't apply to that particular game, and excluded from cumulative statistics. As a consequence - if do not want statistic to be applied, do not init it, or call set or inc on it.

'$table_or_player' must be set to "table" if this is a table statistic, or "player" if this is a player statistic.

'$name' is the name of your statistic, as it has been defined in your stats.inc.php file.

'$value' is the initial value of the statistic. If this is a player statistic and if the player is not specified by "$player_id" argument, the value is set for ALL players.

'''setStat( $value, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Set a statistic $name to $value.

If "$player_id" is not specified, setStat consider it is a TABLE statistic.

If "$player_id" is specified, setStat consider it is a PLAYER statistic.

'''incStat( $delta, $name, $player_id = null )'''

Increment (or decrement) specified statistic value by $delta value. Same behavior as setStat function.

'''getStat( $name, $player_id = null )'''

Return the value of statistic specified by $name. Useful when creating derivative statistics such as average.

== Translations ==

See [[Translations]]

== Manage player scores and Tie breaker ==

=== Normal scoring ===

At the end of the game, players automatically get a rank depending on their score: the player with the biggest score is #1, the player with the second biggest score is #2, and so on...

During the game, you update player's score directly by updating "player_score" field of "player" table in database.

Examples:
<pre>

// +2 points to active player
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=player_score+2 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

// Set score of active player to 5
self::DbQuery( "UPDATE player SET player_score=5 WHERE player_id='".self::getActivePlayerId()."'" );

</pre>

Note: don't forget to notify the client side in order the score control can be updated accordingly.

=== Tie breaker ===

Tie breaker is used when two players get the same score at the end of a game.

Tie breaker is using "player_score_aux" field of "player" table. It is updated exactly like the "player_score" field.

Tie breaker score is displayed only for players who are tied at the end of the game. Most of the time, it is not supposed to be displayed explicitly during the game.

When you are using "player_score_aux" functionality, you must describe the formula to use in your gameinfos.inc.php file like this:

<pre>
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Describe here your tie breaker formula"),
</pre>

This description will be used as a tooltip to explain to players how this auxiliary score has been calculated.

See also [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_meta-information:_gameinfos.inc.php#Multiple_tie_breaker_management Multiple Tie Breaker Management].

=== Co-operative game ===

To make everyone win/lose together in a full-coop game:

Add the following in gameinfos.inc.php :
'is_coop' => 1, // full cooperative

Assign a score of zero to everyone if it's a loss.
Assign the same score > 0 to everyone if it's a win.

=== Semi-coop ===

If the game is not full-coop, then everyone loses = everyone is tied. I.e. set score to 0 to everybody.

=== Only "winners" and "losers" ===

For some games, there is only a group (or a single) "winner", and everyone else is a "loser", with no "end of game rank" (1st, 2nd, 3rd...).

Examples:
* Coup
* Not Alone
* Werewolves
* Quantum

In this case:
* Set the scores so that the winner has the best score, and the other players have the same (lower) score.
* Add the following lines to gameinfos.inc.php:

<pre>
// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => true,
</pre>

Werewolves and Coup are implemented like this, as you can see here:
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=werewolves&section=lastresults
* https://boardgamearena.com/#!gamepanel?game=coupcitystate&section=lastresults

Adding this has the following effects:
* On game results for this game, "Winner" or "Loser" is going to appear instead of the usual "1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...".
* When a game is over, the result of the game will be "End of game: Victory" or "End of game: Defeat" depending on the result of the CURRENT player (instead of the usual "Victory of XXX").
* When calculating ELO points, if there is at least one "Loser", no "victorious" player can lose ELO points, and no "losing" player can win ELO point. Usually it may happened because being tie with many players with a low rank is considered as a tie and may cost you points. If losers_not_ranked is set, we prevent this behavior and make sure you only gain/loss ELO when you get the corresponding results.

Important: this SHOULD NOT be used for cooperative games (see is_coop parameter), or for 2 players games (it makes no sense in this case).

=== Solo ===

If game supports solo variant, a negative or zero score means defeat, a positive score means victory.

=== Player elimination ===

In some games, this is useful to eliminate a player from the game in order he/she can start another game without waiting for the current game end.

This case should be rare. Please don't use player elimination feature if some player just has to wait the last 10% of the game for game end. This feature should be used only in games where players are eliminated all along the game (typical examples: "Perudo" or "The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow").

Usage:

* Player to eliminate should NOT be active anymore (preferably use the feature in a "game" type game state).
* In your PHP code:
self::eliminatePlayer( <player_to_eliminate_id> );
* the player is informed in a dialog box that he no longer have to play and can start another game if he/she wants too (with buttons "stay at this table" "quit table and back to main site"). In any case, the player is free to start & join another table from now.
* When your game is over, all players who have been eliminated before receive a "notification" (the small "!" icon on the top right of the BGA interface) that indicate them that "the game has ended" and invite them to review the game results.

'''Important:''' this should not be used on a player who has already left the game ("zombie") as leaving/being kicked of the game (outside of the scope of the rules) is not the same as being eliminated from the game (according to the rules), except if in the course of the game, the zombie player is eliminated according to the rules.

'''Important:''' When all surviving players are eliminated at the same time BGA framework causes the game to be abandoned automatically.
To circumvent this, the game should leave 1 player not eliminated but change final scores accordingly and end the game.

=== Scoring Helper functions ===

These functions should have been API but they are not, just add them to your php game and use for every game.

// get score
function dbGetScore($player_id) {
return $this->getUniqueValueFromDB("SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set score
function dbSetScore($player_id, $count) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score='$count' WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// set aux score (tie breaker)
function dbSetAuxScore($player_id, $score) {
$this->DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score_aux=$score WHERE player_id='$player_id'");
}

// increment score (can be negative too)
function dbIncScore($player_id, $inc) {
$count = $this->dbGetScore($player_id);
if ($inc != 0) {
$count += $inc;
$this->dbSetScore($player_id, $count);
}
return $count;
}

== Reflexion time ==

; function giveExtraTime( $player_id, $specific_time=null )
: Give standard extra time to this player.
: Standard extra time depends on the speed of the game (small with "slow" game option, bigger with other options).
: You can also specify an exact time to add, in seconds, with the "specified_time" argument (rarely used).

; function isAsync()
: Returns true if game is turn based, false if it is realtime

== Undo moves ==

Please read our [[BGA Undo policy]] before.

'''Important''': Before using these methods, you must also add the following to your "gameinfos.inc.php" file, otherwise these methods are ineffective:
'db_undo_support' => true

Note: if you deploy undo support after game is in production this will take into effect for new games only, old games will give user an error if user choses Undo action, but otherwise it should not affect them.

; function undoSavepoint( )
: Save the whole game situation inside an "Undo save point".
: There is only ONE undo save point available (see [[BGA Undo policy]]). Cannot use in multiactivate state or in game state where next state is multiactive.
: Note: this function does not actually do anything when it is called, it only raises the flag to store the database AFTER transaction is over. So the actual state will be saved when you exit the function calling it (technically before first queued notification is sent, which matters if you transition to game state not to user state after), this may affect what you end up saving.

; function undoRestorePoint()
: Restore the situation previously saved as an "Undo save point".
: You must make sure that the active player is the same after and before the undoRestorePoint (ie: this is your responsibility to ensure that the player that is active when this method is called is exactly the same than the player that was active when the undoSavePoint method has been called).

function actionUndo() {
self::checkAction('actionUndo');
$this->undoRestorePoint();
$this->gamestate->nextState('next'); // transition to single player state (i.e. beginning of player actions for this turn)
}

'''Important note''': if you are reading game state variable right after restore (without changing state first) it won't work properly as the global table cache is not automatically refreshed after undoRestorePoint(). So you should either change state immediately to refresh game state values, or use $this->gamestate->reloadState() to refresh the state. If you choose to do the latest, be aware that this will bring the state machine back to the state during which the save point snapshot has been taken using undoSavepoint() (which means your transition you do after has to declared in the state which was saved, not in the state which was active for your actionUndo())

== Managing errors and exceptions ==

Note: when you throw an exception, all database changes and all notifications are cancelled immediately. This way, the game situation that existed before the request is completely restored.

; throw new BgaUserException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a user error
: You must throw this exception when a player wants to do something that they are not allowed to do.
: The error message will be shown to the player as a "red message".
: The error message must be translated, make sure you use self::_() or $this->_() here and NOT clientranslate()
: Throwing such an exception is NOT considered a bug, so it is not traced in BGA error logs.

Example from Gomoku:
<pre>
throw new BgaUserException( self::_("There is already a stone on this intersection, you can't play there") );
</pre>

; throw new BgaVisibleSystemException ( $error_message)
: You must throw this exception when you detect something that is not supposed to happened in your code.
: The error message is shown to the user as an "Unexpected error", in order that he can report it in the forum.
: The error message is logged in BGA error logs. If it happens regularly, we will report it to you.

; throw new BgaSystemException ( $error_message)
: Base class to notify a system exception. The message will be hidden from the user, but show in the logs. Use this if the message contains technical information.
: You shouldn't use this type of exception except if you think the information shown could be critical. Indeed: a generic error message will be shown to the user, so it's going to be difficult for you to see what happened.

== Zombie mode ==

When a player leaves a game for any reason (expelled, quit), he becomes a "zombie player". In this case, the results of the game won't count for statistics, but this is cool if the other players can finish the game anyway. That's why zombie mode exists: allow the other player to finish the game, even if the situation is not ideal.

While developing your zombie mode, keep in mind that:
* Do not refer to the rules, because this situation is not planned by the rules.
* Try to figure that you are playing with your friends and one of them has to leave: how can we finish the game without killing the spirit of the game?
* The idea is NOT to develop an artificial intelligence for the game.
* Do not try to end the game early, even in a two-player game. The zombie is there to allow the game to continue, not to end it. Trying to end the game is not supported by the framework and will likely cause unexpected errors.

Most of the time, the best thing to do when it is zombie player turn is to jump immediately to a state where he is not active anymore. For example, if he is in a game state where he has a choice between playing A and playing B, the best thing to do is NOT to choose A or B, but to pass. So, even if there's no "pass" action in the rules, add a "zombiepass" transitition in your game state and use it.

Each time a zombie player must play, your "zombieTurn" method is called.

Parameters:
* $state: the name of the current game state.
* $active_player: the id of the active player.

Most of the time, your zombieTurn method looks like this:

<pre>
function zombieTurn( $state, $active_player )
{
$statename = $state['name'];

if( $statename == 'myFirstGameState'
|| $statename == 'my2ndGameState'
|| $statename == 'my3rdGameState'
....
)
{
$this->gamestate->nextState( "zombiePass" );
}
else
throw new BgaVisibleSystemException( "Zombie mode not supported at this game state: ".$statename );
}
</pre>

Note that in the example above, all corresponding game state should implement "zombiePass" as a transition.

'''Very important''': your zombie code will be called when the player leaves the game. This action is triggered from the main site and propagated to the gameserver from a server, not from a browser. As a consequence, there is no current player associated to this action. In your zombieTurn function, you must '''never''' use getCurrentPlayerId() or getCurrentPlayerName(), otherwise it will fail with a "Not logged" error message.

== Player color preferences ==

BGA premium users may choose their preferred color for playing. For example, if they are used to play green for every board game, they can select "green" in their BGA preferences page.

Making your game compatible with colors preferences is very easy and requires only 1 line of configuration change:

On your gameinfos.inc.php file, add the following lines :

// Favorite colors support: if set to "true", support attribution of favorite colors based on player's preferences (see reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method)
// NB: this parameter is used only to flag games supporting this feature; you must use (or not use) reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences PHP method to actually enable or disable the feature.
'favorite_colors_support' => true,

Then, on your main <your_game>.game.php file check the code of "setupNewGame". New template already have correct code, but if you editing very old game and it may be absent.

$gameinfos = $this->getGameinfos();
...
if ($gameinfos['favorite_colors_support'])
$this->reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences($players, $gameinfos['player_colors']); // this should be above reloadPlayersBasicInfos()
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();

The "reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences" method reattributes all colors, taking into account players color preferences and available colors.

Note that you must update the colors to indicate the colors available for your game.

Some important remarks:
* for some games (i.e. Chess), the color has an influence on a mechanism of the game, most of the time by giving a special advantage to a player (i.e. Starting the game). Color preference mechanism must NOT be used in such a case.
* your logic should NEVER consider that the first player has the color X, that the second player has the color Y, and so on. If this is the case, your game will NOT be compatible with reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences as this method attribute colors to players based on their preferences and not based as their order at the table.

=== Custom color assignments ===
Some colors don't play nicely with BGA's color difference algorithm. If you receive feedback that colors are not well chosen, you can bypass the BGA algorithm by specifying a map from user preference colors to game colors.

For example, you may wish to assign BGA's blue to your game's baby blue: <code>"0000ff" /* Blue */ => "89CFF0",</code> whereas otherwise, a deep purple might be chosen instead. Just be sure that the assigned colors are also present in the <code>player_colors</code> array passed to <code>reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences</code>, otherwise the assignment will be ignored.

To do this, implement this method in your <code>X.game.php</code> class.
/**
* Returns an array of user preference colors to game colors.
* Game colors must be among those which are passed to reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences()
* Each game color can be an array of suitable colors, or a single color:
* [
* // The first available color chosen:
* 'ff0000' => ['990000', 'aa1122'],
* // This color is chosen, if available
* '0000ff' => '000099',
* ]
* If no color can be matched from this array, then the default implementation is used.
*/
function getSpecificColorPairings(): array {
return array(
"ff0000" /* Red */ => null,
"008000" /* Green */ => null,
"0000ff" /* Blue */ => null,
"ffa500" /* Yellow */ => null,
"000000" /* Black */ => null,
"ffffff" /* White */ => null,
"e94190" /* Pink */ => null,
"982fff" /* Purple */ => null,
"72c3b1" /* Cyan */ => null,
"f07f16" /* Orange */ => null,
"bdd002" /* Khaki green */ => null,
"7b7b7b" /* Gray */ => null,
);
}

== Legacy games API ==

For some very specific games ("legacy", "campaign"), you need to keep some informations from a game to another.

This should be an exceptional situation: the legacy API is costing resources on Board Game Arena databases, and is slowing down the game setup process + game end of game process. Please do not use it for things like:
* keeping a player preference/settings (=> player preferences and game options should be used instead)
* keeping a statistics, a score, or a ranking, while it is not planned in the physical board game, or while there is no added value compared to BGA statistics / rankings.

You should use it for:
* legacy games: when some components of the game has been altered in a previous game and should be kept as it is.
* "campaign style" games: when a player is getting a "reward" at the end of a game, and should be able to use it in further games.

Important: you cannot store more than 64k of data (serialized as JSON) per player per game. If you go over 64k, storeLegacyData function is going to FAIL, and there is a risk to create a major bug (= players blocked) in your game. You MUST make sure that no more than 64k of data is used for each player for your game. For example, if you are implementing a "campaign style" game and if you allow a player to start multiple campaign, you must LIMIT the number of different campaign so that the total data size to not go over the limit. We strongly recommend you to use this:

try
{
$this->storeLegacyTeamData( $my_data );
}
catch( feException $e ) // feException is a base class of BgaSystemException and others...
{
if( $e->getCode() == FEX_legacy_size_exceeded )
{
// Do something here to free some space in Legacy data (ex: by removing some variables)
}
else
throw $e;
}

The keys may only contain letters and numbers, underscore seems not to be allowed.

; function storeLegacyData( $player_id, $key, $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Store some data associated with $key for the given user / current game
: In the opposite of all other game data, this data will PERSIST after the end of this table, and can be re-used
: in a future table with the same game.
: IMPORTANT: The only possible place where you can use this method is when the game is over at your table (last game action). Otherwise, there is a risk of conflicts between ongoing games.
: TTL is a time-to-live: the maximum, and default, is 365 days.
: In any way, the total data (= all keys) you can store for a given user+game is 64k (note: data is store serialized as JSON data)
: NOTICE: You can store some persistant data across all tables from your game using the specific player_id 0 which is unused. In such case, it's even more important to manage correctly the size of your data to avoid any exception or issue while storing updated data (ie. you can use this for some kind of leaderbord for solo game or contest)
: Note: This function cannot be called during game setup (will throw an error).

; function retrieveLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Get data associated with $key for the current game
: This data is common to ALL tables from the same game for this player, and persist from one table to another.
: Note: calling this function has an important cost => please call it few times (possibly: only ONCE) for each player for 1 game if possible
: Note: you can use '%' in $key to retrieve all keys matching the given patterns

; function removeLegacyData( $player_id, $key )
: Remove some legacy data with the given key
: (useful to free some data to avoid going over 64k)

; function storeLegacyTeamData( $data, $ttl = 365 )
: Same as storeLegacyData, except that it stores some data for the whole team within the current table and does not use a key
: Ie: if players A, B and C are at a table, the legacy data will be saved for future table with (exactly) A, B and C on the table.
: This is useful for games which are intended to be played several time by the same team.
: Note: the data total size is still limited, so you must implement catch the FEX_legacy_size_exceeded exception if it happens

; function retrieveLegacyTeamData()
: Same as retrieveLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

; function removeLegacyTeamData()
: Same as removeLegacyData, except that it retrieves some data for the whole team within the current table (set by storeLegacyTeamData)

== Players text input and moderation ==
This section concerns only games where the players have to write some words to play: games based on words, like "Just one" or "Codenames".

Some players will use your game to write insults or profanities. As this is part of the game and not in the game chat, these words cannot be reported by players and moderated.

If you met the following situation:

* You are asking a player to type a text (word(s) or sentence)
* The player can enter any text (this is not a pre-selection or anything you can control)
* This text is visible by at least one other player

Then, you must use the following method:

'''function logTextForModeration( $player_id, $text )'''

player_id = player who write the text

text = text that has been written

This function will have no visible consequence for your game, but will allow players to report the text to moderators if something happens.

== Language dependent games API ==

This API is used for games that are heavily language dependent. Two most common use cases are:
* Games that have a language dependent component that are not necessarily translatable, typically a list of words. (Think of games like Codenames, Decrypto, Just One...)
* Games with massive communication where players would like to ensure that all participants speak the same language. (Think of games like Werewolf, The Resistance, maybe even dixit...)

If this option is used, the table created will be limited only to users that have specific language in their profile. Player starting the game would be able to chose one of the languages they speak.

There is a new property language_dependency in gameinfos.inc.php which can be set like this:
'language_dependency' => false, //or if the property is missing, the game is not language dependent
'language_dependency' => true, //all players at the table must speak the same language
'language_dependency' => array( 1 => 'en', 2 => 'fr', 3 => 'it' ), //1-based list of supported languages

In the gamename.game.php file, you can get the id of selected language with the method '''getGameLanguage'''.
; function getGameLanguage()
: Returns an index of the selected language as defined in gameinfos.inc.php.

Languages currently available on BGA are:
'ar' => array( 'name' => "العربية", 'code' => 'ar_AE' ), // Arabic
'be' => array( 'name' => "беларуская мова", 'code' => 'be_BY' ), // Belarusian
'bn' => array( 'name' => "বাংলা", 'code' => 'bn_BD' ), // Bengali
'bg' => array( 'name' => "български език", 'code' => 'bg_BG' ), // Bulgarian
'ca' => array( 'name' => "català", 'code' => 'ca_ES' ), // Catalan
'cs' => array( 'name' => "čeština", 'code' => 'cs_CZ' ), // Czech
'da' => array( 'name' => "dansk", 'code' => 'da_DK' ), // Danish
'de' => array( 'name' => "deutsch", 'code' => 'de_DE' ), // German
'el' => array( 'name' => "Ελληνικά", 'code' => 'el_GR' ), // Greek
'en' => array( 'name' => "English", 'code' => 'en_US' ), // English
'es' => array( 'name' => "español", 'code' => 'es_ES' ), // Spanish
'et' => array( 'name' => "eesti keel", 'code' => 'et_EE' ), // Estonian
'fi' => array( 'name' => "suomi", 'code' => 'fi_FI' ), // Finnish
'fr' => array( 'name' => "français", 'code' => 'fr_FR' ), // French
'he' => array( 'name' => "עברית", 'code' => 'he_IL' ), // Hebrew
'hi' => array( 'name' => "हिन्दी", 'code' => 'hi_IN' ), // Hindi
'hr' => array( 'name' => "Hrvatski", 'code' => 'hr_HR' ), // Croatian
'hu' => array( 'name' => "magyar", 'code' => 'hu_HU' ), // Hungarian
'id' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Indonesia", 'code' => 'id_ID' ), // Indonesian
'ms' => array( 'name' => "Bahasa Malaysia", 'code' => 'ms_MY' ), // Malaysian
'it' => array( 'name' => "italiano", 'code' => 'it_IT' ), // Italian
'ja' => array( 'name' => "日本語", 'code' => 'ja_JP' ), // Japanese
'jv' => array( 'name' => "Basa Jawa", 'code' => 'jv_JV' ), // Javanese
'ko' => array( 'name' => "한국어", 'code' => 'ko_KR' ), // Korean
'lt' => array( 'name' => "lietuvių", 'code' => 'lt_LT' ), // Lithuanian
'lv' => array( 'name' => "latviešu", 'code' => 'lv_LV' ), // Latvian
'nl' => array( 'name' => "nederlands", 'code' => 'nl_NL' ), // Dutch
'no' => array( 'name' => "norsk", 'code' => 'nb_NO' ), // Norwegian
'oc' => array( 'name' => "occitan", 'code' => 'oc_FR' ), // Occitan
'pl' => array( 'name' => "polski", 'code' => 'pl_PL' ), // Polish
'pt' => array( 'name' => "português", 'code' => 'pt_PT' ), // Portuguese
'ro' => array( 'name' => "română", 'code' => 'ro_RO' ), // Romanian
'ru' => array( 'name' => "Русский язык", 'code' => 'ru_RU' ), // Russian
'sk' => array( 'name' => "slovenčina", 'code' => 'sk_SK' ), // Slovak
'sl' => array( 'name' => "slovenščina", 'code' => 'sl_SI' ), // Slovenian
'sr' => array( 'name' => "Српски", 'code' => 'sr_RS' ), // Serbian
'sv' => array( 'name' => "svenska", 'code' => 'sv_SE' ), // Swedish
'tr' => array( 'name' => "Türkçe", 'code' => 'tr_TR' ), // Turkish
'uk' => array( 'name' => "Українська мова", 'code' => 'uk_UA' ), // Ukrainian
'zh' => array( 'name' => "中文 (漢)", 'code' => 'zh_TW' ), // Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan)
'zh-cn' => array( 'name' => "中文 (汉)", 'code' => 'zh_CN' ), // Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, Singapore)

== Debugging and Tracing ==

To debug php code you can use some tracing functions available from the parent class such as debug, trace, error, warn, dump.

self::debug("Ahh!");
self::dump('my_var',$my_var);

See [[Practical_debugging]] section for complete information about debugging interfaces and where to find logs.

[[Category:Studio]]

Your game state machine: states.inc.php

2023-10-04T08:57:12Z

Archduke: /* Private parallel states */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

This file describes the state machine of your game (all the game states properties, and the transitions to get from one state to another).

Important: to understand the game state machine, it's recommended that you read this presentation first:

[http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/bga-studio-focus-on-bga-game-state-machine Focus on BGA game state machine]

== Overall structure ==

The machine states are described by a PHP associative array.

Example:

<pre>
$machinestates = array(

// The initial state. Please do not modify.
1 => array(
"name" => "gameSetup",
"description" => clienttranslate("Game setup"),
"type" => "manager",
"action" => "stGameSetup",
"transitions" => array( "" => 2 )
),

// Note: ID=2 => your first state

2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurn",
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} must play a card or pass'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must play a card or pass'),
"type" => "activeplayer",
"possibleactions" => array( "playCard", "pass" ),
"transitions" => array( "playCard" => 2, "pass" => 2 )
),
</pre>

== Syntax ==

=== id ===

The keys determine game state IDs (in the example above: 1 and 2).

IDs must be positive integers.

ID=1 is reserved for the first game state and should not be used (and you must not modify it).

ID=99 is reserved for the last game state (end of the game) (and you must not modify it).

Note: you may use any ID, even an ID greater than 100. But you cannot use 1 or 99.

Note²: You must not use the same ID twice.

Note³: When a game is in prod and you change the ID of a state, all active games (including many turn based) will behave unpredictably.

=== name ===

('''Mandatory''')

The name of a game state is used to identify it in your game logic.

Several game states can share the same name; however, this is not recommended.

Warning! Do not put spaces in the name. This could cause unexpected problems in some cases.

PHP example:
<pre>

// Get current game state
$state = $this->gamestate->state();
if( $state['name'] == 'myGameState' )
{
...
}

</pre>

JS example:
<pre>
onEnteringState: function( stateName, args )
{
console.log( 'Entering state: '+stateName );

switch( stateName )
case 'myGameState':

// Do some stuff at the beginning at this game state
....

break;
</pre>

=== type ===

('''Mandatory''')

You can use 3 types of game states:
* activeplayer (1 player is active and must play.)
* multipleactiveplayer (1..N players can be active and must play.)
* private (during multiactive states players can independently move to different private parallel states. See more details [[#Private_parallel_states|here]].
* game (No player is active. This is a transitional state to do something automatic specified by the game rules.)

'''Note:''' Make sure you don't mistype the value of this attribute. If you do (e.g. 'multiactiveplayer' instead of 'multipleactiveplayer'), things won't work, and you might have a hard time figuring out why.

=== description ===

('''Mandatory''')

The description is the string that is displayed in the main action bar (top of the screen) when the state is active.

When a string is specified as a description, you must use "clienttranslate" in order for the string to be translated on the client side:

<pre>
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} must play a card or pass'),
</pre>

In the description string, you can use ${actplayer} to refer to the active player.

You can also use custom arguments in your description. These custom arguments correspond to values returned by your "args" PHP method (see below "args" field).

Example of custom field:
<pre>

In states.inc.php:
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} must choose ${nbr} identical energies'),
"args" => "argMyArgumentMethod"

In mygame.game.php:
function argMyArgumentMethod()
{
return array(
'nbr' => 2 // In this case ${nbr} in the description will be replaced by "2"
);
}
</pre>

Note: You may specify an empty string ("") here if it never happens that the game remains in this state (i.e., if this state immediately jumps to another state when activated).

Note²: Usually, you specify a string for "activeplayer" and "multipleactiveplayer" game states, and you specify an empty string for "game" game states. BUT, if you are using synchronous notifications, the client can remain on a "game" type game state for a few seconds, and in this case it may be useful to display a description in the status bar while in this state.

=== descriptionmyturn ===

('''Mandatory''' when the state type is "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer")

"descriptionmyturn" has exactly the same role and properties as "description", except that this value is displayed to the current active player - or to all active players in case of a multipleactiveplayer game state.

In general, we have this situation:

<pre>
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} can take some actions'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} can take some actions'),
</pre>

Note: you can use ${you} in descriptionmyturn so the description will display "You" instead of the name of the player.

Note 2: you can use ${otherplayer} to refer to some other player if you want this to be shown in player's color, but you must provide otherplayer_id as argument (along with otherplayer) to specify this player's id in this case or game won't load.

I.e.

"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} can follow action of ${otherplayer}'),

And this will have to be state arguments for this
<pre>
function arg_playerTurnFollow(){
return ['otherplayer'=> $this->getLeaderPlayerName(),
'otherplayer_id'=> $this->getLeaderPlayerId()
];
}
</pre>

=== action ===

('''Mandatory''' when the state type is "game.")

"action" specifies a PHP method to call when entering this game state.

Example:
In states.inc.php:
<pre>
28 => array(
"name" => "gameTurnNextPlayer",
"description" => clienttranslate('Updating some stuff...'),
"type" => "game",
"action" => "st_gameTurnNextPlayer",
</pre>
In mygame.game.php:
<pre>
function st_gameTurnNextPlayer() {
$player_id = $this->getActivePlayerId();
$next_player_id = $this->getPlayerAfter($player_id);
$this->giveExtraTime($next_player_id);
$this->incStat(1, 'turns_number', $next_player_id);
$this->incStat(1, 'turns_number');
$this->gamestate->changeActivePlayer($next_player_id);
$this->gamestate->nextState('next');
}
</pre>

Usually, for a "game" state type, the action method is used to perform automatic functions specified by the rules (for example: check victory conditions, deal cards for a new round, go to the next player, etc.) and then jump to another game state.

Note: a BGA convention specifies that PHP methods called with "action" are prefixed by "st".

Note: this field CAN be used for player states to set something up; e.g., for multiplayer states, it can make all players active.

Example for action in player state:
in states.inc.php:
<pre>
2 => array(
"name" => "playerTurnPlace",
"description" => clienttranslate('Other player must place ships'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place ships (click on YOUR SHIPS board to place)'),
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
'action' => 'st_MultiPlayerInit',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnPlace',
"possibleactions" => array( "playPlace" ),
"transitions" => array( "next" => 4, "last" => 99)
),
</pre>
in mygame.game.php:
<pre>
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}
</pre>

=== transitions ===

('''Mandatory''')

With "transitions" you specify which game state(s) you can jump to from a given game state.

Example:
<pre>
25 => array(
"name" => "myGameState",
"transitions" => array( "nextPlayer" => 27, "endRound" => 39 ),
....
}
</pre>

In the example above, if "myGameState" is the current active game state, I can jump to the game state with ID 27 or the game state with ID 39.

Example to jump to ID 27:
<pre>
In mygame.game.php:
$this->gamestate->nextState( "nextPlayer" );
</pre>

Important: "nextPlayer" is the name of the transition, and NOT the name of the target game state. Multiple transitions can lead to the same game state.

Note: If there is only 1 transition, you may give it an empty name.

Example:
<pre>
In states.inc.php:
"transitions" => array( "" => 27 ),

In mygame.game.php:
$this->gamestate->nextState( ); // We don't need to specify a transition as there is only one here
</pre>

=== possibleactions ===

('''Mandatory''' when the game state is "activeplayer" or "multipleactiveplayer")

"possibleactions" defines the actions possible by the players in this game state, and ensures they cannot perform actions that are not allowed in this state.

Example:

<pre>
In states.game.php:
"possibleactions" => array( "playCard", "pass" ),

In mygame.game.php:
function playCard( ...)
{
self::checkAction( "playCard" ); // Will fail if "playCard" is not specified in "possibleactions" in the current game state.

....

In mygame.js:
playCard: function( ... )
{
if( this.checkAction( "playCard" ) ) // Will fail if "playCard" is not specified in "possibleactions" in the current game state.
{ return ; }

....

</pre>

=== args ===

(optional)

Sometimes it happens that you need some information on the client side (i.e., for your game interface) only for a specific game state.

Example 1: in ''Reversi'', the list of possible moves during the playerTurn state.

Example 2: in ''Caylus'', the number of remaining king's favors to choose in the state where the player is choosing a favor.

Example 3: in ''Can't Stop'', the list of possible die combinations to be displayed to the active player so that he can choose from among them.

In such a situation, you can specify a method name as the « args » argument for your game state. This method must retrieve some piece of information about the game (example: for ''Reversi'', the list of possible moves) and return it.

Thus, this data can be transmitted to the clients and used by the clients to display it. It should always be an associative array.

Let's see a complete example using args with ''Reversi'' game:

In states.inc.php, we specify an '''args''' argument for gamestate '''playerTurn''':
<pre>
10 => array(
"name" => "playerTurn",
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} must play a disc'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must play a disc'),
"type" => "activeplayer",
"args" => "argPlayerTurn", // <==== HERE
"possibleactions" => array( 'playDisc' ),
"transitions" => array( "playDisc" => 11, "zombiePass" => 11 )
),
</pre>

It corresponds to a '''argPlayerTurn''' method in our PHP code (reversi.game.php):
<pre>
function argPlayerTurn() {
return array(
'possibleMoves' => self::getPossibleMoves()
);
}
</pre>

Then, when we enter into the '''playerTurn''' game state on the client side, we can highlight the possible moves on the board using information returned by '''argPlayerTurn''':

<pre>
onEnteringState: function( stateName, args ) {
console.log( 'Entering state: '+stateName );

switch( stateName ) {
case 'playerTurn':
this.updatePossibleMoves( args.args.possibleMoves );
break;
}
},
</pre>

==== Naming and API conventions ====

As a BGA convention, PHP methods called with "args" are prefixed by "arg" followed by state name (example: '''argPlayerTurn''').

All "arg*" methods are put into corresponding section of .game.php file commented as
//////////// Game state arguments

Arg method MUST return array. Return integer or string will result in some undebuggable exceptions.

Arg method MUST be defined in php if it is declared in state description, if you don't need it comment it out from the states.inc.php file (the '''args''' parameter). If you not sure if you need it or not you can keep it returning empty array until you figure it out.

function argPlayerTurn() {
return array(); // must be an array
}

'''Warning''': the "args" method can be called before the "action" method so don't expect data modifications by the "action" method to be available in the "args" method!
Also don't modify database in this method!

You should NOT be calling getCurrentPlayer() in the context of this function, since state transitions are broadcasted to all player independent of who initiated it. Instead you should send information on per player basis (Note: if this is private info see section below).

If you using this function in multi-player state, you should not call getActivePlayer() either, you should send per player info:

function arg_playerTurn() {
$res = array ();
$players = $this->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
foreach ( $players as $player_id => $player_info ) {
$color = $player_info ['player_color'];
$res [$player_id] = array("color"=>$color);
}
return $res;
}

Note: you never need to send player color like this, this is just an example.

Note 2: you CAN call methods that return all active players if multi-player states if its relevant.

==== Other usages ====

You can use values returned by your "args" method to have some custom values in your "description"/"descriptionmyturn", i.e. in states.inc.php:

"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must play ${color} disc'),

So arg function will be something like:

function argPlayerTurn() {
return array('color'=>$this->getActivePlayerColor());
}

You can use args also in '''onUpdateActionButtons''' function on js side, however two important notes:
* it is just '''args''' (not args.args like in '''onEnteringState''')
* it is args of the current state, which may not be state you think it will be! This method is called during change of active player, which happens in some weird place especially during "multipleactiveplayer" states. If you pulling your hair thinking why its "undefined" on js side - check the current state.

==== Private info in args ====

By default, all data provided through this method are PUBLIC TO ALL PLAYERS. Please do not send any private data with this method, as a cheater could see it even it is not used explicitly by the game interface logic.

However, it is possible to specify that some data should be sent to specific players only.

'''Note: You cannot use Example 1 and Example 2 together. If you have to send private args to multiple players, use Example 2.'''

Example 1: send information to active player(s) only:

<pre>
function argPlayerTurn() {
return array(
'_private' => array( // Using "_private" keyword, all data inside this array will be made private
'active' => array( // Using "active" keyword inside "_private", you select active player(s)
'somePrivateData' => self::getSomePrivateData() // will be send only to active player(s)
)
),
'possibleMoves' => self::getPossibleMoves() // will be sent to all players
);
}
</pre>

Inside the js file, these variables will be available through `args.args._private`. (e.g. `args.args._private.somePrivateData` -- it is not `args._private.active.somePrivateData` nor is it `args.somePrivateData`)

Example 2: send information to a specific player (<specific_player_id>) only:

<pre>
function argPlayerTurn() {
$specific_player_id = ...; // calculate some-how
return array(
'_private' => array( // all data inside this array will be private
$specific_player_id => array( // will be sent only to that player
'somePrivateData' => self::getSomePrivateData()
)
),

'possibleMoves' => self::getPossibleMoves() // will be sent to all players
);
}
</pre>

IMPORTANT: in certain situations (i.e. "multipleactiveplayer" game state) these "private data" features can have a significant impact on performance. Please do not use if not needed.

It is also possible to use these private args in the "description" messages, like "${you} have to play ${_private.count} cards".

==== Translations in args ====
You can do the same as in notification by adding i18n parameter, i.e
<pre>
function argPlayerTurn() {
return [
'i18n' => ['terrainName' ],
'terrainName' => ($this->token_types[$terrain]['name']), // this should be defined in material.inc.php and with clienttranslate
'terrain' => $terrain,
];
}
</pre>

Than you can do something like this in state:
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must place a house on ${terrainName}'),

See more in [[Translations]]

=== updateGameProgression ===

(optional)

If you specify "updateGameProgression => true" in a game state, your "getGameProgression" PHP method will be called at the beginning of this game state - and thus the game progression of the game will be updated.

''At least one'' of your game states (any one) must specify "updateGameProgression=>true".

=== initialprivate ===

(optional)

This parameter will enable private parallel states in a multiplayer state. Parameter should be set to first private parallel state a player will be transitioned to.
See more details about Private parallel states [[#Private_parallel_states|here]].

== Implementation Notes ==

=== Private parallel states ===

Private parallel states are useful when multiple players are active and their turn is very complex. In that case it is possible with parallel states for each player to be in a independent state.

Lets say that players need to do three complex action one after another in multiactive state. With parallel states each player can independently be in a different state (i.e. one player still need to decide about first action while some players are deciding their second action and the fastest player is already on their third action. Normally this can be handled with two simple, but limited, approaches:

* Moving all players to different states together - this is limiting for faster players as they need to wait other players for each separate action. The more problematic thing is that it would be hard to implement an undo feature when one player wants to change their previous action. In that case all players should be moved back to previous state which will interrupt their flow.
* Using client states, by changing the state in which the player is in javascript - the problem with this approach is that players will lose their progress on browser refresh (F5). Furthermore the validation logic of specific actions should be implemented on both server side and client side and we cannot have specific args for each different action, but they should be calculated only at the beginning of the first action and possibly calculated on client side after each action, which again duplicates logic on client and server.

With private parallel states, each specific action can be implemented as a parallel state. Parallel states are defined with the type 'private' and players are moved to those private states during one master multiactive state. Lets look at the example:

<pre>
10 => [
"name" => "playerTurn",
"description" => clienttranslate('Waiting for other players to end their turn.'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must do your turn'), // Won't be displayed anyway since each private state has its own description
"type" => "multipleactiveplayer",
"initialprivate" => 50, // This makes this state a master multiactive state and enables private states, this is also a first private state
"action" => "stPlayerTurn",
"args" => "argPlayerTurn",
"possibleactions" => ["changeMind"], //this action is possible if player is not in any private state which usually happens when they are inactive
"transitions" => ["playersDecide" => 11] // this is normal next transition which will happen after all players finish their turns
],

50 => [
"name" => "chooseFirst",
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must make your first choice'), // just this parameter is needed. description is not needed as no player is inactive in this state
"type" => "private", // this state is reachable only as a private state
"args" => "argChooseFirst", //this method will be called with playerId as a parametar and is used to calculate arguments for this action for specific player
"action" => "stChooseFirst", // this method will be called with playerId as a parameter and can be used to make some changes when player enters this private state
"possibleactions" => ["toSecond"],
"transitions" => [
'chooseSecond' => 51, // transition to another private state
]
],

51 => [
"name" => "chooseSecond",
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must make your second choice'),
"type" => "private",
"args" => "argChooseSecond",
"possibleactions" => ["finish", "back"],
"transitions" => [
'back' => 50,
]
],
</pre>

When entering the master state it is usually useful to set some players as multiactive and initialize their private state:

<pre>
function stPlayerTurn() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();

//this is needed when starting private parallel states; players will be transitioned to initialprivate state defined in master state
$this->gamestate->initializePrivateStateForAllActivePlayers();

// in some cases you can move immediately some or all players to different private states
if ($someCondition) {
//move all players to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateStateForAllActivePlayers("chooseSecond");
return;
}

if ($other condition) {
//move single player to different state
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($specificPlayerId, "chooseSecond");
return;
}
}
</pre>

When some action is done by a player, you can move them to the next private state:

<pre>
function toSecond() {
$this->checkAction("toSecond"); //the action must be defined in private state; actions defined in master state are not possible
$this->gamestate->nextPrivateState($this->getCurrentPlayerId(), "chooseSecond"); //moving current player to different state
}
</pre>

Please check the detailed API [[Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Private_parallel_states|here]].

=== Client States ===
Client state almost have nothing to do with server states, except they can simulate same experience without actually changing server states.

See description here: https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Multi_Step_Interactions:_Select_Worker.2FPlace_Worker_-_Using_Client_States

In many cases you can achive similar results by using client states vs private server states. The only caviat - when using client states during multiactive server state
other player will trigger state changes (multiactive player set) which will call onUpdateActionButtons. Some measures have to be taken to preserve client state in this case.

=== Using Named Constants for States ===

Using numeric constants is prone to errors. If you want you can declare state constants as PHP named constants. This way you can
use them in the states file and in game.php as well

EXAMPLE:

states.inc.php:

<pre>
// define contants for state ids
if (!defined('STATE_END_GAME')) { // ensure this block is only invoked once, since it is included multiple times
define("STATE_PLAYER_TURN", 2);
define("STATE_GAME_TURN", 3);
define("STATE_PLAYER_TURN_CUBES", 4);
define("STATE_END_GAME", 99);
}

$machinestates = array(

...

STATE_PLAYER_TURN => array(
"name" => "playerTurn",
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} must select an Action Space or Pass'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must select an Action Space or Pass'),
"type" => "activeplayer",
"args" => 'arg_playerTurn',
"possibleactions" => array( "selectWorkerAction", "pass" ),
"transitions" => array(
"loopback" => STATE_PLAYER_TURN,
"playCubes" => STATE_PLAYER_TURN_CUBES,
"pass" => STATE_GAME_TURN )
),
</pre>

=== Example of multipleactiveplayer state ===

This is an example of a multipleactiveplayer state:

2 => array (
'name' => 'playerTurnSetup',
'type' => 'multipleactiveplayer',
'description' => clienttranslate('Other players must choose one Objective'),
'descriptionmyturn' => clienttranslate('${you} must choose one Objective card to keep'),
'possibleactions' => array ('playKeep' ),
'transitions' => array ( 'next' => 5, 'loopback' => 2, ),
'action' => 'st_MultiPlayerInit',
'args' => 'arg_playerTurnSetup',
),

In game.php:
// this will make all players multiactive just before entering the state
function st_MultiPlayerInit() {
$this->gamestate->setAllPlayersMultiactive();
}

Note: if you want exact this function its already defined in table class its called 'stMakeEveryoneActive'

When ending the player action, instead of a state transition, deactivate player.

function action_playKeep($cardId) {
$this->checkAction('playKeep');
$player_id = $this->getCurrentPlayerId(); // CURRENT!!! not active
... // some logic here
$this->gamestate->setPlayerNonMultiactive($player_id, 'next'); // deactivate player; if none left, transition to 'next' state
}

=== Difference between Single active and Multi active states ===
In a classic "activePlayer" state:

* You cannot change the active player DURING the state. This is to ensure that during 1 activePlayer state, only ONE player is active
* As a consequence, you must set the active player BEFORE entering the activePlayer state
* In such states on JS side onUpdateActionButtons is called before onEnteringState during game play (but after during reload, i.e. F5)
* Finally, during onEnteringState, on JS side, the active player is signaled as active and the information is reliable and usable.

In a "multiplePlayer" state:

* You can (and must) change the active players DURING the state
* During such a state, players can be activated/desactivated anytime during the state, giving you the maximum of possibilities.
* You shouldn't set active player before entering the state. But you can set it in "state initializer" php function (see example above st_MultiPlayerInit)
* Finally, during onEnteringState, on JS side, the active players are NOT active yet so you must use onUpdateActionButtons to perform the client side operation which depends on a player active/inactive status.

Note: in some off cases other players can perform special actions even if they are not active, see example https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/BGA_Studio_Cookbook#Out-of-turn_actions%3A_Un-pass. Do not abuse this technique!

=== Designing states ===

As a general rule you state machine should resemble "round/turn overview" from the game rule-book. Normally if book say its player turn and player can do multiple things during their turn it is still only
one player state (plus a game to switch player), not muliple states.

In a classic game (i.e. chess), there is only active player at any time, so it is simple playerTurn/gameTurn sequence and you only need 2 states.

[[File:Simplestates.png]]

In complex euro game there can be multiple rounds, and each round have phases which can be distinctly unique, i.e. in first phase everybody draws card and discard (multi-player), then player have one turn each (single-active), then another is resolution of actions from players and some of them may become active again, then there is round upkeep/reset. This would require one multi-player state for phase 1, pair of states for phase2 (singel-active + game), pair of states for phase3 and finally round-end/unkeep game state.

For pair of active player/game states you can make player state first, which transitions to game state, or the other way around, you start with game state which transition to active player state, its loop in any case but depends on how you want to do "phase" initiazations.

[[File:Eurogamestates.png]]

=== Complete examples ===

Example of simple game where player take turns

<pre>
if ( !defined('STATE_END_GAME')) { // guard since this included multiple times
define("STATE_PLAYER_TURN", 2);
define("STATE_GAME_TURN_NEXT_PLAYER", 3);
define("STATE_PLAYER_GAME_END", 4);
define("STATE_END_GAME", 99);
}

$machinestates = [
1 => [ // The initial state. Please do not modify.
"name" => "gameSetup",
"description" => "",
"type" => "manager",
"action" => "stGameSetup",
"transitions" => [ "" => STATE_PLAYER_TURN ] ],
// Game states
STATE_PLAYER_TURN => [ // main active player state
"name" => "playerTurn",
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} must do something or pass'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} must do something or pass'),
"type" => "activeplayer",
"args" => "arg_playerTurn",
"possibleactions" => [ "dosomething","pass" ],
"transitions" => [ "next" => STATE_GAME_TURN_NEXT_PLAYER,"last" => STATE_PLAYER_GAME_END ] //
],
STATE_GAME_TURN_NEXT_PLAYER => [ // next player state
"name" => "gameTurnNextPlayer",
"description" => clienttranslate('Upkeep...'),
"type" => "game", //
"action" => "st_gameTurnNextPlayer", //
"updateGameProgression" => true,
"transitions" => [ "next" => STATE_PLAYER_TURN,"loopback" => STATE_GAME_TURN_NEXT_PLAYER,
"last" => STATE_PLAYER_GAME_END ], // TODO replace with STATE_END_GAME, its there to use undo/restore during dev
],

STATE_PLAYER_GAME_END => [ // active player state for debugging end of game
"name" => "playerGameEnd",
"description" => clienttranslate('${actplayer} Game Over'),
"descriptionmyturn" => clienttranslate('${you} Game Over'),
"type" => "activeplayer",
"args" => "arg_playerTurn",
"possibleactions" => ["endGame"],
"transitions" => ["next" => STATE_END_GAME,"loopback" => STATE_PLAYER_GAME_END ] //
],
// End of Game states
// Final state.
// Please do not modify (and do not overload action/args methods).
STATE_END_GAME => [
"name" => "gameEnd",
"description" => clienttranslate("End of game"),"type" => "manager",
"action" => "stGameEnd",
"args" => "argGameEnd" ]

];

</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

BGA Studio Guidelines

2023-09-13T13:17:39Z

Archduke: /* IV-8 Namespace recommendations */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

= BGA Studio Guidelines =

Originally From: https://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/bga-studio-guidelines

== Why guidelines? ==
More and more game publishers are choosing Board Game Arena for their game adaptations because the quality of these adaptations is high.
If we want to continue to have nice games in the future, we have to make sure that every game published in the BGA platform is matching the quality standards of BGA.
These guidelines are here to help you to make your game easy to use by BGA players, and to make sure its going to be validated by the game publisher.

== General guidelines ==
The 3 main important guidelines
* If a player knows the real board game, they should be able to play your adaptation with no learning.
* Fidelity to the original game is an absolute requirement.
* Don't try to create a video game: make your game interface as close as possible to how the original board game looks like.

== Game layout ==
=== I-1 Don't hide game elements ===

Many board games have a lot of material to display, and computer screens are sometimes too small.
But you are lucky: your game will be on a webpage with a scrolling functionality.
Basically, you always have some more space available .
Don't hide game elements behind menus, submenus, dialogs, etc, but display them directly on the main page.

Tips: eventually, you can use HTML anchor link to jump between the different elements of the page if the page height is very big.

Examples:

In Amyitis, characters cards are elements you don't have to check all the time. Thus, we placed them at the bottom of the page and you have to scroll to see them.

In Madeira, additional game board are shown at the bottom, but when player needs to use it it moved up.

Rule:
* If real game has visible elements on the table it should be visible on the main screen or user mini boards on the right

Exceptions:
* Showing counts of same elements is sufficient
* For decks which can be inspected it permitted to show them on demand
* If some games you can cut off score track and replace with BGA scoring (stars), but keeping it will look nicer (but you have to keep track of score on it as well)
* Its not necessary to show helper cards such as turn overview or scoring overview. It is nice if you can incorporate that as well, but in most cases, '''such elements should not be displayed by default''' (as space should be given in priority to the game itself), and should be made available by '''a gray "Player aid" button (or help icon)''' displaying a popup when clicked, like for example in Marco Polo or Terra Mystica.

=== I-2 Make it fluid ===

BGA game interface is «fluid». It means the interface width can vary in order to use extra space on the screen when available.
HTML and CSS give us a lot of possibilities to adapt a web content to a given browser width.
You have to use HTML and CSS:
* To allow players owning a big screen to enjoy the game comfortably without scrolling the page.
* To allow players with a screen of just 1024px

Tips: for each element of the game, answer this question « how many times during a game do I need to check/use this element? ».Less frequently used elements can be placed below.
You can listen on display resize in JS to do more sophisticated layouts.

Examples:

Caylus: when we have a 1024px small width to play the game – even if they have to screen, available buildings are placed scroll on the the right and below the board.
On larger screen, these tiles are placed on the right of the board. This is a very basic usage of the others. « float:left » CSS property.

=== I-3 Use whiteblocks ===
White blocks are '''div''' HTML element with the '''whiteblock''' class (white and transparent background). This is the recommended way to gather game elements together in your game interface when they are not directly on a board. Whiteblocks helps you to organize the space in order it can be easily understood by players.

If game contains individual player boards with distinct colors or marking you don't need these boards inside the whiteblock.

''Tips: you can use a '''h3''' title inside the whiteblock to help players to understand what is inside or to who it belongs.''

In The Year of the Dragon game interface, with whiteblocks and h3 titles /picture here/

=== I-4 Use player panels ===

BGA players are used to look at player panels when they need an information about a player.
Using player panels can allow you to save a lot of space on the main game space. In general, the following information is placed in the player panel:
* Players resources (i.e. small game elements the player is keeping in front of him in the real game).
* Summary information about player (i.e. number of cards in hand, number of cards played...).
* « First player » token.
* Score.

Player panels in Seasons. /picture/ A lot of useful information can fit into these small spaces :)

Note: for all games, you must always use the standard BGA score counter (with the star). Players are used to check this counter to see who is winning the game.

=== I-5 Use status bar actions ===

When some game action is particular to a specific game state, the good practice is to use a status bar action (HTML link).
Don't try to place some icon in your main gameinterface that will be useless 95% of the time: it takes space and makes the interface more complex to understand.

Status bar actions in Tobago /picture/

== Game usability ==

=== II-1 Use tooltips ===

With BGA Studio its very easy to associate a tooltip on any element of the game. Each time this is possible: add a tooltip to explain to the players:
* What is this game element?
* What happens if I click on it?
However, tooltips should NOT be used to display dynamic information about the current game to save space on the game interface.
Typically, regular players should be able to play with no tooltips.
However you can display some dynamic stuff if it's available otherwise but just annoying to calculate. For example in Lewis and Clark author asked to put
tooltips of how many river space available ahead of explorer.
If you need to show user why they cannot interact with element show errors instead (when clicking on it).

Tips: you can place any HTML element in tooltips. So you can make them as rich and beautiful as you need :)

=== II-2 Use left click only ===
* The whole game should be playable with only simple left button mouse click.
* Context menus should not be used.
* Drag-n-drop should be avoided (if you want to use it anyway, you should make a click based alternative available).
* Mouse icon must change on clickable elements (« cursor:pointer » CSS property).

=== II-3 Make your interface intuitive ===
If your testers have different opinions about « how to trigger some game action », maybe
the best is to make several options possible for this game action. In the case there is a complex action to do by the player (ex: select some cards, then click on an action button), design your error messages in order they can guide the player(ex : « please select some cards first »).

''Tips: For complex games, it is simple and useful to highlight the area of the interface where player should focus his attention (using onEnteringState/onLeavingState and CSS class, i.e. 'active_slot').''

The Boss: when a player clicks on a card with no selected cubes, the interface tells us to select some cube first.

=== II-4 Use the gamelog ===
With BGA Studio it is very easy to place sometext (or HTML code) in the gamelog.
Don't hesitate to use the game log.
Players are not always in front of the game page when their opponents are making their moves.
In addition, the computer manipulates game elements faster than you usually do with the real board game and even regular players can get behind of what happened sometimes.
You should be able to understand the « game story » by reading the game log.

=== II-5 Tell players about automatic actions ===
Very often, during a game you are in a situation where:
* Only one action is possible for the activeplayer, or
* A series of action has to be done (according to the rules) without any players actions.
In these situation, you must or you may trigger these actions automatically.
In any case, you must make sure that players understand what is happening, otherwise they will probably report a bug.

Stone Age: people are fed automatically at the end of the turn, but players can always see what happened exactly in the gamelog.

* Use the game log to trace all actions performed automatically.
* Use synchronous notifications handlers to slow down the execution of automatic actions,so that players can understand what is happening.
=== II-6 Avoid move confirmations ===
As a rule of thumb, don't require move confirmation. Confirming a move slows down the user interface and thus, the game flow. You can allow a player to confirm a move if this is a very critical step in a game, and if it is possible to trigger an action by accident. If client interactions are very complex and allow cancellation, the final move can be confirmed with a "Done" button.

''Hawaii'': Ending a turn is a critical action that happens only 5 times per player in a game. In this case, it is acceptable (and a good idea) to have a confirmation dialog.

''Hive'': Each move has to be confirmed with click on the location because it is very easy to click by accident.

''Russian Railroads'': Each move involves multiple interactions and can contains dozens of subactions. When the player is done "planning" they presses a "Done" button to submit the move to the server.

''Race for the Galaxy'': There is a card that allows players to draw two cards and discard one card before the Development phase. This requires confirmation when the player selects a development card to discard, as they often means to build that development card instead.

=== II-7 Translatable interface ===
With BGA Studio its very easy to translate your game in any language, using BGA collaborative translation system. Check the FAQ and the example games to learn how to declare your strings so that every message in your code can be managed by the internationalization system.

Diams 100 % translated in Polish

=== II-8 Use interactive elements ===

Interactive elements are tiles, cubes or board areas user can click on to perform an action. The following guidance apply:
* If user click on interactive element either action happens or user get a error message. Try to process error message of client side and not send to server for simple errors, such as player is not active. Please be very specific why user cannot interact with element, i.e.
** This is not your turn
** You cannot build this building because you don't have enough resources
** To select this card you have to select resource first
If you cannot make errors for all elements at least tooltip should explaining when it interactive vs not

Rule: Every game element should give an explicit error message if clicked at the wrong moment rather than staying silent

Rule: When user can click on element during this turn it should be highlighted if possible (or non-active element de-highlighted in some way)

Hightlighting guidelines:
* Apply a class to all active/selectable element, i.e. class can be "selectable", "active_slot", "interactive"
* An CSS element with this class can have special rules, i.e
** outline (use outline, do not use "border" as this changes sizing)
** OR shadow/glow - use box-shadow or filter: drop-shadow for non-standard tokens
** recommended color - white, yellow or blue. Do not use red - this is indication of error rather than prompt for action
** change mouse cursor to action cursor, i.e. cursor: pointer

De-highlighting guidelines:
* Only use this strategy when there are less inactive element than active
* Apply a class to all non-interactive element, such as "non-interactive"
* In css set special rules
** opacity:0.7
** OR filter:contrast(0.6) or grayscale
* change cursor, i.e. cursor: not-allowed

Rule: If state prompt replaces the interaction with element but elements are visible its better to do both (i.e. can select a button OR they can move element on the board)
** Example: In Lewis & Clark game offers gain resources via buttons on state prompt, but user can also click on cubes in supply to do the same action

=== II-9 Animate moving elements ===
If real game have some elements moving during the game it should also animate in your adaptation
* User gets a resource - move a resource from main board to user mini board
* User buys a card - move card from main display to user board
* User draw a card which is revealed on the display - move card from deck to display, maybe add flippy animation to turn it face up (that requires 3d transformations - that is bonus)

It is also nice to animation points or coin collection from specific region of the board (even points collection is not normally visible).

Don't need to overdo animation - its not first player shooter

=== II-10 Slow down the end of game scoring ===

This is the climax of the game, building up suspense before revealing the winner... Don't make it too quick! :)

It's also very helpful if some end of game scoring animations can show where the points are gained, to help players understand (and trust) the scoring.

To achieve this, you can use synchronous notifications for each step of the scoring to slow down the process, and use this.displayScoring ([[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Scoring_animated_display]]) to display a nice points animation in the color of the player over the element of the game granting points for this step of the scoring.

For a practical example of a game adaptation where scoring has been done with this idea in mind, you can check a game replay of Terra Mystica for the final scoring (this link will fast forward you right there: [https://boardgamearena.com/archive/replay/200901-1002/?table=112192856&player=84819187&comments=426;&goto=341 replay scoring])

== Original game representation ==
=== III-1 Use the original art===
The less you are modifying the original art of the game, the better.
Its important for publishers that a board game adaptation looks like the real board game. Sometimes it can be useful to modify some elements of the game to save some space on the screen – but try to avoid it.
Tips: if you have not enough space on the screen, reduce the size of the game elements.
Try to make sure they are recognizable for players who played regularly, and add a tooltip to help beginners to figure out what they are.
Gosu : the original cards are used, with tooltips.

=== III-2 Be careful about player assistance ===
As a rule of thumb, in order to respect the original board games, you should not introduce any player assistance feature.
An assistance must not be introduced if it directly helps the player to figure out if his move is good or bad.
An assistance may be introduced if it can help the player to figure out what moves are available.

Gygès: the assistance shows you available moves, but is not alerting you about stupid moves (like the upper left one).

Note: You can however do a single choice move for a player, i.e passing on a turn if there is nothing a user can do; It's quite annoying to wait on a player to pass, while it's the only action that they can do anyways.

=== III-3 Cancel a move ===
Most players want to have moves cancelled or undone. Use the following rules to implement it:
* If any information is revealed which was not known before the action is completed - You CANNOT cancel it.
* If this is the end of active player action - You CANNOT cancel it
* If during a player's turn multiple actions are required but don't violate the above two rules - You CAN cancel/undo it. i.e. A user picks cubes and drops on a building. Selecting the cubes and building - are two actions, so user should be able to cancel taking cube.
This can be implemented using client side states, so cancelling is easy by restoring last server state.

=== III-4 Available information ===
Every information visible by players in the real game should be accessible in the adaptation. Pay attention to some information like the number of cards in the opponents hand, or the number of remaining cards in the deck.
If it is explicitly forbidden to count cards in the discard pile, this information is not available.

== Game technical quality ==
=== IV-1 Don't use exotic stuff ===
BGA Studio provides a set of useful tools to build board games adaptations (i.e. card management, confirmation dialog, tooltips,…).
Use them, and don't use exotic libraries, plugins or tricks.
Why? Because BGA Framework will evolve in the future to provide new features to players, and it could make your game incompatible with the new version.
On the contrary, if you are using standard Haggis using BGA standard card stuff, you will enjoy these enhancements without any effort.
If you feel that you really need some exotic thing: don't hesitate to ask us.

=== IV-2 Make sure you can use what you use ===

In particular, do not build your game on top of a technical library without checking that licensing allows you (and BGA) to use it.
If you use a library, make sure first that its license is really open (MIT style). Otherwise, we may have to ask you to rework your code to use another library.
In general, please consider that it's always better to minimize dependencies, so if you can avoid using external libraries, all the better.

=== IV-3 Write in (simple) English ===
Some other person may have to look at your code, such as:
* We (the BGA team), who are here to help you if you need us.
* Some other BGA developer wanting to help you.
For all these reasons, your code must be written in English (variables, methods, comments...).
If English is not your mother tongue don't be afraid: the whole idea here is to be understood, not to write an essay :)

=== IV-4 Page refresh ===
A page refresh (F5) must allow players to reset the game interface to a stable state at any moment of the game.
BGA Studio framework allows you to do this with the « getAllDatas » PHP method and the « setup » Javascript method.
Note: this « refresh » feature is also quite useful during the development process:)

=== IV-5 Private information ===
A private game element must be visible only to the player owning it. It must not be visible by his opponents, by any means.
In particular:
* getAllDatas PHP method must not return any element that are hidden from current player, even if the Javascript « setup » method ignores them.
* you must not send via the « notifyAllPlayers » function some information that is hidden from one player (use « notifyPlayer » instead).

Hearts: each player is alerted about his new cards using notifyPlayer, and cards from the other players remains secret

=== IV-6 Game progression ===
Game progression should be as accurate as possible.
Of course, its not always easy (or even possible) to compute game progression, but a vague approximation is better than nothing.
Stone Age: there are 2 different end game conditions (building cards and civilization cards).
Both are taken into account to increase the accuracy of the game progression.

=== IV-7 Game statistics ===
Using BGA Studio you can define a set of statistics for your game. Statistics will be displayed at the end of the game, and help players to figure out why they win/lose a game,
and what they should improve. Try to choose interesting statistics that distinguish the different strategies for your game, in order it can help players to understand their game.

Seasons : statistics

=== IV-8 Namespace recommendations ===
Your game is not working in complete isolation, it's included in a page with a lot of elements around (header, footer, logs, chat, player panels, rankings...)

So you should pay attention to naming your DOM elements, CSS classes and PHP constants / classes in a way specific to your game in order to avoid namespace collisions (for example you use a selector for a "selected" class in your .js, and there is also an element of the framework outside of your game with a selected class).

It's recommended to have:
* a wrapper div around your game zone with an id specific to your game ('yourgamename_playzone' for example) and to use it in any xpath selector of your .js
* a prefix for example a trigram for your game that you append to all the css classes of your game ('yrg_selected' for example).
* a prefix or a namespace for your PHP constants or classes.

Even if everything is working fine today, otherwise your game may break in the future when the framework is updated.

You should not use any global variables (window scope) in your Javascript files. If you need something to be accessible globally, then you should use <code>window.gameui</code>. You could even make a <code>window.gameui.globals = {}</code> object to contain any global variables.

== Summary ==
These guidelines are here to help you to make sure that the players, the game publisher and the game author are going to enjoy your adaptation of the game. We created these guidelines based on our personal experience (which includes many mistakes along the way) implementing a lot of games on BGA platform. Don't hesitate to contact us if you feel uncomfortable with one of these guidelines in some particular context with your game: these guidelines are here to help and not to prevent you to do smart things, and have fun while programing your game ;)

[[Category:Studio]]

Logos for printing

2023-07-25T18:39:00Z

Archduke:

Board Game Arena logos for printing purposes.

For partnerships and events, you can find there the files and rules on how to use the BGA logo and it's assets.

For online logos and other assets, find them on this page : [[Logos]]

== Logo and lines ==

==== Presentation of the full vertical version ====
[[File:BGA logos.jpg|left|thumb|300x300px]]

For full-color prints/supports, the Board Game Arena logo is reproduced in four-color positive (BGA gradient) only.

For plain background colors matching any parts of the original gradient, the all-white version should be used.

For color composition, please refer to the corresponding page.

<div style="clear: both;"></div>

==== Protected Areas ====
[[File:Save space.jpg|left|thumb]]The Board Game Arena logo may be used within the protection zone.

The minimum space is represented by the height and width (shaft) of the bottom-left graphic element.

Exceptions: if the height/width of the protection zone is restricted, the minimum space can be reduced to half the height/width of the graphic element.

The full vertical version of the logo is the prefered one to be used for all needs (Print/Web/etc...).

<div style="clear: both;"></div>

==== Logo variations: ====
[[File:Exemple of both logos.jpg|left|thumb|Logo with a written baseline / Logo with a QR code included.]]
We offer 2 variations for simple logo display on boxes and rulebooks, the all-use logo print.

The horizontal one offers a text only version which you can change the baseline text, while the vertical one offers a QRcode space to display and to be scanned by users.

The choice is your, but you shouldn't display both of them in the same page/display space (different box sides or pages are ok)

<div style="clear: both;"></div>

== The different BGA logos ==
Depending on your display goals, there's different sizes and version of the logo you can use. Please refer to these informations whenever you want to promote your BGA version on your games, whether it's on the box, or in the rules (or anywhere else).

Having a BGA logo or QR code on your box, rules or anywhere helps players find informations about it online.

- Have it on your box sides to lead to your online version of the game directly, helping people try the game or play the tutorial to learn more about the game.

- Have it displayed on your rulebook so once users played it they can find more players to play online or to learn the game in another way.

Note that we provide a lot of informations on our pages about games, and that it's best for you to check if all languages / informations / packshots are up to date, so users would also find the latest informations about the game.

Don't hesitate to ask us if there's any issues.

== Printing a BGA logo on board game boxes ==
If your game is available (or soon to be) on Board Game Arena, you can use these files to add awareness and promotion about your game being playable on our plaform right from the shelves.

If your game is NOT already available on Board Game Arena, you can check this page or send us a message about how to make the best of both worlds (printed games and virtual ones).

Note that now that QR codes are quite common, it's better for you to use this specific version so users don't have to type anything to find your game online.

=== Box examples ===
Depending on your box size/ratio, there's a few options you can use to display the BGA logo as well as the QR codes which would lead directly to your game page.

==== The vertical box ====
[[File:Verticalbox example.jpg|left|thumb]]

Depending on the orientation of the box art and way it should be displayed on shelves, we recommend not to display the BGA logos/QR codes on the front face.

For the sides, you can use different display versions to fit your needs. We strongly recommend to use as little space as possible, and to have the long horizontal one on the tallest sides, while using the tallest ones on the horizontally-oriented spaces.

Bottom position/Right positions are prefered.

White background should be used on most cases, but you can use the variation to fit your box artwork.

Note that for boxes having a side of less than 3cm width, we don't recommend using the box sides but the box back.

<div style="clear: both;"></div>

==== The horizontal box ====
[[File:Horizontalboxexample.jpg|left|thumb]]Placement on horizontal-shaped boxes should be on right and bottom preferably, using our files.

<div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Generate a QR code for your game page on BGA: ==
In order to generate the right logo file and QR code, here is a few guidelines to help you do it effortlessly:
*Check twice your game page URL (Which should look like [https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=bunnykingdom https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=GAMENAME]) OR you can also ask for a tracked short url by contacting us.
*We use preferably QR codes generated from online websites (note that ADOBE offer this tool there https://express.adobe.com/fr-FR/tools/qr-code-generator, or this one https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/ (entierely free) with the SIMPLE GRID eyes or rounded ones (eyes being the rounded shapes on the corners, see below for the screenshot example)[[File:QR code eyes.jpg|thumb|GRID EYES are styling option we would love to prefer, but you can use any QR code generator with regular rectangular shapes.]]Check twice about the offer you're using : some are paid and don't allow more than a few scan.
*Once generated, download an SVG version and remove the white parts so you can apply our gradient on your QR code, using Photoshop.
*'''You can download the QR code sample file for Photoshop (PSD) right here:''' https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TDkdqUVtAjsZqJ45LuTp0-zqytk5vPXp/view?usp=sharing
*Check with a phone that the code can be scanner (open camera app and point it to the QR code. If any links appears, click to check if it works properly.
*[[File:Alternative.jpg|thumb|Visuel de QR code carré utilisé comme alternative.]]Import to your printing files. File is provided as an example if you want to have an immediate recognition by users, but you can do any derivatives that would be a better fit for your brand if you feel the need to. WHITE Background is mandatory as it allows better scanning results. An height of a minimum of 2cms (for the QR code only) is mandatory to offer the best scanning results. Don't hesitate to print a sample to check the size before production.[[File:Effect.jpg|thumb|On our PSD file, you'll be able to find layers to apply effects or change the text depending on the language you'll be using.Take care to use the same gradients and sizings!]]

If you don't have enough vertical space for the QR code display, or for some horizontal placement, you can use the horizontal BGA banner that you can download directly here (Photoshop PSD) :

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u-NDvzoK27UIxTomlZxZpvNMBBO8bI9e/view?usp=sharing

You can customize the bottom line using your own link details, and change the color contrast accordingly.

NOTE that on a white background, you don't need to import the white rounded frame we provide.

<div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Printing a BGA logo on rulebooks ==
Next to the mandatory logos you can have on the last page of your rules, you can add on the bottom right the same icons we have displayed here.

They're the exact same files that you can fit.

Note that a bigger QR code also implies a user scanning from a farther distance than a smaller one, and that a code being too small will not be scanned properly.

So we recommend to keep the QR code between 2cm height (QR Code zone only) up to 8cm height maximum.

Here is an example of what can be done:[[File:Last rule page.jpg|left|thumb|Last page display example. Note that the code can be as big as needed.]]

BGA Studio Cookbook

2023-07-18T08:16:48Z

Archduke: /* Irregular Shapes */

This page is a cookbook of design and implementation recipes for BGA Studio framework.
For tooling and usage recipes see [[Tools and tips of BGA Studio]].
If you have your own recipes feel free to edit this page.

__TOC__

== Visual Effects, Layout and Animation ==

=== DOM manipulatons ===

==== Create pieces dynamically (using template) ====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg_ggg.tpl, ggg.js

Note: this method is recommended by BGA guildlines

Declared js template with variables in .tpl file, like this
<pre>
<script type="text/javascript">
// Javascript HTML templates
var jstpl_ipiece = '<div class="${type} ${type}_${color} inlineblock" aria-label="${name}" title="${name}"></div>';
</script>
</pre>

Use it like this in .js file
div = this.format_block('jstpl_ipiece', {
type : 'meeple',
color : 'ff0000',
name : 'Bob',
});

Then you do whatever you need to do with that div, this one specifically design to go to log entries, because it has embedded title (otherwise its a picture only) and no id.

Note: you could have place this variable in js itself, but keeping it in .tpl allows you to have your js code be free of HTML. Normally it never happens but
it is good to strive for it.
Note: you can also use string concatenation, its less readable. You can also use dojo dom object creation api's but its brutally verbose and its more unreadable.

==== Create pieces dynamically (using string concatenation) ====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

<pre>
div = "<div class='meeple_"+color+"'></div>";
</pre>

or modern way

<pre>
div = `<div class='meeple_${color}'></div>`;
</pre>

==== Create all pieces statically ====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg_ggg.tpl, ggg.css, ggg.view.php (optional)

* Create ALL game pieces in html template (.tpl)
* ALL pieces should have unique id, and it should be meaningful, i.e. meeple_red_1
* Do not use inline styling
* Id of player's specific pieces should use some sort of 'color' identification, since player id cannot be used in static layout, you can use english color name, hex 6 char value, or color "number" (1,2,3...)
* Pieces should have separated class for its color, type, etc, so it can be easily styled in groups. In example below you now can style all meeples, all red meeples or all red tokens, or all "first" meeples

ggg.tpl:
<pre>
<div id="home_red" class="home_red home">
<div id="meeple_red_1" class="meeple red n1"></div>
<div id="meeple_red_2" class="meeple red n2"></div>
</div>
</pre>

ggg.css:

<pre>
.meeple {
width: 32px;
height: 39px;
background-image: url(img/78_64_stand_meeples.png);
background-size: 352px;
}

.meeple.red {
background-position: 30% 0%;
}
</pre>

* There should be straight forward mapping between server id and js id (or 1:1)
* You place objects in different zones of the layout, and setup css to take care of layout

<pre>
.home .meeple{
display: inline-block;
}
</pre>
* If you need to have a temporary object that look like original you can use dojo.clone (and change id to some temp id)
* If there is lots of repetition or zone grid you can use template generator, but inject style declaration in css instead of inline style for flexibility

Note:
* If you use this model you cannot use premade js components such as Stock and Zone
* You have to use alternative methods of animation (slightly altered) since default method will leave object with inline style attributes which you don't need

=== Animation ===

==== Attach to new parent without destroying the object ====

BGA function attachToNewParent for some reason destroys the original, if you want similar function that does not you can use this
ggg.js

<pre>
/**
* This method will attach mobile to a new_parent without destroying, unlike original attachToNewParent which destroys mobile and
* all its connectors (onClick, etc)
*/
attachToNewParentNoDestroy: function (mobile_in, new_parent_in, relation, place_position) {

const mobile = $(mobile_in);
const new_parent = $(new_parent_in);

var src = dojo.position(mobile);
if (place_position)
mobile.style.position = place_position;
dojo.place(mobile, new_parent, relation);
mobile.offsetTop;//force re-flow
var tgt = dojo.position(mobile);
var box = dojo.marginBox(mobile);
var cbox = dojo.contentBox(mobile);
var left = box.l + src.x - tgt.x;
var top = box.t + src.y - tgt.y;

mobile.style.position = "absolute";
mobile.style.left = left + "px";
mobile.style.top = top + "px";
box.l += box.w - cbox.w;
box.t += box.h - cbox.h;
mobile.offsetTop;//force re-flow
return box;
},
</pre>

==== Animation on oversurface ====
If you use non-absolute position for your game elements (i.e you use layouts) - you cannot really use BGA animation functions. After years of fidding with different options I use
techique which I call animation on oversurface that works when parents use different zoom, rotation, etc

* You need another layer on top of everything - oversurface
* We create copy of the object on oversurface - to move
* We move the real object on final position - but make it invisible for now
* We move the phantom to final position applying required zoom and rotation (using css animation), then destroy it
* When animation is done we make original object visible in new position

The code is bit complex it can be found here

https://codepen.io/VictoriaLa/pen/gORvdJo

Game using it: century, ultimaterailroads

==== Scroll element into view ====
Ingredients: game.js

This function will scroll given node (div) into view and respect replays and archive mode

<pre>
scrollIntoViewAfter: function (node, delay) {
if (this.instantaneousMode || this.inSetup) {
return;
}
if (typeof g_replayFrom != "undefined") {
$(node).scrollIntoView();
return;
}
if (!delay) delay = 0;
setTimeout(() => {
$(node).scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth", block: "center" });
}, delay);
},
</pre>

=== Logs ===

==== Inject icon images in the log ====

Here is an example of what was done for Terra Mystica which is simple and straightforward:

<pre>
//Define the proper message
$message = clienttranslate('${player_name} gets ${power_income} via Structures');
if ($price > 0) {
self::DbQuery("UPDATE player SET player_score = player_score - $price WHERE player_id = $player_id");
$message = clienttranslate('${player_name} pays ${vp_price} and gets ${power_income} via Structures');
}

// Notify
self::notifyAllPlayers( "powerViaStructures", $message, array(
'i18n' => array( ),
'player_id' => $player_id,
'player_name' => self::getUniqueValueFromDb( "SELECT player_name FROM player WHERE player_id = $player_id" ),
'power_tokens' => $power_tokens,
'vp_price' => self::getLogsVPAmount($price),
'power_income' => self::getLogsPowerAmount($power_income),
'newScore' => self::getUniqueValueFromDb( "SELECT player_score FROM player WHERE player_id = $player_id" ),
'counters' => $this->getGameCounters(null),
) );
</pre>

With some functions to have the needed html added inside the substitution variable, such as:

<pre>
function getLogsPowerAmount( $amount ) {
return "<div class='tmlogs_icon' title='Power'><div class='power_amount'>$amount</div></div>";
}
</pre>
Note: injecting html from php is not ideal but easy, if you want more clean solution, use method below but it is a lot more sophisticated.

==== Inject images and styled html in the log ====

{{InfoBox|title=Warning — Translation|maxWidth=500|topLeftColour=#c00|middleColour=#c00|bottomRightColour=#c00|body='''In order to prevent interference with the translation process, keep in mind that you must only apply modifications to the args object, and not try to substitute the keys (the <code>${player_name}</code> parts of your string) in the log string.'''}}

So you want nice pictures in the game log. What do you do? The first idea that comes to mind is to send html from php in notifications (see method above).

This is a bad idea for many reasons:

* It's bad architecture. ui elements leak into the server, and now you have to manage the ui in multiple places.
* If you decided to change something in the ui in future version, replay logs for old games and tutorials may not work, since they use stored notifications.
* Log previews for old games become unreadable. (This is the log state before you enter the game replay, which is useful for troubleshooting and game analysis.)
* It's more data to transfer and store in the db.
* It's a nightmare for translators.

So what else can you do? You can use client side log injection to intercept log arguments (which come from the server) and replace them with html on the client side. Here are three different method you can use to achieve this.

===== First way : Override <code>this.format_string_recursive()</code> method =====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js, ggg.game.php

I use this recipe for '''client side log injection''' to intercept log arguments (which come from the server) and replace them with html on the client side.

[[File:clientloginjection.png|left]]

ggg.js

<pre>

/** Override this function to inject html into log items. This is a built-in BGA method. */

/* @Override */
format_string_recursive : function format_string_recursive(log, args) {
try {
if (log && args && !args.processed) {
args.processed = true;

// list of special keys we want to replace with images
var keys = ['place_name','token_name'];

for ( var i in keys) {
var key = keys[i];
key in args && args[key] = this.getTokenDiv(key, args);

}
}
} catch (e) {
console.error(log,args,"Exception thrown", e.stack);
}
return this.inherited({callee: format_string_recursive}, arguments);
},
</pre>

'''Important:''' In the ''format_string_recursive'' method, the 'args' parameter will only contain arguments passed to it from the notify method in ggg.game.php (see below).

The 'log' parameter is the actual string that is inserted into the logs. You can perform additional js string manipulation on it.

<pre>
getTokenDiv : function(key, args) {
// ... implement whatever html you want here, example from sharedcode.js
var token_id = args[key];
var item_type = getPart(token_id,0);
var logid = "log" + (this.globalid++) + "_" + token_id;
switch (item_type) {
case 'wcube':
var tokenDiv = this.format_block('jstpl_resource_log', {
"id" : logid,
"type" : "wcube",
"color" : getPart(token_id,1),
});
return tokenDiv;

case 'meeple':
if ($(token_id)) {
var clone = dojo.clone($(token_id));

dojo.attr(clone, "id", logid);
this.stripPosition(clone);
dojo.addClass(clone, "logitem");
return clone.outerHTML;
}
break;

default:
break;
}

return "'" + this.clienttranslate_string(this.getTokenName(token_id)) + "'";
},
getTokenName : function(key) {
return this.gamedatas.token_types[key].name; // get name for the key, from static table for example
},
</pre>

Note that in this case the server simply injects token_id as a name, and the client substitutes it for the translated name or the picture.

ggg.game.php:

$this->notifyAllPlayers('playerLog',clienttranslate('Game moves ${token_name}'),['token_name'=>$token_id]);

'''Important:''' As noted above, only arguments actually passed by this method are available to the args parameter received in the client-side ''format_string_recursive'' method.

Sometimes it is the case that you want to pass arguments that are not actually included in the output message. For example, suppose we have a method like this:

$this->notifyAllPlayers('tokenPlaced',clienttranslate('Player placed ${token_name}'),array(
'token_name' => $token_id,
'zone_played' => $zone);

This will output "Player placed ${token_name}" in the log, and if we subscribe to a notification method activated by the "tokenPlaced" event in the client-side code, that method can make use of the 'zone_played' argument.

Now if you want to make some really cool things with game log, most probably you would need more arguments than are included in log message. The problem with that,
it will work at first, but if you reload game using F5 or when the game loads in turn based mode, you will loose your additional parameters, why? Because when game reloads it does not actually send same notifications, it sends special "hitstorical_log" notification where all parameters not listed in the message are removed. In example above, field zone_played would be removed from historical log as it is not included in message of the notification. You can till preserve specific arguments in historical log by adding special field preserve to notification arguments like this:

<pre>
$this->notifyAllPlayers('tokenPlaced',clienttranslate('Player placed ${token_name}'),array(
'token_name' => $token_id,
'zone_played' => $zone,
'preserve' => [ 'zone_played' ]
);
</pre>

Now you can use zone_played in format_string_recursive even in historical logs.

===== Second way: rely on the <code>:formatFunction</code> option provided by <code>dojo.string.substitute</code> =====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js, ggg.game.php, ggg_ggg.tpl, ggg.css

The above method will work in most of the cases, but if you use dotted keys such as <code>${card.name}</code> (which is supported by the framework, for private state args), the key won't be substituted because the <code>key in arg</code> test will fail. If so you need to rely either on this way, or the one after.

'''WARNING:''' using this method on an already advanced project will require you to go through all your notifications to change keys !

Under the hood, the '''this.format_string_recursive()''' function calls the '''dojo.string.substitute''' method which substitutes <code>${keys}</code> with the value provided. If you take a look at the [https://dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/1.7/dojo/string.html#substitute documentation] and [https://github.com/dojo/dojo/blob/c3ceb017cfa25b703f5662dc83d1c8aae9bc5d81/string.js#L163 source code] you can notice that the key can be suffixed with a colon (<code>:</code>) followed by a function name. This will allow you to specify directly in the substitution string which keys need HTML injection.

First of all, you need to define your formatting function in the ggg.js file:
<pre>
[[ggg.js]]
getTokenDiv : function(value, key) {
//This is only an example implementation, you need to write your own.
//The method should return HTML code
switch (key) {
case 'html_injected_argument1':
return this.format_block('jstpl_HTMLLogElement1',{value: value});
case 'html_injected_argument2':
return this.format_block('jstpl_HTMLLogElement2',{value: value});
...
}
}
</pre>

Obviously you need to define the appropriate templates in the ggg_ggg.tpl file:
<pre>
[[ggg_ggg.tpl]]
let jstpl_HTMLLogElement1 = '<div class="log-element log-element-1-${value}"></div>';
let jstpl_HTMLLogElement2 = '<div class="log-element log-element-2-${value}"></div>';
...
</pre>
And the appropriate classes in ggg.css.

Then you need to add the <code>dojo/aspect</code> module at the top of the ggg.js file:

<nowiki>[[ggg.js]]</nowiki>
define([
"dojo", "dojo/_base/declare",
'''<span style="color:green;">"dojo/aspect",</span> //MUST BE IN THIRD POSITION''' (see [[#Including your own JavaScript module (II)|below]])
"ebg/core/gamegui",
"ebg/counter",
], function (dojo, declare, <span style="color:green;">'''aspect'''</span>) {
...

And you also need to add the following code in your <code>contructor</code> method in the ggg.js:

<nowiki>[[ggg.js]]</nowiki>
constructor: function(){
console.log('progressevolutiontechnologyswh constructor');

// Here, you can init the global variables of your user interface
// Example:
// this.myGlobalValue = 0;
<'''let gameObject = this;''' //Needed as the this object in aspect.before will not refer to the game object in which the formatting function resides
'''aspect.before(dojo.string, "substitute", function(template, map, transform) {''' //This allows you to modify the arguments of the dojo.string.substitute method before they're actually passed to it
'''return [template, map, transform, gameObject];'''
'''});'''</span>

Now you're all set to inject HTML in your logs. To actually achieve this, you must specify the function name with the key like so:

<nowiki>[[ggg.game.php]]</nowiki>
$this->notifyAllPlayers("notificationName", clienttranslate("This log message contains ${plainTextArgument} and the following will receive HTML injection: ${html_injected_argument1:getTokenDiv}"), [
"plainTextArgument" => "some plain text here",
"html_injected_argument1" => "some value used by getTokenDiv",
]);

You're not limited writing only one function, you can write as many functions as you like, and have them each inject a specific type of HTML. You just need to specify the relevant function name after the column in the substitution key.

===== Third way: rely on the <code>transform</code> argument of <code>dojo.string.substitute</code> =====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js, ggg.game.php, ggg_ggg.tpl, ggg.css

This method is also relying on the use of <code>dojo.string.substitute</code> by the framework, and will use the <code>transform</code> argument, which, accordting to [https://github.com/dojo/dojo/blob/c3ceb017cfa25b703f5662dc83d1c8aae9bc5d81/string.js#L163 source code] and [https://dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/1.7/dojo/string.html#substitute documentation] will be run on all the messages going through dojo.string.substitute.

'''WARNING:''' This method will be applied to all strings that go through dojo.string.substitute. As such you must take extra care not to substitute keys that may be used by the framework (i.e. ${id}). In order to do so, a good practise would be to prefix all keys that need substitution with a trigram of the game name.

Since all the keys will be fed to the tranform function, by default, it must return the value, substituted or not per your needs. You can define the function like this in the ggg.js file:

<nowiki>[[ggg.js]]</nowiki>
getTokenDiv : function(value, key) {
//This is only an example implementation, you need to write your own.
//The method should return HTML code
switch (key) {
case 'html_injected_argument1':
return this.format_block('jstpl_HTMLLogElement1',{value: value});
case 'html_injected_argument2':
return this.format_block('jstpl_HTMLLogElement2',{value: value});
...
<'''default:'''
'''return value;'''</span> '''//Needed otherwise regular strings won't appear since since the value isn't returned by the function'''
}
}

The templates must be defined in the ggg_ggg.tpl file and the corresponding CSS classes in the ggg.css file.

You need to add the following code at the beginning of the ggg.js file:

<nowiki>[[ggg.js]]</nowiki>
define([
"dojo", "dojo/_base/declare",
'''<span style="color:green;">"dojo/aspect",</span> //MUST BE IN THIRD POSITION''' (see [[#Including your own JavaScript module (II)|below]])
"ebg/core/gamegui",
"ebg/counter",
], function (dojo, declare, <span style="color:green;">'''aspect'''</span>) {
...

And the following code to the <code>constructor</code> method in ggg.js:

<nowiki>[[ggg.js]]</nowiki>
constructor: function(){
console.log('progressevolutiontechnologyswh constructor');

// Here, you can init the global variables of your user interface
// Example:
// this.myGlobalValue = 0;
<'''let transformFunction = dojo.hitch(this, "getTokenDiv");''' //Needed as the this object in aspect.before will not refer to the game object in which the formatting function resides
'''aspect.before(dojo.string, "substitute", function(template, map, transform) {'''
'''if (undefined === transform) {''' //Check for a transform function presence, just in case
'''return [template, map, transformFunction];'''
'''}'''
'''});'''</span>

Then you're all set for log injection, no need to change anything on the PHP side.

==== Processing logs on re-loading ====

You rarely need to process logs when reloading, but if you want to do something fancy you may have to do it after logs are loaded.
Logs are loaded asyncronously so you have to listen for logs to be fully loaded.
Unfortunately there is no direct way of doing it so this is the hack.

'''Hack alert''' - this extends undocumented function and may be broken when framework is updated

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

<pre>
/*
* [Undocumented] Override BGA framework functions to call onLoadingLogsComplete when loading is done
@Override
*/
setLoader: function(image_progress, logs_progress) {
this.inherited(arguments); // required, this is "super()" call, do not remove
//console.log("loader", image_progress, logs_progress)
if (!this.isLoadingLogsComplete && logs_progress >= 100) {
this.isLoadingLogsComplete = true; // this is to prevent from calling this more then once
this.onLoadingLogsComplete();
}
},

onLoadingLogsComplete: function() {
console.log('Loading logs complete');
// do something here
},
</pre>

=== Player Panel ===

==== Inserting non-player panel ====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js, ggg_ggg.tpl

If you want to insert non-player panel on the right side (for example to hold extra preferences, zooming controls, etc)

this can go pretty much anywhere in template it will be moved later

ggg_ggg.tpl:
<pre>
<div class='player_board_config' id="player_board_config">

<button id="zoom-out" class=" fa fa-search-minus fa-2x config-control"></button>
<button id="zoom-in" class=" fa fa-search-plus fa-2x config-control"></button>
<button id="show-settings" class="fa fa-cog fa-2x config-control "></button>
</div>
</pre>

some hackery required in js

ggg.js:
<pre>
/* @Override */
updatePlayerOrdering() {
this.inherited(arguments);
dojo.place('player_board_config', 'player_boards', 'first');
},
</pre>

=== Images and Icons ===

==== Accessing images from js ====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

<pre>
// your game resources

var my_img = '<img src="'+g_gamethemeurl+'img/cards.jpg"/>';

// shared resources
var my_help_img = "<img class='imgtext' src='" + g_themeurl + "img/layout/help_click.png' alt='action' /> <span class='tooltiptext'>" +
text + "</span>";
</pre>

==== High-Definition Graphics ====

Some users will have screens which can display text and images at a greater resolution than the usual 72 dpi, e.g. the "Retina" screens on the 5k iMac, all iPads, and high-DPI screens on laptops from many manufacturers. If you can get art assets at this size, they will make your game look extra beautiful. You ''could'' just use large graphics and scale them down, but that would increase the download time and bandwidth for users who can't display them. Instead, a good way is to prepare a separate graphics file at exactly twice the size you would use otherwise, and add "@2x" at the end of the filename, e.g. if pieces.png is 240x320, then pieces@2x.png is 480x640.

There are two changes required in order to use the separate graphics files. First in your css, where you use a file, add a media query which overrides the original definition and uses the bigger version on devices which can display them. Ensuring that the "background-size" attribute is set means that the size of the displayed object doesn't change, but only is drawn at the improved dot pitch.
<pre>
.piece {
position: absolute;
background-image: url('img/pieces.png');
background-size:240px 320px;
z-index: 10;
}
@media (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), (min-resolution: 192dpi)
{
.piece {
background-image: url('img/pieces@2x.png');
}
}
</pre>

Secondly, in your setup function in javascript, you must ensure than only the appropriate one version of the file gets pre-loaded (otherwise you more than waste the bandwidth saved by maintaining the standard-resolution file). Note that the media query is the same in both cases:
<pre>
var isRetina = "(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), (min-resolution: 192dpi)";
if (window.matchMedia(isRetina).matches)
{
this.dontPreloadImage( 'pieces.png' );
this.dontPreloadImage( 'board.jpg' );
}
else
{
this.dontPreloadImage( 'pieces@2x.png' );
this.dontPreloadImage( 'board@2x.jpg' );
}
</pre>

==== Using CSS to create different colors of game pieces if you have only white piece ====

<pre>
background-color: #${color};
background-blend-mode: multiply;
background-image: url( 'img/mypiece.png');
mask: url('img/mypiece.png');
-webkit-mask: url('img/mypiece.png');
</pre>

where ${color} - is color you want

Note: piece has to be white (shades of gray). Sprite can be used too, just add add blackground-position as usual.

==== Accessing player avatar URLs ====

<pre>
getPlayerAvatar(playerId) {
let avatarURL = '';

if (null != $('avatar_' + playerId)) {
let smallAvatarURL = dojo.attr('avatar_' + playerId, 'src');
avatarURL = smallAvatarURL.replace('_32.', '_184.');
}
else {
avatarURL = 'https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/data/avatar/default_184.jpg';
}

return avatarURL;
},
</pre>

Note: This gets avatar URLs at 184x184 resolution. You can also use 92, 50, and 32 depending on which resolution you want.

==== Adding Image buttons ====

Its pretty trivial but just in case you need a working function:

ggg.js:
<pre>
addImageActionButton: function (id, div_html, handler) { // div_html is string not node
this.addActionButton(id, div_html, handler, '', false, 'gray');
dojo.style(id, "border", "none"); // remove ugly border
dojo.addClass(id, "bgaimagebutton"); // add css class to do more styling
return $(id); // return node for chaining
},

</pre>
Example of usage:
<pre>
this.addImageActionButton('button_coin',"<div class='coin'></div>", ()=>{ alert('Ha!'); });
</pre>

=== Other Fluff ===

==== Use thematic fonts ====

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.css

Sometime game elements use specific fonts of text, if you want to match it up you can load some specific font (IMPORTANT: from some '''free font''' source. See notes below).

[[File:Dragonline_font.png]]

.css
<pre>
/* latin-ext */
@font-face {
font-family: 'Qwigley';
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 400;
src: local('Qwigley'), local('Qwigley-Regular'), url(https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/qwigley/v6/2Dy1Unur1HJoklbsg4iPJ_Y6323mHUZFJMgTvxaG2iE.woff2) format('woff2');
unicode-range: U+0100-024F, U+1E00-1EFF, U+20A0-20AB, U+20AD-20CF, U+2C60-2C7F, U+A720-A7FF;
}
/* latin */
@font-face {
font-family: 'Qwigley';
font-style: normal;
font-weight: normal;
src: local('Qwigley'), local('Qwigley-Regular'), url(https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/qwigley/v6/gThgNuQB0o5ITpgpLi4Zpw.woff2) format('woff2');
unicode-range: U+0000-00FF, U+0131, U+0152-0153, U+02C6, U+02DA, U+02DC, U+2000-206F, U+2074, U+20AC, U+2212, U+2215, U+E0FF, U+EFFD, U+F000;
}
@font-face {
font-family: 'Qwigley';
font-style: normal;
font-weight: normal;
src: local('Qwigley'), local('Qwigley-Regular'), url(http://ff.static.1001fonts.net/q/w/qwigley.regular.ttf) format('ttf');
}

.zone_title {
display: inline-block;
position: absolute;
font: italic 32px/32px "Qwigley", cursive;
height: 32px;
width: auto;
}
</pre>

'''NB:''' if you need to include a font that's not available online, an extra action will be needed from an admin. Please include the font file(s) in your img directory, and mention it to admins when requesting your game to be moved to alpha. '''Please remember that the font has to be free, and include a .txt with all appropriate license information about the font.'''
You can look for free fonts (for example) on https://fonts.google.com or https://www.fontsquirrel.com/)

===== Content Security Policy =====

BGA runs a Content Security Policy which will limit the origins from which you can load external fonts, in order to prevent license abuse.

The CSP is a whitelist of allowed origins. To see the list, view the response headers of any page on Studio, and look for the "Content-Security-Policy" header.

You will specifically want to check for the font-src token within these headers, and limit any external fonts to these sources.

'''This list is subject to change''' but as of the time of writing, the only acceptabled external sites are use.typekit.net and fonts.gstatic.com.

=== Use player color in template ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg_ggg.tpl, ggg.view.php

.view.php:
<pre>
function build_page($viewArgs) {
// Get players & players number
$players = $this->game->loadPlayersBasicInfos();
$players_nbr = count($players);
/**
* ********* Place your code below: ***********
*/

// Set PCOLOR to the current player color hex
global $g_user;
$cplayer = $g_user->get_id();
if (array_key_exists($cplayer, $players)) { // may be not set if spectator
$player_color = $players [$cplayer] ['player_color'];
} else {
$player_color = 'ffffff'; // spectator
}
$this->tpl ['PCOLOR'] = $player_color;
</pre>

=== Scale to fit for big boards ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg_ggg.tpl, ggg.js

Lets say you have huge game board, and lets say you want it to be 1400px wide. Besides the board there will be side bar which is 240 and trim.
My display is 1920 wide so it fits, but there is big chance other people won't have that width. What do you do?

You have to decide:
* If board does not fit you want scale whole thing down, the best way is probably use viewport (see https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Your_game_mobile_version)
* You can leave the board as is and make sure it is scrollable horizonatally
* You add custom scale just for the board (can add user controls - and hook to transform: scale())

I tried to auto-scale but this just does work, too many variables - browser zoom, 3d mode, viewport, custom bga scaling, devicePixelRatio - all create some impossible coctail of zooming...
Here is scaling functing for custom user scaling

ggg_ggg.tpl:
<pre>
<div id="thething" class="thething">
... everything else you declare ...
</div>
</pre>

ggg.js:
<pre>
onZoomPlus: function() {
this.my_zoom+=0.1;
this.zoommy('thething',this.my_zoom);
},

zoommy: function(node, zoom) {
node=$(node);
var width = 100 / zoom;
node.style.transformOrigin = "0 0";
node.style.transform = "scale(" + zoom + ")";
node.style.width = width + "%";
},
</pre>

=== Dynamic tooltips ===

If you really need a dynamic tooltip you can use this technique. (Only use it if the static tooltips provided by the BGA framework are not sufficient.)

new dijit.Tooltip({
connectId: ["divItemId"],
getContent: function(matchedNode){
return "... calculated ...";
}
});

This is an out-of-the-box djit.Tooltip. It has a ''getContent'' method which is called dynamically.

The string function return becomes the innerHTML of the tooltip, so it can be anything. In this example matchedNode is a dojo node representing dom object with id of "divItemId" but there are more parameters which I am not posting here which allows more sophisticated subnode queries (i.e. you can attach tooltip to all nodes with class or whatever).

[https://dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/1.10/dijit/Tooltip.html dijit.Tooltip]

It's not part of the BGA API so use at your own risk.

=== Rendering text with players color and proper background ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

<pre>
/* Implementation of proper colored You with background in case of white or light colors */

divYou: function() {
var color = this.gamedatas.players[this.player_id].color;
var color_bg = "";
if (this.gamedatas.players[this.player_id] && this.gamedatas.players[this.player_id].color_back) {
color_bg = "background-color:#" + this.gamedatas.players[this.player_id].color_back + ";";
}
var you = "<span style=\"font-weight:bold;color:#" + color + ";" + color_bg + "\">" + __("lang_mainsite", "You") + "</span>";
return you;
},

/* Implementation of proper colored player name with background in case of white or light colors */

divColoredPlayer: function(player_id) {
var color = this.gamedatas.players[player_id].color;
var color_bg = "";
if (this.gamedatas.players[player_id] && this.gamedatas.players[player_id].color_back) {
color_bg = "background-color:#" + this.gamedatas.players[player_id].color_back + ";";
}
var div = "<span style=\"color:#" + color + ";" + color_bg + "\">" + this.gamedatas.players[player_id].name + "</span>";
return div;
},
</pre>

=== Cool realistic shadow effect with CSS ===

==== Rectangles and circles ====

It is often nice to have a drop shadow around tiles and tokens, to separate them from the table visually. It is very easy to add a shadow to rectangular elements, just add this to your css:

<pre>
.xxx-tile {
box-shadow: 3px 3px 3px #000000a0;
}
</pre>

box-shadow obeys '''border-radius''' of the element, so it will look good for rounded rectangles, and hence also circles (if border-radius is set appropriately).

box-shadow also supports various other parameters and can be used to achieve effects such as glowing, borders, inner shadows etc. If you need to animate a box-shadow, you may be able to get better performance (avoiding redraws) if you attach the shadow to another element (possibly an ::after pseudo-element) and change only the '''opacity''' of that element.

==== Irregular Shapes ====

If you wish to make a shadow effect for game pieces that are not a rectangle, but your game pieces are drawn from rectangles in a PNG image, you can apply the shadow to the piece using any art package and save it inside the image. This usually will yield the best performance. Remember to account for the size of the shadow when you lay out images in the sprite sheet.

However that sometimes will not be an option, for example if the image needs to be rotated while the shadow remains offset in the same direction. In this case, one option is to not use box-shadow but use filter, which is supported by recent major browsers. This way, you can use the alpha channel of your element to drop a shadow. This even work for transparent backgrounds, so that if you are using the "CSS-sprite" method, it will work!

For instance:

<pre>
.xxx-token {
filter: drop-shadow(0px 0px 1px #000000);
}
</pre>

Beware that some browsers still do not always draw drop-shadow correctly. In particular, Safari frequently leaves bits of shadow behind when objects move around the screen. In Chrome, shadows sometimes flicker badly if another element is animating close by. Some of these correctness issues can be solved by adding '''isolation: isolate; will-change: filter;''' to affected elements, but this significantly affects redraw performance.

Beware of performance issues - particularly on Safari (MacOS, iPhone and iPad). Keep in mind that drop-shadow are very GPU intensive. This becomes noticeable once you have about 40 components with drop-shadow filter. If that is your case, you can quite easily implement a user preference to disable shadows for users on slower machines:

gameoptions.inc.php
<pre>
100 => array(
'name' => totranslate('Shadows'),
'needReload' => true, // after user changes this preference game interface would auto-reload
'values' => array(
1 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'Enabled' ), 'cssPref' => '' ),
2 => array( 'name' => totranslate( 'Disabled' ), 'cssPref' => 'no-shadow' )
)
),
</pre>

[game].css
<pre>
.no-shadow * {
filter: none !important;
}
</pre>For Safari, it is usually better to simply disable drop-shadow completely: [[Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css#Warning: using drop-shadow]].

==== Shadows with clip-path ====

For some reason, a shadow will not work together with clip-path on one element. To use both clip-path (when for example using .svg to cut out cardboard components from your .jpg spritesheet) and drop-shadow, you need to wrap the element into another one, and apply drop-shadow to the outer one, and clip-path to the inner one.

<pre>
<div class='my-token-wrap'>
<div class='my-token'>
</div>
</div>
</pre>
<pre>
.my-token-wrap {
filter: drop-shadow(0px 0px 1px #000000);
}
.my-token-wrap .my-token {
clip-path: url(#my-token-path);
}
</pre>

=== Using the CSS classes from the state machine ===

If you need to hide or show stuff depending on the state of your game, you can of course use javascript, but CSS is hand enough for that. The #overall-content element does change class depending on the game state. For instance, if you are in state ''playerTurn'', it will have the class ''gamestate_playerTurn''.

So now, if you want to show the discard pile only during player turns, you may use:

<pre>
#discard_pile { display: none }
.gamestate_playerTurn #discard_pile { display: block }
</pre>

This can be used if you want to change sizing of elements, position, layout or visual appearance.

== Game Model and Database design ==

=== Database for The euro game ===
Lets say we have a game with workers, dice, tokens, board, resources, money and vp. Workers and dice can be placed in various zones on the board, and you can get resources, money, tokens and vp in your home zone. Also tokens can be flipped or not flipped.

[[File:Madeira board.png]]

Now lets try to map it, we have
* (meeple,zone)
* (die, zone, sideup)
* (resource cube/money token/vp token,player home zone)
* (token, player home zone, flip state)
We can notice that resource and money are uncountable, and don't need to be track individually so we can replace our mapping to
* (resource type/money,player home zone, count)
And vp stored already for us in player table, so we can remove it from that list.

Now when we get to encode it we can see that everything can be encoded as (object,zone,state) form, where object and zone is string and state is integer. The resource mapping is slightly different semantically so you can go with two table, or counting using same table with state been used as count for resources.

So the piece mapping for non-grid based games can be in most case represented by (string: token_key, string: token_location, int: token_state), example of such database schema can be found here: [https://github.com/elaskavaia/bga-sharedcode/blob/master/dbmodel.sql dbmodel.sql] and class implementing access to it here [https://github.com/elaskavaia/bga-sharedcode/blob/master/modules/tokens.php table.game.php].

Variant 1: Minimalistic

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `token` (
`token_key` varchar(32) NOT NULL,
`token_location` varchar(32) NOT NULL,
`token_state` int(10),
PRIMARY KEY (`token_key`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;

{| class="wikitable"
|+token
! token_key
! token_location
! token_state
|-
|meeple_red_1
|home_red
|0
|-
|dice_black_2
|board_guard
|1
|-
|dice_green_1
|board_action_mayor
|3
|-
|bread
|home_red
|5
|}

Now how we represent resource counters such as bread?
Using same table from we simply add special counter token for bread and use state to indicate the count. Note to keep first column unique we have to add player identification for that counter, i.e. ff0000 is red player.

{| class="wikitable"
|+token
! token_key
! token_location
! token_state
|-
|bread_ff0000
|tableau_ff0000
|5
|}

See php module for this table here https://github.com/elaskavaia/bga-sharedcode/blob/master/modules/tokens.php

Variant 2: Additional resource table, resource count for each player id

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `resource` (
`player_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL,
`resource_key` varchar(32) NOT NULL,
`resource_count` int(10) signed NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`player_id`,`resource_key`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;

ALTER TABLE resource ADD CONSTRAINT fk_player_id FOREIGN KEY (player_id) REFERENCES player(player_id);

{| class="wikitable"
|+resource
! player_id
! resource_key
! resource_count
|-
|123456
|bread
|5
|}

Variant 3: More normalised

This version is similar to "card" table from hearts tutorial, you can also use exact cards database schema and Deck implementation for most purposes (even you not dealing with cards).

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `token` (
`token_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`token_type` varchar(16) NOT NULL,
`token_arg` int(11) NOT NULL,
`token_location` varchar(32) NOT NULL,
`token_state` int(10),
PRIMARY KEY (`token_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;

{| class="wikitable"
|+token
! token_id
! token_type
! token_arg
! token_location
! token_state
|-
|22
|meeple
|123456
|home_123456
|0
|-
|23
|dice
|2
|board_guard
|1
|-
|26
|dice
|1
|board_action_mayor
|3
|-
|49
|bread
|0
|home_123456
|5
|}

Advantages of this would be is a bit more straightforward to do some queries in db, disadvantage its hard to read (as you can compare with previous example, you
cannot just look at say, ah I know what it means). Another questionable advantage is it allows you to do id randomisation, so it hard to do crafted queries to
cheat, the down side of that you cannot understand it either, and handcraft db states for debugging or testing.

=== Database for The card game ===

Lets say you have a standard card game, player have hidden cards in hand, you can draw card from draw deck, play card on tableau and discard to discard pile.
We have to design database for such game.

In real word to "save" the game we take a picture a play area, save cards from it, then put away draw deck, discard and hand of each player separately and mark it, also we will record current scoring (if any) and who's turn was it.

* Framework handles state machine transition, so you don't have to worry about database design for that (i.e. who's turn it is, what phase of the game we are at, you still have to design it but part of state machine step)
* Also framework supports basic player information, color, order around the table, basic scoring, etc, so you don't have to worry about it either
* The only thing you need in our database is state of the "board", which is "where each pieces is, and in what state", or (position,rotation) pair.

Lets see what we have for that:
* The card state is very simple, its usually "face up/face down", "tapped/untapped", "right side up/up side down"
* As position go we never need real coordinates x,y,z. We need to know what "zone" card was, and depending on the zone it may sometimes need an extra "z" or "x" as card order. The zone position usually static or irrelevant.
* So our model is: we have cards, which have some attributes, at any given point in time they belong to a "zone", and can also have order and state
* Now for mapping we should consider what information changes and what information is static, later is always candidate for material file
* For dynamic information we should try to reduce amount of fields we need
** we need at least a field for card, so its one
** we need to know what zone cards belong to, its 2
** and we have possibly few other fields, if you look closely at you game you may find out that most of the zone only need one attribute at a time, i.e. draw pile always have cards face down, hand always face up, also for hand and discard order does not matter at all (but for draw it does matter). So in majority of cases we can get away with one single extra integer field representing state or order
* In real database both card and zone will be integers as primary keys referring to additional tables, but in our case its total overkill, so they can be strings as easily

Variant 1: Minimalistic

<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `card` (
`card_key` varchar(32) unsigned NOT NULL,
`card_location` varchar(32) NOT NULL,
`card_state` int(11) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`card_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 AUTO_INCREMENT=1 ;
</pre>

Variant 2: More normalised

This version supported by Deck php class, so unless you want to rewrite db access layer go with this one

<pre>
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `card` (
`card_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`card_type` varchar(16) NOT NULL,
`card_type_arg` int(11) NOT NULL,
`card_location` varchar(16) NOT NULL,
`card_location_arg` int(11) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (`card_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 AUTO_INCREMENT=1 ;
</pre>

Note: if you using this schema, some zones/locations have special semantic. The 'hand' location is actually multiple locations - one per player, but player id is encoded as card_location_arg. If 'hand' in your game is ordered, visible or can have some other card states, you cannot use hand location (replacement is hand_<player_id> or hand_<color_id>)

== Code Organization ==

=== Including your own JavaScript module ===
'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js, modules/ggg_other.js

* Create ggg_other.js in modules/ folder and sync
<pre>
define([
"dojo", "dojo/_base/declare"
], function( dojo, declare )
{
return declare("bgagame.other", null, { // null here if we don't want to inherit from anything
constructor: function(){},
mystuff: function(){},
});

});

</pre>
* Modify ggg.js to include it

define([ "dojo", "dojo/_base/declare", "ebg/core/gamegui", "ebg/counter",
g_gamethemeurl + "modules/ggg_other.js" // load my own module!!!
], function(dojo,
declare) {

use it

foo = new bgagame.other();

=== Including your own JavaScript module (II) ===

* Create ggg_other.js in modules/ folder and sync

define([], function () {
return "value";
});

* Modify ggg.js to include it

define([
"dojo",
"dojo/_base/declare",
"bgagame/modules/ggg_other",
"ebg/core/gamegui",
"ebg/counter"
], function(dojo, declare, other) {

});

This is maybe a little bit more the idea of the AMD Loader than the first option, although the first option should work as well.

A little explanation to this:
The define function loads all the modules listed in the array and calls the following function with these loaded modules as parameters.
By putting your module at the third position in the array it is passed as the third parameter to the function. Be aware that the modules are resolved by position only, not by name. So you can load the module '''ggg_other''' and pass it as a parameter with the name '''other'''. '''gamegui''' and '''counter''' are passed in as well, but when the parameters are not defined they are just skipped. Because these modules put their content into the global scope it does not matter and you can use them from there.

In the example above the string "value" is passed for the parameter '''other''', but the function in your module can return whatever you want. It can be an object, an array, something you declared with dojo.declare, you can return even functions.
Your module can load other modules. Just put them in the array at the beginning and pass them as parameters to your function.
The advantage of passing the values as parameter is that you do not need to put these values in the global scope, so they can't be collisions with values defined in other scripts or the BGA Framework.

The dojo toolkit provides good documentation to all of its components, the complete documentation for the AMD-Loader is here:
https://dojotoolkit.org/documentation/tutorials/1.10/modules/index.html It should be still correct, even as it seems to be only for version 1.10

=== Including your own PHP module ===
'''Ingredients:''' ggg.game.php, modules/ggg_other.php

* Create ggg_other.php in modules/ folder and sync
* Modify ggg.game.php to include it

require_once ('modules/ggg_other.php');

=== Creating a test class to run PHP locally ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.game.php, stubs
For this you need stubs of other method you can use this for example
https://github.com/elaskavaia/bga-sharedcode/raw/master/misc/module/table/table.game.php

Create another php files, i.e ggg_test.php
<pre>
<?php
define("APP_GAMEMODULE_PATH", "misc/"); // include path to stubs, which defines "table.game.php" and other classes
require_once ('eminentdomaine.game.php');

class MyGameTest1 extends MyGame { // this is your game class defined in ggg.game.php
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
include '../material.inc.php';// this is how this normally included, from constructor
}

// override/stub methods here that access db and stuff
function getGameStateValue($var) {
if ($var == 'round')
return 3;
return 0;
}
}
$x = new MyGameTest1(); // instantiate your class
$p = $x->getGameProgression(); // call one of the methods to test
if ($p != 50)
echo "Test1: FAILED";
else
echo "Test1: PASSED";

</pre>

Run from command line like
php7 ggg_test.php

If you do it this way - you can also use local php debugger (i.e. integrated with IDE or command line).

=== Avoiding code in dojo declare style ===
Dojo class declarations are rather bizzare and do not work with most IDEs.
If you want to write in plain JS with classes, you can stub all the dojo define/declare stuff
and hook your class into that, so the classes are outside of this mess.

NOTE: this technique is for experienced developers, do not try it if you do not understand
the consequences.

This is complete example of game .js class
<pre>
// Testla is game name is has to be changed
class Testla {
constructor(game) {
console.log('game constructor');
this.game = game;
this.varfoo = new MyFoo(); // this example of class from custom module
}

setup(gamedatas) {
console.log("Starting game setup", this.varfoo);
this.gamedatas = gamedatas;
this.dojo.create("div", { class: 'whiteblock', innerHTML: _("hello") }, 'thething');
console.log("Ending game setup");
};
onEnteringState(stateName, args) {
console.log('onEnteringState : ' + stateName, args);
this.game.addActionButton('b1',_('Click Me'), (e)=>this.onButtonClick(e));
};
onLeavingState(stateName) {
console.log('onLeavingState : ' + stateName, args);
};
onUpdateActionButtons(stateName, args) {
console.log('onUpdateActionButtons : ' + stateName, args);
};
onButtonClick(event) {
console.log('onButtonClick',event);
};
};

define([
"dojo", "dojo/_base/declare",
"ebg/core/gamegui",
"ebg/counter",
g_gamethemeurl + '/modules/foo.js' // custom module if needed
],
function(dojo, declare) {
// testla is game name is has to be changed
return declare("bgagame.testla", ebg.core.gamegui, {
constructor: function() {
this.xapp = new Testla(this);
this.xapp.dojo = dojo;
},
setup: function(gamedatas) {
this.xapp.setup(gamedatas);
},
onEnteringState: function(stateName, args) {
this.xapp.onEnteringState(stateName, args?.args);
},
onLeavingState: function(stateName) {
this.xapp.onLeavingState(stateName, args);
},
onUpdateActionButtons: function(stateName, args) {
this.xapp.onUpdateActionButtons(stateName, args);
},
});
});

</pre>

=== More readable JS: onEnteringState ===

If you have a lot of states in onEnteringState or onUpdateActionButtons and friends - it becomes rather wild, you can do this trick to call some methods dynamically.

<pre>

onEnteringState: function(stateName, args) {
console.log('Entering state: ' + stateName, args);

// Call appropriate method
var methodName = "onEnteringState_" + stateName;
if (this[methodName] !== undefined) {
console.log('Calling ' + methodName, args.args);
this[methodName](args.args);
}
},

onEnteringState_playerTurn: function(args) { // this is args directly, not args.args
// process
},

onEnteringState_playerSomethingElse: function(args) {
// process
},

</pre>

Note: since its ignores the undefined functions you don't have define function for each state, but on the other hand you cannot make typos.
Same applies to onUpdateActionButtons except you pass 'args' to method, not args.args, and for onLeavingState where you don't pass anything.

=== Frameworks and Preprocessors ===

* [[Using Vue]] - work-in-progress guide on using the modern framework Vue.js to create a game
* [[Using Typescript and Scss]] - How to auto-build Typescript and SCSS files to make your code cleaner

== Assorted Stuff ==

=== Out-of-turn actions: Un-pass ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js, ggg.game.php, ggg.action.php, states.inc.php

In multiplayer game sometimes players passes but than they think more and want to un-Pass and redo their choice.
To re-active a player who passes some trickery required.

Define a special action that does that and hook it up.

In states.inc.php add an action to mmultipleactiveplayer state to "unpass", lets call it "actionCancel"

In ggg.action.php add action hook
public function actionCancel() {
self::setAjaxMode();
$this->game->actionCancel();
self::ajaxResponse();
}

In ggg.game.php add action handler
function actionCancel() {
$this->gamestate->checkPossibleAction('actionCancel');
$this->gamestate->setPlayersMultiactive(array ($this->getCurrentPlayerId() ), 'error', false);
}

Finally to call this in client ggg.js you would do something like:
<pre>
onUpdateActionButtons: function(stateName, args) {
if (this.isCurrentPlayerActive()) {
// ...
} else if (!this.isSpectator) { // player is NOT active but not spectator
switch (stateName) {
case 'playerTurnMultiPlayerState':
this.addActionButton('button_unpass', _('Oh no!'), 'onUnpass');
break;
}
}
}

onUnpass: function(e) {
this.ajaxcall("/" + this.game_name + "/" + this.game_name + "/actionCancel.html", {}, this); // no checkAction!
}
</pre>
Although be careful that if the turn comes back to the player while he is about to click cancel, the action buttons will be updated and the player will misclick which can be quite frustrating. To avoid this, move the cancel button to another position, like to the left of pagemaintitletext:
dojo.place('button_unpass', 'pagemaintitletext', 'before');
Being out of the generalactions div, it won't be automatically destroyed like normal buttons, so you'll have to handle that yourself in onLeavingState. You might also want to change the button color to red (blue buttons for active player only, red buttons also for inactive players?)

Note: same technique can be used to do other out-of-turn actions, such as re-arranging cards in hand, exchanging resources, etc (i.e. if permitted by rules, such as "at any time player can...")

=== Multi Step Interactions: Select Worker/Place Worker - Using Selection ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

Simple way to implement something like that without extra states is to use "selection" mechanism. When user click on worker add some sort of class into that element i.e. 'selected' (which also have to have some indication by css i.e. outline).

Than user can click on placement zone, you can use dojo.query for "selected" element and use it along with zone id to send data to server. If proper worker is not selected yet can give a error message using this.showMessage(...) function.

Extra code required to properly cleanup selection between states.
Also when you do that sometimes you want to change the state prompt, see below 'Change state prompt'

=== Multi Step Interactions: Select Worker/Place Worker - Using Client States ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

I don't think its documented feature but there is a way to do client-only states, which is absolutely wonderful for few reasons
* When player interaction is two step process, such as select worker, place worker, or place worker, pick one of two resources of your choice
* When multi-step process can result of impossible situation and has to be undone (by rules)
* When multi-step process is triggered from multiple states (such as you can do same thing as activated card action, pass action or main action)

So lets do Select Worker/Place Worker

Define your server state as usual, i.e. playerMainTurn -> "You must pick up a worker".
Now define a client state, we only need "name" and "descriptionmyturn", lets say "client_playerPicksLocation". Always prefix names of client state with "client_" to avoid confusion. Now we have to do the following:
* Have a handler for onUpdateActionButtons for playerMainTurn to activate all possible workers he can pick
* When player clicks workers, remember the worker in one of the members of the main class, I usually use one called this.clientStateArgs.
* Transition to new client state
onWorker: function(e) {
var id = event.currentTarget.id;
dojo.stopEvent(event);
... // do validity checks
this.clientStateArgs.worker_id = id;
this.setClientState("client_playerPicksLocation", {
descriptionmyturn : _("${you} must select location"),
});
}
* Have a handler for onUpdateActionButtons for client_playerPicksLocation to activate all possible locations this worker can go AND add Cancel button (see below)
* Have a location handler which will eventually send a server request, using stored this.clientStateArgs.worker_id as worker id
* The cancel button should call a method to restore server state, also if you doing it for more than one state you can add this universally using this.on_client_state check

if (this.isCurrentPlayerActive()) {
if (this.on_client_state && !$('button_cancel')) {
this.addActionButton('button_cancel', _('Cancel'), dojo.hitch(this, function() {
this.restoreServerGameState();
}));
}
}
Note: usually I call my own function call this.cancelLocalStateEffects() which will do more stuff first then call restoreServerGameState(), same function is usually needs to be called when server request has failed (i.e. invalid move)

Note: If you need more than 2 steps, you may have to do client side animation to reflect the new state, which gets trickier because you have to undo that also on cancellation.

Code is available here [https://github.com/elaskavaia/bga-sharedcode/blob/master/sharedcode.js sharedcode.js] (its using playerTurnPlayCubes and client_selectCubeLocation).

=== Action Stack - Using Client States ===

Action stack required where game is very complex and use triggered effects that can "stack". It not always actual stack, it can be queue or random access
Examples:
* Magic the Gathering - classic card game where effects go on Stack, that allows to counter spell and counter spell of counter spell (not on bga - it just example of mechanics)
* Ultimate Railroads - action taking game where effects can be executed in any order
* Lewis and Clark - card game where actions executed as queue

There is two ways of implementing it - on the server or the client.
For the server see article below.
The requirement for client side stack implementation is - all action can be undone, which means
* No dice rolls
* No card drawn
* No other players interaction

No snippets are here, as this will be too complex but basically flow is:
* You have a action/effect stack (queue/list) as js object attached to "this", i.e. this.unprocessed_actions
* When player plays a card, worker, etc, you read the effect of that card from the material file (client copy), and place into stack
* Then we call dispatch method which pulls the next action from the stack and change client state accordinly, i.e. this.setClientState("client_playerGainsCubes")
* When players acts on it - the action is removed from the stack and added to "server action arguments" list, this is another object which be used to send ajax call, i.e. this.clientStateArgs
* If nothing left in stack we can submit the ajax call assembling parameters from collected arguments (that can include action name)
* This method allows cheap undo - by restoring server state you will wipe out all user actions (but if you need intermediate aninmation you have to handle it yourself)

Code can be found in Ultimate Railroads game (but it is random access list - so it a bit complex) and Lewis and Clark (complexity - user can always deny part of any effect)

=== Action Stack - Using Server States ===

See definition of Action Stack above.

To implement you usually need another db table that has the following fields: index of effect - which is used for sorted access, type - which is essense of the effect (i.e. collect resource), some extra arguments (i.e. resource type and resource count), and usually owner of the effect (i.e. player id)
The flow is:
* There is some initial player state, where player can play card for example
* Player main action - pushes the card effect on stack, which also can cause triggered effects which also go on stack
* After action processing is finished switch to game state which is "dispatcher"
* Dispatcher pulls the top effect (whatever definition of the top is), changes the active player and changes the state to appropriate player state to collect response
* Player state knows about the stack and pulls arguments (argX) from the effect arguments of the db
* Player action should clear up the top effect, and can possibly add more effects, then switch to "dispatcher" state again
* If stack is empty, dispatcher can either pick next player itself or use another game state which responsible for picking next player

Code can be found in Tapestry.

=== Changing state prompt ===

State prompt is message displayed for player which usually comes from state description.
Sometimes you want to change it without changing state (one way is change state but locally, see client states above).

Simple way just change the html
<pre>
setMainTitle: function(text) {
$('pagemaintitletext').innerHTML = text;
},
// usage
onMeeple: function(event) {
//...
this.setMainTitle(_('You must select where meeple is going'));
},
</pre>

This however will not work with parameters and will not draw You in color, if you want this its more sophisticated:

<pre>
setDescriptionOnMyTurn : function(text) {
this.gamedatas.gamestate.descriptionmyturn = text;
var tpl = dojo.clone(this.gamedatas.gamestate.args);
if (tpl === null) {
tpl = {};
}
var title = "";
if (this.isCurrentPlayerActive() && text !== null) {
tpl.you = this.divYou();
}
title = this.format_string_recursive(text, tpl);

if (!title) {
this.setMainTitle(" ");
} else {
this.setMainTitle(title);
}
},
</pre>

Note: this method uses '''setMainTitle''' defined above and '''divYou''' defined in another section of this wiki.

=== Assigning Player Order ===
Normally when game starts there is "natural" player order assigned randomly.

If you want to deliberatly assign player order at the start of the game (for example, in a game with teams options), you can do so by retrieving the initialization-only player attribute '''player_table_order''' and using it to assign values to '''player_no''' (which is normally assigned at the start of a game in the order in which players come to the table). (See [https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_database_model:_dbmodel.sql#The_player_table Game database model] for more details.)

'''Example:'''
<pre>
// Retrieve inital player order ([0=>playerId1, 1=>playerId2, ...])
$playerInitialOrder = [];
foreach ($players as $playerId => $player) {
$playerInitialOrder[$player['player_table_order']] = $playerId;
}
ksort($playerInitialOrder);
$playerInitialOrder = array_flip(array_values($playerInitialOrder));

// Player order based on 'playerTeams' option
$playerOrder = [0, 1, 2, 3];
switch (self::getGameStateValue('playerTeams')) {
case self::TEAM_1_2:
$playerOrder = [0, 2, 1, 3];
break;
case self::TEAM_1_4:
$playerOrder = [0, 1, 3, 2];
break;
case self::TEAM_RANDOM:
shuffle($playerOrder);
break;
default:
case self::TEAM_1_3:
// Default order
break;
}

// Create players
// Note: if you added some extra field on "player" table in the database (dbmodel.sql), you can initialize it there.
$sql =
'INSERT INTO player (player_id, player_color, player_canal, player_name, player_avatar, player_no) VALUES ';
$values = [];

foreach ($players as $playerId => $player) {
$color = array_shift($default_colors);
$values[] =
"('" .
$playerId .
"','$color','" .
$player['player_canal'] .
"','" .
addslashes($player['player_name']) .
"','" .
addslashes($player['player_avatar']) .
"','" .
$playerOrder[$playerInitialOrder[$playerId]] .
"')";
}
$sql .= implode(',', $values);
self::DbQuery($sql);
self::reattributeColorsBasedOnPreferences(
$players,
$gameinfos['player_colors']
);
self::reloadPlayersBasicInfos();
</pre>

=== Send different notifications to active player vs everybody else ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

Hack alert. This is a hack. We were hoping for proper solution by bga framework.

This will allow you to send notification with two message one for specific player and one for everybody else including spectators.
Note that this does not split the data - all data must be shared.

Add this to .js file (if you already overriding it merge obviously)
<pre>
/** @Override */
format_string_recursive: function(log, args) {
if (typeof args.log_others != 'undefined' && typeof args.player_id != 'undefined' && this.player_id != args.player_id)
log = args.log_others;
return this.inherited(arguments); // you must call this to call super
},
</pre>

Example of usage (from eminentdomain)
<pre>
$this->notifyAllPlayers('tokenMoved',
clienttranslate('${player_name} adds +2 Colonies to ${place_name}'), // notification with show for player with player_id
['player_id'=>$player_id, // this is mandatory
'log_others'=>clienttranslate('${player_name} adds +2 Colonies to an unknown planet'), // notification will show for others
...
]);
</pre>

=== Send transient notifications without incrementing move ID ===

'''Ingredients:''' ggg.php

Hack alert. This is a hack.

Use this if you need to send some transient notification that should not create a new move ID. The notification should be idempotent -- it should have no practical effect on the game state and would be '''safe to drop''' (e.g., it would not matter if a player never received this notification). For example, in a co-op game you want all players to see a real-time preview of some action, before the active player commits their turn.

Doing this mainly affects the instant replay & archive modes. During replay, the BGA framework automatically inserts a 1.5-second pause between each "move". With this hack, your transient notifications are not considered to be a "move", so no pause gets added.

; In ggg.php
<pre>
$this->not_a_move_notification = true; // note: do not increase the move counter
$this->notifyAllPlayers('cardsPreview', '', $args);
</pre>

Note: you cannot have code that send notification or even changes state after this, and you cannot reset this variable back either because it only takes effect when you exit action handling function

=== Ajax Call wrapper ===
'''Ingredients:''' ggg.js

The current ajaxcall is super vebose and prone to errors, I suggest using a helper function. It does a lot of stuff you must do anyways.
Most beginner mistakes come from missing part of this code (which is understandstandable - this is a huge snippet to clone every time).

<pre>
ajaxcallwrapper: function(action, args, handler) {
if (!args) args = []; // this allows to skip args parameter for action which do not require them

args.lock = true; // this allows to avoid rapid action clicking which can cause race condition on server
if (this.checkAction(action)) { // this does all the proper check that player is active and action is declared
this.ajaxcall("/" + this.game_name + "/" + this.game_name + "/" + action + ".html", args, // this is mandatory fluff
this, (result) => { }, // success result handler is empty - it is never needed
handler); // this is real result handler - it called both on success and error, it has optional param "is_error" - you rarely need it
}
},
</pre>

Usage:
<pre>
this.ajaxcallwrapper('pass'); // no args
this.ajaxcallwrapper('playCard', {card: card_id}); // with args
this.ajaxcallwrapper('playCard', {card: card_id}, (is_error)=>{if (!is_error) dojo.query(".selected").removeClass('selected');}) // with handler that cleans up 'selected' class on success
</pre>

Note: this always will lock interface and always check for action, you can modify this method to do it optionally, i.e
if (args.lock!==false) args.lock = true; else delete args.lock; // it does not work with false value - it has to be removed

=== Custom error/exception handling in JavaScript ===

; In ggg.php
We intentionally throw BgaUserException to rollback database transaction and cancel all changes. Note that any notifications are also cancelled!
<pre>
function foo(bool $didConfirm = false): void
{
// do processing for the user's move
// afterwards, you determine this move will end the game
// so you want to rollback the transaction and require the user to confirm the move first

if ($gameIsEnding && !$didConfirm) {
throw new BgaUserException('!!!endGameWarning');
}
}
</pre>

; In ggg.js
We define a global variable at the top to store the last error code
<pre>
var lastErrorCode = null;
return declare("bgagame.ggg", ebg.core.gamegui, {
</pre>

We override framework function showMessage to populate the last error code and suppress the red banner message and log message
<pre>
/* @Override */
showMessage: function (msg, type) {
if (type == "error") {
lastErrorCode = msg.startsWith("!!!") ? msg.substring(3) : null;
if (lastErrorCode) {
return; // suppress red banner and log message
}
}
this.inherited(arguments);
},
</pre>

Since the framework calls showMessage before your ajaxcall error handler, you can deal with the error in-place:
<pre>
fooAction: function (didConfirm) {
var data = {
foo: "bar",
didConfirm: !!didConfirm,
};
this.ajaxcallwrapper("fooAction", data, function (error) {
if (lastErrorCode == "endGameWarning") {
// your custom error handling goes here
// for example, show a confirmation dialog and repeat the action with additional param
this.confirmationDialog(
_("Doing the foo action now will end the game"),
() => {
this.fooAction(true);
}
);
}
});
},
</pre>

=== Disable / lock table creation for new deploy ===

If you are deploying a major new game version, especially if it involves upgrading production game databases, you may have a lot of angry players if you break their tables. Depending on your changes, you may be able to restore the previous version and fix the tables easily.

However, if a new deploy turns out bad and players created turn-based tables while it was live, it may be quite difficult to fix those tables, since they were created from a bad deploy.

The solution? You can announce in your game group that you are locking table creation, and then in your new version, add an impossible startcondition to an existing option. Here is an example of an option with only 2 values:

; In gameoptions.inc.php
<pre>
// TODO NEXT remove after testing deploy to upgrade
'startcondition' => [
OPT_VALUE_DISABLE => [ [ 'type' => 'minplayers', 'value' => 32, 'message' => totranslate('Maintenance in progress. Table creation disabled.') ] ],
OPT_VALUE_ENABLE => [ [ 'type' => 'minplayers', 'value' => 32, 'message' => totranslate('Maintenance in progress. Table creation disabled.') ] ],
],
</pre>

'''Be sure to click "Reload game options configuration" after making this change.'''

Now, when a player attempts to create a new lobby, they will see a red error bar with your "Maintenance in progress" message. Once you confirm the new deploy looks good, you can revert the change in gameoptions.inc.php and do another deploy.

== Algorithms ==

=== Generate permutations in lexicographic order ===

Use this when you have an array like [1, 2, 3, 4] and need to loop over some/all 24 permutations of possible ordering. This type of [https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.generators.syntax.php generator function] computes each possibility one at a time, making it vastly more efficient than either a normal iteration or recursive function that produce all possibilities up front.

<pre>
function generatePermutations(array $array): Generator
{
// https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permutation#Generation_in_lexicographic_order
// Sort the array and this is the first permutation
sort($array);
yield $array;

$count = count($array);
do {
// Find the largest index k where a[k] < a[k + 1]
// End when no such index exists
$found = false;
for ($k = $count - 2; $k >= 0; $k--) {
$kvalue = $array[$k];
$knext = $array[$k + 1];
if ($kvalue < $knext) {
// Find the largest index l greater than k where a[k] < a[l]
for ($l = $count - 1; $l > $k; $l--) {
$lvalue = $array[$l];
if ($kvalue < $lvalue) {
// Swap a[k] and a[l]
[$array[$k], $array[$l]] = [$array[$l], $array[$k]];

// Reverse the sequence from a[k + 1] up to and including the final element
$reverse = array_reverse(array_slice($array, $k + 1));
array_splice($array, $k + 1, $count, $reverse);
yield $array;

// Restart with the new array to find the next permutation
$found = true;
break 2;
}
}
}
}
} while ($found);
}
</pre>

Usage:
<pre>
$cash = [4, 1, 2, 3, 4];
foreach ($this->generatePermutations($cash) as $p) {
// your code here to evaluate permutation $p
// first iteration: $p = [1, 2, 3, 4, 4]
// last (60th) iteration: $p = [4, 4, 3, 2, 1]
// break from loop once you achieve your goal
}
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css

2023-07-18T08:15:14Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

__TOC__

This is the CSS stylesheet of your game User Interface.

Styles defined on this file will be applied to the HTML elements you define in your HTML template (yourgame_yourgame.tpl), and to HTML elements you create dynamically with Javascript.

Usually, you are using CSS to:

1°) define the overall layout of your game
(ex: place the board on the top left, place player's hand beside, place the deck on the right, ...).

2°) create your CSS-sprites:
All images of your games should be gathered into a small number of image files. Then, using background-image and background-position CSS properties, you create HTML blocks that can display these images correctly.

Example:
<pre>
Example of CSS sprites (a black token and a white token, 20x20px each, embedded in the same "tokens.png" 40x20px image):

.white_token {
background-image: url('img/tokens.png');
background-position: 0px 0px;
}
.black_token {
background-image: url('img/tokens.png');
background-position: -20px 0px;
}
.token {
width: 20px;
height: 20px;
background-repeat: none;
}
</pre>

3°) ... anything else:

It is really easy to add and remove CSS classes dynamically from your Javascript with dojo.addClass and dojo.removeClass. It is also easy to check if an element has a class (dojo.hasClass) or to get all elements with a specific class (dojo.query).

This is why, very often, using CSS classes for the logic of your user interface allow you to do complex thing easily.

Note: on the production platform, this file will be compressed and comments will be removed. Consequently, don't hesitate to put as many comments as necessary.

Important: ALL the CSS directives for your game must be included in this CSS file. You can't create additional CSS files and import them.

== Warning: using percentage in background-position ==

In the example above, you will see "background-position: -20px 0px;" is used for the black token. You could also write this as "background-position: -100% 0%;" which displays the image at the same offset, because it is relative to the size of the .token bounding box, and this means the size of your image file doesn't need to precisely match the size of objects on the screen (this can be easier to write, and you can also substitute different image files without having to rewrite all the css.) However, it is strongly recommended that if you do this, you also specify <code>background-size</code> as a percentage as well.

This is because, if the size of the div on screen after any further scaling - which is done for you by the framework to fit games into small windows - is not a whole integer number of pixels, then rounding must occur at some points in the calculation; if the background-size and background-position are calculated in different ways, the difference in rounding can result int the final image offsets being incorrect. This is most significant on Safari (on MacOS, iPhone and iPad) where the discrepancy can be substantial enough to make a game ''illegible''; but other browsers can be off by a few pixels as well. [https://jsfiddle.net/shadowphiar/yLq36mzt/ (external demo)]. To avoid this issue, either:

* choose one unit (pixels, em, percentages etc) and specify '''all''' the background-size and background-position offsets of a div in the same unit.
* adjust the size of your div so that, after any global scaling (this.gameinterface_zoomFactor), it will occupy an integer number of pixels on the screen.

== Warning: using Z-index ==

You may use z-index CSS property in your game interface, but you should pay attention to the following: BGA dialogs are displayed with a z-index of 950. If you want to use z-index safely, you should use value '''lower than 900'''.

About z-index: don't forget that if you are using a z-index, your element will be displayed above all elements that do not have a z-index. So it's no use to have big z-index values: 1 is enough most of the time :)

== Warning: using drop-shadow ==

Drop shadows can look nice, but they currently cause big performance issues on Safari, especially if you have more than 1 on the page at once. To ensure you don't cause issues on this browser, you have some alternatives.

* Use box-shadow instead. This only works for square drop-shadows.
* Bake the shadow into the image. That is, the png contains the shadow, and no shadow is needed on the css side. This only works when the shadow doesn't need to be dynamic.
* Disable drop-shadow in Safari:, using the <code>dj_safari</code> class which is automatically added to the <code>html</code> tag.

.game-element {
filter: drop-shadow(3px 3px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.7));
}

html.dj_safari .game-element {
filter: none;
}

== Tip: how to make your cards looks beautiful :) ==

This piece of CSS (to adapt to your needs) is adding rounded corners + a shadow to your card.

<pre>
border-radius: 10px;
border: 1px black solid;
box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
</pre>

== spectatorMode ==

When a spectator (= a player that is not part of the game) is viewing a game, the BGA framework add the CSS class "spectatorMode" to the wrapping HTML tag of your game.

This way, if you want to apply a special style to some elements of your game for spectators, you can do this in your CSS:

<pre>
.spectatorMode #your_element_id {
/* your special style */
}
</pre>

The most common usage of this is to hide some elements to spectators. For example, to hide "my hand" elements:

<pre>
.spectatorMode #my_hand {
display: none;
}
</pre>

[[Category:Studio]]

Studio

2023-07-05T09:11:08Z

Archduke: /* Software Versions */

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Bga_studio_small.jpg]]

Note: Please DO NOT translate Studio Documentation, so that there can be one place where you can find the latest information available.

__TOC__

== What is Board Game Arena Studio? ==

'''Board Game Arena Studio''' is a platform to build online board game adaptations using the Board Game Arena platform.

It is open to any gamer with software development skills :)

BGA Studio website: https://studio.boardgamearena.com

Original announcement on BGA forum: https://forum.boardgamearena.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1973

== Discover BGA Studio in 5 presentations ==

Why, how, what... to start discovering BGA Studio, we prepared 5 "powerpoint" presentations for you:

* [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/5-reasons-why-you-should-use-bga-studio-for-your-online-board-game 5 reasons why you should use BGA Studio for your online board game] (or [http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/images/5/58/1-why-developing.pdf ‎Download as PDF])
* [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-8-steps-to-create-a-board-game-on-board-game-arena The 8 steps to create a board game on Board Game Arena] (or [http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/images/1/1e/2-8-steps-to-realize.pdf Download as PDF])
* [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/the-bga-framework-at-a-glance The BGA Framework at a glance] (or [http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/images/7/79/3-thebgaframework.pdf Download as PDF])
* [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/bga-studio-focus-on-bga-game-state-machine Focus on BGA game state machine] (or [http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/images/9/98/4-gamestates.pdf Download as PDF])
* [http://www.slideshare.net/boardgamearena/bga-studio-guidelines BGA developers guidelines] (or [http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/images/7/76/5-guidelines.pdf ‎Download as PDF])

== How to join the BGA developer team? ==

Please see this page: [[How to join BGA developer team?]]

== Great, I'm in! ... How should I start? ==

If you didn't already, check the presentations at the top of this page to get the basics.

Then, you should checkout the [[First steps with BGA Studio]] to make sure that runs fine.

After that, we strongly advise you to take one of these game creation tutorials:
* [[Tutorial reversi]] - an abstract strategy game played on an 8×8 uncheckered board for 2 players
* [[Tutorial gomoku]] - an abstract strategy game tic-tac-toe style for 2 players
* [[Tutorial hearts]] - a card game for 4 players

Then start editing files and see what happens! ;)

Once you're done with tutorials, you can start a real game (or join existing project)
* [[Create a game in BGA Studio: Complete Walkthrough]]

If you have any questions, please check out the [[Studio FAQ]] or [[Contact BGA Studio]].

To search wiki pages on studio enter this text in search bar:
"Category:Studio" white rabbit
That is if you want to search for white rabbit

== BGA Studio documentation ==

=== BGA Studio Framework reference ===

This part of the documentation focuses on the development framework itself: functions and methods available to build your game.

[[Studio file reference|File structure of a BGA game]]

==== Game logic (Server side) ====

* [[Main game logic: yourgamename.game.php]]
* [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php]]
* [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql]]
* [[Players actions: yourgamename.action.php]]
* [[Game material description: material.inc.php]]
* [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php]]

==== Game interface (Client side) ====

* [[Game interface logic: yourgamename.js]]
* [[Game art: img directory]]
* [[Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css]]
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl]]
* [[Your game mobile version]]

==== Other components ====

* [[Translations]] (how to make your game translatable)
* [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php]]
* [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php]]
* [[Game replay]]
* [[3D]]

=== BGA Studio game components reference ===

Game components are useful tools you can use in your game adaptations.

JS:

* [[Counter]]: a JS component to manage a counter that can increase/decrease (ex: player's score).
* [[Scrollmap]]: a JS component to manage a scrollable game area (useful when the game area can be infinite. Examples: Saboteur or Takenoko games).
* [[Stock]]: a JS component to manage and display a set of game elements displayed at a position.
* [[Zone]]: a JS component to manage a zone of the board where several game elements can come and leave, but should be well displayed together (See for example: token's places at Can't Stop).
* [[Draggable]]: a JS component to manage drag'n'drop actions.
* [[ExpandableSection]]: a JS component to manage a rectangular block of HTML than can be displayed/hidden.
* [[Anti-Stock]]:Code snippets in ValinaJS/HTML5 to do what stock does (that is if you cannot beat Stock into submission)

PHP:
* [[Deck]]: a PHP component to manage cards (deck, hands, picking cards, moving cards, shuffle deck, ...).

Reference for classes in game class hierarchy

* [[Table]]: a PHP class that you inherit from for the game php

=== BGA Studio user guide ===

This part of the documentation is a user guide for the BGA Studio online development environment.

Lifecycle

* [[BGA game Lifecycle]]
* [[Create a game in BGA Studio: Complete Walkthrough]]
* [[Pre-release checklist]] - Go throught this list if you think you done development
* [[Post-release phase]]

Tools and Advice
* [[BGA Studio Guidelines]]
* [[Tutorials checklist]]
* [[I wish I knew this when I started]] - one liners on most common missed features, mistakes, etc with further doc references
* [[Tools and tips of BGA Studio]] - Tips and instructions on setting up development environment
** [[Setting up BGA Development environment using VSCode]]
** [[Practical debugging]] - Tips focused on debugging
** [[Testing by developer]]
** [[Studio logs]] - Instructions for log access
** [[Troubleshooting]] - Most common "I am really stuck" situations
* [[BGA Studio Cookbook]] - Tips and instructions on using API's, libraries and frameworks
** [[Using Vue]] - work-in-progress guide on using the modern framework Vue.js to create a game
** [[Using Typescript and Scss]] - How to auto-build Typescript and SCSS files to make your code cleaner
** [[Bots and Artificial Intelligence]] - How to add AI/Bots to the game
* [[Studio FAQ]]

Sharing
* [[Common board game elements image resources]] - Dice, meeples, cubes, etc
* [[BGA Code Sharing]] - Shared resources, projects on git hub, common code, other links

== Software Versions ==

Versions currently used by BGA framework:

* Dojo Toolkit 1.15
* PHP: 7.4
* SQL: MySQL 5.7
* JS/CSS/HTML: limited by what minimization tools support [[Game_interface_logic:_yourgamename.js#Javascript_minimization_.28after_July_2020.29]]
* Font Awesome: 4.7 https://fontawesome.com/v4.7/icons/ (available as <code><nowiki><i class="fa fa-clock" /></nowiki></code>)
* Font Awesome: 6.4.0 https://fontawesome.com/v6/search?o=r&m=free (available as <code><nowiki><i class="fa6 fa6-clock" /></nowiki></code>)

=== PHP Extensions Used ===

The following PHP extensions are - as of May 8th, 2022 - in use in BGA Studio and available:

date, libxml, openssl, pcre, zlib, filter, hash, Reflection, SPL, session, standard, sodium, apache2handler, mysqlnd, PDO, xml, apcu, bz2, calendar, ctype, curl, dom, mbstring, FFI, fileinfo, ftp, gd, gettext, gmp, iconv, igbinary, json, exif, msgpack, mysqli, pdo_mysql, apc, posix, readline, shmop, SimpleXML, sockets, sysvmsg, sysvsem, sysvshm, tokenizer, v8js, xmlreader, xmlwriter, xsl, zip, Phar, memcached, Zend OPcache

== Other resources ==

[http://forum.boardgamearena.com/viewforum.php?f=12 Development forum]

[https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bugs Bug tracking system FOR STUDIO issues and APIs]

DISCORD chat server/room invite link https://discord.gg/YxEUacY if it does not work check this topic https://forum.boardgamearena.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=17403&hilit=discord

Developer BLOGS https://bga-devs.github.io/blog/

[[Contact BGA Studio]]

[[Category:Studio]]

Game metadata manager

2023-06-27T13:58:59Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".

__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: http://www.3d-pack.com/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* max 2MB
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* max 2MB
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* max 2MB
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

== Migration ==

Images used to be served from the[[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of these files (those prefixed with <code>game_</code>) are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

== Access Permissions ==

Currently, the GMM is available to developers and maintainers.

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher and designer names, or presentation text) be managed here

[[Category:Studio]]

Template:Studio Framework Navigation

2023-05-31T08:13:59Z

Archduke:

<div class="studio-framework-navigation" style="float: right; width: 300px; border: solid #000 1px; padding: 1em; margin-left: 1em; background: #fff;">

<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Game File Reference'''</center></div>

<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''[[Studio file reference|Overview]]'''</center></div>

* [[Game database model: dbmodel.sql|<b>dbmodel.sql</b>]] - database model
* [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|<b>gameinfos.inc.php</b>]] - meta-information
* [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php|<b>gameoptions.inc.php</b>]] - game options & user preferences
* [[Game art: img directory|<b>img/</b>]] - game art
* [[Game_metadata_manager|<b>Game Metadata Manager</b>]] - tags and metadata media
* [[Game material description: material.inc.php|<b>material.inc.php</b>]] - static data
* <b>misc/</b> - studio-only storage
* <b>modules/</b> - additional game code
* [[Your game state machine: states.inc.php|<b>states.inc.php</b>]] - state machine
* [[Game statistics: stats.inc.php|<b>stats.inc.php</b>]] - statistics
* [[Players actions: yourgamename.action.php|X.<b>action.php</b>]] - player actions
* [[Game interface stylesheet: yourgamename.css|X<b>.css</b>]] - interface stylesheet
* [[Main game logic: yourgamename.game.php|X.<b>game.php</b>]] - main logic
* [[Game interface logic: yourgamename.js|X.<b>js</b>]] - interface logic
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl|X.<b>view.php</b>]] - dynamic game layout
* [[Game layout: view and template: yourgamename.view.php and yourgamename_yourgamename.tpl|X_X.<b>tpl</b>]] - static game layout
<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Useful Components'''</center></div>

'''Official'''

* [[Deck]]: a PHP component to manage cards (deck, hands, picking cards, moving cards, shuffle deck, ...).
* [[Draggable]]: a JS component to manage drag'n'drop actions.
* [[Counter]]: a JS component to manage a counter that can increase/decrease (ex: player's score).
* [[ExpandableSection]]: a JS component to manage a rectangular block of HTML than can be displayed/hidden.
* [[Scrollmap]]: a JS component to manage a scrollable game area (useful when the game area can be infinite. Examples: Saboteur or Takenoko games).
* [[Stock]]: a JS component to manage and display a set of game elements displayed at a position.
* [[Zone]]: a JS component to manage a zone of the board where several game elements can come and leave, but should be well displayed together (See for example: token's places at Can't Stop).

Undocumented component (if somebody knows please help with docs)
* [[Wrapper]]: a JS component to wrap a <div> element around its child, even if these elements are absolute positioned.

'''Unofficial'''

* [[BGA Code Sharing]] - Shared resources, projects on git hub, common code, other links
* [[BGA Studio Cookbook]] - Tips and instructions on using API's, libraries and frameworks
* [[Some usual board game elements image ressources]]

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Game Development Process'''</center></div>

* [[First steps with BGA Studio]]
* [[Create a game in BGA Studio: Complete Walkthrough]]
* [[Tutorial reversi]]
* [[Tutorial gomoku]]
* [[Tutorial hearts]]
* [[BGA Studio Guidelines]]
* [[BGA game Lifecycle]]
* [[Pre-release checklist]]
* [[Post-release phase]]
* [[Help|Player Resources]] - add player help/rules to your game page

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Guides for Common Topics'''</center></div>

* [[Translations]] - make your game translatable
* [[Game replay|Game Replay]]
* [[Your game mobile version|Mobile Users]]
* [[3D]]
* [[Compatibility]]

<br>
-----
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.3em;line-height:1.6;padding-top:0.5em;"><center>'''Miscellaneous Resources'''</center></div>

* [[Studio FAQ]]
* [[Tools and tips of BGA Studio]] - Tips and instructions on setting up development environment
* [[Studio logs]] - Instructions for log access
* [[Practical debugging]] - Tips focused on debugging
* [[Troubleshooting]] - Most common "I am really stuck" situations
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/bugs Studio Bugs] - Reports against Studio itself (not BGA!)
</div>

Compatibility

2023-05-31T08:13:45Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

The mainsite is built with compatibility for several old browsers.

We use a [https://browsersl.ist/#q=last+2+versions%2C+not+dead%2C+%3E+0.2%25 browserslist] config to define the targeted browsers: <code>last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%</code>.

There are currently no hard rules about what you should target, but it is recommended to follow the same targets as the mainsite. You can use [https://babeljs.io/ babel] to compile your modern JavaScript code into backwards compatible code. Babel accepts a browserslist targets string, so you can use the targets above.

== Current list ==

At time of writing, <code>last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%</code> refers to:

* and_chr 113
* and_ff 113
* and_qq 13.1
* and_uc 13.4
* android 113
* android 4.4.3-4.4.4
* chrome 113
* chrome 112
* chrome 111
* chrome 110
* chrome 109
* chrome 108
* chrome 103
* chrome 79
* edge 113
* edge 112
* edge 111
* firefox 113
* firefox 112
* firefox 111
* ie 11
* ios_saf 16.4
* ios_saf 16.3
* ios_saf 16.2
* ios_saf 16.1
* ios_saf 16.0
* ios_saf 15.6
* ios_saf 15.5
* ios_saf 14.5-14.8
* ios_saf 14.0-14.4
* ios_saf 12.2-12.5
* kaios 3.0-3.1
* kaios 2.5
* op_mini all
* op_mob 73
* opera 98
* opera 97
* opera 96
* safari 16.4
* safari 16.3
* safari 16.2
* safari 16.1
* safari 15.6
* safari 14.1
* samsung 20
* samsung 19.0

[[Category:Studio]]

Compatibility

2023-05-31T08:12:12Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

__TOC__

The mainsite is built with compatibility for several old browsers.

We use a [https://browsersl.ist/#q=last+2+versions%2C+not+dead%2C+%3E+0.2%25 browserslist] config to define the targeted browsers: <code>last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%</code>.

There are currently no hard rules about what you should target, but it is recommended to follow the same targets as the mainsite. You can use [https://babeljs.io/ babel] to compile your modern JavaScript code into backwards compatible code. Babel accepts a browserslist targets string, so you can use the targets above.

== Current list ==

At time of writing, <code>last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%</code> refers to:

and_chr 113
and_ff 113
and_qq 13.1
and_uc 13.4
android 113
android 4.4.3-4.4.4
chrome 113
chrome 112
chrome 111
chrome 110
chrome 109
chrome 108
chrome 103
chrome 79
edge 113
edge 112
edge 111
firefox 113
firefox 112
firefox 111
ie 11
ios_saf 16.4
ios_saf 16.3
ios_saf 16.2
ios_saf 16.1
ios_saf 16.0
ios_saf 15.6
ios_saf 15.5
ios_saf 14.5-14.8
ios_saf 14.0-14.4
ios_saf 12.2-12.5
kaios 3.0-3.1
kaios 2.5
op_mini all
op_mob 73
opera 98
opera 97
opera 96
safari 16.4
safari 16.3
safari 16.2
safari 16.1
safari 15.6
safari 14.1
samsung 20
samsung 19.0

[[Category:Studio]]

Compatibility

2023-05-31T08:07:20Z

Archduke: Created page with "{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}} __TOC__ The mainsite is built with compatibility for several old browsers. We use a browserslist config to define the targeted browsers: `last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%`. == File structure == Category:Studio"

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

__TOC__

The mainsite is built with compatibility for several old browsers.

We use a browserslist config to define the targeted browsers: `last 2 versions, not dead, > 0.2%`.

== File structure ==

[[Category:Studio]]

Game replay

2023-05-09T13:18:13Z

Archduke:

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

Game replay is managed by the framework. You do not need to do anything special about it in your code, except taking care of updating the client interface through the framework notification system (and not for example, by using the callback function of an ajaxcall).

The game replay works like this:
* The static files for the game at the time of the game start are archived
* All notifications sent to the browser are added to the archive
* When replaying, the static files are loaded in the browser, then notifications are sent back to replay the game moves.

So in essence, the replay works like an exact recording.

NB: the game replay feature is now available on the studio (since December 2020). Please note that there may be a delay before the replay becomes available.

=== Preview Videos ===
Example games are periodically selected from which videos are generated to show off the game on the game panel.

Wingspan: https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/gamepreviews/1635/en-w640.webm

These previews are generated with a query variable set <code>target=video</code> in order that you can hide parts of the UI for this video. This should only be done in specific cases, such as to remove modal popups which the player would normally manually dismiss. These modal popups will otherwise remain visible and obscure the video preview.
const searchParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
if (searchParams) {
const target = searchParams.get('target');
if (target === "video") {
// Hide modal popups...
}
}
[[Category:Studio]]

Game meta-information: gameinfos.jsonc

2023-03-03T15:15:31Z

Archduke: /* Tags */ No longer specified in gameinfos.inc.php

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

__TOC__

== Overview ==

From this file, you can edit the various meta-information of your game.

Once you modified the file, don't forget to click on "Reload game informations" from the Control Panel in order in can be taken into account.

Note: if you broke gameinfos and cannot load management page reload using direct URL https://studio.boardgamearena.com/admin/studio/reloadGameInfos.html?game= (with your game name at the end of url).

Most information provided in this file are self-explainable.

See sections below for specific cases.

== Publisher/Designer fields ==

These fields should match the publisher/designer for the game. In the case of a public domain name, they should be left empty (empty string '')

== Beta ==

You are not allowed to set the "'''is_beta'''" to 0 before the game has been released on BGA and stabilized.

== Time Profiles ==
'''fast/medium/slow_additional_time''': please set high values here: after the game has been released, we will lower these value to match the real game duration.

== Number of players ==

'''players'''
'players' => array( 3, 4, 6 ),

* during the first step of development of a game, it is recommended to have "1 player" configuration: much easy to start/stop a game this way, don't need to switch players.
* if you change the minimum number of players from for example 1 to 2, make sure the new tables you create are not restricted from 1 to 1 player otherwise when you create a new table and this account setting is used, there will be a conflict with the new minimum number of players allowed and you will be blocked from creating the game.
But you can also unblock yourself by changing player number again, launching a game with a larger number, and then getting back to the numbers you want.

'''suggest_player_number''' / '''not_recommend_player_number'''
'suggest_player_number' => 3,
'not_recommend_player_number' => array( 6 ),

Don't specify anything here (null) if there is no configuration that is REALLY better/worse than another one. You can check player's poll on BoardGameGeek game page if you have any doubt. Note that there can be at most one suggested player count (provide either null or a single number), but there can be several not recommended player counts (provide either null or an array of values).

Another reason to leave it blank unless there is really strong reason to do so is that suggest_player_number also has an implication on the ELO calculation, whereby the K-factor is multiplied by the number of players up to a maximum of this value (or, no max if it's not provided). That is to say, a 6-player game with a suggestion of 3-players will have ELO calculated as if it were a 3-player game.

'''Important exception:''' in the automatic lobby, if 'suggest_player_number' is not specified, the system will try first the lowest. So if the lowest player number is not compatible with the default options for your game (especially if there is a Solo mode that can only be played in training mode) you have to specify a suggest_player_number of your choice, so that players launching a game in the automatic lobby without checking the option don't get an error with the default configuration.

== Colors ==

'''player_colors'''
'player_colors' => array( "ff0000", "008000", "0000ff", "ffa500", "ffffff" ),

This array defines the default player colors, theoretically this can be bigger then maximum number of players but you have to support all of the in your game.
Your setupNewGame in php is responsible for attributing these values to players. See section "Player color preferences" in [[Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php]] for details.

== Losers not ranked between themselves ==

By default, all player are ranked, but in some games, the rules say that there is only one winner and that all the other players are losers and not ranked between themselves. You can set this option to true so that for your game, there is only one winner and losers, without a full ranking of all players.

The score in this case should be 1 for the winner and 0 for the losers.

// If in the game, all losers are equal (no score to rank them or explicit in the rules that losers are not ranked between them), set this to true
// The game end result will display "Winner" for the 1st player and "Loser" for all other players
'losers_not_ranked' => false,

== Disable player rotation in case of rematch ==

By default, in case of a rematch players are rotated so that the first player changes. If for your game it's better to always have a random player order you can change this option.

// When doing a rematch, the player order is swapped using a "rotation" so the starting player is not the same
// If you want to disable this, set this to true (even if the comment in your game file say the opposite).
'disable_player_order_swap_on_rematch' => false,

== Custom "buy this game" button ==

By default, the "buy this game" button is a link to an Amazon search with the name of the game.

You can replace it by a different URL / game button label with :

'custom_buy_button' => array(
'url' => 'http://yoururl.com',
'label' => 'Name of the website'
),

Note : button label will be "Buy on <Name of the website>"

== Tags ==

'''⚠ Note''': tags are <b style="color:darkred">no longer read from this file</b>; setting tags for a game is done via the [[Game_metadata_manager|Game Metadata Manager]].

== Game Presentation ==

Short game presentation text that will appear on the game description page, structured as an array of paragraphs.

Each paragraph must be wrapped with totranslate() for translation and should not contain html (plain text without formatting). A good length for this text is between 100 and 150 words (about 6 to 9 lines on a standard display)

Example:
'presentation' => array(
totranslate("This wonderful game is about geometric shapes!"),
totranslate("It was awarded best triangle game of the year in 2005 and nominated for the Spiel des Jahres."),
...
),

== Tie breaker description ==
Describe tie breaker score calculation (player_score_aux in player table).

Important: This is used in the javascript too, which is automatically generated. Using newlines in here will cause errors in the javascript, which will cause the game to not load.

Example:
'tie_breaker_description' => totranslate("Number of remaining cards in hand"),

== Multiple tie breaker management ==

If your game has multiple tie breakers, here is what you should do.

Let's take this example: "In case of a tie, the winner is the game with the most remaining money, then number of buildings built, then number of cards in your hand".

In this example, your "player_score_aux" field might be calculated like this:

10000 * (remaining_money ) + 100 * (buildings_built) + (number_of_cards)

In this case, you should add the following in gameinfos.inc.php:

'tie_breaker_split' => array( 10000, 100 , 1 ),

It means that the first tie breaker has been multiplied by 10000, the second by 100, and the third by 1.

Using this, the result screen will be adapted to show exactly what is needed. For example:
* When 2 players are tied, it will show their remaining money.
* If their remaining money are equal, it will show the number of building built in addition to the remaining money.
* If these two tie breaker are still the same, it will show the 3 tie breaking values.

== Language dependency ==

If you have a game that is language dependent, you can use the option described here: [[Main_game_logic:_yourgamename.game.php#Language_dependent_games_API]]

== Game page warning ==

If a specific warning is needed on the game page (to discuss and validate with admins) it can be displayed from the game infos. For example for Texas Hold'em:

'gamepanel_page_warning' => totranslate("There is no real money involved on BGA: this game has the mechanism of Poker but is using points instead of real money."),

== Coop Elo Mode ==

For cooperative games, by default players will earn as many Elo points as the score.

For games where there is no variable difficulty (such as for example Bandido) we keep that setting, but for all coop games where we have options to change the difficulty level and/or where the score reached indicates a higher level of skill and/or where the number of players has a significant impact on the difficulty, we have to set up a reference scale for Elo points (between 1300 and 2500). Players regularly winning with a specific difficulty setting will have their Elo nearing this value asymptotically over time.

For this, you have to set up the coop_elo_mode parameter.

'''Warning: While this can reflect player skills more precisely compared to flat ELO gain, players may abandon losing games or avoid new players to prevent ELO loss.'''

Related discussion - https://forum.boardgamearena.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24363

Here is an example using options and win/loss (score 1/0):

'coop_elo_mode' => [
'type' => 'points_references',
'references' => [
// Difficulty 1
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1400]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1470]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1350]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1400]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1400]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 1, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1470]],
// Difficulty 2
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1450]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 2, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
// Difficulty 3
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1910]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1540]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1690]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 3, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1910]],
// Difficulty 4
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1830]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2120]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1640]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1830]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1830]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 4, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2120]],
// Difficulty 5
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1980]],
['players_nbr' => 2, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2340]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1740]],
['players_nbr' => 3, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1980]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 0], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 1980]],
['players_nbr' => 4, 'options' => [100 => 5, 101 => 1], 'elo' => [0 => 1000, 1 => 2340]],
],
],

Here is an example using different scoring values to indicate the level of difficulty mastered by the players winning the game:

'coop_elo_mode' => array(
'type' => 'points_references',
'references' => array(
array(
'players_nbr' => 2,
//'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1350,
2 => 1425,
3 => 1500,
4 => 1576,
5 => 1651,
6 => 1727,
7 => 1802,
8 => 1878,
9 => 1953,
10 => 2029,
11 => 2104,
12 => 2180
)
),
array(
'players_nbr' => 3,
//'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1400,
2 => 1470,
3 => 1541,
4 => 1612,
5 => 1683,
6 => 1754,
7 => 1825,
8 => 1895,
9 => 1966,
10 => 2018,
11 => 2095,
12 => 2250
)
),
array(
'players_nbr' => 4,
//'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1430,
2 => 1505,
3 => 1580,
4 => 1655,
5 => 1730,
6 => 1805,
7 => 1880,
8 => 1955,
9 => 2030,
10 => 2105,
11 => 2180,
12 => 2330
)
),
array(
'players_nbr' => 5,
// 'options' => array( ),
'elo' => array(
0 => 1000,
1 => 1480,
2 => 1558,
3 => 1636,
4 => 1714,
5 => 1792,
6 => 1870,
7 => 1949,
8 => 2027,
9 => 2105,
10 => 2183,
11 => 2261,
12 => 2340
)
)
)
),

[[Category:Studio]]

Game metadata manager

2023-03-03T15:14:35Z

Archduke: Explain that tags are now managed through the GMM

{{Studio_Framework_Navigation}}

[[File:Game_Metadata_Manager_Icon.png|left|100px|link=|Game Metadata Manager Icon]]

The <i>Game Metadata Manager</i> is the portal for managing tags and media for your games. This page exists both on Production and Studio:

* [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)] - manage game tags and media once the game has reached private alpha and beyond
* [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] - manage game tags and media before the game reaches private alpha

Note: once your game is in private alpha, and you are using the production Game Metagata Manager, the metadata on studio is <i>never</i> automatically updated. On the studio game page, there is a button to pull metadata from production if you need to: "Sync metadata from production".

__TOC__

== Media ==

Game media consists of all the images which are used to represent your game on Board Game Arena, outside of the art of the actual game.

Whilst working on your game on the studio initially, you can manage media from the studio: [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)].

Once your game first hits private alpha, the media is copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all media changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Name !! Example !! Description
|-
| Box || [[File:Carcassonne_Box.png|frameless|Box]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is displayed on the main site on the game description page and when creating a table (280x280 px).
* It should be a 3D image of a physical copy of the game box as it appears in an online shop.
* It is better to take the version of the game that is coherent with the game art used in the adaptation, and from the original publisher of the game.
* The background of the image must be transparent.
* If you don't have a 3D version of the game box, you can use the following website to create one: http://www.3d-pack.com/
* On Studio, you can only have one box image. Once deployed you can have a different box image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish. If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en box as a fallback.
|-
| Icon || [[File:Carcassonne_Icon.png|frameless|Icon]] ||
* '''Required for public alpha'''
* PNG
* It is the icon displayed in the lists of games and tables (50x50 px).
* The objective of this icon is to make the game recognizable among the other games. A good idea is to take a part of the game cover that is distinctive (ex: the game title).
* This one does not have to be transparent. This image should not have a border
|-
| Title || [[File:Carcassonne_Title.png|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* PNG
* This is an image displayed instead of the name of the game as text
* Must be 2000x2000px
* Must look good when overlayed on top of the game box, and must be transparent
* On Studio, you can only have one title image. Once deployed you can have a different title image for each language. This allows a localised image if you wish (for example, "Stone Age" vs "L'Âge de Pierre"). If you don't provide a localised image, users will see the en title as a fallback. In this case, if the localised name differs from en, there will also be a subtitle showing the game's name in the user's locale.

For guidelines on the positioning of elements of the title, see: [[Media:Title_guidelines.png]].
|-
| Publisher || - ||
* '''Optional''' (if there is no publisher)
* PNG
* It is the logo of the publisher of the game, displayed on the game description page.
* Must be 280x280px
* The image can be transparent.
* You can have up to 2 publisher images
|-
| Banner || [[File:Carcassonne_Banner.jpg|frameless|Title]] ||
* '''Required for beta'''
* JPG
* size 1386x400px
* should not contain any text; representative of the atmosphere of the game such as a cover element or communication image; the box image covering the banner on the left should stand out
|-
| Display || - ||
* '''Required for release'''
* JPG
* height between 400px and 760px, width maximum 1.5 x height;
* These images are displayed in a carousel on the game page
* the idea is to make players want to play the game, so it could be a zoomed card, some detail of the board, an overview of an ongoing physical game... but NOT a screenshot of the BGA adaptation since there is already the "see game in action" replay for that
* You can have up to 10 display images
|-
| Major Variant || [[File:KoT Major Variant.png|frameless]]||
* '''Optional'''
* PNG
* size 280x280px
* Images used to accompany major options, see [[Game options and preferences: gameoptions.inc.php#option_level|Game options and preferences]]
|}

== Tags ==

Game tags should be managed through the Game Metadata Manager.

Before the game is published to production, this is done on the studio [https://studio.boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (studio)] .

After release, the tags are copied over to the production site, and from this point on, all tag changes must be effectuated over there: [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager (production)].

== Migration ==

Images used to be served from the[[Game art: img directory|/img]] folder of your game's repository. All of these files (those prefixed with <code>game_</code>) are now deprecated and can be deleted from the folder. Any changes to these images will not be picked up.

Tags used to be managed by changing the tags in [[Game meta-information: gameinfos.inc.php|gameinfos.inc.php]]. Any tags specified in this file are now ignored, and should not be specified. Tags must be edited using the [https://boardgamearena.com/controlpanelgames Game Metadata Manager].

== Future ==

The Game Metadata Manager will play an increasingly important role in managing a BGA implementation in the future.

It is planned that:
* more metadata (such as publisher and designer names, or presentation text) be managed here

[[Category:Studio]]