Introducing PractiScore

[Mark R]

We ran 5 stages and 3 squads with NST's and the temperature outside was around 88-90 with 60% humidity. We ran them under cover and in the full sun. We had no issues with the Nook. I did clean the screens before the match and made sure the edges were clean. I noticed after the match, all 3 Nooks has Alabama red dust on them. So cleaning is required before next match.

And the NST is large enough for my older eyes.

[Skydiver]

We ran 5 stages and 3 squads with NST's and the temperature outside was around 88-90 with 60% humidity. We ran them under cover and in the full sun. We had no issues with the Nook. I did clean the screens before the match and made sure the edges were clean. I noticed after the match, all 3 Nooks has Alabama red dust on them. So cleaning is required before next match.

And the NST is large enough for my older eyes.

And that eInk on the NST is amazing. Every time a waiter comes by when I'm eating and reading my Nook, they all comment about how amazingly legible the type is. I guess no reading A. N. Roquelaure in public for me, then.

[Ken N.]

Report from 2012 MGM Ironman Scoped Tactical Multi-Gun Match:

- I used an unreleased beta copy of Time Plus scoring with stage points. It worked great, we will release it, and Time Plus next week when Devin gets off the house boat.

- I did stats for the second match. I watched the first match (couldn't shoot (concussion), so I squadded around with my son, who took 19th and High Junior). I wanted to watch their procedures before doing scoring. We made a few changes in the evenings based on what we saw.

- To minimize errors, we aligned penalties/bonuses with the paper score sheet. The ROs just had to copy straight across. Easy.

- Feedback was very positive, I gave a 10 minute intro at the RO meeting, they took it from there. Crickets chirped as I looked for things to do while the match ran.

- They didn't wifi their range yet, so about every hour I ran around and synched with a portable wifi router in my Gator. I also delivered supplies, transported shooters, and so forth, cause I had NOTHING to do.

- Because this was only the 2nd big time-plus match we'd done, and the first using stage points, we also ran the old spreadsheet based stats system. At the end we compared results, and after correcting data entry errors in the spreadsheet, they matched.

- Errors... Our 1st stage, 1st squad had most scores wrong. I believe the ROs on that stage initially scored on paper and then entered in after, and got out of sequence. It is always better to enter on the device first, then copy to paper.

Other than that we had 8 shooters report for issues during the 1/2 hour arb period. 5 had boo-boos, like wrong penalty or transposed number. 3 were in fact correct.

- Final squad was done around 1:30 I had stage results printed at 1:35.

- Battery life was great, I used new gaming cases that had double A batteries in them. Most devices had full charge at end of day. Any that got low, I just swapped double A's out, or charged during down time with a USB battery.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Battery-Game-Touch-Generation/dp/B00561933S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339438334&sr=8-1&keywords=phillips+ipod+battery+case

- The weather was icky. Rain, wind. The cases protected well. But I also used water proof cases:

http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Case-Apple-iPhone-Smartphones/dp/B0058NXWPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1339438374&sr=1-1&keywords=waterproof+ipod+case

What is cool about these is that the package they come in is ALSO an ipad case - 2 for one. I hooked those to tethers bought at staples, and they ipods weere on the RO necks, keeping their hands free for other things when not scoring.

So, it's ready to release and we will do so next week.

Ken N.

[Mark K]

WOW sounds great.

Not to sound like a Jerk, but what is next on the list?

Just want to know what we are in store, while waiting with baited breath.....

Mark K

[euxx]

I'm second Mark's request!

BTW, does "time plus" version include custom match divisions for iOS and Android?

[Ken N.]

Yes - custom divisions will be in the next update. We used it at this match.

The other stuff is Steel Challenge, with throwing out string support.

And IDPA, roughly, because we aren't (yet) calculating points down to seconds. If they are down 3 you add 1.5 in penalties. Will add pure IDPA scoring later in month or early July.

I'm testing the Android version today, if it passes muster it will go out tomorrow or Wed. Basically the same features.

Ken N.

[Mark K]

Yes - custom divisions will be in the next update. We used it at this match.

The other stuff is Steel Challenge, with throwing out string support.

And IDPA, roughly, because we aren't (yet) calculating points down to seconds. If they are down 3 you add 1.5 in penalties. Will add pure IDPA scoring later in month or early July.

I'm testing the Android version today, if it passes muster it will go out tomorrow or Wed. Basically the same features.

Ken N.

whoooohoooooo

You guys are great!!!!!!!!

[actionshooter]

I was one of the ROs for the Ironman, and I have got to say this is awesome, worked great!

Good job, Ken.

[Ken N.]

Thanks ActionShooter. I was super pleased to be involved with the Ironman - mainly cause of all the great folks we met. (-:

I tested the Android version today. It was pretty solid. I synched with the Ironman Scoped Tactical Match and it gave the same results. But on closer inspection there were some round off errors that in a very close match could affect results, so it is on hold until we figure out where the hundredths aren't adding up. Normally that is a couple hours to sort out, but with Devin on a houseboat... it will be after he returns.

Regards,

Ken N.

[Mark R]

I received an Android beat copy of time plus and tried to follow a few RO's shooting the Ruger Rimfire Challenge here in Huntsville. The missing piece is the longest string throwaway. Hopefully Ken and Co. will get that fixed in next beta release. I had to enter 4 strings, then replace longest string with 0.0. Other than that it seems to work pretty good. One last thing I have an issue with is trying to get the scores off the Nooks and onto PC and/or emailing them to myself. Seems email with ZIP files didn't go thru my email providers.

Can't wait for the next release...Good job Ken and Co.

[Mark K]

I received an Android beat copy of time plus and tried to follow a few RO's shooting the Ruger Rimfire Challenge here in Huntsville. The missing piece is the longest string throwaway. Hopefully Ken and Co. will get that fixed in next beta release. I had to enter 4 strings, then replace longest string with 0.0. Other than that it seems to work pretty good. One last thing I have an issue with is trying to get the scores off the Nooks and onto PC and/or emailing them to myself. Seems email with ZIP files didn't go thru my email providers.

Can't wait for the next release...Good job Ken and Co.

Yeah, many email systems will now not pass zip files.

[Jeanjacket]

Yeah, many email systems will now not pass zip files.

Did not know that, how odd. Get a Gmail account!

[Mark K]

Yeah, many email systems will now not pass zip files.

Did not know that, how odd. Get a Gmail account!

Just saying.... Many business centric email providers will not pass .exe or .zip files. Yeah, there are ways around it.

Edited June 12, 2012 by Mark K

[euxx]

Yeah, many email systems will now not pass zip files.

Did not know that, how odd. Get a Gmail account!

DropBox is even better... especially when running Android version.

[bbbean]

Quick tip I noticed at a match this weekend - if you have a disappearing target midway through the stage, consider allowing all targets on that stage to have 2 NPMs. That way the scorekeeper can properly score the target no matter what target they start scoring on. The Stats person just needs to double check results to be sure NPMs weren't entered on regular targets.

[Mark R]

Quick tip I noticed at a match this weekend - if you have a disappearing target midway through the stage, consider allowing all targets on that stage to have 2 NPMs. That way the scorekeeper can properly score the target no matter what target they start scoring on. The Stats person just needs to double check results to be sure NPMs weren't entered on regular targets.

yep...another reason to make sure your WSB is properly written. I should have put a note on the WSB for scorekeepers that T5 starting on left was the NPM target. If you started scoring on right, then NPM target would be scored later in the scoring process. My squad discovered that on shooter one and then scored remaining shooters left to right.

Sorry Barry

[euxx]

Quick tip I noticed at a match this weekend - if you have a disappearing target midway through the stage, consider allowing all targets on that stage to have 2 NPMs. That way the scorekeeper can properly score the target no matter what target they start scoring on. The Stats person just needs to double check results to be sure NPMs weren't entered on regular targets.

I still believe the main problem with this is that PS don't explicitly indicate which targets are disappearing. It would be more obvious to the scores if instead of 1, 2, 3 on the left those targets are marked as DT1, DT2, etc...

[Mark R]

I don't think its an issue of Practiscore...before Practiscore, in palm scoring, we had the same issue. We need to state the target scoring in WSB for unusual stages. Any other time on a non-NPM stage, its a non-issue. This issue should be on another thread.

[bbbean]

Quick tip I noticed at a match this weekend - if you have a disappearing target midway through the stage, consider allowing all targets on that stage to have 2 NPMs. That way the scorekeeper can properly score the target no matter what target they start scoring on. The Stats person just needs to double check results to be sure NPMs weren't entered on regular targets.

Sorry Barry

No need to apologize for a well run match! The npm issue shows up on paper, too. There will always need to be some sort of workaround or very specific instruction s in wsb.

Edited June 13, 2012 by bbbean

[Mark K]

East Alabama Gun Club ran our first match today using Practiscore. 6 stages, 170 round. 48 Shooters. We used Nook ST for the stage devices, IPAD for Master/Registration. We did pre-registration through email. I had the good fortune of have Drawandduck and JCWren there for advice.

I have to say this was one of the best experiences I have had as a MD. 4 squads. Two squads had several experienced PS users. One had 12 soldiers with Zero Experience, but they picked it up in about 5 minutes. One squad was, let's call them very experienced shooters (Old guys like me) with one guy that had sorta used PS once. The old guys were raving about PS within 2-3 stages, and loved it. Shooters liked the NST devices, some liked using sylus pens, other like using their fingers.

I originally started out using a Pocket Router for Wi-Fi connectivity that I kept with me and the IPAD, but frequently lost contact with devices - not a big deal, I would go over and sync every stage or so. Later hooked up a Home Type LinkSys router and centrally located it. That worked better, but still not 100% contact with the devices. We plan to install an outdoor router, with antenna installed at the top of our flag pole before the next match.

The ONLY error we had in the whole scoring system, was a shooter that was awarded 3 A's on a target, the scorer did not notice the error. Later noticed it when that shooter got no score for that stage in the results at Practiscore.com. Once I found it, it was easily corrected, and easily reposted.

Transfer to EzWinScore was a breeze.

THANK YOU PRACTISCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark K

[Graham Smith]

This may have been covered but I don't see it. If registration is done in EZWS and imported into PS via a PSS.txt file, there are two things I see that bug me.

First is the fact that there is a record with an X in every field. It look as if PS ignores this but does it have to be there?

Second is the fact that EZWS exports registrations that have already been deleted from the match. There does not seem to be a way to stop that and there does not seem to be anything in the file to indicate that it's deleted. Is there any way around this?

[jcwren]

This may have been covered but I don't see it. If registration is done in EZWS and imported into PS via a PSS.txt file, there are two things I see that bug me.

First is the fact that there is a record with an X in every field. It look as if PS ignores this but does it have to be there?

Second is the fact that EZWS exports registrations that have already been deleted from the match. There does not seem to be a way to stop that and there does not seem to be anything in the file to indicate that it's deleted. Is there any way around this?

The second issue is because EZWS never *really* deletes shooters from a match. I'm told this is because of the way shooter numbers are assigned, and if you really delete someone, they'll be out of sequence. The sequence can't be changed because of potential squadding issues, and the fact that EZWS doesn't really "know" where the registration came from.

It would be nice if there was a flag that indicated they were a deleted shooter than PS could honor.

Perhaps one way to manage this (in the absence of a better solution) is to set the deleted shooters to squad 98. At least that way they'd all be lumped together, and not intermixed through the squads they were originally assigned to.

Edited June 18, 2012 by jcwren

[Graham Smith]

The second issue is because EZWS never *really* deletes shooters from a match. I'm told this is because of the way shooter numbers are assigned, and if you really delete someone, they'll be out of sequence. The sequence can't be changed because of potential squadding issues, and the fact that EZWS doesn't really "know" where the registration came from.

I know that they remain what I'm not sure about is if there is any reason why they have to be transferred to PS. Right now, the simple solution may be to just leave them in squad 99 where they will be ignored.

One of the things I'm trying to figure out is what in the PSS.txt file has to be there to be imported and what does not. My current plan is to just remove things that don't seem to be necessary and run a test and see what goes wrong.

[jcwren]

The second issue is because EZWS never *really* deletes shooters from a match. I'm told this is because of the way shooter numbers are assigned, and if you really delete someone, they'll be out of sequence. The sequence can't be changed because of potential squadding issues, and the fact that EZWS doesn't really "know" where the registration came from.

I know that they remain what I'm not sure about is if there is any reason why they have to be transferred to PS. Right now, the simple solution may be to just leave them in squad 99 where they will be ignored.

One of the things I'm trying to figure out is what in the PSS.txt file has to be there to be imported and what does not. My current plan is to just remove things that don't seem to be necessary and run a test and see what goes wrong.

If you're only going in one direction, then I imagine it shouldn't matter. But we bring our matches back into EZWS for posting to USPSA. Now, for the weekly indoor matches, I just start on PS, do the match, create a new match on EZWS and import. But the moment you export the match from EZWS and then re-import it, the shooter numbers can't change. PS probably deals with out-of-sequence shooter numbers without any issues, since (to the best of my knowledge) it doesn't really do anything with them. But for EZWS, that's pretty much the primary key, as it were.

Perhaps I missed what the exact goal is, though. If you're registering people in EZWS and exporting to PS, and you're planning on running it through a script anyway, I don't see any reason why you couldn't delete the squad 99 shooters, resequence the EZWS number, and have it work.

And is there really any issue with leaving the other fields there? I'm curious why you're worried about minimizing them.

[Graham Smith]

And is there really any issue with leaving the other fields there? I'm curious why you're worried about minimizing them.

No reason except for the fact that I like to understand how things work. It's a big part of my job.

I exploring the PSS.txt, I have noticed one glaring issue, people shooting Single Stack are exporting as LTDTEN!