Combat API and its use in a Player Run Tourney

Gragnog wrote: The easiest solution to this whole issue is the devs start to introduce tournaments again and stop trying to rely on a few really passionate players to keep their game alive. With all the data issues involved I am surprised that those players even bother. Thumbs up for Koda and his team and thumbs down for the devs in letting it get to this situation. Regular tournaments would have never let this moaning session arrise.

I know that people on this thread have good intentions, but I just find myself shaking my head.

An API is just a messaging interface between two architectural layers, with the added wrinkle that the programmatic interface has been made public. The developers are just allowing people a direct web access to their own complete battle report XML files. The addition of the encryption key is what allows players to identify they are a particular account owner to the system. By extension, this allows them to grant others access to their complete battle report XML files stored on the Illyriad servers.

Any request at a filtered API is a lot of additional extra work. What some of you are requesting is a user-configurable filter layer between the internal system battle report XML interface (which delivers a mail to your inbox) and the external API interface. That is not a trivial request. Right now the devs just give you the same basic data as your battle report. That's simple and maintainable.

The filtering request is also pointless. There are two points of potential spying: the person running the tournament, and your fellow alliance mates. Frankly, if you can't trust the person running the tournament, then why are you even participating? As for spies among your alliance mates sharing battle report information, they don't need an automated battle report API to accomplish that. Web-based collection makes it easier, but accumulating the information is trivial regardless. Again, if you can't trust your own allies to not publish alliance troop numbers, maybe you should reconsider your choice of allies.

GM Stormcrow wrote: Xmco wrote: We have asked, politely and patiently, that an API key is provided by the DEVS that returns ONLY the information that is required to run a KOTH tournament.  (The Checkbox option was suggested to THE DEVS to allow them to quickly and easily produce API keys that would return appropriate information for future Tourneys).  To answer the second part, though - the only way that this could work is if we *also* suppressed any data coming back from the FULL Combat API XML key for *all* other players related to combats on those squares - which might well pick up backlash from those players who want their API keys to work for all the combats that they participate in.

Thanks for the answers SC.

I understood that it was already established that the API key would only provide information on the Tourney tiles, rather than combats across the whole server.  Is that the case?  How will this affect players that want to use their API key for all combats they are participating in?

Edit: Ah - I see you already partly answered this above.  So if I understand correctly, the full API key will continue to run, alongside the key that only reports on tournament squares?

GM Stormcrow wrote: Subsequently, we would then have to tailor-make different API keys for every different non-KotH tournament; which would be subject to all the players who wish to participate coming to a common consensus of agreement as to what is the minimum data needed for that specific tournament to run properly.

Rather than having to get a consensus of agreement on each subsequent tournament, it would be for the tournament organisers to give information to the developers about the minimum data that was required for their tournament.  It's to Koda and Digi's credit that they have been very clear about the minimum information that they would need to run their tournament, and it has shown them to be reliable tournament organisers. 

I'm sure the game would benefit from more players of similar credibility stepping up, taking responsibility for sensible data collating, and showing themselves to be honorable players. 

Rill wrote: As I understand it, the reason the developers do not want to provide these more limited API keys is that they believe that producing API keys specific to players' desires to share information for a particular purpose would be a great deal of work and not widely used enough to make the process worth it.

Hyrdmoth wrote: Luffster wrote: Xmco wrote: Is there any possibility of answering, without misunderstanding, why an API key that returns ONLY the relevant information to run Koda's tournament cannot be provided?  Regards Luffy If I understand it correctly it is because such an API key would be pointless, because it only requires one participant in the combat to have shared their full API key - or to forward the IGM of the combat report - and all the data you wish to hide is no longer hidden.