GroupMaker 1.0.7 -- Posted by Cebu on Saturday, September 29 2001
This version of GroupMaker is mainly a maintenance update. Most of the work put into this update is behind the scenes stuff. When I first started this project it was done in haste, and my programming practices weren't the best. I kept putting this off, but now that more complicated stuff like AutoGroup is being introduced, I decided I should rewrite the code the correct way before it became next to impossible to redo.

So what does this mean? Well, all of the code has been rearranged and rewritten in a way that makes it much more readable and easier to update. This doesn't really mean much to you, the user, but while I was going through doing that stuff, I also took it on myself to double check for potential memory leaks and speed optimization potential. I believe that I have stopped a few small leaks, and certain things should be faster, though this isn't exactly the type of program people go around benchmarking, so who knows. Updates that you'll actually be able to see: resizing, improved interface, and tweaked AutoGroup. Templates are still not in, but the AutoGroup should produce groups that are a bit more balanced.

Also, the IP for the server that automatically notifies you of updates has been changed. This means that people with older versions (1.0.6 and lower) will not get notified of this update. I will post on a couple of forums to let people know about this. It would be helpful if some of you folks could let your friends know about this as well.

I'm sorry this update took so long. The massive rewrite took a long time within itself, and a lot of various things have happened this month, but I don't really have any real excuses. Future updates will hopefully come along much quicker.

As always, for a full list of changes in this version, check out the Version History.

And please provide feedback in our forums.

Groupmaker 1.0.6 -- Posted by Cebu on Wednesday, August 29 2001
Yes, I know.. it's been awhile since the last update. EverCrack has lured me into its deep crevices once again (testing GroupMaker has evil side-affects). If you wish to contact me in-game, I am Cebu on the Zebuxoruk server (Cebu on Zebu?).

The big update in this version of GroupMaker is AutoGroup. Don't expect much from it right now; it is in a sort of nerfed version for the time being. I'll just quote the new help file entry for details:

Using the AutoGroup button will make GroupMaker create groups for you. Right now, none of the options for AutoGroup are customizable, so all the groups will be balanced groups. If you want to make some specialized groups (pull group, etc) you can do this one of two ways. Either make the special groups first and then use autogroup for the rest of the people, or use autogroup first and then move the people around to make your specialized groups.

A few things to note about the current AutoGrouping algorithm. Anon people will not be used at all. If you already have existing groups and use autogroup, the existing groups will not be touched at all. GroupMaker will make balanced groups with the people currently in the Raid List when you hit the button.

Please understand that this is the first version of autogroup. Don't expect perfectly balanced groups. If you get an exceptionally odd list of groups, feel free to send us an export of the groups in an email or post it on the forum.

Also, I *think* all the parsing bugs are fixed with this version. Hopefully parsing won't just stop working on you after awhile with this update.

As usual, for more details, visit the Version History link.

GroupMaker 1.0.5 -- Posted by Cebu on Thursday, August 23 2001
There are two things in this version. The first is a fix in the log parsing code, the second is new error logging to make future debugging easier. I'll just quote the version history for details:

- A typo in the "Your who request was cut short" string was causing log parsing to crash. This has been fixed.
- Error logging has been added. If you crash for some reason, or something breaks, close the program and take a look at the error_log.txt. Please post the contents of the error log on our forum so we can fix the bug. When you start GroupMaker again, the error log will be overwritten.

Log Parsing and New Link -- Posted by Cebu on Wednesday, August 22 2001
Okay, there seems to be a lot of general confusion about the new log parsing feature. First of all, log parsing only tracks new events. When you start log parsing, it skips to the very END of your log file and listens for new inputs. Right now the only thing it cares about is /who lists.

If you start log parsing and nothing seems to be happening, check on these things:
1) Make sure you are pointing to the correct file. GroupMaker will give you an error if the file does not exist at all. If the file does exists and isn't a log file, it won't complain.
2) Make sure you have logging enabled. By default, you always have to turn logging on every time you enter EQ. It is possible to modify your config file so that logging is always on, but you'd have to ask Spork how to do that.
3) You must do a /who in order for log parsing to work. This isn't a packet sniffer, it can only see what you see on your screen. So, every time you want to update the players in GroupMaker, do a quick /who.

On another note, Miklen cooked us up some fun facts in the new About link in the LlamaHerder menu. Yes, that's how we dress in real life. Please don't let Mindy's shorts scare you away.

GroupMaker 1.0.4 -- Posted by Cebu on Tuesday, August 21 2001
As the title says, GroupMaker 1.0.4 is now available. The biggest new thing in this version is log parsing. This is a key element in making this program truly useful, so check it out.

Another neat thing that has been added is update notification. All this feature does is send a number to our server saying what version number your GroupMaker is. The server takes this number and compares it to the newest version of GroupMaker, and lets you know if you are up-to-date or not. The version number is the ONLY thing being sent to our server, so don't worry about us finding out about your pr0n stash. This feature can be disabled if you wish.

Also, sorting is in to make it easier to search through those long player lists.

All three of these options can be configured in the Options menu, and your choices will be saved, so you don't have to reset them every time.

As always, if you have any questions about any of the new stuff, take a look at the built - in help system in GroupMaker. If you are still confused, visit our forums and we'll get back to you ASAP.

With the new features getting more and more complex, the chance of new bugs gets higher. If you do find a bug, please let us know in the forums so we can address the issue.

GroupMaker 1.0.3 -- Posted by Cebu on Saturday, August 18 2001
First of all, I want to thank all the EQ news sites that have posted about us on their pages. Because of them, we have gotten quite a bit of traffic. I honestly did not expect such a big turnout so soon. Also, thanks to everyone that has posted on their guild message boards telling people about the program.

As the title says, GroupMaker 1.0.3 has been released. There aren't really any huge additions to this version, but rather, a lot of small ones. Most of the things are bug fixes, some are just small additions. As always, check out the Version History to get the rundown on what has changed in this version.

Now that I've gotten all of this small stuff out of the way, I hope to be able to concentrate on making more options available. I hope everyone can have a little patience with me and have fun using the few features that are already
available.

If you haven't already, be sure to drop by the forum and give some input. Several people have already done this, and a good deal of the fixes / additions going into this version have come directly from their suggestions. I'm also trying to be real good about replying to all the messages so everyone knows what to expect to come of their feedback.

GroupMaker 1.0.2 -- Posted by Cebu on Thursday, August 16 2001
GroupMaker 1.0.2 is available for downloading. The main thing in this one is drag and drop support. This was a lot harder than I expected it to be, but it's good to go now. Check the history for other additions / fixes. Also, after reading about some security concerns people have, I have updated the FAQ.

GroupMaker's First Update! -- Posted by Cebu on Thursday, August 16 2001
Alright, just a few quick updates were added to GroupMaker. The main addition is the help system. For more details, visit the Version History link on the left. The way GroupMaker is deployed will be slightly different from now on. Instead of just having a single jar file, the download will be a zipped file that has the jar along with some other files. There are two reasons for this. First of all, GroupMaker will start using more and more external files (files for saved configuration, etc) and it's just easier to deal with these files if they aren't inside the jar. Secondly, it allows for a nice directory structure that makes organizing files a breeze.

For future reference, all old versions of GroupMaker will always be available. I'm just doing this in case a certain version is more stable for particular people, or if someone just prefers an older version over a new one.

Llamaherder Publishing -- Posted by Cebu on Tuesday, August 14 2001
Today the official LlamaHerderPublishing site has been launched. Right now, the site is pretty much totally dedicated to GroupMaker, our grouping utility made for EverQuest. Feel free to read about it in the FAQ. If you think it'll be of some use to you, download it and let us know what you think of it in our forum.