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Post by rmc on Oct 2, 2022 14:54:05 GMT
I'm no master of programming.
My initial experience was with TRS-80 BASIC, 1979.
Then, in 1987, GW-BASIC. Then Basica, later, in 1998, Visual Basic.
Back in 1987 I also studied briefly COBOL, Unix, C, JCL, Assembly.
I think I used QBasic or QuickBasic during the 2000s.
In 2014, I dabbled some in Javascript.
I'm still messing around with Excel and Openoffice knock offs of that.
Would you say a brief, accurate description might be:
"Additional plays, unique from previous."
Or, is covering exactly what is meant by "unique" necessary... or possible, given the complexity regarding that notion?
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Post by rmc on Oct 2, 2022 15:02:13 GMT
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Post by the light works on Oct 2, 2022 23:37:14 GMT
if you don't count a little bit of proprietary PLC programming in 94 or so, I haven't dona any programming since around 89.
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Post by rmc on Oct 4, 2022 14:52:01 GMT
if card 1 is 1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8-9 and card 2 is 1-3-6 2-4-7 5-8-9 The play from card one: 1-2-3 And the play from card two: 1-3-6... ...both share 1 & 3. And, is, apparently legal. Meanwhile, the play from card one: 7-8-9 And the play from card two: 5-8-9... ...both share 8 & 9. This time, however, it's apparently illegal. The simplest explanation that pops into my mind is that you don't want immediately ascending sequential pairs (being the same pair) to appear over both cards? By the way, this unique thing is gaining traction. The fellow that sometimes helps me likes the idea too. He mentions that you'd actually appear in a credit.html rather than trying to name the button directly after you. Whatever? |
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Post by the light works on Oct 5, 2022 1:27:13 GMT
if card 1 is 1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8-9 and card 2 is 1-3-6 2-4-7 5-8-9 The play from card one: 1-2-3 And the play from card two: 1-3-6... ...both share 1 & 3. And, is, apparently legal. Meanwhile, the play from card one: 7-8-9 And the play from card two: 5-8-9... ...both share 8 & 9. This time, however, it's apparently illegal. The simplest explanation that pops into my mind is that you don't want immediately ascending sequential pairs (being the same pair) to appear over both cards? By the way, this unique thing is gaining traction. The fellow that sometimes helps me likes the idea too. He mentions that you'd actually appear in a credit.html rather than trying to name the button directly after you. Whatever? the simplest explanation is you caught me in an error. 1-2-3 and 1-3-6 should also get flagged as a match, because of the 1 and 3. and yeah, I'm fine with a footnote. fame just isn't that important to me any more. |
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Post by rmc on Oct 5, 2022 9:06:57 GMT
Ok. I get it. As usual, I was over thinking it...
Uniqueness to the maximum possible it is.
However, this doesn't exactly do that when there are two groups of balls, white balls to 69 and red balls to 26 in Powerball.
For instance.
01-02-03-04-05--01
06-07-08-09-10--02
11-12-13-14-15--03
16-17-18-19-20--04
21-22-23-24-25--05
26-27-28-29-30--06
31-32-33-34-35--07
36-37-38-39-40--08
41-42-43-44-45--09
46-47-48-49-50--10
51-52-53-54-55--11
56-57-58-59-60--12
61-62-63-64-65--13
01-66-67-68-69--14
00-00-00-00-00--15
00-00-00-00-00--16
00-00-00-00-00--17
00-00-00-00-00--18
00-00-00-00-00--19
00-00-00-00-00--20
00-00-00-00-00--21
00-00-00-00-00--22
00-00-00-00-00--23
00-00-00-00-00--24
00-00-00-00-00--25
00-00-00-00-00--26
So, in the above kind of lottery, we could use your procedure to dump the white ball set over and over, each dump having rows unique from previous.
But, the red ball group, the so called powerball group, doesn't line up with each dump, as you can see above.
What I did to handle that problem in the recent Excel version was to fill in all the "zeros rows" by having the player just fill in the "QP" box on their play slips for white balls there. Meanwhile, the Powerball group (red balls) is filled in according if they want them all or not.
And, to get the red balls before in the original program, they'd run the program again, just assigning the number of balls in a drawing to "one" and the total number of balls to "twenty-six". (This is on the original LOTTOtheLot program and not the recent Excel version. The current Excel version only handles Powerball, Mega Ball, and a Pick5 lottery. Meanwhile, the previous program allows the user to identify how many balls in a drawing and how many balls in the whole lot. That's it. The program doesn't know "Poweball" from Basketball. And, therefore all sorts of lotteries can be user-defined. You just design what you need. A second set of balls is done separately). Then they'd transfer the red ball data onto their play slips at that point.
So, it's either skip the red balls and just do your procedure on white balls.
Or, calculate how many QP rows they'll need to round out to the limit of red balls, in order to keep the two ball data sets in sync. Printing "QP" until the limit of red balls has been reached on each dump.
Trying to keep to ball groups in sync can mean just handling a few lotteries, such that the specific lottery information is known in advance by the program. Or, if allowing any kind of lottery at all means the user needs to teach the program for each case.
Which would you like to see?
.
.
.
I'll probably label the button "TheWorks!" as a kind of slight hommage. But, I'll credit you in the credits .html as TheLightWorks from Mythbusters fan website, TheCitadel ProBoards.
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Post by the light works on Oct 5, 2022 13:28:12 GMT
I would think a powerball type game would be an application for the multicard function. in your model, it takes almost two full cards to use all the possible powerballs. so I would give the option of playing one card, with a full set of powerballs generated, but only enough printed to match the number of picks on the card - or playing all the powerballs, with the the almost two cards printed. and then if you really wanted to give yourself a headache, you could try to figure out how to program it to give multiple powerball supercards without repeats. my brain is already rejecting the idea of trying to plot the subroutine for that.
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Post by rmc on Oct 5, 2022 13:56:23 GMT
Right.
If "the lot" card ends after 14 rows, you get all the 69 white balls, but only 14 of the 26 red balls.
If "the lot" card ends after 26 rows, then you did get one complete batch of 69 white balls, but chopped off two rows from the second batch, ending after 26 rows, when you actually needed 28 rows to squeeze in that second batch.
This is why I opted to focus on the main group of white balls in the first program, allowing the user to decide how to sync things up (either finish the second, short, white-ball-group area as quick picks, or just agree to use quick picks on the red ball group, focusing "the lot" on just being the white balls.)
Anyway, specifically programming several well known lotteries is one way to get it done, harshly limiting what lotteries the user can choose from. Or, trying to leave capturing two groups of balls up to the user.
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Post by the light works on Oct 5, 2022 14:24:16 GMT
Right. If "the lot" card ends after 14 rows, you get all the 69 white balls, but only 14 of the 26 red balls. If "the lot" card ends after 26 rows, then you did get one complete batch of 69 white balls, but chopped off two rows from the second batch, ending after 26 rows, when you actually needed 28 rows to squeeze in that second batch. This is why I opted to focus on the main group of white balls in the first program, allowing the user to decide how to sync things up (either finish the second, short, white-ball-group area as quick picks, or just agree to use quick picks on the red ball group, focusing "the lot" on just being the white balls.) Anyway, specifically programming several well known lotteries is one way to get it done, harshly limiting what lotteries the user can choose from. Or, trying to leave capturing two groups of balls up to the user. I don't know how the excel programming works. for a simple lottery, the two variables would be how many balls there are, and how many balls make up a pick, so if the programming language allowed, it could be possible to have one program do any simple lottery - possibly with specific lottery names preprogrammed so you could choose, say, the pick 5 lottery, or you could tell it the parameters of a lottery that didn't have the parameters in a preprogrammed option. presumably, an advanced program could then submit that new lottery to be confirmed and made a preprogram by the administrator. (a superadvanced program could program itself, but I'm not sure I'd want to trust my customer base that much) for a powerball lottery, I guess the two variables that would be added would be how many powerballs there were, and if more than one was drawn (are there any with multiple powerballs? I don't know) |
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Post by rmc on Oct 5, 2022 16:36:26 GMT
Ok. Well, I've already burdened the user with transcribing info to play slips. May as well let them choose a means for handling any sort of second set of so called "Power Balls" or "Mega Balls", should there even be any. So a lot like this original version, but where, if they want additional cards unique from the previous, it all just appends onto the bottom of the screen, creating scroll bars and controls. (Instead of wiping the screen clear as it does now) hightower.neocities.org/LOTTOtheLot/See? Or, should it be more like the link at the start of this entire thread? |
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Post by the light works on Oct 6, 2022 3:32:13 GMT
Ok. Well, I've already burdened the user with transcribing info to play slips. May as well let them choose a means for handling any sort of second set of so called "Power Balls" or "Mega Balls", should there even be any. So a lot like this original version, but where, if they want additional cards unique from the previous, it all just appends onto the bottom of the screen, creating scroll bars and controls. (Instead of wiping the screen clear as it does now) hightower.neocities.org/LOTTOtheLot/See? Or, should it be more like the link at the start of this entire thread? it looks sharp. it occurs to me that some people may want to play IT like the lottery. not that you need more work. you'd need an additional segment to do the draw and check for matches. |
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Post by rmc on Oct 6, 2022 9:56:22 GMT
Thank you for saying it looks sharp. That's nice. Unfortunately, though, it looks nothing like any of the familiar lotteries and basically can't because it's not specific to any one lottery or even any group. So, it's currently just a boring white, nondescript page having some input fields.
With regard to a built in lottery attempt:
Here's where we think alike, apparently.
Back in 1998, my early BASIC versions of LOTTOtheLot all had a bank of tickets (a card), and then a pseudo lottery drawing as well. (back then, specific to the 1990s California State Lottery, having one pool of 51 balls, the drawing was 6 balls.)
I thought I'd test the performance of my premise against a lottery drawing.
So my screen then (then I foolishly named the program L.E.O. for "Logically Enhanced Odds"... Duh. Uh, no. You cannot change the odds... increasing your chances of success by playing more is NOT changing the odds.)
Anyway, my screen was laid out in this fashion, (randomized, of course. But here shown in numerical order) California 1998:
L.E.O. CARD:
01-02-03-04-05-06
07-08-09-10-11-12
13-14-15-16-17-18....1:6
19-20-21-22-23-24....2:6
25-26-27-28-29-30
31-32-33-34-35-36....1:6
37-38-39-40-41-42
43-44-45-46-47-48
01-02-03-49-50-51....2:6
LOTTERY DRAWING:
18-20-21-33-49-51
It also had a running tally on how many of each of the following occurred, because I had the psuedo lottery drawing repeat many many times as fast as it could looking to see if I could land all six on one row or not.
2 of 6: 2 in 1 drawings. 1:0.5
3 of 6: 0 in 1 drawings.
4 of 6: 0 in 1 drawings.
5 of 6: 0 in 1 drawings.
6 of 6; 0 in 1 drwaings.
The last part there (1:0.5) was a running odds calculation. The number of wins, two of six in this case, divided by the number of wins : the number of drawings divided by the number of wins. (Divided only if the denominator greater than zero)
If you got 6 wins of, say, type 3 of 6 over 5,234 drawings then, at that point it would declare your odds were 1:872. Something like that.
So, over time this part slowly detailed the coreect odds of getting each of the "payable" outcomes.
It pretty well showed that the stated odds of each type of win are, in fact, pretty much as they are stated... **IF** you let the program run long enough.
Every once in a great, great while though it would hit 5 of 6 very early, causing the stated odds to read something like 5 of 6: 1 in 5,234 drawings. 1:5,234
The odds of getting 5 out of 6 are NOT 1:5,234!!
Anyway. For a time it was fun watching the lottery numbers zip and bounce all over the place on my L.E.O. Card.
Never got 6 of 6. Even letting it play against itself, uninterrupted for a week!
Gah!
Anyway, I didn't set up a lottery attempt in the browser version for fear it might hang, or get stuck repeating attempts.
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Post by the light works on Oct 6, 2022 13:44:33 GMT
tempting to say set up a version where it tracks cost and winnings and see if people learn that it's not a sound income generator, but they probably wouldn't learn.
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Post by rmc on Oct 7, 2022 9:25:04 GMT
tempting to say set up a version where it tracks cost and winnings and see if people learn that it's not a sound income generator, but they probably wouldn't learn. Wow! It's like you have a time machine and went back and took a peek at L.E.O.! Because I forgot to mention that it DID tabulate the amount of money lost... and the money "gained" (usually only showing a net gain ... barely... when one of those 5 of 6 ones showed up... otherwise, at least a $30,000.00 loss or more, way more before just giving up), shown at the bottom of the screen. By the way, I've worked out a rough version having the option you first described. It doesn't do everything yet, but here's a great place to have a conversation about what could or should be done moving forward on your "get unique plays" option... hightower.neocities.org/LOTTOtheLot%20Testbed/index.htmlSo, for instance, I enter "7" total balls as the whole lottery set. And, next, the drawings being "2" balls each, just as a simple test. Then I tumble that, and then display the first batch of plays. Then I go on to tumble again. Then display those next group of plays... On and on like that. You see how it works? Does this layout suffice for such idea? If a person wants a different batch that might actually end up partially duplicating some of the plays seen in this current type of batch, then they'd just reset the game rather than tumble and display again. This pretty much makes your way the default way, in a sense. Getting any 'ol batch of additional plays can be done. It just requires a reset. Otherwise, trying to give unique plays is the primary intent. Handling favorite numbers, though may throw a wrench into things. Unless I allow favorites in just the first card, or batch of plays. |
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Post by the light works on Oct 7, 2022 14:31:29 GMT
tempting to say set up a version where it tracks cost and winnings and see if people learn that it's not a sound income generator, but they probably wouldn't learn. Wow! It's like you have a time machine and went back and took a peek at L.E.O.! Because I forgot to mention that it DID tabulate the amount of money lost... and the money "gained" (usually only showing a net gain ... barely... when one of those 5 of 6 ones showed up... otherwise, at least a $30,000.00 loss or more, way more before just giving up), shown at the bottom of the screen. By the way, I've worked out a rough version having the option you first described. It doesn't do everything yet, but here's a great place to have a conversation about what could or should be done moving forward on your "get unique plays" option... hightower.neocities.org/LOTTOtheLot%20Testbed/index.htmlSo, for instance, I enter "7" total balls as the whole lottery set. And, next, the drawings being "2" balls each, just as a simple test. Then I tumble that, and then display the first batch of plays. Then I go on to tumble again. Then display those next group of plays... On and on like that. You see how it works? Does this layout suffice for such idea? If a person wants a different batch that might actually end up partially duplicating some of the plays seen in this current type of batch, then they'd just reset the game rather than tumble and display again. This pretty much makes your way the default way, in a sense. Getting any 'ol batch of additional plays can be done. It just requires a reset. Otherwise, trying to give unique plays is the primary intent. Handling favorite numbers, though may throw a wrench into things. Unless I allow favorites in just the first card, or batch of plays. I ran 4 cards with 8 balls and 2 balls per draw. there was a match on card 2 and card 3. this makes me think you may have it checking for duplications from card 1, but overlooked checking between subsequent cards. on a layout side, your current format has generating a card as a two step process. tumble and display. I'd consider making it one step: you click the button and it produces and displays the card. I'd also, from a housekeeping side, limit the number of cards it will produce without resetting. that would help keep from tying it up looking for matches if the person requests a huge stack of cards, and let you lay out the card display format so they weren't simply stacked on top of each other. - though, again, I'm out of date on how display formatting is done, so I don't know how complex it would or wouldn't be. |
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Post by rmc on Oct 7, 2022 15:30:16 GMT
Wow! It's like you have a time machine and went back and took a peek at L.E.O.! Because I forgot to mention that it DID tabulate the amount of money lost... and the money "gained" (usually only showing a net gain ... barely... when one of those 5 of 6 ones showed up... otherwise, at least a $30,000.00 loss or more, way more before just giving up), shown at the bottom of the screen. By the way, I've worked out a rough version having the option you first described. It doesn't do everything yet, but here's a great place to have a conversation about what could or should be done moving forward on your "get unique plays" option... hightower.neocities.org/LOTTOtheLot%20Testbed/index.htmlSo, for instance, I enter "7" total balls as the whole lottery set. And, next, the drawings being "2" balls each, just as a simple test. Then I tumble that, and then display the first batch of plays. Then I go on to tumble again. Then display those next group of plays... On and on like that. You see how it works? Does this layout suffice for such idea? If a person wants a different batch that might actually end up partially duplicating some of the plays seen in this current type of batch, then they'd just reset the game rather than tumble and display again. This pretty much makes your way the default way, in a sense. Getting any 'ol batch of additional plays can be done. It just requires a reset. Otherwise, trying to give unique plays is the primary intent. Handling favorite numbers, though may throw a wrench into things. Unless I allow favorites in just the first card, or batch of plays. I ran 4 cards with 8 balls and 2 balls per draw. there was a match on card 2 and card 3. this makes me think you may have it checking for duplications from card 1, but overlooked checking between subsequent cards. on a layout side, your current format has generating a card as a two step process. tumble and display. I'd consider making it one step: you click the button and it produces and displays the card. I'd also, from a housekeeping side, limit the number of cards it will produce without resetting. that would help keep from tying it up looking for matches if the person requests a huge stack of cards, and let you lay out the card display format so they weren't simply stacked on top of each other. - though, again, I'm out of date on how display formatting is done, so I don't know how complex it would or wouldn't be. Yes. I haven't started on trying to come up with the programming that will push only new and unique cards. I was just trying to lay it out. I just now got the favorites association to take place on the first card, instead of being on every card. Those favorites appearing in each batch would definitely hang the computer, trying to produce a card different from the last card when each card has the same group of user favorites. Anyway, on to trying to find a means for checking uniqueness without locking everything up some way. Oh. You don't like the user-controlled tumbling of the hopper? Just a one-time random output and that's it. Well... let me think. |
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Post by the light works on Oct 8, 2022 0:20:35 GMT
I ran 4 cards with 8 balls and 2 balls per draw. there was a match on card 2 and card 3. this makes me think you may have it checking for duplications from card 1, but overlooked checking between subsequent cards. on a layout side, your current format has generating a card as a two step process. tumble and display. I'd consider making it one step: you click the button and it produces and displays the card. I'd also, from a housekeeping side, limit the number of cards it will produce without resetting. that would help keep from tying it up looking for matches if the person requests a huge stack of cards, and let you lay out the card display format so they weren't simply stacked on top of each other. - though, again, I'm out of date on how display formatting is done, so I don't know how complex it would or wouldn't be. Yes. I haven't started on trying to come up with the programming that will push only new and unique cards. I was just trying to lay it out. I just now got the favorites association to take place on the first card, instead of being on every card. Those favorites appearing in each batch would definitely hang the computer, trying to produce a card different from the last card when each card has the same group of user favorites. Anyway, on to trying to find a means for checking uniqueness without locking everything up some way. Oh. You don't like the user-controlled tumbling of the hopper? Just a one-time random output and that's it. Well... let me think. it looked to me like you have to click tumble, and then display, to see each card. am I wrong? |
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Post by rmc on Oct 8, 2022 9:27:47 GMT
Yes.
You actually have a HUGE point here.
Before, when, in 1998, I was talking about it with my A-plus Certification instructor, he stated an idea of having balls in a tumbler and tumbling around might be fun for the user to watch, possibly.
That was all he said. He didn't specify anything much. So, here in my recent version I thought the user might like to control the tumbling, possibly. Perhaps the user has some spooky significance in controlling the stirring or something...
But...
In keeping with what I now realize a program like this for lottery players should do, thanks in large part to you, it should request as LITTLE as possible from the lottery enthusiast. They are LOTTERY enthusiasts. NOT computer enthusiasts.
As it is, I've already put them in a position where they currently need to transcribe cr_p to their play slips, because I cannot program for all the different printers out there, or specific lottery card stock, and what if the Lottery card stock changes!?
But, here I've gone and made them ALSO tumble the stupid tumbler as if they have time for that! (I ain't got time fo' dat!)
Tumbling is also a bit cheesy and funky too, now that I really look at it.
So, yes.
Another great suggestion.
It's hard though. Because I did this back in 2014. And some of the code is snarled up someway. Anyway. My problem.
On to simplify!!
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Post by the light works on Oct 8, 2022 13:31:18 GMT
Yes. You actually have a HUGE point here. Before, when, in 1998, I was talking about it with my A-plus Certification instructor, he stated an idea of having balls in a tumbler and tumbling around might be fun for the user to watch, possibly. That was all he said. He didn't specify anything much. So, here in my recent version I thought the user might like to control the tumbling, possibly. Perhaps the user has some spooky significance in controlling the stirring or something... But... In keeping with what I now realize a program like this for lottery players should do, thanks in large part to you, it should request as LITTLE as possible from the lottery enthusiast. They are LOTTERY enthusiasts. NOT computer enthusiasts. As it is, I've already put them in a position where they currently need to transcribe cr_p to their play slips, because I cannot program for all the different printers out there, or specific lottery card stock, and what if the Lottery card stock changes!? But, here I've gone and made them ALSO tumble the stupid tumbler as if they have time for that! (I ain't got time fo' dat!) Tumbling is also a bit cheesy and funky too, now that I really look at it. So, yes. Another great suggestion. It's hard though. Because I did this back in 2014. And some of the code is snarled up someway. Anyway. My problem. On to simplify!! if you were making one to play as a standalone game, I'd say animate the draw, because that's the part people think of as part of the payoff. I mean people would tend not to buy scratch tickets with one spot that either said "winning ticket" or "losing ticket" you could even have a version of the system where people could toggle on or off a more animated version of it displaying the card. because as you say, some people like the animations. |
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Post by rmc on Oct 14, 2022 7:08:49 GMT
Afraid browser hang time is going to relegate this innovation (the whole ensure uniqueness over a number of cards routine) only to standalone systems using some programming technology other than a web browser.
Users are extremely touchy regarding internet connection and response time.
I can't say I'll be including it to the LOTTOtheLot website after all; nice idea as it is.
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