ZERB, the ZyEl Runeword Browser

[Malakat]

What you're describing sounds like you're trying to run it without runewords.txt. A txt-file may not seem important but ZERB loads its runeword list from that file, and will fail to run without it.

Oh, and I explained how to run it from source in the first post.

[laheja]

Ok got it working form source although under apply filters the white box which should show what attributes i get by putting this runeword stays white.
And when pressing the runeword the ZERB closes.
Well anyway it works enough to see all runewords.

[Malakat]

Hello. Reporting in.
Firstly, if anyone experience problems similar to laheja's, do tell.

Secondly, I'm gonna do it. After playing around with some scripts to help me out I'm definitely going to call project 'standardize runeword stat list' doable. It's still slow and tedious, but doable. The amount of mistakes is mind boggling. No offense to our wiki contributors and their wonderful work (love you!), but some could do with a bit of spell checking. For instance, I count to 23 different variations of "Repairs [x] durability in [y] seconds". I'd say I'm a bit over half way done with this. I'll try not to bore you with details this time, but then, once I've figured out exactly how to store the variables it'll be full speed ahead. =)
The next version will be utterly uninteresting to the end user because I won't use my new shiny variables in any way (ooh, prettier stats), but under the hood it'll be the single most important update yet!

[Ascaronth]

Thank you Malakat for this awesome tool. Unfortunately I haven't been able to try that out

As you said in your first post "not a lot of people play ZyEl on non-windows computer" and that's probably true, the point is that I do. I mean I play ZyEl on Ubuntu 10.04.

Now I really would like to try out ZERB but the instructions you provided don't work, at least for me

I didn't have ruby installed so I ran

sudo apt-get install ruby1.9.1-full

That's the latest version and it was recommended on ruby's site. Then I installed rubygems following these instructions http://docs.rubygems.org/read/chapter/3

Then I tried running

sudo gem install fxruby

But it said the command gem couldn't be found. I tried running it not as SU and it said something like "you can find the command 'gem' in one of these packages rubygems, rubygems1.9.1". Since I downloaded ruby1.9.1 I installed rubygems1.9.1 and this time the gem command worked. Had to run it as SU tough.

Now if I cd to ZERB's directory and try to run

ruby1.9.1 zerb.rb

I get the following error

elle@elle-desktop:~/Scrivania/zerb-0.2.2-noexe$ ruby1.9.1 zerb.rb
zerb.rb:1:in `require': no such file to load -- fox16 (LoadError)
from zerb.rb:1:in `<main>'

Running it as SU doesn't change anything and I also tried downloading ruby instead of ruby1.9.1 and rubygems instead of rubygems1.9.1 and repeating the process but nothing changes.

I'm sorry for the huge post but I tried to explain everything as best as I could. Sorry if I made any errors but I'm not a native english speaker.
And yeah the folder structure is ok. ZERB's directory with runewords.txt, zerb.rb and lib directory inside it, and the other .rb files inside lib.

I also tried running the .exe version using wine (as I do to run D2) but that doesn't work :\

Hope you can help me and again, thanks for the tool

[Malakat]

That's my bad (sorry)! When you want to use gems in linux (and maybe mac, I don't know) you have to first include rubygems.
The fix is quite easy, though. Just open up the main file (zerb.rb) and add

require 'rubygems'

right at the top, before the other requires.

Thanks for brining it up and sorry again for the inconvenience. I'll make sure to have it fixed by the next version. =)

[slayerofgix]

I know it has been awhile since I last posted but I was reliving old dreams when I saw this post. I think it is a brilliant. If you need any help with the actual code for the browser just let me know. I am a programmer by day. (sorry if this is necro-posting )

[Al-T]

....and to prove just how good a programmer slayerofgix is....the post date/time for his post is Sun May 30, 2010 2:44 pm but I know for a fact he has changed this on the sly as he can only post if it is Friday the Thirteenth ::

I am a programmer by day....

.... and a maniac by night

Seriously, Malakat, if you ever do feel you need help with Zerb then slayerofgix is your man.

Nice to see you slayerofgix. Hope all is well with you and yours

[Malakat]

Well this is all good news. A little bit of help doesn't sound all bad. As you may have noticed, the source code is out there. It may not be all great and tidy (this being my first GUI program, not to mention my first 'proper' OOP program... I've considered a rewrite.) but it's out there, and you are of course welcome to have a look.

Aamof, I think this little bit of food for my ego (haha) has inspired me to do the last push for what I'm currently working on with ZERB. Expect things, but not too much.

Regards,
Malakat.

[Astronautty]

It looks great. I'd started something like this as a spreadsheet (Excel/OpenOffice formats). After I took that as far as practical, I wanted to import it to a database program to make the abilities easier to add/manage, but I don't have any installed on my home PC, and don't know where to start for a free one. Does OpenOffice have a DB program?

I also considered trying to merge the Zy-El runewords into the copied code from classic.battle.net/.../runewords-original.shtml, where cut&paste from the wiki would be feasible. But right now you're far ahead of me on all fronts. I miss my programming days (now 15+ years in my past, in college).

[Malakat]

Hello. It's been quite a while. But not to worry. I haven't forgotten about you. In fact, I bear gifts: a new version!
Plenty of changes this time around. Most are under the hood, but a few are visible as well.

And the all-important easy-to-read neat list of changes:
- GREATLY brushed up and improved stat list. There will be little (well, some) weirdness and hopefully no spelling errors. On a related note:
- Stats are stored as variables instead of raw text. Right now this means quite little, but there's potential for greatness.
- Added a "Reset Filter" button. This should be a good QOL update to frequent users.
- Another QOL change to the name filter; it will now clear itself when you click on it.
- That nasty thing where the program crashed on exit is now taken care of. I guess the code just went 'hell no' for being too spaghettiey. All better now though.
- A couple of mistakes fixed in the runeword list
- Other, minor stuff I'm probably forgetting about.

Download ZERB 0.3
Download no-exe version

Enjoy!

[Al-T]

Thanks Malakat

I'll download it tonight after work.

[Beefy2]

All +class skills are listed as +barbarian.

[Malakat]

Thanks beefy. That's a bad miss. I'll look into it.

[EDIT] There we go. I've fixed that problem, along with a few other small changes.

Download ZERB 0.3.1

It's highly recommended that you update from 0.3. Also note that the noexe version has been merged with the regular release.

[Malakat]

Necroin' with a new version.
A couple of derps are fixed and attributes are now in the (at least approximate) order they appear in game.

Go fetch! http://www.mediafire.com/?jm13bj5klb9o3by

[Hans]

Thanks for the update

I think this would be a good candidate for a sticky.

[Al-T]

Nice work as usual Malakat and a big thank you from me also

Already got it installed and using it

[Untamed]

Erm, I've downloaded it from the latest link provided above and it refuses to run. It is similar to laheja's initial problem before getting the 'runewords.txt'. I decided to have a go and I got the text from an older file... And, well, still nothing.

Windows 7

[Malakat]

Hi Untamed and thanks for your input.
You should not need to move around or touch any files within the zerb directory; "runewords.txt" no longer exists in the newer versions.
Have you tried running an older version to see if the problem was already there? (0.2.2 for example.)
As I also told laheja, you can try running it the hard way with zerb.rb instead.

Here are some easier to understand instructions for doing that in windows:
- download and install ruby.
- press Win+r and type "cmd" (no quotes) into the window that pops up. This opens the command line
- in the command line, type "gem install fxruby" (again, no quotes). This may take a couple of minutes
- now change directory (cd) to where you unzipped the program. e.g. if you put it in C:\ZERB you type "cd C:\ZERB". You can type the first couple of letters and then press tab to auto-complete a long folder name.
- once in the right directory, type "ruby zerb.rb". If everything works as it should the program will run.

I'm running 64-bit Windows 7 myself, but come to think of it, I have UAC turned off. I don't know if it interferes or why it would, but it could be worth trying to run the program as administrator.

Hope this helps. I'm afraid I can't be of much more assistance if it doesn't.

[d2vern]

As this is a relevant program for the mod, this topic is hereby stickied.

[Untamed]

I have not tried an older version, and I do have UAC turned off. I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit.

It is just quite bizzare, ZERB.exe briefly shows up in the process list, then promptly ends. I have tried compatibility modes with 98/XP/Vista to no avail.

Thank you Malakat, I will test that out with ruby when I have time in the next couple days. It would be a lot more useful than messing about on the wiki, which is incomplete to a point anyways.

Having good fun, itching to play but no time!

[AngusT]

I have downloded the two latest versions, and both times zerb.exe has been detected as malware. I'm pretty sure it is a very helpful tool, but this way it has no use for me.

Please fix this.

[Al-T]

Angus.

As a mod player and long time poster at the Keep you have my utmost respect but just because your anti-malware/anti-virus software reports Zerb as Malware does not mean it is. It could be a "false positive" as a lot of these type of applications report.

It is also not a good idea to say something like

Please fix this.

without telling the developer what software you are actually using and the exact report it gives you (use a code box here and copy and paste the report). It's a bit like saying, "this mod doesn't work on my PC, please fix it"...you are not going to get a sympathetic view by doing this.

[Untamed]

I have got it to work. The only thing I did was take it out of the sub folder I had made with the .zip archive name. Whether or not that is relevant is a different story. It is just a little strange that after trying everything for a couple days, it now magically works.


Ah well,

Cheers!

[Malakat]

d2vern - Thanks! I was hoping this would be stickied. Eventually. =)

AngusT - It... it gives a false positive? Wow, the program shouldn't do anything that could cause those. What program are you using? What's the name of the found virus? Can you find some kind of log. "Fixing it" will definitely be a problem without a little more information.

Untamed - I'm glad. And at a loss. I was certain it wouldn't matter where you placed the zerb folder, as long as all the files in it were in the right place. This requires further testing.

[d2vern]

You're welcome, Malakat.

AngusT: Make sure your antivirus programs are either updated, or better yet, disabled. While they are good for virus detection, they are a right pain for new program installations.

Untamed: Glad your problem was fixed. I haven't run into that particular problem in years. Of course, different OS's handle the same processes differently, but in my case, I just input the directory I want the Database in (i.e., C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\D2\ZERB 0.3.2) and it works like a charm.