Fab's Squadrons Generator- UPDATE!

Hey y'all, 

Apologies for being MIA lately. I've got a few days off after Christmas so I'm going to get back to work on the Wave 3 pilots soon. Until then though, I got an email from our pal in France, Fab, of Fab's Squadron Builder.

Hi Clint !

Just to inform you that I just put online a new version of my squadrons generators. http://fabpsb.free.fr

The new features are :
- Full display of the permalink (with the full code that code reloaded in the new LOAD features) an easy way to share creation !
- Display of the permalink for each faction with link to create a short url
- Display of the upgrade cards by type in the "EXPANSIONS" section
http://fabpsb.free.fr/extensions2.php
- New feature to load squadrons using the squadrons codes

So you can easily display full squadrons information, put all information between square brackets except the codes and paste in the LOAD features.

[1 • Kath Scarlet - Slave 1 (38)
- Veteran Instincts (1)
- Seismic Charges (2)
- Recon Specialist (3)
• Total : 44 • Code : ]e15m8b2d7
[2 • Soontir Fel - TIE interceptor (27)
- Push The Limit (3)
• Total : 30 • Code : ]e18m10
[3 • Turr Phennir - TIE interceptor (25)
- Veteran Instincts (1)
• Total : 26 • Code : ]e19m8

Load features : http://fabpsb.free.fr/load.php

- Display of the card codes
- New feature to evaluate the necessary expansions to build the squadrons ()

This features allow you to create squadrons manually and to check the extension you need to build them.

I hope that you will find this useful.

bye.

I like it, Fab! Great work as usual! Hope you get what you want for Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Festivus/ The Winter Holiday, etc.! 

Peace!

Fab's Squadron Builder- Now With Sharing!

Got an email from Fab, our pal in France earlier today...

Hello Clint,

Just to let you know that I updated my Squadrons generator with a share feature.
Now with the share icon, you can generate a short url through Google Shortener api either in the Random Squadrons generator or the Manual ones.

This means that you can now share with friends your squadrons and by extension save your creation by storing the short url.

You can after reload them in the Manual Generator.

Here are some examples, they are some lists I build using the ones displayed on the FFG sites.

Rebel Squad : http://goo.gl/aOgekf

Empire Squad : http://goo.gl/UYpakX

Elite Rebels & Imperial Swarm : http://goo.gl/RS23bJ

Of course, I had to try it out myself and make a couple of quick squadrons too- http://goo.gl/drF2qX

Pretty cool, huh? Saves all that typing and no login required- Fab's code does the work for you. I love that! I like too that I can do up a Rebel Squadron and an Imperial Squadron and share them both at the same time. Would be cool for some of our Hangout games so the guys can set up their stuff easier having a nice, concise list right there in front of them on their screens and all. 

Thanks Fab! Good stuff as usual!

(Yet Another) X-Wing Squadron Builder by Geordan

Before I start rolling, let me apologize. Geordan told me about his listbuilder a long time ago and I told him I was going to review it and add it to the Listbuilder article I wrote awhile back and I did neither. 

That's my bad. 

Without further adieu though, let me shine a light on (Yet Another) X-Wing Squadron Builder!

Geordan's added in some nice features to his builder- I like the background art, I like that I can just flip through cards without having to even build a list, easily printable, a view as text feature, you name it. 

Of course, you've got the usual features too- a random squadrons generator, stat previews on mouseover, the ability to name your sheet and save it upon login, etc. 

There's a lot to offer here- check it out! 

Fab's Squadron Generator Update!

I got an email today from our good pal in France, Fab. 

Hello Clint,

Just to let you know that I updated my generator with new features.

The most important one is on the manual generator where I put a free mode in order to build squadrons with only the rules restrictions.

>> squadrons generator home page : http://fabpsb.free.fr/

I also added the Imperial Aces expansion.

>> manual squadrons generator (free mode) : http://fabpsb.free.f...ndex.php?free=1

>> manual squadrons generator : http://fabpsb.free.fr/mindex.php

>> random squadrons generator : http://fabpsb.free.fr/rindex.php

bye.

Right on, Fab! He's even got the Imperial Aces expansions in there! 

If you haven't checked out Fab's builder lately, or if you've not checked it out at all, he really has it set up pretty slick. Box art of all the expansions, card art for all the cards, and even with all that it loads up pretty quickly on my 3G connected Chromebook (I think my Wifi router died, but I can't check it out because it's in the baby's room [previously known as my office] and he's asleep). It's nice. Currently, it's my go-to listbuilder for messing around with build ideas. 

In a related note, you guys may have noticed I've done a little re-organizing of the extreme right sidebar links. Fab's site is on there now, so if you want an easy in to his Squadron Generator (he still has the Random Generator too), click on any of the links above, or hit the link in the right side bar. 

Merci, for the update, Fab! Peace out, man! 

Community Service- Fab's Random Squadrons Generator

Two posts in one day after nothing for like two weeks? Yeah, I'll keep ya guessin' like that. 

You guys know how I love to talk about all the email I get, well I got an email back on Sunday went a little somethin' like this (hit it)- 

Hello,

I created the X-wing miniatures Random Squadrons generator (also availale a manual mode). As your site provides a lot of information about the game, perhaps you can put a link to my tool. It is available at the following address : http://fabpsb.free.fr/. If you don't know it, I let you discover it and if you have any question, don't hesitate to contact me.

For information, the goal of this generator is to help players to enter into the game and to have a way to speed up the squadron creation phase that could be long for new players.

I consistently improve it and I plan to do an update in the coming weeks in order to create a bridge between the two generation modes (random and manual) in order to generate a random squadrons and to tweak them in the manual mode for example.bye

First, as this is a .fr domain, I'm guessing English isn't the guy's first language, so respect for that. I only speak English with enough knowledge of Spanish to crack up drunk Honduran football supporters, a teensy bit of Japanese recently picked up on the job, and a very tiny amount of Russian and German. I damn sure don't know enough to code a bilingual list builder. Hell, I don't even know how to code in English to be honest- that's one of the reasons I just use Blogger to host TheMetalBikini.com. 

Anyhizzle, Fab made a pretty swanky random squadron generator/ list builder that's fairly configurable and runs very quickly in your browser. It also features full card text, pictures of the models in their boxes, and just enough options to allow you to tweak it to your own personal taste. Check it out if you have a chance, aficionados- it's good stuff! 

And merci for reading my blog and submitting your site, Fabrice. I've quadruple-checked how to spell your name, which means I'm hoping desperately that I got it right. I just hope your a Lyonnais or Marseille supporter and not PSCity, er, I mean, PSG. :) I was impressed to read about Lyonnais in Soccernomics and well, Joey Barton played for Marseille. What can I say? I was a Dennis Rodman fan too. Sometimes it's fun to root for the bad guy, y'know? 

Community Service- List builders UPDATED 27 September 13

Community Service is a new series of articles here on TheMetalBikini.com where I spotlight something different, cool, or fun made by someone in the X-Wing Miniatures community that I think you guys might dig. 

Updated 26 September 13

List Builders

Occasionally I get an email from a random Bikini Aficionado asking if I've checked out a particularly cool or useful link. Often, these links are to list builders. As I write all of these blog posts in the dead of night (not at 4am necessarily, but in the dead of night, nonetheless), I frequently can't/ don't have a bunch of lights on in the house and all my cards strewn out across the dining room table or whatever, so listbuilders are something I don't just use, but really kind of rely on. 

Usually I'm sitting on the couch, lit only by the monitor glow of my old Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, flanked by a couple of sleepy dachshunds, listening for my youngest to wake up crying, typing away on whatever random topic I'm discussing on here in the next few hours, puffing obsessively on my personal vaporizer (or e-cigarette, in local parlance). 

As I get these emails though, I always kind of think to myself, "I wonder how many people don't use these list builders?" It sort of begs the question, y'know? Especially when the email is from someone that I kind of know through the site and I know they've been playing for awhile. 

To me, a list builder isn't just about having your list typed up in some nice format- obviously anyone with a little free time could do the same thing in a Google Docs Spreadsheet, Excel, or a bunch of other programs. It's more about all the little things a good listbuilder will provide- namely, not allowing mistakes and quickly viewing all of the cards at once without having to flip through the, well, actual cards. 

I used a listbuilder when I started playing 40k largely to keep me from screwing things up in the unit loadouts. Being my first miniatures game and there being a lot of kinda fiddly rules when it came to the options while building a list, Army Builder was invaluable for me for that very reason. Once I got the hang of the FOC, heavy weapons, special weapons, vehicle upgrades, and the option for unlocking the Wargear armory (this was 4th ed- a Sergeant with Terminator Honors in a Tactical Squad worked a little differently back then), I found myself using it less and less. 

You may think that X-Wing Miniatures is too simple of a game to require a listbuilder, but really there's nothing worse than thinking you've figured out some awesome combo that you've never heard anyone else mention only to realize it's illegal because for some damn reason, FFG didn't want Horton Salm to have Elite Pilot Skills even though he's Pilot Skill 8. Using a listbuilder saves you that embarrassment. Or at least saves you from making it in person during your next game- you might still say something silly on a messageboard or something. Not that I'd know anything about something like that of course. : )

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, a good listbuilder will put all of the card information in front of you in an way that's easier for your brain to process. Well, easier for me anyway. Your mileage may vary. If I had to actually sit down and put all the cards on the table to figure out combos and synergies, I'd be better off just trying to memorize them instead. Having the card text in front of you with just a mouseover or in a list? Maybe it's just me, but that makes all the difference in the world. 

So which X-Wing Miniatures List Builders do I dig the most? Well, first, I live online. You might have realized that when I said I use a Chromebook. In any case, I use listbuilders that are also online. I have no experience whatsoever with any offline listbuilder programs, Excel files, or anything else. I only use the stuff that's online because I can't install programs on my work computer and I'm never really on my PC or Mac anymore at home. Long story short, I can't speak to any offline versions- to be honest, I don't even know if there are any. If you know of any good ones, mention them in the comments and why they're so good and I'll do some checking and edit this article if necessary. 

This one is Voidstate's X-Wing Squadron Builder. It offers solid functionality in a polished package. It runs fast on my machine which is nice, and offers a bevvy of options when it comes to sharing and saving your squadrons. If you haz Facebooks, you can login with that, but as I don't, I can't really speak to that or the additional options that affords. 

(I know, I know, but I swear it's not some "I'm too cool to like Facebook" thing with me- I just never really got it. I do have Twitter and Google+ accounts, if you're curious. I'm not on either of them much anymore mind you as I'm usually either working on the site or looking at the site stats, but I do drop a lot of football (soccer) science on my Twitter. G+ I kind of still don't really understand, so I just pretty much re-share stuff on there. You're much more likely to get some of my original material, so to speak, on Twitter. Hey also- if you guys follow me on G+, send me a message or something- I get random strangers following me all the time on G+, but I think most of them are spammers, but I don't want to seem like a dick by not following you back if you're a TMB reader, y'know?)

Another great listbuilder comes from our pal Fab in France. His listbuilder, if I remember correctly, actually started out as a random squadrons generator, but soon after became both a listbuilder and a random squadrons generator. 

Runs quickly despite including the box art from all of the expansions and card art from every card, random squad generator is fully configurable to your collection, and Fab updates the site based upon user feedback and new stuff punctually. Tres magnifique! No idea if I typed that right, but it's supposed to be a compliment, yo. :)

Last but not least, TMB.com reader Geordan has a pretty swanky listbuilder of his own. 

I like the background art behind the pilot's name, the options are cleanly and efficiently laid out, and mousing-over anything pops up a window on the right side with the full stats are card text. Really handy to use like that. Like Fab, Geordan has also been keeping up with recent events- he already has the Imperial Aces stuff on there that's been revealed so far. He also features a "Card Browser" button that just lets you flip through all the cards very quickly which is another great feature.