System tray app to notify turns

[xelfer]

Hi all,

I've recently began playing a 10 player network game with some guys at work and I thought a useful application would be a little application that sits in the windows system tray to notify us of when a turn is complete so we can login without having to bug each other to hurry up.

I've looked around a bit for 'system tray' but couldn't find anything obvious, so if it doesn't exist I'd like to create it.

I've checked out pbnotify and could learn C# and determine exactly how the program interfaces with pitboss, but I'd prefer to do it in python if possible.

Is there an existing network API to connect to a game server and query who has(n't) taken their turn or anything like that? Or will I have to write something to interface with the pitboss GUI and extract the data out of the fields? I have looked at the existing initial python reference but as far as I can see that's used for interfacing with a currently running game on your PC instead of a pitboss network hosted game.

Another idea i've had would be to use something which waits for emails from pbnotify and then notifies the player via their systray, but the emails take a few minutes to arrive and i'd rather something which works faster (instant if possible, it's my own server so I don't mind polling it every few seconds).

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I start this little project of mine!

Cheers,
xelfer.

[Kinjiru]

This sounds quite useful.

I would suggest cross-posting over at CFC. I love me some 'poly, but the modding community is simply larger over there so you are more likely to find someone that can help you.

[xelfer]

Thanks, i'll try over there as well

[snoopy369]

Overlord_UT over at CFC, writer of the Pitboss server (Civstats), was thinking about writing something like this. I wrote something like this actually, but I never really made it to the point it was releasable... it worked sort of, but not perfectly. I could send you my vB code for it if you want. It relied on the CivStats server though.

I'd definitely talk to Overlord_UT, though, he has done the work of extracting the info from the PB console for civstats...

[xelfer]

Thanks snoopy - wouldn't mind seeing any code that people have written to do similar stuff. I've crossposted to CFC so i'll see if I can get in contact with Overlord_UT, thanks a lot