Parser FAQ

Packrat · 01-30-2007, 06:07 PM

Parser FAQ
by Didi

Q: What's a parser?

A: A program that reads through your log files, and filters out the content you are interested in, and formats it for ease of interpretation. This could actually be anything, but most of the time when people talk about parsers they are referring to damage parsers which specifically analyze combat stats.

Q: What parser is good?

A: There are a number of parser programs out there, a very popular choice at the moment appears to be ACT, Advanced Combat Tracker. However, which parser will be best for you will depend on what exactly the information is that you want to parse, and if it's something very specific, you may find it worthwhile to look around and see how different parsers handle it.

Q: Who should use a parser?

A: Parsers are certainly not required for anyone to use, however they provide a lot of useful information about exactly how you and your group/raid perform in each battle. Like any source of detailed information therefore, parsers can be a useful tool to help understand your class and make your play more effective. Parsers are particularly useful for classes whose primary focus is doing damage, since it easily allows you to compare your own damage compared to others in the group or raid, and see what spells or combat art combinations are most effective. They are also very useful on raids for seeing what kind of damage mobs are doing, and ACT can even replay a little timeline of each fight if you want to see the combat order or identify who is attacking too soon (or too late).

Q: Can I run it at the same time as EverQuest?

A: Yes, unless your computer is already really strugging with EQ2, running the parser in the background shouldn't be a problem. All the parser does is monitor your log file, it doesn't interact with EQ2 directly in any way. You can also run the parser on a second computer that is networked with the computer playing EverQuest 2, if you have one. Alternately, you can import a section of an older log file at any time and analyse it in retrospect.

Q: How do I install it?

A: First, make sure your logging is on in EQ2. To turn your logging on, use the /log command. Logs are simply a text file saved in your EQ2 folder, under the sub-folder \logs\Najena\. (It's a good idea to rename or delete your older log files on a regular basis so they don't get unmanageably huge.)

To install, go to the ACT site and click the "Download" tab, then save the EXE install package to somewhere you will be able to find it again, launch it when the download is complete, and follow the installation instructions. You also need to have Microsoft .NET framework installed if you don't already - there is a link on the ACT site to where you need to download that from. .NET is an optional component of Windows and shouldn't cause you any issues to add if you don't have it already active.

Once you've got it installed, it's a good idea to go to the "About" tab every couple months and click the "check version now" button to get any bug fixes and more recent updates.

Q: How do I use it?

A: It's pretty smart, and once it's running it should automatically detect where your EQ2 log file is. IF not, you can manually select the log file on the "About" tab. The "Main" tab is where your combat results will automatically be updated while you're in battle. It will default to showing an overall damage comparison for the group, but you can change it to showing healing parses by sorting the data table on the right by the healing column. You can drill down to see details by expanding the tree on the left side. View fight timelines and replays by selecting the fight and right-clicking. By default it will also beep after each fight, which signifies that the parse for that fight has been copied to your clipboard so you can paste it into the game if required. (Please don't do this unless your entire group wants to see it - parse-spammers can be really irritating! And isn't it funny how they always seem to post the results where they come #1, and forget to parse the fights where they don't...

) If you don't want this constant beeping, you can turn it off on the "general options" tab under the "export after each battle" section.

There's more detailed how-tos on the ACT site which would be pointless for me to rewrite here, so check them out, or just play around - there's a ton of features and more added with each update.

01-30-2007, 06:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
Packrat Keeper of cheese, useful things, and lost buttons Posts: 37	Parser FAQ Parser FAQ by Didi Q: What's a parser? A: A program that reads through your log files, and filters out the content you are interested in, and formats it for ease of interpretation. This could actually be anything, but most of the time when people talk about parsers they are referring to damage parsers which specifically analyze combat stats. Q: What parser is good? A: There are a number of parser programs out there, a very popular choice at the moment appears to be ACT, Advanced Combat Tracker. However, which parser will be best for you will depend on what exactly the information is that you want to parse, and if it's something very specific, you may find it worthwhile to look around and see how different parsers handle it. Q: Who should use a parser? A: Parsers are certainly not required for anyone to use, however they provide a lot of useful information about exactly how you and your group/raid perform in each battle. Like any source of detailed information therefore, parsers can be a useful tool to help understand your class and make your play more effective. Parsers are particularly useful for classes whose primary focus is doing damage, since it easily allows you to compare your own damage compared to others in the group or raid, and see what spells or combat art combinations are most effective. They are also very useful on raids for seeing what kind of damage mobs are doing, and ACT can even replay a little timeline of each fight if you want to see the combat order or identify who is attacking too soon (or too late). Q: Can I run it at the same time as EverQuest? A: Yes, unless your computer is already really strugging with EQ2, running the parser in the background shouldn't be a problem. All the parser does is monitor your log file, it doesn't interact with EQ2 directly in any way. You can also run the parser on a second computer that is networked with the computer playing EverQuest 2, if you have one. Alternately, you can import a section of an older log file at any time and analyse it in retrospect. Q: How do I install it? A: First, make sure your logging is on in EQ2. To turn your logging on, use the /log command. Logs are simply a text file saved in your EQ2 folder, under the sub-folder \logs\Najena\. (It's a good idea to rename or delete your older log files on a regular basis so they don't get unmanageably huge.) To install, go to the ACT site and click the "Download" tab, then save the EXE install package to somewhere you will be able to find it again, launch it when the download is complete, and follow the installation instructions. You also need to have Microsoft .NET framework installed if you don't already - there is a link on the ACT site to where you need to download that from. .NET is an optional component of Windows and shouldn't cause you any issues to add if you don't have it already active. Once you've got it installed, it's a good idea to go to the "About" tab every couple months and click the "check version now" button to get any bug fixes and more recent updates. Q: How do I use it? A: It's pretty smart, and once it's running it should automatically detect where your EQ2 log file is. IF not, you can manually select the log file on the "About" tab. The "Main" tab is where your combat results will automatically be updated while you're in battle. It will default to showing an overall damage comparison for the group, but you can change it to showing healing parses by sorting the data table on the right by the healing column. You can drill down to see details by expanding the tree on the left side. View fight timelines and replays by selecting the fight and right-clicking. By default it will also beep after each fight, which signifies that the parse for that fight has been copied to your clipboard so you can paste it into the game if required. (Please don't do this unless your entire group wants to see it - parse-spammers can be really irritating! And isn't it funny how they always seem to post the results where they come #1, and forget to parse the fights where they don't... ) If you don't want this constant beeping, you can turn it off on the "general options" tab under the "export after each battle" section. There's more detailed how-tos on the ACT site which would be pointless for me to rewrite here, so check them out, or just play around - there's a ton of features and more added with each update.