Manual for Sutekh 0.6

Sutekh Icon

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Important Concepts
  3. Main Window
    1. File
    2. Pane Actions
    3. Plugins
    4. Keyboard Shortcuts
    5. Refreshing the White Wolf Card List
  4. White Wolf Card List
    1. Actions
    2. Edit
    3. Filter
    4. Plugins
  5. Card Text
  6. Card Image
  7. Card Set List
    1. Actions
    2. Edit
    3. Filter
  8. Card Sets
    1. Actions
    2. Edit
    3. Filter
    4. Plugins
    5. Keyboard Shortcuts
  9. Other dialogs
    1. Card Lookup Dialog
    2. Search Dialog
  10. Filters
    1. Card Filters
    2. Card Set Filters
    3. Combining Basic Filters
    4. String filters
    5. List filters
  11. Plugin List
    1. Backup
    2. Card Images
    3. Import CSV file
    4. Import ARDB or ELDB file
    5. Import card sets from zip file
    6. Cluster Cards
    7. Clan Discipline Stats
    8. Change Grouping
    9. Select Extra Columns
    10. Set selected cards to a single expansion
    11. Compare card set with another Card Set
    12. Analyze Deck
    13. Test Card Set Independence
    14. Simulate Opening Hand
    15. Card draw probabilities
    16. Rulebook

Introduction

If you are new to Sutekh, try reading The Sutekh Tutorial.

Important Concepts

Sutekh is concerned with two different types of objects: Cards and Card Sets.

Cards are the individual cards as described by the official White Wolf card list. Sutekh describes all the relevant properties of each card, such as the clan and discipline requirements, the cost, and the latest card text.

You can set the expansion to which each specific card belongs. This allows you to distinguish between multiple copies of the same card from different expansions. If the expansion is not set, Sutekh notes this as Unknown Expansion in the card set view.

Card Sets are collections of cards, and describe each card and the number of copies of that card in the collection. Card sets can be related in a parent-child hierarchy. In a typical setup, there is a single card set for the main card collection (usually the My Collection card set); and other card sets, which represent constructed decks, are children of this card set—but many other arrangements are possible.

Main Window

You can split the main Sutekh window into a number of different panes.

The following panes are supported:

Each pane may have an associated menu for actions specific to that pane. The main window has a menu for global actions.

You can easily rearrange panes. You can swap two panes by dragging one onto the other.

File

The file menu has the following options.

If Sutekh encounters an unknown card when importing card sets, it will prompt you to identify it using the Card Lookup Dialog.

Pane Actions

This menu allows you to manage the panes in Sutekh. The Pane Actions menu has the following options:

Plugins

The following plugins are available from the main menu:

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following shortcuts are useful for most panes:

You can cycle between different panes using the <Tab> key.

You can close the currently active pane using the <Ctrl>-W shortcut.

In panes which support filtering, you can activate the filter editing dialog using <Ctrl>-S (for ”*S*pecify filter”), and toggle the current filter on and off using <Ctrl>-T.

The <Ctrl>-+ and <Ctrl>— shortcuts allow you to expand fully or collapse completely the entire tree displayed in a pane.

Refreshing the White Wolf Card List

This allows Sutekh to update the card list to account for new cards, such as promos.

Sutekh parses the card list published on the White Wolf site for information about the cards. When new expansions are published, Sutekh may require an update to interpret major changes to the cardlist, such as new clans or card types. If the expansion does not introduce any significant changes, Sutekh may be able to import the new card list correctly, but may be unable to interpret the new expansion name. If this happens, Sutekh should continue working, but you may need to specify the correct mapping for the expansion when updating the database during your next upgrade.

White Wolf Card List

This pane contains a list of all the cards imported from the official White Wolf card list.

Actions

The Actions menu allows the following actions:

Edit

Filter

The filter menu has three options:

Plugins

The following plugins are available from the White Wolf Card List pane menu:

Card Text

The Card Text Pane displays the text on the card, and any rulings that apply to the card.

This will also list other relevant information about the card, such as the card cost, the card type, the disciplines or virtues associated with the card, the clans and creeds associated with the card, vampire titles, sects and groups, capacity and the expansions in which the card was printed.

Card Images

If the Card Image Plugin has been configured, this pane will display the appropriate card image for each pane. By default, all images are resized to fit the pane. You can change this setting by right-clicking on the image.

The following options are available:

If there are multiple images for the given card from the different expansions, Sutekh will attempt to display the correct expansion for the selected card. You can cycle through the available expansions either by left-clicking on the image, or by selecting the Show next expansion image and Show previous expansion image options after right-clicking on the frame.

Import CSV file

This allows you to import card sets stored as a comma-separated file, a format commonly produced by spreadsheets. The file must contain a column with card names and a column with card counts, and can optionally contain a column with expansions. When you importing the file, you must specify the mapping between the columns and their contents.

If Sutekh cannot correctly interpret a name or expansion, it will prompt you to resolve the situation using the Card Lookup Dialog.

Import ARDB or ELDB file

This allows you to import files produced by ARDB, JOL, Lackey CCG or FELDB. Sutekh does not recognise the file format automatically, so you must specify it manually.

For some types of file, such as ARDB inventories, you will also need to specify a card set name for the imported file.

If the name of the card set clashes with an existing name, you will be asked to rename the imported card set or cancel the import.

If no cards are found in the card set, the card set will not be created.

Import card sets from zip file

This plugin allows you to select some or all of the Sutekh Card Sets included in a zip file (such as those produced by the backup plugin) and import them into the card set. Unlike the backup plugin, this does not replace any existing card sets.

After selecting the zip file, you will be asked to select the card sets to import from the list of card sets in the zip file. If any of the card sets share the same name as an existing card set, you will be asked either to rename the card set, or skip importing that card set.

If a card set to be imported has a parent card set, and that set cannot be found, the card set will be imported with no parent set.

Card Set List

This pane lists all the card sets which have been defined. The card sets are arranged so that child card sets are listed below their parents.

You can open a card set either by double-clicking on its name, or by dragging the name to an existing pane.

You can change the parent of a card set by dragging the card set name onto the new parent’s name.

You can mark sets either as in use or not in use. This is intended to help you track which cards are currently available for you to use in new card sets.

Actions

The following actions are available:

Edit

Filter

The filter menu has two options:

Card Sets

Actions

The Actions menu allows the following actions:

Edit

This menu has the following options:

If the card set is not editable, you cannot make changes to its contents directly. It is still possible for you to change the card set contents by editing the parent card set when the Display Mode -> Show Child Card Sets option is active.

Filter

The filter menu has three options:

Plugins

The following plugins are available from the card set pane plugins menu:

Keyboard Shortcuts

For card sets, the following additional keyboard shortcuts exist:

You can toggle the editable state of the card set using <Ctrl>-E.

You can copy the current selection to the clipboard using <Ctrl>-C.

If the card set is editable, you can delete the current selection using <Del> or paste a copied selection into the card set using <Ctrl>-V.

In an editable card set, you can set the count for all the cards in a selection to a number from one to ten by typing the number directly. You can increment and decrement the count for all the cards in a selection using + and -. If the card set is not editable, these keys have no effect.

Other Dialogs

Card Lookup Dialog

For various reasons, Sutekh may fail to identify a card correctly when importing a card set. Names vary (“Spirit’s Touch”, “The Spirit’s Touch”), special characters can be missing, etc.. When this happens, Sutekh will prompt you for the correct card.

The card lookup window displays two lists: the list of all White Wolf cards and the list of unknown cards. Below the unknown card list are options to specify a filter, to apply or unapply the filter or to search the card list.

The unknown card list has two columns—the name of the unknown card and the currently selected replacement from the White Wolf card list—and three buttons. Use the first button to replace the card with the currently selected card, the second button to mark the card as ignored, and the last to view a list of reasonable options (Sutekh finds these by applying a filter based on the unknown card name).

Once you have selected replacements for all unknown cards (or chosen to ignore them), use the OK button to create the card set.

If you choose to cancel, the entire import will be aborted and no card set will be created.

If Sutekh cannot identify an expansion in the file, it will prompt you for the correct replacement. If Sutekh finds an impossible card and expansion combination, it will prompt you to resolve the situation using the card lookup dialog—but you will have the opportunity to select both the card and the expansion.

The search dialog can be used to find specific cards or card sets quickly.

In the main window, it can be popped up by using the menu item, the <Ctrl>-F shortcut, or by starting to type in the window directly.

In the card lookup window, it can be popped up by using the search button, the <Ctrl>-F shortcut, or by starting to type.

The dialog can be hidden by either pressing the Escape key, the Enter key, or by clicking outside the search dialog. Note that, to prevent unexpected side-effects, while the search dialog is shown, clicking will only hide the dialog and not effect any else.

The search looks to match names starting with the typed text. When multiple cards match, you can easily move between them by using the up or down keys while the search dialog is visible.

Filters

Filtering is one of the most common activities in Sutekh. You can construct complex queries by combining various basic filters.

The Filter dialog will display the last used filter for the given pane. You can clear or modify this filter using the Clear Filter button.

You can save complex filters for later reuse using the Save button, and recall them using the Load button. When modifying a filter, you can revert to the saved version using the Revert Filter button.

Card Filters

These filters apply either to the White Wolf card list or a card set. The following basic filters are supported:

You can also use these filters in the Card Lookup Dialog during a card set import—they can assist you in finding matches for unknown cards.

Currently, the only way to filter on the properties of a merged vampire, such as different discipline levels, is to filter on the card text.

Card Set Filters

These filters apply to the card set list. The following basic filters are supported.

When Sutekh displays card sets which match a filter, all the direct ancestors of those sets are also displayed even if they do not match the filter themselves, so that the matching sets can be shown in their correct position in the hierarchy.

Combining Basic Filters

You can combine filters by using filter boxes to group the basic filters together.

There are four types of filter box:

Each filter box can also contain sub-filters, which are themselves filter boxes. You can thus construct complex queries by nesting multiple filter boxes.

String filters

Several filters check a string which you specify against a particular text property. They will match if the given string is a substring of the property.

String filters are case-insensitive: for example, if you use the Card Name filter, the string the will match both Weigh the Heart and Yuri, The Talon.

String filters can also use two different wildcard characters:

_ will match any single character. Thus a_c will match both abc and aec, but not abdc or abd. _ will never match the empty string, so Th_e will not match The, but will match Thee

% will match any sequence of characters. So a%c will match any of abc, aec or abdegfthc, but not abdefg. % will also match the empty string, so Th%e will match both The and Three.

Wildcards can be used multiple times in the same filter string. So a_b%e will match any of acbde, aebe or aebfe.

List filters

Several filters check a list of possible options which you specify against some property. They will match if the value of the property matches any item in the given list.

Thus, if you use the Clan filter and specify both Tremere and Toreador, it will match cards which list either of these clans.

Plugin List

Backup

This allows you either to save or to restore a full backup of the current database. The backup is saved as a zip file, and is independent of the database back-end which Sutekh uses. Consequently, the backup can also be used to transfer the complete state between different databases.

There are two options offered by the plugin:

You can save a backup at any time. Sutekh will ask you whether you would like to save a backup when you initiate certain actions, such as updating the White Wolf card list.

Card Images

This plugin allows you to configure the card images pane.

The images pane can be configured in three ways:

Cluster Cards

The clustering plugin attempts to group cards from a card list into sets (clusters) of cards with similar properties. It is designed to allow you to explore subsets of your cards, and perhaps to look for groups of cards which might provide starting points for deck construction. The clustering tool is currently quite slow, so be patient when waiting for large card lists to be grouped (it will finish eventually).

When you open the clustering plugin, you will be presented with three tabs: Select Columns, Settings and Results.

The Select Columns tab is where you select the properties for the plugin to consider when grouping the cards. Properties are organised into categories for ease of selection. If you are unsure which properties to select, start by selecting the disciplines and clans which you find the most interesting.

In the Settings tab, you can tweak the clustering algorithm parameters. The plugin implements K-means clustering using K-means++ to determine the initial cluster centers, followed by Lloyd’s method of iteratively refining the clusters. Three parameters can be set:

Once the property columns have been selected and the parameters set, use the Execute button to begin the clustering. When clustering is complete, the Results tab will be populated.

The results are presented as a table. Each row corresponds to a cluster of cards. The first column contains checkboxes. Use these to select which clusters to use to create card sets, then click the Make Cards Sets from Selected Clusters button at the bottom of the results. The second column contains the cluster number, which enables you to determine which clusters correspond to the created card sets. The third column shows how many cards are present in each cluster, and the last lists the property values of the cluster center (property values of zero are omitted).

Clan Discipline Stats

This plugin shows an analysis of all the different clans in the White Wolf card list. For each clan, it displays the total number of vampires in the clan, the sum of the vampires’ capacities, and the most common disciplines. It also shows the score for the disciplines, and various stats about how the disciplines are distributed.

You can expand the tree view to show the details for each legal grouping combination.

The score is intended to give you some indication of how common disciplines are within the clan. Vampires without a discipline score 0 for that discipline, vampires with the inferior discipline score 1 and vampires with the superior discipline score 2.

Change Grouping

By default, Sutekh groups the cards into the separate card types. You can change the grouping with this menu option.

The following groupings are available:

Select Extra Columns

By default, Sutekh only shows card names in the White Wolf Card List, and card names and card counts in other card set lists. You can select additional columns to display using this plugin. Possible extra columns are:

You can sort the display by a particular column by clicking on the column header. Click on the same header repeatedly to toggle between ascending and descending order.

Cards which have equal values within the column selected for sorting are further sorted by the card name. Because the different cost types aren’t comparable, if you choose to sort by cost, cards will be grouped by cost type first and sorted within those types.

If you have downloaded the icons from the White Wolf site, you will be able to toggle the display between the Show Icons and Names, Show Text only and Show Icons only options using the radio buttons provided. This setting will affect all selected columns that can use icons.

Set selected cards to a single expansion

This plugin searches for expansions which are common to all the selected cards, and allows you to choose one of these. The physical expansion for all the selected cards is set to this choice.

Compare with another Card Set

This plugin compares the current card set with a different card set. It displays which cards are common to both card sets, and lists the unique cards in each card set.

By default, the plugin ignores the expansions of cards, and considers all cards with the same name to be the same. You can change this behaviour using the Consider Expansions as well checkbox when selecting a card set for comparison.

Analyze Deck

This plugin examines a card set and displays various statistics about it which are intended to give you some indication of how the card set will operate as a deck.

It displays several tabs, each of which summarises different aspects of the card set. The first tab summarises some basic information about the entire set. The second tab implements Legbiter’s Happy Family analysis for the card set. The remaining tabs consider specific card types.

The happy family implementation allows you either to select the number of disciplines to use, or to select the disciplines to consider manually.

Test Card Set Independence

This plugin tests the current card set against other card sets with the same parent, and considers whether there are enough cards in the parent card set to simultaneously construct all the selected sets. Multiple decks can be selected from the list of card sets.

You can test the current card set against all sets with the same parent which are marked as In Use by checking the Test against all card sets marked as in use checkbox when selecting decks for comparison. This checkbox overrides any selected entries in the list.

The first tab of the results displays the full list of cards of which there is a shortage in the parent card set. For each selected set which includes any of these cards, the list of cards relevant to that set is shown in a separate tab.

Simulate Opening Hand

This plugin treats the card set as a completed deck, and displays the expected distribution of cards in the opening hand and crypt. It is intended to give you some idea of how the deck will work in practice. In addition, you can generate example opening hands and crypts by clicking the Draw sample hand button.

Card draw probabilities

This plugin displays the probabilities of drawing the selected cards from the library or the crypt. Unlike the simulate opening hand plugin, this plugin displays results for longer sequences of card draws.

The first row of the table shows the probabilities of drawing a single card in the selected list. Sub-rows show the individual probabilities for each possible combination of selected cards. The second row shows the probabilities of drawing all possible combinations of two selected cards, etc..

Each probability cell in the table displays two values: the probability of drawing at least that combination of cards, and the probability of drawing exactly that combination of cards (shown in brackets).

The plugin has the following settings:

The selected changes are only applied when you press the the recalculate table button.

Rulebook

This plugin allows you to download copies of the rulebook, the rules reference, the V:EKN tournament rules, imbued rules and card rulings from the White Wolf site, or to install previously downloaded copies. Once you have downloaded the rulebook files, you can open them in a web browser using the Rulebook submenu in the Plugins menu on the Main Window. To download the files, or update your existing copies, use the Configure Rulebook Plugin item in the same submenu.