DBA 3.0 Army Design Tool
I haven't played De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) for decades, but I do own a copy of the latest version. Who knows I may use it one day.
I built this a few months ago after I spotted a nearly full set of army lists on the Fanaticus DBA forum. At the time I was looking for a small data project to occupy some dead time.
It's really very simple and should be quicker than parsing a written army list.
Data issues
Some lists had to be split into sub-variants (i.e. not in the official lists) so that they worked as unique records. Here's an example:
Version history
There are two versions available both developed with Google Sheets. Both use the same data set and user interface, but they differ in the way the army is built:
- Version 1.02 is the simplest. It requires the user to enter all the troop types manually and clear the troop type column every time they start a new army.
- Version 2.00 is more automated. It requires a bare minimum of user input. The troop types are entered automatically wherever possible. The only exceptions are when the user has to choose from two or more troop types.
Credits & development history
Six months after the release of v1.00 Chris Laudermilk got in touch with a number of suggestions which lead to both v1.02 and to v2.00.
Chris contributed a couple of neat formulae. One parsed the options text removing the need for users to enter the number of elements. The other selected the troop type where there was only one option; once again reducing user input. Very efficient.
The first formula "upgraded" v1.00 to v1.02. The second was not used because there's was a problem. When a user selects an army and enters an option it overwrites the formula. Repeated use would remove more of the formulae, eventually removing them altogether.
To make best use of the second formula there needed to be a way of reinstating the formula each time a new army was created. Therefore, v2.00 contains a relatively simple app script (Google speak for a macro) to do this. The script also shows a notification on screen confirming the change of list.
Scripting disclaimer
As I'm an (very) amateur programmer, the use of app scripts means that others have to trust the code I've used. This being so, you use v2.00 at your own risk and in the full knowledge that it comes with no warranty whatsoever.
Get a copy
- Version 1.02 (script free). If you use Google Docs, use this link to create your own copy. If you don't, use this link to download a copy. The downloaded version isn't quite as pretty, but, in my limited tests, works fine.
- Version 2.00 (scripted). Again, if you use Google Docs, use this link to copy the sheet to your Google Docs account. When you first open the spreadsheet you will be asked to authorize the various scripts. Here's a worked example. I do not recommend downloading a copy to use in Excel: the formatting is awful and, more importantly, the error trapping doesn't work.
Finally, please get in touch if; you've used the spreadsheet, you've found any bugs, or you have any questions.