Last Revised: 01/09/2001
Red Alert 2 - Ladder Crawler
by Ben Ziegler
Jan 9, 2001 - Just created an Allies vs. Soviets report, very interesting results. Note this is a custom report in Excel, not implemented in RA2 Ladder Crawler. I just use RA2LC to get the data.
See how you stack up against the #1 player on the ladder, click here on I should be #1, enter your nickname as the Start Player, and hit Submit. Note that it only works for players who are ranked in the top 15,000 on the Westwood ladder. Note that each query can take from 2-15 seconds, and if several people are hitting the page at once it can take very long.
Also added Power Scores. This is a new alternative ranking system that is more accurate than the RA2 point system. Power Scores accurately predict the winner of a game 75-78% of the time, while the ladder is only 65% accurate. Like any scoring system, there are some errors and inconsistencies, but those are minimized as much as possible.
As seen from the "I should be #1" link above, RA2 Ladder Crawler can now optionally act as a web server, so that you can add it to your web page if desired.
This utility will scour the Red Alert 2 Ladder Page and gather data into tables. You can then export those tables into Excel to perform calculations & statistical measurements, etc. It can quickly pull down players into the database, and then pull the game information for each player. It can also get the game detail information for each game a player has played. You can use this to quickly find out if a player has a preference for a particular map, etc.
There's really no help file or documentation. Just run the executable, and hit the "Get Top 25" button. Then hit the "Get Ranked Games" button to download Game information for all those players. You could then click on a player in the player table, right click to get a popup menu, and then select "Get Game Details" to get the game detail information for each game that player has played (map, duration, & points won/lost).
I used the crawler to find the Top 25 "Best" games - best meaning the toughest players playing each other. Click here to see the results. I found it interesting that several of the players in the Top 25 of the rankings didn't play that many other tough players.
I just added two more reports, check out the Map Report and the Opponent Report. Note that the opponent report is based on your opponent's current rank, not just the rank they were when you played them. Also note that a game is considered a win if the winner gained points from the match.
Players Page, Games Page, Options Page, Web Log Page, Map Report, Opponent Report, Power Score Report, Player Comparison Report
Download RA2 Ladder Crawler v1.0.0.7 (503 Kb)
Should work on any version of Windows. Requires that you have an Internet connection. Download works best with IE 5.0+. Just unzip the file and run the executable. RA2 Ladder Crawler is freeware, so the price is right!
This program was written in Borland Delphi 5.0. If you're interested in the source code, drop me an email.
If you have questions or comments, send me an email.
1.0.0.7
Added Map Codes, reports now display real map name (instead of map file name)
Auto download feature
Added "Get All Favorite Maps" to "Player" menu
1.0.0.4
Power Scores Report
Download for Power Scores Report
Player Comparison Report (i.e., Kevin Bacon game)
Web page services
Features to search & save reports
1.0.0.2
Now includes useful reports (doesn't need Excel)
Added "Map Report"
Added "Opponent Report" - report based on opponents current rank (not just the rank when you played them)
Cleaned up the user interface
1.0.0.1
First release, not very functional except for exporting to Excel
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Last Revised: 01/09/2001 |