About

A tool for generating heatmaps of stock markets from 18xx games. Inspired by the 1849's market heatmap (see examples/source_picture.jpg).

The formula for Δ% (relative delta) is as follows:

Δ% = (N / avg(N_l, N_b) - 1) * 100

Where N is value of a given cell, N_l is value of the cell to the left and N_b is value of the cell below.

When calculating Δ% "from left" and "from below", N_b and N_l are ignored, respectively.

Use

Run python in the project directory:

python3

Import the main function:

from main import generate_market_heatmaps

Execute the function:

generate_market_heatmaps(market_path='data/1830_market.html')

Parameters

market_path - path to the file representing the market. Either hml or csv.

• csv - file in which every line represents one row of the market, with values separated by comas. Comas for the non-existent cells still must be provided (see data/1894_market.csv).

• html - file is the representation of the market extracted from the Market tab in a game on https://18xx.games. In Inspect mode right-click on the div that contains the whole market (but not the legend below it) and select Copy -> Inner HTML (or equivalent). Then format it by pasting in https://webformatter.com/html and save as .html file. Avoid copying markets with "markers" on them or remember to replace divs containing logo by <div></div>.

Important: The above parameter must be provided.

output_path - path in which to save generated heatmap images. 'output/heatmap.png' by default.

show_market - whether to generate the heatmap of the market, keeping the raw values. False by default

delta_from_left_and_below - whether tho generate the heatmap combinging values bogh to the left and below. True by default

delta_from_left - whether to generate the heatmap ignoring values of cells below (i.e. typically when paying out). False by default

delta_from_below - whether to generate the heatmap ignoring values of cells to the left (i.e. typically when being sold out). False by default

Important: at least on of the four above parameters must be True.

vmax - threshold after which every value will have the same color. Smaller it is, less precisely the heatmap differentiates between large values (i.e. they are of the same color), but more precisely between smaller ones. Ignored for the heatmap that shows the raw market values. 51 by default. None if you want to ignore it (then vmax is the largest value)

color_scheme - in what colors heatmaps are colored. 'gist_ncar' by default. See https://matplotlib.org/stable/tutorials/colors/colormaps.html and https://medium.com/@morganjonesartist/color-guide-to-seaborn-palettes-da849406d44f. For a monochrome scheme I recommend Oranges; for a classic "from blue to red": jet. gist_ncar is used by default as it is specifically suited to show small differences in several bands of values

Examples

In examples directory you can find some example heatmaps generated with different settings.

First time use

Install the required Python packages:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt