BankAlt.com adds cost calculations

Dear friends and readers, I am happy to announce that my special WoW project, BankAlt.com, has now gained a new feature, something that you've all been secretly wanting but were too shy to say. I'm talking about cost calculations.

In addition to the component hierarchy for recipes, there is now the ability to enter costs for each material in gold/silver/copper, and the total cost for the main item is automatically calculated.

This feature is, in fact, the whole raison d'être for BankAlt and the original idea that drove its development. The reason why it took me so long to release it (besides the fact that I don't have much time to work on this project) is that it required several iterations before it was fit to be released. I am now reasonably certain that the cost calculation feature is ready for prime time.

I already know what many of you will be requesting next and please be assured that I'm already working on it. I won't say what it is but this next feature is also part of my original plan.

I will explain briefly how the new feature works. Next to each recipe there are two new options: Quick Tree and Full Tree w/ Cost. Quick Tree is the old "Expand" feature and it simply shows the component hierarchy. Full Tree w/ Cost is the new cost calculation feature. It opens a window with the component tree but now there are boxes which allow you to enter component costs. As you type, totals are tallied and the final cost of the main item is automatically calculated.

You don't need to fill in every single sub-component. You can choose what level you wish to fill, depending on the mats that you have available for crafting. For example, you can calculate starting at the lowermost component level (if you have access to raw materials and can craft components from them), or you can start at a higher level (if you can obtain those from, say, the Auction House). You can also do combinations of these two extremes, depending on what raw materials and components you have access to.

I have written a cost calculations tutorial under the help section. Below, I've included the screenshots from that tutorial but the help section itself has more explanations, if they are needed.

Searching for a recipe and the two new Tree options

The Quick Tree option

The Full Tree w/ Cost option

Starting to type the cost for a sub-component

All sub-component costs have been filled in

This time only the main component costs were filled in

I hope this new feature will prove useful and, as usual, suggestions are welcome.