ACES Overview


System Requirements

iPod Touch 2nd – 4th Generation
iPad or iPad 2
iPhone (2, 3, 4, 4S)
Any android device running android 2.1 (Eclair) or later.

No PC required, all scoring can be done on the devices, if local Wi-Fi is available.

A PC or Mac can be used to synch scores if Wi-Fi isn't available.

Scoring can be done on any mix of supported devices.

ACES supports any type of CAS / SASS match, including the normal SASS cowboy match and Wild Bunch. You can also run side-matches with it quite easily, everything from speed pistol/rifle, to shotgun and long range.


Low Error Rate

Scoring errors come from 2 main sources:

  • Data entry 
  • Bad handwriting

ACES eliminates undecipherable handwriting.
And unlike entering scores in a stats shack with thousands to verify, the shooter verifies their score on the device – and they have a HIGH interest in making sure it is right.

The net result is LESS errors. A lot less.


Security

We don’t expect any cheaters, but we do want to make the temptation difficult. So we put some pretty decent security into ACES The best security is that scores cannot be pushed to any device. Scores can only be pulled. This prevents somebody from downloading ACES and inventing their own scores.

Also, we recommend running ACES on a secure Wi-Fi network where only the stats people know the Wi-Fi password. That way the only people who could cheat are the stats people, and you have to trust them in any system.

Additionally, you can enter a match password that prevents scoring (or even synching) match data if not entered.


Sharing Scores

Posses use their own device. The device can travel with the posse or stay on the stage. It works either way.
Scores can be synched to any or all devices. Most matches just synch to one that they call a master.
The devices communicate via Wi-Fi, which need not be on the Internet. wifi communication

Synching scores is super easy. Just go to the synch page, the other devices in the match show up, and grab their scores:

devices iPad Sync

At match end, collect all the devices, synch them (usually in posse order to make sure you don't skip one). And your match is scored.
We recommend synching as the match proceeds, as a backup for data. You can also post the match data to acesscoring.com (via a single click) as a backup, or e-mail the match data to yourself or another person for additional off-site storage.


Typical Workflow

ACES (Automatic Cowboy Easy Scoring) moves score data entry to the posse. After each shooter competes, the scorekeeper enters their time, penalties, and bonuses into ACES As an option, at larger matches or regionals/national level matches, also write it down on your normal score sheet, and the shooters log. ACES adds NO extra time to the match. Scoring a shooter takes, perhaps, 5 seconds – as quick or quicker than paper.

flow chart

Scoring a Shooter

It's easy – tap in their time, any misses, procedural, or other penalties. Here is Pit's score on Stage 2:

Pit Viper Pit Viper Miss

If heaven forbid, Pit had a Miss (or 2 or 3), and a Procedural, just tap the Miss box twice, and Procedural box once.

Pit Viper Error

Note that ACES is smart and will only let you give one Procedural. Note the penalties and bonuses are tallied up and shown in the Final Score section at the bottom.

Handling Shoot Throughs

Some folks need to be somewhere or to work the match, and they jump posses or are not in a posse. No worry, if somebody shows up to shoot a stage that isn't the posse on them, they can be scored easily.

Just find them in the All Shooters posse:
Posses All Shooters


Defining A Match

There is no limit on the number of stages in ACES To define a stage, just, well, define it:
edit stage

You can set the number of rounds for the stage as a check to limit the number of misses entered, as a data validity check.

Bonus targets are optional, and can be defined easily with as many variations as you like:
Bonus Targets


Registering Shooters

Registration can be done in a couple ways:

  • On the device(s)
  • Import using Comma or Tab separated data files

Registering on Devices

Device registration is super easy. Once a shooter has been registered, either in a match, or in a match synched to that device, he or she is always remembered and you can register them again with a few key strokes.
Edit Alias View Alias

Any sized match is easy to manage using ACES, in just a few key strokes you can find any shooter and edit their data:
Shooters Search

Walk-Ons

Late Arrivals, also known as "walk-ons" are easy with ACES Any device can register a shooter, and it's no problem if they are registered two, three, or as many times as there are stages. If a shooter has the same name and SASS number, their scores will be combined when scores are synched.

Works with Existing Registration Systems

If you use a separate system for registering shooters for a large match, then getting them into ACES is easy. Just have your system, whether it is Roundup, or C.D. Tom's system (or home brewed), export a data file with alias, name, posse, sass id in it and ACES will import and register them. You can do this multiple times into the same match, with duplicates removed.


Score Verification

This is done in two ways:

  • Post to acesscoring.com using the "Post scores for verification".
    This lets shooters see their raw data, but no standings. This keeps the 'mystery' alive.
  • Print Review Reports. This can be done right from the device using Apples Air Print, or various tools for printing on Android.
    Review

The first shows all stages raw data for shooters in one report. It makes posting scores for shooter confirmation easy – a 100 competitor match takes perhaps 4 sheets of paper.
Print Review

You can also order the data by posse, which can make it harder for someone to add up scores if you want to keep the mystery of the match for the awards ceremony.

The goal is to make it easy and quick for the Stats team to update the field, so they can get back to enjoying the match.


Final Results

You can print or e-mail (PDF) scores by Rank or Time, with details or not. Printing is easy on the iOS platform, just use an AirPrint printer and hit the Print button in ACES.

Categories are easy too - ACES sorts them out and gives you separate reports. You can also invent your own categories!

As a final touch you can, optionally, post your scores to AcesScoring.com where they can be easily viewed by those around the world. You can even embed the scores from AcesScoring.com in your own website, with just one copy and paste (like embeddeding a YouTube video).

Results Print Results


Importing Match Registration Into ACES

It is now possible to import match registration info into ACES Please download and read this pdf on how to import your match registrations.


ACES Support Questions

If you have any comments or questions that can't be answered on this page, please feel free to contact us at support at acesscoring dot com