Here be dragons

[WyvernX86]

To quote Wikipedia: "'Here be dragons' is a phrase used to denote dangerous or unexplored territories."

That being the case I think it is a fitting subject for the first topic on this forum created to support the alpha release of Tabletop Commander Universal.

This new edition of Tabletop Commander will support creating data files, game information, and collections for most all of the tabletop games out there. Hence the addition of 'Universal' to the name. That is a a pretty big change by itself but from a “you the user's” perspective probably the biggest, and probably unpopular, change is that data files will not be provided with Tabletop Commander Universal.

What does that mean? To be direct, to get any use out of Tabletop Commander Universal you will first have to brave the Editor and create the data that will drive Tabletop Commander and allow you to create army lists for all of your favorite games.

That is doubly difficult because at this point no documentation is in place to help. See the 'here be dragons' reference above.   I plan on putting together some video tutorials over the coming week which will shed some light on how to use the Editor and get game data into Tabletop Commander Universal.

Why go this route? When we get to the end of the long road that is the release of version 1.0, the separation of data creation will allow data to be managed in an open way, meaning you won't have to wait on someone else to do it. This will also allow me to focus on the application, enhancements, and new features to hopefully continue to make Tabletop Commander Universal better.

My goals for this edition are to:
- make it as straight forward and easy as possible to create data files for various game systems
- support the features and 'feel' of the initial Tabletop Commander
- create a stable platform for further enhancements and features

And with that I will open the discussion and leave you with a brain dump of what I can think of right now that would be good for you to know.

-Forces, Upgrades, and Squads are not yet implemented.
-Validation logic is not in place
-Printing works but just to get the list and widgets on paper.
-The Details View in Tabletop Commander is not in place yet
-Check for Updates, Release Notes, Preferences, Help, and About is not functional

Did I tell you about the 'here be dragons' phrase?   That being said it *is* possible to create usable data files, and use those to build armies. After I get some of the intro tutorials out of the way I will be diving back in to getting this beast moving on towards the 1.0 release.

- Sam

[WyvernX86]

Note that that Collections are not yet implemented. The menu items and buttons are there but they don't do anything yet. The Collection functionality will be introduced later after the bulk of the army constructing code is in place.

[WyvernX86]

Version 0.1.2 is up and fixes the bug that x3tsniper found. Also available are the Linux installer and a generic zip bundle. The Mac installer will be next, then on to the tutorials.

I know the app is pretty useless right now without the tutorials, but having the build environment setup for all of the release targets is a big step out of the way.

Along with doing the builds I have also setup Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Fedora, and Ubuntu for testing (all within Virtual Box). I had already installed Snow Leopard on my Mac but made it dual bootable with Leopard in case I need to go back to it. So I should be able to reproduce any problems that are found, no matter what OS is being used.

Any Debian users out there, or any other Linux distributions, that you want to run Tabletop Commander on?

And yes, this thing is going to be useless without data files. The upcoming tutorials should assist in getting people going. It really isn't that much work to get the list building going, but I'd like to hear your thoughts and feedback after the tutorials are available.

Ok, enough for tonight. The Mac build should be ready in another day or so, then the first of the tutorials should be up a few days after that.

[WyvernX86]

I just uploaded Version 0.1.3 which includes some fixes, and the Mac installer is up now too. My next task is going to be starting in on the tutorials and I'll hopefully have something done in a few days.

[hams]

I found an issue with the Mac Installer.

1) It tries to install a Framework in /Frameworks/... and does not attempt to escalate privileges to do so.
2) I specified an alternate installation path instead of /Applications and that was no honored when attempting to install the framework.

kevin

[WyvernX86]

I found an issue with the Mac Installer.

1) It tries to install a Framework in /Frameworks/... and does not attempt to escalate privileges to do so.
2) I specified an alternate installation path instead of /Applications and that was no honored when attempting to install the framework.

kevin

Thanks for letting me know. I'll have this fixed in the next release which should be tomorrow night.

[WyvernX86]

The next release will be tomorrow night instead of tonight. I've been swamped with other responsibilities, so the tutorials probably won't be until late next week. After that I will focus on getting the validation pieces in place and continue to refine the editor.

[WyvernX86]

Version 0.1.4 is up. The bulk of the changes are focused on making the editor more stable. The big changes are that stats, composites, and Item Types can no longer be deleted if they are being used somewhere. A message will be displayed detailing where it is in use.

Also added a drop down arrow on the 'new' button for tags on Item Types and Item Data. The 'From Other' option will allow you to pull in a tag that has been created on another item. This will be useful for the more complex tags such as the Point Change tag.

[hams]

The new version installs for me as expected. Thanks. There appears to be no data files. I assume that is expected. Do you have any or do I have to roll my own?

[WyvernX86]

The new version installs for me as expected. Thanks. There appears to be no data files. I assume that is expected. Do you have any or do I have to roll my own?

No data files are included so you have it right. I do not have any but I know there are others working on some. If you would like to roll your own I am going to be posting a tutorial soon and that will help get you started. I had hoped to have it done by the end of this week, but I am traveling for work and my trip got extended. I still may get to it but if not it will be done early next week.

[WyvernX86]

I had to travel for work this week so I didn't get as much done as I had planned on. The tutorials and bug fixes will be coming this next week.

[WyvernX86]

The tutorials are still in progress. I planned to have those done last week but work and life got in the way.

[Saerko]

I'm plugging away at doing a Warmachine/Hordes data file, and I have a couple quick questions for you.

How do I require a certain item type to exist in an army? For example, each army needs to have a certain number of warcasters for its point value--how do I enforce that?

Is there any way to pair a certain number of bonus points to an item, but restrict them to use on another item? For example, a warcaster with 6 bonus points to spend, but only on warjack type items?

[WyvernX86]

How do I require a certain item type to exist in an army? For example, each army needs to have a certain number of warcasters for its point value--how do I enforce that?

This is not yet possible. The validation piece to do this will be the next thing that gets rolled out.

Is there any way to pair a certain number of bonus points to an item, but restrict them to use on another item? For example, a warcaster with 6 bonus points to spend, but only on warjack type items?

Yes this is possible using the 'Point Change' tag. One way to get this to work would be by doing:
1) add a stat to hold the bonus points on the warcaster
2) Add label tags to the warjacks to identify them
3) add the Point Change tag to the warcaster Item Type

Then in the settings for the Point Change tag set it 'Change Type' to Reduce,  'Reduce points by' to This Item's Stat Value, then select the stat that holds the bonus points, set the 'Until Value is expended'.

Also on the Point Change tag settings add a new condition by pressing the 'New' button, and select 'With Label Tag' and select the label tag you added in step 2 to identify warjacks. You can also add the 'Assigned to this Item' condition so that the bonus points will only apply to warjacks assigned to the warcaster.

If this is unclear let me know.

[Saerko]

Cool, thanks! I'm going to try it out tonight, and then just wait on the validation piece until whenever. Thanks!