Additionally, I've been working on the next phase of the map redux so we have access to layered mapping which would allow for some very cool updates. One example is the relatively new and popular motion maps. The video attached below shows one of the Dynamic Dungeon maps on an early build of the new mapping system:
As work progresses on this and the other aspects, I'll update the forum as well as posting roll ups here, time permitting!
- Owlbear
Development Beta 3.7.3.1 is live
over 6 years ago
– Sun, May 20, 2018 at 10:51:53 PM
Development Release Update
We've uploaded a development beta to the Unstable branch for folks to experiment with the java<->javascript code bridge. This is a system which allows for two-way sharing of java/javascript object data between java and javascript.
In addition to adding bridge functions to the existing Extensions panel, this test build adds two new window types to D20PRO which utilize the built in Chrome module for custom html Character Sheets as well as for a, html Custom Dice Roller.
Menu Options and settings in Options->Rules
3d Dice Box provided by HTML kit
Next Up
I'm currently working on rolling up the Rules API development Bundle into a Gradle project and getting this uploaded to GitHub or BitBucket. Soon as this is ready I'll send out another post with the access/download links for this dev kit.
To test the readiness, KrilionGD and I worked for a couple of days on an Esper Genesis Rules kit (very basic build) with a great deal of success. I'm sure that once this is in your hands we'll see a lot of additional bugs and missed components rise to the surface.
Regards, the D20PRO team.
D20PRO v.3.7.3 Released and Available for Download!
over 6 years ago
– Mon, May 14, 2018 at 09:20:03 PM
Hello Gamers!
Version 3.7.3 of D20PRO is officially out and live along with the first full Automation release of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (5th Edition).
You can download the 3.7.3 updates directly from D20PRO.com here. And the Player's Handbook can be acquired from the Marketplace. If you already own the PHB, you'll want to delete your previous download and re-download it from the Marketplace page inside D20PRO.
I'm still plugging away on the full list of features that were originally proposed by this campaign, I know it's slow going and thanks for sticking around.
The full release announcement can be viewed in KrilionGD's forum post. The highlights of this are as follows:
Fixed all manner of spell casting related topics including some issues with spell debiting, 5e vs 3.5 spell casting tracking, pool casting (5e warlock), and new spell selection methods for Starfinder and 5e classes.
Added/Updated basic rules modules for Starfinder and 5th Edition.
Stability fixes for the Pub/Nub game lobby (still not really a lobby so much as a way to post games and see if they're live).
UI enhancements for various elements of the newer UI and a few of the older. Still a long way from a UI overhaul, but making strides.
Added the Extensions panel which gives access to web based content in-app. This is a functional element in its own right, but is designed to be a stub for some additional features like dynamic character sheets (more on this below).
Fog of War speed improvements and custom fill graphic options.
IN WITH THE NEW
LIGHTS & FOG OF WAR CHANGES
Fog of War has been a thorn in our development side for a while. During the last round of beta development (3.7.2 thru to 3.7.3) we made a few major changes to the existing system without pulling the old system completely down and rebuilding it.
The first change is more behind the scenes, but enables the second, so let me start with this one. During some profiling we discovered that the user experience was being significantly impacted by the redraw and calculation time for the dynamic fog of war objects. Basically, the objects were being drawn on demand. By itself, that's not a bad thing, however, when we say "drawn" what we really mean is "fully generated from scratch" -- oof.
So the first change was actually a no brainer once we identified the load issue. We created a method to cache the rendering of lights on the GM and PC so they didn't have to be recreated once they'd been initially generated!
The next bit was an interesting by product. So with the new light generator in place, we are effectively writing out image gradients to a temp cache and then loading/cropping them on demand for the needed light shapes. So... why not allow for the end user (you folks!) to import your own light images?
The result is lights which can use any image source allowing for super subtle lighting or massive magical radius effects. Another cool aspect of the lighting change was the ability to apply light arcs. The arc radius and starting rotation (in relation to the token's rotation) as well as the custom image selection can be enabled in the lights control panel.
Image based lights and Arcs
EXTENSIONS PANEL While working on bug fixes which seemed to replicate at an alarming rate, we needed to ensure that we were able to provide some forward momentum with the beta testers for some of the future features. To this end, we built out a crude interface for the embedded HTML engine we'd been working on leading up to 3.7.2.
This appears as the Extensions Panel available from the Main Menu. The panel has a very basic interface at the moment and the functionality in 3.7.3 is somewhat limited.
Extensions Menu Option
However, the purpose of the extensions panel is to enable Java integration to html applications. To accomplish this, we've implemented a Java-Javascript bridge (not fully functional in 3.7.3) which allows for interaction between D20PRO and a javascript enabled website.
5e Character Sheet pulling data directly from D20PRO.
Where this gets really cool is that the communication is two-way. Using the embedded browser, the data entry on this example character sheet (see above) will update the D20PRO character data on the map instantly.
Clearly to make this fully functional we'll want to implement some custom sheets which take advantage of the D20PRO content possibilities. A traditional paper sheet actually falls somewhat short in that regard -- limited attack spaces,alternate gear loadouts, spell books, etc.
While we work out the final connections in the bridge, the Extensions panel is still very useful for embedding in-game web content such as an active discord channel, an online character manager/builder, game tools, decks, dice and the like.
Hero Lab Online (Starfinder)
teal dice in-app
And much more. KrilionGD has some in-game examples of stuff he's done using the web-only version of the Extensions system. Once we've released the java-javascript bridge component as well, all manner of things will suddenly be doable by anyone who wants to do so!
BUG FIXES Lots and lots of bug fixes went into the 3.7.3 release. Most of these were centered around the Feature Library and the effects system. Unfortunately we were not able to squash them all in time for the release (which was already months overdue). There will definitely be another release which adds more functionality to the feature library and fixes some of the remaining issue.
The main issue to watch out for is there seems to be a problem with feature embedded scripts -- via the script node. These scripts execute on the first pass but do not apply properly on subsequent rounds. If you need to run a multi-round effect which uses scripts, you may need to do it as a separate feature for now and use the Feature-to-run node to pass target information.
Another aspect we've been working on but was stuck behind the 3.7.3 release is a new feature editor UI. The flow was a good idea with poor execution. The system we choose for the flow editor doesn't support zooming and without it a complicated flow is nearly impossible to edit.
The new UI will hopefully be a development in the next few weeks ( 4 - 6 ). It's no small task as the flow engine actually represents a massive amount of form data in a relational way rather than a complicated form with lots of elements that aren't always in use.
Feature Form Editor UI
As you can see, we've designed the UI, but wiring it all up is a massive undertaking.
Additional tasks that are outstanding and but still very much on the roadmap include:
Gridless/Hex Grid map options
Token marker merger (to support gridless movement and animated tokens)
Classes Library
I don't have specific timelines for these items right now. Alexey, who'd been my co-developer for the last while has gotten a offer he could not refuse working in the financial sector applying some of the complex abstract concepts we built for D20PRO. As a result, I'm flying solo on the dev front for now, although he is hoping to return to the project in the next year! Once bitten and all that :P
SINCERELY I know this doesn't need saying in the specific, but again, I apologize for the slow progress and slow updates. I'll be honest with you all, as I have been all along I suppose, I'm deathly afraid of writing these updates. They're very important to me and a quick note doesn't seem appropriate to the project. I know some folks have criticized the brevity or lengthiness of the updates in the past, all I ask for some patience as I'm really doing my best on this front. You're all my responsibility and do not feel that off loading these updates to our community or content managers is the right way to go. I'd spend nearly as much time helping compose the update as I end up writing them myself :P.
For those of your waiting on the Rules API Git Repo, I'm working on isolating the code from the chaff and documenting the base Rules API class architecture. Our plan is to push the Rules API, the Hero Lab native importer, an Extensions Character Sheet example, and a web-form based feature builder/wizard to github. The exact order these will go out is tbd, however. If you need/want access to the Rules API prior to the github push, please reach out to me and I'll see what we can manage!
If you're interested in helping out with any of the above components, please let me know as well and we'll see where we can go from there!
Regards,
Owlbear and team!
Quick 3.7.2 RELEASED update
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Dec 23, 2017 at 11:00:13 PM
Hello Everyone,
I'm still working on the full feature write up with pretty pictures and usage instructions. With the holiday I'm not 100% sure I'll get it done before tomorrow -- family starts descending on my house in 20 minutes.
So instead, I'm writing you a quick note to let you all know you can pull the new, full 3.7.2 release directly from the following URL:
