Beta Import file loaded and testing underway.
So far no errors encountered on compile!

Chemosh, could you combine the two demon files into one named "MM - Demon" before release for me?

When I tested the beta package I also got no errors.

Yep. Combining:
MM - Demon, Babau.user
MM - Demon, Bebilith.user
MM - Demon, Retriever.user
MM - Succubus.user

Release 1.3 - 2/19/2011

Enhancements & Changes

• Dread Skeleton Template added from advanced Bestiary, Green Ronin Publishing (Bodrin).
• Book of Exalted Deeds - Feats updated.
• Complete Warrior Samurai class added (MCXPotato).
• Dragonlance Bestiary has the following monsters added: Elemental Minion, Knight Haunt, Tainted Blood template, and Undead Beast Stahnk (Lawful_G).
• Dragonlance Campaign Setting - Fetch added (Lawful_G).
• Magic Item Compendium - Weapon Powers added (Bordin).

Bug Fixes

• Numerous feats, classes, and monsters fixed. To many to fully list.

Data File Authoring

• Custom - Core Book Mods. Core Monster abilities where fixed and merged together into Custom-Core Book Mods. (Lawful_G)
• Custom - New Natural Weapons. New natural Weapons added(ie Wings, Tail, Incorporeal Touch, Touch, Ray, & Spit) Lawful_G
• Custom - Races Core mods. Modded lots of things, including new Core Monster Powers specials.
  Also modded the Monstrous Humanoid Types on those that had it (Lawful_G)
• Many Monster Manual critters updated to use newer methods for abilities (Lawful_G).
• Monster Types and Monster Subtypes combined into a single .user file (Bordin).
• Their are blank .user files in this data set. This was done as a way to remove older outdated .user files from the end-gamers systems. These empty .user files should NOT be used. (ShadowChemosh)

With some files being combined, does it make sense for users to remove any .user files they have first (or to select that option in the install page)? Obviously, personal custom .user files would need to be saved or copied somewhere for re-integration later as well.

What we are going to do is simply have the files that are being combined be empty.

This works the same as deleting the files. Hoping the end-user remember to click a button and remove their own .user files is asking too much. We will be flooded with bug reports.

So the blank empty .user files will erase the old files. Personally I am not liking the idea by the other editors combined a bunch of different files together so have no choice now.

Is there no way to have the upgrade deleted the old unneeded files?

Also, I'd really like to see us consolidate down to at minimum 1 file per book or even better 1 file for all of our material? Am I the only one wanting this? ;-)

With the multiple files, it makes it very difficult to get to a common footing.

Nope its a safety feature of HL. Be dangerous to allow the tool to start deleting files without the end-user requesting it.

During the install the end-user could click on a button that will delete all .user files that where not updated by our import. Though that would mean any custom .user files are just GONE. And trust me very few people will read any warning or information we put out their regarding this.

Plus if we expected them to do that and they didn't then their whole d20 game folder will hit duplicate thing errors and not work. Why I understand that it would be very easy for most people to be walked through this many will be very upset when they install an update that breaks stuff.

Which will then give us the case of us being incompetent and not to trust our community updates. Not something I want to even chance given the amount of work that everyone puts into it.

So having the empty files I think is the smoothest method of doing this for now.

It would have made my life easier to have smaller number of files to make into the import file. But now no matter what we have to have empty files to add. So its all the same to me now.

Can we install non .user files? Like a .cmd file? I could easily code a .cmd file that deletes any "empty" files (<document></document> empty xml) from the .user directory. Then we could trim down to a small number and offer a solution to those that a) care and b) read the release notes.

I do agree 100% that trying not to break things and users tend to not make backups nor read release notes.

I think we can I just have never tried. My question would be how would you execute that .cmd file? Nothing in the import process will execute it.

And the next release will still have to have those empty files again as some one could be upgrading from 1.1 to say 1.4.

Last thing is that the empty files have a little more than just the document tags. Here is an example of one going in with 1.3.