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rob
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 8,232

Old January 18th, 2007, 02:40 AM
We just released V1.0e, and this new update includes the ability to
edit classes. It also includes a few bug fixes and a healthy start at
complete documentation for data file writing.

*** PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING!!! ***

Before you go running off to grab this new update, there are a number
of important details you need to be aware of, whether you are just a
user or are also interested in writing data files. You'll find the
complete details in the readme file and the FAQ for the d20 data
files, but the following are the most critical items.

1. Due to changes necessitated by the editing enhancements, the
user-specified text for certain special abilities will be lost when
you load a saved portfolio from V1.0d. The specific abilities are the
Archmage and Hierophant spell-like abilities, plus the Rogue Skill Mastery.
Consequently, this text will have to be re-entered. Sorry!

2. PDF Output is now operational. You'll need to go to the Updates
mechanism and retrieve the PDF Plug-In listed there. Once it is
installed, HL should recognized it and start allowing you to print to
PDF. [Note: You might need to restart HL in some cases, but not usually.]

3. Due to changes required to the editing of special abilities, any
thing previously added as a "Charge" will not appear. One option is
to delete any such things in V1.0d and then re-add then in V1.0e. A
better option is to open your data files in a text editor (e.g.
Notepad) and make a minor change to the files manually. For each
thing that has its "compset" attribute assigned as "Charge", change
the attribute to "Special". Save your changes and exit the text
editor. Now load the data files into Hero Lab and open the editor. On
the "Specials" tab, make sure the "Is Charge?" entry is checked. This
will convert your special ability over to the new way of handling them.

4. The way that charges and special abilities are marked as
'available' has been changed. The 'xMakeAvail' procedure no longer
does anything - instead you can mark things as always available using
checkboxes in the editor, or assign tags via scripts to achieve that purpose.

5. In the editor, every type of thing can now have arbitrary 'user'
tags assigned to it. This will make it easy to accomplish a variety
of objectives that weren't previously possible via the editor.

6. In the editor, we had to change how feats are assigned as bonus
feats for different classes. Old feats will continue to work with the
new mechanisms, but you may prefer to convert them over to the new method.

7. The class editing is not completed yet, but this release
represents a major milestone towards that goal. You are not yet able
to create a spellcaster, but all other class types should be fine.
We've added some new stuff to the engine that will make spellcasters
must easier to add, but it requires we completely re-work all
existing spellcasters to use this new stuff. We don't have that
finished yet, but you can expect it relatively soon.

8. The way that new classes are added will be going through another
round of refinement shortly. When that happens, some of the seemingly
redundant tasks will go away and adding the new class will be even
easier. In fact, if we can accomplish what we've got planned, it will
be downright trivial to do all but the most complex of classes.

9. You'll find a tutorial on how to add your own class in the d20
System data files, as well as some additional new documentation on
editing files. This material will be expanded significantly for the
next update in which we continue to evolve the editing mechanism.

10. The Authoring Kit documentation has a detailed explanation of
many of the fundamental concepts involved in data file editing. This
includes an indepth discussion of tags and how to use them. It also
includes complete details on writing scripts.

As you utilize the editing mechanisms, please offer your suggestions
for how to make things even easier. We'll be iteratively refining
everything over the next few weeks, so give us your ideas and we'll
see if we can incorporate those ideas in an upcoming release. More
complex tasks may end up on the todo list for further in the future,
but we'd love to hear any ideas you've got.

Colen and I will both be monitoring the forums over the next few days
in order to answer questions about all this new stuff. So dive in and
let us know what you think!

Thanks, Rob

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Rob Bowes (rob@wolflair.com) (408) 927-9880
Lone Wolf Development www.wolflair.com
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