Ambrosia Garden Archive
    • [ANN] MissionComputer 3.0.1 Now Available


      MissionComputer 3.0.1 Now Available

      Apologies for the delay, but I had originally hoped to get this posted on the add-ons directory. Version 3.0.1 is a small update which fixes several problems in version 3.0 including the saving issue which affected a large number of users. The features of MissionComputer 3.0.1 are the same as those of version 3.0:

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      Back in mid-January I began working on Cartographer , a plug-in for MissionComputer designed to allow it to edit the galaxy map, systems, planets, and nebulae. Although I've released several MissionComputer updates since that time, Cartographer has found its way only into the hands of a small group of testers. Now, with MissionComputer 3.0 , these features for the first time available to the public, now integrated into the MissionComputer application rather than relying on an external plug-in as they did when I first demonstrated them.

      Version 3.0 also adds support for the oütf resource, and the new RDL template scripting system, which provides more user-friendly editing of resources which lack graphical editors.

      MissionComputer 3.0 adds these new features to a list that already includes editors for the chär, crön, dësc, düde, flët, gövt, ďntf, jünk, mďsn, përs, PICT, STR, STR# (improved in version 3.0), and yëäŽ resources. MissionComputer provides a simple interface for linking resources wherever it is necessary, and offers convenient excerpts from the official developer documentation. Also integrated into the MissionComputer application are a graphical tool for generating target graphics in the style used by EV Nova , and a Resource Copier utility for moving resources between files in bulk.

      The template-based editing system, updated in version 3.0 for more user-friendly editing, allows MissionComputer to edit every resource used by the Escape Velocity games with at least the same level of functionality as ResEdit can offer without w00tWare's NovaTools installed. The new RDL template scripting system extends its functionality with some features resembling those found in MissionComputer and NovaTools such as popup menus, automatic flag calculation, and Resource Selector buttons.

      MissionComputer began life as a simple mission editor for EV Override, released in late December of 2001 after several months of development and testing. In the subsequent versions, it has gained an increased scope, and now covers many aspects of the latest versions of all three Escape Velocity games.

      MissionComputer 3.0.1 is available in two separate versions: a Mac OS X edition, and a Classic version optimised for Mac OS 9 and earlier. The new version remains a free download, and is immediately available from my web site at (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url) and will hopefully be posted on the Ambrosia add-ons directory sometime.

      Notes on Windows compatibility
      Since Ambrosia released EV Nova for Windows, there has been an increased demand for development tools that can run on that platform. MissionComputer is at present a Mac-only application, but the Classic Edition includes a 68K build which some users have been able to run successfully in Windows-based Macintosh emulators. Development of MissionComputer for Windows is on indefinite hold, as I am currently unable to work on it, and some others are now at work on Windows-based editors which look rather promising.

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      David Arthur | (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")EV-Nova.net(/url)
      The people united can never be ignited!

    • Cheers David. The save bug now seems to be well and truly fixed on my OSX version.

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      M A R T I N • T U R N E R
      (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FrozenHeart104.sit.bin")Frozen Heart(/url)
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    • Should you be able to drag position systems in the map editor? Because I can't. Without that ability, I don't find it much more useful than RedEdit. And when I try to create a link between systems I get an error:
      'The exception was of type NilObjectException and occurred in the Galaxy:CanvasMouseUp routine.'

      Your ideas for inegration between galaxy, system and spob are great and I'd love to see them working properly. Feels a wee bit clunky on my iBook though. Possibly because it's only a 500 Mhz one.

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      (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/jonathanboyd/evn/index.html")Classic4Nova plug-in(/url)

    • The galaxy editor does not support drag-and-drop system movement like EVO Developer's Map or EVONE. What you have to do is click on a system, click on one of the coordinates, click on the map where you want it to be, then hit Apply.

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      Starfleet Adventures: A Star Trek TC for EVN (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=145") Discussion Board (/url)
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      It is better to feed the goat than it is today.

    • Save bug fixed for me. Many thanks.

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      Pez's Profile Refresh no. 23
      Warcraft Quote Of The Moment (and I decide what a moment is):
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    • Quote

      Originally posted by Jonathan Boyd:
      Should you be able to drag position systems in the map editor? Because I can't. Without that ability, I don't find it much more useful than RedEdit.

      As Uncle Twitchy said, I have an alternate way of moving systems and spöbs using the mouse, which I put in place because it uses less system resources than dragging them.

      Quote

      And when I try to create a link between systems I get an error:
      'The exception was of type NilObjectException and occurred in the Galaxy:CanvasMouseUp routine.'

      I'll check into it. Are you running on Mac OS X or Mac OS 9? If you're on 9, does increasing the memory help?

      Quote

      Feels a wee bit clunky on my iBook though. Possibly because it's only a 500 Mhz one.

      The galaxy and system editors are necessarily a great deal more demanding than the others due to their highly graphical nature.

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      David Arthur | (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")EV-Nova.net(/url)
      The people united can never be ignited!

    • Quote

      Originally posted by David Arthur:
      **As Uncle Twitchy said, I have an alternate way of moving systems and spöbs using the mouse, which I put in place because it uses less system resources than dragging them.

      **

      In this age of OS X, shouldn't ease-of-use be more important than system resources? (To a point, of course, but a well-written dragging algorithm has a neglible impact nowadays.)

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      (url="http://"http://www.ariossoftware.com")Arios SoftWare(/url)
      (url="http://"http://www.ariossoftware.com/products/evone/")EVONE 1.0pb2 - the plugin editor for EV/EVO/EVN(/url)

    • Quote

      Originally posted by David Arthur:
      As Uncle Twitchy said, I have an alternate way of moving systems and spöbs using the mouse, which I put in place because it uses less system resources than dragging them.

      It seems a little unintuitive. And works out slower surel than drag and drop, along with being more frustrating.

      Quote

      I'll check into it. Are you running on Mac OS X or Mac OS 9? If you're on 9, does increasing the memory help?

      Running X. Sorry, should have mentioned that.

      Quote

      The galaxy and system editors are necessarily a great deal more demanding than the others due to their highly graphical nature.

      Even so, they're not that complicated surely? I mea I don't get massive lag in the interface of say Photoshop and it's a lot more complex. Though it had a big development team and budget. Even taking a small shareqare project like PixelNHance, it live updaes various filters on a specified portion of a scene with absolutely no trouble.

      It reminds me of the frustration at seeing iTunes grabbing 25% of the CPU when I know SoundApp would probably have only taken a tenth of that. Oh well.

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      (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/jonathanboyd/evn/index.html")Classic4Nova plug-in(/url)

    • Quote

      Originally posted by Jonathan Boyd:
      It seems a little unintuitive. And works out slower surel than drag and drop, along with being more frustrating.

      I'm in the process of developing a less modal system editor for version 3.1; whether I can make the galaxy perform acceptably in a similar form remains to be seen, since the galaxy editor has to simultaneously handle several times more graphical elements than the system editor does.

      Quote

      Originally posted by Jonathan Boyd:
      Even so, they're not that complicated surely? I mea I don't get massive lag in the interface of say Photoshop and it's a lot more complex. Though it had a big development team and budget. Even taking a small shareqare project like PixelNHance, it live updaes various filters on a specified portion of a scene with absolutely no trouble.

      I can't give you more details without more information about the 'massive lag' you're experiencing - the galaxy editor certainly isn't a speed demon, but I find its performance quite acceptable on my 533 MHz G4 in either Mac OS X or 9.

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      David Arthur | (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")EV-Nova.net(/url)
      The people united can never be ignited!

    • Quote

      Originally posted by David Arthur:
      I can't give you more details without more information about the 'massive lag' you're experiencing - the galaxy editor certainly isn't a speed demon, but I find its performance quite acceptable on my 533 MHz G4 in either Mac OS X or 9.

      Well a 533 MHZ Desktop G4 is going to run rings round a 500 MHz G3 laptop :^) My computer is a 2 1/2 year old design, so I don't blame the program too any great degree for sluggishness.

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      (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/jonathanboyd/evn/index.html")Classic4Nova plug-in(/url)

    • Quote

      Originally posted by Jonathan Boyd:
      And when I try to create a link between systems I get an error:
      'The exception was of type NilObjectException and occurred in the Galaxy:CanvasMouseUp routine.'

      Does this happen consistently no matter which systems you try to link together? Does it happen if you start a blank plug-in file, or is it limited to large ones?

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      David Arthur | (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")EV-Nova.net(/url)
      The people united can never be ignited!