Novatools v1.0.1 update change list

Arturo

I've spent the last three months reorganizing and enhancing the Novatools EVN resource editor layouts. DrRalph has graciously given me permission to post this update to his original work. I've just now uploaded the update to the addons page and wanted to give all EVN developers an idea of what to expect.

Listed below are the specific changes made to each resource editor, other than these 7 general changes:
adding "update v1.0.1"
making border spacing consistent
making vertical and/or horizontal alignment consistent
reducing all text and entry field heights to fit Geneva 9 point font
reducing or expanding all entry field widths to match associated data width in Geneva 9 point
converting all Contribute-Require checkbox matrices to a bit-weight vs. nybble layout
enlarging all NCB/operator entry fields

bööm-
increased resource editor window size by 1% to accommodate changes
added type of graphic resource
changed "Index#s" radio button title

chär-
increased resource editor window size by 4% to accommodate changes
relocated Governments and Status entries to be adjacent
changed title of combined Governments and Status section
added title to start location section
changed title of "Misc" section
changed all entry titles in "Misc" section
rearranged start date entry fields to linear format
added title to start date section
expanded intro Delay abbreviation units
changed Intro Text entry title

cölr-
increased resource editor window size by 1% to accommodate changes
added title to Buttons, Grid, Menu, & List sections
changed Menu Buttons section title
rearranged ButtonTextColor entries
rearranged Main Menu section entries
changed all Main Menu section entry titles
changed ButtonFontSize, ButtonTextColor, EscortHighlight, ProgressBar, & ListHighlight entry titles

crön-
increased resource editor window size by 45% to accommodate changes
reorganized entire layout
expanded all checkbox labels
expanded units of measure of PreHoldoff, Duration, & PostHoldoff entry fields
added application note re: Activation %
added application note re: no delays specified
added Contribute checkbox section title
reorganized activation date entries

dësc-
reduced resource editor window size by 1% due to changes
specified graphic resource type
specified Movie entry field content

düde-
reduced resource editor window size by 20% due to changes
reorganized entire layout
corrected garbled "Dude can't hit..." checkbox label
changed "Money" checkbox label
changed hail info section title
changed hail info checkbox labels (2)
rearranged ship types and probabilities to a vertical orientation
changed ship and probability entry titles
collapsed meaningless subtotal and total probability items
changed "Index#s" radio button title

flët-
increased resource editor window size by 3% to accommodate changes
changed escort min & max entry titles
relocated "Freighters..." checkbox to escort section
relocated Quote STR# entry to Govt and Syst section
expanded title of Quote STR# entry

gövt-
reduced resource editor window size by 2% due to changes
reorganized CrimeTol/penalty section
expanded CrimeTol/penaly entry titles
added application notes to CrimeTolerance, InitialRecord, & MaximumOdds entries
added units of measure to SkillMultiplier & ScanFine
reorganized all gövt attributes checkboxes
changed all Jam entry titles
added units of measure to all Jam entries
expanded "Freighters..." checkbox label
added application notes to CommName & TargetCode entries
relocated Map colors & checkboxes to ShipColor section
changed titles of ShipColor & MapColor entries
changed title of Voice entry
added class group titles to class section

ďntf- (just general changes listed above)

jünk-
reduced resource editor window size by 6% due to changes
reorganized entire layout
added bounds info to BasePrice entry field
changed Tribbles & Perishable checkbox labels to quantified versions
expanded jünk name & abbreviation entry titles
reorganized Scanmask to a bit-weight vs. nybble matrix
corrected swapped (RID) and Scanmask bit titles
expanded BuyOn(test) & SellOn(test) entry titles
expanded SoldAt & BoughtAt section titles

mďsn-
increased resource editor window size by 10% to accommodate changes
reorganized entire layout
added titles to Requirements, Availability, & Conditions sections
relocated all mďsn attribute checkboxes to appropriate section by function
changed all "Stellars" entry titles
changed Random, Record, Rating, & From entry titles
added units of measure to Probability, CargoQty, CargoType, TimeLimit, & DatePostInc entry fields
changed all dësc entry titles
relocated Load & Unload dësc entries to cargo section

nëbu-
increased resource editor window size by 19% to accommodate changes

öops-
increased resource editor window size by 17% to accommodate changes
reorganized layout
changed Commodity, PriceDelta, & Stellar entry titles
added units of measure to PriceDelta, Duration, & Frequency entry fields
changed Location section radio button labels

oütf-
increased resource editor window size by 1% to accommodate changes
reorganized entire layout
changed outfitter & pilot info oütf name entry titles
added application note re: "n" usage
relocated all oütf attribute checkboxes to appropriate section by function
expanded Cost & Mass checkbox labels
expanded GrantClass entry title
changed Random & Max# entry titles
changed all ModType MENU entry titles
changed most ModVal STR# comments

përs-
reorganized layout partially
added application note re: Grant functionality
changed titles of grant section and its entries
added application note re: resource name usage
expanded many checkbox labels
added application notes re: negative weapons/ammo counts
added units of measure to Aggress & Coward entry fields
changed LinkMďsn entry title

ränk-
reduced resource editor window size by 1% due to changes
added application notes re: Weight, PriceMod, Salary, & resource name usage
swapped locations of Gövt and Weight entries
changed rank name entry titles
changed all checkbox labels
changed checkbox group titles

rlë8-
increased resource display window size by 7% to accommodate changes
added Š
expanded Background entry title

rlëD-
increased resource display window size by 8% to accommodate changes
added Š
expanded Background entry title

röid-
reduced resource editor window size by 3% due to changes
reorganized layout of Yield entries
added application notes to Strength & SpinRate entries
added units of measure to Mass, Yield, & FragmentCount entry fields
added resource type to ExplodeType, FragmentTypes1 & 2 entries

shän-
increased resource editor window size by 7% to accommodate changes
reorganized layout
relocated all shän resource attribute checkboxes to appropriate section by function
changed several checkbox labels
added resource type to all mask RID entry fields
added units of measure to all X & Y size entry fields
added exit offsets section title
changed X,Y,Z offset entry titles
added application notes re: LightImage BlinkMode BlinkVals

shďp-
increased resource editor window size by 10% to accommodate changes
reorganized entire layout
regrouped ship resource attributes checkboxes by applicability to player vs. NPC
added title to NPC characteristics section
changed some checkbox labels
relocated "Only show..." checkboxes to appropriate functional section
added units of measure to Death & Escort section entry fields
added resource identifier to KeyCarried entry field
changed Hire & Buy Random entry titles
expanded Items section title

spďn-
increased resource editor window size by 1% to accommodate changes
added units of measure to Mask & Size entry fields
expanded Background entry title

spöb-
reorganized entire layout
relocated spöb attributes checkboxes to appropriate section by function
added units of measure to X & Y position entry fields
expanded Cannot Land, Uninhabited, & Bar checkbox labels
added application note re: SND entry usage
relocated Graphic entry to Animation section
added resource type to Graphic, DeadGraphic, & ExplodeType entry fields
added units of measure to Strength, AnimDelay, Tribute, & DeadTime entry fields
changed Animation section checkbox labels
changed application note re: Gravity

s˙st-
increased resource editor window size by 4% to accommodate changes
reorganized entire layout
added units of measure to position, message, interference, murk, roidcount, avgships, fletregen, & reinftime
changed röid type checkbox layout to size vs. type matrix
rearranged ConnectS˙st, NavDef, düde/-flët, & përs entry fields to a vertical orientation
collapsed meaningless düde/-flët & përs subtotal & total probability items
added application note re: average nr. of ships
added BUG warning to "Use Index#s" radio button label

wëap-
reduced resource editor window size by 3% due to changes
reorganized layout
relocated wëap attribute checkboxes to appropriate section by function
changed several checkbox labels
added units of measure to virtually every entry field
added title to guided weapon characteristics section
changed jam vulnerability entry titles
added resource type to Graphic, ExplodeType, & SmokeSet entry fields
collapsed non-functional "Use Resource ID", "Use Index#s" radio button items

Arturo - July 2004

Guest_Raga_*

Sounds like an impressive set of changes. Can't wait to see it in action

Andcarne

Wow. That sounds awesome. Might take a while to get up to the add-ons page... I can host it for you in the meantime if you want.

e-mail me if you want me to. andcarne@mac.com

Andrew

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Arturo

I have to offer an immediate apology to DrRalph and Roger Sutherland for messing up their names in the download description. I used an ampersand between their names instead of the word "and". Sorry guys.

Andrew:
Thanks for the offer, but it turns out to be unnecessary.

pipeline or Mazca (whichever one of you posted the update):
Thank you very much for the quickest turnaround I've ever seen on the addons pages.
Any chance you can fix that blooper in the description? Right now it looks like DrRalph's middle name is Roger (how embarrassing).

mrxak

Quote

Originally posted by Arturo:
pipeline or Mazca (whichever one of you posted the update):
Thank you very much for the quickest turnaround I've ever seen on the addons pages.
Any chance you can fix that blooper in the description? Right now it looks like DrRalph's middle name is Roger (how embarrassing).

It's been taken care of.

Arturo

Quote

Originally posted by mrxak:
**It's been taken care of.
**

Oh you guys are too good. Give yourself a karma point mrxak. Hmmm, what's blessed + 1? Demigod?

pipeline

I like these updates, Arturo.

A major bug, though; the mïsn editor has several pop-up menus, which are all broken. Here's a screenshot:

Posted Image

Arturo

Quote

Originally posted by pipeline:
**I like these updates, Arturo.

A major bug, though; the mďsn editor has several pop-up menus, which are all broken.
**

That's indicative of an incorrect installation. If Novatools 1.0.0 was already present in your ResEdit Preferences file, then it should have had the 31 CNTL resources that it needs. The 31 CNTL resources were not part of the 1.0.1 update. Take a quick look at both your updated Prefs and your 1.0.0 archive Prefs. If neither of them has 31 CNTL resources, then just copy all 31 CNTL resources from your original Novatools 1.0.0 into your current Prefs.
That should fix your problem.

EDIT: Anyone else encountering any difficulties?

(This message has been edited by Arturo (edited 07-04-2004).)

orcaloverbri9

Quote

Originally posted by Arturo:
Anyone else encountering any difficulties?

Yes. I also tried pasting the 31 from the original NovaTools. Are you sure you didn't delete something and screw it up?

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Arturo

Quote

Originally posted by orcaloverbri9:
**Yes. I also tried pasting the 31 from the original NovaTools. Are you sure you didn't delete something and screw it up?
**

Two questions:
1. Did the pasting of the 31 CNTL resources clear things up?
2. Did you start the update process with Novatools 1.0.0 already installed?

EDIT:
OK. I've found the problem. Somewhere along the line the mďsn and the përs DITLs got corrupted. As soon as I figure out why it happened I will resubmit.
I will email the mods to see what is the best way to clean this <expletive-deleted> up.

(This message has been edited by Arturo (edited 07-04-2004).)

pipeline

Quote

Originally posted by Arturo:
I will email the mods to see what is the best way to clean this <expletive-deleted> up.

It's funny, though, that you thought the guy who first used, tested, and requested the majority of features for NovaTools, and who has probably used ResEdit more than anyone here, could possibly have borked the installation.

Dave @ ATMOS

Arturo

Quote

Originally posted by pipeline:
**It's funny, though, that you thought the guy who first used, tested, and requested the majority of features for NovaTools, and who has probably used ResEdit more than anyone here, could possibly have borked the installation.
**

But, but, ...I never make any mistakes. You'll have to pardon me now. I have to go and get this foot extracted from my mouth.

(a humbled Arturo)

p.s. - I just sent you email re: my mistake

pipeline

Quote

Originally posted by Arturo:
**But, but, ...I never make any mistakes. You'll have to pardon me now. I have to go and get this foot extracted from my mouth.

(a humbled Arturo)**

Oh, don't be humbled. They happen, you know... bugs, that is. To me, to you, to every developer.

Dave @ ATMOS

Arturo

OK, our ever helpful moderator (pipeline to be specific) has honored my request to yank the plug (so to speak) and delete the corrupted NovatoolsUpdate1.0.1 from the addons. To the 14 or so people who had eagerly downloaded it before the problem was discovered by ...(drum roll) pipeline, I apologize for wasting some of your time. I will be re-submitting a clean update very shortly. In the meantime, what you've downloaded is OK except for the mďsn and përs resource editors. You can simply reinstall the update when it becomes available again and that will clean up the two bad DITLs. Sorry about this, but you know, bits happen.

Arion

Two questions:

Can I download them anywhere?
Did you fix the crash bugs?
NovaTools tends to crash on several occassions. The oütf editor crashes very often, taking the entiry system with it. Same goes for the spöb editor, though not so often.
The shän editor likes to crash, too, during saving, though it doesn't kill the system, only the program.

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pipeline

Quote

Originally posted by Arion:
NovaTools tends to crash on several occassions. The oütf editor crashes very often, taking the entiry system with it. Same goes for the spöb editor, though not so often.
The shän editor likes to crash, too, during saving, though it doesn't kill the system, only the program.

Really? Wow, I've never encountered those bugs.

Note to all: the changes to the editors, in particular the changes to the hexfield layouts, are superb. When Arturo completes the fixes, they'll be very much the version of NovaTools to use.

Dave @ ATMOS

pipeline

Quote

Originally posted by Arturo:
Sorry about this, but you know, bits happen.

They do, it's true!

Take your time, there's no pressure. When you're done, just pop the update into place. I check the uploads page four or five times a day.

best always,

Dave @ ATMOS

rmx256

Honestly the only bugs that I've ever seen in NovaTools is that when shäning you have to close the window after entering your id's and set sizes and then reopen it to see if the ids that you specified were correct, and after almost every size change (why is it that the shän editor, if loading a sprite from a rle, just couldn't check the rle to see the appropriate size?).

Also I've found it annoying in every single editor that the tab button does not go to the next logical entry- it just kind of seems to pick a location at random, often bypssing a whole lot of stuff. (I think that the tabbing follows the path that the fields are in a 'only templated' version, as opposed to the NovaTools version?)

Aside from these issues NovaTools almost never crashes for me. Period. Even with all of the Nova Titles picts open... Although the PICT displayer has nothing to do with NovaTools.

Why is it that everyone seems to dislike the matrix-like Contribute and Require fields so much? I am quite fond of them.

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(This message has been edited by rmx256 (edited 07-04-2004).)

pipeline

Quote

Originally posted by rmx256:
Why is it that everyone seems to dislike the matrix-like Contribute and Require fields so much? I am quite fond of them.

Oh, we love them. It's just that Arturo has now (with Ralph and Rodger's blessing) changed them to a far more logical layout of those checkboxes.

For the hexadecimal impaired, he's placed the checkboxes for each hexadecimal digit vertically, four bits high (that's a "nybble" in computer parlance), in descending order (8, 4, 2, 1). The digits then proceed across from left to right, with leftmost being the most significant digit. Have a look at my screenshot, it shows a couple of these.

best always,

Dave @ ATMOS

Andcarne

As far as crashes using novatools goes, I experience my fair share of those as well. It can get annoying when you just get something set up how you want it, and it all dies on you. But, theres no way to fix it, since its problems with ResEdit, and not with the way NovaTools was coded. So, go blame apple. A large part of the instability comes from running it in classic. I tend to get at least 3-4 crashes per day. Since I spend at least 3 or 4 hours ever day working on my project, this can get very annoying.

As far as the new contribute require structure, I must be stupid because I find this new layout much more confusing then the old one. Oh well.

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