Good evening, everyone!

As promised, I've just uploaded alpha 7 of the fast-advancing MissionComputer 'Crusoe' project. Its most important feature is, of course, the wëap editor (for EV Nova only) which I showed yesterday:

Other significant changes are as follows:

• MissionComputer now checks that files are not too large, and warns about overlong descriptions.

• The star-map editor can now edit system governments.

• Revisions to MakeEditor/UnmakeEditor in hopes of greater stability.

• New dialogue boxes no longer default to 0x0 dimensions, and the RLE viewer can no longer be resized too small.

• The s˙st editor now properly records the deletion of the last spöb in the system.

• Restored the help text in the NCB editor, and improved the reliability of the Contribute/Require editor.

• The mďsn editor now lists 'përs-type ship' in the AvailStel pop-up menu for clarity.

• Adopted a standard method for specifying a colour.

• The Intel-native version of MissionComputer now warns you if run on systems prior to 10.5.

MissionComputer 4.0a7 requires Mac OS 10.3 or higher, and runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macintoshes. As usual, please report any problems you experience, along with the details of the computer on which you're running it. I'd also like to hear how people find the new wëap editor from the point of view of usability.

Download (12.7 MB)
Updated 13th June 2008: Version 4.0a7r1 fixes a rigging problem that prevented the wëap editor's Graphic field from being saved correctly.
Updated 14th June 2008: Version 4.0a7r2 fixes saving of the wëap editor's ExplodType field when it is set to -1, and loading of the AmmoType field for fighter-bay weapons. It also restores the RDL templates that were missing from a7r1. Please re-download from the link above.

This post has been edited by David Arthur : 14 June 2008 - 11:29 AM
Reason for edit: Added version 4.0a7r2

Downloading...

I love to play with MC.

Also downloading. Hope this fixes the crash from closing lots of plugs in close succession.

Very cool! Can't wait to give it a crack!

What's wrong with 10.4 on Intel?

Quote

It's in the specification, and it would be inappropriate for me to leave it out — what if a future update started honouring it again?

It won't, the flag has been made obsolete by the new AI which can determine this for itself based on the speed of the projectile and the speed of the target. More likely a future update will remove this from the specification

DA, I've found something that seems strange with the new weapon editor. The Graphic field always defaults to 6000 on wëap resources I make, even though the numbers needed are in the range of 3000-3067. Whatever I set, it always returns to 6000. <_< I did an experiment, and used the old stable release to change to 3002 (which I needed), and it opened in the wëap editor as 6002.

@guy, on Jun 13 2008, 02:31 AM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

What's wrong with 10.4 on Intel?

I have no ability to test it, and users who have done so reported strange bugs (including that odd display of PICTs that people were talking about in the past).

@geek, on Jun 13 2008, 04:12 AM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

DA, I've found something that seems strange with the new weapon editor. The Graphic field always defaults to 6000 on wëap resources I make, even though the numbers needed are in the range of 3000-3067. Whatever I set, it always returns to 6000.

Fixed, thanks - there was an error in the rigging that cause the Graphic to be reset to spďn 6000 whenever the resource was recorded. I've posted an update, version 4.0a7r, which you can get by re-downloading from the link above.

Excellent. I've been using 3.3.3, for stability. This will be a nice change of pace.

David, I noticed that the small bar that said 'New <insert resource here>', 'Open', 'Get Info', and 'Delete' disappeared. Why is this? It was pretty convenient for me.

Okay, just had the chance to have a look at this. I like the little menu you have for ammotype. A couple of things though: 1) The explosion field reads 127 when the data is set to -1 and 2) I'm pretty sure the 'uses closest exit point' flag still only uses the exit points from the specified set.

(edit) Cmd+Q seems to do little more than close a window.

This post has been edited by Guy : 13 June 2008 - 05:03 PM

DA, allow me to say...

THANK YOU THANK YOU!

It works great now! MC rules!

Now all I'm missing is a .snd converter.... :wub:

EDIT: I can't seem to load shän resources anymore! Help?

This post has been edited by Geek : 13 June 2008 - 08:11 PM

First off, let me echo what everyone else seems to be saying, THANK YOU!!!! Fantastic!!!

@king_of_manticores, on Jun 13 2008, 02:57 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

David, I noticed that the small bar that said 'New <insert resource here>', 'Open', 'Get Info', and 'Delete' disappeared. Why is this? It was pretty convenient for me.

I also thought that those buttons were quite convenient. If it's not too much trouble I would like to see them be part of the official release. That said, cmd-k is just as easy if not easier than pushing the "new" button.

@geek, on Jun 14 2008, 10:50 AM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

EDIT: I can't seem to load shän resources anymore! Help?

Hm, seems the PlugIns folder is gone. You can copy one from a previous release.

I found a bug pertaining to the wëap resource on fighter bays. It seems that if you open up a fighter and make it produce ship xxx, everything works fine, but if you re-open the resource, the ship type reverts to 99 regardless of what the number was before.

Other than that it's running slick!

@guy, on Jun 14 2008, 12:55 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

Hm, seems the PlugIns folder is gone. You can copy one from a previous release.

I tried copying from a6, and now it won't recognize any of my plugins as being of Nova format.

EDIT: Actually so far, it's only done that to one of my plugs, noticeably the one I last worked on... <_<

This post has been edited by Geek : 13 June 2008 - 10:16 PM

Any luck figuring out the random quiting? I'd love to leave Rosetta.

:hector_bird: :hector_bird: :hector_bird: :hector_bird: :hector_bird: :hector_bird: :hector_bird: :hector_bird:

I've posted yet another revision of alpha 7, which fixes the two wëap editor bugs reported in the previous posts, and restores the the shän, shďp(EV/EVO), and wëap(EV/EVO) RDL templates that were mission from a7r1. Please re-download from the link above.

@king_of_manticores, on Jun 13 2008, 03:57 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

David, I noticed that the small bar that said 'New <insert resource here>', 'Open', 'Get Info', and 'Delete' disappeared.

They seemed a bit irrelevant, given that the same commands are already in the menu bar and available by keyboard shortcuts; also, I was reading recently a discussion among Linux-types who were dismissing the idea of introducing a Macintosh-style global menu bar, because menus have supposedly been superseded by toolbars anyway, so I didn't want to be contributing to any such trend if it exists. If the buttons really are popular, though, I can restore them.

@guy, on Jun 13 2008, 05:51 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

The explosion field reads 127 when the data is set to -1

Fixed, thanks.

@guy, on Jun 13 2008, 05:51 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

I'm pretty sure the 'uses closest exit point' flag still only uses the exit points from the specified set.

The tag is labelled as 'Weapon fires from whatever weapon exit point is closest to the target'. I can't think quite what it would do if it doesn't mean what the editor currently labels it as doing, but if you can confirm that the current layout is incorrect, I will of course change it.

@guy, on Jun 13 2008, 05:51 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

Cmd+Q seems to do little more than close a window.

Yes, I just recently noticed this - it happens if you press it when there's an editor in the foreground, because the quit gets trapped by the UnmakeEditor code the same way closing the window would be. I'm still thinking about how I should deal with this.

@geek, on Jun 13 2008, 06:50 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

Now all I'm missing is a .snd converter.... :wub:

Not possible, at least for the moment, I'm afraid.

@geek, on Jun 13 2008, 06:50 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

I can't seem to load shän resources anymore! Help?

Ick - this is what comes of packaging an update so quickly - the PlugIns folder got lost in the shuffle.

@archon, on Jun 13 2008, 11:09 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

I found a bug pertaining to the wëap resource on fighter bays. It seems that if you open up a fighter and make it produce ship xxx, everything works fine, but if you re-open the resource, the ship type reverts to 99 regardless of what the number was before.

Fixed, thanks.

@godzfire, on Jun 13 2008, 11:46 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

Any luck figuring out the random quiting? I'd love to leave Rosetta.

I've made some changes to the MakeEditor/UnmakeEditor code, but since I was never able to reproduce the problems, the only way I can know whether they're fixed is from user reports.

Fantastic! Now those spob errors will be at my bitter mercy!

Er, did you get rid of the New Resource button permanantly? Or will you be bringing it back? I find the New Resource button very handy, I'd be sad to lose it.

This post has been edited by Shlimazel : 14 June 2008 - 12:02 PM

Thank God I hadn't actually tried to do anything with the new alpha yet. Re-downloaded.

@shlimazel, on Jun 14 2008, 12:31 PM, said in MissionComputer 4.0a7 introduces the wëap editor:

Er, did you get rid of the New Resource button permanantly? Or will you be bringing it back? I find the New Resource button very handy, I'd be sad to lose it.

I've turned the toolbar off experimentally, but from the responses it seems to be fairly popular. If people haven't adjusted by the time of the next pre-release version, I'll turn it back on in some form.