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Version 5.0.220 Released

GURPS Character Assistant 5.0.220.0 has been released. Get the updated installer from your Warehouse 23 downloads page. (I’ve posted some help on doing that at both the new and old stores here.)

You get the updated installer by re-downloading the ZIP file from your Warehouse 23 account, and running the gca5setup_5.0.220.release.exe program that it contains (see the instructions link above). There is no separate update-only installer, you have to download and reinstall the program. It will not overwrite your personal data, it will overwrite your installation of GCA with the new and updated version.

This update includes all the changes mentioned in Build Notes posts since the last Release.
This time, it’s a bug fix release, fixing two issues:

    • For some reason, GCA would stop responding if you were in an edit field on a Classic View trait list and you clicked on a tab to change to a different list or view. That should no longer happen.
    • Fixes a critical bug related to item weight calculations introduced in b213 (released with version 5.0.218).
Featured post

Updating GCA to the Newest Version

GCA can update a lot of the files it uses through the Package Manager in the Check for Updates system. It can even tell you that a new update for itself is available. Unfortunately, GCA can not update its primary program files through this system. To update GCA itself, you have to reinstall it from the setup program available on Warehouse23–the same way you originally installed GCA.

Here’s how you do that.

In the future, SJGames will no longer be updating the GCA available at the OLD store, but for the time being they have graciously updated that download to the current version. If you originally purchased GCA through the NEW store, however, you must download the updated GCA installer from there.

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Package Updates

Special thanks to DeathDaisy on the GURPS Discord for the huge amount of help with these changes.

GURPS Basic Set 4th Ed.–Characters.gdf
[Modifiers]
<Guns>

Basically did these:

#ReplaceModTags in “Guns:Scope, 4x (TL 6)” with “gives(+1.5 to owner::baseweight, +2 to owner::scopeacc)”
#ReplaceModTags in “Guns:Scope, 4x, Thermal Imaging (TL 8)” with “gives(+1.5 to owner::baseweight, +2 to owner::scopeacc)”

[Equipment]

Basically did these to the main entries:

#ReplaceTags in “EQ:Gauss PDW, 4mm” with “acc(6), scopeacc(1)”
#ReplaceTags in “EQ:Dart Rifle, 11mm” with “acc(5), scopeacc(1)”
#ReplaceTags in “EQ:ICW, 6.88mm” with “acc(4), scopeacc(2)”
#ReplaceTags in “EQ:Gauss Rifle, 4mm” with “acc(7), scopeacc(2)”
#ReplaceTags in “EQ:RPG, 85mm” with “acc(3), scopeacc(1)”
#ReplaceTags in “EQ:Electrolaser Carbine” with “acc(8), scopeacc(1)”

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A bit of rock dome (b219)

b219

* Bug Fixes

For some reason, GCA would stop responding if you were in an edit field on a Classic View trait list and you clicked on a tab to change to a different list or view. That should no longer happen.

The fixes made to account for base weight usage for equipment, formulas, and modifiers in an earlier build had a serious issue: the base weight was being reconverted every time from the converted value, not from the original source base weight. <sigh> This was a stupid mistake on my part, that I somehow overlooked accounting for at the start of the calculation process. Fixed now.

Version 5.0.218 released

GURPS Character Assistant 5.0.218.0 has been released. Get the updated installer from your Warehouse 23 downloads page. (I’ve posted some help on doing that at both the new and old stores here.)

You get the updated installer by re-downloading the ZIP file from your Warehouse 23 account, and running the gca5setup_5.0.218.release.exe program that it contains (see the instructions link above). There is no separate update-only installer, you have to download and reinstall the program. It will not overwrite your personal data, it will overwrite your installation of GCA with the new and updated version.

This update includes all the changes mentioned in Build Notes posts since the last Release. This time around that is mostly some bug fixes and accessibility improvements, but here are various new things that may be of interest:

    • As usual, a variety of bug fixes, small adjustments, and general improvements
    • Fixed an issue with automatic weight conversions and using the ::baseweight reference
    • Addressed some issues related to modes and how damage might be calculated, in order to allow for a better user experience and less confusion and mistakes in damage formulas
    • Updated handling of damage with special text, such as ‘slam+3’ or ‘HT+formula’, and new user-damage-prefix support using square brackets ‘[prefix]+stuff’
    • Many accessibility fixes and improvements
    • A new Point Summary dialog, both for reference and as an accessible-friendly means of checking points spent
    • Updated gear menu, with new options and handling, for Unified View trait boxes
    • Added a new, bigger Zoom level
    • Added an option to have Templates tracked as their own point expenditure category
    • A new type of plugin which will allow coders to create plugins that users can launch from the Launch menu to do work, either as one-time jobs or as tools that stick around and work while you use GCA

A bit of color (b217)

b217

* Point Summary dialog

I was using the wrong color set, so that is now fixed.

I was using a fixed ‘red’ color for warnings, which didn’t work well on many backgrounds. I’m now using a ‘red’ color on a ‘white’ background which should read clearly regardless of color settings, although it will be rather bright on an otherwise dark configuration.

More various bits of things (b216)

b216

* Miscellaneous

Made some adjustments to the text output and display of the Point Summary window.

The order of the tabs in Classic View had Equipment appearing before Templates, which is backward from intended. I reversed them.

* Separate Template Costs

I have surfaced an option to track points spent on Templates separately from Advantages and Disadvantages, due to requests. That is now available in Options under Windows & Boxes.

GCA will now display a block in the points bar for Templates, if GCA is set to track those separately, and if there is a non-zero point value for them. When you change the setting in Options, the Points Bar at the bottom of the window will not automatically update to include/exclude the Templates block. You will need to do something to force that change, such as hitting F5 to recalculate.

Be aware that with this option on, you will be potentially mixing positive and negative point values into a single total, which may be misleading to you.

The option to track Template points separately was not supported by any of the included sheets when showing the ‘summarized’ totals. I have updated the points boxes on the sheets to include Templates when this option may be in use with the summarized display, but Templates will still only be shown if the total is non-zero.

* Zoom

Made some minor adjustments to the Transform Manager and the Loadout Manager to try and get their central grids to respect the font size for the user’s zoom level.

The Library Pane and Layout buttons on the Unified View toolbar should now size back down correctly when you switch off Jumbo toolbar buttons.

I have added a new Extra Large option to the Zoom menu. I can’t guarantee that every dialog will fit on everyone’s screen when using this option, so if things don’t fit and can’t be resized to work, I’m afraid you’ll have to use a smaller zoom. But let me know! I may be able to redesign the problematic windows to work differently. Note: The location boxes for the various protection displays will almost certainly be too small, with clipped text. Those boxes are set using fixed pixel sizes and locations in order to work on the images, and that doesn’t match well with font-based scaling for the text within them.

* Classic View Attributes

Added some additional options to the right-click menu for Attributes in Classic View: Modifiers, to open the Modifiers dialog; Highlight, to make available the highlighting options; and GM Sheet, to include or exclude from the traits marked for inclusion on the GM Sheet (or for other things that use those watched traits).

Not all output options are necessarily set up to allow for Attributes on the GM Sheet watchlist, so you may have to let me know if they don’t appear somewhere, or in some fashion, that you think they should. (They should automatically appear in Special Abilities on the GM Control Sheet itself.)

* Accessibilty: Input box

The Input box used when GCA needed a quick user entry, such as in the #Input directives and when changing a profile name, used a built-in feature of my programming framework. Unfortunately, that feature did not appear to support accessibility features. It has now been replaced in all use cases by my own input box dialog, which has been updated a bit to better handle accessibility needs.

Character handling has now been plumbed with a new event and handler to allow for requesting this new Input.

* Sheets

The Official Character Sheet has been updated to reflect the use of Separate Template Costs in the Point Summary when the Templates total is non-zero.

The GCA Prime Sheet and Spring Bandit Sheet have been updated to reflect the use of Separate Template Costs in the Point Summary when showing ‘summarized’ point totals and the Templates total is non-zero.