Made some changes to HD6, would like to share...

[Johnny Cache]

Hi, I hope this is the right place to post this!

 

I bought the source code for Hero Designer some time ago (on another account; I forgot I had this one. D'oh!) Anyway, I finally taught myself enough Java to add some new features to the software, and now I'd like to donate my version back to Hero Games. Can some Admin tell me how to properly do this?

 

The things I've added include:

• Added in all the new Powers from APG2
• Added the ability to give Common Modifiers to Compound Powers
• Added a few new tags
• Added "Slot Cost" to items within Multipowers; Changed "Real Cost" to show cost before MP divisor
• Wrote a .reg file so one can double-click on a .hdc file to open it in Hero Designer

 

I also cleaned up the deprecated code and moved all the temporary files to the system temp directory.

 

Hope to hear from someone soon!

[Simon]

To run through the list in order:

 

• New Powers from APG2 - these are not considered cannon, which is why they are not included in HD by default. If you built them all using custom template (rather than code), you should talk to Jason about providing it as a character pack.
• Common Modifiers on Compound Powers - not the purpose of Compound Powers and will create issues when combined with Lists that also contain Common Modifiers (the proper way to assign Common Mods to a Compound Power).
• New tags - not entirely sure what you're referring to here, can you elaborate?
• Slot Cost for MPs - this one is more of a personal opinion...and mine tends towards keeping things simple (the way they are)
• .reg file - feel free to post this either in this forum or the Downloads section of the site.  I won't include that with HD itself as I try to keep it as platform independent as possible.

 

[Johnny Cache]

Thank you for the quick reply, Simon.  I shall strive to be equally methodical in this reply.

 

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    New Powers from APG2 - these are not considered cannon, which is why they are not included in HD by default. If you built them all using custom template (rather than code), you should talk to Jason about providing it as a character pack.

I tried to do it as a template, but I couldn't get it to work. It seems that one can only have one template entry per XMLID and duplicates override the first. Unless I'm doing something wrong?

 

Quote

    Common Modifiers on Compound Powers - not the purpose of Compound Powers and will create issues when combined with Lists that also contain Common Modifiers (the proper way to assign Common Mods to a Compound Power).

The problem with that is that you can't put a List into a Framework or another List. And I did check to make sure my mod took care of any issues with having potentially three levels of Modifiers.

 

Quote

    New tags - not entirely sure what you're referring to here, can you elaborate?

Sorry, I didn't want to make my initial post too long. Here's what I have so far:
- IF_MODIFIERS ... /IF_MODIFIERS: You may want a header and/or footer to your list of modifiers.
- MODIFIER_TEXT
- MODIFIER_TEXT_NOVAL
- MODIFIER_VALUE
- MODIFIERS_COUNT
- ADVANTAGES ... /ADVANTAGES: Like the MODIFIERS ... /MODIFIERS tag, but only the positive ones
- ADVANTAGE_TEXT
- ADVANTAGE_TEXT_NOVAL
- ADVANTAGE_VALUE
- LIMITATIONS ... /LIMITATIONS: Like the MODIFIERS ... /MODIFIERS tag, but only the negative ones
- LIMITATION_TEXT
- LIMITATION_TEXT_NOVAL
- LIMITATION_VALUE
- IF_ADDERS ... /IF_ADDERS
- PARENTID: Helpful if you make an interactive webpage sheet w/Javascript
- COLOR
- LEVELS
- REAL_COST
- REAL_ITEM_COST (w/o Framework)

 

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    Slot Cost for MPs - this one is more of a personal opinion...and mine tends towards keeping things simple (the way they are)

As a fan of the KISS principle, I do respect your opinion. I just find it useful in tweaking the cost of a Multipower slot. (Would adding a limitation bring the cost of that new slot down? Could I remove a limitation without the slot costing more?)

 

Quote

    .reg file - feel free to post this either in this forum or the Downloads section of the site.  I won't include that with HD itself as I try to keep it as platform independent as possible.

OK, thanks. I'll post it in the Downloads section soon. 🙂

 

In summary:
- If there's anything you *would* like to keep of my version, I'd be happy to back the rest of the stuff out and send you that.
- As for the other mods: I would like to make them available, but
-- The .java file is well beyond the upload limit, and
-- More importantly, I would only want those that bought the Official version of Hero Designer to get it. Might you consider
   offering my version as a "fork" to your customers? Failing that, could I post the changed source code (which would only be
   useful to those that bought the official source)?

[Simon]

Templates:  you can use the generic "<POWER ... />" container for any number of new/additional Powers.  There are similar tags in most other categories/sections (other than Characteristics, which had to go with a fixed number of custom options).

 

Compound Power: While you can't put a List into a Framework or other List, you can put a CP into a Multipower and an MP can have Common Modifiers.  Again, not really looking to overcomplicate things, so would prefer to avoid adding another layer of Common Modifiers.

 

Tags: ah, export format tags.  So long as you've added those to the current version of HTMLWriter.java, you can send me your copy to go over -- assuming that they're cleanly implemented, I have little problem merging that into the main source.

 

Other mods: I'm really not a fan of forking the source -- that just creates a massive number of logistical issues on my end of things. Posting individual .java or .class files that you've written would be ok (i.e. not part of the core HD source) -- they're not really of use to folks that don't have either HD or (more importantly) the source code. Posting anything more than that would likely start to run afoul of the licensing.