CnC Ruleset update v2.05

[Sorcerer]

Whilst messing about with the character sheet tonight I noted a bug in the weapon damage dice.

Basically if you drop more than 1 die into the damage dice field and roll them it will roll an extra die.

ie. if you add 1d6 it rolls 1d6, but if you add 2d6 it rolls 3d6..

I'm actually surprised no one has noticed this before, but maybe most weapons only roll 1 die for damage.

basically it all comes down to my programming skills (or lack of them).

so please accept my humble apologies, the attached patch (with is as before cumulative with v2.01-2.04) should clear this up.

if not (or if it causes any other issues) please let me know.

EDIT: ATTACHMENT Removed - Patch Superseded by v2.06, see separate thread.

[Sakusammakko]

I noticed this in the last month, but had forgotten to say something. This was a bug that was only recently introduced.

Thank you for fixing it.

[Sorcerer]

Hi Sakusammakko,

Yes this bug was introduced by me when I added the double click damage code, unfortunately I managed to mess up the drag damage code (which had previously worked perfectly) at the same time.

anyway it should be back in working order now...

Just as a point of note for you.

I know that previously you make some alterations to the injury display text (among other things).

As far as I recall everything that you suggested be changed, has actually been incorporated into this and previous patches.

EXCEPT: the exchange of "Dying" for "Bleeding Out". Which remains as "Dying".
There is, I'll admit, some element of personal choice in my decision to leave this as was; but also the more practical reason, that "Bleeding Out" is a little too long for the space provided on the client combat tracker, and also because you can be at minus hit points without actually bleeding at all.

in any case, I just wanted to let you know that if you use this patch you will be reverting back to "dying". If you don't want to do that then the only file changed to fix this bug is Charsheet_Combat.xml, so extracting that from this extention and dropping it into the ruleset folder should fix the problem without changing your customized files (Back up your current Charsheet_Combat.xml before overwriting it, incase something goes wrong!)

Additionally, just as a glimpse into the future, in the development version I am (sort of unoffically) working on. I have expanded the area on the client tracker where the injury state is displayed in order to accomodate longer descriptions, and I have set up a slash command so that you can customize these statements without resorting to ruleset editing.

It is difficult to try to please everybody, but hopefully this will help people to set things up the way they like them.

[Sakusammakko]

Thank you for thinking of me. I have a few questions:

1) For my info, if I wanted to fix the double dice damage code, where would I find that and what change would I make?

2) How do I incorporate this patch? Do i just drop it into the Extensions folder and then select it when starting up a session? Or do I need to extract it somehow? If it sits in the Extensions folder, how does it overwrite the files?

3) Are you sure the charsheet_combat file is the one that has the Bleeding Out text? I can't find it there. It's been awhile since I looked at that file and am not sure which one I changed.

Other than the double dice issue, the new ruleset has been working out really well.

As always, thanks for your efforts.

[Sorcerer]

items 1 and 3 are related...

when I talk about the charsheet_combat file, i do not mean that it contains the 'Dying' text. I mean that it contains the damage roll bug fix.
[text related to injury states is contained in 3 files combattraker_common.lua, combattracker_entry.lua and combattracker_status.lua]

so if you want to fix the bug, without altering the customizations you have already made, the only file you require to change is charsheet_combat.xml
you should be able to just swap the new file for the old, so unless that fails I will not go into the grizzly details about how to alter the script manually.

in order to get at the charsheet_combat.xml file you simply need to change the file extension of this patch from ext to zip, it will then behave exactly like a standard zip archive file which windows should be able to open without trouble, then you just need to drag the charsheet_combat.xml file from the zip archive to the ruleset folder (after backing up or moving the original file to somewhere safe).

if you did want to use the patch as is, then simply place it in the extensions folder and select it on the extensions list when you load your campaign. it will not overwrite any files, but it will override them. I.e the ruleset will use the files contained within the extension, but the original files within the ruleset folder will remain untouched, deselecting the extension will revert you to the previous configurations (i.e. FG will use the original files again).


Edit: I just realized that trying to explain all this is actually taking longer than simply editing the files for you...

so please find attached a 'personalized' patch which contains everything that was in patch v2.05 , but where i have altered the text to contain the now famous 'Bleeding out' phrase. You should just place it in the extensions folder as described above.

anyway I will try to get this text user customizable via the slash command before I put out any more update..

as before if you have any problems let me know.

[Sakusammakko]

Thank you for taking the time to teach a man to fish and giving him a fish!

I understand the process now.

No need to get in the habit of offering personalized patches for my sake. It's a slippery slope.

I've enjoyed the new version of the ruleset and have already bought 2 additional copies for players in one of my campaigns.

[dr_venture]

Hey Sorce,

Just a head's up: the bug still occurs for me the first time I drop the dice onto the weapon's stats, but after I clear the dice from the weapon, it works fine from then on. A big FYI here is that I have modified the first page of the character sheet quite a bit - dunno if that affects the 2nd page or not. I wouldn't think there would be any DB name conflicts or anything.

May I add a feature request: I'd love it if monsters/NPCs added to the Combat Tracker which had a hit point value of 0 would automatically have a random hit point value generated. I don't know how difficult that is, but as long as you're willing to listen, I'm willing to ask

Many thanks for all of the hard work, my friend.

[Sorcerer]

Hi Dr V.

thanks for the feedback.

I have been playing about with various permutations for about an hour now, but I have not been able to recreate your experience.
Do you mean this occurs with every NEW weapon you create and add dice to after you applied the patch, or that it occurred the first time you either tried to roll dice of or added dice to weapons that already existed BEFORE the patch was applied. In other-words is this an ongoing problem or have you really already solved it?
I actually cannot conceive of a reason that this should still be happening on an ongoing basis.
just to check - you have only the V2.05 patch running and no other extension?

better news on the random hp front- this feature already exists - you just have to activate it.

go to the options window and the combat tab. there you will see "Randomize NPC hit points"
You have 3 choices: all, Group and off.

"Off" speaks for itself and I guess this is your current setting.

"All" means, all NPC's added to the CT will have hit points randomly generated.
"Group" means only NPC's with a count of 2 or more in the encounters window will be randomized.
This is because usually groups are generic creatures whereas if there is only 1 it is more likely to be a boss or a special creature where you want to set the HP yourself.

Note: if you set to All and the NPC already has an hp value set, this value will be ignored and a random value will be substituted. This is also true of groups under the Group setting. Setting to "All" will also randomize single creatures dropped directly on the CT as well as those that go through the encounters button.


With regards tot the links between character sheet page one (main) and page 2 (combat). There are actually quite a few (and probably even more in future versions) so you need to be careful what you change.

for example the damage dice field of the weapon list we have just discussed has a link.
when you roll damage the ruleset checks if the weapon is melee or ranged, if it is melee it takes the strength bonus from page 1 and adds it to the roll. This of course should have no bearing on the problem at hand.
(actually in this case not taken directly from that page, but from the db.xml file, using the 'address' defined in page 1 as source = "abilities.strength.bonus" )

just a quick question for you, while we are on the subject of weapons.

can you tell me how many weapons (on average) your players actually have on the weapon list at any one time. I am working on possible upgrades to how weapons (and items in general) are handled on the character sheet and this info might help me set things out properly. Actually I have written alot of code already and I am getting a little nervous that I might be going in the wrong direction, but I am always like that (thats why its not public until its ready!).

[dr_venture]

God, I *hate* letting my stupid flap around in the breeze for all to see. Ahem.

1) The hit die thing was total pilot error on my part. I had never noticed that when you drag consecutive dice onto the damage dice field, it adds them to the existing dice - I assumed it replaced them. I did figure this out last night, but my net connection was crapola & I couldn't post a clarification. I'm sorry you had to take the time to investigate my stupid. Doh!

2) The 'roll creature hits' feature does already exist - DOH! I mean, glad it's there, but I'm annoyed I didn't catch that. I was putzing around with a new campaign file to create a module for Greyhawk, and thus was using a campaign that didn't have that option set... as I had forgotten that option existed. The bottom line - excellent work, as usual.

3) I applied the latest patch, and everything works just fine. My edits to the first page of the character sheet are primarily to add a bunch of fields (many of which, I just found out last night, were added as an optional attributes in the Castle Keeper's Guide). FWIW, here it is:



Since the fields are all added fields with unique names, I don't think I've screwed anything up. Mainly, I live in fear of another new version of the rules coming out that would require me to rework the char sheet for a 3rd time. Thus, I'm very grateful that your updates have been patches which work with my modded ruleset.

4) I have a very small group of low level adventurers going right now, so their arms are pretty limited. Unfortunately, since arms & inventory items are not draggable, that means if your character ever might want to use a weapon, he has to keep it listed in the weapons section of the character sheet if he wants to avoid having to re-create it every time he wants to use it. For higher level characters, I could see that being a large number of weapons for the type of games I've played in - characters tend to get a lot of less powerful items with very specific powers, so they tend to hold on to the items in case they ever need them. Between magic & non-magic ammunition & weapons, I could easily see having 7 or 8 weapons per character... maybe more.

My ultimate dream solution would be to have a draggable inventory system like 4e (if I remember correctly) or Rolemaster, where you could just drag stuff from a list into your modules, from there onto your character sheets, and from there between your character's inventory and weapon list. Then the only weapons in the combat tab are the ones actually being used. I'm guessing that won't happen , if for no other reason, than the ruleset does not have draggable items in the first place (which may or may not be a contractual thing)... not to mention the programming involved, which seems like it could be kind-of a pain. Since the Castle Keeper's Guide now has data for types of containers and the amount they can hold, FG would be a great way to use that game mechanic in a relatively painless manner. Well, for the user, if not the programmer

Hey, a guy can dream, eh?

[Sorcerer]

well glad to hear that you have no issues.
It is always difficult to alter anything, without the thought that I might break something else..

the additions I am making to the items system are actually centered round a drag and drop system, That would obviously mean creating a module with all the players handbook items in the new format so that will be a lot of work.

At the moment I am just trying to get the system working.
currently I have as distinct item types, weapons, armor, potions and the Misc.

The weapons are causing most problems at the moment and I am having doubts about how I have chosen to implement the weapons system. Essentially I have set things up so that where the weapons list currently is, there are two horizontal tabs where you can select to show a list of all weapons (it actually just filters the weapons you have have in the inventory tab) or to show which 1 or 2 (for dual wield) are currently equipped. weapons are equipped through a check box system on the weapon list. This allows the data to be picked up and used by the combat tracker, but I am now wondering if it is abit too complicated and that players might not like the idea. We shall have to see how it goes, I have already started anew a couple of times so I may cut the idea altogether in the end...it depends. I just need to get things up and running and try it out a couple of times myself.

I do not plan to have a new version out for quite a while (It was over 3 years from V1 to V2!! Although probably not that long this time around), but I have to admit that I have already made a number of changes (at least to scripts) on the main page of the character sheet, currently nothing has changed with the layout. So you would be Ok copying your mods straight into the relevant slots on any future Charsheet_main.xml file.