Friday 16 June 2017

BattleScribe 2.01 Released!

The new edition of a certain GrimDark game system is almost upon us. BattleScribe has your back.

Some Important Notes
  1. The latest version on all platforms is 2.01.02. Make sure you are up to date!
  2. Version 2.01 involves a data format change. This means your old data files need to be upgraded, which will take some extra time when loading a file for the first time.
  3. If you have any trouble with the update (or just want to skip the data file upgrade time!), make sure you delete and re-download your data!
  4. Any questions? Feel free to post on the BattleScribe subreddit.
  5. If you like playing games in the grim darkness of the far future, I suggest you check Manage Data...

The Road to 2.01

BattleScribe 2.00 was released in November 2016 to much fanfare with a lot of problems. Performance was poor, and there were quite a few bugs and crashes lurking in the dark corners. Since then there have been a large number of updates, bringing BattleScribe 2.00 back to where it needs to be: fast, stable and powerful. There's even been some new features and improvements along the way!

There is always more to do of course. Loading times on mobile can still be long (particularly on older devices), and there is ample room for more performance optimisations. Rest assured I will continue to work on BattleScribe; hunting bugs, improving performance and adding new features. Make sure you keep the app (and your data) up to date!

I really hope you enjoy the new version of BattleScribe. It's taken a long time to get here, but I think it's been worth it. If you like it, I encourage you to tell your friends, share this post, leave an app store review or even become a supporter!

So What's New?

Since I've not posted here for a while, this list will contain the main changes and updates since 2.00 was released. For more details, take a look at "What's New" within the app itself.
  • File format and engine changes to support the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. These changes introduce a new layer of power and flexibility for all data authors.
  • Huge overhaul of the Manage Data screen/dialog - you can now add data directly from the app without having to go to an external website.
  • Roster sharing improvements. You can quickly share your rosters to Facebook, Reddit, forums and more with sensible default formatting.
  • Printing on mobile! Finally...
  • [Supporter] Quickview feature allows you to quickly open rosters for viewing without loading all the data.
  • Output format improvements and more formatting options.
  • Massive performance improvements when editing a roster (adding or removing selections etc).
  • Performance improvements when loading rosters. There's still more to do here of course!
  • Performance and reliability improvements when using Dropbox on mobile.
  • Many, many (many!) crashes fixed and bugs squished.

Data Editor Changes in 2.01
  • Category Entries are now root elements in data files - they are no longer added directly to Force Entries.
  • Link Category Entries to Force Entries using the new Category Link element.
  • Any Selection Entry element (not just root elements!) can have multiple Categories.
  • Selection Entry Groups can now have Categories too.
  • You can reference Categories from Conditions, giving a huge boost in flexibility.