BattleScribe 1.13.02b Available For iOS

Apple have finally approved version 1.13.02b and it's now available in the App Store! Sorry it's taken so long - once I've submitted to iTunes, it's out of my hands until they get around to reviewing it (usually a week or so...).

This version contains a major bug fix where in some cases nothing would show up for you to select for your list (notably a large selection of Warhammer Fantasy catalogues). This was because for some catalogue files the process of upgrading them to the 1.13.xx file format would eat the contents of the file and break it. Very nasty.

Important: 
If you have experienced this bug, and you were unable to see anything to choose for your army you will need to delete your data files and re-download them from your repository. Go to "Manage Data", click the menu and choose "Delete all data". Once this is done, click "Update Data" again to get your files back. Your new files will be properly updated to the 1.13.xx format and all should be well.

Sorry I let this one get through. File format updates are one of the biggest changes BattleScribe can go through, and it can be a bit of a rocky road. I'd tested many data files to make sure the process worked, but evidently I missed this particular case. My apologies if it's caused you any issues.

Full Change List:

• Fixed bug where some old data files were not being properly upgraded
• Prevented categories showing up if they contain nothing to select
• Fixed crash when using multiple catalogues (ie allies) in some cases
• Fixed crash when using catalogues with deeply nested shared items
• Fixed bug where data files with accented characters (ó, ñ etc) would break

If you find anything else that's amiss, please don't hesitate to let me know. You can leave a comment on this post or in the forums, or catch me on Google+, Twitter or Facebook. I'm also available via email: feedback [at] battlescribe [dot] net.

If this has resolved your problem, or you're just a fan of BattleScribe on iOS, please do leave a review on iTunes!

BattleScribe 1.13.02 Released

Update: One more bug fixed today:

• Fixed crash when using catalogues with deeply nested shared items

This is available for Android and desktops, and has been resubmitted to Apple (I've requested an expedited review so hopefully it won't take as long as usual to become available).

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Just a small update today with a couple of bug fixes:

• Fixed a problem where some older data files weren't being properly upgraded to the 1.13.00 format. This is causing a problem particularly on iOS where in some cases you can't see anything to select when creating Warhammer Fantasy lists (nasty...)
• Prevented categories that don't contain any entries from being displayed (mobile versions only)
• Fixed bug where data files with accented characters (ó, ñ etc) would break
• Fixed a crash when using multiple catalogues (e.g. when making a list with allies)

Note: If you are having problems with your data files, I recommend deleting them and re-downloading from your repository. This will mean any files get re-updated to the the 1.13.00 format, fixing the problem mentioned in the second bullet point above.

This is now available on Android and desktops and is currently going through approval for iOS. I'll let you know when it becomes available in iTunes.

BattleScribe 1.13.00b Released - With Allies Support!

Update: Apple finally approved the free version for iOS, so that's now available for you iDevice people out there :)

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Well the big day has finally arrived - after three months or so hard labour, BattleScribe 1.13.00b is finally here! Adding support for allies has been a big job, requiring changes to how BattleScribe fundamentally works, hence the long development time. On top of that, I've added a much demanded feature from data file authors: shared items. This will make it much easier for the authors to create quality data files, thus benefiting the entire community.

The two highest voted items on UserVoice in one fell swoop :)

This update affects all versions: Desktop, Android and iOS. If you like it, I'd really appreciate a review on the iTunes / Google Play app stores!

Note 1: This update involves a major file format upgrade. This means that the first time you load up BattleScribe it may take quite a while for your existing files to be updated, depending on how much data you have. Please be patient! It only needs to do this once.

Note 2: BattleScribe has become more strict about data file formats - some old files that used to be OK may no longer be valid. If you create files or host repositories I strongly suggest opening all of your files with the new version's editors and fixing any errors that are flagged. Once you're happy recreate your repository with data indexer to make sure it's all in order. This will really help prevent users of your repository from having problems.

Note 3: If you experience strange behaviour, it could be because of data problems mentioned in note 2 above. The first thing to try would be to delete all your data files (on mobile, the menu in the Manage Data screen allows you to do this) and re-download them from your repositories.

Here's the full list of changes:

All Versions

• Added allies support (a roster can be created with multiple catalogue / game type combinations)
• Added ability to create "shared" entries, entry groups, rules and profiles in catalogues, and then reference / link to them throughout the catalogue without repeating yourself. This should make life a lot easier for data file authors
• Improved modifiers / conditions, supporting the shared items

iOS (iPhone / iPod / iPad)

• Added shiny new retina graphics and icons
• Long-clicking selections now allows you to duplicate, remove or individually view the selection
• Added extra options in the Manage Data screen to allow you to share your repository URLs or delete all data files (in case of problems)
• Rules/profiles now properly shown when viewing the roster
• Fixed crash when clicking on the row of a "single selection" (rather than the button on the right)
• Fixed "invalid attribute namespace..." crash when importing from repositories
• Fixed bug where some catalogue conditions wouldn't be properly evaluated
• Other small UI improvements and bug fixes

Android

• Added new high-resolution (and some low-resolution) icons and graphics to support different screen densities
• Added extra options in the Manage Data screen to allow you to share your repository URLs or delete all data files (in case of problems)
• Other UI improvements and bug fixes

Desktop

• Minor UI improvements - just tidied things up a bit
• Improvements to the data file editors so they detect and flag more possible data file errors

Important News For Data File Authors / Hosts

Just a heads up for those of you out there who create or host data files.

I've now submitted BattleScribe 1.13.00b to Apple. Once it's approved, I'll be wrapping up the releases for Android and the desktop, and releasing the whole lot together - hopefully in about a week or so.

I've come across a problem with some of the data files out there (eg Space Marines and Necrons from one of the most popular data file hosts), where some entries in a catalogue have duplicate unique ids. The new version is stricter about how these are used, and this kind of setup will no longer work.

To prevent crashes, Roster Editor will remove all entries with duplicate ids from the catalogue on load. This means the user will not be able to select these items for their rosters. In addition, if the user opens an existing roster that uses any of these entries, the relevant selections will be removed from their roster.

If you open the catalogue in Catalogue Editor however, the offending entries will be left in place and flagged as an error so you can find them and fix them. I have released a preview version of 1.13.00b on the forum which I strongly recommend data file authors download and use to check all their data files to make sure they don't have this problem.

Remember that if you open a pre-1.13.00b file it will be converted to the new format which is not compatible with older versions of BattleScribe. It's probably best to make a copy of all your data files before checking them, thus keeping your 1.12.00b format files intact. You can then be ready with a nice shiny set of 1.13.00b data files ready for when it's released.

If you have any problems or questions, feel free to drop me a line on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or email (jon [dot] taylor [at] battlescribe [dot] net).

New Facebook Page

I'm not much of a Facebook user personally, but I hear it's quite a popular site ;)

So for those of you who are primarily Facebookers, I've finally bitten the bullet and created a page for BattleScribe.

I'll be posting development progress updates, upcoming features and soliciting feedback on ideas in a generally more detailed and regular way than on the news blog. It's also another avenue for you the user to get in contact to ask questions, offer suggestions etc.

I will still be using Google+ for my primary social media page, with posts there being re-posted to the Facebook page (in full where possible) and Twitter (as a link). I'll keep an eye on the Facebook page and obviously will be participating in any discussion over there.

So, if you're a fan of BattleScribe and want to stay connected, Facebook is now another option for you alongside Google+ and Twitter - whichever is your personal preference :)

Now get clicking on those Like buttons people!

Super Celebratory September Sale!

It's been a good month :-)

The free iOS version was finally released and the Android version now has over 10,000 users. Awesome milestones!

I can't thank you all enough for your support - BattleScribe wouldn't be what it is without you!

But I can't thank you properly with just words. So for the month of September, BattleScribe Mobile Pro will be £0.69 ($0.99 / €0.99), or Android iOS and Kindle Fire.

Enjoy :-)

New Data File Forum

The biggest problem BattleScribe users face is getting hold of data files. I'm sure many of you have had problems finding the files you need to get up and running, and I'd bet money that many more gave up using BattleScribe because they couldn't find any files to get started in the first place.

The data repository system that was added a while back has helped a lot - there's no more copy/pasting of files and BattleScribe can now automatically update your files when new ones are available. Which is pretty sweet (even if I do say so myself).

Thing is, this doesn't really solve the problem of finding a repository in the first place. To that end (as suggested by Scarletsquig), I've added a data files forum so you can let people know about the files you've created and the repositories you're hosting. If you've spent time and effort creating an awesome set of files, it'd be great if you felt like sharing them with the rest of the community!

Feel free to use the forum to:

• Post links to your repository or data files
• Take comments and suggestions
• Let people report bugs or problems with your files
• Accept new or updated data files from the community
• Get together with other data file makers to pool resources
• Whatever else that's data file related

There is of course The One Rule: No Games Workshop. Sorry about that, but I've already got myself into trouble with that one...

BattleScribe Mobile 1.12.10b Released!

So, it turns out that the fix in the last version that prevented BattleScribe from crashing when returning to the app after doing something else, had... side effects. In some cases, particularly when using a certain Grey Knights catalogue, you would get a crash when trying to edit a unit you'd added to your roster. It was a weird error and there wasn't much information about it out there on the 'net. After some sleuthing however, I uncovered the problem. Settle down while I tell you a story...

Android apps need to store the data that you're currently working on when you leave the app, so when you come back the data can be restored and you can continue from where you left off. The original crash when returning to the app was caused because BattleScribe wasn't saving any data and therefore there wasn't anything to restore when you came back, resulting in a force close. So to fix this issue, I saved the roster, catalogue and game system data when you left the app, and restored it when you returned. Fair enough you might say.

The problem is, the BattleScribe data files can be rather large and complex (for a phone to handle anyway). The Grey Knights catalogue in question is one of the best put together and most complete catalogues out there. It's also the biggest I know of. It turns out that the Grey Knight data was in fact too big! So big in fact that the app would run out of space and crash when trying to save the data for later!

So unfortunately the solution to this (for the time being at least) is to remove this fix and no longer save data when you leave the app. It will go back to crashing if you return to it after some time away. I do have some ideas on how to fix this for good, but it will take some time and I wanted to fix this as quickly as I could. For now at least I think it is better to get people going again and make sure that all those Grey Knights players out there can create lists.

I hope this post isn't too techie, and explains a bit why this fix had to be removed. As the Tau would say, it's for the Greater Good.

BattleScribe Mobile 1.12.09b Released!

It's been a little bit of a rocky start for the rebuilt Android version of BattleScribe. I guess it's to be expected when you start from a clean slate, but I don't like to have worked to make a better user experience, only to inflict everyone with all new bugs. With this latest update, however, I think we're back on track.

Over the last week (in between a nasty cold), I think I've resolved pretty much all the major issues people were having. Particularly, there were a couple of force closes that needed fixing, and performance issues as it over-aggressively checked file formats. I've also managed to squeeze in a couple of new features and tweaks, and (finally) fixed a force close that occurred when returning to the app after doing something else.

So, if you tried BattleScribe on your Android before and found it too slow, buggy or crashy, now's the time to give it another go - it's free after all ;) On top of that, as a bit of an apology for the problems over the last week, I'm going to leave BattleScribe Mobile Pro at 99p for another week.

P.S. I'm working on getting it into the Amazon app store at the moment for the Kindle people out there. Unfortunately their approval process is a little... slow.

1.12.08b:

• Now checks data files are the correct format on startup, and caches the results. This means much faster loading when creating/opening a roster.
• When using the +/- buttons to add entries, you can now enter a number directly into the box
• Added pan/zoom on the view roster screen
• Correct error messages should now be shown
• Fixed force close when clicking error messages

1.12.09b:

• Fixed force close when returning to the app after you have exited to use another app

BattleScribe Mobile 1.12.07b Released! [Updated]

[Update:] After a some feedback it turns out there was a real facepalm of a bug in the last release that prevented adding/removing via the +/- dialog in some cases. Also there was a little outcry over removing landscape orientation on some of the screens. I've just released a new update that should fix both of these issues. Enjoy :)

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After nearly three weeks, I've finished completely rebuilding the Android version of BattleScribe from the ground up. I think it really needed it - the original version wasn't very nice to look at and in some places was pretty poorly put together (it was my first Android app, I was learning!).

This new version is much easier on the eye, with a cleaner interface - hopefully it's easier to figure out what's going on. There are also some new features to help you import data files and share your rosters with others. Other than that, the main screen for editing your roster works pretty much the same as before. I've got some ideas on how to improve this page in the future though, so keep an eye out.

To celebrate, I will be having a sale: BattleScribe Mobile Pro will be just 99p for a week, so get it while it's hot!

I will be adding BattleScribe Mobile to the Amazon app store and others over the coming days if you prefer not to use the Google Market.

Here's some screenshots of the new look (full change list below):

Change List:

• Completely new "black on white" user interface, making it much cleaner and more readable.
• New "getting started" screen to help you find and set up data repositories.
• Long-click on individual selections to view or duplicate them.
• BattleScribe now lets you open any roster file it finds on your SD card (not just ones in the BattleScribe folder).
• BattleScribe will now open and import rosters/data files downloaded from websites or stored on your SD card.
• New sharing options to send your roster file via email or bluetooth.
• New sharing options to send your roster as text/HTML/BBCode/Markdown via email, social networks or to other apps.
• (Hopefully) many minor bugs no longer exist.
• (Probably) some new minor bugs have been introduced - please let me know if you have any problems!
• Updated help documentation on the website.
• Shiny new logo!

BattleScribe 1.12.04b Released!

So here we have the first new release in quite a while. Just a few bits and pieces in here - call it a warm up as I get back into things. There have been some changes to the internal gubbinz, which should hopefully make it even easier for me to port the code to different platforms. We'll see...

The full change list is as follows:

• Added a "getting started" dialog when you start BattleScribe but don't have any repositories. This should help new users get set up.
• BattleScribe can check for data file updates from your repositories when you start up.
• Summary popup/tooltip now shown when hovering over the controls to add/remove selections (the "customise selection" panel).
• Added a new "copy as Markdown" menu option in the View Roster dialog.
• Catalogue and Game System editors should keep better track of whether or not a file is saved.
• Fixed a bug where if you were working on a catalogue, saved it, then created a new one, you could end up saving over the previously opened one.
• Fixed a bug where using negative points values (eg for Warmachine where certain characters can give you extra points) was causing errors to be shown.
• Internal changes to the way files are saved and loaded.
• Shiny new icon!

Emerging From Hibernation, v1.12.04b Pre Release

Hi everyone,

It's been a little quiet around here lately. What originally started as a one month break in November 2011 has turned into a three month hiatus after illness and the Christmas period took their toll on my time. After than I was just plain lazy getting things rolling again ;) On the bright side I did get a bunch of painting and gaming in!

Well never fear, BattleScribe is alive and well and I'm back on the case! I've tried to reply to any emails, forum posts, UserVoice suggestions etc. that I neglected over the last couple of months. If I've missed yours, or you feel I haven't answered sufficiently, please do drop me a line via Twitter (@BattleScribe), Google+ or email (jon [dot] taylor [at] battlescribe [dot] net). You could also bump your forum thread - I should see your post on my feed.

1.12.04b Pre Release
I've spent the last couple of weeks getting back into the swing of things with some minor updates, mostly around helping new users get started. This is primarily a "getting started" dialog which helps you to find and set up repositories. This gets shown if the user has no existing data repositories. BattleScribe will now also automatically check your repositories for new and updated data files when it starts up.

There are also a few other bits and pieces in there (including possibly breaking changes to the way files are loaded and saved). The full list of changes is on the forum thread where you can download a pre-release version to play with if you're feeling brave. If you do, please let me know on the thread if you find any problems so I can get them fixed up before the final release sometime in the next week.

What's Next?
After the 1.12.04b release, I'll be going back to the Android app to do a major overhaul. As you may well be aware, this version is functional, but looks pretty... nasty. It really needs large improvements to the style of the visuals/user interface - I'll probably take a cue from the way Google's own apps look (such as Reader and Google+), with a black-on-white colour scheme.

On top of that, it really needs it's internals re-working too. I learned a lot about how Android apps are supposed to work while I was writing it (it was my first Android app), and this knowledge needs applying.

So the Android app is pretty much going to get re-written from the ground up.

After That...
There are a couple of major UserVoice suggestions around allowing entries, rules and profiles to be shared within a catalogue file. This is something that's been needed for a while and should make people's lives much easier when editing or creating catalogues. On top of that, it should make BattleScribe more flexible than ever and open up new ways of building catalogue files.

So, there's the plans for upcoming BattleScribe development and planned new features. Happy (late) new year to everyone and may all your dice roll sixes!

Website Design Updated

As I'm sure you're aware, the design of the BattleScribe website has looked kinda... scuzzy (circa 1995) for some time. I'm no designer, and just needed to get something up to host the downloads. Well I finally got sick enough of it that I went ahead and built something a lot nicer.

It's pretty much the same content (for now at least), but hopefully it's a lot easier on the eye and a bit more modern.

Enjoy :)

BattleScribe Mobile Pro Released!

So today, the pro version of BattleScribe Mobile is out. This is an ad free version of the normal Android app, which also has a little something extra: a neat dice rolling and statistics app. It tells you the average results of a series of dice throws, and allows you to try rolling for yourself to see your own results. It will handle dice from a D2 up to a D100, multiple dice per roll (eg 3D6, 5D10), and you can also factor modifiers, multipliers and re-rolls into this.

As a thank you to all those who've downloaded the free version and have been with BattleScribe over the last 18 months or so of it's life, BattleScribe Mobile Pro will cost a single pound for the first week. After that, it will probably be around the three pound mark.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and the link to the Android Market is on the right, along with the rest of them. Enjoy :)

BattleScribe 1.12.03b Released, BattleScribe Mobile Pro Sneak Peek

BattleScribe 1.12.02b and 1.12.03b released in quick succession to sort out a couple of minor niggles. Sometimes the roster points total wouldn't update correctly when using the +/- spinners. Also, the points wouldn't update if you duplicated a selection. These should be sorted out now.

In other news, I'm almost ready to release the Pro version of BattleScribe Mobile for Android phones. This has the advertising removed, and also includes a little something extra: a statistics calculator/roller, geared towards wargamers. We're all stats-nerds at heart and it's nice to be able to compare the average damage output or other characteristics of a unit when making your lists. You can view the average results of a particular series of rolls (e.g. hit, wound, save), and have a go at rolling them yourself to see if you can beat the average.

Mathammer is fun :)

BattleScribe 1.12.01b Released!

This is mainly a bug fix release as a few bits and pieces were raised in the forum - my thanks to vaslav and scarletsquig for finding them. There are also a couple of small new features thrown in there.

Release Notes:

• Your chosen roster layout options in the view roster dialog are now remembered
• Catalogue and Game System editors will now prompt you to update the revision number of files you edit
• Fixed a bug where data files made with 1.12.00b would not open on older versions or on the mobile version.
• Fixed bugs where modified rules/profiles would not be properly renamed and listed in the view roster dialog
• Fixed bug where selections from entries with modified points values would not be displayed properly in the view roster dialog
• Fixed bug where if you selected an entry for your army with modified points values, the available entries list would reflect the modified version, not the original
• Fixed bug where the hidden flag on rules/profiles was not being respected
• Fixed a bug where "No Category" selections would sometimes not be displayed in Roster Editor

Additional Fixes for Android:

• Ads no longer get in the way of your list of selections

BattleScribe 1.12.00b Released!

And here's the latest version of BattleScribe, with a nice bunch of improvements including the most requested item on the UserVoice page. There are a couple of UI improvements and you also get a side-by-side layout when viewing/printing rosters. That's something people have been after for a while. It could do with further improvement, but it's a start.

For those of you who edit data files, I've added modifiers to profiles so you can change the values of characteristics based on the selections you make in your roster. All distinct profiles (each varient of a modified one, and the original if present) are shown in the summary and marked with what they are modified by. I also thought I'd do the same for rules whilst I was at it.

Without further ado, here's the full change list.

Release Notes:

• Alternative layout in view/print roster, with the army's units and profiles/rules laid out side-by-side. Choose the view you want from the Layout Options menu.
• The minimum points value of entries is now shown in the left-hand tree so you can see how much something costs before you select it.
• Rules summaries are not displayed in view/print roster unless they have a description.
• Profiles can now have modifiers, allowing you to change characteristic values based on your selections (eg. Mark of Nurgle gives you +1 Toughness).
• Profiles will have their names changed based on what selections of modifiers, so for the above case "Chaos Lord (Mark of Nurgle)" would be listed in the profile summary.
• Rules can also have modifiers to change their names/descriptions.
• Added Spikey Bits as an affiliate
• The new installer will not overwrite your settings file, so you will not loose your saved data repositories on upgrade.
• BattleScribe will no-longer crash if the settings file is missing or broken - it will just create a new one.
• The selected affiliate in the menu bar will now be randomly shown. If the button is clicked, or you select your preferred affiliate from the drop-down, this one will always be shown.

Android Specific:

• Fixed a nasty bug that prevented BattleScribe from downloading game systems from repositories and showed an error message.

My apologies if you were affected by the bug in the Android version, I really should have spotted that one before I released it. My thanks to hewhowatches and scarletsquig in the forums for helping test this release. Always appreciated :)

BattleScribe 1.12.00b Pre-Release, Stickers

As usual, I've posted a pre-release of the latest BattleScribe up in the forums. Feel free to download and give it a whirl, and please let me know if you find anything wonky in there. The full release notes are listed in the forum thread, and you can let me know there or in the comments if you uncover any problems.

Also, to follow up on the last post, stonhinge in the comments suggested giving away stickers as a thank-you for donations/purchases. I thought that was quite a nice idea, so if people are interested I could start posting some nice glossy vinyl stickers for donations (voluntary purchases?) of say $10 or more. What do you think? Here's a first thought for the sticker design:

Thoughts on Income

Well, that's a provocative title. Link bait you might say...

Seriously though, BattleScribe and money has been something I've been thinking about lately. As I've always tried to be open about everything I try to do with BattleScribe, I thought I should air my thoughts and see what people think.

Just to be clear though, there will always be free, fully functional versions for desktop and mobile. Forever. That isn't going to change.

So what's this all about? It's a bit of a dream of mine to be able to one day quit the day job and focus all my time on BattleScribe. Combining my two favorite pastimes - toy soldiers and programming - into a job would be awesome. I could do a much better job of supporting and improving the program, and start implementing some of the other grand schemes I've been thinking about.

Currently, BattleScribe pays it's way with generous donations, the ads on the mobile version and the affiliate links in the desktop version. I can run the project at no real cost to myself for web hosting etc, which is great.

Of course, for me to be able to focus on BattleScribe entirely, it has to go a little further than just supporting itself. So I've been thinking of ways to generate some income from BattleScribe that keep it free and provide some benefit for the user.

I've come up with a few ideas, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

1. Turning the affiliate links on the desktop version into a much more useful feature. The idea would be that once you've created an army list, you could click the link to go to your preferred web store. When you get there you find your shopping basket already populated with everything you need to build your army. BattleScribe gets a small cut of any sales made through the links.
2. A paid for version of the mobile app. Make it ad-free and also give it something extra as a thank you for purchasing, such as alternative skins. The free one would still have all the same features.
3. Direct advertising on the mobile and (possibly) desktop versions, and on the website. Companies could pay for ad space, which means they'd be much more relevant and useful to wargamers. This kind of advertising is also more lucrative, especially for a niche product like BattleScribe.
4. A "pay what you want" model to "purchase" the desktop version (where "what you want" can be nothing - there would be a prominent "skip payment" button). I'm a little uneasy about this as it feels like I'd be guilt-tripping people into parting with their cash...
5. Merchandise. T-shirts, stickers, mugs or whatever fun stuff people would like to buy. Not sure there would be much demand for a BattleScribe t-shirt though!

I hope you get where I'm trying to go with this. The idea is to find useful, optional or unobtrusive ways to generate a little income, without making it a paid for product or reducing it's functionality.

So, what do you think? Do you have any suggestions? Let me know on the forum or the comments. Thanks!

BattleScribe 1.11.03b Released!

Just a quick bugfix release today - I've resolved an issue where the total roster points value wasn't being recalculated sometimes (not good). In addition, for the Android version, I've fixed a bug where rosters containing certain text characters could not be displayed when viewing them.

Short and sweet :)