2.7 Rollback

[Moon Wizard]

Here's the situation.

There have been many reports in non-D&D rulesets of errors with 2.7.1. I guess that Wed/Thurs are big nights for non-D&D gaming. While the issues that are arising are essentially issues in the ruleset code, the way that FG v2.6.5 behaved essentially covered up the issues.

Therefore, for now, we are going to roll back FG to v2.6.5, and ask all of the people running non-D&D games to help us ferret out all the issues.

If you want to continue to use v2.7.1 for your game, have all the people in your session download the TestModeManager tool in the Downloads section of the web site. Run the tool, select the Test button, and start FG.

Soon, we will be releasing another dev version (v2.7.2) that will include some backward compatibility code for other rulesets, as well as some updates to the rulesets that are sold by SmiteWorks to address any remaining items.

Thanks,
JPG

[ronnke]

Rollbacks make the baby Jesus cry.... I was getting used to the numpad working. :P

Anyway, will a rollback effect campaign data for games that have been running under 2.7.1?

[Moon Wizard]

No. The database format is defined by the ruleset, and the 4E updates did not change the database format.

If you want to continue to use v2.7.1, you can download the Test Mode Manager tool from the Downloads page, and set to "Test" mode.

Regards,
JPG

[GunnarGreybeard]

Rollbacks make the baby Jesus cry.... I was getting used to the numpad working. :P
I was just starting to like that one too. Was hoping to go live with 2.7.1 with my Rolemaster group on this coming Tuesday. :( Oh well, soon enough! ;)

[drahkar]

Can we get info on exactly what type of issues people were experiencing? My hope is that I can go over the code I have in my current ruleset work, locate the issue if it exists and correct it.

[unerwünscht]

Ok... Moon.... hear me out here.
If the issues in question are issues with the code in the rulesets, and how many rulesets can we be talking about? maybe 100?

Would not the better solution be to fix the rulesets? If it is done systematically it should be something that we can plow through in less than a week, and the end result is a better product for everyone.

[Zeus]

Ok... Moon.... hear me out here.
If the issues in question are issues with the code in the rulesets, and how many rulesets can we be talking about? maybe 100?

Would not the better solution be to fix the rulesets? If it is done systematically it should be something that we can plow through in less than a week, and the end result is a better product for everyone.

I can't speak for Smiteworks but I think specific ruleset code implementation will have to be addressed at some stage. However, given the sheer number of rulesets that could be affected it also makes sense for Smiteworks to deprecate changes slowly with some advanced warning if possible. This would allow ruleset developers some time to review and implement required changes without necessarily breaking support for current users when new FGII releases become available.

I think the current problems are very unfortunate, whilst I haven't looked at every case, of the ones I have quickly looked at along with knowledge picked up from updating the 4E extensions, to me it looks like the majority of issues being seen under 2.7.1 should have been seen under 2.6.5, its just for some reason they were being masked. Quite odd.

[StuartW]

If we could have a short list of 'things that were previously masked under 2.6.5' that might help find the issues.

I believe that one of them was the fact that the widget.destroy() method didn't work, so code which subsequently accessed a destroyed widget previously went unnoticed but will now fail.

Does this apply to objects other than widgets, and are there any other such issues?

Cheers

Stuart

[drahkar]

Yea. We really need some sort of list of the issues which were being experienced so we can troubleshoot and account for it.

Going to have to load the test interface i think.

[unerwünscht]

Well I cant speak for everyone who has made a ruleset for Fantasy Grounds but I for one typically used the base ruleset as a building block and modified it from there. I know that also the three other people built and I ended up fixing were done the same way.

So logic would tell me that most errors should be fixable by replacing the old code with the new code. Shouldnt take more than 5 minutes per ruleset as long as we know what is causing the issue.

[Moon Wizard]

OK, here's a summary of what I have so far to address:

Showstopper
* [CoC] Notes system broken
- assumes colon appended to sender name in onReceiveMessage
- also, onChildUpdate triggers a resetMenuItems call when object no longer exists.

Major
* [3.5E, d20, WH, CnC, SW] Script errors for incorrectly managed widgets
- silent before since widgets were not really destroyed
- Specifically, template_viewerlist.lua and combattracker_targeting.lua
- Add widgets = {} to fix.
* [SW] Bennies cause script error on host
* [SW] CT shaken and incapacitated not working

Moderate
* Formatting lost when joining or splitting paragraphs in formattedtext.
* Modules not merging with same mergeid (reported with d20 ruleset)

Minor
* Backspace at start of line in formattedtext misplaces cursor.
* Word wrap in formattedtext and strings not correct.
* [4E] Targeted RESIST effects not working.
* [4E / 3.5] Missing theme graphics for new radial options
* Log copy to clipboard freezes all copy and paste (some Windows versions)

Regards,
JPG

[Moon Wizard]

[UPDATED 2010-08-20]

Here's my plan of attack:

* Add backward compatibility features.
- Append colon to sender field in onReceiveMessage
- Don't fully delete LUA objects, in case they are incorrectly called after being destroyed.
* Add formattedtext and stringcontrol changes
* Add clipboard changes
* Add fix for setIcon with empty string (SW shaken/inc issue)

* Investigate module merging
* Investigate one remaining issue in SW notes (almost the same as CoC)

* Wait on theme updates

Also, I plan to look into enabling a third mode in the Test Mode Manager tool to allow for testing of 2.7.2, while allowing people to continue using 2.7.1 for their games.

Regards,
JPG

[ddavison]

Well I cant speak for everyone who has made a ruleset for Fantasy Grounds but I for one typically used the base ruleset as a building block and modified it from there. I know that also the three other people built and I ended up fixing were done the same way.

So logic would tell me that most errors should be fixable by replacing the old code with the new code. Shouldnt take more than 5 minutes per ruleset as long as we know what is causing the issue.

We definitely want to fix all the rulesets. The problem has as much or more to do with actually distributing fixes as opposed to making the fixes. 3.5E and 4E have built in update capability so we can just replace the one file and it will download the patch automatically when updated next. The other commercial rulesets and all of the fan ones don't have this capability.

3.5E and 4E make up the majority of our users, but we have an obligation to not unduly impair the usability of the products that are not as popular. We do sell a lot of Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds and Rolemaster rulesets though and many of the fan made rulesets are quite popular as well. We have planned to work on linking these products in with the updater for some time but haven't gotten around to it yet. This gives us a strong reason to work on that now.

[unerwünscht]

Well, I didn't code the SWSE ruleset nor the ADnD 2E ruleset, just did the graphics and updates on them. I plan on fixing the code in them asap to be compatible with the new version of FG. However, I distribute both rulesets 100% free of charge at this point, so if you guys by chance want to take them over and to the future updates on them I am more than willing to let them go. Just let me know so I can triple check that ALL of the artwork is custom at this point.

Anything that makes a better product for the users makes me happy.

[Dracenfels]

Well I tried the new 2.71 today with my group and ran into some issues right away...so I had to switch back. I was using the 4E ruleset. I had two issues when I opened the map and started placing enemies for combat. 1st using the mouse to to pivot the tokens would give me and instant error and 2nd when I tried to resize the tokens on the CT it would not let me and that white screen would pop with an error aswell. I was in the middle of a game so I couldn't really right down what the error was but maybe the info might help you guys. Oh also my entire group was properly updated and using the right version I made sure of it...Nice work on the numpad and the cool additions to the map features. keep it up hope you sort it out soon

[Moon Wizard]

Dracenfels,

I run a 4E game myself for fun and testing. I've never seen those issues in my game, and I use those actions also. (change token orientation, and resize individual tokens via CT)

When you get a chance, could you get me the error messages from the console that pops up? The console log now has a "Copy To Clipboard" menu item that should make it easy to send the messages.

Thanks,
JPG