The MacroPolicebox: Second Regeneration (D&D 4E Framework)

Framework(s) for D&D 4e, including Veggiesama's.

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Serpent10i
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Re: The MacroPolicebox: Second Regeneration (D&D 4E Framewor

Post by Serpent10i »

That's really awesome, thank you! I see you take "Import anything" quite seriously. :)

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StarMan
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64

Post by StarMan »

Seriously indeed! You're welcome and notice that you have been given credit for the feature request in the Release Notes for SL 64. This SL is now officially available for download but admittedly has few other new features. The new FL->Rename This Token facility should now be used in lieu of doing so manually on the "Edit Token" tabs. This uses the new Sanitize Name macro in the background which in turn ensures your player and special token names are kosher.

Although rarely seen, you may now specify a "1dx" expression in the NominalRange field of the power forms. There are a few powers which have a variable burst range so I thought this functionality might be neat. Programmers can also now use the new Proximity macro to see which foes and friends are within range (default=1) of a certain token.

Other than that, there have been the usual minor tweaks and message clarifications but no major bug fixes to speak of. Enjoy ...
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65

Post by StarMan »

I am embarrassed to report the most significant aspect of SL 65 is to fix MM3 importing. Other import streams seam fine but MM3 was severely buggered up ... and has been for quite some time. Luckily it was a fairly easy fix as was the dreaded long-standing but rarely seen bug which causes a power to go haywire asking for all kinds of things like values for Criticals, Token, etc. When that happens, try to break out of it as best you can and then clear your Exploits property. Because this almost never happens, I jumped at the chance to study a token exhibiting this behaviour last session. Testing has been promising and 65 will hopefully ensure it never happens again.

Given the cool new features in 64, I chose to focus this release on bug fixes and improvements. Any state with the word Quarry or Curse in it will conform to the appropriate rules when marking, Unconsciousness now rightly remains on a token until raised to Bloodied, Summon NPC Lib Tokens will no longer waste time looking on the current map (so use the new ABOS), Fall no longer prompts you when you die and secondary attacks are now prefixed by their primary names.

The rest are the usual smoothing of usability issues and improved error checking. Enjoy ...
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StarMan
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66

Post by StarMan »

For SL 66 there is once again no new features to report … as will likely be the case for the foreseeable future. Don't forget my little joke about the only feature not present being the "kitchen sink" add-on! Fortunately bugs and usability tweaks (minor as they may be) continue popping up to keep me busy. I may also record some new videos in the near future (if the spirit moves me) to augment the recently updated SL 64 versions.

With respect to bugs, Word powers should be generated normally again after some rearranging of the Import PC Power code. Roll Init for All should stop tripping over certain tokens, F4 should correctly determine monster vision, the Unconscious dynamic should work more smoothly (you can even set different Durations now), Attack Power will fail for Blast powers if you don't position the ABOS correctly (even though I still don't get why some of you find this so hard) :( and a few import glitches have been cleared up.

As far as usability goes, Adjust HP won't bug you about "ignoring RV" or damage types if no associated effects are operating on the token, imported effects should detect Duration="Attack" more often, you won't be asked to use your StrikeFeature for auto-hit powers, name-checking is a bit more extensive and you will be told what last option has been auto-selected in a menu. Enjoy ...
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StarMan
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67

Post by StarMan »

For those of you who noticed SL 66's bizarre tendency to impose unconsciousness as a savable effect, you may now download SL 67 where it has gone back to a Duration=Bloodied-type behaviour. Another annoyance that has been solved was the Fall Effect's tendency to linger past the resolution of the saving throw. Speaking of falling, a token can now take that damage even if it is already prone.

The biggest interface change is in implement handling. Single implement usage is now enforced so you will not be able to equip both slots. Another tweak that may catch you by surprise is the popup dialog notifying you of your turn's commencement. The idea is to bring focus to MT in the event you are in another app or just plain daydreaming. A number of very minor enhancements round out the release. Enjoy!
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68

Post by StarMan »

SL 68 was released earlier this week but I just haven't had a chance until now to blog about it. Those of you (if any) have downloaded and tried it may have raised an eyebrow or two over a fairly large design change. As you will have noticed, the End My Turn macro also starts the next player's turn. Until now, I have avoided splitting this into two separate macros. Because of numerous logistical issues, I have decided to throw in the towel on that perspective.

You will now find a Start My Turn macro under "Tactical" but should rarely need to run it via this menu. A prompt asking if you wish to start should appear on your screen. If you Cancel, you will be given the option to Delay. This approach allows you to avoid turn-starting operations (when appropriate) like taking ongoing damage and also allows StartTurn macros to run better. The down side is you will need to remove encounter-start Surprised effects at the end of the first round if it is inappropriate to wait until the system removes them at the end of each token's turn.

Other enhancements include Opportunity Attack getting smarter (i.e. no teleport if the provoker is in range), "Threatening Reach" on monsters getting generated with a call to this macro, Solo monsters can now spend their second action point, improvements to skill challenge dynamic and Adjust HP becoming a bit smarter by prompting for RV if a Regeneration effect is operating on the token.

Bug fixes include Import PC Power skipping over small stretches of erroneously partitioned powers (remember to watch those hash mark demarcations, people!), End Effects checking if a referenced token exists on the map (so you can remove the offending effect), the importer doing a better job of setting the Target field and the RACK now sets close blast ranges properly again. Enjoy ...
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69

Post by StarMan »

Aside from a smoothing of the "Start My Turn" process and the correcting of a few obscure import quirks, there really isn't much to report on the release of SL 69. The biggest change is the inclusion of assassin (i.e. "shroud") support as I will be playing one for my group's new adventure starting on Monday.

Getting back to the importer, I have finally (after YEARS of trying!) got other class/race powers to work. Until now, if you were an Eladrin Wizard then you could only import Eladrin or Wizard powers from the Compendium and PDFs. Now if this same character wants to import "Majestic Word" when multi-classing, then it will import as "Majestic Word Bard". Of course this whole discussion is moot when importing a CB dnd4e file but non-DDI users can now breath a sigh of relief considering they no longer have to edit the Class property when importing. Remember to not mess with the Name field otherwise it will just get imported again when you level.

Every time you run "Assassin's Shroud", your StrikerDamageDice property will be set to the base damage one shroud will do. If you agree to the shroud strike upon hitting a creature, the shroud mark will be removed from it. To increase your shrouds or expend them when you miss, use Tactical->Use Shrouds. Enjoy ...
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70

Post by StarMan »

Hey MPB'ers, it is once again time to put a lid on another decade of SL's. Nothing major to report here beyond a few obscure bug fixes. I have taken another stab at the Trap's Import macro as it was doing some weird stuff. My assassin made a great debut at last night's session but I did need to correct a bug when calculating Shroud damage. Remove Effect is now able to address multiple tokens so I will look into doing that for interactive mode in SL 71. Hybrids will now get a chance to set a striker state during the F4 import and invalid token detection has become more comprehensive so you will be able to locate the offending effect more easily. Enjoy ...
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71

Post by StarMan »

It seems there's no stopping me this month as far as SL releases are concerned! 71 is the fourth but probably not last, programmers' writer's block notwithstanding. This time we see a new addition to the FL->Edit Properties facility. If your DM asks you why your GenDamMod (or whatever) is so ridiculously high, you can choose the new "Contributing Effects" option which will list all the effects that reference that property. There are very few properties which you would need this for but it still may come in handy.

Other new stuff includes Remove Effect's ability to select and operate on multiple tokens. For example, let's suppose a bunch of guys get knocked prone but they are able to stand back up as a no action. Rather than go to each and individually run Stand up, you can now select them all and remove the Prone_AC effect. Programmers also now have access to the Roll variable used by the Attack macro (last target only) for use in post-Attack Power processing. Use Shrouds now has a "Transfer" option which allows you to re-designate an enemy.

A major very long-standing bug has been (hopefully) fixed. Until now, expendable powers run through chat links were immune to expend/check processing. If you wanted to run an encounter 15 times through non-menu means then you were able to do that. This hole has been plugged for links and plugging for quick buttons will happen in SL 72. Other minor interface tweaks round out the release. Enjoy ...
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72

Post by StarMan »

SL 72 continues the trend for improvement assassin support by giving programmers the option to include a function parameter with Use Shrouds. The "Transfer" option is also a tiny bit smoother. There is still a problem with the default shroud damage in PP not having a "1" in front of it but that will be easily fixed in SL 73. Assassins may do this manually for now and other classes may ignore this paragraph altogether.

Most bug fixes and operational changes will be subtle things you won't notice as a user. Expendable power tracking has become more restrictive. You will no longer be able to run expended macros through links and quick buttons. Marking a creature will now send a pop-up notice to the guy you are superseding. Surprise support is more comprehensive lasting the whole encounter unless you use the "Remove" option in Mass Surprise. Your Reminder list in the stat sheet will no longer duplicate effect listings. Undo Last Turn s Effects will no longer give an error when taking away temp HPs.

Skill challenges are now a little easier to configure with the Add Skill Track macro asking whether a failure counts as such (if it needs to). The Trap's import will now try to collect defence stats from Countermeasures so you don't need to do them manually as shown in the video. Note the brand new MPB root macro Mass Ownership. This allows you to use the OSP to set an owner for a group of tokens. Enjoy!
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73

Post by StarMan »

Yes, it's only been 3 days but I have fast-tracked SL 73 for a very good reason. I now hang my head in shame for committing an unpardonable programming error in the Attack macro. :oops: It would seem that when writing my "attack lowest defence" feature several SLs back I unwittingly forced the attacked defence to be AC, whether this feature was being used or not. In other words, for many SLs now everybody has been attacking AC regardless of what the power output shows. My players brought this to my attention earlier this month and it has now finally been found and fixed.

A big change I wanted to highlight is the enforcement of the literal interpretation of the "one creature" option in the Target drop-down on the power editor form. Up until now, this has been assumed to be "one enemy" for attack powers. Strictly speaking, this is now working correctly from a rules standpoint so if you only want to attack enemies then you need to explicitly select "one enemy" or you will see allies as selectable targets.

The big new feature is ceiling support. Now when you use Import Description on the Info token to encode the encounter's "Features of the Area", it will try to find the "ceiling is xx feet" phrase and set that as a cube value in the Altitude property. You will have the opportunity to change this but it will be set to 1000 if no valid answer is found. For example, if it is set to 5 then the highest a Medium creature will be able to go is Altitude=4. Requests to go higher made by the Altitude macro will be ignored.

The usual round of usability tweaks round out the release. Edit Property Set now outputs the set, SL 73+ monsters will now output their striker trait (like Combat Advantage) when using that ability and Edit Properties->Import Transients will copy the Disease from an infected token. There have been a few minor enhancements to PDF monster importing as well. Enjoy ...
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74

Post by StarMan »

Happy Halloween, fellow MPBers! It has been a scary month as far as the pace of development goes. A new record has been set with the 7th (yes, 7th!!!) and final release for the month hitting the download page. SL 74 will allow you to set both trigger types for marking, give slightly smoother Unconscious handling and the power editor will detect double weapon use making configuration of Twin Strike and other Ranger powers more automatic. You still need to verify the "Attacks field" is set to the right number.

Usability improvements include the Banner macro once again allowing numbered copy powers to run, Attack Power suppressing Attack triggers when RunTriggers=0 and F4 no longer prompting for a strike feature on existing tokens. A number of minor efficiency and aesthetic tweaks round out the release. Enjoy ...
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75

Post by StarMan »

Today we look back and remember all the brave tokens that have fallen in the name of vanquishing evil from our D&D games! In their honour, I offer SL 75 for your gaming pleasure. There is a slight change in behaviour for displaying RV states. They are always off unless enabled in Global Toggles and a non-Duration=Encounter effect is registered. Detection of missing tokens has been improved and you can now turn off PCs' Exploits frame. Run Power is also now smarter with regard to prompting for aborting due to inaction states.

Most other changes are cosmetic and/or internal in nature. It turns out a couple of macros were still crashing because they were calling the now defunct "is PC". A slightly embarrassing bug was Roll Init for All giving away all the monsters it rolled for. Opportunity attacks are now handled way more smoothly in the sense that you are not prompted unnecessarily. Enjoy ...
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76

Post by StarMan »

SL 76 is now available to download and sports the relaxation of a couple of features that go all the way back to Day One. For starters, "-ABOS" powers will no longer abend with an error if you fail to move the ABOS off the Info token. Instead, it will ask you to select a token to move the ABOS to. This may not make sense in the context of the power you are using but is useful for area blasts that are centred on a specific creature. If not, just cancel at that dialog and move the ABOS as normal.

Secondly, it is now possible to easily switch between designated Info tokens. If you want, you can now put extra copies on the same map (i.e. Info 1, Info 2 etc). When starting a new encounter in a different area on the same map, go to the "Info x" there describing the area and run the Make Current macro you see there. The "x" will be discarded and the former Info token will get a number. You may then proceed with the new encounter as normal.

The Opportunity Attack has been improved some more with the addition of the Send OA facility on the MPB itself. The DM can now use the OSP to select a player to grant an OA to. A few minor bugs have been corrected in the way Attack Power distributes OAs to tokens making ranged and area attacks.

Internal efficiency improvements and tweaks round out the release as usual. Enjoy ...
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77

Post by StarMan »

Merry Christmas and other holiday greetings, MPBers! There's a chance I will be able to release SL 78 before the 25th but not looking likely at this point. The only new feature for 77 is the Write SPT macro on the MPB root group. This is for people who are (for whatever reason) unable to initiate the F4 import. Run this macro and select the blank JPEG which you have dragged onto the map. It will place a Setup Player Token on that token for you to run. You will also notice the menu system is a little more restrictive for inaction states. For example, if you are Stunned or Petrified then you won't be able to use the "Actions in Combat" menu at all!

Major bug fixes include the long-standing (and rather annoying) request for save vs Unconscious at the end of your turn. When you knock out a token, it will impose the Unconscious effect as Duration=Bloodied as it should. Global Toggles was just plain broken in SL 76 and has been fixed. For some strange reason, an update to Choose From List caused a menu or two (most notably Skill Check) and "Yes,No" dialogs to get all jumbled up. This has been fixed as far as I can tell. Finally I have just finished testing the OA award code which seems to be working properly now. Enjoy!
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