MapTool 1.3 Build 91

New build announcements plus site news and changes.

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Nertht
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by Nertht »

:) I have no words...

Raileth
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by Raileth »

Great news guys.

Grant
Raileth

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LeopoldVonRanke
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by LeopoldVonRanke »

Just.
Awesome.

Thank you so much! My group has been annoying me with fiddling with Fantasy Grounds, d20 et c., but MapTool is still where it's at.... (and MOTE is nowhere to be seen)

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Mrugnak
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by Mrugnak »

LeopoldVonRanke wrote:(and MOTE is nowhere to be seen)
MOTE is simply still in private beta.

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

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Sauron
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by Sauron »

Firstly I'm very grateful that Maptools exist.

However - as user friendly program its a complete mess.

I have downloaded the Zip files loads of times - including the new one which is apparently Java 8 compatible. In theory surely I should just press the launch button and hey presto it works.

Well not on my machine or anyone else I know. There are links all over the place for complex fixes - or instructions that tell you need to launch from another file and yet no-one seems to want to just fix it. Either the program should work or it doesn't.

In the end I constantly have to launch it from the website - which is just wrong.

I hope that Mote works and resolves all these issues as the amount of frustrated time I've spent on this is ridiculous. The worst of it is that if this was for profit - even a little profit it would have been resolved long ago.

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by aliasmask »

I agree. The startup process could be more user friendly, but b91 is not difficult to figure out. You can just click the maptool.jar file and it will just run but because of some of the complex frameworks out there the defaults don't cover the memory constraints. So, you click on the launch.jar to configure it. Someone who is computer illiterate won't know what all the numbers mean or what ranges should be used but like you said there is plenty of support on the threads for someone to get those answers. I even made a video showing the full install process which takes about one minute for me to start from scratch and be in MapTool. The video goes on with how to add a shortcut to the windows taskbar which is a Windows thing.

I look forward to when MOTE comes out because it will bundle java with it, one of the main confusions with users and getting MapTool to start correctly. But they are only java 7 compatible and java 8 doesn't play nice when java 7 is installed and may be a hurdle for them to overcome.

MapTool is java 8 compatible but some changes in the libraries (I notice java 7 to 8 size is now 4x as big) has caused some unforeseen problems, but are mostly fringe cases. MapTool development is totally volunteer and a community effort so the bug fix cycle is unfortunately very slow. So, MapTool is what it is. If there is something you want to change the tools are out there for you to fix it. Otherwise, we'll have to rely on the good graces of others and have a little patience.

I'm also looking forward to MapTool 1.4 which is where much of the volunteer time is going. I know far less about it's development than MOTE because they're not on the clock to finish it like MOTE is. It'll be done when it's done. MapTool is a labor of love and so far, imo crushes all the other VTTs in functionality. I think of MapTool as the linux of VTTs. It's great because it'll do what you want but you have to be willing to put the time in to it to get results. Personally, I'm a Windows user for the ease of use, but if you want something bad enough you'll do the research to get things working the way you want.

If you're interested in a proper install you can go to MapTool - How To - HOWTO: Install B91 and set up Shortcut.

* Please don't take any of this message as a slight against you. Your feeling is shared by many people and I'm just trying to present my own personal take on it.

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wolph42
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by wolph42 »

what AM said. Just want to mention that the last version b91 has all but one issues fixed that the
links all over the place for complex fixes - or instructions that tell you need to launch from another file
refer to. So those are redundant. The one issue that remains is the 'router issue' for some routers. But it appears that you are talking about issues to 'launch' maptool right?

in that case its good of you to take the time to report it here so its clear there apparently still is an issue with b91, cause as you said: it should just work!

hence I would like to inquire what it is you exactly do and also which java version you are using (im guessing 8 from your post). Just give the steps:
1. download b91 zip from site
2. put it in directory....?
3. unzip it to...?
4. (try) to start maptool by doing...?
5. the following happens...?

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by aliasmask »

There is one other bug that affects b91 and that is the stylesheet and java 8. According to uh, I forget his name and can't find the link but he does work on the code a bit that, it's also an error in java 7 but the error is hidden and it doesn't break the output. So, in this case instead of ignoring the error and continuing it just doesn't draw the frame. (or so I extrapolated from his comments)

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wolph42
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by wolph42 »

aliasmask wrote:There is one other bug that affects b91 and that is the stylesheet and java 8. According to uh, I forget his name and can't find the link but he does work on the code a bit that, it's also an error in java 7 but the error is hidden and it doesn't break the output. So, in this case instead of ignoring the error and continuing it just doesn't draw the frame. (or so I extrapolated from his comments)
indeed, but those 'links' do not refer to that issue.

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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by Sauron »

You know, no sooner than have I had a rant, actually then getting around to posting it - and then when I actually try B91 on another machine it works fine!

It doesn't work on my main desktop - but who cares, I can live with that.

I should rant more often.

Steve

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wolph42
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by wolph42 »

Sauron wrote:You know, no sooner than have I had a rant, actually then getting around to posting it - and then when I actually try B91 on another machine it works fine!

It doesn't work on my main desktop - but who cares, I can live with that.

I should rant more often.

Steve
Good to hear you got it working!

we're still curious to why it does not run on your desktop though. If you can ever find the time, please report

Sauron
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by Sauron »

Hi again,

I just wanted to ask - is the launcher file for the b91 actually broken? Since I downloaded it (again) I've been launching the program from it (namely because I wanted to alter the memory/stack size easily) - I can't see at this point any problems, so I just wanted to ask if any really bad ones had been identified?

I'm running Java 8 & 1024/64/4 set up.

Thanks

Steve

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTool 1.3 Build 91

Post by aliasmask »

No, the launcher works great and there are no major issues. I have a couple of seemingly personal issues using UPnP on my computer and only 1 notable bug that I know about that's really a fringe bug and most people wouldn't even notice. I would recommend to anyone to upgrade to b91, but I would (and do) use java 7 for now which ignores the bug I found.

Most of the issues people have are usually java related which includes setting the proper memory settings. Just make sure you install the 64bit version of java. The default is always 32bit.

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