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

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

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

Post by DragonFlo »

ok, this is very helpful.
Just realised the odd nr with decimals had to do with the token positioning. I like to allow tokens much flexibility in their location and movement, so I switch off the snap to grid toggle.
The macro can't seem to handle this...was fixed when I set it back.
The token rename issue also was sorted very simply after your advice, thanks...
Perhaps I'll give your framework another try after all!

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

Post by StarMan »

Yeah, you have to use Snap to Grid because the macro needs to accurately measure squares for power ranges. I suppose I could adapt the Choose Targets macro to accommodate that movement mode but in the interim it would be easier to just put an intelligible error message instead. Good feedback! :wink:
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StarMan
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SL 445/446

Post by StarMan »

Wow this has to be the slowest development month in MPB history! This was due to a perfect storm of not having a lot of free time, playing less (therefore fewer bugs discovered to fix although DragonFlo's feedback has helped) and just simply solid performance by the framework. Nevertheless, a new pair of SLs are available download.

For my group, lately there has been a greater emphasis for better execution time. They have been questioning the need for so much automation if it's going to bog down the system. I naturally protested since automation is the whole point of using MT (which has to take its own share of the blame) and the MPB over solutions like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds. These VTTs have very little (if any) support 4e and macro coding. In response, my brother wrote some basic macros which run very fast because they only output very basic calculations and make no changes to any properties or states.

That was too far in the other direction for my liking so I wrote the Manual Attack macro under the Actions in Combat menu. This can be considered Attack Power-lite. It leads you through the attack process asking only minimal input and then outputs its to-hit and damage calculations without making any changes to tokens. Such changes then need to be made manually. I have also modified Attack Power to ask for something called "Fast Mode". If you click OK to this prompt, vast amounts of error checking and damage code will be skipped within the Attack Power process.

In my tests, these measures have yielded a modicum of execution time savings at the expense of automation. But how do we know how fast a macro is running? Run Power has been modified to give its runtime in seconds as well as the macro it ran within itself. These times do NOT include the extra processing MT does for itself in the background thereafter so YMMV. I don't think all these changes have made much difference overall but our session on Thursday was a lot of fun. At the end of the day that's what it's all about.

Aside from those, only minor improvements have been made. The most significant of these is the elimination of the very annoying Token and List etc value prompts. Polymorph will no longer kick you out of combat, My Turn macros processing are handled more smoothly, Finish Import needs to run Add Handout Button and RACK now excludes "plussign" in tooltip. Enjoy!
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447/448

Post by StarMan »

The ultra slow development pace continues but the latest SL pair is finally available. 447 fixes an Import crash on the Trap token, Polymorph prompting to delete "Aborted" token, Handout to Chat displaying as overlay, Attack Power's Fast Mode restriction for damage, Initiative still prompting for Breakdown, Damage killing monsters when attacker in Mercy Mode, Place Spell needing to send Handout to Chat to party, Import PC Power needing to set Copies=2 for Trigger field saying "at bloodied and 0 HP", Write Macro needing to give "already exists" message, Create Quick Button giving getMacroProps error if macro not found, Undo Last Turn s Effects needlessly registering removal pointer effect on runner and Start My Turn needing to assert when token does not have checkmark.

448 fixes Move to Token putting smaller than Medium tokens to NW of destination, Skill Check needing to remove "[" before calling Restore Frames, Run Power needing to show times using SPL Display, Attack Power not gathering targets for invisibility testing, Restore Frames not properly disabling macro execution in output, Validate Token Ownerships needing to make Play Clip SM call optional, Replace Token prompting for current during import, Format to PC Power needing to code Special field better for recharge powers, RACK needing to prompt for Illusion spell token creation, Death Saving Throw removing Dying and linked effects for success and Run Expended still registering Protect Defenders trigger inappropriately. Enjoy!
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StarMan
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SL 449/450

Post by StarMan »

It's always a good milestone to reach a 50 multiple! For this edition two big improvements have been made to the monster importer. First of all, basic attacks beyond the first one will now be detected. Long time users of the MPB know that basic attacks beyond the first power have needed to be manually checked. Now you will see such powers with the "BA" prefix when importing which will then be replaced by the usual "r" or "m". The second is the detection of dice icons for recharge powers. These will now import with the proper recharge number. Both these fixes have been tested with the ixc Compendium and PDF sources.

Other improvements include Find Skill Lead now displaying team skill scores, Choose Targets now accepting the NYA ("no yet acted") option to select tokens who have not run Start My Turn this round, Register Effect will now run Toggle Aura on tokens rendered unconscious, Replace Token will not prompt for current same-named token during import and Processing Block can now detect attack on the run pattern for coding basic attack. Some minor errors have been corrected along the way. Enjoy!
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451/452

Post by StarMan »

The 50 SL march to big #500 begins! :) Yes, much slower rate of release these days but that's because both our groups are having so much fun. It's true that the Token prompts (and Breakdown at beginning of combat) continue to annoy us but just keeping clicking OK (not Cancel!) and you are good to go. Work to find and fix the cause is ongoing.

SL 501 fixes some problems with Verbose Mode, Polymorph deleting source token during combat, Handout to Chat needlessly giving access to all tokens, Damage sometimes giving "divide by 0" error when health bars on, Get Encounter and Daily Lists giving macroProps error when Run Power run from Info, Add Skill Track fields needing to be rearranged so Result on top, Edit Power not listing 0 as a recharge option, Get Import Text needing to fix Regeneration# fault, Make Save List not checking for dead effects first and clicking menus on dead monsters sometimes runs Import Monster Power.

502 fixes Global Toggles needing to change health bar toggle to SM media option, Finish Import needing to give choice of handout triggers, Attack Power sometimes sending blank Defense variable to Attack and RACK needing to fix error in Attack= portion of BannerProps. Enjoy!
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453/454

Post by StarMan »

The latest SL see me admittedly getting desperate with respect to the accursed "Value for Breakdown/Token" problem. I have eliminated all the macro display frames and incorporated their output into the Status macro. New tokens henceforth will get a StartTurn trigger for running this macro. If the bug is not fixed in my sessions this week I will dig a bit deeper into the code. Also, my players don't seem to like the sound effects so Play Clip will be prompted for some of them.

SL 453 fixes Add Skill Track sometimes giving casting error during skill challenge import, Surprised causing Mass version to fail, Init not being rolled for minions with InitBonus==0, Skill Check still in MK mode during combat, Damage should set health bars for PCs only, Strip Bad Terms removing "Max" part of PP and HP props, Aid Another needing to use Selected option, Send Macro prompting self for AFK situations and Bloodied effect needing to persist even below 0 HP.

454 addresses Menu still adding YN notices to Notes, Equip Weapon needing variable names rearranged, NPC Powers to Notes needing to remove "#" from ends of Weapon keyword, Import PC Power needing to convert Recharge value to number, Manual Attack can derive Weapon value from PowerSpecs, dnd4e to Notes needing to prompt for languages, Mark only allowing one Combat Challenge and Get Import Text needing to end power titles before "At ". Enjoy!
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455/456

Post by StarMan »

The latest pair of SLs includes some significant improvements to the Speak macro in your Quick group. The generally useless Deafen field is gone. If you don't want to get messages from speaking tokens then run Toggles->Toggle Media Unsubscribe. You may also use the "Speech" field in the power editor to send a message when running that macro. You will also notice Fast Mode is now an optional feature controlled by a Global Toggles prompt. You can also now do a double move without getting a speed limit notification.

SL 455 fixes Damage not updating health bars on attacked PC tokens, onTokenMove prompting Dead tokens for movement violation, general problems with the bloodied mechanic, End My Turn giving json.get error if InitBonus on MPB is blank, Lock Sides crashing at IF due to excessive parentheses, Finish Import needing to define Status as an EndTurn trigger and Equip Weapon crashing when setting offhand portion of two-handed weapon.

456 fixes Processing Block not properly recognizing "make basic attack" patterns, Rebuild Power/Promote to MMHoF needing to disallow Activate RV choice, Add to Notes not underlining Round headings, Begin Encounter needing to send Status to all PC tokens, Run Power needlessly resetting TempHP and Toggle Critical Threshold no longer being needed and can be deleted. Enjoy!
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457/458/459

Post by StarMan »

This trio of SLs finishes off the 45x decade. The big news is the final elimination of those pesky "Value for Token/Breakdown" prompts. At least last week's sessions yielded none. You might still be asked for "List" or other nonsense but as always you should be able to just OK through them. The Media Unsubscribe effect has been changed to the Deafened state and the Speak feature has been improved a lot. Some problems with the Bloodied effect have been fixed. A cool new feature of the Attack macro is that it will prompt you if you don't include the guy who marked you!

The combat preparation step is a little different in that now only those who roll initiative will get their vision turned on. When managing combat you can use the new Find Effects for State facility in the root group to search for all tokens with a particular state. This is very handy when tracking down why a token is granting CA or whatever. When all NPCs have been removed from the Init Panel, any button the PCs click should give the Health menu. I still need to test this some more but initial results look encouraging.

Please consult the Release Notes for additional fix information. Enjoy!
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460/461

Post by StarMan »

Let the 46x series begin! Marking has been improved with a prompt to notify you when you ignore the guy who marked you. Quarries and curses also work properly now. A few value prompt bugs and text leakage problems have been cleared up as well. PC Lib token properties will now get updated when you run F4 and a few associated problems have been cleared up but it's something I will be watching closely. This mechanism now serves as a property backup for restoration during Rest macros. More rough edges of the Play Clip feature have been smoothed over as well.

460 fixes Initiative needing to take over Status run, Kill Monster leaving player as monster owner, Run Power prompting for Start Turn when clicking End quick button, Campaign properties needing to default Race to blank value, Trigger Definitions menu needlessly giving Quit option and onTokenMove needing to stop giving movement prompt for GM.

461 addresses Run Power not displaying Health menu when no NPCs in Init panel, Send Macro needing to default AutoRun=0, Choose Targets failing outside combat in Fog of War, Validate Token Ownerships needing to give sight to monsters, Initiative needing to give sight to PCs, Abduct facility needed for move mechanic, Grab - Move-ABOS needing to use Abduct, Initiative Tokens needing to check actual panel as well and Shift restricting movement based on Speed. Enjoy!
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462/463/464

Post by StarMan »

The latest trio of SLs focuses on addressing a number of issues with the Play Clip facility where certain sound effects were not playing or at the wrong times. There are also a few token creation issues I needed to clear up as both my groups have been creating characters over the past couple of weeks. I have also been putting together campaign files for them so the monster creation process needed some tweaking too. Handout distribution has been a little wonky as well. Unfortunately, there is still a language detection issue for PCs (only finds Common) which I will look at soon. There is also a new dynamic for turning off/on token Vision between encounters when using the teal Move macros.

462 fixed Choose Targets giving error for area attacks in FoW, onTokenMove giving movement violation when GM moves, Status not terminating heading format for two sections, Clear Power Lock removing immediate state if one token has it, Move to Token moving small tokens to NW square from dest, Run Power needs to use Initiative Tokens to gather names to test for "Health" run, Start My Turn not deriving effect SPL values due to typo (infamous "Value for Token" bug!!!!), Banner needs to run Grab - Let Go automatically for teleports and Initiative Tokens not parsing json list properly.

463 addresses Skill Check giving token name for rechecked monster instead of type, Activate Halo needs to call setHasSight, Initiative giving location error for Toggle Targetability, End My Turn need not check running token for AC>99, Add Skill Track needs to replace "#" with "<br>" and Rumble Eval needs to check if total0=20 total comes from "1d20" beginning term.

464 handles Attack Power not using Implement keyword for basic attacks, new Message Players prompting for Prop and run, Exclude Target needs to mark runner with Observing effect, Speak should be a CS function instead of part of default QB set, Register Effect sometimes registering on Grave, Damage needs to put health bars on monsters too, Import PC Power not using highest ability for AttackBonus when called for, Framed Property needlessly checking if message contents is over 50 bytes and War Wizardry Feat needlessly protecting all allies within range. Enjoy!
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465/466

Post by StarMan »

The latest pair of SLs generally focuses on clearing up combat preparation with respect to initiative and sight handling. After using Move Party to Next Map, make the desired Info token there active and "rally" your players there by running Move Party to Info. After validation they can deploy themselves as you see fit. Initiative Tokens has also shed some bugs. A few import and sound clip distribution issues have been fixed. Enjoy!
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467/468

Post by StarMan »

The newest pair of SLs focuses on the smoothness of housekeeping between encounters and other smaller concerns. 467 clears up issues with Open/Shut not properly doing Play Clip call, Open/Shut Side needing to expose FoW, dnd4e to Notes not encoding Sustain properly, Add Skill Track not bolding headings properly/needing prompt for Max successes during SC import (btw Primary skills should be only ones prompted for fail possibility during SC config, Reset on Grave needs to blank Race, Info needing to have Manual Attack button, mount handling and Choose Macro needing new ABOS parm for exclusion purposes.

458 fixes Add Skill Track prompting for success limit on secondaries, Adjust Settings not allowing editing of success limits, Status not showing owned tokens, Attack Power giving double melee assert for Twin Strike, Disengage still moving dead tokens that have ReactionZeroHP trigger, Finish Import needing to set OHW=0, Healing Potion for Ally prompting for Recipient, Choose Targets needing to collect riders sooner in code, Damage needing to remove Unconscious state when healing administered, ABOS ownership issues, Move to Token inefficiently handling size changes and Aura Attack needing to stop prompting for macro run. Happy New Year!
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SL 472 and new videos!

Post by StarMan »

Happy New Year, fellow MPBers! A whole four SLs have made it out the door since I last wrote in the nightmare that was 2020. Rather than go through all the bugs that were fixed, I would like to share something infinitely more exciting. Last Monday I finally got around to recording new training videos after subjecting you all to the old boring ones recorded for SL 250. 222 SLs ago!!! Yikes!!!

The reason the new ones are exciting is I have made the huge jump to the ubiquitous YouTube platform! I resisted this for the longest time as Jing was a great tool, I was happy with Flash. As you know, Flash is now end-of-life so I have switched to QuickTime on my shiny new iMac. The page is still the same but I am thankfully no longer constrained by Jing's 5 minute limitation: http://macropolicebox.ihostfull.com/ind ... ing-videos . Go to the root of my channel to see my brand new Welcome videos where you can watch my ugly mug extolling the virtues of MapTool! That's right, after almost 10 years of screen casting I have stepped out from behind the curtain! Please like, comment (be nice!) and subscribe as you see fit. Enjoy!
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473 to 475

Post by StarMan »

The latest trio of SLs focuses on smoothing some of the rough edges found during the video recordings. Of central concern was getting the coexistence of the Bloodied and Unconscious effects right for both PCs and NPCs. How these interact with the Mercy Mode feature added to the complication but things seem to be working properly now. I also did more work in cleaning up the language detection phase of F4. The result is still just "Common" most of the time but at least no extra garbage is appended to that now ... I hope? No harm will be done and you can edit as necessary.

Many problems with spilled text and handouts not displaying have been fixed. Most importantly, the much hated "Value for Token" bug has FINALLY been squashed. Hooray!!! :D I debugged line by line until I found the problem at long last. I still don't understand WHY it was an issue but rearranging the code a little did the trick. At the same time, the immediate ending of Duration=Start effects (like those in Total Defense) during your turn has also been fixed. That story is far stranger and too difficult to explain here. Enjoy!
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