VASL-6.4.3-beta2 now available

DougRim

Forum Guru
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
1,957
Reaction score
2,234
Location
Ottawa
Country
llCanada
VASL-6.4.3-beta2 is now available here

New in version 6.4.3-beta2:

New board selection process:
This version of VASL introduces a new twist to the board selection process: when selecting boards for a new scenario, ALL boards will show up on the dropdown list and when selected the most recent version will be automatically download to the player’s local drive.

This will eliminate the need for players themselves to download boards, even new boards as they are issued. You will always have access to the latest version of any VASL-ized board.

Prior to this, the automatic board syncing process only worked if you already had a version of the board on your local drive.

The new process also works if you are joining an online game which is using a board not already on your machine or where your board version is out of date. As with automatic board synching, this new process requires an internet connection. If you are playing without a connection you will have access to those boards already on your local drive.

For those who chose not to update to this VASL version (sadface), you will be able to get new boards AND new board versions manually from VASL.info. The automatic board syncing in previous versions will no longer work. Why, you ask? Good question. Because the process of making it work requires a cumbersome, error-prone, manual back-end process that we wish to eliminate so that we can spend our time making VASL better. Seriously; we need to make this change.

LOS Enhancements and bug fixes:
Added LOS Checking for Light Woods

LOS works with multiple instances of the same board. You can now use the LOS tool on a map that uses multiple instances of the same board; those boards can be cropped and flipped and have overlays added as well.

Red Barricades BSO overlays work with LOS. We received a request to see if we could get Board Specific Overlays (those added by clicking on the Terrain SSR button and then selecting “bdXX special overlays” or “bdXX Terrain Transformations”), to work with the LOS Engine on the Red Barricades Map. Success! We then tried to apply a more generalized solution that would work for all los-enabled boards. Fail. So, the RB fixes are in but that’s all.

Resolved LOS problem with slopes

Resolved LOS Hindrance bug with Wreck Blazes

New overlay

A re-sizeable blank hex grid overlay has been added to aid in offboard entry placement. Put it up against the map edge and place entering units on it. Right-click the overlay to see full range of adjustment. Found in the Draggable Overlay window (not the Overlays extension) under the Hex Grid tab. Same for Deluxe version. Shout out to Al Cannamore for his work on this.
 

dlazov

Elder Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
7,991
Reaction score
1,377
Location
Toledo, Ohio
First name
Don
Country
llUnited States
Once it comes out of beta, what is the easiest way to upgrade?
 

DougRim

Forum Guru
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
1,957
Reaction score
2,234
Location
Ottawa
Country
llCanada
Once it comes out of beta, what is the easiest way to upgrade?
Download the new official version of vasl-6.4.3 and then install it in the VASSAL window just as you did your current version. You can have multiple different versions of VASL installed at the same time. Or you can delete the previous versions. In some upgrades there are compatability issues with games created in earlier versions. In this case, I am not aware of any.

As mentioned in the message, auto-syncing for earlier versions will stop working when vasl-6.4.3 is officially released. This will happen for everyone, whether you have downloaded 6.4.3 or not. It is not a software issue; we are simply going to stop doing a manual process needed to enable the auto-syncing for the earlier versions.
 

von Marwitz

Forum Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
14,355
Reaction score
10,204
Location
Kraut Corner
Country
llUkraine
Question:
What happens if you load old VASL files of pre v6.4.3 with this newest version - will the board selection process still work for those?

Background to the question:
I recently noticed a bug (?) with regard to overlays: VASL files with overlays created with pre v6.4.2 seemed to be displayed without those overlays if opened with VASL v6.4.2.
I have not checked what happens if you try to open VASL files created with v6.4.2 with a prior VASL version.

von Marwitz
 

DougRim

Forum Guru
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
1,957
Reaction score
2,234
Location
Ottawa
Country
llCanada
Question:
What happens if you load old VASL files of pre v6.4.3 with this newest version - will the board selection process still work for those?

Background to the question:
I recently noticed a bug (?) with regard to overlays: VASL files with overlays created with pre v6.4.2 seemed to be displayed without those overlays if opened with VASL v6.4.2.
I have not checked what happens if you try to open VASL files created with v6.4.2 with a prior VASL version.

von Marwitz
No boards were changed in the making of version 6.4.3. The board updating process is unchanged. All that is different is the list of boards that show up in the board picker window. Games that were saved in 6.4.2 (and versions compatible with 6.4.2) will open normally. I just opened a game in 6.4.3 that was saved in 6.4.2, chock full of overlays, and all looked fine. I am not expecting any problems with board updating or overlays but, hey, this is software, something will go wrong somewhere.

As for your bug with regard to opening games in 6.4.2 that were created in earlier versions, could you give me a for example?
 

zgrose

Elder Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2004
Messages
4,235
Reaction score
948
Location
Kingwood, TX
First name
Zoltan
Country
llUnited States
Just tossing an idea out re: overlays not appearing... Perhaps they were added via the Overlays extension?
 

von Marwitz

Forum Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
14,355
Reaction score
10,204
Location
Kraut Corner
Country
llUkraine
No boards were changed in the making of version 6.4.3. The board updating process is unchanged. All that is different is the list of boards that show up in the board picker window. Games that were saved in 6.4.2 (and versions compatible with 6.4.2) will open normally. I just opened a game in 6.4.3 that was saved in 6.4.2, chock full of overlays, and all looked fine. I am not expecting any problems with board updating or overlays but, hey, this is software, something will go wrong somewhere.

As for your bug with regard to opening games in 6.4.2 that were created in earlier versions, could you give me a for example?
If you let me know you email via PM, I could send you an example file. Or a selection of various VASL files created with various VASL versions back to v6.0.x if you want to have these for testing purposes.

Just tell me what you need, I will send it to you.

Cheers,
von Marwitz
 

von Marwitz

Forum Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
14,355
Reaction score
10,204
Location
Kraut Corner
Country
llUkraine
Just tossing an idea out re: overlays not appearing... Perhaps they were added via the Overlays extension?
Up to now, I have never used the overlay extension but exclusively the "old style" placement method (by specification of board(s) from the dropdown and typing in the coordinates in my files created with any VASL version up and inclusive of v6.4.2.

Could well be that this is related to the issue.

von Marwitz
 

Aaron Cleavin

Elder Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
3,094
Reaction score
555
Location
Sydney
Country
llAustralia
Can the offmap startgrid be easily removed after use to free up more screen realestate?
 

Will Fleming

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Messages
4,410
Reaction score
424
Location
Adrift on the Pequod
Country
llUnited States
Love it? Hate it? I have not noticed any problems after two sessions.

Hardly rigorous testing, but hopefully no one will have major ones and this can become 'official'.
 

EJ1

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2013
Messages
304
Reaction score
133
Location
Boulder, Colorado
Country
llUnited States
Hi all,

Thanks for your work. I've downloaded the beta and having no problems. HP Envy laptop, latest Windows, etc.

Maybe I misunderstood Doug's original post about LOS fixes and overlays. The LOS tool has never worked for me when I use overlays, or maybe more accurately, when I use the SSR Modification tool/feature. Maybe this release fixed it(?) Here's what I see on B22 both before and after I use the SSR Terrain Modification feature to change the stream in B22 to open ground. The first image, with the unmodified board works fine as evidence by the blocked LOS in B22L5. The blue line in the second image is my representation for where the stream is on the unmodified board (1st image), and the red arrow points to the same obstacle (B22L5) that I wish the LOS tool would recognize. Is the tool not available for overlays/modifications, or am I doing something wrong, not setting my preferences properly, other?

1539191880704.png 1539191617479.png

Thanks
 
Last edited:

DougRim

Forum Guru
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
1,957
Reaction score
2,234
Location
Ottawa
Country
llCanada
What I tried to say in my post is that I did attempt to update the VASL code to enable LOS to work with these board specific transformations. But I could not do it, for a variety of reasons. So, the status quo is in effect: if you use one of these board specific overlays, the entire LOS engine gets shut off and all you get is the standard VASSAL los tool, which just draws a line between the hexes and shows the range (which is what you got in your second image). The only exception is the RB board where I was able to get the board specific overlays to work with the VASL LOS engine. There are reasons for this the prime one being my (lack of) coding expertise.
 

EJ1

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2013
Messages
304
Reaction score
133
Location
Boulder, Colorado
Country
llUnited States
Hi Doug, thanks. Understood. My coding is all pre-internet - obsolete. Love VASL. Thanks for your help & work. Cheers
 
Top