TECHREP #00022

reported by Julien Vida on June 8, 2015

FROM: Tools Commissar
TO: Arma 3 Modders
MATERIEL CATEGORY: Tools
CIRCUMSTANCES: Update 0.90 (Samples, Game Updater, FSM Editor)
SIZE: ~166 MB

STATUS

This update is not as elaborate as usual because we're back into a period of analysis about "what are we going to do next?". Many of you will be happy to know that we're currently investigating some improvements, including for the usual suspects Object / Terrain Builder, and their viewer: Buldozer. We hope to be able to share one of those improvements in the near future. In connection to recent additions to the samples, we are also investigating a new way of distributing said samples. This will allow you to download them separately.

Back to Terrain Builder: the last update brought a new version of Binarize to support new technologies. However, a side effect is that both, the objects and the terrain, must be compiled with the same version of Binarize. Not doing this may result in problems with the in-game map (non-displayed icons).

The new Binarize was also introduced to allow you to use the new collimator technology (3D Scopes). This tech has been splendidly documented by Senior Animator Zdeněk Vespalec, combined with a sample of the needed config and 3D model. And because learning by example is still the more efficient method, Designer Nelson Duarte has prepared a sample of the new MP game mode End Game. It has everything you need to start designing your first End Game scenario. More samples are available to learn from in this update.

Next up is Game Updater; the issue with the swapped field (username and password) in the Steam credentials form is history.

FSM Editor wasn't forgotten! The new version brings some interesting changes, such as the highlighting beyond the knees, which will substantially smooth the work on large FSM files. A few other connected changes have been made (listed in the change log). However, the "Cannot open file" issue is still present. We've found its cause, and it should be fixed soon.

This TECHREP is just an overview of this update. There are more details in the change log. If you encounter any issue, have suggestions or questions, don't hesitate to ask on our official channels: Feedback Tracker & the forums.

CHANGELOG

  • Samples
    • Added: PSD sources to create skins of the Marksmen vests (packed into 7z archives, see Arma 3Tools\Samples_F\MarksmenDLC_Textures)
    • Added: Sample of 3D scope, the documentation can be found here (see Arma 3 Tools\Samples_F\Test_scope3D_01)
    • Added: Sample of End Game MP mission (see Arma 3 Tools\Samples_F\Example_EndGame_Mission)
    • Added: MFD solution for the vehicle clocks (sample of Car)
    • Added: Readme files for the samples of VhC and Supports mission
    • Added: magazineReloadSwitchPhase property in the sample of Weapon
    • Added: aiAmmoUsageFlags property in the sample of ammo
    • Fixed: The model (P3D) of the sample of tank was corrupted after the last update
    • Fixed: Wrong dependency in the CfgPatches of the sample of Boat
  • Game Updater
    • Added: Detection of outdated settings file (and update in case of need)
    • Changed: Updated version of SteamCMD.exe
    • Fixed: The progress bar was not always updated as it should
    • Fixed: Username and Password were, sometimes, swapped in the Account Settings form
  • FSM Editor
    • Added: Highlighting of relations beyond the knees
    • Added: In link mode, you can drag a link to create a new knee
    • Added: Search results are now highlighted
    • Added: Link to the online documentation in the Help menu
    • Added: Adding a node from the context menu when there is no node selected
    • Added: Tool-tips for the tool-bars
    • Changed: On opening, design mode is now selected by default
    • Changed: Using the mouse wheel to zoom works only if the cursor is over the graph
    • Changed: The registry key used to store the user settings has been updated (HKCU\Software\Bohemia Interactive\FSMEditor)
    • Changed: Layout of the menu
    • Fixed: In statements, the input cursor was not placed at the end of the nearest line
    • Fixed: Crash on searching in a node without internal code
  • ImageToPAA
    • Added: Now remembers the last source directory used
    • Changed: It's now easy to see if there is a process in progress or not
    • Fixed: Non existing files were causing a crash
    • Fixed: The program icon was incorrect
    • Fixed: Error when removing files from the list
  • Arma3Tools.exe
    • Changed: Warning about the size of the logs is now triggered from 30 MB
    • Changed: Aspect of the license agreement dialog
    • Fixed: The total size of the logs was incorrectly displayed
    • Fixed: The main window had incorrect dimensions on Windows 8 and Windows 10
  • File Assoc
    • Added: PBO association with BankRev (only if called with -pbo)
    • Changed: Clear mode is not called by default anymore (it can be invoked with /remove or /removeOnly)
    • Fixed: Crash on the first run if no previous association was found
  • Publisher
    • Added: Drag and drop of preview images
    • Added: Automatic conversion of preview images to JPG under 1MB
    • Added: Support for more formats of the preview image (JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP)
    • Tweaked: Better error handling when choosing the preview image
  • CfgConvert
    • Changed: Parsing error reporting enabled
  • Steam configuration
    • Changed: Incremented version to reflect the current stage (0.90)
    • Removed: Warning message during the installation (Patch 0.81.4 for FSM Editor)

NOTES

  • In case of any issue, please, let us know on our usual channels: Feedback Tracker or the forums.
  • You can find the tools package in the Steam library (switch the filter to "Tools") - "Arma 3 Tools".
  • You will need to start the primary tool once to add all needed registry entries for the rest of too.