BGE v1.3 released

[heruca]

UPDATE 5/31/12:
BGE v1.3 is now out of beta status, and has become the new official release of BGE, replacing BGE v1.0.

The main features of this update are:
• Added the ability to "jump" from one part of the game table to another while dragging one or more units
• Added a "Swap Locations" feature
• Added commands for changing a Component into a Mini, or a Mini into a Component
• The 45-minute timeout limit has been decreased to 30 minutes
• The "Create Card Deck" command is now available in the unlicensed BGE Demo
• Bug fixes

The format for Game Files and Deployments has not changed since v1.0.

This is a Full Install. A patch version is available below.

Download BGE v1.3 here:
Windows version (49.3 MB)
Mac version (50.2 MB)
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For convenience, BGE v1.3 is also available as a patch for BGE v1.2. You must already have BGE v1.2 installed in order to use this patch.

Download:
BGE v1.3 Patch for Mac & Windows (3.7 MB)

How to "install" this patch: Unzip the downloaded file, then simply move the included files into the corresponding BGE v1.2 folders, overwriting the existing files when prompted.

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Although a ReadMe file with the information below is contained in the BGE v1.3 download, some people might find it useful to see the changes prior to downloading the zip file.

Version History:
v1.3
• Added the ability to "jump" from one part of the game table to another while you are dragging one or more units. Simply select the unit/s that you wish to move, begin dragging them, and press a View hotkey (number 0 through 9). The dragged unit/s will effectively be "teleported" to the selected View, where you may then release them once you have adjusted their end position. This feature should prove invaluable particularly for games which, in physical format, would take up a lot of table space, since dragging units can be cumbersome if you have to cover a long distance with a drag-to-scroll operation.
• Added a "Swap Locations" feature, which is available from the "Arrange" submenu of a multi-unit selection's contextual popup menu (but only if exactly two units are selected, and only if the units are not already stacked). Activating this command will put unit A in unit B's current location, and vice versa.
• Added commands for changing a Component into a Mini, or a Mini into a Component. The "Transform into Component" command is available from a Mini's contextual popup menu, and the "Transform into Mini" command is available from a Component's contextual popup menu. This feature should be useful for users who are creating a game conversion and realize too late that they are using the wrong type of unit for something. Now, rather than deleting everything and starting over, they can use these new commands and save a lot of time and effort. The commands are only available when a game session is not currently being hosted.
• Change: The "Create Card Deck" command (available from the game table window's popup menu) is now available in the unlicensed BGE Demo. There was no good reason why a prospective user should not be able to play around with that feature.
• Change: A dice macro attached to a unit had to be called exactly "Initiative" in order to be triggered by autoroll initiative feature. Now, it only needs to contain the word "Initiative".
• Change: Mousewheel rotation of units is now off by default, but can be enabled each session if needed. It used to be the other way around.
• Change: The session timeout limit for the BGE unlicensed Demo is now 30 minutes. It used to be 45.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug in the Turn Sequencer that could occur when turn phases were being used and no units were included in the second phase of the Turn Sequence.
• Bug fix: Discovered that it was not possible to rotate units in small (5-degree) increments without a mousewheel. Units now rotate in 15-degree increments if the Shift key is held down while pressing a rotation hotkey, and in 5-degree increments if the Shift key and the Control key are held down while pressing a rotation hotkey.
• Bug fix: When loading a saved game, the board color that was selected in a prior session was not being properly restored (it was reverting to black, instead).

[heruca]

Note that the Full Install of BGE v1.3 includes all the latest documentation (e.g., Quick Reference Sheet, QuickStart Guide, the latest Addendum to the User Manual). If you upgrade to BGE v1.3 using the above patch, those files are not included, but you can download them from the Documentation section of the Downloads page.

[BurningNeuron]

I just downloaded this, and it won't run because PowerPC stuff is no longer supported. What's up with that?

[heruca]

Welcome, BurningNeuron .

BGE will not run on Mac OS X v10.7 (aka Lion), as mentioned on the System Requirements page. If you have Parallels (or the like) and a Windows OS, you could run it that way.

[BurningNeuron]

So you have no plans for producing a universal binary or having Mac compatibility going forward?

[heruca]

Not immediate plans, but if I do a "Version 2", it will definitely be Intel-native code. The same holds true for BRPG.

[heruca]

BGE v1.3 is now out of beta status, and has become the new official release of BGE, replacing BGE v1.0 (which was released on June 27, 2011).

[rab46]

I'm using the 1.3 beta. Is this final release version identical or should I download and reinstall?

[heruca]

No need to re-download. The app remains exactly the same. It's just no longer considered to be in beta status.