Kyle Olson's page

Mystically Inclined wrote:

A new update for Combat Manager came down from the apple store and I loaded it onto my iPad, but I still get the crash error on startup. Was the most recent update intended to fix this? If so, are there any additional steps I can take to resolve?

The crash happens for me with 100% consistency, so I'm completely stopped. I hadn't realized how dependent I'd become to having combat manager on my ipad until this started happening. Thanks for making such an incredible app, and I hope it can start working again soon!

I am experiencing more problems with the latest iOS update as well. Every single time I go to edit a monsters health, the program crashes. Unfortunately this renders it unusable. This also makes me sad, as it was such a great way to run the game.

One of my frustrations with iOS is that I have only a limited number of devices to test on and I can't guarantee what will happen with the devices people have. Android has more devices and OSs, but the reactions are more predictable, for whatever reason.

I will have a new build of iOS out in a few days (when it passes through Apple certification), but I don't believe it will address this problem.

Both of you please send an email to combatman@kyleolson.com with the type of device that you have and I'll try to come up with a solution. I think the first step may be for me to create a new channel to send private builds of the application.

I can't find another user and solution that's worked for me, so I guess I'll inquire.

I've had Combat Manager downloaded and kept up to date for about two years now. My .NET framework is current, too.

In the time I've had and used Combat Manager, whenever I go to search monsters, treasure, feats, spells, et cetera, the system crashes. This is especially true if I either type quickly or narrow search results in the drop down menus. Crashing is not as prominent of a problem if I scroll through the list to search, so long as I use the scroll bar.

I'm using Windows 7. What is my problem here?

Can you email me a combatman@kyleolson.com? I've got a few questions I'd like to ask about this.

Technotrooper wrote:

As great as its functionality is, this app is basically useless on the iPad until the crash bug is fixed.

any progress update, kyle?

i have a "unable to load file" error -- but it didn't crash this time!

This error occurs when the app fails to open files, either party files or files imported from HeroLab or PCGen. Can you send the files you were trying to load to combatman@kyleolson.com?

Combat Manager (PC) update to 1.6.1:

Combine initiative and regular Monster context menu
Additional Hero Lab import fixes
New templates: Juju Zombie, Void Zombie, Ogrekin
Act Now option on characters

CombatManager.com

Stupid question will this run on a kindle fire, old one. and if so how do I get it there. no Play Store.

The android version is available in the Amazon App store. I tested it on the old Kindle Fire.

Did this make Dual Initiative editable? I've installed the 1.6.1 build but I don't see the field displayed on the Other tab. Also Dual init doesn't to be displaying the creature twice in the init window.

Currently in the upcoming build (I swear it's coming) it's not editable.

Ok figured out the deletion of custom monsters just didn't realize the delete button was in the monsters tab.

I'm still watching and working on the apps, but progress has been slow recently. I hope to have a new version of iPad out soon and Android after that.

Dreaming Psion wrote:

Was there supposed to be a separate Dual Initiative field? If so, is it supposed to be in the "Other" section. (I see "Prohibited School", "Sorcerer Bloodline", and "Spell Domains" when I click on the "Other" tab in combat manager.

I didn't make it editable initially because I created it to fix some bugs. Obviously I just created more bugs.

You can give this test build a try. You should be able to edit the dual init under the "Other" tab:

Was there supposed to be a separate Dual Initiative field? If so, is it supposed to be in the "Other" section. (I see "Prohibited School", "Sorcerer Bloodline", and "Spell Domains" when I click on the "Other" tab in combat manager.

I didn't make it editable initially because I created it to fix some bugs. Obviously I just created more bugs.

Bizarrely, this has given all my custom monsters/npc I have in the database dual initiative, usually with a bizarrely high second bonus.

Edit: This is 1.60 I'm speaking of. And it seems to be a display only issue, as in combat when initiative is rolled it only rolls it once.

Hmm. That sounds like an error in the upgrade process. I'm not sure there's much I can do about it at this point, although I could probably do a custom fix for your db. You could also probably use some sort of SQLite browser to manually fix the values in the Bestiary.db file.

Now that I check my own file, it appears that it was filling out the new DualInit field with ascending values starting at 1.

Also, you can open the monster editor and remove the dual init value manually.

I just got the update (1.6.0) and it doesn't seem to want to open. After I got the update combat manager would start, but my task manager would tell it was not responding. I closed it, uninstalled it (had my custom data backed up) reinstalled it, and it didn't seem to fix the problem. I restarted my computer with the newly installed 1.6.0 but it still wouldn't start completely. I uninstalled the program, restarted my computer, then reinstalled it, and it still would not start.

I have reinstalled the previous version but Ithought I should let you know that the 1.6.0 version was giving me trouble with startup.

Start it up again and wait for a while. There's a really slow process going on.

Combat Manager update to 1.6.0:

Fix initiative window crash
Add setting to prevent update check
Parse and display dual initiative
Added additional fields to monster editor
Fix HeroLab import issues with new versions of HeroLab
Data update
CombatManager.com

Oops, I mean "spells prepared".

I'm having some problems with spells display right now, and I think I'm going to have make some changes to make it easier to display properly. Long story short, it's going to be pretty tough for you to enter spells prepared and have it appear at the moment. Until I get the spells prepared repaired ;)

I've noticed that all the alchemist's NPCs have their extract spell missing.

I'll take a look at this. I really need to get a new release out soon because I've been screwing around with iOS so much I've let PC slip. I don't know how easy this one will be, though.

Hi, I love this program. It has been quite awesome. I was wondering if there was a way to add my own templates in somewhere, and quickly apply it to monsters, much like the simple templates are now in the program.

Am I just not looking hard enough?

Thanks.

There are no custom templates. Maybe someday I'll get to it, but the current way of doing templates is fairly hard-coded.

So I was recently introduced to Combat Manager, first off major thumbs up. I'm loving this from both a player and GM standpoint, it'll stream line the folder of "stuff" i have to carry around.

Secondly, I was wondering if there was a tie into a virtual table top planned for the future?

No plans for a virtual table top. There's lots of competition in this space I think. I actually use d20 Pro with Combat Manager, just for the map features. It's not perfect, but it works. If I was to write a map app it would be a dumb map app as opposed to a smart, rules tied app like d20 Pro, because that's a space I think that's under-served.

There was a app for hex-map based adventures (like isle of dread) that I wrote along with Combat Manager that's never been released. It's a little rough around the edges but useful. Maybe when I fix everything with all three versions of Combat Manager I'll clean that up and release it.

You've done a wonderful job with this program. Thank you. Any word on a new update coming soon? I'd enjoy hearing about what material you're thinking about putting inside.

Also, how difficult would it be to implement a feature to add class levels to existing creatures be in practice? I'm afraid I'm pretty terrible at programming, so it's just a question out of curiosity. Thanks for the all of the hard work.

I'd love to do class levels, but it's out of the scope of what I can reasonably accomplish. There are certainly some more class-related features I can add if I put my mind to it.

Mine former laptop became unusable, but luckily I saved the hard drive turning it into an extrernal hd.

In the new laptop I installed the last version of CM. Is there a way to retrieve mine custom NPCs from the old files?

1) Copy all of your .cmpt files from the old machine

The will usually work.

You are totally right, thats exactly what I was looking for!

Since my party is very magically inclined, having this sort of info make my life easier!!!

There's two things to fix here. There is a Spell Domains field in the database and Monster objects. It's missing in the monster editor, and doesn't import properly from HeroLab. I'll see what I can do.

For me, the only way to recover was to uninstall and the re-install the app--losing all of my saved data files in the process.

I'm taking a look at the problem. If you are going to uninstall and reinstall, you can copy all of the files off using the iTunes file interface before hand.

Yesterday, my iOS version of Combat Manager crashed in the middle of a huge, complex combat and could not be re-opened after that. I lost ALL of my data (which was a big pain in the middle of the combat) and had to uninstall and reinstall the app to get it to work again. I love the app and have never had that happen before (it occurred right after I upgraded to iOS 8). Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I'm always terrified of this happening to people, but I hadn't had reports yet. If you see this happening contact me at combatman@kyleolson.com.

Unfortunately iOS makes it difficult for me to send you a test build, or to get files off of the device for testing purposes, but I'll try to see what I can do for you.

TMNTurner wrote:

I would like it very much if someone could tell me of a way to add a custom weapon. I can't seem to find this anywhere, and if it doesn't exist, is it in the works to be able to add custom weapons?

Thank you for Combat Manager, Kyle! You're great.

Could you give an example and I will explain what you need to do if it is possible.

Right now the weapons are defined in a file, and that file hasn't been modified in a while so it's probably missing some newer weapons. There's also info in this file that isn't currently exposed that would be useful (particularly weapon descriptions and costs).

We could create an interface to allow custom weapons to be added. I would have to put some thought into this.

Confused about Stench. Here goes:

A player moves with 30 feet of 2 Troglodytes with Stench (30 ft, DC 13, 10 Rounds)

1) Do I roll for each Trog stench effect individually?

2) If a player saves, I assume is the player immune to that particular Trog and not all Trogs?

3) If a player does not save, they are sickened for 10 rounds. Assuming the player stays within range of the same Trog, do they ever roll again to save against the sickness? For example, if the sickness expires after 10 rounds do they roll again immediately, and if they fail become sickened again for 10 rounds?

Walking the party into a room full of Stench seems uncomfortably complicated.

In the monsters tab, instead of a single "Add to Combat" button, it would be nice to have one to add to the monsters group and one to add to the party.

I'll take a look at this. There's some stuff I can do, but I haven't wanted to clutter the UI. I may be overthinking that.

For conditions, it would be nice for them to have the ability to affect initiative, speeds, and skills. Also the ability to add the bonus type for each category and thus have stacking calculated correctly across multiple conditions would be awesome too.

As cool as it would be, bonus types aren't going to happen now because it would require altering the way monster info is handled. The other stuff I'll think about. If I wasn't in so deep working on the DBs for mobile I would just say I would get those done quickly.

The conditions could also use a more intuitive way to add/remove rounds instead of just adding/subtracting by either 1 round or 5 at a time. Something more akin to the way HP are handled with a spin button and the ability to type a number and add/subtract it. This would be useful for resources as well. Also the option to add a "max" for resources, like with HP.

I'll think about it. Honestly I've always been happy with +1/+5 and I don't know that I can make a spinner fit in the template for conditions, but when a condition has more than 10 turns I usually don't bother tracking it, so I can see how others would use it differently.

A "rest" option could be useful to recover HP and resources accordingly.

Interesting, but I'm not 100% sure how it would work.

ok folks... I just went through and created a bunch of custom monsters and added them to the monster database on my computer and want to import them into the monster database on my iPad. I exported the file, synced it to my Combat App, but cant find the import function for the database file on the iPad app.

There's no custom monster import on the iPad - yet. I'm working on it slowly. The core pieces are in place, it's just a matter of finishing the UI work.

When I go into the monster editor to edit a construct and click on the little green HD box to edit the construct's HD, the program crashes. Interestingly, this only seems to happen if the construct has no Con score.

This will be fixed in the next release.

Update: The hide/unhide thing totally works, but not for characters who have their initiative linked to another. I'm wanting to put in several common summons from the party god/wizard so that I can just unhide them rather than recreating them every time.

I'll take a look at the hiding, and I wouldn't mind fixing the dual monitor thing (I also use a dual monitor setup), but I haven't messed with that because it will take a while to make sure that I don't make things worse.

The not updating the name thing constantly bothers me. I'll probably fix that right now.

For some reason, some creature's CMB is listed as a flat number e.g. 4 instead of +4. Needles to say, when you adjust them with the monster advancer it doesn't raise its CMB like it should.

If you go into the monster editor and manually edit the CMB the "+" reappears.

After taking a second look through, it actually looks like almost all creature's CMB appears like this. Only a few are appearing with the "+" and functioning properly with the monster advancer.

Interesting.

The data source changed at some point to send the CMB without the + if there's no additional info like (+13 grapple), and this wouldn't have been a problem if the "AdjustStrength" function wasn't the only place in the code which uses an antiquated function which requires the + in front of the number to be detected in the text (most of the code treats 4 and +4 as the same).

I'll have a fix for both problems in the next release.

Hmmm, would it be possible to have a tick box on the weapon, when unticked it would calculate as a single weapon, and when ticked it'll calculate as a double weapon.

Here's an idea. You know that little icon that appears next to the weapon, where you show one or two hands? Turn that into a multi-state button, have it toggle from "One hand" to "Two hands" to "Double". For each weapon, have something that specifies which states are allowed (for instance, you can use a longsword either one- or two-handed, while a dagger is only one-hand), and let the button switch between permitted states. For the quarterstaff, then, the button would read either "2 Hands" or "Double".

This is all possible, and the User Interface would be easy, but there's some old code which is making maintaining this information difficult. It's a problem I'd like to tackle at some point.

I've got one big project at the time to make custom feats/spells/monsters work on mobile devices, and then I can look into this.

Oh, and would it be possible to make it so the attacks aren't automatically recalculated from scratch when you increase BAB?

I'll take a look at this, but the problem immediately is that if your BAB changes, it can increase/decrease the number of attacks. Half of the problem is finding those other modifiers and storing that information.

OH! One last thing I've been meaning to ask for a while. Is it possible for the data to be fixed so that stuff like Improved Critical actually gets listed as such rather than as "Critical, Improved"? With the comma, Combat Manager can't auto-calculate the bonuses. (Not to mention a way to create custom feats that build bonuses in would be awesome.)

I will see if I can fix the feat parser such that it reads "<feat>, improved," as "improved <feat>".

I'm going to be giving your software a trial run this Saturday, but looking it over I see two areas that could be greatly improved.

First is the ability to track duration-based effects. Spell effects, poison, things like that. These effects are usually tied to a specific initiative number, and having a reminder that these effects are about to end would be really helpful.

The effects are tied to an initiative number. The number isn't visible because the actual initiative number isn't usually visible in CM. I can make this information visible in the tooltips, but there's just not room in the UI for the initiative count next to the round count of the conidition, and I think it would cause some confusion.

Second, I'd like to see implementation of spellcasting and tracking of similar abilities. While I can list the spells a creature or PC knows and has prepared, it doesn't provide links to the spell descriptions, and there's no easy way to track which spells (or slots) they've used.

This is a feature I've needed for some time.

I've been using DM's Familiar for my 3E/PF games for a very long time now. You may want to take a glance at it to see how they've handled things like this.

I appreciate the advice.

EDIT: For some reason, the program is insisting that the wizard PC is using his quarterstaff as a double weapon, when he will probably never do so. It's not giving me an option to just list a single attack with it. I tried manually editing it, but something made it revert back.

This is an issue I don't have a great answer for. It's caused when the system automatically detects that it's a double weapon and defaults to statting it that way. If a change is made in the character which might effect weapon stats, the system may redo the whole weapon block, causing this double issue. A rational fix for this may be to show both the single and double stats for these weapons.

Can you tell me the file where user created Monsters etc are stored on the PC?

CombatManager stores everything in C:\users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Combat Manager

custom db files are:
bestiary.db
feats.db
spells.db

These are Sqlite DBs. I advise against editing them, particularly the bestiary db, as they aren't designed for people to edit and the app can crash if the format is off.

The files named bestiary.db.1.5.9.0.db and so on are old copies of the db created as a hedge against possible migration problems. It turns out I've never had a problem so these aren't really necessary.

The .xml files generally represent the current state of the app and some of the settings.

A couple of quick thoughts from my brief usage.

1. I'd like to see the information for arch-types for the base classes in the Advanced players guide. Right now I only see the arch-types for the base classes.

There's a bunch of rules I need to get in. I'll try to get to this when I get the chance.

2. When you edit a monster this is an always on top box. This means it's difficult to copy and paste from rules or other monsters. You have to close and open and close and open again. It would be great if this was a floating box.

It could be done, but for technical reasons I would be worried if I made this change I'll take a look, though.

3. When editing monster armor class it would be nice to have an other box to add extra things like Wis to armor class for monks.

It wouldn't be an other box but it would be a list of other modifiers and it's something to think about.

4. While I know this wasn't made as a character sheet for me it's about all I want. I would like to see a check box or something to denote something as a character and have the Exp value and Ecology headings removed when printing.

If you want to get rid of the Ecology then delete all of the Ecology values and the section will not appear. As for the XP, for various reasons you're stuck with that.

5. In the Combat window you can minimize many of the windows but you can't minimize the party or monster windows. I'd would be great to be able to do so. As a GM I don't usually keep track of party hp and don't need the party window all the time and if I'm a player I don't need the monster window. If I get the android version I will be using it on my phone at least for now (hopefully get a tablet soonish, I keep putting it off because I haven't see exactly what I want). Using it on a phone screen real estate is in short supply. Having different player and GM views of the combat screen might be another way to approach this.

I'm always interested in hearing how people use the app for reasons like this. I don't know that I can prioritize a way to shrink these windows down, but I think it's a good idea.

6. When you are editing special abilities once you add a box it stays in the order you put it. You can't rearrange the list of abilities if you realize you wanted them in a different order. It would be good to either have the ability to drag them (might be hard to implement?) or arrows on them you could click to move them one place up and down in order.

If I'm being completely honest, my drag and drop code is more than a little iffy and crash prone and I am afraid to touch in right now.

7. And of course the ability to export and import from the PC to mobile (android in my case). This was mentioned to be in progress! Yeah!

The iPad export will be done before the Android simply as a matter of process. This might be months out because there's a lot of little bits of UI to build.

Hi there,

One of the players at my table is using the android version of Combat Manager with her character. We are having a hard time finding the roll function for attacks. Does anyone know where we can find this function or is it not part of the program?

Thanks

Jason.

Big Red Die Button -> Roll ->

If the app can interpret the attacks, they're at the top. If it can't they won't be there. If it can't parse the attacks it's either a problem with the attacks or a problem with the app trying to understand the attacks.

Can you export from the PC version and import to the Android version. From something said above it looked to me like you can't but the play store said you could import from HeroLab and PCGen. I don't use either but importing from Combat Mangers PC ver to the Android would be really good. Thinking about picking it up. Need to play around a bit more.

I'm working on the iPad/Android custom content now, so I'm hoping to have import/export in it in the next month or so.

Would it be possible to add a feature to allow the user to add custom categories for monsters and spells?

I'll look into it. It's not a bad idea.

On a slightly related note, do you plan on adding the mythic simple templates to the monster advancer?

I have a lot of templates I need to get added to the advancer. I have other mythic issues to solve as well, so I can't say how soon that will happen.

Kyle Olson wrote:

Combat Manager update to 1.5.9:

Installer fix

CombatManager.com

I retested upgrading from 157 to 159. The crash issue when adding a creature to the Monster panel no longer occurred. Yea!

Thanks for the reports and assistance, guys.

I had one little number wrong and that caused the core library dll to fail to upgrade.

Combat Manager update to 1.5.9:

Installer fix

CombatManager.com

I also encountered the crash when installing Combat Manager as an upgrade on a Windows 7 machine.

Uninstalling the existing Combat Manager and installing Combat Manager 158 fresh appears to fix the issue.

I think there's something weird with the installer. I'll put together another build and see if that fixes it.

Combat Manager update to 1.5.8:

Fix display of names on Initiative Window
Add setting to allow monsters to be added hidden
Add spell formatting
Remove 256x256 icon to keep XP from crashing
Stats panel begins open option
Add ability and combat maneuver rolls
Resize conditions on initiative window
Add conditions to initiative list and active player display
Fix initiative links when loading combat state

CombatManager.com

Yep, exactly! I asked about an user guide because I thought that the "ready" button, that target symbol, on the initiative list could be related to my problem, but if u say so.. I guess no eheh...

Ready is just a flag for the ready state. I don't have a good way of doing what you want, but I'll look into it.

Hi all, first of all I want to thank the producer for the great job done with CM, so usefuk! then, excuse me for the question, maybe someone else had already done it, but.. is there a user guide or manual? there are some functions of combat manager for iPad that I don't exactly understand.. specifically: is it possible to make a pg with an holy weapon combat with an evil monster, just to apply the +2d6 damage on the hit?

thank you very much!

I don't have a user guide for the iPad, although I know I really need something to help users. I don't have a good way to apply a mod such as bonus damage against only evil creatures. I assume you're looking to have this damage automatically rolled for you?

Bad Sintax wrote:

Would there be a way to add the conditions to the Initiative counter on the upper left? I see that they have been added to the separate Initiative window, but I don't use that window since my players don't see the initiative.

Because of the awesomeness of Combat Manager, I have encounters with 20-30 PCs and monsters, and I sometimes forget that Goblin 36 has been Confused, since it only shows up on his stat block, instead of on the initiative counter.

Or is there a way to do it already that I haven't found?

I like this idea too if the icons were on the same line as the name. Perhaps it could be an option that can be switched on at the top (similar to the 'Mini' button)

I'll see what I can do.

Just out of sheer curiosity, what was causing the bug anyway?

Shortish version: The skills are stored two ways (not entirely true, but close). Once as a list, and once exactly as on the character sheet. The reasons why are an ugly bit of history. When a monster is done being edited a temporary version of the monster is copied from memory, and when this copy was made the list of skills was not updated properly, and that caused the monster to not be saved in properly.

If only Lone Wolf would adopt a similar user friendly policy.

Let's not start sniping. The HeroLab files are just fine, and Lone Wolf has been helpful to me with info about file change.

EDIT2: I think I've got it. Give this a try:
http://CMInstallerTest.msi

That should be http://CombatManager.com/CMInstallerTest.msi

I was just wondering, has the skills problem been figured out yet? The problem where if you try to edit any monster's skills more than once in a session they don't save when you open it next time? It's the most frustrating thing right now because I have to close and open Combat Manager two or three times per monster I work on.

Honestly, if nothing but a fix for that was implemented, I'd be quite happy.

I'm taking a look at it. I'm hoping to have a new release out this weekend and have this in it.

EDIT: Thought I had a workaround, it was an illusion, I'm still looking at it.

EDIT2: I think I've got it. Give this a try:
http://CMInstallerTest.msi

Hello Everybody,

After quite some time of Combat Manager on the PC, I finally decided to move to the iPad Version, but now a question arises:

Is there a way to import in the iPad App a Custom Data .cmx file I generated on the PC?

I Managed to do such a thing with Parties .cmpt files by adding them to the App folder with iTunes, but, although I can transfer the .cmx files in the same way, I can't seem to find any way to make the app read or import those files.
As a result, if try to edit am Imported PC who had Custom Feats, for example, the App crashs immediately.

Sorry if this has already been covered, but I really couldn't come up with any relevant match for "iPad custom import" (or similar) searches on the engine :P

Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!

The long and short of it is no, there's no comparable monster DB feature on either of the mobile devices. I keep believing someday I'll get to fixing the DB code to make this possible, but it hasn't happened yet.

Kyle Olson wrote:

zoltar zoltar wrote:

First THANKS KYLE!

I've the same problem with win xp 1.5.5 is working, 1.5.6 and 1.5.7 crash immediately

is possible to repair this bug?

THANKS!!!

z

Can you take all the files in C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\CombatManager\ and mail them to combatman@kyleolson.com? (<user> is your user name)

I'll take a look at the files and see if I can reproduce the bug.

Exact same problem here. Reverted back to 1.5.5.

de-install and re-install of CM and re-install of .net did not help.
Have sent you the error file.
Noticed that despite the reinstalls, my last combat is still being loaded.

For people crashing on XP, here's a test build you should try to see if it solves the problem:

A couple real dumb questions, as I'm new to both PCGen and Combat Manager (and as will quickly be obvious, Pathfinder).

First, is the export to .rpgrp functionality currently broken in PCGen? I'm using File->Export->Text->csheet_InitTool_1.0b23.rpgrp. A text file is exported, but my attack section looks like:
<attack>
Battleaxe:
</attack>

Thus, when imported into CM all the attacks are missing. I realize this is probably a PCGen question/bug, but this leads to my next question:

Do I care? Except for the minor annoyance of the damage not showing up in the 'Offense' block of the 'Selected Monster' window, I wouldn't ever really need to be rolling attacks for a player would I (assuming I'm the GM, of course)? I would only have the players loaded to roll initiative on them, and to easily see their stats for resolving combat rounds. Right?

The PCGen Import needs some work. I don't receive many requests for PCGen compared to Hero Lab for whatever reason.

Can you mail your files to combatman@kyleolson.com? I'll take a look at them. You'll probably never need the attacks for players as a GM, but if you build an NPC you'll want that information visible, even if you don't use the die roller.

NPCs like Elf Wizard or Human Cleric. There are named NPCs.

There's no way to add race-class-level generated NPCs. My excuse has always been that it's really complicated, which is generally true.