VASSAL 3.2.0 release notes

In order to head off questions and frustration, I’ve drafted a new section of the release notes for 3.2.0, to appear right at the top, as follows:

[code]********************************************************************************
IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT


  • If you save a module, game, or log in VASSAL 3.2, you will NOT be able
    to open it afterwards with VASSAL 3.1. We recommend keeping a backup
    copy of any pre-3.2 files you plan to modify in 3.2 until you’ve
    verified that everything works to your satisfaction.

  • If you found it necessary to set a very large maximum heap (> 512MB)
    for a module with VASSAL 3.1, it should now be possible with VASSAL 3.2
    to set a much lower maximum heap and achieve similar or better display
    performance. 512MB should be adequate for most modules.

  • VASL 5.9.2 and earlier are not compatible with VASSAL 3.2.0. Work to
    update VASL for 3.2 is ongoing.


IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
********************************************************************************[/code]
Comments? Will this, especially the first item, make sense to the average user? If not, is there a better way we can communicate this?

Well, imho this was badly designed because people will either not read this disclaimer or mess up and end up asking for help again and again.

Unless it’s too much work now, I think it would be best to postpone the release of 3.2 a few more days and have it automatically give a popup warning to users that they are about to make an irreversible save and give them a chance to change the file name before it is too late.

Thus spake barbanera:

  • If you save a module, game, or log in VASSAL 3.2, you will NOT be
    able
    to open it afterwards with VASSAL 3.1. We recommend keeping a backup
    copy of any pre-3.2 files you plan to modify in 3.2 until you’ve
    verified that everything works to your satisfaction.

Well, imho this was badly designed because people will either not read
this disclaimer or mess up and end up asking for help again and again.

Unless it’s too much work now, I think it would be best to postpone the
release of 3.2 a few more days and have it automatically give a popup
warning to users that they are about to make an irreversible save and
give them a chance to change the file name before it is too late.

Try 3.2.0-svn8439:

vassalengine.org/~uckelman/builds/

I’ve added a warning about module incompatibility which displays if you
try to edit a module last saved under 3.1 and warnings which display if
you try to overwrite a saved game or log writen under 3.1.

There’s now also a special error message if you try to load or edit any
version VASL which was created under 3.1, as these are all incompatible
with 3.2 and otherwise cause confusing errors.


J.

Thus spake Joel Uckelman:

Try 3.2.0-svn8439:

Try 3.2.0-svn8440 instead. I missed one of the dialog headings in 8439.


J.

I saw the warning when trying to open a 3.1.18 file. That’s great!

Perhaps I would add at the very end the words “(…) or make sure you save a backup copy first.” Anyway, the cherry on the cake would be to get the warning (again) right before saving the module, i.e. when clicking on “Save” or “Save as” …

Thus spake barbanera:

Perhaps I would add at the very end the words “(…) or make sure you
save a backup copy first.” Anyway, the cherry on the cake would be to
get the warning (again) right before saving the module, i.e. when
clicking on “Save” or “Save as” …

I think seeing the warning twice when editing a module would be
annoying. The reason I prefer showing it when a module is opened for
editing is so the user knows about the issue before putting in any
work.


J.