Forge version 1.5.2

[Chris H.]

Tentative target release date: Friday October 18 4.

[Max mtg]

That 1.5.1 was released way too soon. I have just commited a fix for 740 and 742 that were to be reopened, and found that it's too late already.

Players will get concurrent modification errors with 1.5.1, like the ones found at bug report thread

[Chris H.]

Sorry about that Max.

We can release 1.5.2 on Friday the the 4th instead.

[Max mtg]

If the concurrent modification happens no longer and there are no new deadlocks with the updated code - we'll watch for new messages in the bug reports thread - I think we should release next version on Friday.
Moreover, spr has improved constructed mode start screen (where you choose players and their decks).

[drdev]

The Forge button is ready to go for 1.5.2.

[spr]

Very nice!

The auto hide titlebar would be really useful since it will let you play with the largest area possible while still being able to use the mouse to navigate screens. At the moment you have to F11 (to show titlebar) to be able to close the active screen.

Would it be possible to add an option that lets you show the time in the titlebar? When you add the auto-hide functionality it means I can simply move the mouse to the top of the screen to quickly check what the time is.

Perhaps make the text on the status bar a bit dimmer (or the background transparent). In JourneyMan the text seems to jump out at you which I find a bit distracting.

Cheers,
Steve

[drdev]

If you want to add an option to show the time in the title bar, go for it, though I'd suggest it be off by default. I personally think it looks better in the status bar, and you can easily press F12 twice to check and hide the time.

As for the status bar text standing out too much, is this better? I applied a 150 alpha to the text color.

[spr]

As for the status bar text standing out too much, is this better? I applied a 150 alpha to the text color.

Perfect.

Cheers,
Steve

[Max mtg]

Thanks for 24-hour support.
Is there a way to keep the clock at the title bar? (and hide the status bar, since it's not used anyway, except for clock)

[drdev]

In light of comments about the clock, I'm going to make it so the clock displays in the title bar while the status bar is hidden. Will that satisfy you both without adding a new setting?

Max mtg, as mentioned, F12 toggles status bar visibility.

[Chris H.]

I will not be able to release the beta tomorrow as early in the day as I have in the past. The wife and I both have important appointments to take care of first.

The beta will likely appear 6 to 10 hours later than normal.

[drdev]

As of r23391, a clock will now appear in the title bar left of the minimize button while Forge is maximized and the status bar is hidden. I did it this way because I didn't want two clocks appearing at once, and because in non-maximized mode, I want to make sure there will be room for navigation tabs (plus you'll be able to see the OS clock anyway in that case). Does this solution satisfy everyone?

[spr]

As of r23391, a clock will now appear in the title bar left of the minimize button while Forge is maximized and the status bar is hidden. I did it this way because I didn't want two clocks appearing at once, and because in non-maximized mode, I want to make sure there will be room for navigation tabs (plus you'll be able to see the OS clock anyway in that case). Does this solution satisfy everyone?

Thanks for the clock.

The problem is that you cannot hide the title bar because it is also the navigation bar used to go back to a previous screen (try it from the Deck Editor). Having to use F11 (or is it F12) quickly becomes irritating - I should be able to play Forge using only the mouse even with the titlebar hidden. Adding an option to auto-hide/reveal the titlebar should be a priority in my opinion.

I don't think the status bar works - if anything it makes it more like a windows application than the menubar without providing similar functionality. In a possible future scenario where images are downloaded in the background then you would probably want some sort of indicator that tells the user how far downloading has progressed but I am thinking that once you implement the tabs feature we can add a tab which displays the % (or even some sort of progress bar) and the user can then click on the tab to see full details. I am just thinking out loud in this case since it depends on how you implement the tabs feature.

Cheers,
Steve

[drdev]

I just committed support for revealing a hidden title bar by moving the mouse to the top of the screen (r23392).

spr, if you don't like the status bar, just press F12 one time and it will never appear again for you. Then you can press F11 just one time, and the title bar will be hidden by default. You'll then be able to use just the mouse after that, with the title bar being temporarily revealed when you move the mouse to the top of the screen, and the ability to see a clock on that title bar (if you first hid the status bar). Let me know if you still have any concerns.

I think the status bar will prove more useful as we move forward and utilize it for displaying non-disruptive information, progress bars, or alerts to the user. It also takes up less space than the title bar for the sake of displaying the clock, plus displaying the clock in the bottom right corner is a pretty typical convention. Either way, it's easy to hide if you don't like it, and you only have to hide it once.

[spr]

I just committed support for revealing a hidden title bar by moving the mouse to the top of the screen (r23392).

Excellent. Personally I find the reveal speed of 500 a bit slow - 300 seems just about right. I appreciate that is subjective so I will add a dev preference that lets you adjust the auto-hide/reveal speed unless you are happy to change the default.

Cheers,
Steve