The "working" version of HM3 was just updated to support custom color loading. Your previously saved text strings should still work normally.
Note that you could now start a blank character, fill the entire set of Custom Color boxes, and save it as "Bob's Custom Colors".
Then whenever you started a new character up, you could first load "Bob's Custom Colors" and all of your Custom Color boxes would be immediately set and ready for use. That way if you come up with, say, your own unique set of team colors for a group you're building, or if you have a bunch of skin tones you've made that you like better than mine, you can have them saved and available for use whenever you want.
For the super-duper high-tech hacker-inclined out there, note that if you save a "custom color" blank character as text, you can manually edit the CustomColor entries with hex values in the order you want before using the Load as Text function.
As always, let me know how it goes and if you see any problems with this release. We're getting closer and closer to beta status, folks!
Yeeeahaaaaawwww!!!
There are many custom colors I tend to use over and over. This will indeed be a useful tactic.
I can’t get one of my custom colors to come out right in the new version. In the original picture, the color is sort of a fleshy-tan and is labeled “Custom Color 3 858883.” Working under the assumption that the last numbers in the label are the Hex value, every other color I’ve typed in has come out looking the same as it did in the original. But when I type “858883” in the Hex Value box of the other program, it comes out looking dark gray rather than the tan of the original, and the number in the new label is “51235.” The numbers in the other labels have changed, too, but this is the only one that looks different. Is this a glitch, or am I doing something wrong?
When I paste 858883 into the hex value in PhotoShop, it comes out gray. It looks like the problem is in the “Save as Swatch” button, it’s not translating the hex values properly. I’ll check into that.
OK, updated the working version again with the “manual hex entry” box now saving the proper hex value. For those interested, the correct format to put into your text string if you’re hacking it is “0x999999”, where that’s a zero, then a lower case x, then the six-digit hex string.
Also, I fixed the problem where the custom color counter wasn’t being updated on loading a saved character. So now if you have six custom colors that load with your character, the next time you make a new custom color it’ll populate the seventh swatch instead of starting over at the beginning.
These features seem to work just fine, at least as long as the custom color slots don’t run out, which pretty much never happens.
A comment on saving as text. If I want to save a character as text, I click Save, choose the Text tab, do the whole Ctrl-A Ctrl-C thing. Then if I click the OK button to close the dialog, I get an annoying “HeroMachine 3 Character” save file. Not a big deal, I just thought I should mention it.
Jeff (3-4): I’m still getting gray with that hex value.
Panner (5): You can click the X in the corner of the Save dialog to close without saving to the file. Jeff, maybe it would make sense to have that button be labeled “Save” (or “Load” for the load dialog) instead of “OK”? That might also help keep sleep-deprived people from accidentally loading when they meant to save. Not that I’ve ever done that… *whistles innocently*
logosgal: Yes, that hex value is gray. It’s not the value you wanted, it’s the value the bug was generating from the tan color you made. Unfortunately now that’s the value saved in that slot, so you’re going to have to remake the tan color. The problem was the original bugged hex value you were given and which was saved to the file. There’s not a way to unbug it now, so it has to be redone.
I go back and forth about how the save and load stuff should work on the text strings. But for now logosgal is right, the “X” closes the box without actually saving anything.
I could make it so clicking the OK box doesn’t actually save whatever is in the text string.
I guess my question is, how would you want it all to work?
I see. That’s annoying… 🙁
Another idea for the save/load thing is you could have two buttons where the OK one is. One appropriately labeled “Save” or “Load” and the other labeled “Cancel.” Just to make it a little more obvious what’s happening.
logosgal/Jeff: The X button works of course, I just click the OK button out of habit.
See, nowhere else in the current HM interface do you need to use the X button except if you change your mind, misclicked or whatever. All the other dialog boxes either close themselves or has the Close button in that location.
Yeah Panner, it’s definitely not ideal. I just felt like, you’re on the Save screen, you’re clicking OK, it must mean you want to save the file.
What if I introduce a dialog box after you click on “OK” that says “You haven’t named this character yet, would you like to do so?” Then you can type in a name to replace the default one, or you could say “No, don’t save it, let’s just get back to work”.
I hesitate to add a Cancel button because everywhere else, the red X is cancel. It bugs me to break the paradigm that way.
Or, when you click the Text tab, the OK button could go away and be replaced with some dialog that says “The text string is now copied to your clipboard. Open a text file or email and paste it there for saving. When done, click the red X to return to work.”
Or something like that.
Thoughts?
Jeff: I like the last idea. Didn’t it say something like that in HM2?
logosgal: You wouldn’t happen to have a picture containing this color?
Panner: Yes, it’s the darker color (color 1) in the skin of both characters here: http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m600/logosgal/Open%20Critique/SpringCritiqueWide.png
That color would be E2BA83.
Hey, it works! Thanks, Panner! How’d you figure it out?
Oh, I just have a really good eye for color. You’re welcome!
Panner: Ha!
Honestly though, many image processing programs can very quickly give you the RGB values for a given pixel. They’re usually given in decimal format, but that’s what calculators are for.
Only robots have eyes that are that good. Are you a robot? Or some sort of technopath or cyborg? You’re not a spambot who’s really good at art on the side, are you? 😉
I figured it was something like that. I probably would have tried that eventually, too, though I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that feature on MS Paint, which is pretty much the only such program I have…
So I have a bunch of HM3 characters saved in HeroMachine 3 Alpha but they don’t show up in the Working Version of HM3. Are there any plans to allow Text Saves in the Alpha version?
Actually, given Panner’s success at bughunting with the HM3 program, the theory that he’s a robot or cyborg suddenly explains quite a bit. Something to consider at least.
P.A.N.N.E.R. :
Pan-Automatic Neural-Net Entertainment Robot.
😀
MrChowderHead86: The “working” version is where I go to test things out before bombing the main alpha version with it. In a day or so, once I have a couple more bugs worked out, I’ll replace the current alpha with the Working version. However, Flash saves files in a different directory for each version. So whatever you make in Working won’t be available in the Alpha, except for in the text version. Or if you wanted to copy over your .sol file.
Long story short, when I replace Alpha with Working in a day or so, you’ll be able to transfer characters via the Text mode, yes.
Well done, Jeff. This has worked quite well for me so far. It looks like others have already raised the few questions I had and they’ve been answered. I’m looking forward to being able to move characters from one computer to another and to collaborate on pictures with others.
Hey, there’s an idea for a character contest; team up with another HM user and collaborate on a picture.