ERA v3.3 update

Author: Liso1 January 25, 2021 0 Comments

Briefly: color texts with transparency, correct width calculation, support for Asian languages and all HD mod modes and the ability to enter tags in input fields; embedding images and icons in any text, updated plugins by igrik, new sets of monster portraits, many new functions, constants and events for the EPM library, including working with time, arrays, strings, directories, ini files, monsters and actions in battle, loading settings from json, working with dialogs and hints; multiple fixes and improvements in the EPM, including fixes for the most unpleasant bugs reported during testing.

 Implemented support for color texts and Era markup language in general for all HD mod modes.
 It became possible to enter invisible tags in the input fields using the characters “{” and “}”. The implementation may change in the future.
 Implemented alpha channel support for color texts using the {~RRGGBBAA} syntax.
 Significantly improved support for Asian languages and multi-language texts, including correct word wrap and calculating the width of characters, words, and strings. For Chinese, the font file selection is based on the size of the original game font, not the file name in the archive.
 Implemented the ability to embed def images in any Heroes texts. Auto-trimming, vertical alignment, and horizontal mirroring are supported.
 Updated plugins for bug fixes and native dialogs by igrik.
 Include “monprt44.def” file with 44×44 monster portraits from Bes. The frames in the def file are sorted by monster IDs.
 Added support for processing single ALT keystrokes.
 Added auto-creation of “Runtime”, “Games” and “Random_Maps” directories. The “Runtime” directory is intended for storing settings and data generated by scripts and plugins while the game is running. Cleaning it should return the mods to a clean state after installation.
 Visual improvement of the EPM syntax: no need to write “:;”, just a single semicolon.
 Added a command to get a human player sitting at a given computer and a command to work with addresses in RAM.
 The new “OnStartOrLoad” event is useful for performing actions when starting the map or loading a saved game.
 The “Era Erm Framework” library has been updated with hundreds of new constants for bitmasks, game manager addresses, dialog element IDs, etc.
 Added tools for convenient processing of mouse and keyboard events with saving all the parameters necessary for writing conditions in global variables.
 Many new features have been added to the EPM library: packing and unpacking bit flags, shuffling elements in arrays, combining arrays, getting array slices, getting substrings, getting a list of files and folders in specific directories, reading and writing ini files, loading settings from json files directly into global variables, getting monster and hero limits, getting upgraded and degraded monsters, managing stack shooting in battle, saving the game, clearing the screen from chat messages, getting active dialogs and sending commands to any dialog elements, redrawing dialog items and control over adventure map hints.
 Key press events are no longer triggered when there is focus in any input field. Entering texts in the chat bar no longer interferes with scripts.
 A number of changes and fixes in the EPM commands.
 Improved the event of setting a hint for a tile or object when hovering over the adventure map.
 Fixed about 10 bugs in game resources, ERM interpreter and library.