WhatsNew for Galactopedia 1.6.1

This file contains the version history for the Galactopedia for Galactic Civilizations II.

Version 1.6.1 (released 2006-12-10)

• Added XML file path to error dialog when XML parser fails.
• Fixed default value for local save path. When the Dark Avatar expansion is selected, the default is “My Games\GC2DarkAvatar” rather than “My Games\GalCiv2”. Galactopedia automatically adjusts the active save path and reloads any user-defined ships when you switch between the original game and the Dark Avatar expansion.

Version 1.6.0 (released 2006-12-06)

• Added Source menu to control the data sources for the Galactopedia display. This menu contains the former File menu items Game Folder & Save Folder, and the new items detailed below.
• Added support for Dark Avatar expansion. Use the Original Game & Dark Avatar Expansion menu items in the Source menu to choose which game version to show.
• Allowed reloading of all data files while the program is running. This happens automatically when a data source is changed, and manually with the Source: Reload Data Files menu command.
• Added note to ReadMe file that the GalCiv2 1.2 mods folder is unsupported.
• Fixed crash when selecting Print or Print Preview for an empty category.

Version 1.5.2 (released 2006-06-03)

• Added list of global ability bonuses to Technology entries. Since there wasn’t enough space I had to move the list of allowed technologies back to the bottom of the display…

Version 1.5.1 (released 2006-04-24)

• Added Metaverse category for user ship designs for Metaverse games, which are perversely stored separate from user ship designs for offline games, and combined all (renamed) ship design categories into a new group box.
• Revised layout and shortcut keys for category buttons.
• Adjusted initial display width to fit entry width, regardless of system font size.
• Fixed occasional appearance of unnecessary scrollbars.

Version 1.5.0 (released 2006-04-21)

• Acquired GalCiv2 save game folder and added File: Save Folder dialog to change it.
• Added User category for user ship designs, read from the save game folder.
• Changed display of allowed technologies in Technology entry to brief list of hyperlinks.
• Fixed order of Technology entries when printing from research tree view.
• Revised statistics display to handle partial hyperlinks and wrapping of continuous lists.

Version 1.4.1 (released 2006-04-13)

• Changed online help file to HTML format.
• Improved update speed when switching between tree view and list views.
• Slightly increased size of thumbnail images to improve spacing for complex entries.

Version 1.4.0 (released 2006-04-11)

• Added user-defined sorting to all lists. The default is alphabetic ordering but you may select other sort keys, e.g. cost or size.
• Split Planetary Improvements list into Normal & Unique Projects and Super Projects, and combined those two with Galactic Achievements and Trade Goods into a new group box.
• Added project to which the current project can be upgraded to Normal Project display.
• Fixed checking for local GalCiv2 installations on 64-bit machines. Since GalCiv2 is a 32-bit program its registry key is located under “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node” on such systems.
• Fixed exceptions when File: Print menu commands are used on a system without any installed printers. You might think the .NET dialogs would perform this check automatically…

Version 1.3.2 (released 2006-04-05)

• Added size modifier as percentage of hull size to ship components. Thanks to Martin the Dane for explaining the SizeMod value!
• Checking for invalid links to required technologies et al. Some are simply misspelled and were corrected. Others designate nonexistent requirements; those entries are now considered unreachable and were removed from the entry lists. The new menu item Debug: Invalid Links shows all invalid entry links and what happened to them.
• Greatly reduced reallocations of buffer bitmap for entry display, especially during longer Galactopedia sessions. This might help with the display problems some people were experiencing.

Version 1.3.1 (released 2006-04-03)

• Some internal refactoring and display tweaking.
• Added XML comments to all public or protected classes & members. The compiled NDoc help file is now available for download on the Galactopedia home page.
• Added Technology indicators for Alignment requirements (Good, Evil, Neutral).
• Checking for obsoleted or required products now considers product display names as well as internal identifiers, thus catching a few “missing links”.
• Added Help menu items to show ReadMe and WhatsNew files.

Version 1.3.0 (released 2006-03-27)

• Replaced stand-alone executable with InnoSetup distribution package, which also contains new ReadMe and WhatsNew files and a new online help file.
• User settings are now persisted to the Windows registry and deleted when uninstalling. Saved settings include the user-selected GalCiv2 installation folder and custom screen & printer fonts.
• Split Improvements list into Planetary Improvements, Galactic Achievements, and Trade Goods.
• Added dialog to show the active, local, and user-selected GalCiv2 installation folder. You can also clear or change the user-selected folder.
• Added case-insensitive search for entries whose name contains a specified text.
• Added printing of current entry list, with page setup and print preview.
• Allowed changing the screen and printer fonts, and to reset any font changes.
• Reflowing description text as main window or entry display is resized. This functionality was needed for printer output, but you might find it useful on the screen as well.

Version 1.2.4 (released 2006-03-17)

• Added tree view for technologies. Linear progression from one technology to the next is indicated by a “»” symbol in front of a node name. All technology hyperlinks now default to the tree view, except when you’re already in the alphabetic list view for technologies. Thanks again to Andrew Savinykh for the idea and sample code!
• Grouped radio buttons by category: Technology (list & tree), Ship Components (including predefined ships), and Other Items.
• Added splitter bar between entry list and entry display. Use the mouse or the arrow keys to move the splitter bar.

Version 1.2.3 (released 2006-03-16)

• Added hyperlinks for all entries that are referenced by another entry. Left-click on any underlined term to follow the hyperlink. Use the Back button on your mouse, if present, to return to the previously displayed entry.
• Added brief list of all required components to Ship entries, and shortened the list of allowed items for Technology entries. Use the hyperlinks to see the full description for any item or component.
• Added (almost all) missing pictures. The missing Drive thumbnails were stored in Model rather than Thumbnail elements, and all Ship thumbnails are now from a different, prettier, and complete line of images.

Version 1.2.2 (released 2006-03-13)

• Added any enabled technologies to technology display. A technology entry now shows all new research paths opened up by that technology, in addition to any products you can build with it.
• Checking for required technologies now considers technology display names as well as internal identifiers, thus catching a few “missing links”.
• Added keyboard shortcuts for entry type selection (hold down Alt key if necessary) and enabled mouse wheel scrolling for entry display (click on the entry panel first).

Version 1.2.1 (released 2006-03-12)

• Added any enabled products to technology display. A technology entry now shows all products you can build with that technology, in the same way as each product shows its required technology.
• Checked for required .NET permissions at runtime. Annoyingly, the default CLR dialog for a breach of declarative security looks like an application crash. Checking security settings at runtime lets the application display a much friendlier dialog with the denied permissions. Thanks to Andrew Savinykh for this tip!

Version 1.2.0 (released 2006-03-09)

• Added Invasion Tactics, Planetary Improvements, and Core Ship Designs. The Galactopedia now shows all available game data.
• Adjusted display of entry type buttons. They are now better spaced and display a tool tip if you hover the mouse pointer over them.

Version 1.1.0 (released 2006-03-07)

• Added Galactic Resources and Starbase Modules.
• Allowed manual selection of GalCiv2 installation folder if the automatic registry search fails. This should enable the Galactopedia to access a GalCiv2 installation on another machine that is connected over a network.
• Fixed display formatting if no images can be loaded, not even the “Missing Image” placeholder. This shouldn’t ever happen, but who knows?
• Normalized picture size to keep layout complexity under control. Some entries don’t have corresponding thumbnails, and existing thumbnails have varying sizes which sometimes appear to be incorrectly specified. To simplify matters, all pictures are now scaled to a standard size of 64 x 64 pixels.
• Specified precise set of required .NET permissions, and prevented the program from acquiring any additional permissions. This has no effect by itself but allows administrators to create a matching permission set for running the Galactopedia without full trust.

Version 1.0.0 (released 2006-03-06)

• Initial public release, still lacking a number of game objects.