The Goblin's Notebook
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🕑 Added 2024-09-30 16:23:38 +0000 UTCHello, notebook users!
It’s been a while since the last update, so I just wanted to share what’s been happening in the goblin cave – though this message doesn't include a new release just yet!
Things were quiet over the summer, but I’ve embarked on a major update to refactor the hard-coded columns into dynamic ones. This will allow for more flexibility in creating new columns and configuring which ones include stat blocks (and potentially other properties, like consumables).
The catch? The five existing hard-coded columns are referenced everywhere, so it's a massive task to update every single instance with the new dynamic logic. I've broken this into two phases:
Phase One: Refactor the existing code to replace hard-coded columns with dynamic ones.
Phase Two: Introduce new functionality, like adding more columns. Phase Two may not start immediately after Phase One—other tasks might jump the queue.
At first, I thought this would be the biggest update I’ve ever tackled, and it quickly became clear just how much effort it would take. The scale was daunting. I even considered abandoning it or going for quicker workarounds, but that would have added unnecessary complexity later. Instead, I decided to push through. The benefit of this refactor is not just to enable future enhancements but it also cleans up repetitive code to make it easier to maintain in future. I’m now deep into the process, updating functions one by one. Some are simple; others need a lot more thought. There will likely be more work discovered after this first round, but hopefully not too much!
And the worst bit of this whole process is that you should see no* change once the update rolls out! But it is laying important groundwork for future improvements.
After the code updates are complete, there will be an extensive testing phase to ensure everything works as expected and that campaign data upgrades smoothly. So, it might be a while before this is fully released, but steady progress is being made. Testing will probably uncover more complications, but so far, things are going well!
As for timelines, there’s no set date yet, but you might hear the word “soon” thrown around!
If you have any questions about updates, notebook features, or just want to chat, feel free to join The Goblin’s Discord: https://discord.gg/C56sTY6fd4
Until next time, happy notebooking!
– The Goblin
* Import/export will have minor changes as the data structure has changed, but (probably) the rest should be identical (until I find another piece that needs changes)!
Comments
Farske
Awesome! I've project managed a products code refactor before. It almost feels like nothing is achieved, but oh my god. Its a great feeling after! Thanks for the update, watching keenly!
Uta
Thanks for sharing your progress! I am really looking forward to this, since I am currently misusing the columns and would love to customize them. My columns are 'locations', 'factions', 'NPCs', 'Quests' and 'player characters'.
