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Old 06-24-2016, 10:27 PM   #72
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: User Made Items for GCA4

Hi folks,
A while back, I was bored, and took GURPS HIGH TECH data file, and deleted all non-weapon entries from the file, and saved it as GURPS OLD WEST.gdf. Then I scrubbed it of all weapons TL 7 and higher and gave them new categories titled Old West - Subcategory (what ever the subcategory is/was). Once I got that to work, I was emboldened to try creating a new data file from scratch so to speak. I put together 119 elements from GURPS HIGH TECH ADVENTURE GUNS (and I didn't proof them yet for errors, so there are bound to be a few - as I am certainly not infallible when it comes to data entry!).

For a while there, I could not get the file to load at all, this despite the fact that I divided up the data lines into three lines with the same elements as is found in the GURPS HIGH TECH data file. Then I started to find the small stuff that would make it impossible to load, and found that some entries that had 2.75" as part of the description can not be entered that way in the data file (substituted " for inch). So, finally, I finished the file.

I used a macro to create the actual "guts" that went into the equipment file containing only the guns from GURPS HIGH TECH ADVENTURE GUNS - and it worked (not without some perplexing errors that took some time to weed out due to my inexperience). That macro will hopefully allow me to create my own weapons using Doug Coles ballistics formula, and real world data on weapons with real muzzle velocity and bullet weights. Clearly, this kind of data file would NOT be official, and about the only use for it might be someone who wants to use them for an ATE type campaign or something.

Long story short, the macro works after a fashion, and can stand some improvements before I'd give it out to people. I'd also release the actual code as a text kind of thing and give people instructions on how to create their own macro on their own machine so that they can at least understand what is going on and how (VBA is essentially the dumb cousin of VB.NET).

So, macro is available to anyone if they want it, and I can customize it for anyone who wants to customize it for their own use. The Adventure guns GDF can be given to someone, an hopefully they can verify the data is correct, and I will likely have a go at it myself before too long (just got a lot of things to do this weekend).

So, how do I upload the file to some place, or who do I send the 86.6 kilobyte file as an email attachment to?

I'm always open to suggestions on how I can improve things, and if someone wants to tell me how to set up say, an advantage section, or any other "sections" that is to be automated, feel free to email me saying "Hey Hal, want to work on a vba macro for me?"

I'm really thankful for the work others have put into the data files, and being able to give back at least ONE file in return would make me feel "good" as it were.
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