GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet

[Flyndaran]

I hope my e-mail went through. My computer is slowly dying and having major trouble with the simplest of programs.

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by DaltonS

I'm having some problems with OpenOffice 3.3 crashing when using this version. It doesn't happen immediately, but after about 10 or 15 minutes the screen starts to flicker (as if some macros are cycling in the background) and when I try to save the sheet I get an error message. I can still work on the design and copy/paste the output sheet to another file, but in the end I have to discard my work. I'm currently installing OpenOffice 3.4 and will let you know if this fixes the problem.

That's rather odd all around. I haven't made any significant changes to the Macros in the OpenOffice version in a long time, and nothing they do should cause problems - they're rather standard Macros (likely, this is some sort of memory leak in OpenOffice).

You might also try LibreOffice, which is an offshoot of OpenOffice and has been significantly updated. I still use OpenOffice largely because when I tried LibreOffice it's Excel imports tanked badly on the sheet. However, in my (minimal) testing, once OpenOffice had saved the sheets LibreOffice had no troubles opening it.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by ericbsmith

That's rather odd all around. I haven't made any significant changes to the Macros in the OpenOffice version in a long time, and nothing they do should cause problems - they're rather standard Macros (likely, this is some sort of memory leak in OpenOffice).

You might also try LibreOffice, which is an offshoot of OpenOffice and has been significantly updated. I still use OpenOffice largely because when I tried LibreOffice it's Excel imports tanked badly on the sheet. However, in my (minimal) testing, once OpenOffice had saved the sheets LibreOffice had no troubles opening it.

IME Libre opens files much slower than Open. :(

[DaltonS]

Originally Posted by ericbsmith

That's rather odd all around. I haven't made any significant changes to the Macros in the OpenOffice version in a long time, and nothing they do should cause problems - they're rather standard Macros (likely, this is some sort of memory leak in OpenOffice).

Quite possible, I suppose. I've installed v3.4, and if anything it's been worse. Not only can't I save the sheet after a time (I've gotten into the habit of saving after every change), but if I quit and try to reload the file, I get a message saying it's locked, and whether I try to "Open (Read Only)", "Open a Copy" or "Cancel" and try to open a blank sheet, I can't use OpenOffice Calc again until I reboot my computer! (In the immortal words of Joss Whedon, "Grrrr! Arghhh!")

Originally Posted by ericbsmith

You might also try LibreOffice, which is an offshoot of OpenOffice and has been significantly updated. I still use OpenOffice largely because when I tried LibreOffice it's Excel imports tanked badly on the sheet. However, in my (minimal) testing, once OpenOffice had saved the sheets LibreOffice had no troubles opening it.

I'm downloading it right now. Let's see how it works out.

Back to the wish list. :)

• Add an option to some fuel tanks to make the contents an "Essential Fuel" (SS7 p.20) so the engine gets 10 times the delta-V.
• Solar Panel output is very dependant on where the system is to be used. An option determining the minimum illuminance expected (expressed as a fraction or list of AU equivalents) could be used to adjust the power output.
• Some instructions on how to use the filters on the "Campaign Option" sheet would be useful.
• Add a "Hazardous" option to any fission reactor, air-ram, or reaction engine (SS7 p.23) that would double the power points/accelleration at the cost of making that hull section radioactive. (Add a warning note to the column header?)

I had a few more questions to ask, but realized the were more Spaceships issues than Spreadsheet ones.

Dalton "who will get this to work ... somehow" Spence

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by DaltonS

Quite possible, I suppose. I've installed v3.4, and if anything it's been worse.

Yeah, I noticed that with v3.4 right off the bat myself. The only other suggestion I have is to check the Disable Core Macro checkbox at the top. This will disable the automatic show/hide of rows but could solve the issue. You'll just need to remember to click the Refresh Rows button every now and then (after installing Reconfigurable or Smaller SM Systems or after adding all systems to the ship or before printing or saving).

[Flyndaran]

I notice there is a fuel tank for ablative plastic that only works for laser rockets. But I can't find the laser rocket itself under reaction engines.
Am I missing something obvious again?

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Am I missing something obvious again?

No, there's a screw-up in the filtering for the Laser Rocket. It's supposed to be available if either SS7 or SS8 ship options have been selected; instead it is only available if both SS7 and SS8 ship options have been selected. If you want to make a ship with Laser Rockets right now you can temporarily select both SS7 and SS8, add the Laser Rocket, then uncheck SS8 so as not to activate some of the other campaign-specific changes.

[Flyndaran]

That's easy enough. What changes to the program does checking SS8 do?
Edit: thanks

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

That's easy enough. What changes to the program does checking SS8 do?

Limits the available TL's and availability of some ship systems, changes the cost of some fuels, increases the Complexity of computers, and probably a few other things I'm not remembering.

[DaltonS]

Originally Posted by ericbsmith

Yeah, I noticed that with v3.4 right off the bat myself. The only other suggestion I have is to check the Disable Core Macro checkbox at the top. This will disable the automatic show/hide of rows but could solve the issue. You'll just need to remember to click the Refresh Rows button every now and then (after installing Reconfigurable or Smaller SM Systems or after adding all systems to the ship or before printing or saving).

Well, that helps in extending the functional period, but regularly saving the file helps more. :/

You know, this spreadsheet is getting really, really complex. (I'd love to unlock it and discover all its secrets. [Heh, heh, heh!]) Could you please write up a documentation file to include in the zip archive so we have some idea how to use all of its features? (It might help you with future updates too.)

Dalton "please see my updated wishlist" Spence