Cactus 5.2.0 now available! Complete field validation for Shards fields. Other improvements and 39 MB bundle file size drop!

[fearedbliss]

Hello all, I'm pleased to announce Cactus 5.2.0. Patch notes below. You can continue to download Cactus from the usual locations.

Also, I noticed that the Cactus Bundle file size dropped from 103.6 MB to 64.6 MB. That's a 39 MB drop! I don't know that happened since the extracted file size bundle is the same (242 MB~). The only difference was that I updated my Fedora 44 installation today. So I can only guess that some default setting changed either in relation to GNOME 50, or the tar.xz tooling. But I'll take it! If you notice any missing files or any weirdness, let me know. This is what happens when you are on Linux, you usually want the updates and they actually make your computer better.

Cactus 5.2.0

Improvements
--------------

- Implemented valid character validation for all fields used for a
Shard. You will be alerted if you attempt to create or modify a
shard with invalid characters. If your file already has invalid
characters, the app will alert you on start and prompt you to
manually remove the characters from your Settings.json file. You can
open Cactus from a terminal to see what fields are invalid during
Cactus' early boot process.

- Improved installation and other instructions in the README.md.

- Desktop icons are now shown in X11. A default desktop entry is
provided. You'll need to adjust its absolute paths to your local
setup.

Bug Fixes
-----------

- Fixed a bug where dialog windows may have had characters chopped off
in some situations.

 

[Bambi1775]

Is there a more efficient way to install each new version besides copying MPQs and save files to desktop, deleting the entire cactus folder, unzipping the new one, coping back MPQs, make shards again then copy in the saves to the specific shard folders?

 

[fearedbliss]

You don't need and shouldn’t delete your existing Cactus folder. That would be very inconvenient for everyone lol. To upgrade you just need to redownload the latest bundle and copy the Cactus binary over the old one. So it’s a one file replacement. That’s it. I try to maintain the same structure and ensure that the Settings.json is backwards compatible. So it’s just a one file replacement. If there were to be a breaking change or something that requires your attention, it will be listed in the patch notes.

I’ll add a note to the instructions about upgrading.