[CLZ News] Big updates for all game cataloging tools

Time flies when you’re working from home! It’s the end of October already, so here’s your monthly dose of CLZ News.

After 3 months of work, we have finally released the promised huge updates for all our game database programs. Phew! A big and complex project, but we really enjoyed working on this multi-disciplined job together (desktop, web and mobile) with the entire team.

So we decided to do the same for comics: all team members have now switched to our comic tools, with Joe working on Comic Collector 21.0, Pim and Bernard on CLZ Comics 6.0, Joel and Sven on Comic Connect, AJ working on UI designs for them all and finally Rowdy, Stijn and Sytske on improvements to our Core for Comics.
Read on below for what will be new in these big comic related updates!

All topics for today:

• Improved PriceCharting value features for all game tools:
  • Game Collector 21.0 for Windows
  • CLZ Games 6.0 for iOS and Android
  • Game Connect
• CLZ Games 6.0: better Edit features + crop/rotate images
• Coming up: big updates for all comic database tools

Improved PriceCharting value features for all game tools

The downloading of Loose, CIB and New values from PriceCharting is one of the most popular features of our game cataloging tools, so we decided to take this feature to the next level, with values for more games, new features and many improvements.

After 3 months of work from the *entire* CLZ Team, we have just released:

• Game Collector 21 for Windows
• CLZ Games 6.0 for iOS and Android
• Game Connect x.xx (no version numbers there, web-developers are too cool for that).

Go here for full details and screenshots:

Game Collector 21 / CLZ Games 6.0 for iOS / CLZ Games 6.0 for Android / Game Connect

Here’s what’s new in all of them:

Values for over 25,000 extra games and editions

We started on this project 3 months ago, manually linking over 25 thousand extra Core game entries to the corresponding PriceCharting entries, including lots of new PAL and JP editions. A huge job, but now ALL games and editions that are listed on PriceCharting.com are linked to entries in our Core game database!

Now download values in other currencies

Use the Settings/Options screen to select your preferred currency for the game value and purchase price fields. Choose from USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, CHF, NOK, SEK or DKK.
Then run Update Values again to retrieve games values converted to your selected currency, using the current exchange rate.

Edit Game screen, new Value tab

All Value related fields (Completeness, Box, Manual, Value, PC ID, Condition, Purchase info, etc…) are now on their own “Value” tab in the Edit Game screen.

New on this Value tab:

• A nice chart showing the PriceCharting values for Loose, CIB and New.
  Tip: tap/click the bars in the chart to set your Completeness field.

• Price Charting values are now downloaded into the Value field (previously called “Current Value”). This way, you can now manually override (and lock) the value and always keep your Value Totals correct (in the Statistics screen).
• You can now manually override the PriceCharting ID. Useful for cases where our game entry is linked to the wrong PriceCharting entry and you did find the correct one on the PriceCharting.com site.
• The Completeness field now has an extra N/A option for digital games. This way you can ensure your digital games are not downloading PriceCharting values.

Faster Update Values tool

The Update PriceCharting Values tool previously downloaded values one game at a time, but now it does so in batches of 100 games in one go, making it much, much faster.

Add Games screen

• In the Add Games from Core screen, you can now set a global US/EU preference for getting US (=NTSC) vs EU (=PAL) values and cover images (this replace the old “US default” and “EU default” entries under a game.
• Search results in the Add Games screen now show Edition, Region and PriceCharting values.

CLZ Games 6.0: better Edit features + crop/rotate images

CLZ Games 6.0 for iOS and Android of course received all the PriceCharting related update listed above, but the 6.0 update ALSO included the “regular” 6.0 features that we are introducing to all mobile apps:

NEW: Edit Multiple Games in one go!

Finally make changes to multiple (or all) game entries in one go.
Here’s how:

• Tap and hold on a game in the list to enter Select Mode
• Now tap more game to select them.
• Tap the menu button on the bottom right and choose “Edit [x] Games”.
• In the screen that appears, select which fields you want to edit.
  (Tips: use the search box to find fields, tap the star icons to set Favorite fields)

• Tap Edit at the top right.
• Now set values, or leave fields gray to clear them.
• Tap Done at the top right to save the changes to the selected games.

IMPROVED: Edit Game screen

A new look for all edit boxes and a more compact layout, making it much easier to edit your game entries, without scrolling through long lists of fields.

• The cover image is now on its own tab, so the main tab starts with the most important edit fields at the top.
• All value related fields are now on a separate Value tab (see above)
• Fields are now laid out side-by-side, making it easier to edit all fields without endless scrolling.
• More compact look and user interface for all text edit fields.
• More compact display and editing of multi-value pick list fields like Developers, Publishers, Genres and Tags.
• Date fields: enter year, month day manually or use calendar icon to use date setter popup.

NEW: Built-in Crop and Rotate tool for cover images

In the Edit Game screen the Cover is now on its own tab, with new Crop and Rotate tools for instant rotating and cropping of self-made cover photos or downloaded images.

IMPROVED: Folder Field selection screen

Yep, another update of this screen, to make it fully consistent with the Select Edit Fields screen.
It now includes a search box at the top for quickly finding the field you want, plus the ability to create your own Favorites (just tap the star icons).

Go here for full details and screenshots:
CLZ Games 6.0 for iOS / CLZ Games 6.0 for Android

Coming up: big updates for all comic database tools

As stated above, the entire CLZ team is currently working on improvements and new features for our comic database software. Let me give you an overview of what we are planning to do:

• Core for Comics / barcode coverage: Stijn is creating new CMS tools for our content managers Rowdy and Sytske, to help them better stay on top of reported missing barcodes from you all (from the Unrecognized Barcode screen in the software), focussing on new releases in ongoing series.
• Updated Values Report: one of the most common questions from our users: “After running Update Values from GoCollect.com, can I see *which* comics were updated?”. So we are building just that, a nice report screen that shows the updated comics and their value changes.
• Add Comics by Issue Number: a new way to search our Core for a specific comic: just type series name *and* issue number, e.g. “iron man 27” and it will show you a flat list of all #27 issues from all different Iron Man related series, with cover images for easy selection of the one you have in your hands.
• Missing Comics tool: also a common request “how can I find which comics I am missing for my series”. AJ and I have designed a cool new screen for exactly that purpose, which will compare your list with our Core, and will show you exactly which comics you are missing. Now, it’s up to the programmers to actually build it 🙂
• CLZ Comics: Pull List feature: already available in the desktop and web editions, but now finally coming to mobile. Flag your fav series as Favorites and easily access them from the Pull List tab.
• CLZ Comics: Quick fill popup: also coming from desktop/web to mobile, a quick way to set common fields (Grade, Storage Box, Purchase Price, etc..) right after adding.
• CLZ Comics: Batch editing, etc.: of course, CLZ Comics is also getting the new batch editing features for editing multiple comics on one go, the new Edit screen designs, the Crop and Rotate features for comics and the ability to favorite your own folder options.

Sneak Preview screenshot, the Updated Values report screen in Comic Connect:

ETA for these comic releases?

Unlike the recent game releases, we are not releasing everything simultaneously.

• For Comic Connect: we will release these features as we go, one by one. Coming up early next week is the Updated Values Report, then later “Add by Issue Number”.
• For CLZ Comics: we want to release version 6.0 ASAP, probably within 3 weeks. This v6.0 will of course have all regular 6.0 functionality: the new batch editing features, the new Edit screen designs, the Crop and Rotate features for comics and the ability to favorite your own folder options. On top of that, it will have the Update Values Report and probably also the “Add by Issue Number”.
  All other features will be added in subsequent 6.x updates in the upcoming months.

• For Comic Collector: we are planning to release ALL features in one big version 21.0. Obviously, that will take a bit longer, but certainly before the end of the year.

Stay safe!