🧭 Executive Summary

Version 0.3.0 is a foundation release for HeroQuest Search Tracker.

This update does not introduce a big new gameplay feature. Instead, it brings the app into the newer structure and workflow I now use across my HeroQuest tools, while making sure the core Search Tracker experience still works as it should.

If you have used the original Search Tracker before, the goal of this release is simple: keep the familiar functionality intact, make the application feel cleaner and more consistent, and put it on a much stronger footing for the next stage of development.

In practical terms, this release restores the default board and hero setup for new users, brings the board and heroes interactions back into line with the earlier working version, refreshes the surrounding interface, and updates the app so it can be distributed through the same modern build pipeline I now use for my other projects.

🗺 Restored Core Tracker Workflow

The most important part of Version 0.3.0 is that the Search Tracker once again behaves like the working version many people will already be familiar with.

That includes the essentials such as:

• a default board configuration on a clean install
• a default hero roster on a clean install
• working room state interactions on the board
• hero tracking that stays connected to the board properly
• restored hover and spotlight behaviour to make room status easier to read

This means the app remains ready to use straight away, without expecting you to rebuild your setup from scratch.

🧱 A Better Foundation

Much of the work in this release happened behind the scenes, but the reason for doing it is very user-facing: I wanted the Search Tracker to be easier to maintain, easier to improve, and much easier to move forward again after spending so much time focused on HeroQuest Card Creator.

Version 0.3.0 modernises the app structure, updates how the interface is composed, and brings the project into the same general shape as my newer tools.

You may not notice every part of that work directly, but it matters because it gives me a cleaner base for the features I want to build next rather than continuing to pile new ideas onto an older prototype-era structure.

✨ A Cleaner Interface

Although this is not a full redesign, the app shell and surrounding interface have been refreshed.

That includes:

• a cleaner navigation layout
• more consistent modal windows
• updated footer and version presentation
• import and export controls integrated more naturally into the main layout

Functionally, the app is still aiming at parity with the earlier Search Tracker experience. Visually, though, this release starts moving it toward the broader style and structure I now prefer across my HeroQuest applications.

🚀 What This Release Means

Version 0.3.0 is the point where HeroQuest Search Tracker is properly back in active development.

This release is about stabilising the application, modernising the project, and making sure the existing experience still works before pushing further into bigger ideas and new features. In other words, this is not the end goal. It is the restart point. Now that the app is back on a stronger base, I can begin expanding it again with much more confidence.

❤️ Thank You

Thank you to everyone who has used the Search Tracker, shared feedback, and continued to support these HeroQuest tools while my focus was on HeroQuest Card Creator.

That work taught me a huge amount, and Version 0.3.0 is the first real step in bringing those lessons back into Search Tracker.

👉 Download HeroQuest Search Tracker v0.3.0 here : https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-search-tracker

This release feels a little unusual to write about. HeroQuest Search Tracker was the first HeroQuest app I built.

It came from a very simple need: I wanted a better way to track room searches while playing HeroQuest, and at the time nothing I had quite matched the workflow I wanted. So I built my own. It did the job well, and for quite a while that was enough but not long after that, I started experimenting with another idea that eventually became HeroQuest Card Creator.

What began as a much smaller project ended up snowballing very quickly. By December 2025 I had a stable working Card Creator, and from that point on a huge amount of my focus shifted there because I had so many plans for it and it kept growing faster than I expected.

If you haven't seen it, you can find HeroQuest Card Creator here: https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

All the while, I kept meaning to come back to Search Tracker. The problem was that it always felt just good enough to leave alone for a little longer. Now that Card Creator is in a really strong place, I finally feel like I can return to Search Tracker properly, and that is exactly what v0.3.0 represents.

This is not the release where Search Tracker suddenly gains a huge list of new gameplay features. This is the release where I come back to it seriously, modernise the foundations, bring it into the newer app structure I now prefer to work in, and make sure everything that already mattered in v0.2.0 still works as it should.

In other words: v0.3.0 is the return to HeroQuest Search Tracker.

🏗 A Modern Foundation

The first thing I wanted to do on returning to the project was modernise the structure of the app itself.

Search Tracker now sits inside the newer Next.js application shape that I’ve come to prefer through building Card Creator and the other HeroQuest app work that followed it.

That means the project is now in a much better place structurally for everything I want to do next.

This release also includes:

• a cleaner shell structure
• improved modal/dialog composition
• a more consistent layout direction
• a better static build and packaging flow for browser/download distribution

Most of that isn’t the kind of thing you would call a “headline feature”, but it matters a great deal because it changes how easy the app is to evolve from here.

✅ Same Core Functionality, Better Shape

Although the structure and UI direction have changed, the goal for this release was not to reinvent how the tracker works.

Functionally, the aim was to get the modernised app back into the same practical working state as v0.2.0.

That includes restoring and preserving the core experience:

• default board and hero setup
• room enable/disable controls
• room popovers and search-state visibility
• clickable hero markers on the board
• hero spotlight and hover behavior
• roster and board configuration flows
• import/export continuity

So while the app now looks different in places, this release is really about ensuring the tracker still does what it already needed to do, just on top of a much stronger foundation.

🎯 Why This Matters

For me, this release is important because it finally clears the ground for the next phase of Search Tracker.

For a long time I’ve had ideas about how the interface should evolve, how quests and progression should be surfaced more clearly, and how the app could become a much richer companion for HeroQuest play rather than only a simple search helper.

But before any of that could happen, I needed to bring the project up to date and make sure the existing workflow still held together.

That is what v0.3.0 does.

It is the catch-up release.

It is the foundation release.

And it is the point where Search Tracker stops being the older app I built first, and starts becoming the app I now want to actively push forward again.

🔜 What Comes Next

Now that this modernization work is in place, the next few months should be much more focused on actual feature enhancement.

That means the work after v0.3.0 is much more likely to be about improving the product itself:

• refining the interface further
• improving how quests and related information are presented
• extending the app in ways I’ve been wanting to revisit for a long time

This release is not the destination.. It is the point where meaningful development on Search Tracker properly resumes.

As always If you run into anything unexpected, let me know and thank you to everyone who used the original Search Tracker, kept it in mind while I was focused elsewhere, and has been patient while I finally found the time to come back to it properly.

👉 Download HeroQuest Search Tracker v0.3.0 here : https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-search-tracker

🧭 Executive Summary

Version 0.8.0 is the most comprehensive refinement release HeroQuest Card Creator has received to date.

Rather than introducing one major workflow, this release improves almost every stage of creating, editing, organising and managing your cards. From a completely new interactive editing experience and direct artwork manipulation, to new templates, richer authoring tools, a redesigned Help Centre, improved deck workflows and countless interface refinements, Version 0.8.0 focuses on making the application faster, more intuitive and more enjoyable to use every day.

Many of these features have been on the roadmap-or requested by the community-for some time. They were intentionally postponed while larger milestones such as Decks, Print-Ready PDF Export, and Export Profiles were completed.

With those foundations now in place, this release turns its attention to the day-to-day experience of creating HeroQuest cards.

Highlights include:

• interactive preview editing
• direct artwork manipulation
• Rules and Logo Back templates
• custom Hero Back logos
• richer body text authoring
• complete Help Centre
• redesigned Stockpile experience
• Deck Preview
• improved keyboard shortcuts
• improved HeroQuest visual fidelity
• extensive workflow improvements throughout the application

In short, Version 0.8.0 transforms HeroQuest Card Creator from a collection of powerful tools into a significantly more polished, visual and discoverable editing experience.

🖱 Interactive Editing

Edit Directly On Your Cards

One of the biggest changes in Version 0.8.0 is the evolution of the card preview itself.

Until now, the preview primarily existed to show the finished result while editing took place inside the inspector.

The preview is now an active part of the editing workflow.

You can click directly on supported elements within the card preview to jump straight to the appropriate editor controls, while hover highlighting makes it immediately obvious which settings affect each part of the card.

The result is a much more natural editing experience that dramatically reduces the amount of searching required when working on more complex cards.

Direct Artwork Manipulation

Artwork can now be manipulated directly within the preview.

Supported artwork can now be:

• moved
• rotated
• resized

without constantly switching between sliders and numeric controls.

For finer adjustments, holding Option / Alt enables precision snapping and visual guides, making it much easier to position artwork exactly where you want it.

Once you've used this workflow for a while, it's surprisingly difficult to imagine editing cards any other way.

Smoother Editing Experience

A huge amount of work has also gone into making editing feel smoother.

Improvements include:

• smoother transitions when switching cards
• better loading feedback
• improved preview responsiveness
• contextual editing guidance
• improved rendering consistency

None of these changes are particularly large on their own, but together they make the editor feel significantly more polished.

🃏 New Templates

Rules Template

HeroQuest Card Creator now includes a dedicated Rules template.

Whether you're creating quick-reference cards, scenario rules, campaign mechanics or entirely new game systems, the Rules template provides a purpose-built layout while continuing to support all of the application's existing text formatting and export features.

Logo Back Template

A brand-new Logo Back template has also been added.

This provides a dedicated back design for creators building original campaigns, custom settings or complete card systems while maintaining a consistent look across their projects.

Together these new templates continue expanding the kinds of content that can be created without leaving the HeroQuest visual style.

🏷 Custom Hero Back Logos

One of the most requested features has finally arrived.

Hero Back cards no longer have to use the default HeroQuest logo.

You can now replace it with your own custom logo, making it easy to create cards for:

• original campaigns
• custom settings
• complete game systems
• personal branding
• commercial-friendly projects

For many users this also helps avoid issues with print services that refuse to print cards containing the HeroQuest logo.

It's a relatively small change visually, but it dramatically increases the flexibility of Hero Back cards.

✍️ Richer Card Authoring

Card creation continues to become more flexible while remaining faithful to the original HeroQuest aesthetic.

Inline Text Scaling

Body text now supports inline text scaling, allowing important words and phrases to stand out without affecting the surrounding paragraph.

This provides much greater control over how information is presented while keeping everything inside a single text block.

Emoji Picker

A built-in emoji picker makes adding emoji to cards quick and convenient without relying on operating system keyboards or external tools.

Inline Dice Builder

Creating inline dice has also become much easier.

Instead of remembering formatting syntax, dice can now be inserted directly using a dedicated visual picker.

Better Scale To Fit

Scale To Fit continues to evolve.

Longer descriptions now produce more predictable layouts, particularly when using multiple paragraphs or mixed text sizes.

Overflow Warnings

If text still doesn't fit after Scale To Fit has finished, the editor now clearly tells you before exporting.

This makes it much easier to spot cards that still need attention.

Improved Typography

Typography has also received another round of refinement.

Hero and Monster cards now more closely match the appearance of the original HeroQuest cards while continuing the visual improvements introduced over previous releases.

🗂 Better Organisation

Redesigned Stockpile

The Stockpile experience has received a substantial usability pass.

Browsing large libraries now feels much cleaner thanks to:

• artwork-first presentation
• improved visual hierarchy
• cleaner saved-card layouts
• more consistent browsing

The focus is now firmly on the cards themselves, making larger collections easier to navigate.

Recent Cards

The Recent Cards experience has also been updated to match the new browsing style, providing a more consistent experience throughout the application.

Smarter Duplication

Duplicated cards now automatically inherit their collection membership.

This small workflow improvement removes unnecessary housekeeping when creating variations of existing cards.

🃏 Improved Deck Workflow

Deck management also benefits from several useful additions.

Deck Preview

A new Preview tab allows cards to be reviewed directly from within the Deck editor without opening each individual card.

This makes checking larger decks considerably faster.

Faster Export Workflow

Common export actions are now quicker to access thanks to additional keyboard shortcuts and workflow refinements.

These improvements continue building upon the print workflow introduced in previous releases.

📚 Complete Help Centre

As HeroQuest Card Creator continues to grow, so does the number of features available.

Version 0.8.0 introduces a completely new Help Centre designed to make those features easier to discover.

Documentation now includes:

• getting started guides
• tutorials
• feature reference
• FAQs
• troubleshooting
• workflow guidance

Downloaded versions of the application also include an offline copy of the documentation, ensuring Help remains available even without an internet connection.

The About page has also been redesigned using the same document system, making release information easier to browse directly from within the application.

⚡ Workflow Improvements Throughout

Many of the biggest improvements in Version 0.8.0 aren't individual headline features.

Instead, they're the dozens of smaller refinements spread throughout the application that collectively make HeroQuest Card Creator feel more polished.

This release includes improvements across:

• the card inspector
• keyboard shortcuts
• empty states
• template browsing
• artwork replacement
• navigation
• rendering
• interface consistency
• localisation
• application responsiveness

Individually they're easy to overlook.

Collectively they make a noticeable difference every time you use the application.

🎯 Improved HeroQuest Fidelity

One of the long-term goals of HeroQuest Card Creator has always been to recreate the look and feel of the original cards as faithfully as possible.

Version 0.8.0 continues that work through improvements to:

• Rules artwork
• typography
• template presentation
• rendering consistency
• preview accuracy

The goal isn't simply to add more features, but to ensure the cards you create continue to feel like they belong alongside the originals.

🚀 Why This Release Matters

Unlike previous releases, Version 0.8.0 isn't defined by one major feature.

Instead, it's the point where improvements across almost every part of the application begin to come together.

Creating cards is more visual.

Editing feels faster.

Finding features is easier.

Managing larger projects is simpler.

Templates are more flexible.

Documentation is built directly into the application.

And many of the community's longest-standing feature requests have finally become reality. While previous releases established the foundations of HeroQuest Card Creator, Version 0.8.0 focuses on making every part of that foundation feel better to use.

It's a release centred on polish, refinement and usability-and one that lays the groundwork for everything still to come.

After the last few releases, it feels a little strange writing this announcement. For months I've been deliberately saying "not yet" to ideas that I really wanted to build. Not because they weren't important, but because I wanted to stay focused on the roadmap.

First came Decks.. then PDF Export.. then Export Profiles. Those were the foundations I wanted in place before I started polishing everything else.

With that work now complete, I finally had the opportunity to go back through a long list of ideas, community requests, and workflow improvements that had been patiently waiting their turn.

That's exactly what v0.8.0 is.

👉 Download HeroQuest Card Creator v0.8.0 here : https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

It isn't built around one giant headline feature. Instead, it's a release dedicated to making HeroQuest Card Creator feel more visual, more intuitive, more discoverable, and simply more enjoyable to use every day. And after living with this version for the past few weeks while developing it, I genuinely don't think I'd want to go back.

🎨 Edit Cards Directly In The Preview

The biggest change in this release is that the card preview is no longer just something you look at. It's now something you interact with. You can click directly on elements within the card preview to jump straight to the relevant settings, and supported artwork can now be moved, rotated and scaled directly on the card itself.

Small touches like hover highlighting between the preview and the inspector, smoother transitions between cards, and precision editing with snapping all add up to make editing feel much more natural than before.

It's one of those features that's difficult to appreciate from screenshots alone, but after using it for a while it becomes surprisingly hard to imagine working any other way.

🃏 New Templates & Custom Hero Back Logos

This release also expands what you can actually create.

There's a brand new Rules template for creating reference and rules cards, alongside a new Logo Back template for branding your own projects. One of the most requested features has also finally arrived. You can now replace the default HeroQuest logo on Hero Back cards with your own custom logo.

Whether you're creating original campaigns, custom game systems, or simply want to avoid using the HeroQuest logo when sending cards to certain print services, you can now fully personalise your card backs while keeping the rest of the template intact.

📚 A Complete Help Centre

As HeroQuest Card Creator has grown, I've realised that simply adding features isn't enough-they also need to be easy to discover.

Version 0.8.0 introduces a completely new Help Centre with dedicated guides, tutorials, reference material, FAQs, and troubleshooting documentation. The application also includes an offline copy of the documentation, so even downloaded versions continue to have access to Help without requiring an internet connection.

My hope is that this makes it much easier for both new and existing users to get the most from everything the application can do.

🗂 A Better Everyday Workflow

A huge amount of this release focuses on the small things that make using the application feel smoother. The Stockpile has been redesigned with a cleaner, artwork-focused layout that's much nicer to browse.

The inspector remembers where you were working.

The Deck editor now includes its own preview.

Keyboard shortcuts have expanded throughout the application.

Transitions feel smoother.

Templates are easier to browse.

Controls have been standardised.

There are dozens of improvements like these throughout the application that don't individually justify a headline-but together they make HeroQuest Card Creator feel far more polished than previous versions.

✍️ Better Card Authoring

Card creation itself continues to evolve.

Body text now supports inline text scaling, making it easier to emphasise important sections while keeping everything within the same text block. There's now an emoji picker, an inline dice picker, improved paragraph-aware Scale To Fit behaviour, better typography, and visual warnings when text still overflows after fitting.

These changes build upon the text improvements introduced over the last few releases while keeping the cards looking as close as possible to the original HeroQuest style.

✨ And There's Plenty More...

Version 0.8.0 also includes:

• improved HeroQuest visual fidelity across multiple templates
• expanded copyright support
• improved artwork replacement workflows
• redesigned empty states throughout the application
• richer keyboard shortcuts
• improved preview rendering
• more consistent interface typography
• localisation updates
• expanded automated test coverage
• numerous workflow refinements and bug fixes throughout the application

There's honestly far more here than I can reasonably cover in a single announcement.

If you'd like the full breakdown, the complete release notes are available alongside the download.

🏰 A New Chapter

Looking back over the past few months, it feels like HeroQuest Card Creator has reached an important milestone.

The core workflow I originally set out to build is now complete. For the first time since starting the project, I can spend less time building foundations and more time making the application better. That means improving the editing experience.

Adding long-requested features.

Polishing existing workflows.

Making the application easier to learn.

And continuing to push the visual quality closer to the original HeroQuest cards wherever I can.

If this release is any indication of what's possible now that those foundations are in place, I'm incredibly excited about where the project goes next.

As always:

Please back up your library before upgrading. If you run into anything unexpected, let me know.

And thank you once again to everyone who's downloaded the application, reported bugs, suggested features, translated the interface, tested early builds, or simply shared the amazing cards, quests and campaigns you've created.

Your feedback continues to shape every release, and I genuinely couldn't build this project without it.

👉 Download HeroQuest Card Creator v0.8.0 here : https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

👉 Full release notes here : https://itch.io/t/6679300/-heroquest-card-creator-version-080

🧭 Executive Summary

Version 0.7.1 focuses on refining and improving the print workflow introduced in 0.7.0.

The headline addition is Export Profiles.. new way to save and reuse your favourite print settings. Whether you regularly print at home, use a professional printing service, or simply switch between different layouts, you can now save multiple export configurations and choose which one to use whenever you export.

Alongside Export Profiles, this release also improves cut mark selection with visual previews, corrects the behaviour of cut mark styles, expands the in-app Help documentation, and includes a wide range of workflow refinements and reliability improvements throughout the export system.

While smaller in scope than the PDF Export release, version 0.7.1 makes preparing cards for print faster, more flexible, and more convenient.

📁 Export Profiles

Save Your Favourite Print Settings

Export settings can now be saved as reusable Export Profiles.

Instead of continually adjusting the same settings every time you export, you can now create multiple profiles for different printing scenarios.

For example, you might have separate profiles for:

• home printing
• professional printing services
• prototype printing
• different paper sizes or layouts

Each profile remembers all of your export settings, allowing you to switch between them whenever you need.

Set A Default Profile

One Export Profile can be marked as your default.

This profile is automatically used whenever the application needs export settings, helping keep your most commonly used configuration ready to go without any extra setup.

Changing your default profile is quick and doesn't affect any of your other saved profiles.

Use Profiles While Exporting

Export Profiles aren't limited to the Settings screen.

Both PNG and PDF export now allow you to choose a different profile for the current export, making it easy to switch between printing setups without leaving your workflow.

If you need to make small adjustments for a single export, you still can. Those changes only apply to that export and won't overwrite your saved profile.

✂️ Improved Cut Mark Selection

Choosing cut mark styles is now much clearer.

The cut mark selector now includes visual previews, making it much easier to see the differences between each available style before exporting.

This release also corrects the behaviour of the cut mark styles themselves so that each option now accurately matches its name.

📖 Improved Help & Documentation

The in-app Help and About sections have been updated to better explain the PDF export workflow introduced in 0.7.0.

New guidance now covers:

• Export Profiles
• choosing a default profile
• selecting profiles during export
• layout customisation
• bleed settings

These additions should make it easier for new users to get the most from the application's printing features.

⚡ Workflow & Reliability Improvements

As with every release, a considerable amount of work has gone into polishing the overall experience.

Version 0.7.1 includes improvements to:

• export workflow consistency
• export settings management
• backup and restore
• localisation
• automated testing
• overall reliability

Existing export settings are migrated automatically, and backups now preserve your saved Export Profiles.

❤️ Thank You

Thank you, as always, to everyone who continues to use HeroQuest Card Creator, report issues, suggest improvements, test new releases, and share the amazing cards, quests, campaigns, and expansions you create.

Many of the improvements in this release were inspired by community feedback, and every suggestion helps shape where the project goes next.

I hope you enjoy Version 0.7.1, and I can't wait to see what you create next!

It's only been about a week since the release of v0.7.0, but I wanted to get another update out sooner rather than later.

The PDF Export release generated some fantastic feedback almost immediately. Alongside a few things I'd already planned to tidy up after launch, it quickly became clear there were several improvements that simply weren't worth holding back for another larger release.

So rather than letting them sit in the backlog for the next month or two, I decided to package them up and get them into your hands as quickly as possible.

Version 0.7.1 is very much a refinement release. There are no major new workflows this time, but it makes exporting cards much more flexible and convenient to use day-to-day.

👉 Download HeroQuest Card Creator v0.7.1 here https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

📁 Export Profiles

The biggest addition in this release is Export Profiles.

Until now, HeroQuest Card Creator remembered a single set of export preferences. That worked well enough, but it became limiting if you regularly switched between different printing setups.

With Export Profiles you can now save multiple export configurations and switch between them whenever you export.

For example, you might keep separate profiles for:

• home printing
• a professional print service
• different paper sizes
• prototype layouts

You can also choose one profile as your default, so the app always starts with your preferred settings.

Perhaps more importantly, both PNG and PDF export now let you choose a profile for the current export without having to visit Settings first.

It's one of those features that feels small at first, but after using it for a while I don't think I'd want to go back.

✂️ Better Cut Mark Selection

Another piece of feedback that came through after 0.7.0 was around the cut mark styles.

This release fixes the naming so the styles now correctly match the output they produce, adds a new long-dashed option, and introduces visual previews directly in the selector so it's much easier to see exactly what you're choosing before exporting.

📖 Better Help

One thing I realised after releasing PDF Export was that I'd spent so much time building it that I'd forgotten to properly explain some of it!

The in-app Help has now been expanded to cover the PDF export workflow, Export Profiles, default profiles, and how the various export options work together.

Hopefully this will make getting started with printing a little easier, especially if you're using the feature for the first time.

⚡ A Quicker Turnaround

Normally I like releases to spend a little longer in development, but in this case I wanted to keep the momentum going after 0.7.0.

Getting feedback while a feature is still fresh is incredibly valuable, and I'd much rather respond to that feedback quickly than let good ideas wait for the next major milestone.

So if you've already downloaded 0.7.0, I think this update is well worth grabbing.

As always:

Please back up your library before upgrading.

If you run into anything unexpected, let me know.

And thank you again to everyone who's downloaded the app, reported bugs, suggested improvements, and shared the incredible HeroQuest content you're creating.

Your feedback genuinely shapes every release.

👉 Download HeroQuest Card Creator v0.7.1 here https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

🧭 Executive Summary

Version 0.7.0 introduces one of the largest additions to HeroQuest Card Creator so far: Print-Ready PDF Export.

Since the project began, HeroQuest Card Creator has steadily evolved from a simple card editor into a complete card creation workflow. Earlier releases introduced Collections, Pairing, and most recently Decks, allowing creators to organise cards into structured, reusable projects. Version 0.7.0 completes that workflow by enabling entire decks to be exported as physically sized, print-ready PDFs directly from within the application.

Alongside deck PDF export, this release introduces:

• deck-aware PDF export
• front-only and double-sided print layouts
• summary-first export workflow
• duplex printing presets
• printer calibration and alignment pages
• bleed, crop marks and cut marks
• persistent PDF print settings

Beneath the surface, this release also includes significant work to improve print accuracy, modernise the export workflow, and strengthen the application's foundations for future print-related features.

In short, 0.7.0 transforms HeroQuest Card Creator from a card and deck authoring tool into a complete card creation and print workflow.

🖨 Print-Ready PDF Export

Deck PDF Export

Decks can now be exported directly as print-ready PDF documents.

Rather than exporting individual card images, the application now understands the structure of your deck and prepares complete print runs using the organisation you've already created.

You can export:

• complete decks
• selected sets within a deck
• front-only layouts
• front-and-back layouts

This allows complete HeroQuest expansions, treasure decks, spell decks, and other card systems to be prepared for printing without leaving the application.

Summary-First Export Workflow

The PDF export workflow has been designed around planning a print run rather than configuring a technical document.

Before exporting, HeroQuest Card Creator presents a clear summary of exactly what will be included in the PDF, allowing you to review your deck before committing to the export.

Advanced print options remain available when needed, but stay out of the way until you choose to customise them.

The result is a workflow that is simpler to understand while remaining flexible for more advanced printing requirements.

Print Progress & Reliability

Preparing larger decks for printing can take time.

To make this process clearer, PDF export now includes:

• export progress reporting
• cancellable export operations
• pre-export validation
• human-readable PDF filenames

These improvements help make larger print jobs feel more predictable and provide clearer feedback throughout the export process.

🎯 Built for Real Printing

Creating a PDF is only one part of producing great printed cards. Version 0.7.0 introduces a range of features designed to help ensure exported decks print accurately and consistently.

New capabilities include:

• physically sized card layouts
• duplex printing presets
• bleed support
• crop marks
• cut marks
• printer calibration and alignment pages
• persistent print preferences

Together these features make it easier to prepare cards for both home and commercial printing while reducing the trial and error often associated with double-sided card printing.

🏗 Foundations for Future Releases

Although PDF Export is the headline feature, a significant amount of work in 0.7.0 has also focused on preparing HeroQuest Card Creator for the future.

Large parts of the export workflow have been redesigned to support future enhancements more easily. Print rendering has been refined around real-world card dimensions, export behaviour has been made more consistent, and many of the systems introduced for PDF export have been designed with future expansion in mind.

Much of this work isn't immediately visible, but it provides a stronger foundation for the roadmap ahead and will help future print and export features arrive more quickly while keeping existing workflows stable and reliable.

❤️ Thank You

PDF Export has been the largest and most ambitious feature I've worked on since starting HeroQuest Card Creator, and I'm incredibly excited to finally put it into your hands.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the journey over the past six months, shared feedback, reported bugs, suggested improvements, tested early builds, and continued creating amazing cards, quests, campaigns, and expansions with the application.

I can't wait to see what you create next.

👉 Download HeroQuest Card Creator v0.7.0 : https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

When I started building HeroQuest Card Creator towards the end of last year (December 2025), I wasn't trying to build just another card editor.

There were already ways to create HeroQuest-style cards, and while I wanted to make that experience as authentic and enjoyable as possible, I found myself thinking about something much bigger. I wanted to build a tool that didn't stop when the card was finished. I wanted somewhere you could take an idea from its very first sketch, grow it into a complete project, organise it into decks, and ultimately hold those cards in your hands ready to play. From the very beginning, that has been the vision behind HeroQuest Card Creator.

Looking back now, it's interesting how much of the project's development has quietly revolved around that single idea. Every major release has added another piece of the puzzle. New templates expanded the kinds of cards you could create. Collections made larger libraries easier to organise. Decks introduced a structured way to build complete expansions, quest packs and card systems. Countless workflow improvements made creating cards faster, safer and more enjoyable. Each release solved its own problems, but together they were all moving towards the same destination.

There was always one piece missing! Today, I'm incredibly excited to say we've finally reached that milestone.

HeroQuest Card Creator v0.7.0 is now available, introducing PDF Export.

For me, this isn't simply another feature release. It's the release that completes the workflow I've been working towards since the project began.

🖨 Completing the Workflow

If you've followed the project over the past few months, you'll probably know there's one feature I've talked about more than any other. I've shared screenshots of early layouts, videos of prototype exports, printer calibration pages, bleed experiments and more progress updates than I can remember. Every time I felt like I was getting close, another challenge appeared that needed solving before I was happy to put the feature into your hands.

The reason is simple. I never wanted to add a button that happened to generate a PDF. I wanted exporting to feel like a natural continuation of everything that came before it. Creating cards should naturally lead into organising them into decks. Building a deck should naturally lead into preparing it for print. By the time you click Export, the application should already understand the work you've put into your project and help carry it through to the final stage.

That's exactly what this release sets out to achieve.

HeroQuest Card Creator can now export complete decks as print-ready PDFs directly from within the application. You can choose which sets to include, produce front-only or double-sided print layouts, and prepare your cards for both home and commercial printing without leaving the workflow you've already been using to create them. It feels like a small sentence to write, but it's the result of almost six months of work and countless iterations to make the experience feel as seamless as I always imagined it could be.

🎯 Designed for Real Printing

One of the biggest surprises during development was discovering that generating a PDF was actually the easy part. The real challenge was everything that surrounds it.

How should cards be arranged on the page? How should double-sided printing behave on different printers? How should bleed, crop marks and cut marks work? How do you give people confidence that what they're seeing on screen is what they'll end up holding in their hands?

Those questions ended up shaping almost every part of this release.

Version 0.7.0 introduces physically accurate print layouts, duplex printing presets, printer calibration pages, persistent print settings, improved bleed handling, crop and cut marks, and a completely redesigned export workflow that focuses on preparing a print run rather than navigating a wall of technical settings. Advanced options are there whenever you need them, but they stay out of the way unless you choose to customise them. My hope is that preparing a deck for print feels like the natural final step of creating it, rather than a complicated process in its own right.

🏗 More Than a PDF Export

Although PDF Export is the headline feature, a huge amount of work has happened behind the scenes to make it possible.

Large parts of the export system have been redesigned from the ground up, deck export workflows have been completely rethought, print rendering now works from real-world measurements, and the application's foundations have been strengthened to support future export capabilities. Much of that work will never be visible while you're using the application, but it's what allowed this feature to become far more capable than I imagined when I first started working on it.

Perhaps more importantly, this release feels like the end of the first chapter of HeroQuest Card Creator.

The workflow I set out to build late last year is finally complete.

That doesn't mean the project is finished. In many ways, it feels like it's only just beginning. With the core workflow now in place, I can now focus on making HeroQuest Card Creator the best tool it can possibly be. There are already exciting ideas waiting on the roadmap, including support for the original 1989 HeroQuest card style, higher quality templates, improved typography, additional export enhancements, and many more refinements that I can't wait to start sharing over the coming months.

Before any of that happens though, I simply want to say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who has downloaded the application, reported bugs, suggested features, tested early builds, shared screenshots of your creations, or simply left an encouraging comment over the past six months. This project has grown into something far better than I could have achieved on my own, and that's entirely because of the community that has formed around it.

I genuinely hope you enjoy this release.

It's the one I've been looking forward to sharing ever since HeroQuest Card Creator began.

As always:

Please back up your library before upgrading.

Please report anything strange if you encounter it.

And most importantly, please keep sharing the amazing cards, quests, campaigns and expansions you create. Seeing what this community builds continues to be one of the most rewarding parts of developing HeroQuest Card Creator.

Thank you, and here's to the next chapter.

👉 Download HeroQuest Card Creator v0.7.0 : https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

Version 0.6.2 of HeroQuest Card Creator is now available.

👉 Download v0.6.2 here https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

This release ended up taking a very different shape to what I originally expected.

On the surface, it introduces some of the most requested card-authoring improvements since the earliest version of the application launched. Body text has become more flexible, long descriptions can now automatically scale to fit available space, and custom stat labels behave much more predictably when working with longer translated text.

But underneath those visible improvements, a huge amount of work has gone into strengthening the foundations of the application itself.

Over the past few releases I’ve been steadily moving toward larger goals such as PDF export, richer card systems, future blueprint improvements, and more advanced workflows. To get there, some of the application’s oldest systems needed attention first.

As a result, 0.6.2 became a release focused on two things:

• giving creators more flexibility when building cards
• making the underlying architecture stronger and easier to evolve

And nowhere is that more visible than in card text itself.

📏 Scale To Fit

If you’ve seen my recent videos on social media, you’ll probably already know where this is heading.

One of the most common pieces of feedback I’ve received since launching the first version of the application has been around card descriptions running out of space.

Historically, I’ve deliberately tried to preserve the original HeroQuest font sizes as closely as possible. That decision was intentional because authenticity has always been an important part of the application. If you create a card in HeroQuest Card Creator, I want it to feel as close as possible to something that could have come straight from the original game.

But sometimes a card simply needs another line or two.

Version 0.6.2 introduces Scale To Fit.

When enabled, body text can automatically shrink and reflow itself to fit within the available card space rather than simply clipping once it runs out of room. The text is only reduced as much as necessary and wrapping is recalculated as the font size changes.

It’s a compromise between authenticity and flexibility, and one that I think strikes a good balance.

If you’d like to see it in action:

🎥 Feature Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy3-45AOnzE

🎥 Development Deep Dive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jmeKBTM7w

✍️ Richer Text Formatting

While working on Scale To Fit, I also took the opportunity to improve the body text formatting system.

Body text has supported markdown-style formatting for quite a while:

• **bold**
• *italic*

Those features aren’t going anywhere and remain fully supported.

However, I also wanted to introduce text colour support. That required a more capable text parser, and once that work was underway it felt natural to expand the formatting options available at the same time.

Version 0.6.2 introduces support for:

• text colour <color=red>, <color=#f00>
• rich-text style tags such as <b>, <i>, and <u>

alongside the existing markdown formatting.

The goal wasn’t to turn HeroQuest Card Creator into a full word processor. Instead, the aim was to provide a small set of useful formatting tools while keeping cards easy to author and predictable to render.

Most importantly, existing cards continue to work exactly as before.

🔤 Better Support For Longer Stat Labels

Version 0.6.1 introduced improvements to typography and numeral rendering.

Version 0.6.2 continues that work with improvements to stat label fitting.

This change was largely driven by localisation feedback, particularly from users creating cards in German where compound words can become significantly longer than their English equivalents.

Custom stat labels now handle manual breakpoints more intelligently and produce more predictable wrapping behaviour. Labels such as long translated attack and defence names can now be guided to wrap where the creator intended rather than relying entirely on automatic fitting.

It’s not a huge headline feature, but for users creating cards in multiple languages it makes a noticeable difference.

🗂 Smoother Collection & Pairing Workflows

Several long-standing workflow frustrations have also been addressed.

Collection membership changes made from within the card editor now refresh correctly throughout the application, ensuring collection views immediately reflect the changes you’ve made.

Pairing workflows have also been simplified.

When pairing fronts and backs, the application no longer treats existing pair relationships as conflicts simply because a card is already used elsewhere. Since Decks introduced broader many-to-many workflows, that warning no longer reflected how the application actually works.

The focus now remains where it belongs: protecting users from destructive actions rather than warning about perfectly valid relationships.

🏗 A Major Persistence Upgrade

While most users won’t notice it directly, one of the largest pieces of work in this release sits beneath the surface.

The application’s storage foundations have been modernised using Dexie, a library specifically designed to make browser-based databases easier to manage and maintain.

On its own, that may not sound particularly exciting.

But it provides a much stronger foundation for future development while preserving compatibility with existing libraries, cards, and backups.

Alongside that work, card data itself has been restructured internally.

Previously, cards were stored more like a single large record containing everything about the card in one place. Internally, cards are now organised around their individual visual components. Titles, text blocks, images, icons, statistics, and other card elements can now evolve more independently.

Most users will never see this change directly.

What it means in practice is that adding new capabilities to specific parts of a card becomes significantly easier moving forward without continually expanding one enormous card definition.

None of this changes how existing cards work today.

But it lays important groundwork for where the project is heading next.

🧩 A Huge Amount Of Structural Work

A surprisingly large amount of development time in 0.6.2 was spent on code that most users will never directly see.

Assets.
Decks.
Preview rendering.
Backup workflows.
Navigation.
Inspector workflows.
Persistence services.

Many of the application’s largest modules have been broken down into smaller, more focused systems.

That doesn’t create exciting screenshots, but it does have practical benefits.

Smaller, more focused systems are easier for the application to update efficiently, easier to maintain, and easier to extend in future releases. As the project grows, that becomes increasingly important because it helps keep existing workflows feeling responsive while reducing the complexity of adding new features later.

In short, a lot of this work is about ensuring the application can continue to grow without becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.

⚡ Stability, Testing & Polish

Like most releases, there are also dozens of smaller improvements spread throughout the application.

This includes:

• editor navigation improvements
• unsaved-change protection
• loading-state fixes
• empty-state fixes
• rendering refinements
• backup improvements
• persistence reliability improvements
• expanded automated test coverage

Individually they’re easy to overlook.

Collectively they make the application feel more stable, predictable, and reliable to work with.

Why This Release Matters

0.6.2 isn’t defined by a single giant feature.

Instead, it’s a release where a lot of important pieces come together at the same time.

Creators gain more flexibility through richer text formatting and Scale To Fit.

Several long-standing workflow frustrations have been resolved.

And beneath the surface, large parts of the application’s architecture have been modernised to support future development.

It’s the kind of release that hopefully makes the application better today while also making it easier to build tomorrow.

And I think that’s a worthwhile combination.

As always:

Please back up your library before upgrading.
Please report anything strange if you encounter it.
And please keep sharing the cards, campaigns, expansions, and systems you’re building.

A huge amount of this project’s direction continues to come from community feedback, testing, feature requests, and conversations.

Thank you for that.

👉 Download v0.6.2 here https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

👉 Full release notes here https://itch.io/t/6515989/-heroquest-card-creator-version-062

🧭 Executive Summary

Version 0.6.2 introduces some of the most requested card-authoring improvements since the current version of HeroQuest Card Creator launched, while also delivering one of the largest behind-the-scenes architecture updates in the project’s history.

The headline additions focus on giving creators more flexibility when working with card text, including:

• rich text support
• text colour support
• underline formatting
• Scale To Fit body text
• improved stat-label fitting

Alongside these visible improvements, this release also modernises the application’s persistence layer, restructures how card data is stored internally, improves collection and pairing workflows, and includes a broad range of stability, reliability, and maintainability improvements.

While much of the work in 0.6.2 happens beneath the surface, the end result is a more flexible editor today and a stronger foundation for future releases.

✍️ Rich Text & Body Text Improvements

Rich Text Support

The body text system has been expanded with support for richer inline formatting.

Previous versions already supported markdown-style emphasis through:

• **bold**
• *italic*

Version 0.6.2 extends this with support for:

• underline
• text colour
• rich-text style tags
• mixed markdown and rich-text formatting

Examples include:

• <b>
• <i>
• <u>
• <color=#RRGGBB>

Existing formatting remains fully supported, meaning older cards continue to work exactly as before.

This provides greater flexibility when creating abilities, rules text, flavour text, and other longer descriptions while keeping the authoring workflow simple.

Scale To Fit

One of the most requested card-authoring features is now available.

A new Scale To Fit option allows body text to automatically shrink and reflow when space becomes tight.

Previously, long descriptions would eventually exceed the available area and be clipped.

When Scale To Fit is enabled, HeroQuest Card Creator will:

• reduce the body font size only as much as required
• recalculate wrapping as the size changes
• attempt to fit the content within the available bounds
• preserve existing formatting and layout behaviour

This provides a practical middle ground between preserving authentic HeroQuest typography and giving creators additional flexibility when working with longer card descriptions.

Scale To Fit is controlled per card and remains disabled by default.

🔤 Improved Stat Label Fitting

Better Support For Long Custom Labels

The stat-heading fitting system used by Hero and Monster cards has been improved.

This change is particularly useful when working with translated card content or longer custom labels.

Improvements include:

• improved compound-word handling
• visible hyphen breakpoint support
• more predictable wrapping behaviour
• better two-line fitting results
• improved support for long German-style stat labels

Users can now provide intended breakpoints using visible hyphens, allowing labels to wrap more naturally inside the available stat-heading space.

🗂 Collection & Pairing Workflow Improvements

Collection Membership Refresh

Collection membership changes made from the card editor now refresh correctly throughout the application.

Previously, collection updates could be saved successfully while some collection-driven views continued displaying stale information until a later refresh.

Version 0.6.2 now ensures collection-backed views update immediately after membership changes.

This creates a more predictable workflow when organising cards into collections directly from the editor.

Simplified Pairing Workflows

The pairing workflow has been updated to better reflect how pairing behaves in modern versions of the application.

Older pairing workflows displayed warnings when cards already participated in existing pair relationships.

Since the introduction of Decks and broader many-to-many pairing workflows, those warnings no longer reflected how the application is intended to be used.

Version 0.6.2 removes obsolete pairing-conflict indicators while preserving all existing protections around:

• destructive unpair actions
• deck-impact warnings
• pair-removal confirmations

The result is a cleaner and less confusing pairing experience.

🛡 Editor Workflow Improvements

Unsaved Changes Protection

Card editing now includes route-level protection against accidental navigation.

If changes are pending when navigating away from an editor session, HeroQuest Card Creator can now warn before edits are lost.

This helps protect in-progress work during longer editing sessions.

Improved Navigation Structure

The application’s navigation and route ownership model has been significantly reorganised.

While largely invisible to users, this improves the consistency of navigation behaviour throughout:

• Cards
• Assets
• Decks

and creates a stronger foundation for future workflow expansion.

💾 Storage & Persistence Improvements

Modernised Database Infrastructure

One of the largest pieces of work in 0.6.2 is the migration of the application’s database layer to Dexie.

Dexie is a modern library built specifically for working with browser-based databases and provides a cleaner, more maintainable foundation than the previous implementation.

This migration includes:

• card storage
• assets
• collections
• pairing data
• decks
• application settings

Existing libraries, backups, and upgrade paths continue to work as before.

No manual migration is required.

More Flexible Card Storage

Alongside the Dexie migration, the way cards are stored internally has been significantly restructured.

Rather than treating a card as one large record containing every possible property, the application now stores card components in a more flexible structure based around the visual elements that make up a card.

This affects areas such as:

• titles
• text blocks
• images
• icons
• statistics
• other card components

While this change is largely invisible to end users, it creates a much stronger foundation for future card features and makes it significantly easier to expand individual parts of a card without continually increasing the complexity of the overall card model.

🧩 Application Structure Improvements

A substantial amount of work in 0.6.2 focused on restructuring some of the application’s largest internal systems.

Major areas that received architectural cleanup include:

• Assets
• Decks
• Backup workflows
• Preview rendering
• Blueprint rendering
• Navigation
• Inspector workflows
• Persistence services

These changes do not introduce new workflows directly, but they help keep the application responsive, easier to maintain, and easier to extend as the project continues to grow.

⚡ Stability & Quality-of-Life Improvements

Several additional improvements have been delivered throughout the application, including:

• improved loading behaviour
• fixed Assets empty-state flicker
• fixed Stockpile empty-state flicker
• improved startup reliability
• improved rendering consistency
• expanded automated test coverage
• improved persistence reliability
• backup workflow improvements
• broader regression protection

Many of these changes are subtle individually, but together they contribute to a smoother and more reliable editing experience.

🧱 Foundations For Future Releases

Although 0.6.2 introduces several user-facing improvements, a significant part of the release focuses on preparing the application for future development.

In particular, this release strengthens:

• card data architecture
• persistence infrastructure
• blueprint foundations
• editor workflow ownership
• rendering systems
• long-term maintainability

These changes will make future features easier to build while helping existing workflows remain stable as the project continues to evolve.

❤️ Thank You

A huge thank you to everyone continuing to use HeroQuest Card Creator, report issues, suggest improvements, test new releases, and share the projects you’re building.

Many of the improvements in this release came directly from community feedback, feature requests, and real-world usage, and that feedback continues to play a major role in shaping the direction of the project.

I’m excited to see what you create next.

Version 0.6.1 focuses on improving and refining the workflows introduced across previous releases.

While this release does not introduce a major new product area like Decks, it delivers substantial improvements to the parts of the application users interact with every day, particularly Assets, language support, typography, and overall workflow reliability.

The largest area of focus is the Assets experience, with improvements spanning browsing, uploading, selection, inspection, loading feedback, and overall usability.

Alongside those workflow improvements, this release also introduces three new supported languages, modernises the application's translation infrastructure, improves typography and numeral rendering, and includes a broad collection of quality-of-life enhancements and stability fixes throughout the editor.

🖼 Assets Workflow Improvements

Improved Asset Browsing

The Assets grid has received a substantial usability pass focused on making artwork easier to browse and identify.

Improvements include:

• larger asset thumbnails
• cleaner visual hierarchy
• improved title truncation
• removal of distracting technical metadata from grid tiles
• improved category label placement
• more consistent thumbnail presentation
• cleaner asset display names

Common image extensions such as .png, .jpg, .jpeg, and .webp are now removed from displayed asset names, helping the grid focus on the information users actually care about.

Together these changes make the Assets area feel more like a visual browsing surface and less like a technical file manager.

Recently Uploaded Assets

Finding newly uploaded assets is now significantly easier.

After a successful upload, the Assets panel temporarily creates a dedicated Recently uploaded section containing the latest upload batch.

This section:

• appears above the normal asset groups
• highlights only the most recent successful upload batch
• works in both the Assets route and asset picker dialogs
• automatically scrolls into view after upload

This makes it much easier to locate and use newly uploaded artwork without needing to search through the wider library.

In picker workflows, uploading a single asset will also automatically preselect that asset, helping streamline common upload-and-select workflows.

Improved Asset Selection

Asset selection workflows have been expanded and refined.

The Assets grid now supports:

• additive Shift-range selection
• improved multi-selection workflows
• more reliable selection ordering
• improved batch-selection behaviour

These changes make managing larger asset libraries significantly more efficient, particularly when performing bulk operations.

Improved Multi-Select Preview Navigation

When multiple assets are selected, the inspector preview carousel now correctly preserves the currently viewed asset.

Previously, navigating between selected assets could unexpectedly reset back to the first selected item.

Multi-selection preview navigation now behaves more predictably and remains stable as long as the underlying selection has not changed.

Safer Replace Image Workflows

The Replace action is now only available when exactly one asset is selected.

This better reflects how the replacement workflow operates and removes ambiguity when working with multi-selected assets.

🔍 Asset Inspector Improvements

Zoomable Asset Preview

The asset inspector preview can now be opened into a larger dedicated preview window.

This allows artwork to be inspected at a much larger size without leaving the Assets workflow.

The enlarged preview reuses the same rendering pipeline as the standard preview, ensuring visual consistency between both views.

Open Cards Using An Asset

Asset usage is now actionable.

When viewing an asset, the usage count can now reveal the actual cards that reference that asset.

This allows you to:

• see which cards use an asset
• preview those cards directly
• jump straight into editing a related card

This makes asset management, cleanup, and replacement workflows considerably easier.

Improved Loading Feedback

Assets now provide much clearer visual feedback while images are loading.

Loading indicators have been added to:

• asset thumbnails within the grid
• the selected asset preview

This helps distinguish between assets that are still loading and assets that are unavailable, while avoiding unnecessary visual flicker for very fast image loads.

Reorganised Asset Actions

The Assets layout has been refined to better separate browsing actions from management actions.

Searching and filtering remain at the top of the panel, while actions such as:

• Upload
• Delete Selected
• Cancel
• Select

now live in a dedicated footer toolbar.

This creates a clearer distinction between browsing the library and acting upon it.

🌍 Language Support & Internationalisation

New Supported Languages

HeroQuest Card Creator now includes support for:

• Danish
• Norwegian Bokmål
• Russian

These languages are available through the standard language selector and fully integrate with the application's existing language detection and persistence systems.

Improved Language Selection

The language-selection experience has been refined in several ways.

Improvements include:

• localized language hover names
• clearer presentation of detected browser languages
• improved language menu behaviour
• broader translation coverage across supported locales

These changes make language selection easier to understand, particularly as the number of supported languages continues to grow.

Improved Translation Infrastructure

Behind the scenes, the application's translation system has been modernised and expanded.

While largely invisible to end users, these improvements provide a stronger foundation for:

• future language additions
• translation quality improvements
• ongoing localisation efforts

🔤 Typography Improvements

Improved Carter Font Support

The application now uses updated Carter font resources, improving overall font fidelity throughout the editor.

Numeral Alignment Controls

Numeral rendering can now be configured for card titles and statistics.

These controls improve the consistency and readability of numeric values, particularly on Hero and Monster cards where aligned statistics are important.

Typography preferences are persisted between sessions and can be customised through the application settings.

🃏 Card Inspector Improvements

Inspector Mode Tabs

The card inspector has been redesigned to use a tab-based mode switcher.

The inspector continues to support:

• Properties
• Pairing
• Decks

but now presents them through a cleaner icon-based tab system that better aligns with the visual patterns introduced elsewhere in the application.

The new layout improves space usage and behaves more consistently across different languages and screen sizes.

Collections Management

The card inspector now includes a dedicated Collections tab, allowing collection membership to be managed directly from within the card editor.

Previously, organising cards into collections often meant leaving the editor, returning to Stockpile, finding the card again, and then updating its collection membership separately.

Collection membership can now be viewed and updated without interrupting the editing workflow. Existing memberships are displayed directly within the inspector, cards can be removed from collections immediately, and a dedicated membership dialog makes it easy to add or remove cards from multiple collections while remaining focused on the card being edited.

This creates a smoother workflow when creating, duplicating, and organising groups of related cards.

Split Stat Format Improvements

The split-stat format chooser has been rebuilt to avoid clipping issues inside the inspector.

The format menu now behaves more like a floating popover, ensuring all options remain accessible regardless of scroll position.

📚 Stockpile Improvements

Improved Loading Behaviour

The Stockpile view no longer briefly displays empty-library onboarding content while cards are still loading.

Instead, the loading state is handled explicitly, creating a more stable and predictable experience when opening larger libraries.

Collapsible Filters Panel

The Stockpile filters panel can now be collapsed and re-expanded.

This allows users to reclaim additional horizontal space when browsing cards while still keeping filtering functionality easily accessible when needed.

The open or closed state is remembered between sessions.

Improved Thumbnail Reliability

Several improvements have been made to thumbnail caching and thumbnail lifecycle management.

These changes improve reliability when working with larger libraries and reduce situations where thumbnails could disappear unexpectedly during browsing.

🎨 Decks & Workflow Refinements

Improved Deck Stability

A visual stability issue affecting the Deck Groups board has been resolved.

This removes an unwanted vertical scrollbar and improves the overall smoothness of Decks interactions without changing any Decks workflows.

⚡ Stability & Quality-of-Life Improvements

Several additional refinements have been delivered throughout the application, including:

• improved modal Escape-key handling
• better popover behaviour
• cleaner grouped-header presentation
• improved hover interactions
• stronger thumbnail lifecycle handling
• more consistent loading states
• improved inspector behaviour

Many of these changes are subtle individually, but together they contribute to a smoother and more reliable editing experience.

🧱 Foundations For Future Releases

Although 0.6.1 focuses primarily on refinement rather than large new features, it also lays important groundwork for future improvements.

In particular, this release strengthens:

• localisation infrastructure
• typography systems
• asset-management workflows
• thumbnail and caching systems
• UI consistency across editor workflows

These foundations will help support future releases while keeping the application easier to maintain and extend over time.

❤️ Thank You

A huge thank you to everyone continuing to use the HeroQuest Card Creator, provide feedback, report issues, suggest improvements, and share the projects you're building.

Many of the improvements in this release came directly from community feedback and real-world usage, and it's always incredibly helpful seeing how people use the tool in practice.

I'm excited to see what you create next.

Version 0.6.1 of HeroQuest Card Creator is now available.

This release is a little different from some of the larger updates that have come before it. There isn't a major new system like Decks or a dramatic workflow expansion that fundamentally changes how the application works. Instead, this release exists because while working toward 0.7.0 (PDF Export), I found myself accumulating a growing list of improvements that felt too worthwhile to leave sitting in the backlog for months.

Some of these came directly from user feedback and feature requests. Others were things I had noticed myself while using, testing, and developing the application. Individually, many of them are relatively small. Collectively, they make the application feel significantly better to use.

So rather than waiting for a larger milestone release, I decided it was worth packaging those improvements together into a dedicated refinement release. And nowhere is that more obvious than in Assets.

🖼 Assets Have Received A Major Refinement Pass

Every card image, every icon, every artwork pack, every custom expansion eventually passes through the Assets workflow. Over time I found myself building up a growing list of little improvements I wanted to make. Some came from community requests and others were simply things that felt awkward once I noticed them.

Version 0.6.1 tackles a large number of those improvements together.

Browsing Assets Is Easier

One of the goals for this release was making the Assets area feel more like a visual browsing experience and less like a file-management screen.

Asset thumbnails are now larger and names are cleaner. File extension and resolution are hidden from display and titles truncate properly rather than spilling outside their containers while still.

Technical metadata that rarely helps during browsing has been moved out of the grid and left in the inspector where it is actually useful. The overall result is a cleaner layout that places the emphasis where it belongs: on the artwork itself.

Finding Newly Uploaded Assets

This wasn't something users had specifically pointed out at all but simply one of those workflows that started bothering me once I noticed it months back.

You upload an image; The upload succeeds; And then the image immediately disappears back into the wider library where you have to go looking for it again.

Technically everything was working correctly but practically it felt clumsy. To improve this, newly uploaded assets are now surfaced in a dedicated Recently Uploaded section.

The latest upload batch is automatically highlighted, brought into view, and made easier to find whether you're working directly in the Assets route or selecting artwork from inside a card. In picker workflows, uploading a single image will also automatically preselect that image, making the common upload-and-use-immediately workflow feel much smoother.

Better Selection Workflows

Several selection workflows have also been improved.

The Assets grid now supports Shift-range multi-selection, making it much easier to build larger selections for batch operations. Multi-selection preview navigation has also been fixed so the inspector no longer jumps back to the first selected asset while you're browsing through a group of selected images. Image replacement workflows have also been made safer and clearer by ensuring replacement actions only apply when a single asset is selected.

These aren't huge features individually, but together they remove a surprising amount of friction from day-to-day asset management.

Better Asset Inspection

The asset inspector has gained several useful capabilities.

Assets can now be previewed at a much larger size through a dedicated zoom view, making it easier to inspect artwork without leaving the workflow you're already in.

Asset usage information has also become much more useful. Rather than simply telling you how many cards use an asset, you can now see exactly which cards reference it and jump directly into editing them.

This makes it much easier to understand relationships inside larger projects, especially when cleaning up artwork libraries or replacing assets.

Better Feedback While Images Load

Another area that received attention was loading feedback.

Asset thumbnails and previews now communicate loading progress more clearly rather than briefly appearing as empty or dark placeholders.

A surprising amount of work went into making this feel intentional. Loading indicators now avoid unnecessary flashing for very fast loads while still providing useful feedback when images genuinely take time to appear.

It's the sort of thing most users will never consciously think about, but it contributes significantly to how polished the application feels.

A Cleaner Layout

The Assets layout itself has also been reorganised.

Searching and filtering remain focused at the top of the screen. Actions such as Upload, Delete, Cancel, and Select now live together in a dedicated footer toolbar. This separation makes the interface easier to understand because browsing controls and action controls are no longer competing for the same space.

🌍 Expanding Language Support

Making the application accessible to more HeroQuest creators continues to be important.

Version 0.6.1 introduces support for:

• Danish
• Norwegian Bokmål
• Russian

These languages are now available directly through the language selector alongside the existing supported languages. Language selection itself has also been refined through improvements to detected-language handling and localised language naming.

A Lot Of Work Happened Behind The Scenes

The visible language additions are only part of the story.

A significant amount of work also went into modernising the application's localisation infrastructure. Most users will never see this work directly, but it provides a much stronger foundation for future language support, translation maintenance, and continued localisation improvements.

It's one of those investments that doesn't immediately create flashy screenshots but pays dividends over time.

🔤 A Long-Standing Typography Improvement

There is one improvement in this release that has been on my list for a very long time.

Since some of the earliest versions of the HeroQuest Card Creator, the stats that appear on Hero and Monster cards have never looked quite right. The official HeroQuest cards use aligned numerals, but the version of Carter Sans used by the application (W01) rendered numbers differently. The result was subtle, but once you noticed it, the stats could feel slightly uneven compared to the original cards.

This was never a feature-breaking issue, so it always sat lower on the priority list than new functionality and workflow improvements. The cards were still perfectly usable, but it bothered me that they didn't quite match the visual feel of the official game cards as closely as I wanted.

I had a few ideas about how it might be solved eventually, but none of them felt like the right long-term approach. Then a community member pointed out that the newer Carter Sans W04 fonts included support for the typography features needed to address the problem properly.

That finally gave me an opportunity to tackle something that had been sitting on my personal wishlist since around the 0.3.0 era. Version 0.6.1 introduces updated Carter font resources along with configurable numeral rendering controls for card titles and statistics.

The result is cleaner, more consistent numeric presentation that more closely matches the appearance of the original HeroQuest cards while still allowing users to choose the style they prefer.

📚 Improvements To Stockpile

Stockpile has also received several targeted refinements.

Loading behaviour has been improved so the library no longer briefly appears empty while cards are still loading. The filters panel can now be collapsed when additional browsing space is needed. Thumbnail handling has also been strengthened to improve reliability when working with larger libraries. None of these changes dramatically alter how Stockpile works.

They simply make it feel more stable, more predictable, and more pleasant to use.

🃏 Inspector, Modal & Workflow Improvements

Several smaller improvements landed throughout the rest of the application.

The card inspector now uses a tab-based navigation system. This change actually started as a bit of an experiment after seeing how successful the tab system had been within Decks.

Initially I wasn't completely convinced it belonged elsewhere but the more I worked with it, the more it made sense.

It improved consistency, reduced pressure from longer translations, and generally felt cleaner than the older segmented-control approach.

The inspector also gains a new Collections tab, allowing collection membership to be managed directly from within the card editor. Previously, adding or removing cards from collections often meant leaving the editor, returning to Stockpile, finding the card again, and then managing collections there. Collection membership can now be viewed and updated without breaking your editing flow, making it much easier to organise groups of related cards while you're actively working on them.

There are also improvements to split-stat editing, modal behaviour, Escape-key handling, and various interaction patterns throughout the application.

Most of these are relatively small changes, but they collectively make the editor feel more consistent and reliable.

⚡ The Less Visible Work

Like many refinement releases, some of the most valuable work is the least visible.

A considerable amount of effort in 0.6.1 went into:

• translation infrastructure
• thumbnail reliability
• loading-state handling
• modal interactions
• typography support
• interaction consistency
• workflow polish

These are rarely the features people get excited about when reading release notes. But they're often the things that make the difference between software that works and software that feels good to use.

And increasingly, I think those improvements matter just as much as adding new features.

Why This Release Matters

This release wasn't planned as a major milestone and it exists because there was a growing collection of improvements that felt worth delivering rather than holding back until 0.7.0.

Some came directly from community suggestions and some came from bug reports. Some came from simply spending time inside the application and noticing things that could be better.

Together they form a release focused on smoothing rough edges, improving everyday workflows, and making the existing experience more enjoyable. There are no giant headline features here but there are dozens of improvements that make the application feel more polished, more reliable, and more comfortable to work with.

And I think that's worth releasing.

As always:

Please back up your library before upgrading.
Please report anything strange if you encounter it.
And please keep sharing the cards, campaigns, expansions, and systems you're building.

A huge amount of the direction of this project continues to come from community feedback, testing, feature requests, and conversations.

Thank you for that.

👉 Download v0.6.1 here
https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

🧭 Executive Summary

Version 0.6.0 introduces one of the largest additions to HeroQuest Card Creator so far: Decks.

Until now, the app has primarily focused on creating and managing individual cards. This release expands that workflow into something much larger - the ability to organise cards into structured, reusable decks made up of grouped sets and front-face entries.

Decks introduces a completely new workspace dedicated to building, organising, managing, and eventually exporting playable collections of cards.

Alongside the new Decks system, this release also includes:

• drag-and-drop deck building
• grouped set organisation
• quantity controls
• deck-aware inspector features
• export preparation workflows
• safer removal and recovery flows
• deep-link navigation support
• major interface and interaction refinements

A large amount of work in this release also focused on stability, consistency, and long-term workflow foundations - particularly around drag-and-drop behaviour, data integrity, and preparing the app for future PDF and print workflows.

In short, 0.6.0 represents a major step toward turning HeroQuest Card Creator from a card editor into a complete deck-authoring platform.

🃏 Decks

Dedicated Decks Workspace

HeroQuest Card Creator now includes a completely new Decks workspace.

This introduces:

• a deck grid view
• focused deck editing workflows
• grouped set organisation
• contextual editing panels
• deck preview fans
• deck-specific actions and controls

The new workflow is designed to make managing larger collections and playable card sets significantly easier.

Deck Grid Management

The Decks grid allows you to:

• create decks
• rename decks
• duplicate decks
• delete decks
• search decks
• multi-select decks for bulk actions

Deck previews now display visual card fans, making it easier to identify decks at a glance.

Search also understands deck contents, helping surface decks based on included cards rather than only deck titles.

📚 Group and Set Organisation

Structured Deck Building

Decks are built using a new structure:

• Groups
• Sets
• Front-face entries

This allows cards to be organised in a much more deliberate and flexible way.

For example, creators can now:

• separate treasure sets
• organise hero abilities into categories
• build encounter decks
• structure expansions into grouped sections
• keep large projects manageable

Groups automatically clean themselves up when empty, helping keep decks tidy during editing.

Drag-and-Drop Deck Building

Deck building is now heavily drag-and-drop driven.

You can:

• drag sets between groups
• reorder sets
• reorder entries
• create groups through insertion controls
• drag front-face cards directly into sets

A substantial amount of work in this release focused on making these interactions feel more stable, predictable, and visually clear.

This includes improvements to:

• drop targeting
• hover guidance
• insertion behaviour
• drag previews
• empty-state handling
• reorder consistency

🎴 Front-Face Entry Management

Entry Workflows

Within sets, you can now:

• add front-face entries
• reorder entries
• remove entries from sets
• multi-select entries
• perform bulk remove-from-set actions

Importantly, removing entries from a set no longer implies deleting or destroying the underlying pairing relationship.

This makes deck editing safer and more flexible.

Quantity Controls

Entries inside sets now support quantity values.

This makes it possible to:

• duplicate cards within a deck
• control encounter frequencies
• create weighted treasure distributions
• manage repeatable card counts more easily

Quantity controls are integrated directly into the deck editing workflow.

Recover Paired Cards

The Decks system now includes workflows for recovering paired cards that are not currently present in a set.

This helps prevent cards from becoming “lost” while editing larger decks and makes deck management more forgiving during experimentation.

🧭 Inspector & Deck Awareness

Deck Membership Visibility

Cards can now expose where they are used across decks.

The inspector now includes:

• deck membership visibility
• deck usage counts
• links into related deck contexts
• deck preview fans

This makes it significantly easier to understand how cards are being reused across larger projects.

🖼 Right Panel & Source Browsing

Improved Source Filtering

The right-side source panel has been redesigned to improve deck-building workflows.

Enhancements include:

• front/back face modes
• improved searching
• collection-aware filtering
• clearer used vs available card visibility
• larger previews
• improved active-state behaviour

The panel also remembers its state between sessions for a smoother editing experience.

📤 Deck Export Preparation

Deck Export Workflow

Deck export actions are now available from both:

• the Decks grid
• deck detail view

This release focuses on establishing the export workflow and deck structure needed for future print and PDF functionality planned for later releases.

Export actions now include:

• confirmation prompts
• clearer safety messaging
• deck-aware export flows

⚠️ Safer Editing Workflows

Improved Remove & Delete Safety

Several workflows in Decks were redesigned to reduce accidental destructive actions.

Changes include:

• confirmation dialogs
• clearer warning states
• improved remove wording
• safer unpair behaviour
• recover-oriented workflows

These changes are especially important when working with larger interconnected deck structures.

🌍 Localization Improvements

Decks-specific UI and workflows have been localized across all supported languages.

This includes:

• confirmations
• hints
• labels
• metadata/details panels
• insert controls
• empty states
• recovery workflows

Additional terminology refinements were also made to improve clarity and consistency throughout the interface.

🎨 Interface & Visual Refinement

A significant amount of polish work was completed across the new Decks experience.

Areas improved include:

• hover behaviour
• toolbar consistency
• spacing and alignment
• placeholder styling
• empty-state presentation
• drag guidance
• panel consistency
• deck fan presentation
• light/dark theme behaviour

Many of these changes are subtle individually, but together they make the Decks workflow feel more deliberate and stable during longer editing sessions.

⚡ Stability & Reliability Improvements

A large portion of development time for 0.6.0 focused on improving interaction reliability and long-term stability.

This includes improvements to:

• drag-and-drop consistency
• reorder persistence
• delete/unpair cleanup behaviour
• deck metadata updates
• selection behaviour
• navigation synchronization
• empty-state handling
• deck integrity safeguards

Additional regression coverage was also added across Decks workflows to improve long-term reliability as the system evolves further.

🧱 Foundations for Future Releases

Although Decks is fully usable in 0.6.0, this release also lays important groundwork for future functionality planned later in the roadmap.

In particular, the new Decks structure is intended to support future:

• PDF export workflows
• print layout generation
• larger-scale deck management
• improved collection/export tooling

This release focuses on establishing the organisational and workflow foundations needed before those features can be introduced cleanly.

❤️ Thank You

Decks has been one of the largest and most challenging additions to the project so far, and a huge amount of iteration went into making the workflow feel flexible without becoming overwhelming.

A big thank you to everyone continuing to test the app, provide feedback, share ideas, and experiment with custom HeroQuest content.

It’s genuinely exciting seeing the kinds of systems, expansions, campaigns, and homebrew content people are building with the tool - and Decks is intended to make managing those projects significantly easier moving forward.

I'm really excited to finally say this Version 0.6.0 is now available.

This release introduces something that's been part of the long-term vision for the project for a very long time:

Decks.

Not as a quick add-on feature. Not as a reactionary system. But as a foundational part of where the Card Creator has always been heading.

Looking back, a lot of the work across earlier releases was quietly preparing for this moment:

• pairing becoming first-class
• collections becoming more structured
• export workflows becoming safer
• navigation becoming more deliberate
• larger library management improving
• card relationships becoming more meaningful

  0.6.0 is where many of those foundations finally come together into something much bigger.

And honestly... it feels important.

🃏 Decks - Finally Arriving Properly

From very early on, I never really saw the HeroQuest Card Creator as just a way to make isolated cards.

The long-term goal has always been larger than that.

Because once people begin building:

• quest packs
• spell schools
• treasure systems
• hero classes
• monster ecosystems
• campaign expansions

...you eventually stop thinking in terms of individual cards.

You start thinking in terms of complete playable systems.

Decks is the first major step toward supporting that properly.

📚 Structured Deck Building

Decks are built around a structured workflow using:

• groups
• sets
• front-face entries

Which means cards can now be organised intentionally rather than simply stored together.

You can separate:

• treasure pools
• encounter categories
• hero abilities
• spell groups
• expansion chapters
• progression systems

in ways that actually reflect how the content is used during play.

That distinction matters a lot to me.

This release starts shifting the app away from simply "holding cards" and toward helping creators build cohesive tabletop systems.

🖱 Drag-and-Drop That Feels Deliberate

A huge amount of development time in this release went into interaction behaviour.

Probably far more than most people would ever guess.

The challenge wasn't making cards draggable.

The challenge was making deck building feel:

• stable
• predictable
• understandable
• flexible
• difficult to accidentally break

Groups can now be reordered. Sets can move between groups. Cards can be inserted dynamically. New groups can be created while building.

And importantly, the workflow now feels much more intentional and structured rather than fragile or temporary.

That was the goal the entire time.

🎴 Quantity Support Quietly Changes Everything

One feature I'm particularly excited about is quantity support inside sets.

It sounds small initially.

But it fundamentally changes what Decks can represent.

You can now create:

• weighted treasure decks
• repeat encounters
• rarity systems
• balanced card pools
• duplicated spell distributions
• structured loot tables

Suddenly the app isn't just organising cards visually.

It's starting to model actual gameplay structures.

That opens a lot of possibilities moving forward.

🧭 The App Understands Relationships Better

One thing I've been steadily working toward over multiple releases is making the app feel more relationship-aware.

0.5.2 introduced proper front/back pairing.

0.5.3 improved collection structure and library organisation.

0.6.0 builds on that idea further.

Cards can now understand where they are used across decks. The inspector can surface deck membership. You can jump directly into related deck contexts.

The app is slowly becoming more aware of how projects fit together rather than simply storing disconnected records.

And as projects grow larger, that becomes increasingly important.

📤 This Release Lays Important Foundations

Although Decks is fully usable today, a lot of the work in this release also exists to support where the project is going next.

Especially around:

• export workflows
• print preparation
• PDF generation
• larger-scale deck management

Decks needed to exist before those systems could really make sense.

So while 0.6.0 already changes the workflow significantly, it's also an important foundational release for future versions of the app.

⚠️ Safer Editing & More Confident Experimentation

As projects become larger and more interconnected, safety becomes increasingly important.

A lot of this release focused on making experimentation feel less risky.

You now get:

• clearer confirmations
• safer remove workflows
• recovery-oriented behaviour
• stronger cleanup handling
• better integrity safeguards

Creative tools should feel safe to explore in.

You shouldn't constantly feel worried about accidentally damaging the structure of your project.

That's something I care about a lot.

🎨 A Huge Amount of Polish Behind the Scenes

This release also contains an enormous amount of smaller refinement work.

Hover behaviour. Spacing. Toolbar consistency. Panel alignment. Fan rendering. Selection logic. Empty states. Theme consistency. Insert guidance.

Individually these things are subtle.

Collectively they make the Decks workflow feel calmer, clearer, and significantly more stable during longer editing sessions.

A lot of the hardest work in this release isn't flashy.

The app should simply feel harder to confuse and harder to break.

And honestly, those are some of my favourite kinds of improvements.

Why This Release Feels Important To Me

0.6.0 feels less like a feature release and more like a milestone release.

Not because it introduces one giant flashy mechanic.

But because it finally reveals the shape of where the project has been heading for quite a while.

The Card Creator is steadily evolving toward supporting:

• complete expansions
• interconnected systems
• structured campaigns
• reusable deck ecosystems
• larger tabletop workflows

Decks is a huge part of that vision.

And while there's still a lot more I want to build, this release finally feels like the point where those longer-term foundations become visible.

As always:

Please back up your library before upgrading. Please report anything strange if you encounter it. And please keep sharing the incredible things you're building.

A huge amount of this project continues to be shaped by community conversations, ideas, testing, and feedback.

Thank you for that.

Onwards.

👉 Full release notes here: https://itch.io/t/6422703/-heroquest-card-creator-version-060

👉 Download v0.6.0 here: https://mark-forster.itch.io/heroquest-card-creator

Thanks, please do share what you create.. i'd love to see it! As a developer part of the fun of creating an app is knowing people use it and see what they create