Release notes
What changed in each version of Body Charge Lab. The version you're running shows in the help sheet and on the mat. Moves published from community submissions arrive as small patch versions and carry their contributor's credit in the catalog.
v1.25.5 Standing tall on kicks
- The standing leg on side, turning, hooking, pressing and back kicks bends about 20 degrees instead of sinking into a 50-degree half squat.
- The standing foot turns with the hips, heel a little toward the target, so the standing knee no longer twists inward.
- Turning kick chamber: the shin folds behind the body at about 130 degrees instead of doubling back onto the thigh, the foot stays pointed, and the knee rises about as high as the kick will go, so a low turning kick chambers near hip height. Seen in Shortline Form One, reported by Brian McCarthy.
v1.25.4 Spinning back and reverse kicks
- Back piercing and reverse turning, hooking and dodging kicks thrown while facing the target now spin: the body turns toward the kicking leg's side through a quarter turn, then the back reaches the target and the heel drives out. Before, the half turn could swing either way, often round the front.
v1.25.3 Wheel's arms, and kicks that lean
- Wheel: the palms plant beside the ears with the elbows pointing up and stay on that spot for the whole press. In the hold the shoulders stack over the wrists and the knees stay bent, instead of the arms reaching back past the head on near-straight legs.
- Kicks lean. The trunk tips away from the kicking leg, more for higher kicks: about 30 degrees for a middle side kick, 35 for a back piercing kick, 24 for a turning kick, a few degrees back for front kicks. The pelvis tips with it, so the lean comes from the hips, and the arms keep their guard on the leaning body.
- Reverse turning, dodging reverse turning and reverse hooking kicks were copies of the side kick. They now turn the back to the target and drive the heel back at it, and follow through instead of re-chambering.
- A fully extended kick keeps a few degrees of bend at the knee, the right way, instead of reading as hyperextended, and the side kick chamber folds to about 140 degrees rather than past the flesh stop.
v1.25.2 Straight standing legs and three yoga fixes
- One-leg balances stand on a straight leg. Standing Splits, Bird of Paradise, Dancer, Warrior III and Hand-to-Big-Toe had the standing knee bent 20 to 70 degrees; the pose tuner now rejects a bent standing knee unless a pose asks for one.
- Humble Warrior is a real lunge: the front knee bends deeply and the back leg stays long, instead of a shallow straddle with the head on the mat.
- Marichyasana A binds behind the low back instead of clasping the hands above the head.
v1.25.1 Wheel without the head stand
- Wheel no longer stops on the crown of the head. From lying with the palms by the ears, the figure presses straight up into the backbend with the hands and feet planted and the head clear of the floor, and comes down by bending the elbows and tucking the chin.
v1.25.0 Corpse pose
- New yoga pose: Corpse (Savasana). From standing the figure lowers to a squat, sits, lies back, then lets the legs fall apart with the feet turning out and rests the arms away from the sides, palms up. The floor carries the whole back of the body, and the muscle effort drops to almost nothing. It comes out by drawing the arms and legs in, bending the knees, sitting up and standing.
- A hand set palm up now rests on its back on the floor instead of being turned palm down.
v1.24.1 An athletic female figure
- The female figure is now athletic and built much like the male one: a touch more hip and less waist, a small, rounded bust (the first version's was too pointed), arms only a little lighter. The hair sets her apart: a cap of dark hair with the hairline set back from the brow, and a ponytail that hangs with gravity, down her back standing and toward the floor in a handstand.
- Picking her at the first visit sets 168 cm and 62 kg unless you've changed the size.
v1.24.0 A female figure, standing tall, ankles and wrists
- A female figure: wider hips, a narrower waist and shoulders, a bust, slimmer arms and a low bun, still blank-faced. She wears every outfit the male figure does and performs every move exactly the same way. Switch under View ▾ → Avatar.
- The first visit asks two things: female or male figure, and the sport you train (Taekwondo, Yoga, Cheerleading or Shortline). The lab opens on that sport's catalog with a starter move ready, and picking the female figure sets a typical female height and weight unless you've changed the size.
- Pull the head straight up and the figure stands tall: the back straightens, the hips rise as far as the legs reach and the knees straighten, while the feet stay planted. From a wide stance like Warrior II the hips slide toward the front foot as they rise.
- Ankles and wrists have limits too. The foot bends toward the shin to about 58° and points to about 168°; kneeling forms and stepping back into plank no longer fold the foot into the shin, and tucked toes slide back along the floor instead. A planted palm bends back at most about 100°, so the fingers turn with the forearm instead of the wrist snapping back.
v1.23.0 Poses fixed at the source
- Every move now comes out of the form builder with its knees and elbows inside their limits, not just corrected on screen. Moves you save, export or share carry the fixed pose.
- Fixed: the back piercing kick's extension and Choi-Yong #29, where a knee was bent backward; the Headstand and Tripod Headstand tucks, where the knees folded the wrong way; Tong-Il #47, where both elbows folded flat with the fists inside the shoulders; and the rear fist of Dan-Gun's twin forearm block, which now sits where a 142° elbow puts it.
- A nearly straight knee or elbow is only corrected when it's clearly bent the wrong way, so poses like Warrior II stay exactly as they were.
v1.22.0 Joints that stop where a body stops
- Knees and elbows bend one way only. They close until the calf meets the thigh or the forearm meets the biceps, about 146° for the knee and 142° for the elbow, and a little further under body weight, as in a deep squat or kneeling. A heavier build (More ▾ → Size) stops sooner.
- A knee or elbow can no longer roll over and bend backward. Where a move used to fold the shin through the thigh or end a kick with the knee bent the wrong way, as in the back piercing kick and several forms, the knee now stays in line with the hip and the elbow stays the right way round. This works during playback and while you drag.
- Kicks swing the shin from the knee on the way out and back, so the leg opens and closes like a hinge instead of the foot taking a shortcut through the thigh.
- Skin at a deep bend presses flat where calf meets thigh (or forearm meets biceps) and spreads a little to the sides. It no longer passes through itself, and the kneecap and the point of the elbow stay round the end of the bone.
v1.21.0 Pivot the feet
- Drag a planted foot's toes sideways and the foot turns on its ball. The heel swings round, and lifts if the leg is straight.
- Turn the hips more than 25° and the planted feet pivot with them, so the knees don't twist. On one leg, the hips now turn up to 175° and the body rebalances over the standing foot, the way it does in a turning or side kick.
v1.20.1 No more stretched legs
- Pulling a foot, hand, knee or toe no longer stretches a bone. Every leg, arm and foot keeps its own length, and the body rebalances by shifting the hips and bending the standing knee instead of pulling the bones out of shape.
v1.20.0 Light suit
- A new outfit: a black bodysuit and helmet with electric blue light lines down the sides, two lines down the chest joined by a band, and rings at the waist, wrists, knees and ankles. The lines glow on their own, whatever the lighting.
- Pick it under View ▾ → Outfit → Light suit. It stays on until you switch back to By sport.
v1.19.0 Sponsor a mat
- Every sport's mat has three sponsor spots. For $10 a month a dojo, studio or gym puts its logo under every move in that sport.
- Logos are drawn as line art in the mat's teal, so every mark looks like part of the mat. The Open Tier Systems logo now does the same.
- Support now offers two paths: a one-time tip, or sponsoring a mat. Brian approves each logo before it goes up.
- A sport's page in the catalog lists its mat sponsors, with links.
v1.18.0 Find your sport, dressed for it
- The catalog opens on a tile for each sport, with what's built and what's planned. Pick one and you see only that sport, sorted into forms, flows, passes, skills, poses and techniques.
- A row of sport buttons under the search box switches sports in one tap. Search covers every sport, or just the one you're in.
- Move cards are shorter: Play, Pin and Add to builder up front, the rest behind ⋯. Pin (it was Load) keeps a move in the row under the stage.
- The figure dresses for the sport: the white uniform and black belt for Taekwondo, a dark training top for Shortline, yoga wear, and a cheer uniform with sneakers.
v1.17.1 Submissions go straight in
- Submit to catalog now sends your move to Brian directly. If the service can't be reached, you can still copy the submission and send it by hand.
v1.17.0 Build and submit missing moves
- Every move on the planned list has a Build button. It names the build, puts down a starting stance and opens the Builder.
- How to build a move: a step-by-step guide in the Builder for modeling a technique, a form or pattern, and a pose or skill, then checking and submitting it.
- Submit to catalog sends a build, or the figure as you posed it, to Brian for review. Approved moves go live on their own with your credit.
- Suggest a fix can now send the fix straight in.
- The help sheet shows the version and links here.
v1.16.0 The planned catalog
- About 400 techniques, forms, poses and skills across 20 styles are listed in the catalog as planned, from WT poomsae and Shotokan kata to Tai Chi, Judo, Muay Thai and Capoeira.
v1.15.0 Back Layout
- Back Layout skill, and a second pass: Round Off, Back Handspring, Layout.
v1.14 Attitude control and the mat
- Pull a hand, foot, the head or the hips past where the limb can reach and the whole body follows, keeping its balance from the planted foot.
- The mat carries the version and the Open Tier Systems logo.
v1.13 Cheerleading
- Tumbling skills (Standing Tuck, Round Off, Back Handspring, Back Full) and a pass that chains them. The camera follows tumbling across the floor.
v1.12 Shortline and copyright
- Shortline, an unarmed style Claude designed for efficiency: twenty techniques and a first form.
- Parallel ready stance and Mountain lead the toolbar.
- Copyright notices throughout and an all-rights-reserved license.
v1.11 Easier to use
- A head shaped over the skull and jaw, and skin drawn closer to the bone.
- Plain-language controls that work on a phone and a desktop, help on the first visit, and a Support button.
v1.10 Inversions
- Bridge, Shoulder Stand, Plow, Fish, Forearm Plank, Dolphin, Wheel, Headstand, Tripod Headstand, Forearm Stand and Handstand, with the head, shoulders and forearms as real contacts.
v1.7–1.9 The yoga catalog
- Arm supports and arm balances, then standing balances and binds, then the standing and seated classics. Each one plays from the way in to the way out.
v1.5–1.6 Yoga flows and a real spine
- Poses with an entrance and an exit, starting with Crow and Bound Side Angle.
- Spine and shoulder-blade joints, so the back rounds and arches.
v1.3–1.4 Help and display
- The help sheet and Suggest a fix.
- A display menu for the lines drawn on and around the figure.
v1.1–1.2 The forms in school order
- Chinmukwan form order and ranks with belt colors, forms that finish where they start, and Four Direction at 10th gup.
v1.0 First release
- The 24 Chang Hon Taekwon-Do forms on a 3D figure in a plain white uniform, with a version on every build.