Feature Requests

[nylanfs]

I wasn't sure where to put this, but I'm seeing somethings that could be improved upon so I thought I'd request them (and no I haven't purchased the prog and SR set yet.

1) When adding cyberlimbs, if you haven't written your physical stats down you can't flip back to the summary screen to double check. It would be REALLY handy if the base stats were listed in the customization screen.

2) By RAW, all modifications going into a cyber limb must have the same grade. If you have already customized the limb it would be nice if all the modifications would already change to that grade.

3) If you have already removed the wireless and RFID option from the base cyberlimb there should be an option to automatically relay those settings to sub modifications.

2b & 3b) Actually why not just have a option on the cyberlimb option to automatically translate the modifiers applied directly to the cyberlimb to any sub modifications.

[nylanfs]

BTW I REALLY like the identity and lifestyle section.

[LooseCannon]

4.) Please consider adding a recoil compensation setting to the firearms listing. Some weapons have "efficient design" RC, and selecting a gizmo or other option will presumably only cause issues once the Arsenal data set is built/released. I suppose you could also just create a "efficient design" gizmo and have RC get applied that way...

[nylanfs]

That's detailed in Arsonal, so I would imagine that that modifier would be included in that dataset.

[RavenX]

Making starting contacts optional is something I would like to see.

Also it would be nice to be able to set a Maximum on Starting Equipment Nuyen along with Rating and Availability.

I am running a 300 BP campaign, and my players do not start off with contacts, they earn them through the course of the campaign. Their goal is to become either a contact for other runners or reach the 400 BP level for a professional runner. My group is limited 5 BP of equipment to start off with, equipment rated at 3 or less and availability less than or equal to 4R. Real ghetto level gaming, but its turned out to be really fun for my group.

[Peter Smith]

Making starting contacts optional is something I would like to see.

I believe this was done in the last update.

[RavenX]

The system still reports a validation error for Resources Unspent: Contacts when you don't use them.

[Mathias]

1) When adding cyberlimbs, if you haven't written your physical stats down you can't flip back to the summary screen to double check. It would be REALLY handy if the base stats were listed in the customization screen.

Good idea, I've added this to my to-do list.

2) By RAW, all modifications going into a cyber limb must have the same grade. If you have already customized the limb it would be nice if all the modifications would already change to that grade.

This error was previously reported on the bug reports thread, and is on my to-do list.

3) If you have already removed the wireless and RFID option from the base cyberlimb there should be an option to automatically relay those settings to sub modifications.

To get this effect, before you purchase the cyberlimb, find the line on the bottom right in gray that starts with "Defaults: " - click the wrench and hammer icon to the left of that and change the wireless and RFID on/off defaults. Then, while you're purchasing the cyberware, the same settings will apply to the modifications you purchase. Just remember to change the defaults back before moving on to your next purchase.

[Mathias]

4.) Please consider adding a recoil compensation setting to the firearms listing. Some weapons have "efficient design" RC, and selecting a gizmo or other option will presumably only cause issues once the Arsenal data set is built/released. I suppose you could also just create a "efficient design" gizmo and have RC get applied that way...

Actually, in the editor, make a copy of the Ares Alpha, and at the top right, press the "Fields" button - you'll see that the "wpRecComp" field there is set to 2. You can apply the same thing to other weapons, creating a new entry in the Fields button for it. Leaving that field off the normal list for ranged weapons was a mistake, and I've fixed it for the next update. Thanks for catching that I missed it.

[Mathias]

For the contacts, here's what I've changed for the next update;

take a look at the Personal tab, at the Permanent Adjustments list there - you'll see that there are adjustments that allow you to house rule the size of many of the other pools that are used in character creation. I've added a new adjustment to that list for the contacts pool, so that you can increase ito to 3 if you like, or drop it to 1 or 0 (or, heck, increase it to 10).

[Mathias]

equipment rated at 3 or less and availability less than or equal to 4R. Real ghetto level gaming, but its turned out to be really fun for my group.

Allowing users to edit the rating and availability limits for characters is already on my to do list, and I hope to get it in soon.

Adding an option to forbid "Forbidden" availabilities (and I might as well add an option to forbid "Restricted" availability, too) is a good idea, and I'll try to get that in when I set up the way to change the availability and rating limits.

[thedarkelf007]

While it is not common I have two characters with Magic Rating and a Resonance Rating.

Will it be possible to do this with a house rule?

The first is a pixie technomancer, the second is a mage who critical glitched and fell into a resonance well / astral rift created by aztechnology trying to combine both features. He was the only survivor from the encounter.

[Mathias]

While it is not common I have two characters with Magic Rating and a Resonance Rating.

Will it be possible to do this with a house rule?

The first is a pixie technomancer, the second is a mage who critical glitched and fell into a resonance well / astral rift created by aztechnology trying to combine both features. He was the only survivor from the encounter.

I'm afraid I went by SR4A pg 68: "Magic and Resonance are mutually exclusive attributes. A character who possesses a quality that grants a Magic of 1 or higher cannot have a Resonance attribute."

Within Hero Lab, I'm afraid that most of the places that are looking at whether to display information about Magic or about Resonance are using if...elseif tests - meaning if you have the one, Hero Lab doesn't even check if you have the other. Allowing this house rule to be applied would be a very complex operation, and I'm afraid it's going to be a while before I'll have the time to try that.

[thedarkelf007]

I'm afraid I went by SR4A pg 68: "Magic and Resonance are mutually exclusive attributes. A character who possesses a quality that grants a Magic of 1 or higher cannot have a Resonance attribute."

Within Hero Lab, I'm afraid that most of the places that are looking at whether to display information about Magic or about Resonance are using if...elseif tests - meaning if you have the one, Hero Lab doesn't even check if you have the other. Allowing this house rule to be applied would be a very complex operation, and I'm afraid it's going to be a while before I'll have the time to try that.

That is understandable, and I can work around it. Most of my players are using rules from the other source books as well so I'm not sure if the characters will ever be fully buildable in the tool. We just go for best fit and write down the differences. Works for Pathfinder where there is an issue such as custom magical items or spells that I don't have time to script.

Thanks for the reply. :)

[nylanfs]

Yea, just bought HL for ShadowRun :)

[Wind]

Can we add races from RC or is that an update that you would have to release? If we can do it, can someone explain how?

[RavenX]

Gender: Androgynous would be a nice add on

[nylanfs]

Technically not a gender, it would probably have to be a negative quality :)

[RavenX]

Technically not a gender, it would probably have to be a negative quality :)

I would not consider it a negative quality, A man that feels he is a woman trapped in the wrong body who goes through transgender surgery is a woman for all intent and purpose, but there are people like Prince who fall in between the gender lines. Its all how the person views them self.

However I may actually play around with the idea of a negative quality for it. I will bring it up with my players tomorrow morning and see what they think.

[Erich]

I would not consider it a negative quality, A man that feels he is a woman trapped in the wrong body who goes through transgender surgery is a woman for all intent and purpose, but there are people like Prince who fall in between the gender lines. Its all how the person views them self.


When it comes to negative qualites of this sort, I would think that the deciding factor would not be how the person felt about themselves, but how society reacted to them. Take for example, elf and ork posers.
-Erich

[crowofpyke]

1- Add the ability to include calculations for "other" rolls, such as Composure or Matrix Perception, et al. These get used plenty during game play.

2- I really, really hate the way the character sheet print out puts your Skill Groups at the bottom of your Skill listing, making it difficult to trace which skill goes to which group... unless of course you make it your life's mission to memorize all the skill groups. Make the character sheet skill listing look like the Active tab in the builder: Skill Group Name, then all the Skill for that group tab-indented underneath that.

[nylanfs]

Alternately somebody could design a portfolio like Ismo's 12-15 page spread. It has the group name of. the left of the skill name

[thedarkelf007]

While it is not common I have two characters with Magic Rating and a Resonance Rating.

Will it be possible to do this with a house rule?

The first is a pixie technomancer, the second is a mage who critical glitched and fell into a resonance well / astral rift created by aztechnology trying to combine both features. He was the only survivor from the encounter.I'm afraid I went by SR4A pg 68: "Magic and Resonance are mutually exclusive attributes. A character who possesses a quality that grants a Magic of 1 or higher cannot have a Resonance attribute."

Within Hero Lab, I'm afraid that most of the places that are looking at whether to display information about Magic or about Resonance are using if...elseif tests - meaning if you have the one, Hero Lab doesn't even check if you have the other. Allowing this house rule to be applied would be a very complex operation, and I'm afraid it's going to be a while before I'll have the time to try that.

It turns out that it works in the tool after all, I found you can add technomancer to a Mage via advancement and it all works. :)

But... it does throw some validation issues.

The only request about this I would ask is please don't stop this from working, and if in the future you have some spare time to work on Shadowrun (low priority), have a validation option that allows it.

[LooseCannon]

Please consider an option that will run, and validate, all the newly created items when using the Editor Tool. I like to create a bunch of weapons or qualities all at once, and it is somewhat cumbersome to select each one, then hit "Test Now!" before being able to use them.

Thanks!

[Mathias]

ctrl-r

(You'll have to go back to the main window first. You may also need to go to the develop menu and check "Enable Data File Debugging")

[RavenX]

Another Request: A Notoriety Buy down option under the Advancement Tab might work better and help with the bugs.

[Mathias]

Trading street cred for notoriety is handled on the Journal tab - enter -2 for Street Cred and -1 for Notoriety, and press the buttons for both entries, then write whatever reminders you want to leave yourself in the title and notes for that journal entry about what you've done.

[RavenX]

it would work if herolab was not setting a low cap on street cred. I have one character that has 14 street cred, most of which is from karma which is at 132. hero lab won't register the -2 to Street Cred, it puts 13 as the lowest street cred can go.

[nylanfs]

Is your GM not using the Street Cred rules as written?

Street Cred
Street Cred represents a character’s lifetime accomplishments in the shadows. The longer she’s been around, the more he’s done and seen, the more respect she’ll get from her peers.
Street Cred is based on a character’s total earned Karma (see Karma, p. 269), divided by 10 and rounded normally. A character who
has earned 35 Karma in the course of a game will have a Street Cred of 4 (35 ÷ 10 = 3.5, rounded up to 4).
At the gamemaster’s discretion, additional points may be added to a character’s Street Cred for any epic adventures, stunning victories,
unbelievable escapes, or similar eyebrow-raising accomplishments.

Karma 132 / 10 = 13 Street Cred

[Mathias]

There's a bug in street cred - it's applying the floor that prevents street cred from going negative before adding the street cred from Karma, rather than at the end of the calculations, so how would you like this to work once the bug is fixed?

[RavenX]

Mathias,

Looking at the rulebook as it is written, characters are supposed to be able to permanently burn their street cred, to lower their notoriety level. Its supposed to be a permanent burn. Meaning that even if it was gained from karma, it can be lost to lower notoriety level. The floor as it stands prevents that happening. The reasoning behind it is that as Street Cred goes up, so does Public Awareness, and if P.A. goes up above 3... law enforcement starts watching the runners... along with corp sec and other people that run the shadows... basically the burning of street cred is essential to keeping the shadowrunners out of the eyes of people they don't want watching them. Its a difficult line to walk, but a necessary one.

I just want to be able to drop Street Cred down to 0.

Also, I noticed that Edge has a problem in it too in that the advancement tab won't let it go below one. Runners are supposed to be able to BURN edge permanently to stay alive, even with wounds that would kill them outright... It should be able to drop to 0.

I don't like to be nitpicky but I am running a Shadowrun Campaign and actually waited until you released the software license to start it so that i could manage my players' characters. I do this for our Dark Sun campaign as well.


nylanfs,

First off I am the GM.
Secondly, go over to the right hand column from where you found that statement: "Characters can reduce their Notoriety by permanently sacrificing some of their Street Cred. For every 2 points of Street Cred burned, Notoriety can be reduced by 1."
If you read that page carefully, you will see there is absolutely no lower limit at all on sacrificing Street Cred to reduce Notoriety. This statement includes street cred earned from karma being permanently sacrificed. High Notoriety is bad, it means law enforcement watching you under scrutiny to the point where the runner won't even be able to meet a Mr. Johnson about a job in the shadows if it gets too high. The sacrificial rule is there to help keep characters balanced and playable in the shadows.

[nylanfs]

Hmmm, I'm not sure that I would interpret that sentence that way. I posted to the two main ShadowRun forums to get an answer, although Mathias and Ro could just get ahold of CGL and get a rulling :)

http://forums.shadowrun4.com/index.php?topic=4698.0
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showforum=26

[RavenX]

Well thats how it reads. One of the things I have noticed is that this rulebook is nothing but fine print. There are a lot of rules in there. But I have made my point here. I have all the corerule books for this system and have read them all. None of them say anything differently about the lowering of notoriety. Runners need the ability to make a sacrifice because if law enforcement is always watching they really can't do any runs. The way the book reads, it says permanent sacrifice of street cred, it doesn't say that the cred sacrificed isn't from Karma. I have had a couple of players who've botched runs and have yet to even earn a single point of street cred outside of the karma method. They came to the point this weekend where unless they made the sacrifice mr. johnsons would be avoiding their characters completely due to the bad reputation they've earned.

[Mathias]

As I said, there is currently a bug that means Hero Lab is not calculating Street Cred correctly if you apply a negative on the Journal tab.

[RavenX]

Thanks Mathias ^_^ Overall I do like how you've set up hero lab for shadowrun. The software works nicely. I am looking forward to the launching of supplemental licenses.

[nylanfs]

This is probably more of a Hero Lab FREQ than a Shadowrun FREQ.

On things that can be customized (ir cyberlimbs, equipment etc) it would be REALLY nice to be able to either right click and either copy customizations, or select it for modification and there be an option to "Start New Customization with existing settings".

Mainly I'm wanting it for cyberlimb upgrades when getting a new grade of cyberlimb.

[nylanfs]

Have a new request. In the last game I had to burn two of my identities. It would be nice to have an option to be able to mark an identity as no-longer valid for lifestyle payments that way I can keep track of my past identities without having to delete the lifestyle and licenses from the identity.

Note: I've worked around this by adding a 0 cost custom lifestyle. :)

[Mathias]

Have a new request. In the last game I had to burn two of my identities. It would be nice to have an option to be able to mark an identity as no-longer valid for lifestyle payments that way I can keep track of my past identities without having to delete the lifestyle and licenses from the identity.

Note: I've worked around this by adding a 0 cost custom lifestyle. :)

The pencil button on the Identities is indended for notes about that lifestyle - there, you can record that when you had to abandon this fake SIN, you lost 6 months of prepaid Low lifetstyle.

As long as you have a lifestyle on one of your identities, there's no requirement to have lifestyles on any of the others.

[graywulfe]

Just a couple of items I would like to see. A method to easily modify maximum BP in Qualities during character creation and max Availability during character creation.

[CeaDawg]

It would be nice, if HL-SR would allow, for NPC characters, the input of initiation grades and metamagics during the creation phase. Once again the lack of scroll capability in the Achievement tab between the achievements window and the metamagics window has back stabbed me with major toons.

[Mathias]

Just a couple of items I would like to see. A method to easily modify maximum BP in Qualities during character creation and max Availability during character creation.

The qualities BP is adjustable on the Permanent Adjustments list on the Personal tab - "Positive Qualities BP" and "Negative Qualities BP". House ruling availability limits is already on the to-do list.

[Mathias]

It would be nice, if HL-SR would allow, for NPC characters, the input of initiation grades and metamagics during the creation phase. Once again the lack of scroll capability in the Achievement tab between the achievements window and the metamagics window has back stabbed me with major toons.

This is something I plan to add. It'll probably be a little while, since this'll be easiest to allow once the karma system is implemented - just have the initiate grade portion of that system always exposed for NPCs.

[CeaDawg]

I haven't seen where that can be set during creation of the NPCs, otherwise this would not be an issue for cataloging them for all of the adventure modules.

[The Wayfarer]

Wayfarer - please re-read the first post in this thread - vehicles are not finished yet, so I'm afraid that error reports about their placeholders won't help in making the final versions.

Could you expand on what you mean by "skill rank equations", please?

Sir,

I apologize. I saw the first post but wasn't sure if that included the contents of my post.

I'm new to Shadowrun and cannot readily remember how I arrive at my dice pools for the game. So having an option where it shows how the dice pools are arrived on the character sheet or program would be great. Example, (Attribute) + (appropriate Active Skill Rank) = Dice Pool.

Hope this helps.

[RavenX]

Would it be possible to have user specified currencies in Shadowrun's datafiles? Places like Seattle and the UCAS often use UCAS dollars in addition to Nuyen for currency. It would be nice if hero lab kept track of the monies and exchange rates for currencies.

[nylanfs]

I would second that, although it "might" be simpler to have currencies as purchased items that could output to a cash/coin/trade good block on the output sheet. Like PCGen has done since before HeroLab existed. (hehe, just kidding Rob :) )

[RavenX]

Under the advancement tab for Gaining a new Negative or Positive Quality, it would be nice if I could add Custom Qualities to both sides. My players like to use the other sourcebooks and we have been using the custom option under Qualities to build characters to apply the sourcebooks qualities to the characters. I also have some custom ones based on the Vice book that they use sometimes. Would be nice if I could add these in under advancement tab too. :)

[Translucent]

Under the holidays tab, I'd love to see a "give Mathias a day off" link. I am a software developer myself, so while I wait somewhat impatiently for each new update I also understand that (from appearances) you are mostly on your own and have a huge backlog of content to code. And that's not counting user requests.

So I'd just like to say THANK YOU to the shadowrun team and to Mathias specifically for all your work and your willingness to be active in the forums. I hope you have a great holiday with your family and get some time off.

[Translucent]

Any chance we can get images for drones? I love being able to set a pic for each player/npc, would love to have this for spirits/drones/vehicles/etc.

[Colen]

Not a bad idea, we'll look into this. :)

[CeaDawg]

I'm working on it.

[cndblank]

I'd like to have a customer critter option so I could quickly create a biodrone or security creature.

As a GM, I would like to be able to have all the opposition listed in one place.

Most of the powers are already listed for the spirits.

[inca1980]

It would be great if everything had a "get for free" option, not just gear. Sometimes the GM doesn't just give you free gear, he also gives you free advancement that doesn't cost any Karma. For example knowledge skills based on experiences the team has been through, or Negative quality buyoffs that really were no choice of the player (losing your day job for example), etc. If i can't get it for free then it messes up my whole karma calculation and then all of a sudden my street cred etc. is all out of wack. It would really help in documenting my character just as accurately as with pen and paper.
Thanks!

[Mathias]

On the Personal tab, there's a Permanent Adjustments table at the bottom. On that table, you can select "Advancement Karma Cost", which can be used to alter the amount of Karma you're paying for an advancement.

[Cweord]

As more supplements get created, equipment kits that can be applied to NPCs would be useful and would save time while quickly creating encounters.

The same might also be useful for cyber and bioware (similar to the kits in Arsenal but user created for ease)

e.g.

Create street ganger x4
then
apply smg kit to 2 light pistol kit to 1 and shotgun kit to one
Instant encounter with no messing about.

[Mathias]

Once you've created the three street gangers you like, save them all as a new portfolio. Then, next time, you can use the "Import Hero From Portfolio" option to add 2 of one of them and 1 each of the other two versions.

[nylanfs]

Is there a way to purchase stuff and then NOT show the stats on the character sheet? Specifically I buy several guns and put them in several safehouses. And I typically carry at least one of them with me on runs, I don't really need to show 3 FN-HAR's just one.

[michmc]

Cash to karma
the ability to add karma to a character with out increasing street cred (and maybe total karma)

[_Pax_]

Cash to karma
the ability to add karma to a character with out increasing street cred (and maybe total karma)

I second this. :)

[RavenX]

An adjustment tab for temporary adjustments like bad lighting, that applies appropriate penalties to characters perception checks would be cool. Would also be nice to be able to check off when a character is prone as well.

[CeaDawg]

Could an option for "custom spell" be added to the list of spells to learn in the advancements? That way players could add their cherished creations during advancement instead of having to wait for me to make a new spell via the editor before they add the advancement.

[bmacvicar]

I had the same issue with one of my players... he likes to keep back up gear in bus lockers and things like that... So what I did in this instance was just give it the name 'Bus Station Backup' so that I know it's not part of his carried gear... but you could also buy a vehicle and place it in there so it lists with the vehicles stats... haven't tried purchasing a location yet... might be worth a try.

[_Pax_]

I had the same issue with one of my players... he likes to keep back up gear in bus lockers and things like that... [...]

That, right there, is an awesome idea: make Identities into containers, that can be the parent entity of vehicles, gear lists, etc - not just SINs, lifestyles, and subscriptions. :)

[Canis]

That, right there, is an awesome idea: make Identities into containers, that can be the parent entity of vehicles, gear lists, etc - not just SINs, lifestyles, and subscriptions. :)

Maybe a specific type of safe house or something you can do to make some identities into containers? This is definitely a great idea!

[nylanfs]

OR have locations have a switch so that their contents don't print out or perhaps just a separate section of the char sheet that lists locations and their contents.

[Frankie the Formori]

Hello, this may be a long shot. When you add Shifters in the Hero Lab options, there is one shifter in Corporate Intrigue based off the Anaconda. It is the only Rules offered in the book, everything else is adventure plot points and NPC stats. Not sure if you would add this kind of product to your line, and it would be a shame not to be able make one via Hero Lab. Heck I would pay 10$ just for this option.

[_Pax_]

Maybe a specific type of safe house or something you can do to make some identities into containers? This is definitely a great idea!

Heck, any lifestyle with "Workspace" should be eligible as a container, so you can put your Workshop gear there.

Also, if a lifestyle is nothing more than a fake ID and a coffin-motel locker/cupboard, so you can put a spare gun, certified credstick, change of clothes, and similar stuff in a dufflebag and keep it there.

[Mathias]

Other than being on the Social tab, rather than on the Gear tab, how do you see the lifestyle-associated storage differing from adding the "-Custom Location-" item from the top of the gear list?

I prefer a namable location over just containing it in an identity, with no specifics - that would be important if you had bus station lockers rented in two different parts of town under the same identity.

[_Pax_]

Hmm, I guess it's mostly a style difference. Mostly, for me, it's the "Workplace (_____ Shop)" bit that I want.

[Mathias]

Mostly, for me, it's the "Workplace (_____ Shop)" bit that I want.

All of the shops and facilities that are available for sale on the gear tab are marked as containers.

[_Pax_]

That's not what I mean. I don't want to put stuff IN the workshop.

I want to install the worskhop into my lifestyle's Workplace. :)

[Canis]

I'd like to see the ability to add shops/facilities to safehouses/lifestyles

[Peter Smith]

The ability to add new Cyberware suites would be nice (Augmentation, page 48).

[Mathias]

The ability to add new Cyberware suites would be nice (Augmentation, page 48).

This can already be done using the editor.

[Calabim696]

This isn't really a big deal now that I know how to make my own but still thought I'd ask anyway. I'd like to see the critters as a stock enemy that can be quickly dropped into combat.

[Canis]

I appreciate there's content to add, but the file for my character is 2.2meg and I've been trying for over an hour to load the file with no luck.

[CeaDawg]

I appreciate there's content to add, but the file for my character is 2.2meg and I've been trying for over an hour to load the file with no luck.

I've found this to be an issue when dealing with high end characters or large groups (8 or more in the dashboard). I think this is primarily due to the profile being a string of xml docs pasted into one xml doc, instead of being a report from a relational database. It would load faster and require fewer memory resources as a report.

I had a fire fight this past weekend using 4 party members, one with 6 drones, vs. an 8 man sec team and a spider. With most of their gear stripped from their files when I imported them into the profile for the encounter, it still took 2 hours and 49 min. to load. Fortunately I'd set this up prior to game time.

[Canis]

Turns out if I do anything else while HL is loading a large file, then HL stops and must be restarted. When I loaded the same character when I wasn't trying to use my PC it took around 20 minutes or so. Still way too long in my opinion though.

This character is a shaman, his ally, his bike, his car and a couple of bound spirits (not shown for just this reason). I haven't even tried to load a rigger yet.....

[cryptoknight]

I have to agree... I was running some relatively large combats at a convention, and while the encounters loaded in an acceptable time on my desktop when I set them up (5-10 minutes with a quad core athlon with 16 GB of Ram, 3 Hd's configured as optimally as I can get them and the characters on a USB3 flash drive). When I took the same flash drive to the convention and loaded it on my laptop (dual core athlon, 4 GB of Ram, 1 HD) it took almost 30 minutes.

I'm glad I loaded them at the start of the Shadowrun Mission, because by the time they were loaded I was ready for them, but if the party had skipped legwork, I'd have been screwed.

[Calabim696]

I have to agree with these criticisms. Portfolios take way too long to load. I would love to see a fix for this.

[_Pax_]

Cyberlimb Armor

Is there any particular reason why Cyberlimb Armor is not showing up on the Armor tab?

And, if it's just LWD's read of the rules-as-written, could we please have an Option to do so? (Ideally, two: one to add half, one to add all.)

[Canis]

All rules are verified by CGL as being correct, that just takes some time.

[Mathias]

Cyberlimb Armor

Is there any particular reason why Cyberlimb Armor is not showing up on the Armor tab?

And, if it's just LWD's read of the rules-as-written, could we please have an Option to do so? (Ideally, two: one to add half, one to add all.)

If you want to propose an optional rule, please define it more thoroughly - I'm afraid from what little you've said so far, I don't understand how you expect this rule to function.

[_Pax_]

Alright, let me try this a different way:

(SR4A p344)
CYBERLIMB ENHANCEMENTS
Cyberlimb enhancements use up the Capacity of the cyberlimb they
enhance.  ere are four di erent types of enhancements available:
Body, Agility, Strength, or Armor enhancements. Physical Attribute
enhancements come in ratings equal to the Attribute bonus they provide.
Armor enhancements installed on cyberlimbs are both Ballistic
and Impact, and it is cumulative with all forms of worn armor.

Yet, when I add [Enhanced Armor (2)] to a Cyberarm or Cyberleg, and then look at the Armor tab ... the +2/+2 it's supposed to provide is not being added into the total armor rating.

...

Why is that? :)

[Mathias]

Here's the existing thread on that cyberlimb armor issue: http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=20442

[_Pax_]

Then you're made a house-rule, Matthias, because that really is not how the RAW work. I'll specifically address your misapprehensions, in the thread you've linked to.



Anywau: I would like an option that lets my game return to the RAW, where cyber-limb armor DOES add to overall armor.

[Erich]

Is there currently any way to show dice pools for programs not loaded in to active memory?
I ask because the hacker in my group has way more programs than can be conveniently run at one time and just loads speciality stuff as she needs it.

Thanks

-Erich

[Canis]

I have to agree with these criticisms. Portfolios take way too long to load. I would love to see a fix for this.

The latest version (v4.0b) seems to be much quicker at loading portfolios! The same shaman I mentioned before (2.2meg file) now loads in less than 15 seconds!!! I don't know what you guys did but by the spirits it worked! :o)

[Mathias]

The latest version (v4.0b) seems to be much quicker at loading portfolios! The same shaman I mentioned before (2.2meg file) now loads in less than 15 seconds!!! I don't know what you guys did but by the spirits it worked! :o)

Colen was the one who found a bottleneck in the portfolio loading code and fixed it for that update.

[Canis]

Is there currently any way to show dice pools for programs not loaded in to active memory?

So long as they're in the commlink in HL, you can uncheck the box next to them and the dice pool goes away and it's no longer counted for processor limits etc - basically it's for that 'link but not in active memory. Just check the box again and it's loaded into active memory and ready to rock and roll.

[Warslick]

Is there anyway to get a quick description of where each of the languages come from geographically. Until this latest update I knew where they came from but the I have no clue where most of the new ones are to be found.

Something as simple as "Native language of Cambodia" would be more than enough. Not a priority at all, just something that would be usefull.

[Canis]

This is perhaps more of a general HL thing, but any plans for mobile apps? It'd be REALLY handy to not have to take my laptop to a gaming session if I'm just playing one character as opposed to GMing.

I'm not thinking full HL functionality, just ammo and other consumables tracking plus damage and other 'in play' affects perhaps.

[caadium]

This is perhaps more of a general HL thing, but any plans for mobile apps? It'd be REALLY handy to not have to take my laptop to a gaming session if I'm just playing one character as opposed to GMing.

I'm not thinking full HL functionality, just ammo and other consumables tracking plus damage and other 'in play' affects perhaps.

I agree with this completely.

On a different note, and I apologize if this came up earlier and I missed it, but here is one I ran into.

Hero Lab supports adepts taking a geas on a power and getting a 25% discount on the power cost. My group allows an adept to later buy off the geas by paying that amount out of new power points. Is there a way to either add this, or that I can do it now?

[Mathias]

Since tablet support isn't a Shadowrun-specific issue, the existing threads about that are over in the Hero Lab Discussion forum: http://forums.wolflair.com/forumdisplay.php?f=43

Also, check our state of the wolf 2012 newsletter: http://wolflair.com/index.php?context=newsletter&page=state_of_the_wolf_2012

and keep an eye on our monthly newsletters: http://wolflair.com/index.php?context=newsletter - that's where any announcements will be.

[Mathias]

Hero Lab supports adepts taking a geas on a power and getting a 25% discount on the power cost. My group allows an adept to later buy off the geas by paying that amount out of new power points. Is there a way to either add this, or that I can do it now?

Use the "Buy off negative quality" advance, and then on the Personal tab, use the "Advancement Karma Cost" adjustment to set the cost of that advance to 0.

[Zuni Technomancer]

Can we get an "Custom Monthly Income" to the "Subscriptions, Expenses and Income" menu according to the custom expenses?

[Canis]

I'm trying to generate a group contact for my campaign to use as a reoccurring enemy. I've managed to create a contact but I can't figure out how to pre-select the group contact attributes (membership, scope, magic and matrix).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[BloodHawk]

Is there any plans to add content from the Runner's Toolkit? If not, will the editor allow me to make the PACKS kits?

[Zuni Technomancer]

Not really a bug, more an feature request. When adding an Advanced life style, HeroLab only shows "Lifestyles: (1 month) – Advanced Lifestyle –"
Can we get the full life style details on the character sheet?

[_Pax_]

Not really a bug, more an feature request. When adding an Advanced life style, HeroLab only shows "Lifestyles: (1 month) – Advanced Lifestyle –"
Can we get the full life style details on the character sheet?

Seconded. :)

[Zuni Technomancer]

Had severals hours of travelling time today and just clicked wild through my technomancers:

Creating, a hypothetical, paladin sprite with a rating of 16, causes HeroLab to trigger an "Complex Forms Learned: Resource unspent" validation error. At rating 16, there is no possibility to add another complex form so the error should be supressed.

The Resonance UI looks overblown if you use a not just beginner technomancer. With a native resolution of 1440 x 900 (Macbook Air) there are showing 5 complex forms, 2 Sprites and 4 Echoes. No temporary complex form was added, the technomancer has a paragon. It's a pain to scroll through my sprites. Is there the possibility to get a new tab for the sprites right next to the resonance tab? A munchkin mancer, elf with exeptional attribute: charisma, can have 9 registered and 1 compiled sprites. Not funny to scroll to a specific sprite.
Adding them to the dashboard is, to me, not really an option. Having a portfolio with 8 characters with vehicels, drones, spirits and sprites causes HeroLab to become very slow. So I supressed the listing of the "minions" as separate characters.


Basic Sprite tab:
When pushing the button "Add optional modifications for this race" there is a grey "Free Sprite" option. In the description it states in red: "Free Sprites should be created as independant characters, rather than as summoned minions". But.. there is no possibility to select "Free Sprite" at the character generation.
If I add the optional character mod anyways, the validation message remains. Very annoying. Also: the sprite automaticaly gets the stream "Cyberadept". Maybe I missed it, but I thought sprites can't choose a resonance stream.
Sideinfo: The validation error that I should add more complex forms remains in this free sprite.

Question: is there a way to supress validation messages? I've added die Quality "Day Job" to an AI (hey, AIs can get an legal SIN, so why they can't get a job and work for a SOTA nexi?)

[Canis]

But.. there is no possibility to select "Free Sprite" at the character generation.

Not true mate. When you create a new portfolio, in type select Sprite. This is an NPC sprite. There isn't an option for PC sprites per se but the NPC options work fine in my opinion.

I agree that spirits and sprites need their own tabs as Magic and Reasonance tabs become very cluttered very easily.

[Zuni Technomancer]

Ah, missed to switch it. Thank.

[Canis]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but could the size of the dropdown be widened. When using Reinforced Mounts it's really difficult to tell what one's what, and in general it's a challenge to get the right weapon on the right mount.

Also, with Drone Racks, can we have those as a container so we can specify which drone is in which?

[_Pax_]

/second on the Drone Racks thing.

[cndblank]

I'd love to be able to use Pack kits, but all I as a GM really need to get a PC or NPC geared up is the ability to add couple of sets of gear quickly to the character. I don't care about availability or even weight. Just give me the nuyen total. Is there any way to quickly add a list of gear to a character?

Thanks

[_Pax_]

Yes, I would love to be able to pre-built various pieces and assortments of gear, and then just add them in "all at once" to various characters. Something I can do right from inside the program, without editing actual datafiles.

A tall order, I know. But I would absolutely love it.

(For example: I often buy a backpack, sleeping bag, tent, camoflage netting, and survival kit ... as a "bug out bag", run-for-the-woods-and-pray set of gear, in the event I can't go to a bolt hole but still need to disappear for a week or so. It's tedious chasing them all down, every character, individually. A one-stop solution would be absolutely lovely.)

[Mathias]

cndblank and _Pax_, would creating a mule character work as a workaround?

Add your choice of gear to an otherwise blank character, and save that character. Then, every time you need that set of gear, use the portfolio menu...import hero from portfolio option to grab a copy of that guy, then use the bag icons on the dashboard to move his gear collection to the real character, then delete that copy of the mule?

_Pax_, I'm sorry to say that when PACKS are added, it'll serve cndblank's needs (he can just create a new gear PACK for the collection he wants), but there will be no way to add these packages without touching the editor.

[cndblank]

Thanks for a quick reply. Let me see if I can get that to work.

[_Pax_]

Hmm.. No, a mule wouldn't really work. Oh well, I can dream. :)

[Cweord]

A mule should do it well, 1 mule with different bags, transfer bag to other character - the other character gets the bag and all the kit in it.

Would also do what I needed earlier, with kits to add to npcs - a bit laborious but should work. Also if you keep your mule in a profile to it's self it will be quicker to load when you need to add the gear

[JDDyslexia]

So, I was thinking of an idea for an optional feature for Shadowrun in HL, but I'm sure this would probably take up some time.

If you dig through SR4A and Arsenal (if you want, I can find page numbers), they talk about the "Standard" sensor packages that come with drones and vehicles. There's a table in SR4A that shows the signal rating and capacity of these sensor packages based on the type of drone or vehcile.

If you read Arsenal, it talks about this a bit more, mentioning some basic examples of what those sensors entail and how, with GM approval, players can put modifications to the sensors on the vehicle/drone.

I would like to see some optional feature at the configuration window that allows players to customize the sensor packages that are in drones and vehicles. I would think that any vision/hearing mod would be available, plus a few other sensor-type modifications.

There was also another spot that mentioned mechanical arms on drones that can be customized. That could also be an optional thing.

Just a thought. :-)

[Canis]

If you look in the Cargo section of the Gear tab, the different sized sensor packages are there, with the correct capacity for you to specify which enhancements and sensors the Drone/Vehicle has.

If you put smartlink in one of said sensor packages then HL will even add the dice pool bonus for Smartlink.

The only thing Hero Lab doesn't do it add the sensor package automatically or ensure it's the right sized one.

[JDDyslexia]

Awesome! Thanks for the tip!

[Ryu]

Is it possible to specify how the tabs of the Editor are sorted? Like A-Z from top to bottom?

[Mad Hamish]

It would be nice if the Ranged Defense popup would display the values for both Gymnastics and Dodge.

[Death_Jester]

Is there a way to translate the names for agents/pilots to the Matrix tab on the main character display? The section titled Agents and Independent Programs at the bottom left? Once you have more than one of a type, if they are the same rating, it is impossible to tell them apart without going through the dashboard. Since you can name them on the dashboard when you switch to their profile, it would be great to have that name transfer to the main character's matrix tab.

[cndblank]

Need an Improved GM Combat Roster for NPCs.


Some thing that provides the info a GM needs to run the game.
Clearly defined defense and armor values.
Clearly defined weapon and weapon skill values.
Plus options for various ammo types.
Any martial arts info should also be included.


And the option to include an abbreviated spell and or critter power list would also be nice. Some thing so the GM doesn't have to look up the mechanics of a spell or power during the game.

[RavenX]

As another item for the Personal Tabs permanent adjustments, would be nice to be able to adjust up or down the limit on gear Availability and Rating purchasable at character creation.

[Aldaron]

A couple of things that would make NPC creation a little easier:

1) display the breakdown of "weapons/armour/magic/etc" value (p 454, Core Rules) when you create an NPC rather than a PC.

2) Be able to sort magic items by price (or any items, really). I know sometimes I'll just want to scroll through the list and pick a magic item I may not have used before - something a little flavourful for that particular NPC, but it'd be nice to keep all the affordable items near the top.

Keep up the good work, guys - as always, HeroLab is perhaps the single most useful application I've ever used! :)

[Mara]

I would love it if we could resize individual sections in the various areas(like in Magic/Resonance/weapons) as, sometimes, one area is so much bigger then another area will ever be, and it would be nice to make the adjustments so I can see everything on that
character when building it.

[Korwin]

Just a couple of items I would like to see. A method to easily modify maximum BP in Qualities during character creation and max Availability during character creation.

The qualities BP is adjustable on the Permanent Adjustments list on the Personal tab - "Positive Qualities BP" and "Negative Qualities BP". House ruling availability limits is already on the to-do list.

Found the BP adjustments for Qualities in the Personal tab.
I also found the ignore availability for one item, so I guess it got - sort of - added in the meantime.
It would be great if there was an additional option to alter the amount of availability for all items.
Or will above spoken of house rule be additionally?

And one option to alter the amount of maximum cash at char generation would be great too.

Edit: Thought I found the option for the money, but "Gear Build Point Limit" doesnt do a thing under Karma Gen...

[cndblank]

The Shadowrun gear list is way too long.

We really need to be able jump to/view just Foci, or just Explosives.

Is there a way to do that?


Thanks

[cndblank]

It would be nice if we could change the Implant Grade of cyberware and bioware from the Edit the Gear Panel.

Unless I'm missing some thing, currently you have to delete the ware and then re-add it with the right implant grade.

Thanks

[Mathias]

The Shadowrun gear list is way too long.

We really need to be able jump to/view just Foci, or just Explosives.

Is there a way to do that?


Thanks

The text filter at the top will get you close to this - type in "Focus" or "Explosive" and it will remove most of the rest of the gear list.

[Mathias]

It would be nice if we could change the Implant Grade of cyberware and bioware from the Edit the Gear Panel.

Unless I'm missing some thing, currently you have to delete the ware and then re-add it with the right implant grade.

Thanks

There's an option near the bottom of the edit form for augmentations that says: "Settings: Standard Implant Grade, Wireless Enabled, RFID Tags Enabled", and has another edit button next to it.

[Korwin]

Is there a way to simulate becomming an Vampire (etc.) after Char. Generation?

Edit:
Feature Request:
Shapeshifters who turn into Metahumans instead of Humans.

[cndblank]

There's an option near the bottom of the edit form for augmentations that says: "Settings: Standard Implant Grade, Wireless Enabled, RFID Tags Enabled", and has another edit button next to it.


Thank you!

[cndblank]

I have an NPC with several spells that he has spell locked on himself.

Or if I know an NPC has a spell being sustained I'd like to adjust his GM summary stats with the spell effects.


How do I represent this?


Examples of spells:

Deflections 5 plus 5 to the Defense against ranged attacks (which is reaction plus modifiers for full defense/cover).

Combat Sense 4 plus 4 to all Defense rolls and plus 4 for surprise tests.

Or even Nightvision.

The In Play Adjustments would seem to be the thing and I see attribute, Damage Resistance, and skill adjustments (and more), but no adjustments to Defense.

Am I missing some thing?

If not can you please add it?


Thanks!

[Mad Hamish]

Is there a way to simulate becomming an Vampire (etc.) after Char. Generation?


You can just select the optional modification when the character is locked.

[Mad Hamish]

Feature Request:
Shapeshifters who turn into Metahumans instead of Humans.

If you go into character options you can select "Not Always Quite Human Shapeshifters"
Then you can create a metahuman character and select a shapeshifter.
It doesn't give you the stat modifiers but it's not meant to (pg 87 on Runner's Companion gives the details on how it works)

[Korwin]

You can just select the optional modification when the character is locked.
Did not find the optional modification, in what tab is it? I think I looked everywhere...

Edit: I'm blind, its on the same place as in char. generation...

If you go into character options you can select "Not Always Quite Human Shapeshifters"
Then you can create a metahuman character and select a shapeshifter.
It doesn't give you the stat modifiers but it's not meant to (pg 87 on Runner's Companion gives the details on how it works)

Thanks found it. (But I dont agree with this rules interpretation, mostly because its totaly over priced to only look like an elf.)

[saltorio]

One thing I'd really like to see (and find it odd that's mising): a Speed listing on the printed character sheet/PDF. It doesn't seem to be listed anywhere there.

[cndblank]

Is there a way to use In Play Adjustments to add to a characters Ranged Defense?
I have a spell locked deflection spell (adds to Ranged Defense) that I'd like to figure out how to include on the character sheet.

You can increase the Reaction of the Character but that would boost Initiative.

I'd like the option to add to either Ranged Defense, Melee Defense, or All Defense.

[kriptoblight]

a work around would be to create a custom shield that is 0/0 and then add the desired stats via temporary adjustments to the shield. thats it at the moment. i was hoping for something similar to how the adepts have the toggle on off stat increase for powers, but for mage self/beneficial spells.

[Korwin]

Is there a way to use In Play Adjustments to add to a characters Ranged Defense?
I have a spell locked deflection spell (adds to Ranged Defense) that I'd like to figure out how to include on the character sheet.

You can increase the Reaction of the Character but that would boost Initiative.

I'd like the option to add to either Ranged Defense, Melee Defense, or All Defense.

I would like to request on In Play Adjustment for full ranged defense too.
(Want to add the dices from Synthacardium manually.)

[cryptoknight]

I'm stating up some NPCs for Shadowrun Missions so I can use the combat tracker for them.

What I've found annoying is magic using NPCs... I have to lock them so I can use the advancement tab to give them initiation, advanced stats, metamagics, etc.

If the character is classed as an NPC, I thought I wouldn't have to do this.

[kriptoblight]

I believe i have looked over the vehicle sheets pretty well, but am wondering if there is a way (in the future or now) to add which hero's are in a vehicle. (thus adding the vehicles armor rating to damage resistance roles on called shots and such.
Also as well as to add a hero to a manual turret on a vehicle to more accurately represent using the weapon. with modifiers for armored and unarmored.

[Korwin]

Is there a way to designate the Rigger as jumped in?
So I see what dice pool the rigger has in the drone?

[Calabim696]

Is there a way to designate the Rigger as jumped in?
So I see what dice pool the rigger has in the drone?

I would also love to know if there is a way to do this. I believe this is one of those things that used to be on the "to do" list.

[Mathias]

I would also love to know if there is a way to do this. I believe this is one of those things that used to be on the "to do" list.

It is still on the to-do list in the FAQ (Help menu...Shadowrun FAQ)

[kriptoblight]

Thanks Mathias! Btw new update is great!

[VenxWolf]

Hey All!

I have to say that the one thing I would like to really see more than anything else is the addition of custom spells. I typically play an awakened an I've always loved the fact that I can make my own spells, but currently there is no method to do that in Hero Lab :(

[Mathias]

Hey All!

I have to say that the one thing I would like to really see more than anything else is the addition of custom spells. I typically play an awakened an I've always loved the fact that I can make my own spells, but currently there is no method to do that in Hero Lab :(

Tools menu...Launch Editor
File...New Data File
Then, create the spells on the Spell tab.

[RavenX]

I hadn't thought about this much, until recently, but it would be nice to have a sticky thread in this forum for Hero Lab support plans for Shadowrun like there is in the Pathfinder forums. It would be nice to know what the plan is for supporting this system.