An RPG Tool??????
 

In a separate thread, a user posed the question of whether we had considered developing a tool for character creation for RPGs. Writing an RPG tool is significantly more complex than AB, since the UI must visually adapt to each game much moreso than AB does. However, writing an RPG tool is something we've been asked about for years and it's something that we've recently been devoting a lot of thought to.

Since this topic was started, it made me realize this is an ideal time to take a poll of AB users to find out if lots of you would like to see us develop an RPG tool or only a few of you. There are already some solutions out for RPGs, and at least one new tool that's been threatening to be released for a couple years now. I'm not very familiar with those tools, so I'm going to pose a variety of questions and see what you think....

1. For the tools that are available (or soon to be available), what are the things they do well that we should make sure to include?

2. For those same tools, what do you see as their shortcomings that we should focus on improving upon?

3. What other capabilities do you feel are critical to the success of an RPG tool (that aren't mentioned above)?

4. If we were to announce development of an RPG tool, but our tool comes out later than another tool, would you hold off a few months to see what we come up with before making a purchase decision? Or is release timing a critical factor?

5. If we were to do an RPG tool, what are the best places to advertise the tool's existence? What publications, websites, or other resources do you regularly read where you'd see an ad and check out the product?

6. If we created an RPG tool, there's no way that we could arrange support for all games out of the chute. So, what are the top four games that we should strive to support from the outset?

We've been seriously considering developing an RPG tool, and we're definitely interested in mapping out how we could do it successfully. Your answers to the questions above would be most helpful in directing our efforts. Thanks in advance to everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts!

-Rob

Should we answer in this thread?

Is this a dead thread?

An RPG Tool??????
 

Yes, please answer in this thread. Perhaps the lack of responses in this thread is indicative of the interest in an RPG tool?!?! I sure hope not, but I'm now a little bit concerned....

-Rob

At 05:40 AM 6/27/2006, you wrote:

Geez, I was thinking the same thing! Makes me sad! Your program is so easy to use and useful I can't see how any RPGer wouldn't jump at the chance to utilize it! Maybe miniature wargamers don't role play or maybe it has to do with the general decline of the genre. I'm hoping this thread doesn't die but for what its worth, here are my two cents.
1. Your point and click software is perfect for an RPG application.
2. The game I like to play the most is Mutants and Masterminds a super-hero RPG from Green Ronan. On the MnM website, in their forums is a program called Simpsons which to date is the most useful tool for creating characters. What it doesn't offer is a running calculator of what you're spending on each power/feat/skill that would be the best.
3. Plug and play with an option to print off a nice character sheet and maybe the possibility of uploading a character sketch would be keen.
4. I don't think there's anything out there for my game but if someone were suddenly to jump into the game after you've already committed to a program I'd definitely wait and see what you bring to the table. Anyone one else would be hard pressed to compete with your format though.
5. There are so many avenues it would be an extensive list for sure and too long to list here.
6. My vote, MnM, MnM, MnM and I guess D&D...but thats a totally unbiased opinion of course!

Well, that's my humble opinion. I don't know much about how it works but I know that you guys make a great (and under appreciated) product. Keep up the good work and don't let the initial response be your final indicator!

wag

I would be very interested in a program as long as it was user friendly not as computer savy as alot of people I dont think it would work with d20 because its always changing but Mutants and Masterminds as a Superlink I think would work great

1. i agree with omen on this point. also, the ease of editing data files is a huge plus.

2. to me, they lack an easy to use gui editior with easy to edit data files. one prog i am pretty familiar with is pcgen. while i am familiar with editing their text-based data files, a gui would be much nicer. some others have it, but if they had the power and ease of use that abcreator has, that would be better. also, there is an extreme lack of flexibilty for other game systems. AB has a beautiful way of being able to be used for many systems. PCGen does many, as long as they are D20. others seem to be good for only one particular game, not even the whole system.

3. character sheet templates. again, easy to use, easy to reconfigure/setup your own.

4. yes i'd wait. especially if it were to support WFRP. there are very few char creators for that, and none that i'd consider good (or good enough to buy). i'd also wait to see your product before buying, let's say, e-tools (for D&D) from CMP.

5. again, i agree with omen. websites, yahoo groups (that allow it), white dwarf, dragon magazine just to name a few.

6. WFRP, WFRP (gets 2 votes because of it's growing popularity and viability for sales), D&D, and one science fiction like Star Wars. that at least shows it can be done and would maybe inspire others to write data sets for other similar games.

4. I would wait for a purchase to see what you guys created also. Knowing what AB abd CV do, I can only imagine what you would cook up for a RPG version.

6. I would suggest RPGs that run from 3 or 4 completly different system styles to be honest. This way it woudl show the flexibility of the tool for all gaming systems. If you go with the d20 based games only first, many users will have a harder time seeing that flexibility when moving to other systems, such as Classic Star Wars(WEG) (d6 base), or even White Wolf games like Vampire and Werewolf (d10 base). I agree that top games shoudl be there. To that end I woudl suggest a couple d20 systems, D&D(WotC), Star Wars(WotC) being the 2 I hear the most about.

Well, well, well
 

Wow! I''ve been away a long time! I'm glad to see that the RPG aspect of your programs finally took off! I plugged the hell out of it on all my favourite gaming sites back then and couldn't get a nibble let alone a bite and now here we are 6 years later and it looks like it finally took off! Good for you! Glad to see it's out there and I hope it's been a big success in general for you! Cheers!