Yeah I agree. This could actually be pretty useful.

You know, you could always use a program like Fractal Mapper, take a screen shot of google earth and do some heavy modifications (or light if you prefer) on there.

Apologies For The Formatting (Borrowed Phone).

My New Idea Is Flagging Data To Be Cached Locally On Mobile Devices (Might Need To Add A Mobile Client). This Would Allow (For Now) HeroLab Data To Be Available On Mobile Devices Without Manually trAnsferring Each Time A Character Is Updated.

pyremius - realms work, or hero lab?

Is there any tool in RW that allows to create and manage a time line?
A line where you can see (or put directly on the line) graphically illustrated the dates (for examples date of birth or dead of a NPC or, in general, dates of some events of the created world) that you have setted in the other parts of the world's project.
It could be very helpful for a Master have a tool like during the creation phase as well as during the game.

I'm sorry for my english... I hope my question is clear and comprehensible...

I'm not completely sure anymore (coming down with a cold, while spending the day in a car - wonderful way to start a vacation, or think anything logical).

If I understand HeroLab for iOS properly, each time you update a character in HeroLab you need to launch iTunes and copy the file so the updated information will be reflected on the iPad. What I envision is a flag within HeroLab which says "sync this portfolio with my mobile device", paired with a place within the mobile copy of HeroLab to specify source locations for HeroLab files (Google Drive, DropBox, iCloud, etc.). Then, once a character is updated in HeroLab, the next time your mobile copy syncs data, it will automatically pull the portfolio down.

Within the RealWorks context, this would need to be augmented with ad-hoc portfolios in the mobile version. Currently, all characters appear to be dumped into a common collection in the iPad version of HeroLab. With the introduction of RealmWorks, it will be possible for a person to be participant in multiple campaigns, with access to multiple NPCs, etc., in addition to the primary character, Familiar, mounts, Henchmen, hirelings, etc.

Being able to go into the RealmWorks campaign and toggle local caching on a per-character basis would help keep the amount of data involved to a minimum, while still ensuring people with with tablets are able to utilize them at non-wifi locations.

I'm sure this could be expanded for other data from within RealmWorks, and the primary driver for the idea is the potential volume of characters each player could have access to, which they might not be managing directly.

how would a player use Realm works or would they just use hero lab and the DM use realm works >

New to forums, I've already been told it's not going to be in the initial build, but thought I should add it to a list of wanted features so other folk could have a look at my ideas:-

1) XML import/export and some kind of schema for Realm Works material.
The reasoning behind this is I want to use it for an existing LARP which has much material - and it would be an easier way to import a large amount of data, rather than going through dialog boxes/GUI forms. With an export it would be also able to save snapshots for various purposes (backup, or website display)
2) An API
Being able to have my own programs talk to Realm Works (especially if through the web - ie PHP) would be very useful. Possibly not to Realm Works itself, but to the cloud resources (with an appropriate valid user key) would be nice.
3) Standards compliance
It would be nice if the program used current cataloguing standards for things (e.g. EAC-CPF for people/organisation data, or GED files for geneology programs) albeit it wouldn't be fully compliant, but just being able to output some of the fields would be nice.

The players would use a client version to connect to the GM's data in the cloud. The GM, when putting in all the data, will flag which data tidbits are 'known' to the players. From what I understand, the players would only see those pieces.

I'll have a lot of data to enter when I get RW at the end of the month. :D Will there be a way of marking an NPC, for example as incomplete? Then seeing a list of all the things that you want to complete.

From my understanding of how it works, you could create a custom "incomplete" tag and add it to all of the things you haven't finished yet, and can later search all content by that tag. Remove the tag when you've completed them, and that should provide you with the functionality you're looking for.

Please note, of course, that IHNSRW (I Have Not Seen Realm Works), but this is an educated guess on the basis of trawling through everything about it.

Count me as another who can't wait for early access.

That's a very good suggestion Chemlak. :cool:

Wish I'd thought of it!

Through the Realm Works cloud, GMs will be able to share all the material that the players have uncovered through the course of the game. Players will be able to download all that material and have full access to it, seeing only what has been revealed to them.

That's exactly how you'd do it within Realm Works. Chemlak gets a cookie! :)

It's also possible to setup "auto-tagging". Whenever you create new content, it is automatically assigned whatever tags you deem appropriate. So you could auto-tag every new piece of content with an "Incomplete" tag and then remove those tags once the content is complete. That will save one extra step on every piece of content and also make sure you never forget to add the tag. :)

Awesome. Can my cookie be early access arriving by 10 July? I have 12 days off work for a break and really want to spend my time with RW. ;)

lol .... I'd like one of those cookies too

Very cool Rob. :)

Apparently you can't delete your own posts. Annoying. I should have multiquoted and wanted to delete this one.

I would like...
 

I also would like one of the 'by 10 Jul' cookies... :)

The data import is going to take weeks (by my estimate)... :(

As the 9th Doctor would say, fantastic!

So players will be viewing that material in Realm Works, not as a separate file? Will there be any sort of PDF export capacity in future, so a GM can share data with players at any time?

I believe they've said that PDF export is on the list of features to be included, but not at the 1.0 release as the initial focus will be on GMs putting information in RW, then they will set it up so that GMs can get that information out in an offline way (as online is part of the 1.0 release).

The above is from what I've gathered reading some posts and statements. Purely speculative, but given the number of people who've requested PDF export, I would imagine it's one of the earlier planned enhancements to RW, but again that is purely my speculation.

Thanks Enrious! PDF export would be fantastic.

My group is far-flung, so we do a lot of stuff via email between real-life sessions. The idea of a tool that enables the GM to easily assemble and maintain a sort of "game codex" that players can access anytime, anywhere gives me goose bumps.

A must-have is the Pathfinder APs, modules, and (perhaps even more useful) the setting of Golarion itself. But beyond just having the data, have the ability to modify it as needed. Maybe even a "GM version" vs "Player version". The players know (or in some cases, believe) something that may or may not be true, but the GM part can have the entire truth (at least as far as that given instance of the campaign is concerned).

If I understand you, you're saying saying that if official Golarion information was available as a official data pack or whatnot, a DM would need to be able to hide or alter that information to tailor it for their campaign?

(choosing what, if any of it to share with players is already built-in)

If that's what you mean, you may wish to repeat it over in the features and suggestions thread to make it easier for the devs to keep track of such things.

This is part-and-parcel to Realm Works. You can modify the content as you see fit, just like you can with the print/PDF versions. You also have complete control over what the players do/don't know.

Yeah, I remember the cloud and "fog of war" type thing. I thought that was used more in maps, I was not sure it if was available for encyclopedia-type knowledge.

We all know that very few players actually read the GM-handouts. :rolleyes: However, if they could theoretically look up tidbits during play via a "Player Knowledge Base (for this campaign anyway)" wiki-like thing that would be better.

Thinking about that a bit further, I wonder how viable it could be to have it set to different players? Player A knows this and this, Player B knows that and something else. I have played (and ran) games where each player knows a bit more than other PCs about certain things. It can be a lot of fun, and a "fog of war" for each player would help out a lot. Maybe access to "the player base" plus special knowledge. Then again, special knowledge could just be provided to that player through other means (like special files or something).

I know that I am thinking big, but I have done a lot of gaming over the years and some features could be really fun for certain games.

I'm sure there are better examples, but you can see how content (map and non-map) can be shared here - http://wolflair.com/index.php?contex...h_your_players

In the content, anything you see with a green dot is shared with players.

On a map, from what I gather, there's two types of fog of war (I think LW calls it "Fog of World"), by doing the kinda traditional sharing wherein you "clear" the black fog layer over areas they know about and the second is if you have pins (like google maps pins) on a map, you can selectively share those pins.

Player-specific sharing for content (no idea about maps) has been confirmed as a to-be-added feature after launch, as far as I know.

I'm not sure if you've seen it, but the Kickstarter video actually demonstrates the answers to a lot of your questions.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...campaign-tools

Also note the 3 additional videos also on the page.

Thanks I watched the video when the Kickstarter began several months ago (and I pledged for it as Dire Wolf). But I had forgotten much of that. :)

I sort of have this picture in my head of those of us awaiting the Early Release are gathered in a waiting lounge outside the main hall, watching an endless loop of that video.

....and drooling like Pavlov's puppies....

The product is SO much nicer now than it was back in January. I'm obviously biased, but that's also the consistent feedback we're hearing from the Beta team. So if you liked the video, I think you'll be quite happy when we finally get this thing out the door.... :)

I'm very much looking forward to it. Any chance of an interim update on progress? Not on the scale of an all-up development blog, but something like "still doing stuff, Beta team have discovered a major flaw, server code looking good, expect more news next week" would be HUGELY appreciated by those of us waiting on tenter hooks for early access.

I guess when things were discussed before I did not pay attention to the Pathfinder part. I just started playing Pathfinder last month.

Or just if "mid-July" still seems feasible.

I'll note that one of the Kickstarter stretch goals is for a Deadlands adventure trilogy - I actually think that in terms of RW, this is more important than any Pathfinder related content, at least at the start.

After all, putting Pathfinder stuff in seems kinda like a no brainer (especially in light of HL's status with official Paizo material) but having material like Deadlands, which is miles from Pathfinder, demonstrates the flexibility of RW to other companies because it shows that if they want an additional source of sales they should at least take a look at RW.

IMO, the greater vision of the cloud and shared content becomes realized when/if it's more than just Pathfinder people involved.

I have been using Hero Lab for Mutants and Masterminds for a few years now, and this last year I started using it for Savage Words. :) Yeah, when they talked about Pathfinder before it was pretty much irrelevant. But now I actually want to play it. I like the three games for playing different genres. It is great that Realms Works will be usable for all of them (and more).

It was the data files for Deadlands that actually got me interested in that setting. So while some people may think that data sets steal from a game, that is not true in my case. It was because of that data, and looking it over, that got me interested in buying (and playing) it.

I know the feeling - I plan on using it for campaigns using Pathfinder (3 campaigns), ICONS, Twilight 2000, L5R, and FATE (Star Trek).

I just can't wait to get it so I can get started on entering data.

That's one of the things I love most about Pinnacle. I think they agree with you on that point and have great fan support and are happy to have folks like LoneWolf even offer data files like that for free. My opinion is it only helps them even more in the long run and they do have a fantastically loyal fanbase, so I'd agree it's a much better way to go than the approach certain other game companies have taken.

I also hope we see more Savage Worlds stuff getting pulled into Realm Works, and I think there is a good chance we might. I'm going to do my part to see if I can help out on that front, but overall we'll just have to wait and see.

Well, I intend on using it for an urban fantasy LARP/Freeform we've been running for over a year now set in modern London - so that's probably quite different from Pathfinder :)

Naturally I'm more interested in the character and plot tracking elements than anything to do with a system.