Hero Lab on Android

[liz]

Hey everyone, I wanted to point you all to a recent post we've put together that answers some of the Frequently Asked Questions about Android.

Please continue to share your support here.

[burtosd]

To throw in my $.02 worth (and apologies if this has already been raised) ...

One of the most annoying things that a lot of Android Developers do is to only distribute their products via Google Play. Great for most Android devices, but many folks use the Kindle Fire because it is very affordable and good value for money - so please also make an Android version of HeroLab available on Amazon's Kindle store as well as Google Play, or provide a downloadable apk file so that it can be sideloaded onto the Kindle (since I am sure that there are a lot of folks who do not want to root their Kindle to get Google Play).

[Jimbo420]

I would be happy with just an app that you an load your Hero Lab profile into and just use the In-Play, Adjustments, and Condition tabs. I would think that would make it simpler to develop if/when the decision is made to move forward with Android.

[JackOfAllGames]

I would like to be able to edit Hero Lab characters on Android, but yeah, a Hero Lab "reader" would work great too.

I wouldn't often build full characters on mobile - that's why I have a desktop computer (content creation on mobile devices is often slow and/or painful). Something to be able to read and tweak the already-made profiles would work for me most of the time. The question is whether that's really much easier to build. I'm guessing not. ...and if it were essentially a PDF reader, that's not really adding any value - I can already print to a PDF and copy the file to my Android.

In any case, I WOULD love to have the option of using Hero Lab and Realm Works on my Android tablet (a 2013 Nexus 7 right now).

[Jimbo420]

What I am talking about would would be a little more then just the PDF reader. Of course it is really easy to just view a PDF on your tablet especially when using drop box or Google Drive.

[ledeir]

+1 for android.
And thank you for the explanation as to why you did iOS first.

[Krimson]

Hero Lab & Android FAQ

Looks like they want us to shut up about Android.

[ShadowChemosh]

Originally Posted by Krimson

Hero Lab & Android FAQ

Looks like they want us to shut up about Android.

I highly doubt that. They are just trying to give information for what the road looks like ahead right now. Does not mean that down the road a little an Android version does not come along. I would actually be surprised if one never comes actually.

[Dett]

+1 for an Android version.

[loodwig]

+1 for Android as well.

As a developer of mobile applications (both in native and web), I can speak for the viability of the newer android devices, especially as an emerging platform. My company's bottom line would be seriously hampered by not supporting this significant demographic. I cannot speak for Kindle Fire, given that while it is an inexpensive alternative to other tablets, the general commitment to housing a dedicated web platform hasn't entered the realm of competitiveness or even web readiness that is demanded of an accepted platform. To put it bluntly, the platform is a glorified book that is non-standard, feature-weak, not enough people with money use it, and there's no incentive to change that (similarly, we're not working with blackberry). You are wise to pick your battles.

Of course, your development team knows this, and is quite keen on reasonable scope support with respect to the bottom line and the very sustainability of your organization. I've been writing my own web app that latches on to Hero Lab's export, performing a scrape of the HTML statblocks and character sheets, and then using it as a malleable web application that works fine in chrome (because god help anyone who uses something else ). This has helped me out tremendously, as all the information that is reasonably organized within your application can then be accessed without much ceremony. Basically I make the html docs a day or so before the session, and my smartphone becomes an interactive note card for my statblocks during the game. Plus, it gives me the ability to work around many of the short-comings and known bugs within Hero lab (not that I'm faulting you there, because any sufficiently non-trivial application will have bugs). As a game master, this has turned a fun toy into a powerful tool. I'd be happier if the HTML you exported were more... stylized of course, however this works for now.

That, of course, begs the question, if I'm capable (as one person) of writing a web application (as in plain ol' html, css, and js) in my spare time that can overcome these shortcomings, what's to stop someone else from doing the same? If the source material is available through the online PRD, the value added by hero lab is limited. Respectfully, I caution you not to neglect this emerging demographic while you can maintain a competitive edge. You have a fine product, but an inaccessible fine product is no product at all.