Any suggestions on how to prep for Realm Works?

[Zaphod Beebledoc]

Originally Posted by weogarth

As Chemlak has mentioned, this question has been asked/answered a number of times. The answer has always been highly discouraging the practice to avoid Bad Things.

Is the answer probably out of an (over-)abundance of caution? Yes. Do I care to be the one to find out they were right with my precious data? **** no. I'm using my Dropbox as a location for database backups, which I then restore on my other computer. After a few times of forgetting which computer made the backup (I'd been using a timestamp in the file name only) I started adding in an extra character indicating the source computer.

HTH.

It's worth mentioning that once the cloud is up and running, it shouldn't be necessary to do this to get the same data on two computers.

[weogarth]

Originally Posted by Zaphod Beebledoc

It's worth mentioning that once the cloud is up and running, it shouldn't be necessary to do this to get the same data on two computers.

Ah yes, I do believe that LWD did indicate that this was one benefit/feature of the cloud. Thanks ZB.

[rob]

@Zaphod: You're making your life unnecessarily difficult. After you paste from the PDF into RW, go to the Tools menu on the snippet. Then go to the Text Content submenu and select the option to Clear Text Formatting and Reformat as Single Paragraph. Or you can perform those two operations independently of each other (clear and reformat). This will achieve the same net results as copying into Notepad and then copying out - with a few less steps and hassles.

[rob]

Originally Posted by Caraldur

I have a question about the installation of RW. Can you target a directory for your campaign that is outside of the RW root directory, like a dropbox folder?

The info from @Chemlak and @weogarth is accurate. You can't put your database in a shared location and access it from multiple sources. That would invalidate the safeguards we've put into place for syncing data between the client and cloud. So it's a no-no.

Once the cloud provides full syncing, the need for using Dropbox and the like should be obviated.

[Zaphod Beebledoc]

Originally Posted by rob

@Zaphod: You're making your life unnecessarily difficult. After you paste from the PDF into RW, go to the Tools menu on the snippet. Then go to the Text Content submenu and select the option to Clear Text Formatting and Reformat as Single Paragraph. Or you can perform those two operations independently of each other (clear and reformat). This will achieve the same net results as copying into Notepad and then copying out - with a few less steps and hassles.

*rubs hands together like a cartoon villain*

Brilliant! That technique is a hold over from pre-Realms Works, btw. That'll make things a *lot* easier! Thanks!

[Silveras]

As far as "Tips for preparing" goes...

Organizing your information
Looking at Wiki sites might be a good idea as a model.

One key is going to be that you will want to separate things you would reveal from things you would not. A printed adventure, or your own notes, might mix GM-only information with information intended for the PCs. You will probably want to separate those while entering them, to make revealing just the PC-appropriate information easier.

Because the arrangement can be like Wiki pages, you will likely want to think about the best place to locate the information. If one NPC can tell the PCs about another NPC, which one makes more sense to be where you put the information? It is ABOUT NPC #2, so that makes sense.. but they are going to get it from NPC #1, and so maybe it is in NPC #1's notes or printed description instead of NPC #2's. You might want it in both, but if you decide to alter it later, that makes it easier to miss one of the locations.

Editing your Information
Also, you will likely find yourself editing the wording. If the original text refers to "they" and "them", you might find yourself changing it to "you" so that it reads better when the players have access to it.

[JackOfAllGames]

Lots of great information in here. Thanks for all the suggestions and RW info so far!

I'm hoping to start the real work of fleshing out my ideas soon (this weekend if possible). I know that *I* have a much better idea of how to proceed now.

More info is always appreciated too. If anyone has further idea/suggestions, keep 'em coming! =)