Creating data file

[Mmurphy]

I have my own role-playing system that I have created. How hard would it be to create a data file from scratch if say the system were about as complicated as making a character for the D20 system. I have never played D20, but have made characters for neverwinter nights--so I am using that as my base line.

What I would like to know is can Hero Lab allow new data files to be created from complete scratch.

Thanks,

Michael

[Mathias]

Not yet. From what I've read on the boards, the developer's kit is not coming out for a while.

[MPHopcroft]

The Dev Kit is, from what I understand, essentially going to be a combination of extensive documentation and shortcuts. The people at Lone Wolf already know (or are figuring out) how to do all the things we're demanding, but explaining it in a way that is comprehensible for amateur non-programmers is apparently a considerable challenge.

If they can come up with something easier to utilize than what the other companies have out there, I'll be happy.

[Mmurphy]

Any ideas on when the Dev Kit will be out for public use?

[rob]

At 02:02 PM 10/21/2007, you wrote:

I have my own role-playing system that I have created. How hard would it be to create a data file from scratch if say the system were about as complicated as making a character for the D20 system. I have never played D20, but have made characters for neverwinter nights--so I am using that as my base line.

What I would like to know is can Hero Lab allow new data files to be created from complete scratch.

The Kit for creating your own data files from scratch is targeted for 1Q08. We've learned a lot from the process of creating the WoD and M&M data files over the past many months. We've made a lot of refinements to simplify the process, plus we have a bunch more stuff we want to do to streamline the process even more before we release the Kit. There is also the matter of tons of documentation (reference, how-to, and tutorials) that must be written. So it's a number of months out still.

Our philosophy is that we can do this one of two ways. Option #1 is to release the Kit now and have the process be much more complex than it needs to be, which we believe will frustrate a good number of folks who would like to write data files. Option #2 is to wait until the Kit is mature enough to make things substantially easier on the user and make it accessible to a larger number of prospective authors. We're going with Option #2.