Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Michigan
Posts: 182
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So, I think I was using it correctly... (I stopped using HL because we don't use Pathfinder anymore) I have all four licenses - the two I got when I purchased HL, and the additional two for $10 each. I bought nearly all the PF datasets. I kept one copy on my "main" computer that I did the majority of the editing on (let's face it, nothing beats a real keyboard and mouse), and one on my laptop that I used when I ran the game session - Tactical Console rocks! I also had one each on two "side" machines that players could go up to during breaks or during downtime and play around with their characters, check requirements for prestige classes, plan out feat progressions, print extra character sheets, make updates, and the like. I would sync all the character portfolios manually when needed. I had always assumed this was legal, since all computers were owned by me, and only one person at a time was ever using each licence. Was I good? * As for players needing HL during combat, I find it's not a requirement. I do have one that uses the iPad app, but no one else owns an iPad (all Android). So I just check the conditions, and other adjustments (ShadowChemosh rulez!) myself from the Tactical Console. I know their bonuses better than they do sometimes. |
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#11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 677
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#12 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 6
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As both a player and GM, I find Hero Labs an incredible tool. I have all the add ons for Pathfinder, and my group contributes a small token when new data is available. People email me the changes at level up, and I print to a PDF or output the statblock into Dropbox, and a few tech savvy players are using their Mac iPads to play with the herolab sheets (which allow you to self edit live, during play, and even upload the changes back to a central database like Dropbox). This way, all players and the GM (if not my campaign), can see the new updated sheets. Yes, it requires time on my part, but it allows for one point person using the system. People can still access their own books ($40+ for some core material per book), and then email the changes. Or, conversely, have people show up early and learn to use the program themselves while you prep the gaming area. No matter how you slice it, people will have to pay money at some point. Even if you decide to forgo the system and use books, only one person can take said book home. Only one person can read the book at a time. It comes down to personal preference. Do you, as a player want to invest all that money into hard copy books and lug them everywhere, or do you want to bring a laptop/have a computer with all the data? Wolflair, myself, nobody can dictate what you do but yourself. I hope you enjoy the system for what it is, a great resource tool…I do! |
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#13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 223
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Anyway, as for the licensing thing, I can understand limiting it to one person per license at a time. If I wanted more than 4 licenses though, I would normally have to buy another FULL license and all the add-ons, the secondary license for that full license, and one tertiary license. That would provide me the 7 licenses needed for 6 thin clients and a workstation that are only accessible while at my home, gaming with me, but I'd also have to shell out as if I was two completely separate people that would be using Hero Lab in different places at the same time. Considering the situation would NOT end up with me being able to use Hero Lab in two places at once, it's a special condition not usual to their regular customer, I'm wondering if there's a way that I wouldn't have to pay for another FULL license, and can get a few extra "extended" licenses. I can understand if that's not possible, I'd just be disappointed, and might not be able to afford setting up my concept, at least not at this point. |
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#14 |
Senior Member
Lone Wolf Staff
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,690
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#15 |
Ex-Staff
Lone Wolf Staff
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 961
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#16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 416
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The other great thing about this is that you can use remote desktop from android devices. The only complication comes from changes being made to the same portfolio by multiple parties (the DM and the player both having the same portfolio open). The DM makes changes while the player has it open, and the other won't see the changes. Player then makes their own changes, and hit save, and they've just overwritten the DM's changes. Proper handling of this would require HL to monitor the file(s) it has open for changes, and when it detects a change, offer a popup to reopen the file from disk. This would provide almost on the fly syncing of multiple Hero Lab instances run from the same install (or even different installs, if the file stores are shared).
(Still makes me wish they'd opted to make a web based UI instead of the iPad interface) |
#17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 416
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Also, what would be great, is if you could open multiple Portfolio files at once. Currently, if you DO try to do as mentioned above, and share the portfolio files, the DM has the choice of having to open and close each character when looking for something, or rolling the entire party into a single portfolio. The problem with this, is that if it is all one portfolio, you end up with the whole parties characters in it, so every player can see each other's sheets as well. That's all well and good, but it also means the encounter builder's npcs will be shared with all players too. That's not so good.
My proposed solution would be to have a .par (party file) that was basically a listing of multiple .por files. When a .par file is opened, if will subsequently import each associated .por into the running database, adding a field on each hero as to which .por it came from (for saving and file update monitoring). When creating a new hero, either singularly or from the encounter builder), it would ask which open .por to add it to. The DM, in this case, could have her own .por file that they use to hold the recurring npc's, and one to use as a temporary holding space for encounters. They would have a .par that pointed to both of these, as well as each player's .por file. This would allow everyone to be in the same interface for the DM, and allow him to utilize the full tactical console. Each player would only open up their own .por file, which would contain their character, as well as any hirelings/familiars/mounts/eidelons/etc they control. These changes do not sound overly difficult, as they would basically be high level automation of functions already in the program (importing .por files to the open one). The file monitoring would be a new feature to be coded, but I'm not sure it would be all that difficult. The code for reloading a por file is already there, as used from the Test feature in the editor. I think these few changes would greatly aid in the usability of HL at the tableside. (let me know if any of this breaks something, as I'm writing this at 2:30 in the morning, fueled by munchies and monster)... Last edited by Fuzzy; April 24th, 2014 at 01:36 AM. |
#18 |
Senior Member
Volunteer Data File Contributor
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Nowhere, Virginia
Posts: 3,633
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As the GM for my group, I have Hero Lab and most of the licenses for the software on my personal computers (both my laptop and desktop). We are a shared book group, the players purchase the books which sit on my shelf and they are permitted to reference them at game meetings, they get passed around and read during the lul times in the game such as lunch or dinner breaks and the players all get to see their newest game options). When my players work on a character from the books, they have a blank handwritten sheet to work with (Which is the only thing you can legally photocopy from the core book). They work on their character on the handwritten sheet as a kind of rough draft. Once they're finished, I take that sheet and add the data into hero lab myself during a break period such a lunch or dinner and then print their sheet for them out of hero lab. I have two players that own hero lab licenses (one of which I paid for a full license at the time with all the available pathfinder content as a birthday gift to him). I am not able to do this with all my players, however. If they wish to own Hero Lab it comes out of their own pocket. I keep all the character sheets in the notebook that I keep my GM notes in anyway so that I don't have to reprint if they lose it. If they want a reprint I give them a USB thumb drive with the pdf documents for their character and send them off to the photocopy store to print one. I use hero lab to track combat things, spells used, resources used, etc. as I run the actual game. The encounter builder gets used heavily at my table. If someone wants something from supplemental books for their character I can add it through my computer so we don't worry about everyone having hero lab in the group. My main reason for using hero lab is the tactical console as a GM (it saves me a lot of time to just use the tactical console to track hit points, psionic power points, etc.).
As an addendum: One other thing my players will do is purchase pdf copies of the books from paizo. I get a hard copy and they usually get pdfs. This simplifies the process as I typically read the books faster and often point out things that they are likely to be interested in. One of my players is a divine character player, and one leans toward martial characters. For them it is easy for me to point out options ideal for the characters they like to play. RavenX Pronouns: She/Her Please do not PM me to inquire about datafiles I coded "for personal use" such as Exalted, World of Darkness, AD&D, or Warhammer 40K Roleplaying. I appreciate your interest, but I do not own the Intellectual Property rights to these game systems. Nor do I have permission from any of the Publishers to distribute the data files. As such, I cannot distribute the work I have done with community on these files. They are "for personal use" only. Thank you. I am far too busy these days to answer emails. If you message me here there is no guarantee I will get back to you at all. Last edited by RavenX; April 24th, 2014 at 06:30 AM. |
#19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 223
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