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Ryan F
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Old November 22nd, 2019, 06:24 AM
Good morning everyone, I think I can give you some partial answers in regards to your question about being able to access Hero Lab Online from multiple devices for use to share with your family and playgroup.

We do have this idea on our list of items for future enhancement, to enable more than just a single Internet Browser on a single device to be logged in, but as Joe noted earlier there are some groundwork tasks that are needed to be completed before we are able to get there.

Ideally, we want to open up a new type of License/Account for the service, a family/group License of sorts that will empower you all upgrade to an account type that can allow concurrent device login for multiple users. There are some logistical, technical, and IP hurdles and challenges which we need to have addressed in regard to making sure that this is done safely, securely, and with respect to all of our partners who license their RPG systems with us. The precise way in which this works, as well as the legal bits and final terms which will evolve alongside these features, are still being worked on, so as you might expect we still do not have an ETA on when these plans might come to fruition yet. The final form of how all this should work isn't something that is 100% nailed to the wall yet, but rest assured that we are keeping this kind of usage in mind for when the system is ready for concurrent user support.

Some of you might recall that we announced we will be adding a pathway for people with Hero Lab Classic Content to "Migrate" their Content to Hero Lab Online at a later date, this is still part of the general roadmap plan, and along with that we are looking at the best way to ensure that the Secondary License permissions will also end up being transferred to the Online system. The content migration product itself if another aspect of Hero Lab Online that, sadly, hasn't seen the light of day yet in terms of public release as the Campaign Theater and concurrent user support is something which ties directly into our hopes for this type of migration and RPG support.

All this to say, we still have the work ahead of us on this task. The feedback in regard to what you all want out of the service has served all of us very well over the years and we really are excited to start dropping some of the bigger pieces and components into Hero Lab Online which will help make our plans possible.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Last edited by Ryan F; November 22nd, 2019 at 06:31 AM.
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Frodie
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Old November 22nd, 2019, 06:30 AM
Just a quick question. Is Campaign Theater a VTT? Just want to know before I get another VTT system.
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Joe
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Old November 22nd, 2019, 10:05 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodie View Post
Just a quick question. Is Campaign Theater a VTT? Just want to know before I get another VTT system.
Strictly speaking: No. A major part of many (most?) VTTs is a shared map view of some kind. We have no plans to implement such a feature at this time. There are already great VTTs out there for this, and making our own map feature would be (very) time-intensive. We don't think we'd be adding much value in that area, given our area of expertise is character mechanics. Having built our foundation for campaigns gives us a platform on which we hope to begin integrating with VTTs. That's obviously a big project that we'll talk more about once the dust from releasing Campaigns begins to settle.

In a looser sense, my answer is "Sorta". Initially Campaigns will just be a shared space where everyone can SEE the state of each other's characters, but not interact through the app (if I cast a spell on you, you have to apply the damage to yourself, etc). That's already a major improvement over what we have today, but the roadmap for Campaigns takes it further, allowing characters to target one another with attacks, abilities, and so on in an interactive way. This is an area many VTTs currently operate in, but we've always felt as though there's a disconnect between character creation, character mechanics, and interaction at the table. We're hoping that seamless integration of our character building and mechanics with player interactivity brings something new and valuable "to the table" (no pun intended. OK maybe a little.)
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Frodie
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Old November 22nd, 2019, 10:20 AM
Ok, cool. Thank you for the info.
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Shadowfoot
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Old November 22nd, 2019, 03:21 PM
Thanks Ryan,
That's good for setting our expectations, especially about timing.
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Frodie
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Old January 29th, 2020, 04:59 PM
Ok, I got a vtt and HLO, but what features does CT have that other vtt do not? I am sure I will get CT when it comes out, but not sure how to incorporate it with the vtt we are using.
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Dami
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Old January 29th, 2020, 10:04 PM
The Campaign Theater is not a VTT.

Current RPG's: Pathfinder (GM), Pathfinder (Player), Gamma World (GM, Pathfinder homebrew).
HeroLab: 3.5 & Pathfinder. HL User Files for PF: Greyhawk Setting, Gamma World (WIP).

DM and player of D&D since 1980.
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flyteach
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Old January 31st, 2020, 04:19 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodie View Post
Ok, I got a vtt and HLO, but what features does CT have that other vtt do not? I am sure I will get CT when it comes out, but not sure how to incorporate it with the vtt we are using.
@Frodie, I'm struggling with this also. I've read thru the doc about a dozen times now and messed around the "theatre". What I'm coming up with is this, and I invite anyone to be specific about what I'm missing, cuz it's prolly quite a bit.
If you have a VTT, then I don't see that CT (or even HLO for that matter) bring anything to the table (screen). The VTTs do a good job of tracking material, damage, spells, etc.
If you're at an in person table, then CT appears to be a high powered initiative tracker. It's got more info, but that's all it is: info. There's very little to no interaction thru the interface.....essentially view only.
There's a lot of potential, but at this time it seems pretty bare bones. That seems intentional, but it's hard to see where LWD is going with this. Things that are broken for basic character use at the table (tracking ammo for instance) are just magnified when working thru CT because it's not managing anything either.
I've got to experiment some more, there might be a hint of encounter builder in here too, but I need more time to investigate.
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Tonyx
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Old January 31st, 2020, 08:38 AM
Is there a plan to actually incorporate a VTT into Theater Mode?
Because so far... I really can't see a use case for it.
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cerkit
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Old February 1st, 2020, 11:00 AM
I personally think this is a waste of development time. This doesn't add anything but more things to do for a real-life table, and VTTs already seem to have what they need. The "O" in HLO is a waste of time and, frankly, I think it's a hindrance for reasons many have already pointed out in other threads.

I need a tool that will help me create characters and print character sheets (good ones, not the ones it's creating now) for use at the table. When my players create characters on their HLO, I want to bring them into my HLO account for (maybe) referring to them during the game from my iPad (something I could do with HL Classic) and checking them for accuracy.

I'm extremely disappointed and have already advised my players to create their characters using paper and pencil, since there's no way to export/import characters.

I think we'll stick to paper and pencil for the time being. Which is sad, because Hero Lab was a great tool for generating characters quickly. But, honestly, I'm growing tired of buying the same book twice - Hard Cover and Hero Lab content just to play a paper and pencil RPG.

I'll keep my eyes on Hero Lab, and hope it gets some sensible features that don't look like a player-driven (M)MORPG.
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