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Hero Lab 3.0 & Authoring Kit released

The "authoring kit" as a piece of software does not exist. It is the source code for 4e, and the ability to save protfolios for any custom game you create.

You can "try out" the Authoring Kit by creating a new game system (Develop -> Create New Game System...) and editing the files that are provided. You just won't be able to save any portfolios with your new game system.


You must manually create and edit the XML files to create your new game system, using the 4E and SW source as your reference and http://hlkitwiki.wolflair.com/ as your guide. That is part of the "steep learning curve" that Rob mentioned.

Once you get your core system up and running, you can use the normal HL editor to enter object data, but setting up the data model, phases, and procedures is all done with lovingly hand crafted XML.

As for editing the XML, there are many good text editing tools out there. My personal preference is Notepad++, because it works well, and it is free.

I am trying to create a game system that is loosely based upon d20, so having the d20 source files available as a base would be great, but that's not an option as it's Wolf Lair's IP. The Savage Worlds and 4E code files are nice to look at, and really help fill in some blanks, but are ultimately useless for making a d20 type game. I'm going to have to completely re-write and re-engineer the d20 concept from scratch to make my game system.
 
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The "authoring kit" as a piece of software does not exist. It is the source code for 4e, and the ability to save protfolios for any custom game you create.

Oh. I wouldn't have bought it if I had known that. That's very disappointing.

There really needs to be more information and descriptive text for the various data add-ons. I regret this purchase now.
 
Oh. I wouldn't have bought it if I had known that. That's very disappointing.

There really needs to be more information and descriptive text for the various data add-ons. I regret this purchase now.

It sounds like this was a recent purchase. Please keep in mind that we have a 60 day satisfaction guarantee. If you don't think the purchase is the right fit for you, please contact support@wolflair.com and request a refund.
 
Wait a second...

So lets say I buy Herolab (which I am on the verge of doing) am I able to create characters for games not covered (obviously with some extra effort) or am I required to get this add on to do so?

For that matter am I able to create new data for existing games (new feats, spells, etc.) or am I limited to stuff I have licenses for?

I was led to believe that Herolab was useable with any game...but if its useless for anything not licensed I need to rethink.
 
The authoring kit is used to create new game systems from scratch. If you do not have the authoring kit installed, and you have loaded the data from a system created using the authoring kit, you will be limited to demo mode - you will not be able to save or print.

Adding data to an existing game system is done with the editor that's integrated into each game system. The authoring kit is not required for that, and will not add any capabilities to that process.
 
So lets say I buy Herolab (which I am on the verge of doing) am I able to create characters for games not covered (obviously with some extra effort) or am I required to get this add on to do so?
If you want to create a new game system like "Shadows Cool RPG" then you need the Authoring kit. You need to be comfortable working with XML files in this case.

Players would also need Authoring Kit license to run this new game and to successfully make characters.

For that matter am I able to create new data for existing games (new feats, spells, etc.) or am I limited to stuff I have licenses for?
For existing games like d20 or Pathfinder you can use the "Editor" that really helps simplify adding new things like feats and spells. No need to know XML but you may need to learn the HL scripting language. Existing Editors even in Demo mode are fully functional so feel free to play in the editor in Demo mode if you wish.

I was led to believe that Herolab was useable with any game...but if its useless for anything not licensed I need to rethink.
The Authoring kit was the same "tool set" LW used to make all the games you see available from Pathfinder to Shadowrun. They used nothing special to make the licensed game systems. So if its a game system you can create it using the Authoring kit. :)
 
The forum search is near the top right of the page - you can only search within a specific folder, so you won't see it while you're looking at the entire forum, but once you enter the authoring kit forum, you can search that folder.
 
Silly question, I bought the Authoring Kit, but in the select game box I have Authoring Kit sample listed. How do I access the Authoring Kit?
 
Large portions of the Author Kit wiki are still incomplete, especially on the more advanced topics and the skeleton files. Are there any plans to complete this documentation?
 
The wiki seems to be completely abandoned which is a bit of pity as there is a lot of code snippets here and there it would be good to know how to interpret. not everything shows up when you search the forum ...

And asking question about every frakking codepiece I wondering about would bog the forum down. Is there any plans for a update of the documentation? it seems to been a while ... you must have a inhouse document I mean, perhaps it could be cut down, trimmed a bit and then released?
 
The wiki seems to be completely abandoned which is a bit of pity as there is a lot of code snippets here and there it would be good to know how to interpret. not everything shows up when you search the forum ...

And asking question about every frakking codepiece I wondering about would bog the forum down. Is there any plans for a update of the documentation? it seems to been a while ... you must have a inhouse document I mean, perhaps it could be cut down, trimmed a bit and then released?

Can we have an official yea or nay on this, 6 months on?
 
The wiki seems to be completely abandoned which is a bit of pity as there is a lot of code snippets here and there it would be good to know how to interpret. not everything shows up when you search the forum ...

And asking question about every frakking codepiece I wondering about would bog the forum down. Is there any plans for a update of the documentation? it seems to been a while ... you must have a inhouse document I mean, perhaps it could be cut down, trimmed a bit and then released?



I just asked Matthias about this. He stated that they don't have any internal documentation like this. He said that if they need to know how to do something, they'll open up a Skype chat session with a coworker and work it through there. Then, if they need to refer back to it, they just go through old Skype chats.

I appreciate the honesty, but it doesn't help people who are trying to use the product they've purchased.

Matthias was also very apologetic about the absolutely appalling state of the AK wiki, and stated they they do not have any plans to finish the wiki or update it to cover any new features within HL. They have too much other work to do for other things that they deem to be more important than this.

To paraphrase: "yeah, we didn't provide the documentation to fully utilize the product you purchased, and I'm sorry that the wiki has been abandoned, but we're too busy with other things and your requests won't make us any money. Good luck have fun!"
 
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We can't fit improving the documentation into the plans for the immediate horizon, and anything beyond the next few projects is still nebulous, because the amount of time they'll require is not certain. I did not say that we would never be improving the documentation. That's still something I want to do.
 
A few general questions:

is there an xsd for the data file format? If so, this would be most helpful.


second, is there some upper hard coded limit on the number of various child items contained within a game system. For example, dropdown fields, text fields, panels, popup windows for choice selection, etc.
 
There's not a formal xsd available. In the authoring kit manual, go to kit reference, and then definition file reference, structural file reference, and data file reference to find out what elements are available, and whether they're required or optional.
 
Hmm...I was hoping to use the AK to make characters for Fantasy Age, but it seems that it is an abandoned project? Of course, my programming abilities are pretty much nil, so my dreams of an easy drag/click/add already finished sections (Changing the Attributes to reflect FA's 9 Attributes, for instance), seems a little bit of a lost cause anyways... I'm not even sure where to start as a 'Step One...' Ach.

Love HL for both PF, and D&D 5th, btw.
 
A few general questions:

is there an xsd for the data file format? If so, this would be most helpful.

Here's one for Structure files. Probably not entirely complete... I built it based on the wiki data, and then tweaked a few things based on how it reacted with a selected set of files (and at least one question answered by Mathias). I probably need to run it over a larger sample.
 

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We can't fit improving the documentation into the plans for the immediate horizon, and anything beyond the next few projects is still nebulous, because the amount of time they'll require is not certain. I did not say that we would never be improving the documentation. That's still something I want to do.

So. It's been about 6 years since this was posted, 8 years since the wiki was last updated, and 13 years since the AK was released. Is there any chance of this being updated, ever? I've no idea if an AK equivalent will be released for HLO but this is a pretty fundamental component of HeroLab Classic and it's kinda mind boggling that the documentation has been this neglected, let alone hearing that there isn't even an in house equivalent.

What happens if someone, some guru, leaves the company and they're no longer available to chat about how to do things? Does the business risk that presents motivate Lone Wolf to actually document how one of their core products is used at a developer level?

On a personal level I've paid a LOT of money to use Hero Lab Classic for Pathfinder and not having access to documentation for a product that I actually use regularly is very distressing.
 
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