RealmWorks Database Format Documentation

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This is yet another Export/Printing thread! Kind of!

I ran a couple of grep experiments on the "backup" files in the Documents folder for my two "realms." I'm able to locate content from both of my realms within. It appears that each data point is tied to a unique ID number, in the format of:

[0-9A-F]{8}-[0-9A-F]{4}-[0-9A-F]{4}-[0-9A-F]{4}-[0-9A-F]{12}

I haven't yet determined the database format, or the delimiters used in the file. Unfortunately, the grep tool I have for Windows chokes on the database file every time I tap a key, making the process a bit long winded. There's some interesting strings in there, and I've tracked down fragments of text from my realms floating around, but I haven't yet been able to figure out how everything lines up.

Do you use some kind of recognized database format (LayerDB, Built in SQLite), or can you provide some sort of database format specification?

According to your blog, you've put export on the bottom of the feature list. Despite it being a hot topic on the forums, your survey got it ranked low. I can see why you'd do that, I really can.

So if you're not going to release an export tool, could we at least get some pointers on how to deconstruct the database file? I'm sure I'm not the only one of the forum able to throw grep and sed at a file; we just need some help disentangling the format.

I'm not just asking for the format to be an ass, I have reasons I'm going to rant about below. If you're the TL;DR type, you can stop here I guess.

I know you guys are all fired up on web tools and realm hosting and all that Web 2.0 jazz. And I may be interested in using RealmWorks as a tabletop manager for my game. I like the ability to manage the player's screen with popup windows and maps; I actually use a digital table (HDTV), and not having to constantly peer over the GM screen and try to flip and reverse mouse movements in my head is nice.

But here's the simple fact of the deal: I don't want to spend time putting data into something I can't get it out of. No matter how many whiz-bang gadgets you put into RealmWorks, if I can't make a proper export that I can manipulate outside of your tool, I simply can't be assed to use it.

I know you guys have made a "pledge;" you'll release an export tool as the very last action should the ship sink. I know you want this to be something that gives us trust but frankly? It doesn't do it for me.

Maybe I'm just jaded, but after being a PC gamer for a decade I don't trust software companies. (Full Disclosure: I work for a software company.) You can make all the promises you want, but unless you write the code, it's just words.

The difference between promising to release the web view or the content market, which I fully trust in, and promising to release an export tool, which I completely don't trust as far as I can throw a frost giant with a STR mod of -2, comes down to this:

The Web View, and the Content Market will make recurring money.

An Export is seen as something that won't make you any recurring money.

This is why I don't trust you: an Export to text files would be a rather simple feature to produce (relative to the rest of the software, of course. It could be a difficult task depending on your data structures), but because (at best) it would help make initial sales and, at worst, it'd just keep a few disgruntled users around who have already given you their cash...

...it tells me a lot that it's a feature promised to happen just before the ship sinks, and not a minute sooner.

I find myself having to leave your tool turned off, and go back to managing text files and loose images on a hard drive, because at least those I can manage using any tool I want. I have lots of experience juggling text files. Your tool is something I have to learn to embrace fully.

Additionally, I'm trying to package my gaming materials for use by other game masters. I want to put together some documents for them, and I'd love to use RealmWorks as a mind mapping tool. You guys want me to do this with your yet-to-be-released vaporware market; I get that. But you're not going to get me to invest in your market if I have to depend on your market. Again, I don't trust a database I can't get my data out of. An XML file I can write an XSLT to transform into paper documents. A SQLite database I can write queries to output reports I can compile into offline documents. Your file..? I can grep out random segments of text. Which I have to sort by hand. "strings" only goes so far in making sense of a binary blob.

I was naive. I pre-purchased based on the features, with the hope that I'd be able to use your $50 tool to map out my campaigns, throw some maps up on a secondary monitor, and then export my data for use later. My bad, I guess. Right now I've got two realms with like 15 data fragments put in. I've mapped like three characters and one mission. I can't be bothered to go any farther than that, because once I'm done working in RealmWorks, I have to duplicate the work elsewhere anyway. I might as well just do the work outside the tool you made.

I WANT to use your tool. I find the player's screen system to be great. But until I'm convinced my time invested in your tool won't become a black hole in the future because I decide to use a different table display or switch to paper handouts, I'm not going to invest my time in your tool.

And instead of telling people how much I love your software, I'll be saying things like "HeroLab is an awesome tool, you should buy it. But steer clear of RealmWorks, because you can't print or export your data from it."

TL;DR: If you're not going to bother to release an XML or text output engine until "it’s the last feature that ever gets into Realm Works (and even if Rob has to add the feature himself)," the least you can do is let us know some information about the file format so we can do the data recovery ourselves. The Internet is full of great programmers who know perl and sed and grep; if you really feel it's such a niche feature that only a few data nerds would be interested... at least give the data nerds the information they need to get the data out?