Scope of Author Tools

[Bomberg]

I understand that one will be able to build the generator for a system not supported by your data files from scratch. And seeing you support very different game systems with the same engine looks promising, indeed.

But how far can I go with home-built game system? What about in-game support? Is it possible, for in-game purposes, to define conditions, flags, whatever, and edit/change them by clicking a button or selecting an item from a list?

As an example, look at the term "encounter" in 4e. As it seems, there will be per-encounter powers and effects. Would it be possible to build a button labelled "End of Encounter" into the interface, clicking on which ends all per-encounter effects and resets the per-encounter powers?

And as another question let's look at a special hit from the 3.5 discussions: :wink: Will it be possible to design one's own character sheet from scratch?

Huldvoll

Baron von Bomberg

[rob]

At 11:21 PM 5/22/2008, you wrote:

But how far can I go with home-built game system? What about in-game support? Is it possible, for in-game purposes, to define conditions, flags, whatever, and edit/change them by clicking a button or selecting an item from a list?

Absolutely. All the existing mechanisms for d20 and WoD are currently being implemented completely via data files. All the work on the upcoming game systems are similarly done entirely via data files. And all those mechanisms will be completely accessible via the authoring kit. As such, it's a hefty chunk of material to document.

As an example, look at the term "encounter" in 4e. As it seems, there will be per-encounter powers and effects. Would it be possible to build a button labelled "End of Encounter" into the interface, clicking on which ends all per-encounter effects and resets the per-encounter powers?

Absolutely. You'll be able to do exactly as you describe for an individual character or across all characters (e.g. a GM wanting to reset the state for the party and all NPCs in one shot).

And as another question let's look at a special hit from the 3.5 discussions: [img]./modules/mdforum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] Will it be possible to design one's own character sheet from scratch?

Yes. We revamped all the stuff for character sheet output a month or so ago in order to make it much easier to create character sheets in preparation for the kit's release.

In addition to creation of character sheets for new game systems, users will also be able to create their own custom character sheets for game systems that *we're* developing by using the Authoring Kit. Such character sheets *will* be able to be shared with others.

[FifthWanderer]

I have a question relating to Spirit of the Century. In combat, minion groups have ability to attach themselves to named characters, giving them a support bonus and absorbing some damage before you get to the main enemy. Does the capability exist in Hero Lab to support this?

Also, maneuvers in SotC can attach temporary Aspects to characters. Can I create/modify conditions 'on the fly' to support this?

And can I roll 4dF or will I have to mock this up somehow?

[rob]

At 02:45 PM 5/23/2008, you wrote:

I have a question relating to Spirit of the Century. In combat, minion groups have ability to attach themselves to named characters, giving them a support bonus and absorbing some damage before you get to the main enemy. Does the capability exist in Hero Lab to support this?

Proper minions are fully supported by HL and they *can* be derived from the parent character, as well as having an influence upon the parent character. I'm not familiar with the specific mechanics of SotC that you're referring to, so I can't be absolutely certain, but I'm 99% certain that HL will readily support what you describe above.

Also, maneuvers in SotC can attach temporary Aspects to characters. Can I create/modify conditions 'on the fly' to support this?

I'm not familiar with maneuvers in SotC, so I'm guessing what they are and how they work. For a game like d20, the data file author can pre-define an assortment of "conditions" that can be activated for a given character as appropriate. Alternately, you could use the technique within both d20 and WoD for "temporary adjustments". These provide a lot more flexibility for the user and are quick to implement. If you want something more sophisticated, you could also set things up so that a user could create a custom combination of effects that are then treated as a single condition that is toggled on and off by the user. This would require more work to setup, as it would be similar to the user creating a custom magic weapon within d20 in many respects. However, this approach would provide maximum flexibility for the user.

So, the short answer is that I'm pretty sure you can do what you're asking. Just to be safe, please clarify what you mean with some concrete examples. Then I'll be able to give you an definitive answer.

And can I roll 4dF or will I have to mock this up somehow?

I haven't actually played a Fudge-based system, so I'm not sure how Fudge dice work. Consequently, I don't know the answer to this question. Please explain the mechanics you want to support and I'll be able to give you a more accurate answer.

[FifthWanderer]

Whoops! My bad for not explaining things more clearly.

Minions in SotC have two traits: Quality and quantity. Quality determines both how good they are at what they do, and how much damage each one can take. They also get a bonus depending on how many of them there are. When attached to a named character, that character gets the bonus in combat. Also, any damage is applied first to the minions instead of the character. They really aren't full characters, more like an appetizer or garnish for the big villain.

Explaining maneuvers is a little more complicated. Characters in SotC have Aspects, short phrases that describe the character. A maneuver places another temporary Aspect on the character. Usually, these temporary Aspects go away after one hit. The problem they're made up on the spot, instead of being picked from a predefined list. For example:

Harry and Larry are battling it out. Harry uses a maneuver to kick sand in Larry's face, placing the temporary Aspect of 'Blinded' on him. Next turn, if Larry doesn't do anything about the sand in his eyes, Harry can invoke that Aspect to get an edge against him.

From what you've said, I should be able to support this. All I need to be able to do is attach a temporary note to the character. There really aren't any special mechanics to the Aspects created by maneuvers other than their fragility.

Fudge dice are shaped like normal d6s, except they have two blank sides, two sides marked +, and two sides marked -. When you roll 4dF, you roll four of them and add them up.

[Mathias]

sounds like dF is a d3-2, since the available results are -1, -1, 0, 0, +1, and +1.

[rob]

At 06:56 AM 5/28/2008, you wrote:

Minions in SotC have two traits: Quality and quantity. Quality determines both how good they are at what they do, and how much damage each one can take. They also get a bonus depending on how many of them there are. When attached to a named character, that character gets the bonus in combat. Also, any damage is applied first to the minions instead of the character. They really aren't full characters, more like an appetizer or garnish for the big villain.

Can minions be moved between characters? Or are they always attached to a specific character? If the latter, the HL can readily support this already. If the former, then it would need to be modeled via a slightly less convenient method, but I think the general mechanic could be supported.

Explaining maneuvers is a little more complicated. Characters in SotC have Aspects, short phrases that describe the character. A maneuver places another temporary Aspect on the character. Usually, these temporary Aspects go away after one hit. Usually they're made up on the spot, instead of being picked from a predefined list. For example:

Harry and Larry are battling it out. Harry uses a maneuver to kick sand in Larry's face, placing the temporary Aspect of 'Blinded' on him. Next turn, if Larry doesn't do anything about the sand in his eyes, Harry can invoke that Aspect to get an edge against him.

From what you've said, I should be able to support this. All I need to be able to do is attach a temporary note to the character.

Exactly. Take a look at the way you now attach notes to characters via the Tactical Console and let me know if this will work for you. I'm pretty sure it will.

Fudge dice are shaped like normal d6s, except they have two blank sides, two sides marked +, and two sides marked -. When you roll 4dF, you roll four of them and add them up.

Like Mathias said, this sounds like a d3-2, which the dice roller can already support. Or is there something else that I'm missing here?

[SAbel]

Will the authoring tools only allow the editing of data in a specific rules set (ie d20) or will we be able to create sets for games such as Battlelords of the 23 rd century and Call of Cthulu, plus make things like Star Wars or Star trek Modern system work? I am willing to work out of a frame but I think it would be nice to be able to build up, IE L5R which I have an excel running system for but would like to have a clean cut user interface to work from. Just wondering.

By the By my Local game store just called me today and they have in my copy of HL (Way to go Mind Games, Toledo,ohio) when I pick it up and install it how do I let in know that I am intersted in a specific system (M&M or L5R) since data sets are not yet out for either of these games?

[rob]

At 03:56 PM 6/11/2008, you wrote:

Will the authoring tools only allow the editing of data in a specific rules set (ie d20) or will we be able to create sets for games such as Battlelords of the 23 rd century and Call of Cthulu, plus make things like Star Wars or Star trek Modern system work? I am willing to work out of a frame but I think it would be nice to be able to build up, IE L5R which I have an excel running system for but would like to have a clean cut user interface to work from. Just wondering.

You can already edit the contents of existing data files via the Editor within the product. The purpose of the Authoring Kit is to let users create data files for virtually any game system that has ever been published - or ever will be. You can definitely write files for CoC with the Kit, and I assume for Battlelords as well - although I've never heard of it before and can't say that with absolute certainty. Data files can also be created for L5R, although it's possible that we'll be creating those files under license ourselves.

By the By my Local game store just called me today and they have in my copy of HL (Way to go Mind Games, Toledo,ohio) when I pick it up and install it how do I let in know that I am intersted in a specific system (M&M or L5R) since data sets are not yet out for either of these games?

If you don't plan to use HL for d20 or WoD, then please do *not* activate your license yet. When the M&M files are officially released, you can activate your license for that game system. But you can't do that until M&M is officially released.

[darkhero03]

Can the authoring kit be used to make the Palladium system, and could I program it to understand SDC and MDC differences? Or program the different games under Palladium so that they are different, but the same system? And lastly, could I program the authoring kit to make changes to a character like if I wanted to convert an SDC game to it's MDC conversion?