Bunch-o-Questions

[Lizard]

Well, I was one of the lucky ones who got a free license through RPG.net, and I've spent quite a few hours poking around with the product. This has given me some questions.

a)How do I add characters to a portfolio? I've seen several references to a portfolio containing multiple characters, but I can't for the life of me figure out how that works.

b)On the same issue, how do I edit/adjust stats for familiars/animal companions?

c)Is there detailed documentation of the objects in the D20 system module?

d)I am trying to add a Feat which can only be taken if the hero has the Smite ability. Obviously, this is a prereq script, but I am not certain how to reference 'has smite'. This is why I need 'c'.

e)How do I add a slam or claw attack to a template? It doesn't seem to be in the same list of abilites you have when you add a race.

f)If I want to add a new domain, do I need to add all the spells in that domain as new spells? i.e, I have a 'Cold' domain which has 'Chill Touch' as the first level spell. The only way I could get it to appear was to copy Chill Touch from the Sorceror spell and click the 'is domain spell' checkbox.

Thanks for any/all help with these questions.

[rob]

At 08:32 PM 11/22/2007, you wrote:

Well, I was one of the lucky ones who got a free license through RPG.net, and I've spent quite a few hours poking around with the product. This has given me some questions.

I'll answer the ones I can. A few of these can only be answered by Colen, since he's the expert in the corresponding domain.

a)How do I add characters to a portfolio? I've seen several references to a portfolio containing multiple characters, but I can't for the life of me figure out how that works.

There is no way for users to do this right now, so you're not just missing something in the product. Everything is designed to support this internally, but you currently cannot put multiple characters into the same portfolio. That will be changing when we release the Campaign R&D functionality in the next month or so.

b)On the same issue, how do I edit/adjust stats for familiars/animal companions?

I don't think you can currently customize familiars and/or animal companions by adjusting their stats. I know that's something we've discussed, but I don't think it's operational yet. Colen can hopefully provide a more definitive answer on this.

c)Is there detailed documentation of the objects in the D20 system module?

Absolutely. When you've got the d20 data files loaded, you can go to the Help menu and select the game system manual. A link to the d20 data file editing docs will be found therein. If you launch the Editor via the Tools menu, the Help option within the Editor brings up the d20 docs as well.

d)I am trying to add a Feat which can only be taken if the hero has the Smite ability. Obviously, this is a prereq script, but I am not certain how to reference 'has smite'. This is why I need 'c'.

Colen will need to answer this one. However, I'm pretty sure this exact question was discussed within the last month or two here on the forums. You might try doing a search for threads with the word "smite" in them.

e)How do I add a slam or claw attack to a template? It doesn't seem to be in the same list of abilites you have when you add a race.

This one requires Colen's assistance.

f)If I want to add a new domain, do I need to add all the spells in that domain as new spells? i.e, I have a 'Cold' domain which has 'Chill Touch' as the first level spell. The only way I could get it to appear was to copy Chill Touch from the Sorceror spell and click the 'is domain spell' checkbox.

All of the spells for each class are independent from each other. This might seem like a liability at first blush, but there are some definite advantages in doing it this way. The biggest reason is that this approach wholly decouples one set of user-created data files from another. That makes it easy to share the files with others in your gaming group (or anyone else, for that matter). It also makes it much easier for users to add spells for each class (or any other items), since each is simply a new entry, without any special handling for different classes. Just think how confusing it would be to modify various spells for use with multiple classes and then try to merge your changes with those of someone else who has modified the same spells for use with different classes. There are other, less important benefits from this approach, but those are the critical ones.

As you discovered, copying an existing spell (or any other object) is extremely easy to do. So the time to create new spells is minimal.

In addition, the data file compiler is smart. When the data files are compiled, the compiler automatically detects strings that are already used within the data files and merges them. This means that you could have 20 different copies of the same basic spell, each with a different unique id and spread across numerous data files. However, the compiler will automatically merge their memory requirements together into a single instance, keeping the run-time memory footprint for HL as compact and efficient as possible. Ultimately, this duplication approach within HL does NOT result in the run-time bloat that the same approach would entail in a more traditional, database-driven architecture.

I hope this adequately answers the questions I could cover. Colen will comment on those I couldn't. And if you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask them.

[Lizard]

Thanks for the pointers and help; obviously, there's a lot to learn. I already find this easier to use than PCGen, which is a plus, but I hope the added functionality comes soon -- for example, having all the NPCs in an encounter open at once in PCGen is very, very, useful to me as a DM.

Can you tell me more about this "Campaign R&D functionality"? It sounds intriguing, and I wish to know more. Thank you.

One last question, slightly off topic -- I have no problem buying a subordinate license for my other PC (esp. considering I got the main license free!). However, I would like to install the program on a large USB drive, which is where I keep all my gaming stuff -- I move the drive between my desktop and my laptop regularly. Since every time the drive moves, it would be on a different 'computer', how does that affect HeroLab? Can I install (with a sub license) Hero Lab on each machine and store my data (custom .dat file, characters) on my 'mobile' drive? I'm not looking to rip you off, just see if there's a way to use the program optimally with my setup. I currently have program and data running on my laptop only -- didn't want to try anything which might frag the license.

PS: Your auto-responder emails have broken links in them, such as this: http://index.php/?name=&file=viewtopic&p=25163#25163 . It's missing the actual website.

Thanks again for your help!

[Mathias]

Originally Posted by Lizard

d)I am trying to add a Feat which can only be taken if the hero has the Smite ability. Obviously, this is a prereq script, but I am not certain how to reference 'has smite'. This is why I need 'c'.

Open the editor, then click help to open the help files. A lot of the information you'll need is in there, especially the reference section.

For your first question, open the editor, look in the source directory, and open Dragon Disciple. Go to the Class Level tab, and select the Dragon Disciple item there. Click on Pre-reqs - the one that requires the draconic language is what you're after:

@valid = pickexists[]

is the code for figuring out if the hero has a language, special ability, etc. You will have to be careful about special abilities that are level-dependant. Every special ability that a class will gain is actually added when the class is added, they're just hidden until enough levels are added.

In the help file, select "How to - Examples" near the bottom. around the middle of that page is a list of class special abilities, including smite (cPalSmite1). So, here's the pre-req for smite:

@valid = pickexists[cPalSmite1]

Originally Posted by Lizard

e)How do I add a slam or claw attack to a template? It doesn't seem to be in the same list of abilites you have when you add a race.

Asked and answered just a week ago in this forum. The thread is named "Natural Attacks".

Originally Posted by Lizard

f)If I want to add a new domain, do I need to add all the spells in that domain as new spells? i.e, I have a 'Cold' domain which has 'Chill Touch' as the first level spell. The only way I could get it to appear was to copy Chill Touch from the Sorceror spell and click the 'is domain spell' checkbox.

Correct. Don't forget to change the spell's "Spell Class" field to be the same as the "Domain Tag" in the domain.

[rob]

At 08:24 AM 11/23/2007, you wrote:

Thanks for the pointers and help; obviously, there's a lot to learn. I already find this easier to use than PCGen, which is a plus, but I hope the added functionality comes soon -- for example, having all the NPCs in an encounter open at once in PCGen is very, very, useful to me as a DM.

Understood. Campaign R&D is targeted for the end of the year and is in development now, so it won't be much longer to wait. In the meantime, you can launch multiple copies of HL and load a separate character into each copy. Then you can switch between them quickly using <alt-tab>. I realize this isn't optimal, but it's a serviceable solution until Campaign R&D comes out.

Can you tell me more about this "Campaign R&D functionality"? It sounds intriguing, and I wish to know more. Thank you.

Campaign R&D was announced back in August. You can find the basic details about it on our website. Go to the main page at www.wolflair.com. Then follow the link to "Previous Announcements". You'll see the news item from August 13th that provides the basics. We'll be posting more as we get nearer to release.

One last question, slightly off topic -- I have no problem buying a subordinate license for my other PC (esp. considering I got the main license free!). However, I would like to install the program on a large USB drive, which is where I keep all my gaming stuff -- I move the drive between my desktop and my laptop regularly. Since every time the drive moves, it would be on a different 'computer', how does that affect HeroLab? Can I install (with a sub license) Hero Lab on each machine and store my data (custom .dat file, characters) on my 'mobile' drive? I'm not looking to rip you off, just see if there's a way to use the program optimally with my setup. I currently have program and data running on my laptop only -- didn't want to try anything which might frag the license.

There are two parts to this question. First of all, you need a separate Hero Lab license for each computer. However, each copy of Hero Lab includes a FREE secondary license. That way, you can run the product on two computers without having to purchase anything extra - we figure a large percentage of gamers have a laptop and desktop, and we didn't want to penalize anybody for having a good setup. :-) To get the second license, go to the License menu within HL and use the aptly named option.

Secondly, there is the data file structure. Currently, all data files are assumed to live under the directory where HL is installed. Unfortunately, so is the keyfile for the license. So current design precludes putting all of your data files on a drive that is shared across multiple computers. You can easily share portfolios across computers on a shared drive, but not the actual data files themselves.

We never thought of the approach you're using, so I'll put it on the todo list. Just to make sure I'm understanding completely, you want to be able to have your data files live on a different drive from where the product is installed. That way, you can have the product installed separately on two computers, but both can access the same data files on a shared drive. Is that correct?

PS: Your auto-responder emails have broken links in them, such as this: http://index.php/?name=&file=viewtopic&p=25163#25163 . It's missing the actual website.

Oops. I'll flag this to Colen - he's the expert on that stuff.

[Colen]

Rob Bowes wrote:

> b)On the same issue, how do I edit/adjust stats for familiars/animal
> companions?
>
>
> I don't think you can currently customize familiars and/or animal
> companions by adjusting their stats. I know that's something we've
> discussed, but I don't think it's operational yet. Colen can hopefully
> provide a more definitive answer on this.


That's correct. Familiars and animal companions are going to require
some work before they're fully available.



--
Colen McAlister, colen@wolflair.com
Chief Engineer, Lone Wolf Development

[Lizard]

For the two computer problem -- I have a 180 gig USB drive which draws power from the computer it's plugged into -- very convenient! I want to install the entirety of Hero Lab to that drive, then run it from that drive no matter which of my two computers the drive is plugged into at the moment. Failing that, yes, a shared data/portfolio directory on the portable drive is ideal. It's not a "shared" drive in the traditional sense since only one computer at a time can access it. It's a bit like a USB key drive, except much larger and with an actual disk inside, not flash memory. It's about 2"*4"*0.5 in size, and my boss got it for me for work, but the work files take up about 10% of the space and he's cool with me using the rest for personal use.

[rob]

At 04:06 AM 11/27/2007, you wrote:

For the two computer problem -- I have a 180 gig USB drive which draws power from the computer it's plugged into -- very convenient! I want to install the entirety of Hero Lab to that drive, then run it from that drive no matter which of my two computers the drive is plugged into at the moment. Failing that, yes, a shared data/portfolio directory on the portable drive is ideal. It's not a "shared" drive in the traditional sense since only one computer at a time can access it. It's a bit like a USB key drive, except much larger and with an actual disk inside, not flash memory. It's about 2"*4"*0.5 in size, and my boss got it for me for work, but the work files take up about 10% of the space and he's cool with me using the rest for personal use. [img]./modules/mdforum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I can confirm that you won't be able to run HL exclusively off of the shared drive. HL will need to be installed separately onto each computer, with a separate license number needed on each computer. That requirement is imposed by our licensing and security mechanisms. However, all of the data files, portfolios, and the like WILL be able to reside on the shared drive. That way, you can easily move all the important materials between the two computers by storing them on the shared drive.

This has been added to the todo list, so it will percolate its way up on the priority list as we get some of the imminent big things completed (e.g. Campaign R&D).

[Colen]

Originally Posted by Lizard

PS: Your auto-responder emails have broken links in them, such as this: http://index.php/?name=&file=viewtopic&p=25163#25163 . It's missing the actual website.

I'm having trouble reproducing this on our test forums. Could you forward me the email you received with the broken URL? That way I can look into things more closely. Please email it to colen@wolflair.com.

Thanks!