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Custom Output Missing Information

M

MidniteArrow

Member
I am working on some automated tools that would consume the custom output XML that was recently added to Hero Labs. The tools would then serve as a game-time companion that automated tasks and act as a sort of electronic character sheet.

First off, thank you for Hero Labs. It is a great tool. Thank you for the custom output, it is a great addition to this great tool. But in an effort to make it better...

The first problem I think I'm going to run into is a lack of information in the custom output.

Consider the armor class of a level 1 fighter in full plate with a dex of 20 and a full tower shield in the Pathfinder system:

AC = 10 (base) + 9 (Plate) + 4 (shield) + 1 (Dex limited by plate)

Now the player decides to take off the plate, but keep the shield.

AC = 10 (base) + 4 (shield) + 2 (Dex now limited by shield)

But using only the information in the custom output, I don't see a way to get that information. The plate armor bonus is there, but not the max dex. On top of that, the general "armor" attribute shows how it was calculated, but not in detail. It doesn't, for example, show that the dex bonus was limited, and that it was limited by two separate pieces of equipment. That is needed information. As-is, I will have to recreate a lot of the work that is already done by the Hero Labs software to make this product. What I would prefer is an output that looked something like:

<...>some section that identifies equipment, and uniquely names them</...>

<abilities>
...
<dexterity>
<value value=20/>
<bonus id="dexBonus" value=1>
<base value=5/>
<limit from="fullPlate1" maximum=1/>
<limit from="towerShield1" maximum=2/>
</bonus>
</dexterity>
...
</abilities>

<armor value=24>
<base value=10/>
<modifier from="fullPlate1" value="9"/>
<modifier from="towerShield1" value="4"/>
<modifier from="dexBonus" value="1"/>
</armor>

I realize that this is much more detail than the typical consumer of this format wants, maybe an added format would be appropriate (assuming this level of information sharing is in line with your business goals of course). In general, I'd like to be able to have enough detail there so I'll know not just what the various values are, but why they are what they are in fine detail.
 
Last edited:
May have more luck posting that in the forum for the game system it is for. As it's hard to tell if you mean d20 or Pathfinder. Each game system has its own unique XML it outputs.
 
General Issue

I posted it here because it is a general problem with the concept behind what is exported. Current values are exported, but not the information that shows how those values were calculated. That is needed for applications that will consume this information and provide game-time assistance.

* edit for clarity: My point is that it is a systemic problem. I expect this will affect all game systems. The sample I wrote was based on the Pathfinder output.
 
MidniteArrow said:
I posted it here because it is a general problem with the concept behind what is exported. Current values are exported, but not the information that shows how those values were calculated. That is needed for applications that will consume this information and provide game-time assistance.

* edit for clarity: My point is that it is a systemic problem. I expect this will affect all game systems. The sample I wrote was based on the Pathfinder output.
Click to expand...

That's mostly the output sheet you are using. They don't seem to have XML tags for every bit of data you would need to fill in those values.

Try Downloading one of the customer sheets and see if your issues might not be a smidge better.
 
XML Content

Yes, my issue is the source XML that gets dumped with the Custom Output XML option. I'm consuming the XML directly, not using a XSL translation, which I am assuming is what you mean by "output sheet". This is a "I need Lone Wolf to address this" type of issue. I've looked at all three of their XML output formats and none of them have this in an easy to consume way. It is in the .por file, but looks like it would be really, really, really hard to get at.
 
For the time being, the only thing we're supporting is people wanting to consume the XML output for custom output (e.g. character sheets) and feeds into other tools like d20Pro and Fantasy Grounds. We've been in discussions with a number of other companies since before GenCon to develop a more extensive format that incorporates many of the things you're requesting. Doing something like that requires a lot of forethought and analysis so that it can be done right the first time, and it needs to be something that a wide range of tools can leverage. We're working towards that, but it's still quite a ways off (i.e. at least 1Q2012 and likely later). So you're going to need to remain patient in this area while we do our homework and ultimately get something solid into place.
 
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