Paris.Crenshaw
Well-known member
As I'm going through Rise of the Runelords entering monsters from the bestiaries, I am beginning to wonder if my experiences are similar to others.
Please Note: This is more of a curiosity thing. It is not necessarily a complaint.
I'm finding that it takes me about 1 to 1.5 hours to enter a single monster from scratch. I'm still refining my process, but it goes something like this:
1) Enter all racial special abilities. This is the most time-consuming, because it often involves researching abilities that do something similar, so I can make sure the code is correct. I'm getting faster, but it still takes time.
2) Build the race and add special abilities. The time-consuming challenges here are usually related to spell-like abilities, because I have to make sure I'm adding spells at the right level. (I don't have the spell lists memorized, so I have to look up the spells that can have different spell levels for different classes.)
3) Create a "stock" creature in the HL portfolio and check for errors. This involves verifying numbers within the portfolio and looking at how the statblock output compares to what's in the book.
If all goes well, I have complete creature entered in an hour. I usually can do a creature in about 1.5 hours, but if I run into trouble or have to look up how to write a specific eval script, it can take me over 2 hours of work to finish one creature.
So, is this what others are experiencing or am I just REALLY slow?
Please Note: This is more of a curiosity thing. It is not necessarily a complaint.
I'm finding that it takes me about 1 to 1.5 hours to enter a single monster from scratch. I'm still refining my process, but it goes something like this:
1) Enter all racial special abilities. This is the most time-consuming, because it often involves researching abilities that do something similar, so I can make sure the code is correct. I'm getting faster, but it still takes time.
2) Build the race and add special abilities. The time-consuming challenges here are usually related to spell-like abilities, because I have to make sure I'm adding spells at the right level. (I don't have the spell lists memorized, so I have to look up the spells that can have different spell levels for different classes.)
3) Create a "stock" creature in the HL portfolio and check for errors. This involves verifying numbers within the portfolio and looking at how the statblock output compares to what's in the book.
If all goes well, I have complete creature entered in an hour. I usually can do a creature in about 1.5 hours, but if I run into trouble or have to look up how to write a specific eval script, it can take me over 2 hours of work to finish one creature.
So, is this what others are experiencing or am I just REALLY slow?
. Unless you are paranoid about making a mistake... Then all of a sudden it gets longer again, or you come across something that you've never had to code for yet.