HL for the iPad

[CapeCodRPGER]

Have you decided how to handle license issues for iPad version? I already have it on PC, will I have to buy another version and/ or license for iPad version?

 

[rob]

We haven't figured all that stuff out yet. There are a lot of factors that we have to work through, including details like the Apple AppStore. We'll definitely let everyone know as soon as we figure it all out.

 

[Unseelie]

We haven't figured all that stuff out yet. There are a lot of factors that we have to work through, including details like the Apple AppStore. We'll definitely let everyone know as soon as we figure it all out.

I know that there's a way to issue a download code, akin to how you would cash in an iTunes gift card, that will enable a specific purchase.

Rob, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can get you in contact with someone involved with app store/developer stuff.

 

[rob]

I know that there's a way to issue a download code, akin to how you would cash in an iTunes gift card, that will enable a specific purchase.

Rob, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can get you in contact with someone involved with app store/developer stuff.

We're hoping to be able to use a different (and less fiddly for the user) approach. If that plan fails, then we can always use the technique you mention as a fallback.

 

[mxyzplk]

Beta time?

I use HL on my desktop PC at home to make my Pathfinder PCs/NPCs, save the files into Dropbox, and then use them at the game table using my Macbook. I look forward to not having to haul that thing around and just using my iPad (in fact, when I'm GMing I print out HL sheets and then just use the iPad for the SRD/PFwiki so I have less huge junk distracting me from running the game).

I agree totally with your approach, not just as a consumer but as a SaaS company manager (iPad is by far the most important tablet play, and will be for years). iPad + Pathfinder + character sheet is definitely the biggest bang for your initial buck with HL. And I appreciate the lean approach of not trying to do the whole thing at once.

I'm also very interested in beta testing as the iPad app as soon as needed since it fits my current workflow perfectly. I have to view-not-save in other contexts too (Excel/Word in the Dropbox, etc.) so that's a fine starting point especially for us GMs. As a player I'd want full in front of me, but as a GM I'm mainly using it to run my bad guys (though I am getting addicted to applying statuses and spells and whatnot to them; I didn't use HL for that for a while just because of learning curve but now it helps me not "forget" those buffs/debuffs).

 

[Nikmal]

I have to say I am disappointed you decided to go with iPad instead of an Android device. Ahh well

 

[berdman]

Will the iPad version support iCloud as an option for character synching?

Count me among the interested in beta testing. Myself and two of my players have iPads and we all use Herolab for our Pathfinder game. We have an iPad, iPad2 and new iPad among us.

 

[rob]

Will the iPad version support iCloud as an option for character synching?

That is presently an unknown that we're working to solve. The issue is that iCloud is only a solution for Mac users and not the majority of HL users that rely on Windows as their desktop O/S. We need something that works well for *all* of our users, and iCloud doesn't accomplish that for us, so we're actively investigating other options.

 

[Kaleb]

In the forthcoming Ipad character sheet could you use Ancient ones sheet please?

 

[rob]

In the forthcoming Ipad character sheet could you use Ancient ones sheet please?

The main tablet interface is being designed specially for its intended use - on the tablet. As such, it's not going to directly implement any specific character sheet layout that anyone has seen before. Our focus will be on usability during play, since that's its purpose.

We'll be showing off screenshots in the months to come, so you'll see what I mean then. In the meantime, there were quite a few HL users who stopped by to see the early preview at GenCon, and I'm guessing some of them are here on the forums, so I'll leave it to them to offer their assessment of the basic design we're pursuing for the tablet.

 

[knight2142]

My friends and I use HL for all our character creation and we would love to be able to use our iPad's at the table. Some stuff I think we would love to see...a full character sheet, updatable info (HP, conditions, buffs), spell tracking, and also spell descriptions (as a pop-up for "just in case" moments when you need a quick rule check on a specific spell)

I have faith that you guys can do a great job with it! I just hope the licensing works with current licenses and I don't need to buy another full set (i'd be ok if I could just buy a 5-th license, or if there was a special "HL for iPad" license)

 

[Rikhavok]

Someone came up with an HTM Ancientone Custom output. what I would want is for this interface to be editable on the ipad. it doesn't have to re-integrate back with HeroLab. I just want the ability to output the characters to some format that is editable on the iPad even if it is at the sheet level. An added feature is if you could output it to a simple tactical iPad App like DM Tools or make your own. I'm getting sick of entering all of the data manually every time.

So, I create a character or update that character in HL - then I open what I have found to be the best Ipad App for tactical - DM Tools and create or edit the character manually. When things change, I update them on DM tools, then go back to HL later and update it there.

If you could allow an output that looks like this, I would be thrilled, then I could input it directly to my DM tools iPad App.


<Unit name="Sarah">
<Info name="Sarah" player="true" avatar="avatar_23.png" race="gnome" class="Summoner" level="4" HP="27/27" initiative="0+4"/>
<Group name="Defense" type="value">
<Item name="AC" value="19" modifier="0" display="1"/>
<Item name="Fortitude" value="2" modifier="0" display="1"/>
<Item name="Reflex" value="5" modifier="0" display="1"/>
<Item name="Will" value="4" modifier="0" display="1"/>
<Item name="Touch" value="15" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Flat-footed" value="15" modifier="0"/>
</Group>
<Group name="Attacks" type="string">
<Item name="+1 Crossbow, Light +7" value="1d6+1"/>
<Item name="Unarmed Strike +3" value="1d2-1"/>
<Item name="CMB +1" value=""/>
</Group>
<Group name="Movement" type="value">
<Item name="Speed" value="20" modifier="0"/>
</Group>
<Group name="Statistics" type="value">
<Item name="Str" value="9" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Dex" value="18" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Con" value="12" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Int" value="14" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Wis" value="10" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Cha" value="17" modifier="0"/>
</Group>
<Group name="Spells" type="value">
<Item name="Guidance" value="0" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Light" value="0" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Mage Hand" value="0" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Message" value="0" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Open/Close" value="0" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Resistance" value="1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Enlarge Person" value="1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Grease" value="1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Mage Armor" value="1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Rejuv Eidolon Lesser" value="1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Shield" value="1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Ablative Armor" value="2" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Evolution Surge, lesser" value="2" modifier="0"/>
</Group>
<Group name="States" type="boolean">
<Item name="Marked" value="false" display="1"/>
<Item name="Dazed" value="false" display="2"/>
<Item name="Stunned" value="false" display="3"/>
<Item name="Slowed" value="false" display="4"/>
<Item name="Deafened" value="false" display="5"/>
<Item name="Blinded" value="false" display="6"/>
<Item name="Weakened" value="false" display="7"/>
<Item name="Immobilized" value="false" display="8"/>
<Item name="Charmed" value="false" display="9"/>
<Item name="Prone" value="false" display="10"/>
<Item name="Poisoned" value="false" display="11"/>
</Group>
<Group name="Feats" type="string">
<Item name="light armor prof" value=""/>
<Item name="simple weapon prof" value=""/>
<Item name="Mounted Combat" value=""/>
<Item name="Rapid Reload" value=""/>
</Group>
<Group name="Skills" type="value">
<Item name="Acrobatics" value="4" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Appraise" value="2" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Bluff" value="3" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Climb" value="-1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Diplomacy" value="3" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Disguise" value="3" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Escape Artist" value="4" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Fly" value="6" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Handle Animal" value="7" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Intimidate" value="3" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Know(Arcana)" value="8" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Know(Dungeon)" value="3" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Linguistics" value="6" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Perception" value="2" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Ride" value="11" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Spellcraft" value="6" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Stealth" value="12" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Swim" value="-1" modifier="0"/>
<Item name="Use Magic Device" value="10" modifier="0"/>
</Group>
<Group name="Traits" type="string">
<Item name="Gifted Adept" value=""/>
<Item name="Natural Born Leader" value=""/>
</Group>
<Group name="Languages" type="string">
<Item name="Common" value=""/>
<Item name="Draconic" value=""/>
<Item name="Gnome" value=""/>
<Item name="Orc" value=""/>
<Item name="Sylvan" value=""/>
<Item name="Giant" value=""/>
</Group>
<Notes></Notes>
</Unit>

 

[osopolare]

Piping in with a +1 on the iPad decision. I think it's the right move. Android development and integration can be a real pain. I hope the economics will work out well with the App Store.

I'm about to go pick up an iPad, HL is the killer app for the tablet if you ask me.

 

[ValaraukarU]

Any chance there are plans to make this also work on an iPod touch?

 

[0gre]

I'll be using this on my iPad so I'm happy to hear that, but I would love to see a better in-play screen on the PC-OSX version also. The screenshot you show of the iPad virtual character sheet looks awesome and is worlds more intuitive than what exists right now. Bring that to the desktop please, then people can run it on their laptops.

 

[djc664]

We output the data from Hero Lab that accurately reflects the character. The d20Pro software then interprets and transforms that data into what it needs. It's that second step where the problem most likely lies, so I recommend contacting the d20Pro team about any bugs that you've encountered.

This is not totally true. The hero lab to d20 exporter got updated sometime around December and, aside from out porting way sloppier code (you used to be able to open it up and see nicely formatted XML...), it now leaves out things like CDATA tags for skill descriptions. That leads to none of the special abilities showing their details on the d20 pro character. I found this by comparing output from hero lab from before and after the update myself.

I added this to the bug list for pathfinder... Is there a better place (besides here) to bring his up to be looked at?

 

[Colen]

This is not totally true. The hero lab to d20 exporter got updated sometime around December and, aside from out porting way sloppier code (you used to be able to open it up and see nicely formatted XML...), it now leaves out things like CDATA tags for skill descriptions. That leads to none of the special abilities showing their details on the d20 pro character. I found this by comparing output from hero lab from before and after the update myself.

I added this to the bug list for pathfinder... Is there a better place (besides here) to bring his up to be looked at?

For custom output, the "sloppier" code was ironically caused by us switching to using Microsoft's standard XML library for XML output. By default, it outputs the XML all jammed together.

We recently uncovered a better way of doing this, so starting from the Hero Lab 4.1 release the code will be "pretty-printed" and nicely indented again.

Regardless of how it was output, there shouldn't be any issue with CDATA tags. Can you email support@wolflair.com with an output file you think isn't formatted properly, so I can take a look at it?

 

[djc664]

For custom output, the "sloppier" code was ironically caused by us switching to using Microsoft's standard XML library for XML output. By default, it outputs the XML all jammed together.

We recently uncovered a better way of doing this, so starting from the Hero Lab 4.1 release the code will be "pretty-printed" and nicely indented again.

Regardless of how it was output, there shouldn't be any issue with CDATA tags. Can you email support@wolflair.com with an output file you think isn't formatted properly, so I can take a look at it?

Yea, the formatting was incidental. I was mildly annoyed at it once I found out I had to add the tags in a single line for my editor. What it really did was clearly point out that some change to the output had occurred.

The change I'm talking about is everything exported with the <special> tags. Here's an example output currently, in every character I've exported characters from - new and old:

<special name="Winding">Active for 1 day/HD, can be recharged with a special key.</special>

What it looks like in D20Pro is:

Winding:

What the code should read (and did as late as December of 2011 as far as I can tell from my exports from then) as:

<special name="Winding"><![CDATA[Active for 1 day/HD, can be recharged with a special key.]]></special>

That will show in d20Pro as:

Winding: Active for 1 day/HD, can be recharged with a special key.

If you really need files to look at and compare, it's going to take a week or more for me to get a proper example put together; I have a week long conference getting in the way.

<EDIT> Here's the thread on d20Pro's forum that I started there that found the issue for me:
http://forums.d20pro.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1836

While we're on the subject of this output, though, it would be fantastic if you and Mat could fine-tune the code/parser to allow output of characters to link and update existing d20Pro characters in the library. There are enough custom things on the d20Pro side that don't translate (like the spell effects or weapon attacks) which would be awesome to leave in place while updating the feats, skills, HP, level info, equipment, etc. that is changed in Hero Lab.

As it stands, using Hero Lab to manage the characters and importing new levels to D20Pro is quite a chore in the middle of all the awesome smoothness that the two programs usually provide.

 

[Colen]

Thanks for the example you posted. Here's what's going on: In XML, the "<![CDATA ]]>" area allows you to encapsulate characters like "<" or ">" that'd otherwise be confusing to the XML parser. If you do this:

<somenode><<<<<<< >>>>> >>>< <<< >>><</somenode>

It'll cause an XML parse error, but adding the CDATA:

<somenode><![CDATA[<<<<<<< >>>>> >>>< <<< >>><]]></somenode>

Indicates "nothing within these CDATA tags is XML, it's just text".

So far so good. However, if there are no ambiguous symbols (<, >, &, etc) in the text, there's no need for the "<![CDATA[ ]]>" at all. In that case, it's entirely optional. A standard XML parser shields you from all of this by just reading everything in properly, so you can access it without caring about whether it was enclosed in <![CDATA[ ]]> or not.

Previously we included the CDATA tags all the time "just in case", but that's no longer necessary with the Microsoft APIs we're using. If d20pro isn't accepting the input without the CDATA tags, that means there's something up with their parsing logic that isn't doing things properly; we're outputting standards-compliant XML, so they should be able to read it, regardless of whether or not it uses CDATA tags.

I hope this explanation helps explain what's going on. I'll get in touch with the d20pro guys and see if there's anything we can do to help get this working again.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Illydth]

I too will be waiting for an Android version to come out even though I have an iPad aswell. I'm confused by the decision to launch on iOS as it's much more restrictive and Android allows for sales on many more manufacturers devices, hopefully the Android version isn't too far behind.

Don't know if this has been stated but this is typically WHY you release for iOS first.

The fact that there are many more manufacturers means different hardware issues, the fact that it's less restrictive means less control and less standardized environment to develop and test your software on.

The fact is that with Apple's draconian (and it really is) control over your device, it makes developers lives EXCEPTIONALLY easy...in most cases a bug really is a bug, and it's reproducable pretty easily.