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Overall Game Profile?

C

ChaosInc80

Member
Would like to suggest an overall "game profile". This was the first thing I was looking for when I opened the program. I finally found the way to do it by importing other profiles into the active one (the dashboard functionality), but then that all links to a character file, not an actual game file.

We typically vote on the next game system to play after we finish a story. Sometimes it changes, sometimes it doesn't. Few times we returned to older games and continued with a new story. This would be a lot easier to keep track of if the characters could be added to a "game profile" rather than sifting through each character profile to see which other characters are attached to it.
 
Unfortunately, I don't seem to be grokking your explanation here. I'm not sure how a "game profile" is supposed to work. Could you please walk me through the process of how you would like thing to behave? If I can understand it, then we can get it added to the todo list. :)
 
Simply what I have in mind (because I'm having a hard time expressing it for some reason) is simply a shortcut to add specific characters to a the dashboard at file loading without it having to be bound to a character profile. As it stands, when you import profiles to the dashboard, it's attached to a specific character, which can be hard to remember which character it was in a game of 10+ people (such as ours).

I'll try my best to explain. :o

Example System: WoD
Example "Game": Sydney (current chronicle I'm running)

Usage
1) Open a game system
2) A new frame is displayed to chose "Configure a Character", "Create Game Profile" or "Open Game Profile"
3a) "Configure a Character" leads to the usual frame
3b) "Create Game Profile" opens a frame to input a name for a game, selection frame for existing profiles for "importing" and "Accept/Import"/"Cancel" buttons
3c) "Open Game Profile" opens the usual file selector to select a saved game profile
4) On the main frame, a new area on top displays the "Game Profile" (i.e. "Game Profile: Sydney"). This become the overall focus instead of the character currently displayed for saves/loads.
5) Much like the "Import Character From Portfolio" option, have the option to import to the "Game" instead, adding the character to the dashboard as per usual
6) When you save the "Game Profile", it saves which characters are on the dashboard

All other systems remain the same (character advancement, creation, saving, etc).
 
Ah! Now I understand. It sounds like what you want is the ability to have HL maintain the contents of multiple different portfolios, which are all opened and managed concurrently. This would entail a dramatic overhaul of how things are handled, which would result in all sorts of implications that would need to be resolved.

The difficulty is that the Dashboard contents are expressly driven by the contents of the currently loaded portfolio. In fact, *everything* within Hero Lab is driven by the currently loaded portfolio. Changing the Dashboard to use a multiple concurrent sources for its data introduces all sorts of questions about how that information is managed, plus how it is persisted.

Have you tried setting up a new portfolio specifically for managing all the PCs at the start of each game? If not, consider the following approach....

At the start of a game, the GM creates a single portfolio that will contain all the PCs during the game. You can import the PCs from their separate portfolios into a single shared portfolio, which you can save, naming it something like "Sydney". Throughout the game, you have access to all the PCs via the Dashboard and Tactical Console for instant review. If you need to save state between game sessions, simply save the portfolio and reload it next game.

This technique can be extended further, though. You can setup all the NPCs for a given encounter within a single portfolio. Once the portfolio is saved, you can then quickly use its contents during play. Let's say that you have the portfolio loaded that contains all of the PCs and they reach "Encounter #1". You've already setup all the NPCs from that encounter in a separate portfolio prior to the game. By going to the Portfolio menu and selecting "Import Hero from Portfolio", you choose the saved "Encounter #1" portfolio. HL then shows you a list of all the NPCs in that portfolio. Since you want all of them, simply click the "Import All" button. HL sucks them all in and you now have them loaded alongside the PCs. You can now use the Tactical Console to view both the PCs *and* the NPCs. If combat starts, the Tactical Console can orchestrate everything for you.

Once the encounter ends, you can unload the NPCs from the portfolio. Using the Portfolio menu, you can go to the "Delete Character" submenu and select "Delete Multiple". From here, you can check all of the NPCs from the encounter and click "OK". All those NPCs are dumped and you're back to just the PCs again. This process can be easily repeated for successive encounters, with all damage, effects, and conditions on the PCs persisting along the way.

If you make changes to the PCs that need to returned to the players at the end of the gaming system, you can accomplish it using the above technique. Simply export individual characters from the collective portfolio and give them back to the players on a memory stick, email, etc.

If you haven't tried this overall approach, please give it a try and report back. I'll put your request on the todo list, but it represents a dramatic change that will entail a lot of work to sort out all the nasty cross-file linkages and dependencies in a reliable manner.
 
Glad to see the option will be considered for possible integration. :)

As for your suggestions, I'll most certainly give them a try. I didn't even think about pre-profiling encounters, which would save a little bit on setting up the console and leaving my players twiddling their thumbs waiting on me.
 
I tried this suggestion however there was a lot of issues. See the " Some issues with the tactical console" thread.
 
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