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- The Lone Wolf Development Team
Questions and wanted features thread!
- Thread starter bocephus
- Start date
Shadowchaser
Well-known member
Will it be possible to have some kind of Relationship mapping feature? You could have a 'tag' on each character showing what 'Map' they're on, then select other characters from a drop-down, and define their relationship. Then the program could draw up a relationship map?
... Pretty elaborate, yeah. But it'd be cool for things like Smallville or Mekton games.
... Pretty elaborate, yeah. But it'd be cool for things like Smallville or Mekton games.
Hi,
One thing I have ALWAYS wanted is additional monitor support / a program that spans monitors.
i.e. I use a laptop to track everything, and assuming Realm Works will fill all of my criteria, I decide to use it.
Example: I have a series of pictures, videos, whatever. I wish to click on a particular video and show it to the players. In advance, I have a TV or second monitor set up where the players can see it, and by selecting a check box and clicking on the source file within the program launches it in the second monitor.
Ideally, I'd like to see the second monitor have the program having a "sorta-full-screen" window in it, where I can launch videos, put up pictures rather like a pinboard. Having a small window in the top right or top left with some variables (like time, weather, general location, etc) would be extremely helpful, with pull-down menus (complete with 'new entry' boxes) that immediately gives me a proforma to check-box the available NPC's that frequent or are occasionally/always in the area - denoting who is present - and customise other variables with text input boxes.
Sounds complicated, but it's simply a small (self sizing) window that outputs simple text data from a series of proforma sheets and pull down menus.
Nothing worse than messing around with a laptop to show the party one picture when I have a perfectly good TV at the other side of the room that I could be using.
--------------
Also, a combat tracker that pops up there - with the party (along with their current initiative and any spell effects), and on MY side I can enter any and all monsters and when I check their checkboxes, they appear up there in the correct order.
Caveat: the monster name has to be customisable, but have the correct name showing for me, but with a description alongside it. The idea there is that if the party doesn't know what the creature is, I don't want them being told until they are absolutely sure. So, at first it would say "Reptilian Humanoid", and next to it I could type something like "tall, thin green skinned humanoid with unblinking eyes". Then, once they discover what Yuan-ti are, it will be "Yaun-ti creature", with a description, and then finally once they know enough I could denote the specific type of Yuan-ti.
Combat trackers are especially important that the party can see them, as it specifies exactly who goes when, without confusion. Nothing worse than when people are getting antsy over whose turn it is because they forgot their initiative.
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I'd also like every character sheet to be available to me at any given time, with any treasure I give out to be allocated to specific party members. Nothing worse than a convenient "Oh, I've got the Staff of Wind Mastery in my backpack" when the character who really has it happens to be unconscious at the bottom of a cliff. In the past, I have had to use 'playing card' blanks with the equipment and description written on it so I know who has what.
Oh, and tracking gems, party wealth in coins, and unidentified magic items.
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Sorry for the long-winded text. Hope we can get some awesome features in this product!
One thing I have ALWAYS wanted is additional monitor support / a program that spans monitors.
i.e. I use a laptop to track everything, and assuming Realm Works will fill all of my criteria, I decide to use it.
Example: I have a series of pictures, videos, whatever. I wish to click on a particular video and show it to the players. In advance, I have a TV or second monitor set up where the players can see it, and by selecting a check box and clicking on the source file within the program launches it in the second monitor.
Ideally, I'd like to see the second monitor have the program having a "sorta-full-screen" window in it, where I can launch videos, put up pictures rather like a pinboard. Having a small window in the top right or top left with some variables (like time, weather, general location, etc) would be extremely helpful, with pull-down menus (complete with 'new entry' boxes) that immediately gives me a proforma to check-box the available NPC's that frequent or are occasionally/always in the area - denoting who is present - and customise other variables with text input boxes.
Sounds complicated, but it's simply a small (self sizing) window that outputs simple text data from a series of proforma sheets and pull down menus.
Nothing worse than messing around with a laptop to show the party one picture when I have a perfectly good TV at the other side of the room that I could be using.
--------------
Also, a combat tracker that pops up there - with the party (along with their current initiative and any spell effects), and on MY side I can enter any and all monsters and when I check their checkboxes, they appear up there in the correct order.
Caveat: the monster name has to be customisable, but have the correct name showing for me, but with a description alongside it. The idea there is that if the party doesn't know what the creature is, I don't want them being told until they are absolutely sure. So, at first it would say "Reptilian Humanoid", and next to it I could type something like "tall, thin green skinned humanoid with unblinking eyes". Then, once they discover what Yuan-ti are, it will be "Yaun-ti creature", with a description, and then finally once they know enough I could denote the specific type of Yuan-ti.
Combat trackers are especially important that the party can see them, as it specifies exactly who goes when, without confusion. Nothing worse than when people are getting antsy over whose turn it is because they forgot their initiative.
----------
I'd also like every character sheet to be available to me at any given time, with any treasure I give out to be allocated to specific party members. Nothing worse than a convenient "Oh, I've got the Staff of Wind Mastery in my backpack" when the character who really has it happens to be unconscious at the bottom of a cliff. In the past, I have had to use 'playing card' blanks with the equipment and description written on it so I know who has what.
Oh, and tracking gems, party wealth in coins, and unidentified magic items.
-----
Sorry for the long-winded text. Hope we can get some awesome features in this product!
I've been using Hero Labs/Pathfinder for several months now and I have to say that I love it. I've even converted a couple of my players into using. My problem is that I would like to try d20Pro at some point, but a lot of people between my 2 groups are old grognards and rather resistant to change. I even get the occasional gripe about using my laptop for anything.
From what I have read so far, it looks like something that I can really use for my campaigns, since they tend to be sprawling over time (still working on integrating a campaign that starts on Golarion and works its way through Rifts Earth and Phase World). I guess my only question is, since I would like to use d20Pro at some point, whether the group likes it or not, how might this integrate with that program? I understand they are made by 2 different companies, but there seems to be a lot of popular support for that product.
Also, so when can we sign up for the beta???
From what I have read so far, it looks like something that I can really use for my campaigns, since they tend to be sprawling over time (still working on integrating a campaign that starts on Golarion and works its way through Rifts Earth and Phase World). I guess my only question is, since I would like to use d20Pro at some point, whether the group likes it or not, how might this integrate with that program? I understand they are made by 2 different companies, but there seems to be a lot of popular support for that product.
Also, so when can we sign up for the beta???
Creativeimages
New member
Beta testing
What does it rake to be a beta tester for Realm Works?
What does it rake to be a beta tester for Realm Works?
There are no details regarding Beta testing yet, as specified here:
http://www.wolflair.com/index.php?context=realm_works
We'll definitely let everyone know once the details are finalized.
I don't have an answer to that question yet. We've been working closely with the d20Pro team regarding solid Hero Lab integration, so it's highly likely that integration with Realm Works will also be good. But we haven't worked out the details yet, let alone tested anything with them yet, so it's too early to say anything definitive. We'll let everyone know once we've had a chance to nail down the details with the d20Pro guys and verify everything will work well.
PetriWessman
Member
One feature I'd love would be the ability to show stuff (images, typically) on another monitor with minimal hassle. The typical use case would be a laptop/netbook for the GM, and a small external monitor visible to the players. It would allow you (as the GM) to show the players all sorts of handouts, monster pics or whatever, without needing cumbersome paper prints or such.
http://forums.wolflair.com/showpost.php?p=46622&postcount=23That's exactly what we envisioned as a common use, so that's part of the design.
It goes so much further than a simple "can show a picture", too. At the flick of a 'switch', to be able to throw up a screen saver image while you hurry to organise something for them to look at, or having a combat tracker with initiative order (as in my previous post) the possibilities are endless. As lok as RW will be able to output pictures (jpg, gif, tif, raw, etc), have a limited video capability (mov, mp4, wmv) etc, and still have the flexibility to show a lot of information in a tidy and easy way, it'll be a winner.
Hey, I have a clipboard with an "embarrased DM" logo I printed up that I put in front of my DM screen while I'm working on something unexpected in the campaign. I have folders and folders full of pictures that I have to find, hand out and re-catalog after ever session. This feature of RW will make my life easier (and cheaper because i don't have to keep printing stuff).
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One more suggestion - but a big one: How about a map tracker?
Whenever my party go for a dungeon crawl, I give a graph paper mathematics book to one of the players and describe the number of squares they need to sketch out. What would be nice if there was a 3D map tracker that allowed the DM to (if they wish) designate down to even a 5-foot-square by 5-foot-square resolution, what the party sees
(I envisage a minesweeper like grid that I simply drag the mouse over and click away the "fog of war" for them which then shows on their screen they can see.
The advantage is that you can beforehand (or on-the-fly) designate areas as "dark" or "treacherous footing" or "under guards and wards" or any number of conditions, and therefore get the radii of pre-cast/permanent/just-been-cast spells correct and be able to, at a glance, tell the party if they can see where that lightning bolt comes from. Nothing worse than getting halfway through the battle, the party are carving up some relatively easy foes, only to realise they were supposed to have been under a darkness spell or something that would have made the battle much more difficult. This way, at least, on my screen I'd be able to see what conditions are active, and what radius they have, and where the creatures are.
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Obviously, having a battlefield tracker to go with it would be epically awesome, so I can move my creatures around that are invisible, or out of sight, and each creature can nicely have it's hitpoints and conditions easily tagged, along with the party as well.
Oh the possibilities.
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Are these the sort of things we will see in a post-release RW?
Last edited:
Noctivagus
Active member
This might represent a small portion of the gaming audience for RW, but will there be forum output support for those of us who primarily play games on play-by-post forums? I'm thinking simple BBCode output that will copy nicely into the forums, complete with a customizable check box form to select exactly what information to copy.
Also, is it too late to request a built-in espresso maker? And a milk steamer. That would really, really help with my writing. And besides, there's so many cool features coming up in this program that I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, you know?
Really looking forward to this!
Thanks!
Steve
Also, is it too late to request a built-in espresso maker? And a milk steamer. That would really, really help with my writing. And besides, there's so many cool features coming up in this program that I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, you know?
Really looking forward to this!
Thanks!
Steve
Maidhc O Casain
Well-known member
I second this - almost all of my gaming is PbP these days. (I second the espresso maker request as well!)
*Casts Thread Necromancy*
I have a card system that I use for player inventories. If the player does not have the card, then they do not have the item. On the card, they can track charges/doses remaining, or any other variables. At the end of each gaming session I write up new cards (on MS Word) and print them out on 'business card' printable cards, which works quite well.
Problem is, it can be hard to reconcile anything which isn't exactly the same on the card with what it really does. For instance, if the item does not communicate it's current remaining charges, or has abilities the player doesn't know about, or is cursed, or for whatever reason has something the player does not know.
As a DM, we also have to rely on the players to use the honour system in tracking their spells used and so on.
Now that the electronic age is upon us, it would be interesting if (through the use of a WiFi network) that players could download a (free) "mini-HL-or-RW client" for smartphones/iphones/ipod/ipad which would allow them to import their Hero Lab character sheet, but is controlled primarily by the DM. That way, it would be easy to simply edit on-the-fly the characters ourselves, from the Realm Works host device.
====================================
For instance:
I am the DM, operating from a laptop that is hooked up to an external monitor/TV screen, showing the players the usual stuff. Players submit an electronic copy of their character sheet in the days preceding the first session of the game.
The players open up their devices, and they have an immediate mini-character sheet up there, which they can browse through the normal stats associated with a character sheet. They also have limited access to their spell lists, inventory and abilities. They are able (when the DM enables functionality) to place check boxes/use an incremental plus-or-minus selector
to designate their memorised spells, and so on.
Once they have chosen their spells or whatever they need to do, the DM locks it in, and they Go Adventurin'.
A fight breaks out, and Bob the Wizard announces "I'll cast a fireball". I simply click on the player icon (which I assume I can always see in RW?), go to his spell list, and uncheck one of his memorized fireball spells. Easy.
Next, John The Cleric casts Cure Light Wounds from a wand. I open up his inventory, find the wand, and use an incremental selector, hitting the minus sign which removes a charge.
====================================
This also allows the DM to track what long-duration spells are currently active, and should also show the effects of any active spells on both the DM side and the player mini-character sheet. If a player casts a 10-hour duration spell at 10am, his mini-character sheet will show it in effect and change any applicable stat changes. When the DM increments the time, it remains in effect until the time is incremented beyond 6pm, at which time it expires and 'falls off'.
Also, if Realm Works can be used to manage the player character sheets, integrating direct control of experience point rewards, whether it be ad-hoc, or per-encounter, or (like I do) simply awarding levels to the players when they reach a certain turning point in the campaign, would be extremely beneficial.
====================================
First, certain things have to be included in Realm Works to meet most of what I am suggesting:
- Functionality included to act as a 'server' for mini-character sheet(s) that is updated over a network (or even the internet), and relevant applications for android devices, Apple devices (iPad, and iPod Touch/iPhone), and laptops/netbooks.
- The ability to change/edit a player character sheet in the equivalent of Hero Lab at any time while playing, and to update their mini-character sheets (including everything from base stats, to inventories) with any changes.
- Ability to output those character sheets in a simple file that is a printable format (PDF, etc).
- Ability to hide the number of charges/doses/uses of an item from the player.
- A "time" function for the DM to increment the current time as required.
- A "rest" function which resets any spells-per-day (for sorcerers/bards,etc) or abilities-per-day (such as channeling), and opens up spell lists to be modified.
- Ability to designate how players receive experience.
...amongst others!
====================================
This wouldn't be an intended to get rid of the paper character sheet, it is simply a way to augment it. Plus, the character sheet is always up to date, and can be sent to the player after the gaming session is over in a Hero Lab file (or PDF?) ready to be printed out for the next gaming session if so desired. In addition, those people who play over the internet (i.e. through Skype or similar) to join a group, this has profound effect on how much more information the player has available to them.
====================================
Oviously most of this would be reserved for a future version of Realm Works, particularly as writing seperate apps for different devices and getting them to retreive data from a specific host device is complex. But I think it would provide a facet to Realm Works that would increase it's appeal to a wider audience.
I have a card system that I use for player inventories. If the player does not have the card, then they do not have the item. On the card, they can track charges/doses remaining, or any other variables. At the end of each gaming session I write up new cards (on MS Word) and print them out on 'business card' printable cards, which works quite well.
Problem is, it can be hard to reconcile anything which isn't exactly the same on the card with what it really does. For instance, if the item does not communicate it's current remaining charges, or has abilities the player doesn't know about, or is cursed, or for whatever reason has something the player does not know.
As a DM, we also have to rely on the players to use the honour system in tracking their spells used and so on.
Now that the electronic age is upon us, it would be interesting if (through the use of a WiFi network) that players could download a (free) "mini-HL-or-RW client" for smartphones/iphones/ipod/ipad which would allow them to import their Hero Lab character sheet, but is controlled primarily by the DM. That way, it would be easy to simply edit on-the-fly the characters ourselves, from the Realm Works host device.
====================================
For instance:
I am the DM, operating from a laptop that is hooked up to an external monitor/TV screen, showing the players the usual stuff. Players submit an electronic copy of their character sheet in the days preceding the first session of the game.
The players open up their devices, and they have an immediate mini-character sheet up there, which they can browse through the normal stats associated with a character sheet. They also have limited access to their spell lists, inventory and abilities. They are able (when the DM enables functionality) to place check boxes/use an incremental plus-or-minus selector
to designate their memorised spells, and so on.
Once they have chosen their spells or whatever they need to do, the DM locks it in, and they Go Adventurin'.
A fight breaks out, and Bob the Wizard announces "I'll cast a fireball". I simply click on the player icon (which I assume I can always see in RW?), go to his spell list, and uncheck one of his memorized fireball spells. Easy.
Next, John The Cleric casts Cure Light Wounds from a wand. I open up his inventory, find the wand, and use an incremental selector, hitting the minus sign which removes a charge.
====================================
This also allows the DM to track what long-duration spells are currently active, and should also show the effects of any active spells on both the DM side and the player mini-character sheet. If a player casts a 10-hour duration spell at 10am, his mini-character sheet will show it in effect and change any applicable stat changes. When the DM increments the time, it remains in effect until the time is incremented beyond 6pm, at which time it expires and 'falls off'.
Also, if Realm Works can be used to manage the player character sheets, integrating direct control of experience point rewards, whether it be ad-hoc, or per-encounter, or (like I do) simply awarding levels to the players when they reach a certain turning point in the campaign, would be extremely beneficial.
====================================
First, certain things have to be included in Realm Works to meet most of what I am suggesting:
- Functionality included to act as a 'server' for mini-character sheet(s) that is updated over a network (or even the internet), and relevant applications for android devices, Apple devices (iPad, and iPod Touch/iPhone), and laptops/netbooks.
- The ability to change/edit a player character sheet in the equivalent of Hero Lab at any time while playing, and to update their mini-character sheets (including everything from base stats, to inventories) with any changes.
- Ability to output those character sheets in a simple file that is a printable format (PDF, etc).
- Ability to hide the number of charges/doses/uses of an item from the player.
- A "time" function for the DM to increment the current time as required.
- A "rest" function which resets any spells-per-day (for sorcerers/bards,etc) or abilities-per-day (such as channeling), and opens up spell lists to be modified.
- Ability to designate how players receive experience.
...amongst others!
====================================
This wouldn't be an intended to get rid of the paper character sheet, it is simply a way to augment it. Plus, the character sheet is always up to date, and can be sent to the player after the gaming session is over in a Hero Lab file (or PDF?) ready to be printed out for the next gaming session if so desired. In addition, those people who play over the internet (i.e. through Skype or similar) to join a group, this has profound effect on how much more information the player has available to them.
====================================
Oviously most of this would be reserved for a future version of Realm Works, particularly as writing seperate apps for different devices and getting them to retreive data from a specific host device is complex. But I think it would provide a facet to Realm Works that would increase it's appeal to a wider audience.
As an aside:
What plugins would be available inside the program for adding specific content types?
A Flash player?
Media player?
What image types would it recognise? (RAW, jpeg, tiff?)
PDF viewer?
I don't know who would use this stuff specifically. I mean, I definitely would use a media player if it were embedded, even if it were a plugin version of VLC...
What plugins would be available inside the program for adding specific content types?
A Flash player?
Media player?
What image types would it recognise? (RAW, jpeg, tiff?)
PDF viewer?
I don't know who would use this stuff specifically. I mean, I definitely would use a media player if it were embedded, even if it were a plugin version of VLC...
Some of the features requested above (e.g. GM-controlled changes to characters in a distributed fashion) are better implemented within Hero Lab and already on our todo list. For those that are appropriate to Realm Works, some are already integrated into the product and some are on our future plans list.
We'll be posting updated details on Realm Works in the next few weeks, and that should give everyone a much more accurate understanding of what RW is targeted to achieve.
Please continue posting wish list items here, as it's immensely helpful to know what capabilities gamers want.
We'll be posting updated details on Realm Works in the next few weeks, and that should give everyone a much more accurate understanding of what RW is targeted to achieve.
Please continue posting wish list items here, as it's immensely helpful to know what capabilities gamers want.
Going back to the multi-monitor setup thingie (my first post on the topic on page 3 was very long winded)....:
Essentially if something is multi-monitor/ -window aware, one drawback could be (in some cases) that the second monitor may not be visible to the GM (in the case that you use a monitor as your DM screen).
Sounds daft, but there is the potential for someone to not see something they've put up for the players to see, when it shouldn't be revealed! (I will have three monitors on my setup; two for me as a 'screen' and the second monitor cloned output to a giant TV facing the players, so I should be okay... but not everyone here will have the bizarre setup I have!)
Essentially if something is multi-monitor/ -window aware, one drawback could be (in some cases) that the second monitor may not be visible to the GM (in the case that you use a monitor as your DM screen).
Sounds daft, but there is the potential for someone to not see something they've put up for the players to see, when it shouldn't be revealed! (I will have three monitors on my setup; two for me as a 'screen' and the second monitor cloned output to a giant TV facing the players, so I should be okay... but not everyone here will have the bizarre setup I have!)
We've developed the concept of a "Player View" window for exactly this purpose. It will *only* show things that have been revealed to the players. Once you see it in action, I'm pretty sure you'll be quite happy with the mechanism. If not, we'll refine it a bit to address any remaining "holes" in how it works.
A little left field... and not exactly RW, but seeing as RW would be my third LW program... Have you guys tried implementing a Lone Wolf "program manager"? (Lets call it the Manager Program for the purposes of me keeping my story straight)
I'm not really thinking along the lines of Impulse or Steam, just something, if launched, opens up a small slick window with a little menu of all of your LW programs with some functions:
- The Manager Program icon can be docked to my taskbar (preferably the system tray)
- Can launch any of the LW programs directly from a context menu from the Manager Program icon itself (i.e. without launching the Manager Program), or from within the Manager Program once it is opened (naturally)
- Allows you to update any LW program without launching the LW program itself (and perhaps has the potential to perform scheduled updates for valid licences during system down/idle time)
- If a program is selected within the Manager Program, it shows an info screen that tells me everything I have installed for that specific program (with a readout of when my licence is due for renewal if applicable, what data packages I have installed, and what others are available, etc. without having to launching a browser window.)
- also shows useful links once a program is selected (FAQ, Forum, Purchase Data Packages, Help, etc)
It's late and I'm tired and rambling on, but it makes perfect sense in my head. Now if I could just get my fingers to say what I mean....
I'm not really thinking along the lines of Impulse or Steam, just something, if launched, opens up a small slick window with a little menu of all of your LW programs with some functions:
- The Manager Program icon can be docked to my taskbar (preferably the system tray)
- Can launch any of the LW programs directly from a context menu from the Manager Program icon itself (i.e. without launching the Manager Program), or from within the Manager Program once it is opened (naturally)
- Allows you to update any LW program without launching the LW program itself (and perhaps has the potential to perform scheduled updates for valid licences during system down/idle time)
- If a program is selected within the Manager Program, it shows an info screen that tells me everything I have installed for that specific program (with a readout of when my licence is due for renewal if applicable, what data packages I have installed, and what others are available, etc. without having to launching a browser window.)
- also shows useful links once a program is selected (FAQ, Forum, Purchase Data Packages, Help, etc)
It's late and I'm tired and rambling on, but it makes perfect sense in my head. Now if I could just get my fingers to say what I mean....
chiefweasel
Well-known member
Isn't that how Tron started? lol.