TokenMaker
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:45 am
Some Background
I've just started to learn java and so as an intellectual exercise I figured I'd put my skills to practice doing something I might enjoy and that might actually be useful to me when and if I ever finish it. I looked about for projects to get my hands on and I realised that there was an opportunity available for MapTool that I could have a crack at - automated Token Generation.
Me and my pals play D&D 4E. We are currently using MT as our VTT and one of our number lives 250 miles away and dials in, with Skype, to join the games. It works great. I am the DM. I'm also the techie who understands all the technology we are using (although others understand most of it too). But no one else has yet taken up the batton of DMing using MapTool. We use a complicated Framework (a highly modified version of Veggie's) and I use a modified version of James Mastersen's monster cut and paste to generate my monsters. It's relatively simple for me to make PC tokens and Monster tokens but its not as easy as it could be. If I want others in my group to use MT as DMs I'm going to have to explain to them how to build monster and PC tokens using these tools I've cobbled together and hacked. It's not easy.
We all have a DDi subscription, so we all have access to the Compendium and the Character Builder. All our PCs are built from the Character Builder and when making my campaigns I nearly always pick and choose monsters already existing in the Compendium. I have used the Monster Builder to build a few monsters at times too.
So, I thought, if I could make a program which would very simply and easily create PC and Monster tokens for MapTool that would be dead handy. It would also make a good project to play around with for learning Java. Hence TokenMaker was born.
TokenMaker
TokenMaker has been designed to do two distinct jobs:
1. Make PC/Player tokens.
2. Make Monster tokens.
I'm going to address both of these separately. Note that TokenMaker is 100% geared towards making 4E D&D tokens and definitely requires a DDi subscription to use.
1. PC Tokens
What I want is a tool that will take an existing DDi Character Builder Save File and generate a Player Token for MapTool.
The idea would be simply that you select a ".dnd4e" save file and press build and off it goes. It can get all the basic stats for your PC from there. It can parse out the Powers. It can also get a portrait file - which will be needed to make a token. The only thing missing is the details of what the Powers do. But the program can look that up as we make the token, if we have access to the Compendium inside the program. Press a button and "pop", a token can be made and saved.
2. Monster Tokens
Building monsters is perhaps a little more complicated in places and easier in others. I want the facility to look up monsters by name ("Goblin" for example) and have it throw me up a list to pick from. Click on the name in question and pop up it's stat block. Then pick a portrait file and press a button and "pop", out comes a monster token.
This Thread
This thread is here for me to report my progress on this task. I'm going to use it to report when I've completed parts of the task and to brain storm ideas for what I want it to do next. Feel free to chip in and help out wth comments and suggests and critque.
My Coding Speed
One thing I should point out up front is that I'm a busy chap. I have a full time job, a family, I run a D&D campaign which needs a lot of time spent on it, and I have a good social life. I'll spend the odd hour on the PC coding up some java as and when I have the time and feel the desire to do so. So don't expect this project to be finished any time soon. In fact, if it's anything like many of my other projects it may well never get finished.
I've just started to learn java and so as an intellectual exercise I figured I'd put my skills to practice doing something I might enjoy and that might actually be useful to me when and if I ever finish it. I looked about for projects to get my hands on and I realised that there was an opportunity available for MapTool that I could have a crack at - automated Token Generation.
Me and my pals play D&D 4E. We are currently using MT as our VTT and one of our number lives 250 miles away and dials in, with Skype, to join the games. It works great. I am the DM. I'm also the techie who understands all the technology we are using (although others understand most of it too). But no one else has yet taken up the batton of DMing using MapTool. We use a complicated Framework (a highly modified version of Veggie's) and I use a modified version of James Mastersen's monster cut and paste to generate my monsters. It's relatively simple for me to make PC tokens and Monster tokens but its not as easy as it could be. If I want others in my group to use MT as DMs I'm going to have to explain to them how to build monster and PC tokens using these tools I've cobbled together and hacked. It's not easy.
We all have a DDi subscription, so we all have access to the Compendium and the Character Builder. All our PCs are built from the Character Builder and when making my campaigns I nearly always pick and choose monsters already existing in the Compendium. I have used the Monster Builder to build a few monsters at times too.
So, I thought, if I could make a program which would very simply and easily create PC and Monster tokens for MapTool that would be dead handy. It would also make a good project to play around with for learning Java. Hence TokenMaker was born.
TokenMaker
TokenMaker has been designed to do two distinct jobs:
1. Make PC/Player tokens.
2. Make Monster tokens.
I'm going to address both of these separately. Note that TokenMaker is 100% geared towards making 4E D&D tokens and definitely requires a DDi subscription to use.
1. PC Tokens
What I want is a tool that will take an existing DDi Character Builder Save File and generate a Player Token for MapTool.
The idea would be simply that you select a ".dnd4e" save file and press build and off it goes. It can get all the basic stats for your PC from there. It can parse out the Powers. It can also get a portrait file - which will be needed to make a token. The only thing missing is the details of what the Powers do. But the program can look that up as we make the token, if we have access to the Compendium inside the program. Press a button and "pop", a token can be made and saved.
2. Monster Tokens
Building monsters is perhaps a little more complicated in places and easier in others. I want the facility to look up monsters by name ("Goblin" for example) and have it throw me up a list to pick from. Click on the name in question and pop up it's stat block. Then pick a portrait file and press a button and "pop", out comes a monster token.
This Thread
This thread is here for me to report my progress on this task. I'm going to use it to report when I've completed parts of the task and to brain storm ideas for what I want it to do next. Feel free to chip in and help out wth comments and suggests and critque.
My Coding Speed
One thing I should point out up front is that I'm a busy chap. I have a full time job, a family, I run a D&D campaign which needs a lot of time spent on it, and I have a good social life. I'll spend the odd hour on the PC coding up some java as and when I have the time and feel the desire to do so. So don't expect this project to be finished any time soon. In fact, if it's anything like many of my other projects it may well never get finished.