RPTools.net

I was thinking that maybe a calendar tool would make it a lot easier for people to schedule and join games. You can see what mods are being run on what days and select a mod for more details. Then you can choose to join the mod which would open a form for a player to enter all the relevant details about their characters necessary for them to join. Furthermore, this app could be enhanced in the future to integrate the slot scores which would allow the application to automatically determine which players are locked into the games as well as allow for a reporting feature that could also be used to automatically update the slot scores.

We've been thinking about a "CommunityTool" for quite awhile. it would include a "Lobby" area where players could meet up and learn about games; such a place would be perfect for holding a gaming calendar.

Folks should add to this thread if they have any particular ideas for the calendar area. It's likely that CommTool won't be worked on until the next version of MT is usable; I can see CommTool being sort of a front-end for MT in one or two ways...

So, uh, Battle.net for MapTool?

Also, from a non-player perspective, adding a "room" for developers and people working on macros would be greatly appreciated. I can see that the IRC that is stickied died out some while ago, yet I believe this is one of the best ways to get to know fellow programmers. It's something that I'd desire greatly in the "CommunityTool".

I'd like "members" to be able to have a very simple yet informative tooltip/mouseover displaying such information as timezone, time/days playing, lfg or currently active groups (plus link to respective room). This can include more detail on a "profile page" but the idea being if data is collaborated and processed, a player can search for a game, or a time slot, or both if he wants to join. Much more efficient than the forum structure.

If we're looking simply for a "lobby" tool, then using browser-based technologies is probably a better way to go since the user wouldn't need to download/install a Java runtime. And such an interface would work on platforms that support current web technology but don't support Java (Apple, I'm looking at you and your iOS platform!).

If that's the case then such a tool could be developed in parallel with any other RPTools apps and could even be put together by the community.