We are always looking for new tools to create to help facilitate the table top gaming experience. Let us know if you have an idea for a new gaming tool you'd like to see. (Note: this is NOT for feature requests on existing tools!)
jay wrote:If we do end up supporting character generation, it will also be handled by scripting and it will be done last. If character generation does come about, there shouldn't be any reason why you can't just ignore it and create the character sheets by hand if you want.
I wouldn't have character generation as this is handled by other applications out there, too many systems too support and has limited function once the "games begin"!
Having said that, if you choose to add it, then at the end would be best, as long as it doesn't slow down the app as it's true calling is letting me know whether my Longsword hits, how hurt am I and whether I have enough charisma to get the babes...
RedBlade is great for new players, especially if you're unfamiliar with the core mechanics of character creation. My players still use it for leveling up their characters, though I find RPG Web Profiler with the d20srd.org sheet to be the easiest way to build and maintain a character with just the right amount of feedback about the changes I make.
Here's a question about the RPTools suite: is it targeted to beginners / quick play groups or is it intended to be a power-user set of tools? If both, what are the plans to straddle that fence effectively?
ego093 wrote:
Here's a question about the RPTools suite: is it targeted to beginners / quick play groups or is it intended to be a power-user set of tools? If both, what are the plans to straddle that fence effectively?
Both. I've been pondering that exact question lately as we add ever more features in. For now the plan is to keep the interface as uncluttered as possible. Make the more advanced features available, but not in-your-face which should keep it more accessible to new and light users
My experience is that the tools are powerful, and largely intuitive. FOr the many things that aren't (Mostly wierd features like the templates) it is very easy to get someone to help you.
Chaotic Neutral means never having to say you're sorry.
While I am very interested in an integrated tool suite, I am not interested in a character generation tool. Character management, ability display, and RPTools relevant data handling is great, but generation is a different animal.
1. How many other d20 chargen tools are there out there? Some are better than others, but why reinvent the wheel.
2. Not everyone plays d20, and anecdotally I would imagine that more non-d20 gamers need tools like RPTools than d20 gamers simply because non-d20 game groups are harder to establish. System agnostic tools are ideal.
So far RPTools has been great about adding non-d20 support and I hope that continues.
Legendsmiths presents: NOVA6, streamlined universal RPG where action happens at the speed of narrative Narosia * Sea of Tears, a complete fantasy game powered by the Hero System.
I play d20, but I like to stay unattached to a particular system. I like the amount of material there is for d20, but I really like having non-d20 support, simply because I don't like it when a program imposes artificial limitations on a user.
Chaotic Neutral means never having to say you're sorry.
I too hope to see these tools retain their game system and OS neutrality. I do 0 d20; I am in a few Hero System campaigns (so very happy in seeing hex supported so nicely!), in a Serenity RPG game, and really have no use for d20.
Character generation is, as stated here, pretty useless once a game is going, and you can use tools like inspiration pro or anything which can cut N paste for that work instead of reinventing the wheel.
Automated xyz to me really detracts from the strengths of the tool. It seems like some automated things will be tightly coupled to the game system (so less non d20 games using the features). very generic (so a pain in the but to customize and likely not used), and quite frankly do stuff that the GM is fully qualified to do.
Actually, that is a great strength of orpg. it is super neutral; the game specific material is added in, is pretty easy to code (were you to want some game specific features, like initiative control). It is too bad the mapping system and mini control utterly sucks
If there are game specific thingies then cool, though I would hope they build on robust common foundations. That is a great strength of orpg's tree; low level elements, to build your specific design, but in a common form, with common means of communicating (such as view, sending to others over chat, etc).
I had been thinking about 'new tools' or even conceptually a full 'suite' and it is easier for me to see things on the larger scale by relating it to real life? What *could* this suite be like? Well maybe a gaming club (go RWAG!!). Some of these things, while designated RPxxxxtool are more likey features which could be combined.
You walk in, fresh from the Gracies to the College Union where the RWAG gaming group has started
[Tool: RPSocial, a common chat area. Gaming is a social event, you go to a club/group IRL to meet and see what games are going, why not here? Likely no special rights, (ie everyone is a player)]. You recognize some friends and they recognize you [feature: identity. password protected handles].
You look around and see all of the tables with games going on [have either 'rooms'/'tables' from a central server, or being able to report back to a central server so you can see what people like playing. This is again all about community which I think is an orpg strength. If not coded, it could always be a lightweight IRC client to a 'common' area with special tags/auto-ammounce of games, but more likely to be a instance of a regular chat area]. A few tables on the side don't like to be bothered [password protected, no lurking], while many sit out in the open, allowing you to glance not only at the game being played but the people [lurking, maybe even 'ghost' mode allowed where ghosts don't even show up in the player list (but do for the gm) so their names/enter/exits do not muddle the game].
You eventually head over to your own table [your own game room; it could be your 'server' does not force connect you to it, but establishes the link (which would even allow you to have someone else gm)].
[ All of that is basically a central, reasily accessible chat/congregation room. I have been in games where new/replacement players were chosen from lurkers who likes how the game looked. Right from the start you would use handles with password, not to dissuade annoying people (can always make a new handle) but to allow people to build a presence under their own nick and not worry about it being hijacked. That way also you could say "yeah that RPGunGuy is pretty good RPer" and build social rep]
At your table, you spread out your resources for the game. You have your game maps (on paper and maybe predrawn with mind altering chemicals which waif up as you unroll your main map and 'check' if the markers are fresh [The current RPmaptool, mind altering chemicals not supplied].
You open your notebook [ A RPCampain tool; most likely a way to hold alot of text, recorded sessions, tabs so you can bring up your quick notes or maybe the crib sheet of rules for the game, aong with references to maps. Should allow the definition of common things like weather, well organized town maps, custom rules, etc, maybe even 2 sections defined a 'Everyone' and 'GM'. That way there could be a way to export the 'All' in a neutral format (export to PDF, html?) to provide a player guide to your game. ] you draw out the mins which you will be using [Does RPMaptool allow you to make a custom subset of minis in a 'box' to pull from? If you collect 10,000 images, it would be nice to have refernces to the 20 you may use]. You also have some combat tracking sheets [RPTracker, something which can process equations to customize it to track different things for different game systems. In example, Hero tracks Stun, Body, and Endurance for combat.. Best to be able to pull commonly defined info from the RPCampaign tool or freely added]. You pull out your sheets, detailing what you think will happen [ RPSession tool, a tool which draws from RPCampaign, but provides the nitty details of how you expect things to go/critial pieces players may encounter this game session. Should allow you to track what *actually* happens as they ignore 5 out of the 6 pages of details you spent all night working on. Likely integrates back to the campaign tool, but provides a nice consolidation of details that are relevant].
On you go to gaming. [this section is mainly for non-speech gamers who rely on chat]. You start chatting away and start the game, the GM providing a recap and description of where you are [RPChattool, a nicely designed chat environment. It should allow for bulk texting, changing names (to narrative, for GM to take on different personas, for players to use their in game name)]. You move your minis, do cool map effects and, on occasion, role the dice [feature, very dynamic die roller. Like orpg, should rely on a core 'die roller' and expression parser and allow you to script up special rollers (like an open ended roller, hit location roller). Players and GMs can adjust their own stats on the effect and do not see that as a need to auto-do. Oh also: DIE ROLLING IS SERVER SIDE. My goodness, player side die rollers are just so very, very bad.)
Music/sfx would be cool to implement also, maybe a RPsfxtool, but it would need to be smart in it's streaming to avoid overloading anyone and allow for remote references (maybe you have all you sfx on a dedicated web server).
Just some rambling thoughts before the day starts....
Heroman wrote: You also have some combat tracking sheets [RPTracker, something which can process equations to customize it to track different things for different game systems. In example, Hero tracks Stun, Body, and Endurance for combat.. Best to be able to pull commonly defined info from the RPCampaign tool or freely added].
Check out RPInitTool, I think it will do at least some of what you are asking for. It does allow you to set up custom properties, it doesn't do any equations yet. I'd be interested in hearing what you think it needs to be a more useful tool.
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I figured it would be preferred over starting a new topic.
I was wondering if there are any plans to create a plug-In API for future versions of RPTools. I realize that restructuring something like MapTool to be based on plug-ins would make it a bit more cpu intensive, but it would open the door for simpler contributions as well as allow for greater flexibility w/o sacrificing game neutrality.
For example, it would allow developers like me to contribute things like D&D 4E specific plug-ins and distribute them to the community without having to creating cumbersome patches to the source. Certain things like for example the various Area Effect Templates could then be distributed as plug-ins grouped by the gaming system.
I'm thinking of the Eclipse.org project as an example of a core framework that is built upon with plug-ins. MapTool seems like it would be a great project for this type of model.
Plugins are definitely on the roadmap, they seem to keep getting bumped down the list though.
My concern about plugins is that of security. I can't let arbitrary plugins run on the client because they could trivially do things like remove the fog, or see all the properties of the NPC tokens.
Instead the plugins would have to be trusted by the server, which most likely means the GM would have to install the plugin into the campaign and only those plugins can be used (and must be used) on the client machines.
Which is also a security issue, particularly as we go more to a ad hoc community of games. You wouldn't want to let someone force a plugin on you that you don't know anything about.
So it's a tricky subject. The more short term approach will be to allow scripting in something like javascript. We're working on figuring out how to handle the security issues with that (which are the same issues) but has a much smaller scope that we can control.
I assume that the SecurityManager used by plug-ins could be constrained to be the same as the applet security model, correct?
And I see no reason to expose to plug-ins some of the features that are GM-only, like topology. Maybe FOW manipulation should be exposed, but more likely would be the plug-in having the ability to ask the MT client to expose something, and the MT client simply forwarding the data back to the server.
If there were a good way to discuss such designs ideas in an online forum, I'd be interested in keeping my finger on the pulse, so to speak...
