D&D 3.5 (and misc D20) Digital Character Sheet

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Frozen-Solid
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D&D 3.5 (and misc D20) Digital Character Sheet

Post by Frozen-Solid »

So I mentioned this in another thread and Trevor told me I should post about it here (omg too many forums *dies*) so um... yeah. Hope you enjoy it, and maybe this will convince me to finally get back to coding and finish this sucker.

Anyways, this is a character sheet program I've been developing for some time now. Development is still going on it, slowly but surely, but the latest beta version is pretty darn stable. I just haven't gotten around to finishing the last few things I want to do with it before releasing an official public build. It's released under the GPL and of course the source is available upon request... I just haven't gotten around to packaging the beta all up in a nice and neat fashion. In other words I'm lazy.

Basically it's a D&D Character Sheet generator for D&D 3.5. I hated all the PDF, Excel, and other character sheet programs because I really just prefer the official sheet and how it worked, but wanted stuff to be automatically calculated and easier to fix and clean up and stuff.I'm quite proud of my little app and get quite a few e-mails about it. Still use it all the time too.

Image

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The third page is just a big blank notepad type thing for taking notes on, no picture really needed

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Fonts are customizable and even saves your settings. Help info is in the about screen. Also lets you print right from the sheet to any installed printer. It also runs no problem under Wine so it's very easily usable on Linux!

Download here!

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Post by Steel Rat »

Looks nice!

I haven't downloaded it yet, but does it allow for exporting as HTML?
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Post by Frozen-Solid »

Steel Rat wrote:Looks nice!

I haven't downloaded it yet, but does it allow for exporting as HTML?
That's in the works. I need to come up with a decent looking HTML character sheet first. I'm half way through coding a text export feature. It's just so monotonous that I haven't gotten back around to doing it.

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Post by Hawke »

What about exporting in XML? :-D :-D :-D

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Post by Frozen-Solid »

Hawke wrote:What about exporting in XML? :-D :-D :-D
That is a definite idea too. Once again I just need a template to work from. If there's a way to make a "character sheet" for MapTools in XML to use all of MapTools' rolling features I'd probably cream myself.

Theoretically I can write an export function (or people can submit them!?!) for any file format you want, assuming I have a template to work from. Text is the hardest because I'm doing the format with spaces and tabbing and feces. It takes sooo long to code. I really want to finish it, and I've just been getting back into D&D in the past 2 months so it's on my list of things to do once I catch up with everything else I'm doing right now. (The text one is about 1/4 done and that first 1/4 works in the beta if you care to see what it looks like)

School, iconning for a few LJ rps, getting ready for a new LJ RP that's starting up in a few weeks, looking for a job, etc. I'm a bit swamped.

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Post by RPMiller »

Ok, I'm not sure I should mention this, but I know how to code RTF documents. If you would rather use actual formatting for a printed sheet that can be opened up in Word I would recommend that you go that route. I have made many, many, many RTF exports for the Hero Systems character creator called Hero Designer.
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Post by Frozen-Solid »

RPMiller wrote:Ok, I'm not sure I should mention this, but I know how to code RTF documents. If you would rather use actual formatting for a printed sheet that can be opened up in Word I would recommend that you go that route. I have made many, many, many RTF exports for the Hero Systems character creator called Hero Designer.
RTF is another format I have planned to export, but the only thing I really know how to save in C++ is a standard text using ofstream. I suck. :[

I'd love some help with it though

Text and HTML, maybe VBCode are the big ones. XML would be awesome if there's a specific use for it (MapTools for instance). RTF would be GREAT if I knew how to do it. PDF is easy... lol printing already works so print -> adobe pdf :') Printing to PDF is a tad blurry and I don't know how to fix that, but actually printing to a real printer looks great. Anything using standard text is super easy and just involves writing out the "text" (like XML tags) and the variable names.

Edit: lol proofreading

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Post by RPMiller »

What Hero Designer does that makes it heads and shoulders above any Character Creation software I've seen, is it uses tags for each type of data item in the character sheet. So if you want to export the character sheet you simply create an export format for the end result and then plug in the tags where applicable. Then when the application exports it simply replaces the tags with the actual values.

In fact, you can't print directly out of the application and while it throws most new users, it is actually the most powerful feature because you can create any character sheet imaginable. Very good stuff. If you could set up the data to be exported to a tag like structure, creating an RTF export is a piece of cake. It is just as easy as an HTML page in fact, just different tags is all, and if you can do that then XML is even easier.
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Post by Frozen-Solid »

RPMiller wrote:What Hero Designer does that makes it heads and shoulders above any Character Creation software I've seen, is it uses tags for each type of data item in the character sheet.
Really that's what my current export function does. I don't have a necessarily "easy" way to just open a template and fill in the blanks, but my saving function basically does the same thing.

I just fout the tags, text, code, etc and in places necessary I'll fout the variable. Right now it has to be hardcoded, but it's doing the same thing. Theoretically I could code an "export to misc" where it reads in each line of a file and finds tags to replace, but I'd almost rather it all be hardcoded into one little file. It's just personal preference is all. Easier to distribute when the only file I have to upload is a single exe.

Raw save file:

Code: Select all

           fout <<Form1>HP->Text.c_str() << endl;
           fout <<Form1>NaturalArmor->Text.c_str() << endl;
           fout <<Form1>DeflectionMod->Text.c_str() << endl;
           fout <<Form1>ArmorMiscMod->Text.c_str() << endl;
           fout <<Form1>InitMiscMod->Text.c_str() << endl;

Text format output:

Code: Select all

                fout << "Character Name: " <<CharName>Text.c_str() << "     Player: " <<Player>Text.c_str() << endl;
                fout << "Campaign: " <<Campaign>Text.c_str() << endl;
                fout << "Class and Level: " <<ClassLevel>Text.c_str() << "     Experience Points: " <<Experience>Text.c_str() << endl;
                fout << "Race: " <<Race>Text.c_str() << "     Alignment: " <<Alignment>Text.c_str() << "     Deity: " <<Deity>Text.c_str() << endl;
                fout << "Size: " <<Size>Text.c_str() << "     Age: " <<Age>Text.c_str() << "     Gender: " <<Gender>Text.c_str() << endl;
                fout << "Height: " <<Height>Text.c_str() << "     Weight: " <<Weight>Text.c_str() << "     Hair: " <<Hair>Text.c_str() << "     Skin: " <<Skin>Text.c_str() << endl;
It's really easy.

Edit: The code tags are eating my pointers and formatting. :wtf:

But yeah... HTML/XML/Text/VBCode I can all do with ease. Really nothing to it. Just time consuming to format it how I want. Text is the hardest because of the spacing and tabbing I'm using to make a good looking text based sheet. It's the hardest of the ones I have planned, next to RTF which I have no idea how to start.

I just need to get decent HTML, XML, and VBCode templates and I can hammer those out.

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Post by Frozen-Solid »

Example txt file:

Code: Select all

Character Name: Luke     Player: Rosa
Campaign: 
Class and Level: Bard 2 / Secret 1 (Bard Caster Level 3)     Experience Points: 2695/3000
Race: Half-Elf     Alignment: Chaotic Neutrel     Deity: n/a
Size: Medium     Age: 31     Gender: M
Height: 5'4"     Weight: 135lbs     Hair: Brown     Skin: Peach

Str: [9][-1]     Temp Str: [][]
Dex: [13][+1]     Temp Dex: [][]
Con: [13][+1]     Temp Con: [][]
Int: [15][+2]     Temp Int: [][]
Wis: [9][-1]     Temp Wis: [][]
Cha: [18][+4]     Temp Cha: [][]

HP: [14]     Current HP: [14]     Nonlethal: [0]

Speed: 30ft base

Armor Class: [ 14  ] = 10 + [  2  ] + [  1   ] + [   1   ] + [   0    ] + [   0   ]
              Total          Armor     Shield     Dex Mod     Size Mod     Natural
Touch AC: [11]     Flat-Footed AC: [13]

Damage Reduction: []

Initiative: [ +1  ] = [   1   ] + [   0    ]
             Total     Dex Mod     Misc Mod

Fortitude: [ +3  ] = [    2    ] + [   1   ] + [  0 ] + [   0    ] + [   0    ]
            Total     Base Save     Ability     Magic     Misc Mod     Temp Mod
Dungeons and Dragons v3.5 Digital Character Sheet - Version 3.0 - © 2006 Matt Schraeder and Frozen Insanity - http://www.kontek.net/frozen
Obviously the export isn't done yet as you can see. I need to align the abiliity scores a bit better and... do the entire rest of the sheet, but it's getting there.

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Post by RPMiller »

RTF can be made to look exactly like the "official" character sheet. After all it is just a document.

The RTF specification are available on the web just search for it. I would design to the 1.5 specs as it will be the most compatible with all the text editors out there.

So your actual export process is hard coded into the app? That's what is nice about the HD exports. They are actually a separate text file that you point to for the export. I have literally a hundred plus different exports for the app based on what my specific needs might be. This includes combat sheets that allow all the currently loaded characters to be outputed into a single sheet that shows their initiative order and combat stats. Of course that is somewhat system specific, but if your app could do that as well into the stat blocks you see in published material that would be a huge boon for GMs I would think. Plus, D&D doesn't have quite the boatload of character information that Hero System has so that would reduce the necessity for having that many different forms.

Overall, I think you definitely have a good thing going with your character builder so keep it up, and if I can offer you some assistance for your RTF stuff, let me know.
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Post by Frozen-Solid »

Yeah. Right now everything is hardcoded.

I think, after your suggestion, that the "main" and most useful (at least in my opinion) export functions will be hardcoded, and I'll have a "misc" export as well that asks you to open a template file, and then exports based upon the template. That's going to take a bit more work though.

RTF is probably the last thing I'm going to work on. I'd like to finish Text first, followed by HTML, and then move on from there.

Of course, being under the GPL, it's really easy to add more hardcoded templates. I'd even be willing to personally add them in if people send them to me.

Another feature that's WAY down the line, is the ability to add templates and class levels to a character. It'd work much like the current loading function, but instead "add" values into the slots rather than replacing them entirely. Sadly I really don't think I have the time or energy to design that large number of templates and levels and stuff... so I'd have to rely on others to help build a library, and I don't think I have THAT big of a fanbase yet. Once again, that's way way down the line.

The next feature, after exporting, that I'd like to add is having drop downs for weapons and armor.

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Post by RPMiller »

Sounds like it is definitely going in a great direction. Regarding the export formats for HD, interestingly enough all but about 5 were done by fans. The developer slapped together the first few HTML templates. I did all the RTF templates except for a couple that others either modified mine, or did some rather ugly coding by saving out of word, which I don't recommend as it is not a true RTF renderer with all the 'extra' stuff it puts in.

So will this be a strictly D&D thing, or are you considering branching out into other d20 stuff? If you want a huge fanbase eventually, I would strongly recommend doing a more "generic d20" character sheet which you are basically there anyway, but you would have to add more functionality for things like Mutants and Masterminds for example. Is that what you are thinking of regarding the "adding" stuff in?
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Post by Frozen-Solid »

It's fairly strictly D&D or D20 Modern, because that's all I really play. The hardest part of the project, aside from learning to print in Windows, was actually the layout and arranging things how I wanted them.

I've used it in D20 Modern, D20 Aberrant, Eberron, Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones, etc without any real problem. The "missing" things (like Quantum score and Quantum points in Aberrant) I just put under Special Abilities, or under spells depending on the game and my needs. The sheet itself is really pretty flexible.

A LOT of people want me to make a White Wolf one, but god I hate the White Wolf system (and personally think a digital sheet for White Wolf is kinda hilarious... I mean it's just filling in circles and typing. I can do that in Photoshop or Acrobat easier than I can code it in C++).

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Post by RPMiller »

LOL That is very true about WW. LOL There actually are already character sheets out there that let the user generate them at least I have one for Exalted. I'm not sure about the other systems. It does track points and the prerequisite trees so that is where the time is saved I suppose.
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