RPTools.net

I want to start a new Game Settings file for Star Wars Saga. What is the recommended procedure to start this file from an existing file? (d20fantasy).

I copied the dir and used it as a start, figuring that DnD3.5 is a good basis. Should I rename all 5 files in the dir to my new name? Or just the 2 that start "d20"?
What about internally, are there any internal references I need to change? I see there is some internal naming in there.
What about path references? Anything hard coded or does it just look in the local dir for files.

I guess what I am asking is can I just make copies of the files and then make all the changes I need in the game settings dialog?

-David

PS. Is there any doc on the scripting yet? For instance, root.initModifier.current. . . I will need to build new routines for Saga as Initiative is done different in Saga (re: DnD4)

Well as I watch the Planet of the Apes marathon today, I am trying to dissect the methodology behind the game settings in v1.1b2.

Since I am trying to set up a SW Saga mode (for personal use, please no lawsuits), I will need to make some very big changes from the standard D&D3.5 settings file. Skills are very different, for instance Initiative is now a skill. There is no AC or Saves, there are now 3 defensive modes: Fort, Ref, and Will. Plus lots of other changes here and there.

What I can't figure out is how to edit some of the Custom Properties in the game settings dialog. There are many properties that are grayed out, that have formulas that I need to change to make SW Saga work in place of the standard D&D rules.

Are these editable yet, or is that not yet enabled in b2? Also, is the Index Card layout editable or is that hard-coded? I have not yet figured out how that display works from a customization standpoint. Obviously, I will need to make changes for a SW Saga character sheet.

Thanks,
-David

You should copy the directory to a safer place than .inittool (this directory is internal to IT and may be deleted from version to version). There are internal references to the other files from the main one. For now they have to be hardcoded in the main file. I'm in the process of switching the file format to a zip file so that these references can be made easier.




No documentation yet. The .rpgame file format is still changing too rapidly to create any docs for it yet. Eventually you should be able to edit everything from the tool, but some of the more complicated features are not accessible from the editor yet.

The grayed out scripts are ones that are shared by all of the skills. Since many of the skills are identical except for their name I have a way to share their base definitions. There is also a way to override these definitions, but I don't think the editor handles that yet. I still edit the files by hand because of how rapidly I change the format. If you can get me a set of the rules (legally) I'll be happy to integrate a game file for them into a future version of IT.

The card layout is editable. You can use the abelille editor to create the forms. I don't have any docs on how this works either because I've not completed all of the functionality yet. For simple display fields you just make the name of the label/text field be the same as the property that is being displayed/edited. Skill lists are bit more complicated and require special setup of abeille to get working properly. I'll make sure that is documented completely. but I've not made it that far yet.

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the info and helping to fill in the blanks. Some of this I started to understand over the weekend, and your comments are filling in the blanks.

I eventually sort of figured out why the scripts were grayed out, and it is good to hear I was on the right track, or at least close. I have been looking at the files in my xml suave TextPad editor, and comparing that to what I see in the UI.

It would be great to have the SWS rules in Init Tool, but I'm sure there are going to be copyright issues of some sort since it is not OGL.

On the bright side, it has been stated by WotC that SWS is a precursor to D&D4 in many of its systems. I totally expect the new skill systems to make it to D&D, and probably the talent system also. I doubt that the combat system of REF Defense, Fort Defense and Will Defense go over to DnD, since the idea of AC is so ingrained into the functionality of D&D, but we'll know soon.

Right now my goal is to get the skills and new initiative calculations into Init Tool then wait for your continued development and see where it takes us (you). I

I'd like to get a working index card, but I am totally clueless on how you get those buttons and the skills list too display. I see how you get the simple variables to display but the rest doesn't seem to show up when I look at the form in the abelille editor. Any hints welcomed.

I also have not totally grasped the code you use for skills, the longer bits about modifiers.

And I'm unsure on the use of groups, other than that appears to be part of the mechanism of sharing code across skills. I am assuming that anything in a group is local to that group, hence the Skills group can have a var named the same as the one in the Saves group, and yet be a different variable (excuse my ignorance).

I am not sure how the "Extends" function works, or how it should be used. I did run into a point where changing those values ended up corrupting my file on several occasions while in the UI. (And I did notice, that once you select an Extends option in the UI, there is no way to remove it and go back to Null, except for editing the raw file. This is similar to the issue I noted about the loading of game settings in another post. Once you highlight the option, you have use on as there is no Null option.)

If only I was a whole lot smarter, that wold help a bunch

Sorry, but expect a whole bunch more questions in the near future!

Thanks again,
-David

It is a pain to do. You have to set up abeille so that it recognizes the special components that allow me to use buttons and tables. The buttons can be programed with java script and the tables can be defined to show all of the values in a map. I'll have to write something up on this in the future so that anyone can do this.

That code is calculating a total modifier based on the modifiers in a list. It is D&D specific; it follows all of the stacking rules and other stuff.

If I am understanding what you wrote, a group is just a set of named properties. They allow the GM to group like data together. I also used them for common definitions of properties that are repeated over and over.

The extends function allows me to define a set of properties one time and then use them over and over. You can't use it in the editor yet, but you can use it in the files. Look for the extensions element at the top of the file for the defined list of extensions.

No problem!