You Said It !

July 2003 "You Said It!"

Some RPG community responses following the release of version 4

Great job, Luke, on vs 4. I find it a lot simpler to navigate. DN

I registered RPM a month or two ago, and just thought I'd drop a note to say what a great and valuable tool it has been so far -- and I have not nearly tapped all the capabilities yet! Thanks for such a great product, it definitely makes our DnD sessions smoother and more enjoyable.

Keep well

G-J

Your program is great, very in-depth and thorough. R.F.

Cool, thanks Luke.

RPM just keeps getting better and better.

I tell you what, making an adventure in RPM is frelling fast. I love being able to click on the map, set "create creatures" and just roll up all th beasties stats on the fly. It's wonderful! JS

I really like your RPM program. I think its really neat, will try to convince my players to let me bring my computer to the table from now on. MO

I really enjoyed using the RPM software... The battle engine is nice, great work! Ryan

Thanks for building a great tool! A.M.

The battle engine is nice, great work! Kelly

Thanks for the reply, you really have a great product going here. I don't regret paying one bit, keep it up! LB

I really like your RPM program. I think its really neat, will try to convince my players to let me bring my computer to the table from now on. Mike

I think the program is awesome. WK

I have to say that this is one kewl program! It makes things much easier for the DM. Shaun

Thank you very much.
You have a very fine product. CS

A while ago, I downloaded and registered roleplayingmaster. I really like all the features you have built into it. It is quite awesome. D.I.

May 8 2002

Feedback over the last 3 weeks of the PreBeta release

I've compiled this from e-mails received since I started the PreBeta release.
The purpose is to capture the over-all impressions of people, and to see how well RPM has been able to fulfill it's very ambitous goals. The results have been extremely encouraging (especially for a PreBeta release!).

First up, I don't want to create an impression that there are no more bugs and that the features are exactly all that I want them to be. I've deliberately left that sort of detail out, as it is transient (I tend to squash bugs pretty quickly), and have focussed on how people have generally reacted to RPM, and how useful they're finding it!
I never indicated to the PreBeta testers that their comments may be publicly shown, so I have deliberately quoted them anonymously. I only thought of this after a few e-mails from people enquired about what the response has been like.

Though I'm at the center of RPM, as the developer, my head tends to be continuously buried inside development issues. Even I was surprised at the strength of the results when I pulled all this info together.
I've put a *huge* amount of effort into RPM already, and it was for results such as this...

The Responses

Sheesh, where do I start? I'd say the amount of time it saves both before and during games is the absolute best feature.
It does so much of the work for you, you can concentrate on other things (roleplaying, atmosphere, fun, pizza).

Well I downloaded the program and all I have to say right now is WOW!!!!! This thing is awesome.

As promised, here are the results of the in-session testing:

The combat manager worked out tremendously, and the software was great for creating and maintaining NPC's and monsters.
The battlemap was very effective, it sure beats drawing and tabletop hex maps. I definitely see RPM revolutionizing the D&D gaming experience! It made the session run much more smoothly (i.e. a lot less book thumping and paper shuffling!), although I have to say that someone would have to get pretty familiar with the software first. Not a real problem since the information you have put into Guide feature (thus far) is VERY effective. It doesn't take a lot of time to get familiar with RPM either.
Basically, for awhile I just let RPM run the combat with it's own die rolls (monsters -not player's), and then I tested out editing the rolls and a few other things. I also set up a battle between two groups that the player's character's had to witness. IT WAS GREAT!

I've run through the combat tutorial and I have to say I'm really impressed so far, it does far more than I thought it would.

This is a fantastic tutorial! I'm excited about trying out the next release in combat mode!

It really is the best out there. I have noticed the need for a scripting engine in doing this d20 stuff.

Tutorial is exactly the sort of thing I was suggesting before, and the system seems a whole lot easier to handle with the new interface

BTW, I was really impressed with how many things the skills are accurately adjusting for automatically...

Dude, I love the Outlook style interface! Very nice. The splash screen is nifty, too.

Okay, I ran through the combat tutorial with one of my players and all the 6 characters currently in my campaign. I even let the player who tested with me roll d20s manually and I entered those values rather than rolling with RPM, just to get some sense of how well it works at the gaming table with real players.

Everything worked extremely well and I'm excited to give this a shot at the gaming table next session. Aside from a few minor bugs, it should really help extensively in speeding up combats and keeping track of large battles without all those irritating paper combat matrices scattered all over the table. ;)

I re-installed the from stretch and run the tutorial at my game tonight, it was great!!!
...
The players really like the program and the tutorial was very helpful. I plan to run my email through it on Thursday.

Over all I liked it a lot. It has a lot of flexibility.

I found your webpage about a month ago in my search for a decent DM Management tool that could manage combats for me. Needless to say, I am completely amazed at the scale and beauty of the program that you have
produced.
....
I run a game every week and will be starting to use your program in game tonight. I've enjoyed playing around with it for the last few days.

Sample tute is very good.

First I would like to say that I have never used it at all before, so after feeling out the interface for the combat aspect, I went on to evaluate the other segments.

At first I found the interface a little confusing, but after about 10 minutes of use, I quickly attained a good grasp of it's functionality. So no real problems there. I have to say I am very impressed the amount of work and time that must have gone into this so far. The character/creature generator is great and the import routines seem solid.

Hi i've been testing yer software for about 2 months now. From what i've seen it seems great, but haven't had the opportunity to test it out during an actual adventure yet. What I like best about it is it doesn't have any restrictions on what it can do. I really like the database for monsters and characters, as well as the ability to alter items and spell effects.

Well I must say that this version was very good. I loved the visual changes that you've made on it, and especially the intro pic, it adds a nice touch to the software.
...
Can't wait to see what you come out with next.

It currently is the best program out ther for running DnD.

That updated combat tutorial is great! Thorough and effective, explains and details the combat module's operation very well. Now that I know my way around the user interface, I LOVE the MS Outlook style toolbar.
...
So far I am very impressed and pleased withRPM.
Keep up the good work!

I ran a battle between a Cornugon and 4 Displacer beasts. The devil won, but only marginally. I don’t think the attacks of the Cornugon are right because he got to do 3 claw attacks. However, the battle aspect ran without problem.
I feel the battle map is a stroke of brilliance. It allows for a very quick combat once you get the flow of the action. I did notice the action screen may latch onto the battle map. That is a good feature; it helps so things don’t get lost and allows things to flow even better.

I am very impressed with the new GUI.
...
Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to help test this app.

In summary, this is great! I applaud your efforts, and I hope to see Pre-Beta 3 soon. What I've seen on the boards shows how responsive to your customers you are, without even being paid.

Overall I love the program, it is the best thing I have seen on the net. I can't wait to start creating my campaign in it.

Your program is amazing.

So far, this software has been very useful.
1) Battlemap
I love this :))
- No crashes, yet :)

good f..in work!!

[Part1] I really like the maps and character databases, and the adventures you can throw in. Its alot better than having loads of books and papers cluttering behind a DM screen. On those merits alone, this program is wonderful. But the combat Im not too sure I like.

[Part2]Well, I must admit that I was wrong about the combat roller. I used it all night in my Sunday Kalamar game and it made life SO much easier. It allowed me to focus on telling the story rather than worrying about combat variables and what-not.
But I really have not found any bugs in the new Beta_3 version yet. I keep tinkering with it so Ill let you know as soon as I find one.

Man that is one awesome program, love using it.

I have tried the pre-beta and do love it, it is still the best thing out there

I love it. A LONG way from where it started.

My group and I tried out the combat part of your program in a small fight this weekend. It worked great when we used it.

I would like to start out by saying that RPM is a fantastic tool.

I just did something with your program that I thought was cool. I am using it to convert one of the original AD&D adventures into the current system. So far it is working great. I love it.

I went through the combat tutorial after downloading the recent update, first off there was definately a noticeable speed increase, the tutorial was well written and easy to follow.

I love your program…

My first impression is to be very impressed. Your program is extrordinarily comprehensive. It's the best rpg management program I've seen to date. I ran through the combat manager tutorial. It's very complex though once I got used to the commands and the order of the battle it went smoothly. I'm going to try to test it this weekend with my regular group and see how it holds up when its more than just me running through a tutorial. I haven't been able to completely explore the rest of the program. The weakest area that I've found in both versions is the tile mapper just because of the limited number of tiles. It's difficult to design complex maps. The new interface is much better than the original public release. It's much clearer and more intuitive.

I have had some time to use the program. I like the Outlook style navigation. Much easier than the previous version I downloaded.

I have tried out the tutorial on the PreBeta 3 release and managed to go straight through it without a hitch. The combat manager is very impressive and the battleboard is awesome!
...
I found the battleboard a really inuitive way to mange the combat and liked the little touches like threat diameters and colour changes for dead creatures.
...
Now for the praise. I am totally impressed with this software in execution and concept. It actually makes me feel good using it and it is instantly clear how this can streamline play and record keeping at the table. I have seen nothing like it elsewhere and it leaves WOTC MasterTools concept dead in the water. (Which I suspect it is anyway).

Sneak attack bonuses are being added correctly (Good job). Everything else looks good.

I want you to know that I am not a Programmer or any type of IT guy, just a guy who has played fantasy role playing games for over twenty years. So I may lack a technical sound to my observations.
Let me start by saying the whole product has a much more complete feel to it. The interface is slick and easy to use, especially the Outlook style icons on the side of the main screen.
I have had a chance to run through the Tutorial for the Combat Manager several times. I can do the tutorial creature creation and combat in a few minutes. Talk about a fast learning curve.
Management of the combat rounds was easy and rapidly concluded.
I find the hot keys are a great way to speed up the process.

I loved designing dungeons in RPM and then using them at the table. Putting monsters in groups and areas and importing them into an encounter, especially with your wizards and list to create monsters.

It's been a while since I have even looked at RPM and I am VERY impressed.
Things looks really good now and the export function will be really useful.
Nice work :)

First of all, I compliment you on the product that you are developing. I have downloaded various versions of the Alpha baselines, and have seen substantial improvements in the current Beta3 version.

It is usable enough that I will try to use it at my next gaming session to handle tabletop battle management.
...
I find the product extremely powerful and usable already, based on my initial impressions (1 hour of use) of the Beta3 version.