[Hero System] Hero Designer, anyone tried it?

[Hatchling Dragon]

I was poking around Talon Comic's site, checking on pricing for a copy of FReD (5th Ed HERO) when I noticed that they've released some character design software. I remember using the old DOS based Champions creator software that came on a 3.5" floppy disk inside the back cover of the old (3rd or 4th Ed, I forget) hardcovered Champions rules. Needless to say I was a bit shocked to find that the new Hero Designer software was technicaly more expensive than the rules themselfs!

I'm mostly wondering if it's even remotely worth it? One of the reasons I've held-off getting back into Champions was a lack of software. Unfortunately the other reason was a lack of cash to get 'fully' into HERO Champions mode. And the thought of facing Champions (maybe) without software to speed character creation isn't a pleasant one.

Don't missunderstand, I wasn't expecting any new and improved version of that handy old program to be free or anything, but I just can't bring myself to pay $40 for a game (remember, no 'genre' stuff yet) and then plop down an additional $40 for the sofware to design characters. I'd have thought they'd have wanted to get anything they possibly could out there to make playing that game easier. One of the most commonly heard gripes about the HERO/Champions system was the amount of work you had to put into creating a character, we're talking the mechanics here and not concept/background.

I've no problem, for the most part, with thier nifty idea to sell downloadable zip files with 'plug-in' modules for thier expansions, I could even be said to acutaly like the whole idea. I'd happily pay $5 instead of wasting many hours manualy typing a new book's info in by hand. I won't mention the one 'pack' that's $30, as I don't know how much material the book it's based off has in it, it could have been a major stinker to convert to electronic format.

Hatchling Dragon

 

[Sir Whiskers]

I picked up the program quite a while ago, but I haven't used it much since no one in my group has been willing to tackle the rules yet. That said, my initial impressions:

1. The interface is not quite as intuitive as I'd hoped, but much better than the old DOS version. The templates and prefabs look interesting, but I'll have to read the documentation to use them - my attempts to just "figure it out" didn't work.

2. Applying the rules seems very flexible. I was able to manipulate powers and skills to design very specific abilities with unique limitations. As you might expect, I had to check the documentation to figure out how to create a multipower, but once created, it was a snap to add powers to it.

3. The website has an enormous amount of downloadable resources available. In fact, I wish many had come with the cd (they might now - I got the first version released). If you're not sure about the program, go check out www.herogames.com and see for yourself all the extras they have.

If you get the program, let us know what you think.

 

[Cedric]

Unfortunately, I can't add anything of substance to this conversation. But I would say that the software which came with 4th edition spoiled me as well. I could no longer generate a character so easily, without the software for help.

I've long thought of picking up this set, but the $40.00 has been my stopping point. I still may eventually get around to it though. It would help if anyone I gamed with wanted to play.

Cedric

 

[nHammer]

I have Hero Designer. Love it. While I had no problem with pen and papering my character, Hero Designer makes creating a character(or vehicle or base) SO much quicker and easier.

The tech support is second to none. The guy who created the software is always answering questions and helping folks out on Hero Games' website.

 

[Jhamin]

THis is going to sound like a bit of a Bi-Polar post, but bear with me.

I thnk HeroDesigner is one of the best character generators I have ever used. Nothing is random, you have to do all the building yourself but this is Hero so you knew that going in. The beauty of this program is that it does all the math for you, leaving you to just dwell on character conception as you work. I cannot recommend this program enough if your are a Hero True believer.

Now the other side.

This program will not let you make a character if you don't know the rules. It will tell you things are illegal and nothing will be where you think it should be. After you have made three or four characters the old fashoned way it will all make sense to you, but not until then.

The interface is a bit clunky in places, and you *ABSOLUTELY* need a newer PC to use it (think high end PIII with 512M ram minimum). Do not dismiss this. THe program is written in Java and has some pretty serious overhead requirements.

The software isn't cheap, but I have found it immensely useful.
If you can afford to spend even more, hero also sells bundles of writeups from it's various books for about $5 each. (except the Until Superpowers Database, which sells for $30, but that one is about 10 times the size of any of the others, and contains a much higher percentage of the book).
All that being said, figure out how much you want to spend and how soon you want to get this app. Hero has promised a HeroDesigner 2.0 will be released later this year or into January of 04. Seeing as the programmer posts on the Herogames board daily and has almost never broken a promise, I tend to believe them. V2.0 sounds like it will keep the integrity of the rules modeling intact, streamline the code and lower system requirements, and add lots more menu based customization. If you like the concept but not the execution this may be the product to wait for.

All in all HeroDesigner is a remarkably appropriate accessory to Hero System. It takes a while to figure out, seems like alot of work at first, and requires that you play with it a bit before you grok it. But just like with Hero alot of the folks who decide they like it will suddenly feel constrained by most other alternatives.