NPC Generator...

[rom90125]

School Specialization: Is it done, no - Will it be done, Yes. The current spell selection is only my initial code "Lets get something running and testing". I have about 2 pages of notes for what I want to change and add to the system.

If you are looking for a code monkey to assist with the effort, let me know.

 

[willofgod]

Sweet. I need a generator that does spells/spellbooks well.

 

[Vascant]

If you are looking for a code monkey to assist with the effort, let me know.

At this time I am not if for no other reason then alot of the design issues are in my head and most of what I am doing at this moment is with the scripting engine and adding magic items. Adding each magic item is just taking time but also forces me to add functionality where needed in the engine. 4-5 hours everyday go into this so it is getting done at a good pace.

What does help the most is when people do point out things in the stat blocks that are incorrect, otherwise thats time I spent hunting out bugs or flaws in logic.

When I get to the point where I think the program can be branched out more, I will indeed ask if anyone wants to help.

 

[andargor]

I'm happy to see this effort!

Can you provide a bit of info on your architecture? Language, database/flat files, etc.?

Also, is this going to be GPL/LGPL/Mozilla licensed? If so, I have a data extraction effort in progress (see sig), and you are welcome to it if it's useful. It's not "program friendly" yet, but does eliminate some drugery for now.

Andargor

 

[Vascant]

I am currently using VB6 at the moment until I finish some of the POC and then may or may not migrate to C#. It is a decision I will make based on factors I do not have yet, mostly dealing with how the application is handling things. I also use inline ASM for somethings as well, when I know it will take VB or even C# a moment to weed thru some data, I just use ASM to accomplish the same task with great speed.

D20 data is something that is ever changing it seems, not just between sourcebooks but also campaigns. I decided for this is to a success in my mind, I needed data that could easily be altered. Yet, I wanted it simple enough where someone without a Ph.D in AI could figure it out. Flat files and vbscript seem to be my answer to everything at this moment. Granted I could have used Access, XML or even mysql or Advantage however I would spend more time doing GUI's for users to manage data then actually working on the project, not a very good trade off. So, I assumed everyone had notepad and could work with this. I have however coded everything around a data engine, so if the time came and I changed the method of how my data existed, I could make such a change easily. I have already designed one Script Assist screen though to help me do magic item scripts. I hate VBScript..*laughs* But I must admit, when any user can easily take an example of other magic items and add their own, who cares what I like or don't like

Licensing, have yet to turn over that rock. I have been on your site a few times and even read over the source code to your 2.xx version of Jamie's NPC Gen. This project started out for me and needing something to fit what I envisioned. When I am finished and ready to start beta testing seriously, I will take a step back for a moment and look at the licensing issues.

 

[Eternalknight]

Okay, no offense to Jamie's because I not only used his Gen for along time before coding my own but I even went thru the source code for design ideas as well. This went way beyond Jamies and thats why I am coding it, cause I needed more.

Excellent, you now have my undivided attention Sounds exactly what I have been looking for.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

This has also got my attention. Looks very good.

 

[jezter6]

If you ever decide to code this up for d20 modern, that would be pretty awesome.

I'm also a VB6 code monkey, so if you need an extra set of eyes and hands, let me know.

 

[Vascant]

Actually, I am trying to keep both Modern and Future in mind.. so doing those version can be easily accomplished over the same core engine.

 

[smetzger]

Okay, I know we have a house rule of that very same thing but no where can I find a real rule... pg 214 of the DM states you can wear a robe and a cloak, and pg 265 does not give an exception..

Ok, my bad.

When I first started coding this, I couldn't figure out any advantages to using a DB over flat script files however with flat script files, it is easier to make changes without having to worry about more gui's. Late things may change, I have a single function that handles input.

The advantage of a GUI over a script is that in order to do customization a person needs to learn the script language. In the short run scripting is good to get your program off the ground. However, I believe a GUI would be more desirable in the long run. I know that I wouldn't want to learn a script language in order to do customizations.