Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="MythosaAkira" data-source="post: 417521" data-attributes="member: 2428">A good idea, and one I've batted around with various other folks over the years (and you can see what has resulted <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />)I'll be frank and say that I think the best chance for success with something like this is not programs communicating with one another while running, but having a standard set of file formats for import and export. Communicating via TCP/IP or the like sounds cool, but this sort of thing should be approached in the simplest manner as possible, and then expanded upon as time goes on. With the varying schedules, agendas, and egos of everyone involved, shooting for the stars at the start will result in a lot of talk and little to show for it.Off the top of my head, I would suggest to first consider what standards are out there (such as the export formats of PCGen and eTools), and work from there. Have a few standards for various things (magic items, monsters, spells, etc.), get a few programs out there using them, and then go from there. Also, regardless of how many people are involved, the main decisions should be made by a few people; committees usually aren't very efficient in that regard (are there exceptions? Certainly - but they are exceptions).Hopefully these are some coherent suggestions; I'm kind of thinking out loud here. The main thing I'm getting at is that I've seen ideas like this come around regularly over the years, but they are usually too ambitious in the beginning and never end up getting anywhere.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MythosaAkira, post: 417521, member: 2428"] A good idea, and one I've batted around with various other folks over the years (and you can see what has resulted :)) I'll be frank and say that I think the best chance for success with something like this is not programs communicating with one another while running, but having a standard set of file formats for import and export. Communicating via TCP/IP or the like sounds cool, but this sort of thing should be approached in the simplest manner as possible, and then expanded upon as time goes on. With the varying schedules, agendas, and egos of everyone involved, shooting for the stars at the start will result in a lot of talk and little to show for it. Off the top of my head, I would suggest to first consider what standards are out there (such as the export formats of PCGen and eTools), and work from there. Have a few standards for various things (magic items, monsters, spells, etc.), get a few programs out there using them, and then go from there. Also, regardless of how many people are involved, the main decisions should be made by a few people; committees usually aren't very efficient in that regard (are there exceptions? Certainly - but they are [i]exceptions[/i]). Hopefully these are some coherent suggestions; I'm kind of thinking out loud here. The main thing I'm getting at is that I've seen ideas like this come around regularly over the years, but they are usually too ambitious in the beginning and never end up getting anywhere. [/QUOTE]

Verification