Does anyone have E-Tools yet?

[Draconis Imperium]

I have been holding off posting because I really don't like flame wars. But I am a PCGEN user from the beginning and I WAS looking forward first to Master tools and then E-tools. I have ordered E-tools and I hope I am not disapointed. Just from reading post here and on other forums. I hope it doesn't take more time adding material just to use it. I am not slamming just really disapointed by the posts I have seen.


Just a commentary, please don't flame

 

[Feaelin]

My impression... I may be too close to the product. It has some drawbacks, some areas where it doesn't go far enough, many areas for improvement, and some bugs that are yet to be worked out. Still, it was an invaluable asset to me as a DM in my home game, even with the early versions that didn't have the customizers, etc. As it is now, it's a great first step. If it turns out to be the only step, well, it will be one of many tools in my electronic arsenal and one that I will use frequently.

I'm definitely not too close to the product, since today is my first experience with it, and I too feel about the same way...it's a good start, some areas that make me go "huh?" and some other places I wish it went "one step further". As a GM I'll definitely be using it, as a player, I'll at least experiment with it further. Right now, it doesn't appear to be more useful to me (as a player) than Heroforge, but that may change as more people get involved.

Right now the only other electronic tool I use with regularity is Steve Mulhern's Spell Spreadsheets. With a little work and some copying and pasting and deleting of extraneous columns I can wind up with a sheet that looks like this:

Oddly, I believe I'm using those spreadsheets also, in conjunction with HeroForge. . Speaking of which, does any one know if Christopher Mathieu is still working on HF? Every time I visit the support forum for it (months) it's been a dead link...

 

[HexGunna]

Unbelievable!

I posted up my take under the Etool - PCGen thread, I won't repeat it here. I did get my money back. Today.

And I certainly don't go in for the Coke vs Pepsi vs Whatever, it does come down to tastes.

But I'm hearing things like "it's a good first step" "they'll patch it up" and other various [IMHO] "I'll Settle" statements.
I AM PISSED OFF at this product.
I wanted something that RAWKED PCGen, I wanted it to run JB Generators outta town! [No Offense JB - Just effect] I didn't shell out cash for "a good first step" - [I'm not picking or call out nobody]

geez...guys, this ain't Quake, WarCraft III or some CAD program.
The database is in there - I checked it out, what the HELL is up with the GUI?? WTF is a 1.5 jpg doing being used as a movable (choppy)background?? And I guess they didn't know about existing GUI standards[protocols??] - like mouseover tooltips, Non-Modal windows, or the concept of Parent-child windows.
with MFC you'd have gotten all these things FREE - heck, you're already more than there - MSAccess, you got the windows API in there, a C++ ODBC wrapper DLL (hint for c++ programmers out there) - just write & compile it all under MSVC++
(not plugging it, just making an Observation, I'm a merc programmer - I use whatever you pay me enough to. I ain't cheap though!!)

Fellas - I ain't nit-picking, this was offensive to me, I expect this type of thing from Bob & Jay AKA 2DuDez Softwarezz.
but you know what - THEY even write better stuff than this.
I can't get excited about some 3rd party joe - doing what shoulda been in the box.
I wanted this baby to RAWK, I'm stoked on my 3rd editon GreyHawk games, Stoked about my newly fledged NWN games, I wanted this baby to be the One Ring.

It didn't deliver for me, I already have what it gives, it doesn't beat (IMO) anything thats already out there. It should have. The PCGen folks (No offense) should have been fearing this day.
It coulda been good.
I got back muh $30 - got me some Minsky's Pizza a six-pack o' Guiness, and my honey-bunny's bringing LotR over - so I ain't mad! Just don't understand how can a body "settle" for this piece of software from two companys that should know better and can do better. I don't get it.

 

[Sm!rk]

Re: Unbelievable!

Fellas - I ain't nit-picking, this was offensive to me, I expect this type of thing from Bob & Jay AKA 2DuDez Softwarezz.
but you know what - THEY even write better stuff than this.

Wat iz link two 2DuDez etools? Iz it really beter?







So unless you have that link then you are talking out of your azz.

 

[HexGunna]

Re: Re: Unbelievable!

Wat iz link two 2DuDez etools? Iz it really beter?
So unless you have that link then you are talking out of your azz.

DAwg - if u dont nO - 2DudeZ RAwKZ!!
u not dSErVIng of LINKZ

put DAT n ur AZZ-Pipe and FRaG iT

l33t R A W K Z!