E-Tools owners, please grade it
- Thread starter Airwolf
- Start date
Well I gave it a "B"
It does what I want it to do fairly easily and quickly. There are some bugs that hopefully will be fixed in the first patch. There are very few what I would call "quirks" in the program. Most peoples problems come from the fact that, where there isn't bugs, it follows the D&D rules pretty closely.
The ability to quickly make a classed monster, or advance a monster and get a stat block quickly is great.
Now I don't run a campaign using every D20 supplement under the sun (or the FRCS), so the fact that I will have to enter some data doesn't bother me much. The data that *can* be entered is easy to do.
Basically if it saves me time then it is worth it, and eTools looks like it will save me time.
It does what I want it to do fairly easily and quickly. There are some bugs that hopefully will be fixed in the first patch. There are very few what I would call "quirks" in the program. Most peoples problems come from the fact that, where there isn't bugs, it follows the D&D rules pretty closely.
The ability to quickly make a classed monster, or advance a monster and get a stat block quickly is great.
Now I don't run a campaign using every D20 supplement under the sun (or the FRCS), so the fact that I will have to enter some data doesn't bother me much. The data that *can* be entered is easy to do.
Basically if it saves me time then it is worth it, and eTools looks like it will save me time.
E-Tools
Im another one of these "I am a programmer" kinda guys - so I wanna say that for WOTC throwing a few million at E-Tools and it being in development for so long (years) - its a POS.
Basically, I would say that the Fluid guys were in over there head and probably learned alot about how to actually program while making this software.
Any decent development team could have churned out a much more feature filled product in the time they were given and its a damned shame.
I bought it - and ill keep my copy and use it to support the industry but those are the facts as I see it. It should do more, it should have been more and its not that the guys didn't try - my assumption is they just weren't talented enough when they started this project.
Thanks,
Kristov
Im another one of these "I am a programmer" kinda guys - so I wanna say that for WOTC throwing a few million at E-Tools and it being in development for so long (years) - its a POS.
Basically, I would say that the Fluid guys were in over there head and probably learned alot about how to actually program while making this software.
Any decent development team could have churned out a much more feature filled product in the time they were given and its a damned shame.
I bought it - and ill keep my copy and use it to support the industry but those are the facts as I see it. It should do more, it should have been more and its not that the guys didn't try - my assumption is they just weren't talented enough when they started this project.
Thanks,
Kristov
Initially I give it - "B" Only because I think a LOT of user problems / posts could have been avoided with a well laid out manual. Its still my hope that a manual / advanced how to guide will still be created and set up for download in PDF or HTML etc. format soon. ( hear that fluid gurus? hehe )
That said, for sheer potential I give it "A" I believe that with a patch or two and continued user support from people like Davin with his utility, and Eric Noah and others with user added content that even if there are no "official" add-ons from fluid it will be a great program. However I strongly believe there will be more add-ons from the fluid folks.
In short - GO BUY IT.
That said, for sheer potential I give it "A" I believe that with a patch or two and continued user support from people like Davin with his utility, and Eric Noah and others with user added content that even if there are no "official" add-ons from fluid it will be a great program. However I strongly believe there will be more add-ons from the fluid folks.
In short - GO BUY IT.
All it accomplished was taking up space on my hardrive
It was thusly returned. Things that irked me. No templates, you can not random generatea multi classed character. Boots of speed do not modifiy speed nor is speed a feature that can be manipulated. It prints horribly. Basic magic weapons such as +1 longsword are not in the list and have to be added. That was about where I stopped.
It was thusly returned. Things that irked me. No templates, you can not random generatea multi classed character. Boots of speed do not modifiy speed nor is speed a feature that can be manipulated. It prints horribly. Basic magic weapons such as +1 longsword are not in the list and have to be added. That was about where I stopped.
Boots of speed do not increase your speed. (They imitate the effects of haste, which also doesn't increase your speed...it grants a partial action instead). Also, they are a "use-activated"/command word item with a finite limit (10 rounds), which means they do not operate continously, therefore it'd be logical not to include their modifiers on your sheet (since the tool has no idea whether they are active).
You may be confusing Boots of Speed with boots of Striding and Springing (which doubles your speed and grants +10 to jump checks).
I think its useful as a development tool and character generator, but it the biggest shortfall I see is that classes and prestige classes are limited to those found in the core books. It also has no way to handle monster templates (well, you can create a new race to handle this, but the hit dice are going to wrong and you'll have to change them manually).
On the other hand, its easy to create characters and generate a stat block, character monsters are easy to generate, new monsters and races are easy, treasure is easy. Adding custom information varies depending on the type of stuff you're trying to add. So the overall grade I give it is a B. If they add a way to generate new prestige classes, or customize it for a different D20 build, I'll upgrade my evaluation to an A.
On the other hand, its easy to create characters and generate a stat block, character monsters are easy to generate, new monsters and races are easy, treasure is easy. Adding custom information varies depending on the type of stuff you're trying to add. So the overall grade I give it is a B. If they add a way to generate new prestige classes, or customize it for a different D20 build, I'll upgrade my evaluation to an A.
Airwolf
First Post
GPA
Greetings all,
Just incase someone is wondering, E-Tools currently has a GPA of 2.16129.
This puts it firmly in the 'Take it or leave it' catagory.
I also wanted to thank everyone who stopped by to give E-Tools a grade.
----- EDIT -----
Here is the updated GPA as of 8/29
GPA: 1.942446
It seems that E-Tools is just not making the grade.
----- EDIT -----
Here is the updated GPA as of 9/24
GPA: 1.868852
The GPA keeps slipping, reminds me of my freshman year in college.
Greetings all,
Just incase someone is wondering, E-Tools currently has a GPA of 2.16129.
This puts it firmly in the 'Take it or leave it' catagory.
I also wanted to thank everyone who stopped by to give E-Tools a grade.
----- EDIT -----
Here is the updated GPA as of 8/29
GPA: 1.942446
It seems that E-Tools is just not making the grade.
----- EDIT -----
Here is the updated GPA as of 9/24
GPA: 1.868852
The GPA keeps slipping, reminds me of my freshman year in college.
Last edited:
Similar Threads
- Locked
- Poll
