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<blockquote data-quote="smetzger" data-source="post: 458392" data-attributes="member: 1230">&quot;No Prob Bob&quot;Let me clarify my felling on using Access.&nbsp; If you do not inlude GUI for people to make drastic changes then a non-proprietary database is very good idea.&nbsp; I agree that the product should have included a way for the average non-tech savy user to manipulate it.&nbsp; If you did provide a GUI to edit the database than its not as important.&nbsp; However, it is still a good idea to use Access.&nbsp;&nbsp; First of all it will save you development time.&nbsp; Secondly, 3rd party software developers can easily 'plug into' this database and use the data in it to go beyond what the original product could do.&nbsp; I believe that Luke originally intended to do just that with RPM.&nbsp;&nbsp; I know that I had intended to use Master Tools database to read information from and randomly generate an NPC(I have never been satisfied with anyones implementation of random generated NPCs) and then write it back out in a form that Master Tools could read.&nbsp; If Master Tools had been a completly database driven product with a non-proprietary database backend; 3rd party developers could have driven&nbsp; secondary sales of the product.&nbsp; There are a large number of people who are interested in developing d20 software.&nbsp; If WOTC could have produced a Core Rules Software package that was open for development they could capitalize on these developers just as the Core Rules books capitalize on the 3rd party d20 publishers.&nbsp; As it is now I think that PCGen, RPM, and TwinRose are going to fill this void.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="smetzger, post: 458392, member: 1230"] "No Prob Bob" Let me clarify my felling on using Access. If you do not inlude GUI for people to make drastic changes then a non-proprietary database is very good idea. I agree that the product should have included a way for the average non-tech savy user to manipulate it. If you did provide a GUI to edit the database than its not as important. However, it is still a good idea to use Access. First of all it will save you development time. Secondly, 3rd party software developers can easily 'plug into' this database and use the data in it to go beyond what the original product could do. I believe that Luke originally intended to do just that with RPM. I know that I had intended to use Master Tools database to read information from and randomly generate an NPC(I have never been satisfied with anyones implementation of random generated NPCs) and then write it back out in a form that Master Tools could read. If Master Tools had been a completly database driven product with a non-proprietary database backend; 3rd party developers could have driven secondary sales of the product. There are a large number of people who are interested in developing d20 software. If WOTC could have produced a Core Rules Software package that was open for development they could capitalize on these developers just as the Core Rules books capitalize on the 3rd party d20 publishers. As it is now I think that PCGen, RPM, and TwinRose are going to fill this void. [/QUOTE]

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