Making your own power cards

[Trolls]

OK, this may be a stupid question, but how do I make the fonts usable in MSE?

Also, Trolls' template doesn't replace any of the letters it accepts in the "Attack Method" notch (top left). Is there something I need to do to make this work? It's adding the symbols just fine on quindia's template.

Is there a way to move the image down on the card so that it is not blocked by the text? I'm trying to recreate the Passing Attack card Trolls posted just to get a feel for it, and I can't make the image take up less than the full image box, which I can't seem to resize or move.

You need to install the D&D attack symbols font included with the download before the symbols will show up.

For the image, you could try opening the background sample given in the download, pasting the image on top of that in a separate image editor, then save and load that into MSE.

 

[C_M2008]

Thanks to Trolls, Quindia and last but not least Randolph for all of their hardwork.
You guys have made this into omething fairly easy, that most anyone can do with great results. I commend all of you.

It works beautifully, I plan to bring 1 of each of the 3 styles to my players to see which they prefer but nothing would have been possible without you guys. Thanks again.

 

[rogueboy]

You need to install the D&D attack symbols font included with the download before the symbols will show up.

OK, so I'm probably missing something obvious, but how do I install the font? I extracted it into the folder, but haven't been able to find anything that seems like it would work.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[randolph]

Wow, lots of thread activity!

However, I am trying to re-add my Dual Melee/Ranged symbol added into the new format and not having much luck. How would I go about adding a new range icon to the options?

Thanks for reminding me! I intended to incorporate the melee/range symbol into the game file, but forgot. If you don't want to wait:[SBLOCK=]1) Copy your custom symbol into the font symbol subdirectory that your template uses.
2) Open the file: symbol-font.
3) Add a code block, replacing X with your desired letter abbreviation and FOO.png with your custom symbol's filename:

symbol:
       code: X
       image: FOO.png

4) Save and close the symbol-font file.
5) Open the D&D game file.
6) Find the string range_filter := and locate the quoted string ("ABCMR" if unchanged).
7) Add your chosen letter abbreviation from step 3) to the quoted string, within the quotes, ex: "ABCMRX".
7b) Optional: If you want the textbox to parse your symbol as well, add your chosen letter abbreviation to the two match: strings in step 4 and 5 in the text_filter function (search for the string # step 4).
8) Save and close the game file.[/SBLOCK]

I'm downloaded the MSE and randolph's templates to take a look myself, but does anyone have the pre-generated paladin and fighter powers in Randolph's, Quindia, and Troll's format? In pdf? [thanks]

I'll try to get the pregen powers done tonight; the beauty of MSE templates is that once you enter the data you want, you can port between templates with minimal tweaking

randolph, thanks for all the effort you've put into this. It works like a charm
Two quick questions though:

• what's the difference between a basic (m)elee attack and a (M)elee attack? Although the option is there both show the icon?
• Is it possible to make the titles in Quindia's Template scalable? Long titles like the warlock power "Curse of the Dark Dream" don't fit, and I shudder to think about names like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Stance" for future monks

You're very welcome

Basic (m)elee is the blade-in-circle icon, and (M)elee is just the blade. Basic (m)elee currently only works with the included TrueType D&D font, because I never bothered to create the symbol, since none of the powers used it - I forgot to remove that from the help text after I adjusted the code to filter it out. If people want it back in, I'll put it back in.

As Ashardalon says further up, yes, I can make the Name field scaleable, but it might cause some alignment problems (I cast Detect Indent!). I'll see if I can do something about that when I get home.

Very nice work randolph!

The only part missing is the black back of the titles. I managed to do that in my try by just creating another text box below the white one, but displaced by 2 pixels left and down. Is there a way to script it so the black text appears in place automatically?

Also, is the B character supposed to show a close burst symbol in the first notch? Nothing appears when I type it, but the cursor moves along as if something has been typed.

Thanks!

Regarding the text shadow, I'll incorporate Ashardalon's suggestion from a few posts up when I get home.

The B character shows a close burst symbol in my custom symbol font only (check Quindia's template or my template); it doesn't actually exist in the D&D font I extracted from the Dungeons of Dread pdf - the font I'm using for your template's range field - I created it from the (A)rea Burst icon. It might not even be in the final game! If you want, I can try to modify a variation of the symbol fonts for your template, but ideally, if anyone here has TrueType-making/editing experience, we could just insert that symbol into the D&D ttf - and fix that ugly windows reference name!

Oh, before I forget, one of the nifty features I added to your (Trolls') template is that you can specify Burst radius and range in that field! Just type the Burst radius first, carriage return, then type the range, ex: 2 [enter] 20 - the field is set to space them at just the right offset from the (A)rea Burst icon.

Oh yes, in case it wasn't obvious, there are two fields for the power name, for large caps and for small caps. The spacing is hit-and-miss because of differences in character width, but I don't really have an elegant (well, any) solution; suggestions appreciated.

I also tried to the Photoshop-Template and i like the background power-types. It would be cool to incorporate them into the MSE-template if possible (don't know if you can lay pictures behind the text and make them transparent so that the background of the card shows through). That would save some space in the Subtitle.

I haven't taken a look at that Photoshop template yet, but it sounds like a "watermark" (correct me if I'm wrong); MSE can definitely do that. I'll investigate when I get home.

[Silver and Gold backgrounds]

Niiice! I'll add these in, and see if I can make things like this extensible purely from the style file (as opposed to the game file) so that people don't have backcompat issues.

Using WotC Color Scheme we have:
Green = At-Will Power
Red = Encounter Power
Black = Daily Power

We also have the following TYPES that could use colors.

* Generic Class Features (e.g. Fighter's Combat Superiority)
* Conditions
* Items

My vote (and what I'm currently using):
Frequency of Use Axis
At-Will: Green
Encounter: Red
Daily: Black
None-of-the-above: White/Gray (though blue looks great too) - My reasoning is that these tend to be class features/universal rules, so could be represented by a more "basic" color - but I'm not particularly married to the idea.

Origin Axis
I'm thinking some sort of border or background blend to visually represent this, because to me, an Item Encounter power is still an Encounter power.
Class: default
Feat: Blue border/blend with blue?
Item: Silver border/blend with silver?
Multiclass: Border/blend with Primary Class color code OR with a fixed "multiclass" color
One concern with the first Multiclass power card option is that you'll essentially need to make them on demand. The second option isn't as cool, but you'll still need to basically copy all of your powers and change the borders/blend.

This looks great! Unfortunately, I have 0 experience with MSE, and I can't figure out how to load randolph's template. It's probably something simple. Help?

[SBLOCK=Installing MSE templates]1) Install the most recent version of MSE and make sure you install the Magic: The Gathering game files. Currently, my templates are dependent upon some scripts shared by the M:tG templates, but I hope to rectify that and make the D&D templates standalone soon.
2) Find your MSE installation directory. If you didn't change the filepath during installation, it should be something like C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\
3) Open the data subdirectory. You should see a bunch of folders with the .mse-style suffix.
4) Extract everything in my template package into this directory.
4b) Depending on which template you want to use, install the appropriate TrueType font(s):
R: none
Quindia: AvantGarde.ttf, Flareserif_821_BT.ttf
Trolls: DnD1Attack-Icon1.ttf
If in doubt, install them all.
5) Run MSE, start a new set, and the D&D card type will be selectable, with these three templates available as styles.[/SBLOCK]

OK, this may be a stupid question, but how do I make the fonts usable in MSE?

Also, Trolls' template doesn't replace any of the letters it accepts in the "Attack Method" notch (top left). Is there something I need to do to make this work? It's adding the symbols just fine on quindia's template.

Is there a way to move the image down on the card so that it is not blocked by the text? I'm trying to recreate the Passing Attack card Trolls posted just to get a feel for it, and I can't make the image take up less than the full image box, which I can't seem to resize or move.

To get the fonts to show up in MSE, install the included TrueType fonts (ttf). [SBLOCK=In XP]
1) Open Fonts under Settings > Control Panel.
2) File > Install New Font...
3) Locate the directory you put the .ttf file(s), select the file(s), and Install.[/SBLOCK](Your issue with Attack Method symbols in Trolls' template is due to not having the fonts installed.)

As for the image, yeah, what Trolls said. To reiterate all in one megaFAQpost:[SBLOCK=]
1) Open the included blank.jpg file in your favorite graphics manipulation program.
2) Copy-and-paste your desired image into the blank.jpg.
3) Save this as a new file.
4) Open this new image file in MSE, and scale/move it around to suit.[/SBLOCK]

 

[randolph]

Color Coding Power Cards

Just so it doesn't drown in that mega post...

Using WotC Color Scheme we have:
Green = At-Will Power
Red = Encounter Power
Black = Daily Power

We also have the following TYPES that could use colors.

* Generic Class Features (e.g. Fighter's Combat Superiority)
* Conditions
* Items

My vote (and what I'm currently using):
Frequency of Use Axis
At-Will: Green
Encounter: Red
Daily: Black
None-of-the-above: White/Gray (though blue looks great too) - My reasoning is that these tend to be class features/universal rules, so could be represented by a more "basic" color - but I'm not particularly married to the idea.

Origin Axis
I'm thinking some sort of border or background blend to visually represent this, because to me, an Item Encounter power is still an Encounter power.
Class: default
Feat: Blue border/blend with blue?
Item: Silver border/blend with silver?
Multiclass: Border/blend with Primary Class color code OR with a fixed "multiclass" color (gold?)
One concern with the first Multiclass power card option is that you'll essentially need to make them on demand. The second option isn't as cool, but you'll still need to basically copy all of your powers and change the borders/blend.

 

[C_M2008]

An idea I had, not sure about feasability: Split Color cards-1/2 the frame is one color(for type) the other half is for frequency. ie: a daily class feature would be 1/2 white and 1/2 black, an encounter utility would be half silver and half red.

I vote that Items should be gold however.

 

[randolph]

An idea I had, not sure about feasability: Split Color cards-1/2 the frame is one color(for type) the other half is for frequency. ie: a daily class feature would be 1/2 white and 1/2 black, an encounter utility would be half silver and half red.

Yeah, this is what I mean by a "blended" background; it's something M:tG does for hybrid cards, and is already supported by existing MSE M:tG templates, so it shouldn't be difficult to co-opt.

 

[Beastman]

MSE-Templates: Because of some problems with the Paladin's Divine Challenge power and long Item names, I have somewhat modified the style-file to make more room for text using Quindia's cards.

1) Changed under section "name" the width to 300, and the font size to 14
2) Changed under section "subtype" the width to 300 and the font size to 12
3) Changed under section "subtype" the font size to 12
4) Changed under section "rule text" the top to 90

I have also played with changing the font-sized of sections "flavor text" and "rule text" to 9 but I'm unsure about leaving it at 10 or using the 9. Size 9 makes more room but may be hard to read (i can barely distinguish bolded text from normal one on screen, but I don't know how it will read in print).

Attached are two Printouts with the modifications (although with rules/flavor text size 10). Items card are currently in red (still haven't figured out how to incorporate the silver and blue cards into MSE).

There should be some more icons, perhaps for classes and item types.

As to the color assignment I would choose:

Green - At-will power
Red - Encounter power
Black - Daily power
Silver - Secondary Magic Items
Gold - Primary Magic Items
Blue - ???

the idea of color combination class/powertype is a good one, but I would rather prefer to have an icon to indicate class-power-relationship (easier for me to remember symbol than color assignment)

 

[Khaim]

You should keep the top bar one color, for the frequency. I think that's what players will need to know the most, not where the ability comes from. On the other hand, adding a tint to the background- behind the text- would convey that information without detracting from the strong green/red/black.

The hybrid color blend is nice, but it's not always so easy to process. Besides which, a hybrid magic card represented a mixture of two colors, not a color and a card type. It doesn't track as well for the power cards.

Edit: Oh, you probably meant the little edges between the top bar and the main area. That would work, I think. They should still be one color, though. What about g/r/b for the main bar, and silver/gold/blue/whatever for the edge?

 

[Mercutio01]

I'm using the print option in the MSE to print to PDF using CutePDF. It works with no problem for Trolls or Randolph's style, but using Quindia's yields a null PDF with no images.

I've also tried using other PDF writers and get the same result, so I suspect there's something wrong with the MSE template for Quindia's, which sucks (and no offense to the hard work of Troll or Randolph) because it's the one I like best.

Any ideas?