D&D 5E New iOS app for 5E encounter tracking (DM's only)

[j3x]

Hey guys, Apple has finally approved my app, so its ready to download from App Store.

https://itunes.apple.com/sk/app/encounter+/id1170693487?mt=8

All your feedback is appreciated.

 

[designbot]

I downloaded the app. The visual presentation of the monsters and spells looks spot-on. Really nice job. I'm a fan of Game Master 5 and d20 Fight Club, but I think there's room for a faster, more lightweight combat manager. I'd be happy to be a beta tester.

Here's my feedback:

• The app needs to be focused and fast to differentiate itself from Game Master. The workflow for managing encounters in that app is sometimes a bit clunky and unintuitive, particularly on an iPhone. You have an opportunity to make that smoother. The goal should be to get a combat set up and started with as few taps as possible.
• The visual style of the initiative list is clean, but the font (Avenir?) looks more like an Android app. It clashes with the controls at the bottom of the screen (set in the iOS system font, San Francisco) and the book-style fonts and sepia backgrounds of the monster and spell stats. I'd pick one look and stick with it.
• Adding multiple monsters takes too long. If I want (say) 15 goblins, I have to look up the goblin, then press the plus button 15 times, keeping count in my head, waiting a second for the "Game updated" modal each time.
• I would also automatically go back to the intiative list after adding a monster, to save a few taps.
• It would be nice to be able to name monsters.
• It would be useful to see players' AC in the list (and maybe speed), like monsters.
• We don't need a full alphanumeric keyboard to type in damage. It could be just numbers, or a custom control. Figuring out how to type a negative number to represent healing is a bit unintuitive.
• Tapping the player's name (the largest target area) just to view a photo is not really useful. Why not show the photos in the list (if they're needed at all), and allow tapping the name to adjust damage? Or make it possible to track more of a player's stats, like creatures.
• It's not clear how to import monsters and spells. I couldn't find any instructions. Can the app import the fan-created files for Lion's Den apps? Those are usually stored on Dropbox, but the app only seems to import from iCloud Drive, which is a minor inconvenience.
• It would be useful to be able to add monsters mid-combat (representing reinforcements), without losing initiative or round count.
• It's a bit confusing if you start combat without rolling or entering initiative for some of the creatures. The buttons don't look any different, but they don't work because the creatures are inactive. If a button is disabled, it should look disabled, and it should be clear why.
• It would really differentiate the app if you had a split view of the combat list at the top (with something like 1-3 characters visible at a time), and the stat block for the selected creature below. Maybe you could tap the creature again to switch between the split view and the full combat list. (I'm talking specifically about the iPhone here. I think you already have a split view on the iPad.)
• It could be useful to have the option to roll initiative for players (of course, you'd need to store the players' intiative modifiers).
• It would differentiate the app if you supported alternate initiative methods, like the ones on page 270-271 of the DMG. Speed Factor Initiative in particular would be a lot more practical with an app managing the rolls and modifiers.
• It would be very useful if it calculated the difficulty of the encounter in real-time like Kobold Fight Club.
• It would be useful to track conditions, and super-useful if you could set things like "until player's next round" or reminders to roll saving throws.

 

[j3x]

Wow, a really great feedback. Thank you, designbot. I will definitely look into this.

 

[j3x]

Hey guys, I have published a new version of Encounter+ in iTunes app store. It contains some new features based on your suggestions and feedback. Thanks for your support!

 

[designbot]

Cool. Those are some good improvements. Notes:

• It's still a little weird seeing "-5" damage to represent healing. Also, once you hit "Heal", there's no way to turn it back into damage except to delete everything. Two possible fixes:
  • Display damage as negative by default. Change the "Heal" button to "+/-".
  • When you press "Heal", change the "Damage" caption to "Healing" instead of adding a minus sign. Also, change the "Heal" button to say "Damage" so you can switch back.
• The monster speeds overlap the hit points for some creatures like the ancient blue dragon.
• The "Use System Keyboard" preference does not apply immediately. (It works the second time you view a keyboard.)
• I would expect the numeric keyboard to look closer to the standard numeric keyboard. I'd also use the standard backspace character (⌫) instead of drawing a custom one.
• When editing stats for a new player, the cursor starts after "0", so you either have to hit backspace or enter your number with a leading zero. It would be nice to automatically delete the 0 once you start editing.
• Character "Type" is a little non-standard; maybe this should separated into race & class.
• It would be nice to make it more obvious how to edit the player info once it's added (it looks like now you have to swipe the name to reveal the edit control, which is not obvious).
• It would still be really nice to fit everything on one screen on the iPhone.
• I figured out how to get to Dropbox by tapping Locations (that's nice, though I would probably make Dropbox the default). When you do, however, the title and status bar disappear. I think they're displaying in white text on a white background.

 

[j3x]

Thanks for you feedback, designbot. I will try to incorporate better keyboard design in next version. I like "damage" / "heal" button more than "+/-", so I will probably use that.

Regarding new iPhone layout, I need to experiment little bit with your idea, because Im not sure if I can fit a creature table, creature stat block and encounter controls in one screen (especially in iphone 5s).

 

[akr71]

Just downloaded this morning. As soon as I get a chance, I will play with it and give you some honest feedback. First impressions are good though.

 

[j3x]

Cool, thank you. I also have a new version ready, waiting for review. Im hoping it will be in app store this week.

 

[j3x]

Hi fellow DM's, I have released a new version (1.0.2) of Encounter+ app. It contains some new features and enhancements:

• Add multiple initiative modes (standard, group, chaos)
• Add character race and class fields
• Add health field to players outside combat (fast healing in short rest)
• General bug fixes

Your feedback is always appreciated

 

[designbot]

Love the option to re-roll initiative each round. I might separate that setting from whether similar creatures are grouped together.
The new keypad looks good too.