Opinions On E-Tools

[GrayIguana]

I just wanted to see if many of you use this tool. Please let me know what you think of it in its present form. I'm not finding a lot of information on it so far.

If it can create monster stats for me and allow me to print them out in a convenient format, I think I need to get it. I'm so tired of stating out each and every encounter. I love creating the plots and designing the adventure, but when it gets to the point of writing the stats for each encounter, I get close to calling the game off.

From what I know, it allows quite of bit of customizing for character classes, monsters, treasures, and spells. One can also purchase data sets for non-core books. But let me know how this has been working for some of you. Either way, I feel a purchase may be in my future.

 

[Pillars of Hercules]

Worth it

CodeMonkey Publishing has done a good job fixing this once awful product (awful only in another company's hands, CMP was brought in later to salvage it). CMP has patched it several times to version 1.2.1. Version 1.3 is on the way.

Ability to create NPCs and PCs, including critters with levels, etc.

Most importantly, CMP seems like a good company ready to stand behind their product. Overall, I'd recommend it. My only complaint is that CMP's website is a little slow (even with a cable modem).

 

[jdavis]

I got a lot of use out of it when it was a bad product, now I get much more use out of it. I'd recommend it , of course there are also several other very good DM tools out there.

 

[mattcolville]

I thought Fluid's product was one of the worst pieces of software I'd ever tried to use.

CMP has gone a great distance toward making it the tool I want but there's still some distance to go. Based on the effort they've put forth so far, I have ever reason to believe that eventually I'll get the eTools I want.

 

[Chaz]

I just wanted to see if many of you use this tool.
I'm not finding a lot of information on it so far.

Then you havent looked here
http://www.codemonkeypublishing.com/

As stated, CMP is doing a great job. ET is a usefull program.

 

[Hollywood]

Don't buy shoddy software, and that includes e-Tools. No amount of so-called "fixing" or "bug squashing" by any 3rd party will ever cause a ship designed with a hole in its hull to every be fixed.

There are plenty of other software out there, see the various threads here, that do the same thing, some free, some not.

 

[Ranger REG]

Do you mean PCGen, brought to you by the folks who now became Code Monkey Publishing?

To use your analogy, they took the "ship" into "drydock" and replace the broken "hull" with new ones.

What you're demanding is that they install "hydrofoil" (i.e., new features).

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Not to mention that in the same length of time it took for Fluid to do one patch Code Monkey has done two, and are continuing to work on it. From what I gather they intend to basically create a whole new program, among other things switching to xml for the data.

I still don't own a copy, but a friend of mine who was literally using it as a coaster has now gone back to using it, and he seems pretty happy with it since the 1.2 patch. And at least I am no longer mocking his purchase. (I am still using PCGen, largely because I have made a boatload of data files for my home game, and because I just plain like the program.)

The Auld Grump

 

[Kristian Serrano]

Not to mention they just released the 1.3 patch that allows the use of psionics, epic levels, and monster classes (Savage Species). The data sets for the WotC products should be due out sometime in September, allowing the use of all of WotC's published material with content from the books in the Help files.

Imagine creating a nasty evil NPC with content from the Book fo Vile Darkness, or an orc PC using content from Savage Species.

 

[Hollywood]

Do you mean PCGen, brought to you by the folks who now became Code Monkey Publishing?

PCGen is one I was referring to, and one of the free ones. Its free, it can be as bad or good as someone opinion on it, but it didn't waste a person's money AND time to try and use.

To use your analogy, they took the "ship" into "drydock" and replace the broken "hull" with new ones.

No, I'm sorry, the analogy would be more like a bunch of tailors fixing the hull with a large canvas sail.

What you're demanding is that they install "hydrofoil" (i.e., new features).

Not at all. I don't think they have the ability to do such, from the ground up with enough engeering skill that the product not turn into another e-Tools or PCGen (sorry, PCGen may be ok because its free, but it'd be unacceptable if you had to pay for it).

But the point is... there are options that won't cost you money that you can try first before spending money on a shoddy product as no amount of patching is going to be able to fix it. Or in other words RangerReg... you have a Ferrari kit-car with the internal engine and transmission of a Yugo.