PCGen 2.4.0 Released

[Arabesu]

Volunteering for the effort.

Do you let people submit data files? I've typed in dorjes, powercrystals, and tatoos for all the 4th level and lower powers in the PsiHB. I've been keeping them in a custom data directory, but I suppose other folks may find these items usefull also. Is anyone out there interested? Yo, SourceForge folks do you think these files could get included in future updates?

Also, if your looking for someone to take on the Psi-prestige classes I'd be willing to help out. Mainly, I'd need for one of them to be done (probably the metamind) as an example for how you'd do the "+1 level of existing class for psionics," then I could probably hack out the other three.

Interested?

 

[Mynex]

Re: Volunteering for the effort.

Do you let people submit data files? I've typed in dorjes, powercrystals, and tatoos for all the 4th level and lower powers in the PsiHB. I've been keeping them in a custom data directory, but I suppose other folks may find these items usefull also. Is anyone out there interested? Yo, SourceForge folks do you think these files could get included in future updates?

Also, if your looking for someone to take on the Psi-prestige classes I'd be willing to help out. Mainly, I'd need for one of them to be done (probably the metamind) as an example for how you'd do the "+1 level of existing class for psionics," then I could probably hack out the other three.

Interested?

We're always interested in new help! As for the files you have already made, you can upload them into the yahoo groups files section, and if they're official items, then they will get incorporated eventually.

Stop into the yahoo groups and poke about, ask some questions, see where things stand and then dive right in!

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

PCGen startup

I think if PCGen started up with just the "WoTC players handbook" loaded and made advanced users go to the other screens it would probably save a lot of confusion. I can see how a lot of potential users would start it up, select "WoTC core rules" and then get hit by things like Lizardmen, and just freak out.

The basic user interface principle should be: make the common case easy, and make the infrequently used cases possible. If PCGen is truly intended for most players, it should make the default players handbook options the most easy to use, and leave other options as advanced settings.

 

[RigaMortus]

How the heck do you use this thing?

I downloaded the latest version and it came with absolutely no instructions how to run it. I unziped it into a directory and don't really know where to go from there...

In the directory I have several folder names:
characters
data
doc
lib
system
templates

And then I have 3 files:
pcgen.bat - Which gives me a "Bad command or file name" error at the command prompt when I click on it.
pcgen.jar - Which opens like a zip file when I click on it (do I unzip this?).
pcgen.sh - Which asks me "What program I want to use to open the file with."

I've been to the website I downloaded this from and can't seem to find ANY install or set up instructions. Can anyone here help?

If it matters, I downloaded and unzipped the pdf and skin files, but nothing seems to have changed. I am also running on Windows ME.

 

[Arabesu]

Do you have Java SDK running?

Rigamortis,
You need to have some verison of Java running. Java 2 SDK is what I'm currently using. The file PCGen.bat is just a command that runs the PCGen.jar file in java. You can just as easily open a command prompt, cd to the PCGen directory where you unpacked everything and type "java -jar pcgen.jar". This *bat file just does the command for you. This of course assumes you've already installed some verison of java. It should be noted that if java is installed correctly (which I never went to the trouble of going back and redoing) you can just double click of the pcgen.jar icon. Email me offline if you've got more questions.

 

[RigaMortus]

Alrighty... Now where do I go to download a Java program? Do you have any recommendations?

 

[Urklore]

It is a nice program. Is there a way we can get it run faster, this thing is so slow (beacuse of Java, I assume) that it makes it useless for me. And I am on a 1.8 MHZ machine.

 

[Douane]

to "RigaMortus":

Did you look at the official PCGen page ? There should be some hints to getting the program to run.

For Java, go here: Sun's Java Page
I would use the Java 1.3.1 Runtime Environment download, since I recall some problems reported concerning PCGen and Java 1.4.


to "Urklore":

1.8 MHZ ?



Hope this helps,

Folkert

 

[jujutsunerd]

It is a nice program. Is there a way we can get it run faster, this thing is so slow (beacuse of Java, I assume) that it makes it useless for me.

Well, at the moment there are two things.

First, make sure you only load the sources you need. (Or make your own .pcc file.)

Second, I occasionally upload versions of pcgen that I've run through an optimizer to the yahoo site. You'll find it here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcgen/files/Alternate PCGen Releases/

As noted there it is *very* unsupported. It works for me, maybe it works for you. YMMV.

(If you want to make your own version of (perhaps for a pcgen version I haven't optimized), try looking for a tool named jopt.)

/Jonas