point pool for PCGen 2.4.8
Laslo Tremaine
Explorer
Criticisms of PCGen
OK, I will agree that complaining about something without making constructive criticisms is pretty unfair.
So here's a partial list of my gripes with PCGen. The most recent version that I have used is 2.4.8
Organsization: The amount of information in PCGen is overwhelming. Yes the ability to use a tree view is a big help, but in some ways it has been more of a hinderance than a help. For example, if I am looking for a pair of boots of skating I look under the boot hierarchy. It's not there. Wonderous item? Nope not there either. Ah! There it is! Under the Psionic/Universal tab. I guess that makes sense, but why are all of the other magic boots under the boot category, but not psionic boots. I guess my feeling is, that if it is not consistent, then it just becomes frustrating.
Along the same lines, the more info that I can hide, the better. For 90% of the characters that I make craft skills are not important, but I find that the cost structure is the most intuitive method of sorting skills for me, but in that list, all the craft skills are shown, with no method to hide them. Annoying.
Making high-level characters: I find it to be a major pain to create high level characters. The current method is fairly tedious for me. Click on a class, move the mouse up to the move arrow, wait for it to move over to the selected window, wait for any option windows to pop up, make selections, say OK. Repeat for every level. In the skill and inventory tabs it is great to be able to right click on an item and take 5 or 10 of them. Why can't we do this for character levels. I find it much easier to select my feats all at one time, but PCGen makes me cancel a window every time a class gets a feat. Too much clicking. Greatly impedes what I feel I should be doing in the window. I just want to pick a number of levels. If I want to focus on feats, I want to do it all at once in the feat tab. Very frustrating
Column Sizes: I am constantly resizing columns in this program (usually shirinking the cost columns in the inventory tab). Is there a way for the program to remember what you had set previously. It seems to remember how you have resized the window dividers. Mildly annoying.
Printing: Ugh! I guess all I have to say is; HTML is not a page layout language! Now I uderstand why it is being used, but I have yet to be able to print a character sheet that I find adequately usable. I've tried the RTF option, but have not gotten it to open properly in Word. I guess I feel that if I have to go through so much pain to get a character loaded into PCGen, if I cannot get anything usable out, it is of little use to me... (also, every psionic character I make does not seem to have a place on any of the sheets for Power Points...).
Now I will invalidate everything I have said about PCGen by confessing that I am running it under Mac OS X. I know why you are using Java for this project, but under OS X it is just so unresponsive... Click, wait a second, click again, wait another second, click, wait, click, wait... Now, admittedly I am probably only waiting for a fraction of a second, but it is definitely perceptible. This is not a complaint that the programmers can address. But with all of the other interface issues it just adds up to one big exercise in frustration every time I sit down to make a character.
OK, I will agree that complaining about something without making constructive criticisms is pretty unfair.
So here's a partial list of my gripes with PCGen. The most recent version that I have used is 2.4.8
Organsization: The amount of information in PCGen is overwhelming. Yes the ability to use a tree view is a big help, but in some ways it has been more of a hinderance than a help. For example, if I am looking for a pair of boots of skating I look under the boot hierarchy. It's not there. Wonderous item? Nope not there either. Ah! There it is! Under the Psionic/Universal tab. I guess that makes sense, but why are all of the other magic boots under the boot category, but not psionic boots. I guess my feeling is, that if it is not consistent, then it just becomes frustrating.
Along the same lines, the more info that I can hide, the better. For 90% of the characters that I make craft skills are not important, but I find that the cost structure is the most intuitive method of sorting skills for me, but in that list, all the craft skills are shown, with no method to hide them. Annoying.
Making high-level characters: I find it to be a major pain to create high level characters. The current method is fairly tedious for me. Click on a class, move the mouse up to the move arrow, wait for it to move over to the selected window, wait for any option windows to pop up, make selections, say OK. Repeat for every level. In the skill and inventory tabs it is great to be able to right click on an item and take 5 or 10 of them. Why can't we do this for character levels. I find it much easier to select my feats all at one time, but PCGen makes me cancel a window every time a class gets a feat. Too much clicking. Greatly impedes what I feel I should be doing in the window. I just want to pick a number of levels. If I want to focus on feats, I want to do it all at once in the feat tab. Very frustrating
Column Sizes: I am constantly resizing columns in this program (usually shirinking the cost columns in the inventory tab). Is there a way for the program to remember what you had set previously. It seems to remember how you have resized the window dividers. Mildly annoying.
Printing: Ugh! I guess all I have to say is; HTML is not a page layout language! Now I uderstand why it is being used, but I have yet to be able to print a character sheet that I find adequately usable. I've tried the RTF option, but have not gotten it to open properly in Word. I guess I feel that if I have to go through so much pain to get a character loaded into PCGen, if I cannot get anything usable out, it is of little use to me... (also, every psionic character I make does not seem to have a place on any of the sheets for Power Points...).
Now I will invalidate everything I have said about PCGen by confessing that I am running it under Mac OS X. I know why you are using Java for this project, but under OS X it is just so unresponsive... Click, wait a second, click again, wait another second, click, wait, click, wait... Now, admittedly I am probably only waiting for a fraction of a second, but it is definitely perceptible. This is not a complaint that the programmers can address. But with all of the other interface issues it just adds up to one big exercise in frustration every time I sit down to make a character.
jujutsunerd
Explorer
Re: Criticisms of PCGen
>Originally posted by Laslo Tremaine
>Under the Psionic/Universal tab. I guess that makes sense, but why are all of the other magic boots under the boot category, but not psionic boots. I guess my feeling is, that if it is not consistent, then it just becomes frustrating.
I agree with this, which is why I just fixed this particular case so it will work as you expect it for next release. (While we are working towards consistency in the data files, there is still quite a way to go. Also, it's a neverending project, given that new stuff appears all the time.
>Making high-level characters: I find it to be a major pain to create high level characters. [SNIPped bit about adding several levels at once.]
This is a good idea. Please suggest it over at the yahoo group (and/or add a feature request for it.)
>Column Sizes: I am constantly resizing columns in this program (usually shirinking the cost columns in the inventory tab). Is there a way for the program to remember what you had set previously.
Not yet, but it was just mentioned over at the yahoo group that it's in the near future.
>Printing: Ugh! I guess all I have to say is; HTML is not a page layout language! Now I uderstand why it is being used, but I have yet to be able to print a character sheet that I find adequately usable.
Hmm. Have you tried the pdf character sheets? (Usable via the printer icon on the toolbar.)
> Now I will invalidate everything I have said about PCGen by confessing that I am running it under Mac OS X. I know why you are using Java for this project, but under OS X it is just so unresponsive...
Well, at least us using Java means you don't have to use a PC emulator to run it. ;-)
>This is not a complaint that the programmers can address.
Actually, we can do something about *part* of this (and we are.) Specifically, pcgen currently uses *way* too much memory. This is being worked on, and hopefully the next few versions will reduce memory use significantly, which should help some with the speed. (You are, of course, correct that we can't do anything about the issues with Apple's implementation of Java...)
/Jonas
>Originally posted by Laslo Tremaine
>Under the Psionic/Universal tab. I guess that makes sense, but why are all of the other magic boots under the boot category, but not psionic boots. I guess my feeling is, that if it is not consistent, then it just becomes frustrating.
I agree with this, which is why I just fixed this particular case so it will work as you expect it for next release. (While we are working towards consistency in the data files, there is still quite a way to go. Also, it's a neverending project, given that new stuff appears all the time.
>Making high-level characters: I find it to be a major pain to create high level characters. [SNIPped bit about adding several levels at once.]
This is a good idea. Please suggest it over at the yahoo group (and/or add a feature request for it.)
>Column Sizes: I am constantly resizing columns in this program (usually shirinking the cost columns in the inventory tab). Is there a way for the program to remember what you had set previously.
Not yet, but it was just mentioned over at the yahoo group that it's in the near future.
>Printing: Ugh! I guess all I have to say is; HTML is not a page layout language! Now I uderstand why it is being used, but I have yet to be able to print a character sheet that I find adequately usable.
Hmm. Have you tried the pdf character sheets? (Usable via the printer icon on the toolbar.)
> Now I will invalidate everything I have said about PCGen by confessing that I am running it under Mac OS X. I know why you are using Java for this project, but under OS X it is just so unresponsive...
Well, at least us using Java means you don't have to use a PC emulator to run it. ;-)
>This is not a complaint that the programmers can address.
Actually, we can do something about *part* of this (and we are.) Specifically, pcgen currently uses *way* too much memory. This is being worked on, and hopefully the next few versions will reduce memory use significantly, which should help some with the speed. (You are, of course, correct that we can't do anything about the issues with Apple's implementation of Java...)
/Jonas
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