RolePlayingMaster 3.0 available - major revamp and new features

[Luke]

Following a complete revamp with a new database manager, and an extensive amount of fan testing, the latest version is available.
The old database manager seemed to cause stability and corruption problems on some people's computers, and has been replaced by a faster, so far incorruptible, database system.

If you experienced speed or stability problems with a previous version, this is a *must have*, and will it seem like a very different system to you.

Aside from the increased speed and stabilty, I put in some very major features, and also got plenty of feedback from testers to make both subtle and unsubtle changes. The overall effect has led to some very appreciative comments from people who had previously been having troubles.

In this new version, look out for:

• Generators! This covers "lists" as well. Now RPM has a very strong capability to generate lists of feats, spells, abilities, magic items, weapons, etc. The uses go on and on, covering generation of encounters and spell lists through to items for magic shops. You can easily copy and modify existing tables, or build new tables from scratch. The point is that you have full access to the extensive RPG database, and can build lists according to your own world or D20 setting.
  Check out the following generators as examples:
  
  [*]Random spell list generation for each spell casting class by every level.
  [*]How RPM is being tailored in a way that allows you to define things such as class skill proficiencies, random feats, random skill point selection, random equipment and compulsory equipment. This will enable you to put as much campaign-specific custom generation behind any class or race of focus in your game.
  [*]Random encounters by CR, standard DMG Dungeons, or by climate (hills, underground, etc). Or, build your own.
  [*]Equipment generators, from a fighters weapons and armor package, through to a "magic shop" where you can decide how many items to have, and generate from various magic table types. Try your own variations with weightings for different table types (eg a Wizard shop focussing on staves, rods and wondrous magic, or an armourer focussing on weapons, armor and potions).
  [*]D20 Modern NPCs can randomly determine occupations. Tinker with the numbers to get a weighting suitable to your own world.
  
  
• Character/Creature Generators: Levelling up now uses the generators/lists when adding feats with subtypes. As an example, when you take "Exotic Weapon Proficiency" feat, a list of exotic weapons pops up to choose from. Lots of little convenience functions, like:
  
  [*]By default, create an attack description whenever you add (buy) a new weapon.
  [*]A skills "max out" button to bump up points in a selected skill to its max.
  [*]Quick execute action buttons for Creature tabs in areas like Attacks and Skills.
  
• Nice word-processor capabilities now more widely used, for things such as statblocks, skill descriptions and the game log. This works particularly well with the game log which gives you all the in-game numbers (for stuff like attacks), but now highlights things such as AC hit and damage caused.
• Preview the "New Reports" which allows you to easily create or modify all sorts of reports, with a professional quality finish. This will be very useful for customizing your own character sheets.
• Speed. The new system is a lot smoother and faster - particularly in you're shuffling creature counters around the BattleMap, and executing actions.
• A simple, common approach to selecting and setting pictures for characters/creatures, races or maps.

Continuing work will find nice ways of building on the basic generator capabilities.

Regards,

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Cool! I've been waiting for the revision before trying it out, going right over to download it. (Though it will have to compete with Word Perfect, a hard act to follow in my book, even if it's not really set up for RPGs....)

The Auld Grump

 

[Luke]

[

Though it will have to compete with Word Perfect, a hard act to follow in my book...
The Auld Grump

I keep trying to think of a way in which you might not be trolling

Perhaps we could have an interesting RPM vs Word RPG feature for RPG feature competitive thread. Only thing is, I definitely could not handle losing that one...

 

[Leopold]

eh changed my mind...downloaded it...saw it was useful..then realized i had to pay for it...unistalled it...

 

[TheAuldGrump]

[
I keep trying to think of a way in which you might not be trolling

Perhaps we could have an interesting RPM vs Word RPG feature for RPG feature competitive thread. Only thing is, I definitely could not handle losing that one...

No, I am saying that I REALLY like working with Word Perfect. I have had a lot of experience with Word Perfect going back to version 4. I am very happy indeed with Word Perfect 10, and use it for most of my gaming needs. (The fact that it shows the font being chosen, the fact that it comes with the best font management program I have ever seen, the fact that it can output to PDF, I just LIKE it.) I have to admit that I don't even see how you get trolling out of that.

Or to put it another way, if someone really likes chocolate, the pistachio had better be DARN good for him to buy it. I am willing to try out the pistachio, but quite likely to go back to chocolate.

I am sure RPM has a lot of features that Word Perfect lacks, especially in regards to the mechanics of D20 just as Word Perfect has features that RPM lacks, especially in regards to an aesthetically pleasing finished product. (Hmmm, now that I admit DOES sound like a troll, sorry, let's say 'formatting' instead.)

What I am really hoping for is something I can use with Word Perfect, not a replacement. Perhaps for initial adventure design vs. finished item, or (better) being able to send the RPM material to WP for editing.(Which is what I am really hoping for. Given that there are a number of outputs for RPM it seems a reasonable hope.)

This is how I use most of the programs that I have for gaming. A long list indeed, ranging from Dungeon Crafter to PCGen. (PCGen is the one that gives me the most difficulty, mostly to do with the way inventory is formatted.)

Sorry if this sounds a bit trollish, but I was quite frosted with the initial accusation, even though I suspect it was made at least half in jest. (A bit of a sore point there with me, I think.)

As for a competition between Word Perfect and Role Playing Master, that would be like a competition between Apples and Miniatures (you pick which is which), not really in the same category at all. The only reason they are in competion in my personal case is that I have had so much experience with WP that I have to stop and think while using something else. (You should see me suffer with Microsoft Works.)

I am planning on sitting down with RPM either tonight or tomorrow night, haven't had a chance to do so since yesterday.

The Auld Grump

 

[Luke]

What I am really hoping for is something I can use with Word Perfect, not a replacement. Perhaps for initial adventure design vs. finished item, or (better) being able to send the RPM material to WP for editing.(Which is what I am really hoping for. Given that there are a number of outputs for RPM it seems a reasonable hope.)

Sorry if this sounds a bit trollish, but I was quite frosted with the initial accusation, even though I suspect it was made at least half in jest.

I was fully in jest, as per the " " . Sorry you got frosted.

I actually found this quite useful though, as you set me thinking in creative ways about using my generators. After a bit of thinking, I saw what you meant too. Basically RPM is about creating RPG content (generating and calculating), and something like Word Perfect is about presentation.

I do have various output capabilities, if you want to fine-tune your printed results, and I'd be reasonably confident that Word Perfect could read at least a Word .doc file, if not an HTML file.

I'm guessing now that you're talking mostly about adventure/campaign building, and you should be able to get very quick results in the future, doing things like the following:

- Use either manual, or generator methods to build maps, locations, encounters, treasure, features etc.
- If you use generators, you could use the defaults, or build your own (even for a sci-fi setting), leveraging the huge RPG database available to you.
- With generators, or manual methods, all objects (magic, weapons, armor, feats, ray guns, whatever), would be real objects that have their game mechanics effects taken into account.
- Generated material could be edited, removed, or added to (eg for rooms in a dungeon map, or monsters, treasure and features in the rooms). I've never been a big fan of generators that give you hard coded results that you cannot then mess with until it suits you properly.
- As a dungeon level example, a properly edited level could be added to your current adventure.
- When you're done (assuming you don't want to use the computer in-game), do a full adventure report, prehaps exporting to Word for further tinkering.
- There is a new "under construction" report writer available, where you can cook up your own character sheets or adventure reports. A simplified report might be good for exporting to something like Word.

The example picture below is something I'm cooking on the slab. Its using hard-coded generators, rather than my fully configurable ones, but hopefully it paints a decent picture of my plans...

 

[kingpaul]

editors

Hey Luke, how do you do the editors? I can't seem to find them. I'd like to do some custom classes, feats, etc.

 

[Luke]

Re: editors

Hey Luke, how do you do the editors? I can't seem to find them. I'd like to do some custom classes, feats, etc.

Hi Paul,

All the editors are available under the menu option "View | Maintenance".

Alternatively, they can be brought up with a hotkey starting with [Shift+Alt+(a sensible letter)]. Hot key letters are typically like R=Race (eg [Shift+alt+R]), C=Classes, F=Feats, I=Items, S=Skills etc.

There's also a new "Guide" article called "Expanding your RPG Universe" which explains things such as how to set up new Sources, and how to put in game mechanics.
Unfortunately, I missed including the actual file in the installer, but you can read it here

 

[Max]

Luke,

That is a helpful bit of information. It definitely helps me to see how RPM is set up. However, the "Working with Scripts" section did not appear when I read the page. The section title is there, but then the page ends and no text is available.

Armed with this information maybe I'll actually try and add Sidewinder as a source (assuming I can manufacture some spare time, of course).

Max

 

[Luke]

Luke,

That is a helpful bit of information. It definitely helps me to see how RPM is set up. However, the "Working with Scripts" section did not appear when I read the page. The section title is there, but then the page ends and no text is available.

Armed with this information maybe I'll actually try and add Sidewinder as a source (assuming I can manufacture some spare time, of course).

Max

Glad it helps.

That's actually all that there is at this point. Scripting is potentially a big issue, but RPM is designed so that people can avoid it as much as possible. Its pretty easy to enter in straight database content, and from there you could hopefully do almost any game mechanics required through the basic, consistent and pervasive "Modifiers" system (similar to PCGen tags).

I should at least mention a few things briefly, such as the fact that scripting is JavaScript extended especially for RPG and databases, and then point people to example code.

RPM seems to be at a point where I give little bits of information out, and suddenly I get eager e-mails from people. Perhaps I'm too darn stuck in my own development head to see how easily I can really further people's own RPG work with some extra doco here and there.
Finding the time for everything isn't easy, but perhaps more and more doco would see me spending less time on emails (about 2400 sent in the last 9 months, and 4700 recieved). Then again, it could go the other way...

The good news is that theres a handful of stalwart RPG fans that feel comfortable enough now to really push me to get things done. That is to say, to get certain important things done that I neglect, whilst I play with things like generators, report writers, networking (with voice) and other stuff on the boil. By the way, some of this stuff is quite expensive, and if anyone would like to support on-going development by registering RPM, please feel free

One RPM fan has also just started an unofficial yahoo group to share community files and stuff. There should be more on that later...

Regards,