RPG apps for Windows 7 Phone

[Merkuri]

Does anyone know any good free Windows 7 Phone apps that would help a 3.5e player? I've noticed Morrus's big list of apps for iPhone or Android, but I didn't see a category for Windows 7 Phones.

I've found a few die rollers, but they're not quite what I'm looking for. I have easy access to dice at the table, and I'm not sure how my DM would look on me rolling digital dice.

I'm looking for something that will give me easy access to the SRD (web search works, but it's a bit slow), give me an easy way to keep track of my spells (what I've cast today, what each spell does, etc), help me keep track of the various bonuses and penalties that I might get hit with during combat, or anything else you think might be useful to a 3.5e player.

I don't have a "live" 4e game at the moment so I don't have an immediate need for 4e-specific apps, but if anyone knows of any feel free to mention them.

The apps don't need to be specific to D&D or RPGs... if you know of a generic app that can help a D&D player, that would still be very appreciated.

Note that I am only looking for free apps. This is because my Windows 7 Phone is actually my work phone, and if I were to buy an app it would be charged to my employer, and I don't think they would look kindly on me buying gaming apps on their dime.

For the record, the best free die roller I found so far is the free version of How we roll.

 

[Mark CMG]

I'd be interesting in knowing if anyone has found anything like this yet.

I have One Note on my phone which can serve for some things but is falls short of being an slick app of course.

 

[Merkuri]

I've noticed that a few RPG-related apps have popped up in the Marketplace in the past few months, but all of the ones that looked worthwhile had some sort of cost to them, so I didn't pick them up.

I was considering making an app myself. I do have some development experience. However, when I found out Microsoft will charge me $99 a year to develop an app that I am not planning on profiting from I abandoned the idea.

 

[Alan Shutko]

However, when I found out Microsoft will charge me $99 a year to develop an app that I am not planning on profiting from I abandoned the idea.

Microsoft is rather anxious to get more apps on the platform. It might be worth talking to your company's local Microsoft rep to see if they'll get you a free account. Our rep was inclined to pay a third party to write an app for us if we'd promote it, but we didn't want to take on maintenance.

Alternately, you might be able to deduct it as a professional expense, depending on your job. I count my iOS and Mac dev programs in that. (The iOS one actually paid for itself when my company wanted an app written and I got compensated handsomely.)

 

[Mark CMG]

Maybe I should plunk down the fee to have something developed by someone as a work for hire and chalk it up to CMG R&D.

Does the fee give you access and allow you to make more than a single app if you like?

If so, someone could develop an app for my upcoming system and in exchange do whatever they like for themselves too, I suppose.

How time intensive are apps such as a character sheet/tracker?

 

[Merkuri]

...It might be worth talking to your company's local Microsoft rep to see if they'll get you a free account....

The company I work for is actually a gold-certified Microsoft partner, and we have already put an app in the marketplace, but I don't feel like explaining to my boss that I want to write an app based on a game where people pretend to be elves. Maybe if I were a developer I could talk them into it, but I'm in tech support. Besides, if they knew about any such projects like this that I do on the side they could claim to own them. It was in the contract I signed when I joined the company that any development work I do (on my own time, even) belongs to them. Dunno how legal that is, but it does have the potential to at least give me a headache if they decide to pursue it.

Does the fee give you access and allow you to make more than a single app if you like?

Yes, I think you're allowed to submit as many paid apps as you want, and up to 100 free apps without paying any extra charge.

How time intensive are apps such as a character sheet/tracker?

I have no idea. Personally, I don't have the time to dedicate to a project like this if there's a deadline - I was planning on just doodling around with it in my free time and seeing if I can come up with something. The fee to submit an app really discouraged me from even downloading the tools needed to get started.

 

[Vicente]

One thing of note is that while there is a 99$ subscription, you could work first without paying it. The WP7 SDK and Tools are free, and they come with an emulator you can use to start working and testing if you like the environment.

You need to test on a real device sooner or later, but you can start without paying anything and later decide if it´s worth.

Also, for university students there´s a Microsoft program called Dreamspark that allows them to access nearly all Microsoft products for free (that includes the WP7 subscription).

For small companies there´s a similar program called Bizspark, which is free the first 3 years, but not sure if it comes with the WP7 subscription.

Feel free to ask more questions if you want, I´m a Microsoft MVP in XNA/DX so I know a little about WP7 as it´s one of the supported platforms of XNA, although a RPG app (campaign tracker, char generator, stuff like that) would be done with Silverlight.

Also, now that the new version of WP7 has been released (Mango = WP 7.5), I expect more apps to appear, before the tools were a little limited in some places, but now they are a beast

Regards!

Vicente

 

[Merkuri]

One thing of note is that while there is a 99$ subscription, you could work first without paying it. The WP7 SDK and Tools are free, and they come with an emulator you can use to start working and testing if you like the environment.

I'm aware of that, but I have so little free time nowadays I don't want to spend hours developing an app that I will probably never get to use on a real phone (because I can't justify paying that fee). I do enjoy developing stuff in my free time, but that's because I like making computers do my bidding, and if I can't use the finished product on the real device then that takes a lot of the fun out of it.

It's something I may do eventually, but the incentive's not enough right now.

 

[haakon1]

MUCH less technical answer, no apps but no cost.

You can keep up to 6 tabs open at the same time, forever, in Internet Explorer on Windows 7. I was happily surprised when I figured this out. (HR guy, not a techie.)

So I usually keep GHWiki and the specific Paizo discussion page about the Shackled City Adventure Path open all the time -- the latter I refresh whenever I want to check for new posts. That still leaves 4 slots for other pages. No reason you couldn't do this with d20srd.org (assuming I'm remembering the URL) or other sites.

The trick is, if you hit the search magnifying glass button when you are actively in IE, it will open Google and overwrite an existing open IE tab.

But if you hit the Windows button, back to the home screen/tile screen, and hit the search button while there, it opens IE with a new tab -- not messing with the open ones unless you have 6 open already -- with Bing search.

 

[Mark CMG]

Thanks for all the info. I have been using the 6 tab feature and definitely feel that helps broaden how useful the Windows 7 OS is for such things. I'll have to look into some options later in September as Griffins & Grottos Medieval Fantasy Wargame and Roleplaying System (G&G MF WARS) gets closer to October release. It would be nice to have some tools(s) (app(s) or online) in the works or even available with the launch or soon afterwards.