RPM: Beta features update

[Ace32]

Your program is quite interesting and good, from what I've seen so far. I haven't been able to quite get much out of it tho, besides playing with the features, because it seems to crash quite often, but I'm sure those are just beta bugs. I do have a few beefs. First, it's very confusing. I get lost sometimes going through it. Another problem, is that I can't figure out how to add new race abilities and the such, to make them automatically add when making a PC/NPC out of that race. Or a new race.

All in all, nice program! Can't wait til the final.

 

[Velik]

How's about this for a thought: What if I let you associated a group[\b] of creatures with a location, and well as the map itself? There's less fiddling, since assigning a group does it for all the creatures of the group, and you could still report the creatures belonging to a specific loaction.

Luke,

That seems perfect. That way you could have the best of both worlds so to speak and what ever information I dont need on the report I just don't have to add like [[Map:Group.Creature]] just [[Location:Critter]] or however the syntax is

Good to see you playing with reports at this level of depth!

Well I just kinda looked at how you had things and cut and pasted with MS FrontPage. I really just have a VERY basic knowledge of any kind of programming. See everyone RPM isn't as hard as it looks just need to play around till you get familiar with it and it DEFINITELY is getting alot easier to use as it comes along.

Regards,
Heath

 

[Luke]

Your program is quite interesting and good, from what I've seen so far. I haven't been able to quite get much out of it tho, besides playing with the features, because it seems to crash quite often, but I'm sure those are just beta bugs. I do have a few beefs. First, it's very confusing. I get lost sometimes going through it. Another problem, is that I can't figure out how to add new race abilities and the such, to make them automatically add when making a PC/NPC out of that race. Or a new race.

All in all, nice program! Can't wait til the final.

I've recently implemented the "Guide" to help out with confusion. The approach seems to be a winner, so it seems to be a question of putting more options, and option details in the guide. Will do for beta.

You don't actually add race abilites when you create a new creature - they are automatically obtained from the race definition itself.
If you create your own races, there is an "Abilities" tab for defining the abilties of a given race. Simplest way to bring up the Race window is the hotkey [Shift+Alt+R].

A lot of people seem to be happy to just wait and see what's in the final. I'm waiting on community input to see what the most desired features are.

 

[Cergorach]

I just noticed that RPM doesn't allow templates to be added to creatures, is it just me, or did i miss something. Templates are one of the more important features of 3e...

 

[Luke]

Re:Templates

I just noticed that RPM doesn't allow templates to be added to creatures, is it just me, or did i miss something. Templates are one of the more important features of 3e...

"Templates" means different things to different people. What do you mean by it? Do you mean Vampire, Half-Dragon, Ghost etc.?

If so, I agree. I would say that it's important, yet this is the first mention of it by anybody. The templates are in the "Race Template" window (hotkey is [Shift+Alt+T]). That defines the templates, and lets you add new ones. if you like.
The problem is that I haven't provided a way to actually assign a template to a character/creature yet.
The reason: Until now nobody has mentioned it. Of all the many, many possible things that RPM could be programmed to do, I've decided to focus on what people actually ask for. Strangely, this is the first mention of racial templates...
Here's another: Only 1 person even hinted at wanting to assign domains to Clerics. Go figure.

It's a pretty strange phenomenom: Very large mailing list. Tens of thousands of downloads. Lots of very positive and encouraging feedback. Yet I get very, very little response to find out what people actually want to see polished in the beta release. Makes it extremely difficult for me to know where to focus my energy Far as I know, not one person (even you) actually sees a need for it. You've only noticed that they're "not there", and mentioned that they're important.
This is, by far, my most frustrating issue with developing RPM.

 

[Cergorach]

Re: Re:Templates

"Templates" means different things to different people. What do you mean by it? Do you mean Vampire, Half-Dragon, Ghost etc.?

If so, I agree. I would say that it's important, yet this is the first mention of it by anybody. The templates are in the "Race Template" window (hotkey is [Shift+Alt+T]). That defines the templates, and lets you add new ones. if you like.
The problem is that I haven't provided a way to actually assign a template to a character/creature yet.
The reason: Until now nobody has mentioned it. Of all the many, many possible things that RPM could be programmed to do, I've decided to focus on what people actually ask for. Strangely, this is the first mention of racial templates...
Here's another: Only 1 person even hinted at wanting to assign domains to Clerics. Go figure.

It's a pretty strange phenomenom: Very large mailing list. Tens of thousands of downloads. Lots of very positive and encouraging feedback. Yet I get very, very little response to find out what people actually want to see polished in the beta release. Makes it extremely difficult for me to know where to focus my energy Far as I know, not one person (even you) actually sees a need for it. You've only noticed that they're "not there", and mentioned that they're important.
This is, by far, my most frustrating issue with developing RPM.

Right on target young Skywalker... Erm, Luke ;-)
The "problem" with RPM is that it's so darned huge, i only find things missing when i need them and can't find them.
My personal preference would be:
1.) Everything that is in RPM works properly.
2.) Every functionality that the SRD offers should be in RPM.
3.) Basic SRD game prep. features, nothing fancy, just functional.
4.) Basic SRD ingame features, nothing fancy, just functional.
5.) Add bells and whistles, make it more user friendly, etc.
Documentation should be an ongoing process, the ideal situation would be that when you add something you document it.
Maybe it would be usefull to compile a list of what is in RPM and what is not and how functional it is and should be. That way people can choose what they find important and what not.

As a sidenote, no offense intended to those who think the program should be more usersfriendly, currently development of RPM should (IMHO) concentrate on the integrety of the game mechanics. I find it strange (to put it mildly) that people ask for userfriendlyness (and other gadgets)before things like templates and domains (yeah, yeah, i'm guilty as well, my only defense, i thought they were in there, somewhere). I personally would rather have a crappy fully functional program, than an excellent unfinished program...

 

[Luke]

Re: Re: Re:Templates

Thanks for this Cergorach.

Firstly, I've now put in the templates. You can add them in, and they appear in the statblock. Have to make them do all the right mechanics now...

1.) Everything that is in RPM works properly.

Interesting one. I've been wondering if I should actually remove functions that are not fully polished, for the beta.

2.) Every functionality that the SRD offers should be in RPM.

That's big. Real big. It's practically everything in the PHB, DMG and MM combined. It's easy to ask for, but...
Additionally, my ultimate aim is to be able to play the mechanics in-game correctly. That's absolutely massive. I don't think you'll find anything even vaguely like that anywhere. It won't happen for release 1, so the on-going question is - "What should happen for release 1?"

3.) Basic SRD game prep. features, nothing fancy, just functional.

Any specifics? Polishes needed in character/creature generation, character sheet reports, adventure and map making?

4.) Basic SRD ingame features, nothing fancy, just functional.

This is the obvious place to cut corners for release 1. The issue is - what can be put in simply, yet will do enough work (and quickly enough), to make it worth having RPM in-game, even for experienced DMs?

In general, there's a lot already in RPM, in all areas. The question is one of specifics. Which features to polish.

5.) Add bells and whistles, make it more user friendly, etc.

Problem. Whilst those who've been looking at RPM long enough might not (and by all reports aren't) to fussed about user interface, for others the user interface is the thing needed most to get functionality out of RPM.

Documentation should be an ongoing process, the ideal situation would be that when you add something you document it.

Problem. In alpha mode, screens change around and different ways of doing things are found. Final implementation often depends on user feedback. If sufficient documentation is done on an on-going basis, I end up throwing most of it away - and time is the most precious commodity. It's the old catch22, and I depend on those that manage to get by without doco to be able to get enough work done in the minimum time.

Maybe it would be usefull to compile a list of what is in RPM and what is not and how functional it is and should be. That way people can choose what they find important and what not.

Not a bad idea at all. Point out all the short falls (semi-finished stuff), and get "votes" on them.

Good feedback. Thanks.

 

[CRGreathouse]

OK, Luke, I just installed the latest version (ZIP file). As I go through it, I'll point out what I see that's wrong.

* The warrior should use a d8 HD instead of a d10 HD (DMG page 39; the DMG errata does not change this)
* When I equipped a mw spiked chain, it had the wrong damage: Str 14 -> 2d4+2 instead of 2d4+3
* RPM won't let me equip a mighty comp longbow (or choose its mighty bonus)
* The equipment value is off: 100 gp for a longsword, mw spiked chain, mighty composite longbow, and +1 chain shirt. The weight is also off: 25 lbs. It seems like it won't refresh these, even when I press "refresh."
* RPM doesn't take Weapon Finesse into account for my spiked chain ("chain (spiked)", "spiked chain", "Chain, Spiked", etc. won't work)
* I still don't see # of skill points to allocate, nor do I see a way to put in c/c skills (like Tumble)
* The weight/cost for all of my weapons is the same as the longsword: 4 lbs, 15 gp
* When leveling up, I'm told that I have 6 feats to assign, instead of 1 - when I chose the first new feat (all old feats were still there), it said 1/6 chosen.
* Skill points when leveling up were also cumulative
* When adding a level of fighter, *all* skills were super-cross class - 1/4 ranks per point.
* After leveling and refreshing, my attack bonus was far, far off:

Kytess, female Human Ftr4:
CR 4, Size M, HD 4D10+8, hp 9, Init 0, Spd 30, AC 14, Dodge 4, Attack 4, SV Fort 6, Ref 5, Will -1; AL N;
Str 16(3), Dex 18(4), Con 14(2), Int 12(1), Wis 7(-2), Cha 8(-1),

[Longsword]:Melee null +5 (1d8+2/crit 19-20); [Spiked Chain]:; Melee Masterwork Chain (spiked) +6 (2d4+2);

Even ignoring the Weapon Finesse and Weapon Focus, the attack bonus should have been +8 (+4 BAB, +1 mw, +3 Str).
* There was no good way to add the bonus for my mw weaponsmith's tools (inherent bonus just didn't seem to fit...)
* The AC didn't include the enhancement bonus from the +1 chain shirt.
* The save bonus for the cloak of resistance wasn't included (even when equipped)

Other issues:
* I'd prefer if AC included the "dodge" bonus by default
* I'd like to have the option to remove the ability modifiers after the scores (off by default would be best)
* Skills should have a + or - before the modifier: Swim +6 instead of Swim 6
* I'd like to be able to hide the "default" feats - weapon and armor proficiency
* I'd prefer the fighter ability be named "Weapon Specialization Access" to differentiate it from the psionic warrior's free Weapon Specialization

 

[DazKaz]

This is a copy of an E Mail I sent you a while back.

Just downloaded the latest update. These are the things I would like to see Implemented or problems I have had so far:

A list of pre-generated monsters as per the Summon Monsters Spell, I had a lot of trouble trying to create a celestial dog. Have you addressed the issue of Monster Templates yet?

I would like to see the Forgotten Realms feats etc. as I am playing a Forgotten Realms campaign at present.

In the character creation wizard there doesn't appear to be a way to remove feats / skills once you have chosen them to swap them for another. This is especially annoying, and I feel is a priority for change.

Feats and skills that come with class i.e. Rangers Track, should be greyed out when selecting feats in the wizard so as not to select them twice.

The tile mapper is excellent, it obviously needs more tile sets but the concept is superb. I would like to see a layer of dark tiles that can be placed over the whole map, and then with the click of the mouse reveal the map you created underneath as the PC's explore areas. i.e If they can only see 30ft just click on the tiles immediately surrounding them until 30ft radius is revealed.

I would still like to see a way of handling the weight, and cost of equipment carried in the Backpack or other removable storage items. Perhaps it can be dun by adding tabs to the Items/Active bar i.e C carried, E equipped, S stored you could also have B backpack, PL pouch left, PR pouch right, BA bandolear etc.

I think people are not Informing you about things like Templates, and Standard character sheet layouts when printing, because like me they assumed it was a necessity and sure to be implemented, just that you hadn't got round to incorporating it yet.

I'm really looking forward to the finnished product, but like some of the others I'm having trouble creating stuff due to frequent crashes.

 

[Luke]

OK, Luke, I just installed the latest version (ZIP file).

Thanks Charles. Very useful feedback. I re-did "Kytess" on my current, personal version , and it went a lot better.

Thanks to your input, I've fixed numerous little database edits (Warrior HD, use of mighty bow in attacks, cloak of resistance modifiers, many weight/costs for items etc).

There are already many issues that are fixed on the current work-in-progress, such as the calculated cost of magical items.

Some clarifications
* Skill Point allocation: This should be done from the "Level Up" window, under the "Skills" tab. That is where you see the available points you have to allocate. RPM reports the "Points Earned" and "Points Spent" for each class you have. You allocate from "Points Spent" to the currently selected skill. For multi-class, you simply click on the appropriate class to allocate available points from it. The colour coding determines the cost (green = class, white = cross-class, red = not available). So, a fighter wanting to put points into the cross-class "Tumble" skill goes down the skill list to the white "Tumble" entry, and starts spending points.

*Why Kytess got 6 feats, rather than 1: This is because your Kytess character is a 4th level human fighter. The automatic class feats don't count. RPM gave Kytess 6 (human = +1, level4 = +2, 4th level Ftr Bonus = +3). So, when you spent 1, RPM reported "6 earned", "1 Assigned".

* Weapon Costs and weights: You may have been looking at the total, rather than the individual items??? Individual item details are obtained via the "Details" button under creature items.

* MasterWork items: This is the same method you used to make your chain-shirt a +1. You simply check "MasterWork" in the items "Set Item Effects" window. You can either do this when you first create the item (by checking "Add Magic/Effects"), or later, when viewing the item details window (by clicking on "Item Functions" and selecting "Magic Effects").

Issues that are still current on my version
* creating a mighty bow doesn't yet ask you for it's mighty bonus, or factor one it in the attack description. I'm completing the "full combat model" before certain things can be properly taken into account.
* Feats that effect a specific item, or item type (such as weapon focus or finesse), are also waiting on the full combat model.
* There is an issue where the "Level Up" skills can suddenly switch to all red ("super-cross-class"), which I'll quickly fix.
* Adding a magical enhancement bonus to armor doesn't yet flow through to AC (works for weapons).

Other issues
* Dodge now added to AC. Will work well, since it'll be a modifier that RPM will automatically ignore, when dodge doesn't apply.
* Statblock options. Will do (lower priority, or course). I have a list of options that I eventually want to raise with you on the "Standard Statblock".
* Will add "+" to positive modifiers.

Here's "my" Kytess:

Kytess, female Human [] Ftr4:
CR 4, Size M, HD 4D10+8, hp 31, Init 0, Spd 30, AC 22, Dodge 4, Attack 4, SV Fort 8, Ref 7, Will 1; AL N;
Str 17(3), Dex 18(4), Con 14(2), Int 12(1), Wis 7(-2), Cha 8(-1),

[Chain]:Melee Masterwork Chain (spiked) +8 (2d4+3); [Longsword]:; Melee Longsword +7 (1d8+3/crit 19-20); [Longbow]:; Ranged Longbow (Mighty Composite) +8 (1d8/crit x3);

Skills: Swim 6, Tumble 1.
Feats: Armor Proficiency (heavy), Armor Proficiency (light), Armor Proficiency (medium), Martial Weapon Proficiency, Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Finesse(Chain (spiked)), Weapon Focus(Chain (spiked)).

Class Features: Bonus Feats (Ftr), Weapon Specialization (Ftr).
Racial Abilities: Human Traits.

Possessions: Masterwork Chain (spiked) (Weapon, Melee/Pierce), Longbow (Mighty Composite) (Weapon, Ranged/Pierce), +1 Chain shirt (Armor, Worn), Longsword (Weapon, Melee/Slashing), Cloak of resistance (+2) (Wondrous).
Weight: 48, Equip Value: 2690, Gold: 0