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Message: <blockquote data-quote="3catcircus" data-source="post: 1735490" data-attributes="member: 16077">Ok - I combined my response to both of your comments.First - perception is reality.  If I had the perception of the situation that PCGen and CMP are in, then I bet a lot of other (former) users of the software have a similar perception.It is easy to say "we made them from scratch" - however - how much of that "from scratch" was cut-n-paste and how much was fat-finger all over again?  That is the question that I think people have in regards to "we did it from scratch" because it makes them think they aren't getting value for their money when deciding whether to purchase a dataset.While "dozens" may be an embellishment, the fact is that the data *was* entered and was workable up through 2.73 (bugs within PCGen itself notwithstanding).  Luckily, I installed 3.0 in a separate directory and saw that the data files were removed from 3.0+.  CMP trying to recapture the data, while a great idea, is too little too late (at least for me) to keep me loyal - I've glanced at PCGen up through the current rev, but I think it rather arrogant on the part of CMP and the PCGen developers to give people (or at least me) the impression "All that data you had already?  Well, now it won't work properly unless you make major changes, by hand, to the .lst files.  We've got this new version of PCGen - its better than ever, oh, and, CMP will *sell* you data sets for the latest rev, but they aren't ready for sale, and when they *do* sell them, they might not be complete."  I wouldn't expect to get stuff for free, but full backwards-compatibility for pre-CMP datasets should have been maintained.  Sorry - but PCGen is dead to me.Frankly, I hate to say it, but there are a few really great Excel-based character generators that put PCGen to shame.  While there is no one Excel-based generator that does everything, what they do - they do extremely well.  Accurate math, lots of data (currently up through Player's Guide to Faerun and Races of Stone), nice looking output, etc.  The only problem will be the Excel "Open Files" limit issue.  As far as expandability - if I ever got off my butt and inspected the formulae in the spreadsheets (along with judicious use of email with the author(s)), I'm certain that it would be much easier to implement new data than trying to build a .lst file or modify existing .lst files.Now - as far as RPG Toolkit:  If it does the following, I'd consider taking a look at purchasing it --1.  Accurate Math2.  *FULL* and *COMPLETE* implementation of every single WoTC and/orPaizo-published D&D product, including that contained in Dragon Magazine and also published on the Website.3.  Ease of use if I want to create new data.4.  Quality output - I want a character sheet that lists every possible variation of the stats that may be affected by character build choices (feats, 1-handed vs. 2-handed, etc.) and that lists good information on spells for spellcasters.  As an example for the spell sheets, Steve's Spell Sheets are, AFAIAC, the gold standard.5.  Thorough beta testing - I won't pay to be your beta-tester.As far as other capabilities - I couldn't care less about mapping or running campaigns or combats - there are other programs that do that better than PCGen or E-Tools does, and presumable that RPG Toolkit would be able to do.  Stick to PC/NPC generation.</blockquote>

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