Elemental Control Active Cost Suggestion

[nyakki]

I just got Hero Designer and I have a suggestion. Sorry if this has been brought up before but I couldn't find it in the search.

When I go to set up my EC, it asks for the Base Cost. Right below that it says the Active Points (which is initially the same as the Base Cost) BUT when I click OK... the Base Cost becomes the Real Points, the Active Points are, in essence, doubled.

Example: I want a 50 Active Point EC. So I type in 50 in the Base Cost (which reads 50 Active Points below). When I click OK, I get a line that reads

50 Elemental Control, 100-point powers

I understand what the Base Cost refers to (after the initial shock wore off)... but, unlike other parts of the program where you put in the number of dice for an attack or the number of inches for movement, EC's seem to want you to figure out how much they are going to 'COST'... not how much they are 'WORTH'.

How hard would it be so that the Active Points displays what the Active Points are before OK is pressed?

nyakki

[Simon]

It wouldn't be terribly hard, but it would be an equal shock to all of the existing users of the software who are used to the way that things are done. Which is why it won't be changed.

It's basically the same thing whichever way you go....there aren't really advantages or disadvantages to either. When the app was originally developed, the decision was made to go with the the "base cost" representing the cost of the EC itself. This is in keeping with the way other areas of the app function. You're defining what the EC is. It is a 50-point EC -- which allows 100 point Powers. The same way you define a 12d6 EB. Yes, it would be equally as clear to say that you want an EC that allows 100 point Powers and then "back calculate" the cost of the EC from there, but it's just not the way that things were decided in designing the app.

If you want the piece of information that finally decided me on the way things are implemented, it's that an EC cannot have an "odd value". You can't design an EC to hold 75 point Powers, for example.....you would design an EC to hold 74 point Powers (costing 37 points) and put 75 point Powers into it. This bit made it seem much clearer (to me) to have the user specify the cost of the EC and then double it to determine the cost of each Power that goes into it.

Hopefully this makes some sense....