Using Filemaker Pro for Hero gaming

[Nato]

Hi everyone. I remember a few people on these boards saying they used Filemaker for assisting with their Hero Games. I'm interested in finding out more about how they use it. I just started learning Filemaker at work and would like to figure out how to use it for gaming. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

[Aroooo]

I'm your guy I've been developing with FM for years. I've done several things in FM for my Hero games. There's my general dice roller app (which is on my web site) plus I've got a combat chart system. I'm still tweeking that one, so its not up yet. I also did a char gen app, but shelved further dev on that since HD2 went Mac

One of the cool things about FM is its cross platform ability, coupled with the fact that the Dev version can make stand alone run times makes it very versitile.

Feel free to ask me anything FM on or off list.

Aroooo

[Steve Long]

OK, time to expand my knowledge base. What is Filemaker Pro? Is it a database program, a spreadsheet, a robot nanny?

[Aroooo]

The short version: Filemaker is a relational database app for Mac and PC. Some of its strengths are its ease of development (building databases and interfaces is very easy) and cross platform ability. One of its current weaknesses (sp?) is its ability to handle vast amounts of data (aka data warehousing). While it has hooks for being used as a web site back end, its not as standard as php or jsp. It has limited web capabilities in and of itself, but requires Lasso (a 3rd party app) for real web site integration.

Theres more, but you probably don't want to get me started

Aroooo

[Steve Long]

That tells me what I need to know.

At some point I'm going to have the time to write The Ultimate Weapon and The Ultimate Armor, both of which I'm going to need a database program for -- to track all the data I gather, keep a list of cites and art references, blah blah blah. Since I have no experiences with such programs, I ask questions when I hear about one.

[Aroooo]

If you want any (pro-bono) help, please let me know. I'd be glad to help.

Aroooo

[Steve Long]

I'll keep that in mind; thanx much! At this point, though, the whole project is a long ways away; I just like to keep my eyes open for things I might be able to use one day. Hence the size of my library, among other things.

[keithcurtis]

Originally posted by Nato
Hi everyone. I remember a few people on these boards saying they used Filemaker for assisting with their Hero Games. I'm interested in finding out more about how they use it. I just started learning Filemaker at work and would like to figure out how to use it for gaming. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

As you know by now (via e-mail), I have an extensive Filemaker Hero DB. More technically, it is a set of related databases that:
1. Create, calculate and print character sheets
2. Keep track of all PCs and NPCs for multiple campaigns
3. Run all aspects of combat including phase tracking, hit and damage resolution, maneuvers, weapons, armor, skill levels, range, automatic two-button combat (click attacker and defender and voila), as well as writes a log of the whole combat.
4. Makes characteristic rolls.
5. Maintains a list of common weapon, armor, and maneuver combinations for each character.
6. Tracks agents
7. Searches on various criteria: Race, Age, Campaign, Group, etc.
8. Tracks events within a campaign in calendar form.
9. Figures a wide variety of combat damage and power resolution including normal and killing attacks, NND, autofire, Mental powers, Presence attacks and so forth.
10. And much much more.

It's something I have been building more or less organically (read: inefficiently) for many years.

Keith "Mad Chaotic Programmer" Curtis

[Derek Hiemforth]

I actually taught myself FileMaker Pro by using it to create a character record sheet for the HERO System. In fact, the "Hero Fifth 3-Column" character sheet PDF that I created (available in the Free Stuff section) is actually just a print-to-pdf of a blank record from that database. I haven't done anything with that in years (because the chargen apps like Hero Designer are so much more powerful), some of the folks in my gaming group actually still use it to input their character in.

[Nato]

You guys roxor with the Filemaker stuff. I'm going to start learning more of it my self. Thanks for the input

[DoctorItron]

Originally posted by Steve Long
That tells me what I need to know.

At some point I'm going to have the time to write The Ultimate Weapon and The Ultimate Armor, both of which I'm going to need a database program for -- to track all the data I gather, keep a list of cites and art references, blah blah blah. Since I have no experiences with such programs, I ask questions when I hear about one.

Yikes! Does that mean you currently rely on word processing and paper for all the research notes that you make as you work on each book? Learn a database, man, any database