Hero Designer - version 2 Feature/Request List

[Simon]

OK...first off, let me preface this by saying that v2 is not going to be coming up in the immediate future. I'm looking for a December, '03 release (hopefully).

Also, anything that I list as a proposed feature should be considered tentative. Nothing will be "written in stone" until I actually code it into place.

That said, here is a taste of some of the features that I am planning on for v2:
<ol>
<li>Character Repository (online): This will be a searchable database of characters that folks can browse through HD. There will be a large range of search criteria....upon searching and selecting results, users will be able to view the characters and decide whether to save them to their system or not. Users will also be able to upload characters to the repository. HD will automatically take care of most/all of the searchable parameters during the upload.</li>
<li>Abilities Repository (online): This will be a searchable database of abilities (powers, skills, etc). Users will be able to upload or search the database, specifying a number of search criteria and viewing/selecting from the results list. This will act much like the "mother of all prefab tabs".</li>
<li>Images Repository (online): Much like the characters and abilities databases, this will contain images for characters. Artists will be able to include full contact information with their uploads, effectively using the database as an online portfolio. Users will be able to (hopefully) find the perfect image for their character.</li>
<li>Template "hierarchy": The ability for a template to specify a "parent" and then only state the items that it is going to change, add, or remove from the "parent". This will greatly increase performance when switching templates as well as make template edits much easier.</li>
<li>Martial Arts: Full revision of the treatment of Martial Arts maneuvers....bringing things fully inline with UMA and allowing for Modifiers, custom maneuver building, etc.</li>
<li>Versioning of characters and abilities: The ability to specify a version for a character. All prior versions will be part of the character file. When viewing a character, you will be able to flip between versions, seeing what has come before. Additionally, when viewing a particular Power or ability, you'll be able to flip between versions of that particular ability to see the changes that it has gone through.</li>
<li>Combat Record exports. These will be almost identical in nature to the current exports except that you will be able to specify multiple character files to export. They will also, of course, have some additional tags/containers to account for the multiple characters</li>
<li>Support for alternate graphics formats (i.e. not just JPG). This will depend largely on legal issues, though I suspect they may be more my own paranoia than anything else </li>
<li>The proverbial "much, much more"</li>
</ol>

Just as a general rule, I will be working to streamline the app as much as possible. Two areas I want to concentrate on in this process: the loading of templates (the modularized templates will be a huge help) and the structuring of the lists of purchased items (large characters tend to get bogged down working the list ordering).

So...those are some of my current plans. Feel free to post suggestions or requests to this thread....I will respond as best I can.

Once again, please take all of this with a large grain of salt....until I actually code the functionality in, nothing is final.

[TechnoViking]

You covered about every thing I wanted to see in v2.

A couple things I can think of;
1. Alot of people have requested conversions of movement from inches/phase to MPH.

2. You may want to look at the free PDF libraries on the web, and have HD2 be able to Export to Template or basic print to PDF. This would especially help out non-Window users.

3. Lockable characters. Have hdc files that can be given to people or downloaded online that can be view/printed but not editted. Will help people who want to share their creations with people but protect their IP.

4. Easier update, Have a Update Program menu selection in v2 that will automatically download updates and install'em and restart the program.

5. Genre rule sets. Be able to switch to the specific rules used in the different genres. Star Hero has slightly different rules (System Operations for example), and I bet Fantasy Hero will have new rules also. Have this rules avilible, and be able to switch to them.

Mike

[Simon]

Originally posted by Mike Basinger
You covered about every thing I wanted to see in v2.

A couple things I can think of;
1. Alot of people have requested conversions of movement from inches/phase to MPH.

2. You may want to look at the free PDF libraries on the web, and have HD2 be able to Export to Template or basic print to PDF. This would especially help out non-Window users.

3. Lockable characters. Have hdc files that can be given to people or downloaded online that can be view/printed but not editted. Will help people who want to share their creations with people but protect their IP.

4. Easier update, Have a Update Program menu selection in v2 that will automatically download updates and install'em and restart the program.

5. Genre rule sets. Be able to switch to the specific rules used in the different genres. Star Hero has slightly different rules (System Operations for example), and I bet Fantasy Hero will have new rules also. Have this rules avilible, and be able to switch to them.

Mike

1. Certainly possible....though I still need to think of a clean way to handle the fact that a character can have a primary and a secondary value for their movement as well as a primary and secondary value for their speed. Having four values for the MPH is not terribly appealing.....

2. Probably won't happen. I have no interest in hard coding a print function into HD. I am extremely happy with the way the export process has worked out thus far and will be concentrating on enhancing and expanding that rather than working on a hard-coded print function that few would use. As for non-windows users, most of the current export formats work just fine on pretty much any OS on the market.

3. While an idea I had considered, it's not really feasible. The format used for character files is designed to be "open". It's just not really workable/possible to effectivley lock it.

4. This is something that I'm considering, but it's not the easiest. The isssue is actually a Windows issue....Windows "locks" the file "update.jar" while Java is running, since the JVM references it. It can't be overwritten until Java is shutdown. In the early alpha/beta days I had an auto-update procedure in place....sort of a bootstrap launcher that checked for updates and installed them....but many folks had issues with this, so it was dropped. I think that making the update process any simpler will actually cause more problems. Most likely more than it's worth.

5) That will simply be a function of the "hierarchical" templates. It will be very easy to create templates which modify the rules contained in a "base level" template.

[Herolover]

First, let me see how impressed I am with the current HD. The fact that I cannot keep up with the updates says a great deal about the amount that you are supporting your creation. I was skeptical at first when I heard about HD, but you have completely made me into a fan boy. That said....

(NOTE: Some of these items may already be mentioned, planned, or insanely obvious.)

1) A complete set of updated export templates. Including one that mirrors the WG and one that mirrors the character sheets presented in official Herogame books. (Preferably both in rtf fomrat.)

2) A way to have a "combat record sheet" listing several characters main abilities. Ideally this would be printed by selecting the HD files of the characters and having the sheet print automatically.

3) The ability to list MPH or Kmph by movement speeds would be GREATLY appreciated.

4) A place for AGE to be listed.

5) More skins...(obviously not very important).

6) When a limitation or advantage is selected please keep the limitation or advantage window open.

7) Instead of having custom (skill, power, disad, whatever) in the selectable list in alphabetical order put it at the top or bottom of each list thereby making it easier for people to find.

8) A way to put notes directly into the character through HD

9) A way to put a seperator line inside a list or power framework.

10) Updated Documentation

When I think of more I will post more.

[Simon]

Originally posted by Herolover
First, let me see how impressed I am with the current HD. The fact that I cannot keep up with the updates says a great deal about the amount that you are supporting your creation. I was skeptical at first when I heard about HD, but you have completely made me into a fan boy. That said....

(NOTE: Some of these items may already be mentioned, planned, or insanely obvious.)

1) A complete set of updated export templates. Including one that mirrors the WG and one that mirrors the character sheets presented in official Herogame books. (Preferably both in rtf fomrat.)

2) A way to have a "combat record sheet" listing several characters main abilities. Ideally this would be printed by selecting the HD files of the characters and having the sheet print automatically.

3) The ability to list MPH or Kmph by movement speeds would be GREATLY appreciated.

4) A place for AGE to be listed.

5) More skins...(obviously not very important).

6) When a limitation or advantage is selected please keep the limitation or advantage window open.

7) Instead of having custom (skill, power, disad, whatever) in the selectable list in alphabetical order put it at the top or bottom of each list thereby making it easier for people to find.

8) A way to put notes directly into the character through HD

9) A way to put a seperator line inside a list or power framework.

10) Updated Documentation

When I think of more I will post more.

1) While I likely won't create any new export templates, I will likely be cleaning up the export tag list and creating new functionality for folks to take advantage of.

2) Already planned. See above.

3) Already mentioned. The main issue here is that the MPH is dependent on both the Movement ability and (obviously) the SPD. SInce both of these can have primary and secondary values, it makes the display of MPH pretty unworkable, as you have up to 4 values to deal with.

4) Depending on what you're talking about, you've already got it. If you mean the Age Disadvantage, it's already present on the Characteristics tab (you can edit the Age selection to indicate the actual age). If you're talking about straight description, you have plenty of fields on the background tab to list the age.

5) Not high on my priority list, but it is something that I'm intending to work on.

6) I'm going to be doing a fair bit of work on the Modifiers and how they are selected. I think folks will be happy with the results, but I don't want to say much more until I do a bit of work to see how much is feasible.

7) Doubtful that this will change.

8) I'm really not sure what you're talking about here....You can add notes to any ability on the character....you have up to 6 customizable fields on the background tab....I don't think that anything else is necessary here....

9) Another strong possibility, but I need to see how much is going to be involved in implementing this and determine if it's worth the effort...

10) That's a given.

[Barton]

Dsimon: THANKS for the thread and the ability to influence the next version!

PS about the automatic updating... would Installshield work for the HD program?
Personally I think an auotmated update feature is a low priority.

[Simon]

Originally posted by Barton
Dsimon: THANKS for the thread and the ability to influence the next version!

PS about the automatic updating... would Installshield work for the HD program?
Personally I think an auotmated update feature is a low priority.

I agree that it's a reasonably low priority. I'm going to be looking into different options for the installer/launcher that HD uses. I'm currently using InstallAnywhere, a good app, but you need to pay a decent chunk of money for the version which will handle auto-updates.

I'll be checking on other apps like InstallShield to see if they provide any better functionality.

[tiger]

The only thing I can think of I mentioned before. That would be the ability to add new Skill/Powers/Disads. ect. into the program and have them permanently option and not something that would have to be done from character to character.

Other than that I'm quite happy with the program and especially the support given for it.

[Starwolf]

On the combat sheet, It would be of immense value if the export autosorted tha characters by SPD & DEX. Maybe with an override so the User/GM could manually change the order (sort of a move up/down button).

BTW, I am vewy impressed with DH up to now, keep up the good work!!

[Simon]

Originally posted by tiger
The only thing I can think of I mentioned before. That would be the ability to add new Skill/Powers/Disads. ect. into the program and have them permanently option and not something that would have to be done from character to character.

Other than that I'm quite happy with the program and especially the support given for it.

That is a planned feature.....you will be able to specify an arbitrary number of new abilities (Powers, Skills, etc) in the template. Combined with the new template structure, this should make life pretty easy for you

[Simon]

Originally posted by Starwolf
On the combat sheet, It would be of immense value if the export autosorted tha characters by SPD & DEX. Maybe with an override so the User/GM could manually change the order (sort of a move up/down button).

BTW, I am vewy impressed with DH up to now, keep up the good work!!

I'm planning on having a new screen for putting together a combat record. The user will set the order of the characters on that screen. There will be several "auto-sorts" available to automatically order the list by such parameters as character name, SPD, DEX, etc.

[Starwolf]

You rock, I guess it's time to start a V2 piggy bank so I'll be prepared to purchase when it comes out (maybe in time for Christmas )

Hmmm....having never seen Santa Claus, I guess he could be Dan in disguise....

[Immortaldreamer]

Okay, let's start with the obligatory intro...used Hero Designer since it was first released. Used MetaCreator/Creation Workshop prior to that, so I'm a convert to the Great Guru that is Dan. So, none of this is complaining, because I'm really happy with my HD. But, since he asked, a couple things that I really, REALLY wish I could have in my "Ultimate Hero Designer":

1: The ability to put Skill Enhancer "lists" where -I- want them, not where Hero Designer thinks they ought to go (the end of the list). First off, I can't put a separator between them, because of that, for readability issues. Secondly, when I have a specialist character, as I often do (a character who has 90% or so of their skills in Sciences, or Knowledge, or whatever), I'd like that list to be FIRST. As it sits now, it's a decent amount of work in "post production" on the HTML sheets to move everything.

2: The ability to do nested lists. One of the only things that I don't like about Hero Designer is that I -can't- do something that I could in Metacreator...nested lists. I -like- the ability to create something that looks like this:

Telekinetic Abilities:
insert telekinesis Multipower here

insert telekinesis EC here

Telepathic Abilities
insert telepathic Multipower here

Insert telepathic EC here

And so on. As it sits, right now I have to make everything a separate list, which is just irksome for formatting, and occasionally leads to having to apply modifiers to both, rather than to the "master list" and having it apply to everything. Just a pet peeve.

3: A little -less- of the "rules checking", at least until Hero Games follows their own rules. There's been a number of times where I -CAN'T- build a power or skill setup the way it's been done in an official Hero Games product, because Hero has broken their own rules, and done something like applied a modifier to a 2 pt. CSL, or something similar. With the realization that a specific GM might choose to change a given rule as well, I'd rather see things give -warnings-, of the "are you sure you want to do this? It's against the rules" stripe, rather than stonewall me. Ran across the same thing the other day trying to add "Inherent" to several abilities...it simply -wasn't available- in the advantages list, so I had to put it in by a Custom Modifier.

4: Support for the Optional Language system, without my having to go through tons of Custom Modifiers. I would worship at the shrine of Dan forever if it did this -for- me.

5: Improved support for Everyman abilities. Having to add a -4 Custom Adder to a language to support Native Language, or a -2 to a Professional Skill so it can be 11- like it is in the rulebook and still be free, is just a pain, especially when I can look at Martial Arts, Weapon Elements, and see the "Default Element" in there for free...it would be the same idea...a 0 cost 4 pt. Language, and a 0 cost 11- Professional skill.

6: The ability to "group" files for easy administration. So that, for example, let's say I have BrickMan, MentalMaid, SpeedsterDude and MagicGal as 4 characters. These belong to the players of a Sunday night tabletop. It would be COOL to be able to define those somehow as "Sunday Night Group", and be able to do things like print them all simultaneously, or even better, add exp to all of them simultaneously, or add a trait to all of them. (Like adding a new Contact that I've given them to all 4).

Anyhow, I understand NOTHING about Java coding. So that list might be totally impossible, utterly simple, or anywhere in between. Or just contrary to Dan's design plans. But hey, he asked for a wish list. So there it is.

[Starhawk]

Something so you could "copy" a series of power modifiers and apply it to each power without having to go though the whole process of selecting each modifier..for example, If a large chunk of my powers come through an OIF, act 14< won't work in an intense magnetic field, it would be nice to be able to apply those limitations to a bunch of powers with a single click.

..or not..

[Killer Shrike]

Hey Dan, thanx for the open line.

Here are the things I want to see in a new version of HD, or at least the ones I can think off currently:

1) Customizable Power List.

2) Increased performance; even just a 5% increase would be welcome. I know the overhead in parsing XML intimately, but I notice that the app seems to have a lot of trouble keeping up with the powers list specifically, particularly when bubble sorting items up and down the list.

3) Right Click dropdowns. Im a rightclik-a-holic and I really miss that functionality.

4) A way to add a power to a compound power and a way to get a power out of a compound power.

5) A customizable list of drop down options, or better yet an option to have HD append anything typed into the various combo drop down boxes into a custom file by object type so that the drop downs build themselves.


6) A SFX line for all powers, also on a combo drop down.

7) A 'Package Deals' tab where a complete package can be entered all in one place rather than broken across 2 or more screens.

8) For characters with VPPs, an extra Powers tab for each VPP (or maybe a combined one and the lists could be employed to differentiate) allowing the tracking of a list of possible powers for that VPP; optimally this list would be treated as a virtual prefab list or a pallette for the VPP, allowing the VPP to be reassigned quickly. Also an Export tag to get at those powers in a Printout if desired.

9) A 'Set cost to 0' option for Powers, similar to the Everyman skill option on skills. This can be useful when stating out equipement in campaigns where that equipment does not need to be paid for in CP.

10) A "Standard Effect Rule" option for all applicable powers, with a conditional option to add non-Standard Effect dice of effect if desired as per FREd.

11) I saw that you stated the Martial Arts are getting an overhaul, but I would just like to add my voice to the clamor for Custom Martial Arts building, and calculating Strength into the damage.

12) The same thing applies to the powers HKA and HA; If the app could calc any advantages and apply the users choice of Primary/Secondary/None for Strength that would be tres cool.

13) I think the general power modifiers list in HD works very well in general (Im very impressed with some of the drill down chains and its intelligence in suppressing invalid modifiers), but I would really like to see improvement on the default lists of Power Modifiers for various Powers; frex, currently, 'Does Body' shows up as a default option for an EB, even before NND or AVLD is applied. Maybe give Steve an output for the default modifer list for each power and let him indicate which are valid for a given power, which arent, and which would do better consigned to the general list or are conditional for v2.

14) Improvements in the way Followers, Vehicles and Bases are handled; ideally a way to point to the file or files for those entities, and have the costs automatically roll up.

15) Character versioning (I see you already intend to look into this)

16) Some general non-character specific simple tools on the main file bar. The tools I can think of off hand:

a) A MPH/KPH calculator -- let the user enter in the numbers themselves so you dont have to bother with the multiplicity issue, then copy & paste the results into a note field if they so desire.

b) Damage Calculator -- Select from a drop down any 'attack' power from the active character and have it calculate the Min, Max, and Average damage for that attack.

c) Pre-rolling tool -- the applet would take the Active character, and output a series of X damage rolls for each of that characters Attack Powers (including strikes and non-velocity based Martial Manuevers with the Damage and Exert bases)

d) Character Validator -- Select a Template, enter in AP limits, DC limits, OCV\DCV limits, or DEF Limits if desired (blank for no limit), and the app will validate the active character. The validator would idicate if the character satisfied the Template and each of the specified limits.




The online Repository would be HUGE! Its something I wanted to see with v1, back when HD was just a topic of discussion rather than an actual product in fact. I will do the dance of joy if you can pull that off in v2.

Im really excited by this actually...December is looking like a good month; Return of the King, HD v2, and, oh yeah, that Christmas thing.....