State of Hero Designer (From the POV of a New-ish HERO Buyer)

[Simon]

Keys to successful troubleshooting:

1. Do NOT post a troubleshooting request in an existing thread that has little to nothing to do with your problem

2. DO provide details about the problem you are running into, specifically regarding error messages, changes to your system (yes, there have been some, and one of them is what caused the problem), and what (specifically) you have done to try and troubleshoot the issue on your own. The devil's in the details.


Without those two basics being followed, you're unlikely to get much help beyond the very basic of "ensure you have Java 6 (or better) properly installed and running on your system"

[AlHazred]

I've used paid versions of character building programs for three other major game systems (D&D 4th edition Character Builder, Pathfinder via Hero Lab, and GURPS Character Assistant), and I have to say that HD is far and away the best value for the money, bar none. The first two I mentioned will easily run you into the hundred-dollar range as D&D requires a $25 quarterly subscription and Pathfinder charges for each supplement expansion pack; granted Hero charges for expansion packs as well, but they only contain pre-built constructs, not actual rules changes, whereas Hero Lab puts rules changes in the packs. GURPS Character Assistant offers the closest value-for-money equivalent to HD, but doesn't have an equivalent to the Vault (as far as I know) and suffers slightly in a customizability comparison.

Easily one of the best investments I've ever made in my RPG habit.

[tiger]

I know it makes converting 5th edition characters to 6th a snap

[ned-kogar]

... the purpose of HD, which is the implement the HERO System rules. It does that quite well.

As a user of Hero Desinger for, well, about 9 years, I'd say it does that EXCEPTIONALLY well.

So: Thanks, Simon.

Cheers,

Ned

[rjcurrie]

I know it makes converting 5th edition characters to 6th a snap

As noted in the Hero Desginer manual, simply applying a 6e character template to a 5e character is not recommended as it may have unexpected results. It is recommended that you start all 6e characters from scratch.