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Opening a jar file


quozaxx

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I have a chrome book laptop.   I downloaded hero designer.  I open it and see the jar file.

 

I open the gear icon.   I choose advanced.   No Javascript option to enable.   

 

Advice please. 

 

And would it kill you to make hero designer to work on your phone too?

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You would need to be able to run Java (which is different than Javascript). From what I can find on the web, you can't directly run it in the Chrome OS, but it's possible to install Linux in a container and then run Java (which is probably a bit advanced for most users).

 

https://support.google.com/chromebook/thread/11943362/how-do-i-download-java-and-other-apps-to-my-chromebook-and-open-and-run-the-application-to-install?hl=en

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As for creating a mobile version, yes, it would likely kill either myself or the app.  You're talking about splintering the codebase, creating a completely different interface, maintaining and updating multiple codebases (at a minimum one each for android and iOS...in addition to the current desktop/Java version), and all for the "remarkable" benefit of a handful of people that would purchase the app on a phone instead of desktop...meaning the mobile app would be priced ludicrously high in order to attempt to balance that particular budget.

 

So, no...it's not going to happen.

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2 hours ago, dmjalund said:

the problem with that strategy is that more and more people are using mobiles and /or tablets as their primary computing source

 

There are not, however, more and more people playing Hero System.

 

I think it's sometimes easy for us to forget just how small of a niche within a niche we actually are.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there was no point at which developing a mobile version of Hero Designer became economically viable, even if every active user of the desktop app also bought a mobile app version.

 

I mean, I wish it were otherwise; I love the Hero System.  Just trying to keep it real.  :) 

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15 hours ago, quozaxx said:

I have a chrome book laptop.   I downloaded hero designer.  I open it and see the jar file.

 

I open the gear icon.   I choose advanced.   No Javascript option to enable.   

 

Advice please. 

 

And would it kill you to make hero designer to work on your phone too?

 

I wrote this guide on how to install HD on a Chromebook - https://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/99188-howto-run-hero-designer-on-a-chromebook/

 

 

DM me if you need a hand.

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Here's an easy way to put the whole "HD needs a mobile version" crap to bed:

 

I'll do the whole conversion (branching/splintering of the codebase).  There are some tools out there that may make that at least partially automated (converting Java code over to the platform-dependent code for Android or iOS), but they don't work at all on the GUI elements (nor could they, conceptually) -- that will have to be entirely re-done...and that's very non-trivial.   I'd ballpark it at roughly $50-100k for the effort.   Just a ballpark figure so you know what we're talking about....if you want to go through with the proposal below, I'll dig into things and get a LOT more specific.

 

So...you pony up the cash, and I'll do the work.  Call it 50% upfront, with the remainder due upon project completion.  For that, you get a mobile version of HD...and I'll cut you in on 25% of my take for all mobile sales.  I'm not really willing to go higher than that, as mobile sales will directly impact desktop sales.

 

Let me know if you'd like me to put together a full proposal on that.  Until then, as I said above, it's not going to happen.

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An alternate approach would be to make HD web-accessible (that would allow desktop and mobile clients to use the same app).  Similar effort to above (actually likely to be a bit larger of an effort, but not by a massive amount)...but with the added cost of requiring the setup, maintenance and on-going hosting fees for a moderately custom server.  I personally like this approach a lot more, but the ongoing charges to maintain a server (renting rackspace at an ISP, etc.) creates an on-going financial burden for the company, which I don't think will fly in the current market.  And that's in addition to the need for someone (likely me) to maintain said server, the code, and ensure uptime.  

 

Long story short (too late): your take under this approach would need to be reduced in order to ensure that I'm reimbursed for my added time and on-going commitment.

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On 5/11/2021 at 8:40 PM, dmjalund said:

the problem with that strategy is that more and more people are using mobiles and /or tablets as their primary computing source

There are somethings that just work better on a PC (Windows, Mac, Linux) vs. a mobile device.  Hero Designer is one of the things that just would not work well on a tablet (let alone on a phone).

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An "accessible offline site" -- you mean your hard drive?

 

If you're talking about an online site that HD can access, you're adding in all the cost of a custom server (permissions management of files, etc.) with none of the benefit of having HD work on any platforms that it doesn't already work on.

 

As for "just have the characters be PDF" I'm not really even sure what you mean by this -- character exports to PDF are all well and good, but not really suited to an online environment (which would be best-served by HTML exports)....and exports are not editable/readable by HD.

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On 5/12/2021 at 9:07 AM, Simon said:

I'll do the whole conversion (branching/splintering of the codebase).  There are some tools out there that may make that at least partially automated (converting Java code over to the platform-dependent code for Android or iOS), but they don't work at all on the GUI elements (nor could they, conceptually) -- that will have to be entirely re-done...and that's very non-trivial.   I'd ballpark it at roughly $50-100k for the effort.   Just a ballpark figure so you know what we're talking about....if you want to go through with the proposal below, I'll dig into things and get a LOT more specific.

 

So...you pony up the cash, and I'll do the work.  Call it 50% upfront, with the remainder due upon project completion.  For that, you get a mobile version of HD...and I'll cut you in on 25% of my take for all mobile sales.  I'm not really willing to go higher than that, as mobile sales will directly impact desktop sales.

 

Let me know if you'd like me to put together a full proposal on that.  Until then, as I said above, it's not going to happen.

 

My guess?  You're lowballing it.  A LOT.  But I'm anticipating that you can't simply port the Java code as is;  and it's dollars to donuts that it would be *better* to restructure the code base in the first place.  If you have to do that, then you're talking MUCH more time and effort.

 

Generally?  HD on a phone???  HECK NO!!!  Not even on my iPad.  Dropdowns and buttons are a ROYAL PITA on small screens.  Minimal real estate...I doubt I'd like trying to use HD on a 15" laptop, much less a 10" iPad screen, and a 6" uber-narrow phone screen???  Just take a look at...oh, let's say the 6E Life Support dialog.  2 text fields, 6 list boxes, 13 check boxes, 2 spinners, 7 tool tips.  On a small screen?  UGH.  And while there might be other ways to lay these out, the presentation isn't bad.  

 

Heck, even trying to review an HTML or PDF character sheet on a phone would be hellish.

 

 

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It will work, yes, but I can't stand the extremely limited views due to the laptop's lack of height.  Doesn't help that my eyes are not so great and I use larger fonts out of necessity.  

 

Plus, that's still a 14" screen, albeit (I assume) 16:9.  A tablet screen is gonna be, what, about 2/3 the size;  we won't even talk about a phone screen.  They're far too small.  And a laptop offers the potential to use a mouse...I loathe touchpads for most controls, they're far too awkward, yet they'll STILL be a heckuva lot better than trying to use teeeeeeny tiny touchscreen controls on a mobile device.

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