sentry0

2 new screens for folks to digest... apologies for the terrible background I wrote

I like that idea, I'll use green for 5th and blue for 6th... do you think it would be a bit much to change all the buttons/inputs colors depending on the edition? I kind of like having a visual distinction like that... it's obvious which ruleset you're using.

What about this: hide 5th edition actions unless you turn on the "Use 5th edition rules?" flag in Settings? I kinda like that, it's consistent with how other parts of the app work when that flag is on.

I plan on always supporting whatever HD supports so there is no worries there.

Here's a preview of the apps new look and feel... the screenshot quality is OK, it's a little sharper and has a bit more contrast in person.

I don't know, I thought maybe it was something that krept in unintentionally, that's why I asked It's not a big deal either way, I'll read both formats.

That's actually how I grabbed them I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something that would get me in hot water down the road with the app.

Has there been a change recently in HD to start encoding files as UTF-16? It looks like some of my old files are being encoded as such when I save them. Bug or working as intended?

I have need to get my hands on the built in templates that HD uses to build characters in order to use them in my app. Would the official way to do that be to purchase the source code?

That's a good question, one that comes up indirectly often. Theoretically, you could write the XML document that HD creates by hand (or some other means) and the app would read it in just fine. The app will only care about a subset of the data that's available through a HD file, which means you could write a trimmed down version of the full file. That's still a daunting task... one fraught with error and frustration, I suspect. Given that Hero Designer... Exists Does what it's supposed to do Is actively maintained and supported Is the defacto, officially sanctioned tool to make a character ... it doesn't make a lot of sense to not use it as a basis for the app. People ask from time to time for the app to allow you to build and modify characters directly... to be clear, I have NO intention of going down that road given all the previously mentioned points regarding the state of Hero Designer.

I've been mulling over a major change to the app; I want to do away with the export template and read directly from the .hdc files HERODesigner uses. Far and away, the most common support question I get is from people trying to read from their .hdc file directly. My rationale for using a custom XML export template was originally to provide the app insulation from upstream XML changes Dan Simon may introduce... after having seen it in action for the last year and a bit, I don't think it's worth the trouble. This would be a breaking change once it goes live, so a major point increase makes sense Below is a collection of random thoughts going through my head right now. Please feel free to chime in with any comments and suggestions. Features I want to implement: Character portraits Opening multiple characters at once tablet support This doesn't mean writing separate UI for iPads/Tablets, this is only to scale the app properly Things possibly on the chopping block: The H.E.R.O. tool (remove or upgrade to 6th edition) People get confused and think the app is only for 5th edition because of this tool The "Library" docs They bloat the app size The overall look and feel of the app Anyone interested in helping is welcome Stuff for nerds: I'm contemplating open sourcing the code, any interest? The app is written using the React-Native framework (JavaScript based, non-negotiable) There's some messy corners that could need some love I am in bad need of unit tests, note to self...stop slacking Need to switch the storage system to use a proper DB in order to house all the data for images/characters Should probably look for a good image scaling lib for portraits Switching to reading a .hdc file directly would be a huge impact We would gain better granularity than we have now in terms of powers, skills, etc Would open up more possibilities for the app in the long run At any rate, I'm soliciting feedback, so have it.

It's built for phones and will run on tablets in compatibility mode. I have no plans of bringing it to desktops at this time.

That's weird, I just uninstalled and reinstalled fine. Is it possible you have some AV or other security in place that's preventing app installs?

I just released the 1.2.5 build, it's more of a foundational build as most of the work was about upgrading the core development frameworks, I did manage to sneak in a few goodies. Added the ability to make more than one to hit roll Numbers now animate on the result screen Minor UI tweaks The update should be hitting your devices in the next couple of days.

Sweet, thanks for the vote

The 1.0.4 version of the export template has support for custom characteristics; https://www.herogames.com/files/file/449-xml-export-template/

I'm not sure how it would handle custom attributes, my suspicion is that it'll be ignored. I'll double check and get back to you. I did some poking around this morning and it looks like the app itself would handle a custom characteristic properly but the issue is the export template itself. The export template has no concept of custom attributes so they won't end up in the characteristics section of the template. I'm not sure that there's a quick fix for this one but I'll see what I can do.

No kids here, anyone have any luck teaching their dogs to play?

Sounds like a classic case of Extra Dimensional Movement.

+1 for HERO in 2 pages...there's also this - https://www.herogames.com/files/file/367-fantasy-hero-primer/ - it's written specifically for fantasy but there's lots of good stuff in general for the HERO System within.

It does support 5th or 6th edition rules out of the box. I believe it defaults to 6th but can be switched to 5th in the settings area of the app. The note regarding 6th edition is for the H.E.R.O tool only. It was created for 5th edition only. Everything else should flip between editions when you toggle that setting.

Ohhhh, ok. I missed that point

Here's one: have players buy a talent that ranks up their Arcana. No futzing around with character sheet stat blocks and it simulates the fact that not everyone has the gift of magic well enough.

I think we all know that gymnasts are in fact all good at fighting. My source: