The Campaign Builder's Guild

The Archives => Campaign Elements and Design (Archived) => Topic started by: SowelBlack on August 18, 2008, 12:22:29 PM

Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: SowelBlack on August 18, 2008, 12:22:29 PM
Hi all,

I got pointed here by ninja d's signature in another forum and I thought many of you might be interested in my latest project: a coat of arms creator.

For players, if you've got a knight-type of character (or even some others where the character has a government commission or something like that) you may like to create a coat of arms.

But more importantly (particularly this forum), for campaigns you may want to create the coat of arms for your governments or other organizations.

The website also has a bit of a primer on heraldry, including what many of the creatures and symbols usually mean so you can use that as a guide for what to include on a coat of arms.

Take a look at the examples (link below, but 2 are also posted in this message) to see what's possible, then open the instructions in one tab/window and then open the software designer in another web browser window.

Main Page: http://www.inkwellideas.com/heraldry/
Examples: http://www.inkwellideas.com/heraldry/index.php?title=Examples
Instructions: http://www.inkwellideas.com/heraldry/index.php?title=Instructions
Design Software: http://www.inkwellideas.com/heraldry/index.php?title=Design_Software

Please send me feedback (links on the website) or post constructive criticism or positive reviews here.  Thanks! I'll be adding more options (creatures and symbols, ordinaries, etc.) as well as more features every week or so.
(//../../e107_files/public/1219076469_801_FT0_sample3.png)
(//../../e107_files/public/1219076469_801_FT0_sample2.png)
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: JackOfTales on August 18, 2008, 12:42:36 PM
This is awesome and definitely useful for those of us with no artistic talent at all.
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Ninja D! on August 18, 2008, 01:23:58 PM
Hey, someone actually looks at that thing!

When I start doing more work on the organizations and families of my setting, I will probably spend a fair amount of time there.

EDIT : Also, I should let you know that all the links in your sig point to this thread.
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: SowelBlack on August 18, 2008, 01:42:31 PM
Thanks again Ninja... I updated my sig.
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Steel General on August 18, 2008, 02:20:26 PM
That's very cool, will definitely check it out more closely when I have more time.
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Ra-Tiel on August 18, 2008, 04:31:51 PM
That's very nice. :D Thanks for sharing! :)
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Seraph on August 19, 2008, 12:28:21 PM
I will say that is very naice[/frenchaccent]
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Nomadic on August 19, 2008, 03:03:01 PM
Very nice, though I will say that there is no need to create your own heraldic badge when you can use the best one on earth.

(http://www.morrisonville.net/photogallery/Morrison_Badge-Dun%20Eistein.gif)

:P
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: SowelBlack on September 05, 2008, 03:01:19 PM
I've made a bunch of updates since I've last posted here about this project.  Here's a list of what's new:
*Added a "save image" button to save the design as a .png image.
*Majorly refactored the code. This shouldn't cause any functionality changes, but it will make adding features and fixing bugs easier in the future.
*Users can now select fonts and font styles in the name/motto window.
*Added 10 more charges (several eagles, sea horse, sea lion, and sheep passant).
*Added support for quartering the shield.
*Added 10 more charges (annulet, crescent, cross moline, double quatrefoil, label, martlet, martlet volent, monkey, mullet, quatrefoil).
*Fixed a bug that caused the "flip" option to flip all creature and symbol charges instead of just the one you are editing.
*Moved the name/motto editor to a separate pop up window to free more space for editing the charges.
*Added 10 more charges (battleaxe, lance, sword, owl, comet, cannon ball, cinquefoil, oaktree, Cross Maltese, and Cross Patee) to the software.
*Fixed a bug that caused the program to not run in some web browsers.
*Added the ability to do counter-charging for ordinaries.

Please let me know what you think or if you have any ideas for new features or if there are particular charges you'd like to see added.
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: SowelBlack on November 09, 2008, 11:09:44 PM
I've got another new version up.  (I've put out updates almost weekly, as I had planned.)

If you haven't looked it over recently, take another look!  The UI is vastly improved (snappier/faster, has a "new charge wizard" and more) and it downloads in just one minute on a cable modem. (2-3 minutes on DSL, I think.)

I think back to the '83(?) Greyhawk books where it had a coat or arms for every kingdom... this lets you do something like that and each coat of arms may take only 5 minutes to put together once you get going.
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Elemental_Elf on November 09, 2008, 11:31:02 PM
Wow, this has been significantly redone! Its a much more user friendly system now.

Thanks!
Title: Coat of Arms Designer Web-based Software
Post by: Hibou on November 10, 2008, 12:04:21 AM
LV, I told you.

The world will end in 5, 4, 3...