For any 4e DMs out there who do lots of homebrewing (basically, all 4e DMs here), have I got something for you!
Another DM and I on the WotC forums have whipped up a little program called the DM's Toolkit that will automatically format (and in places do calculations for) custom 4e material either in plain text for your own records or in forum code to post on any BBcode-based forums (WotC boards, here, ENWorld, etc.) So far, it does powers, races, classes, paths, and destinies (including making looks-like-they-came-straight-from-the-book power cards), and we're working on monsters, items (including artifacts), rituals, and more for a future release. Version 1.0.0 was released Saturday, and you can take a look here (http://www.aeyrie.net/~dmtools/Toolkit_Main.html). I wanted to get a reaction from the closest thing to "professional DMs" I could find, so if you like it, go ahead and use it; any feedback is appreciated.
Wait...which one are you? E_L or the one I could never remember well enough to type here without butchering the name that I think starts with an 'R'? Also, THANK YOU. You may have noticed me popping into the WotC thread from time to time and I have been following it since the core books came out. I've been waiting semi-patiently and it has paid off. Sure, it's not all there and you are bound to take some heat from some ungrateful folk for that, but what is there works nicely and is pretty nifty, even useful.
BUT since I have trouble logging in at WotC half the time and don't know where else to direct feedback, I will tell you this here : When I try to use the Power Creator to make a power and I select 'Area' in the field called 'Area', it doesn't display the spell in any form when I try to view the power.
I downloaded it, and I'm going to take a look at all it can do. Thanks very much.
Are you going to put in the monster guidelines into the system (the average scores and what-not for defenses and attacks and hp)? That would be quite helpful.
Quote from: Kapn XeviatAre you going to put in the monster guidelines into the system (the average scores and what-not for defenses and attacks and hp)? That would be quite helpful.
Yep; there will be an auto-calculate option so you can either put in your own numbers or click the button and get the DMG-guideline numbers.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuoteBUT since I have trouble logging in at WotC half the time and don't know where else to direct feedback, I will tell you this here : When I try to use the Power Creator to make a power and I select 'Area' in the field called 'Area', it doesn't display the spell in any form when I try to view the power.
I don't remember but I'll look more into that tomorrow. Thanks for that.
Too bad you guys weren't allowed to release this before half of us that would / will make use of it spent time working on formats for all these things on our own in word processors. Still, once I get used to it, I think your program will make it a bit faster, especially for powers (doing them in OpenOffice always involved a lot of adding and removing table lines).
QuoteToo bad you guys weren't allowed to release this before half of us that would / will make use of it spent time working on formats for all these things on our own in word processors.
no[/i] idea what we had to go through to even release
now. I wish we could have released earlier, too.
QuoteStill, once I get used to it, I think your program will make it a bit faster, especially for powers (doing them in OpenOffice always involved a lot of adding and removing table lines).
Exactly the point. The integrated power card creator (and a monster card creator, when the Monster Creator is done) is another nice plus.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuoteToo bad you guys weren't allowed to release this before half of us that would / will make use of it spent time working on formats for all these things on our own in word processors.
no[/i] idea what we had to go through to even release now. I wish we could have released earlier, too.
No, I don't. Is that still super-secret?
Quote from: Ninja D!No, I don't. Is that still super-secret?
Basically, some folks inside WotC wanted to shut it down, so we had to convince Scott Rouse and Linae (the GSL representative) to argue on our behalf. It almost died a couple times, but they helped us through it.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Ninja D!No, I don't. Is that still super-secret?
Basically, some folks inside WotC wanted to shut it down, so we had to convince Scott Rouse and Linae (the GSL representative) to argue on our behalf. It almost died a couple times, but they helped us through it.
Linae will be missed. They probably wished they had done this first.
I know you will probably, as in nearly all things, get more negative feedback than positive but I wanted to say, for my part, thank you. Even if I end up using this only very little, the fact that you went through the trouble of releasing it to the community (AND doing so legally) is really great. This along with the compendium threads that you yourself created and maintain on the WotC forums makes you a great asset to the community as a whole. Even if I personally never made use of any of it, I would like to give my thanks as a member of the larger community. If there is ever anything that I can do for you, you need only ask.
Now getting back to the toolkit; I have two bits of feedback. The first one is a bigger deal to me but it isn't my program so do with it as you will. That is that when you select to view something you have made in a format to be posted on a forum, the code uses capital letters (such as [/B]). Those don't work here so I bet there are other places that they don't. Here only lower case works. If that could be changed, that would be great. If that is too much work, I would understand. The next thing is a feature request of the lowest priority. Once you have all of the currently planned creators implemented, I would suggest that in the interest of completeness you add a feat creator. It is not NEEDED because it is so simple to format them but once everything else is done and you're just ironing things out, it would be a nice thing to make the program more complete.
Quote from: Ninja D!I know you will probably, as in nearly all things, get more negative feedback than positive but I wanted to say, for my part, thank you. Even if I end up using this only very little, the fact that you went through the trouble of releasing it to the community (AND doing so legally) is really great. This along with the compendium threads that you yourself created and maintain on the WotC forums makes you a great asset to the community as a whole. Even if I personally never made use of any of it, I would like to give my thanks as a member of the larger community. If there is ever anything that I can do for you, you need only ask.
Now getting back to the toolkit; I have two bits of feedback. The first one is a bigger deal to me but it isn't my program so do with it as you will. That is that when you select to view something you have made in a format to be posted on a forum, the code uses capital letters (such as [/B]). Those don't work here so I bet there are other places that they don't. Here only lower case works. If that could be changed, that would be great. If that is too much work, I would understand.[/quote]The next thing is a feature request of the lowest priority. Once you have all of the currently planned creators implemented, I would suggest that in the interest of completeness you add a feat creator. It is not NEEDED because it is so simple to format them but once everything else is done and you're just ironing things out, it would be a nice thing to make the program more complete.[/quote]
A Feat Creator, huh? Take a look between the buttons for the Item Creator and Ritual Creator and tell me what you see. ;)
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuoteThe next thing is a feature request of the lowest priority. Once you have all of the currently planned creators implemented, I would suggest that in the interest of completeness you add a feat creator. It is not NEEDED because it is so simple to format them but once everything else is done and you're just ironing things out, it would be a nice thing to make the program more complete.
We see that classic Patrick Stewart facepalm.jpeg with a ninja painted on his shiny head.
Wow, Great work from what ive seen man. So far i love it (have only dinked around with a race) and ill keep playing around with it and post feedback when i can (Btw, Thank you very much for making this program and letting people use it for free ^_^)
Quote from: Towel NinjaWow, Great work from what ive seen man. So far i love it (have only dinked around with a race) and ill keep playing around with it and post feedback when i can (Btw, Thank you very much for making this program and letting people use it for free ^_^)
probably[/i] would never charge for it. ;)) Let me know what you think about the other Creators when you take a look.
Any idea (even very rough) when you'll have the monster creator in working order? Not pushing, just curious.
Quote from: Ninja D!Any idea (even very rough) when you'll have the monster creator in working order? Not pushing, just curious.
I'm planning by late September, early October (I do still have bugs to fix and college to worry about, after all).
Good enough for me. Keep up the good work!
There is one more thing I would suggest, if it is possible. The ability to resize, or even maximize, the windows would be great.
Now I've got a problem. I can't get the trigger for my utility power to show up when making my paragon path.
I also can't copy from the output of your program and paste into OpenOffice. It says the format is not available.
Quote from: Ninja D!There is one more thing I would suggest, if it is possible. The ability to resize, or even maximize, the windows would be great.
Well, one of the reasons I set it to not be resizeable is that the buttons and fields and everything look horrible when blown up to full screen; I could change it, but it would be a big aesthetic minus.
QuoteNow I've got a problem. I can't get the trigger for my utility power to show up when making my paragon path.
I also can't copy from the output of your program and paste into OpenOffice. It says the format is not available. [/quote]
The in-program display or the printed .doc file?
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Ninja D!There is one more thing I would suggest, if it is possible. The ability to resize, or even maximize, the windows would be great.
Well, one of the reasons I set it to not be resizeable is that the buttons and fields and everything look horrible when blown up to full screen; I could change it, but it would be a big aesthetic minus.
Understood. I suppose if that's what you've got to work with, that's what you've got to work with. It's not a big deal, just something that would be kind of nice.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: ../../e107_files/public/1221350974_26_FT54931_feyburdened.pdfFeyburdened[/file]
File: Feyscarred (//../../e107_files/public/1221350974_26_FT54931_feyscarred.pdf)
Quote from: Ninja D!When I click 'Plain Text' then go to 'View Full Path' the information that I have entered is not there. I mean there is no line that says 'Trigger:' followed by what I entered. There is a blank line, though.
I also can't copy from the output of your program and paste into OpenOffice. It says the format is not available. [/quote]I mean the in-program display. I didn't think to check for the saved file, like I should have.[/quote]It appears the program doesn't do exactly what I had thought / hoped, anyway. It still has uses uses, though, and I will still be playing around with it and giving my feedback.[/quote]It's not perfect but it is much simpler than formatting something totally on your own. Attached are a couple of paragon paths that I did myself today (I had started the one in toolkit but when I encountered the Trigger problem moved it to OpenOffice). They may look nicer but I assure you they took a lot more time than using your program.[/quote]and[/i] good-looking. ;)
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuote from: Pair o' Dice LostQuoteIt's not perfect but it is much simpler than formatting something totally on your own. Attached are a couple of paragon paths that I did myself today (I had started the one in toolkit but when I encountered the Trigger problem moved it to OpenOffice). They may look nicer but I assure you they took a lot more time than using your program.
and[/i] good-looking. ;)
I know that is there but I am not sure about how I would be able to put something from that in a 'finished' work.
All in all, it is still a very nice program. There is certainly a lot there that I need to play around with yet, too. I'm looking forward to new features as well. Something I just thought of that you could one day include would be things from the DMG. Traps and, even better, diseases.
Quote from: Ninja D!I did not try that, now. However, that is something that was not used in the power that I was imitating. Therefor I saw no reason to put it there.
I thought the program was meant to format things exactly like the core books. The closest thing to that is the power card maker. By the way, I do like the ability to choose different colors in that. This formats things nicely, just not in the exact same way.[/quote]I know that is there but I am not sure about how I would be able to put something from that in a 'finished' work.[/quote]All in all, it is still a very nice program. There is certainly a lot there that I need to play around with yet, too. I'm looking forward to new features as well. Something I just thought of that you could one day include would be things from the DMG. Traps and, even better, diseases.[/quote]
Traps will be in the Monster Creator, and diseases are probably going to be under Ritual Creator (we haven't decided yet).
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostI was under the impression triggers only went along with interrupts and reactions; I'll take out that limit, then.
While that would make some sense, it does not appear to be the case. The feat I was looking at was
Twilight Teleport. If you want to take a look for yourself, you can find it on page 141 of the PHB.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostI assume by that you mean the pictures and the colored backgrounds behind the class stuff and all that. That's on hold for the moment since Java doesn't seem to want to print in columns when outputting to a .doc file. As soon as I get that working, the backgrounds and everything will soon follow.
Yeah, the divisions and alternating colors and all that. I thought that the idea of the program was to format things like the book. It doesn't quite do that. I'm not saying it is not still useful, though, just that it seems to be in a way other than that.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostYou mean put in the power cards? They save as .jpg files, so if you can put a .jpg in your file you can use the power cards.
Alright, then. Good to know. Not the way I prefer to do things but it is good nonetheless.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostTraps will be in the Monster Creator, and diseases are probably going to be under Ritual Creator (we haven't decided yet).
Those both seem like odd places to put them. Especially if you do that, I think you guys should put together some kind of manual, or at least a thorough FAQ, for such things. Include in it limits so other people who are less patient than I don't encounter the problems I have and throw a still mostly good program out because they don't understand it.
Just a quick question. What is this coded in?
Quote from: Ninja D!While that would make some sense, it does not appear to be the case. The feat I was looking at was Twilight Teleport. If you want to take a look for yourself, you can find it on page 141 of the PHB.
Just a quick question. What is this coded in?[/quote]
Java. It's the easiest way to do GUIs.
Ah ok, yea I wasn't able to even look at it (downloads too slow for me). Best of luck though it sounds like you really have something good here.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostWell, one of the main purposes was to make it have the same format as the books for posting on forums; the background coloring, pictures, and columns are somewhat secondary for now. Basically, it will do that eventually, but since I can't get the columns to work that's being pushed back on my priority list.
The biggest problem that I have with that is that it is strictly formatted for the WotC boards, really. The biggest problem I have with them is that the agreement you make with them when you sign up basically states that you transfer ownership of anything that you post there to them.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostHow else would you like to do it? Like I said, I'm doing this to get feedback.
I prefer to have everything in a kind of editable text format. When it is an image, that is not possible.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostWell, traps are in the Monster Creator because they work the same way--arranged by level, given roles, incorporated into combat, etc. Diseases are specced for Ritual Creator because, at least for right now, diseases and rituals aren't really complex enough to split up into their own creators; it'll most likely turn into a catch-all "miscellaneous creator" button on the main menu with a bunch of smaller sub-creators.
Then it seems to me like feats would go there. They are far less complex than rituals.
Quote from: Ninja D!The biggest problem that I have with that is that it is strictly formatted for the WotC boards, really. The biggest problem I have with them is that the agreement you make with them when you sign up basically states that you transfer ownership of anything that you post there to them.
I prefer to have everything in a kind of editable text format. When it is an image, that is not possible.[/quote]Then it seems to me like feats would go there. They are far less complex than rituals.[/quote]
The difference is that we were smart enough to think of feats from the outset. ;) Like I said, it'll probably be rearranged to best effect later, but right now we're shoving all late-coming ideas with Rituals temporarily. I'm planning on eventually consolidating Feats and Powers, since there are several feats with powers attached.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostActually, any forum using the same forum code can handle it (aside from the "Hey, Dice, CBG doesn't use capital code, you moron!" issue), so you can post the same stuff on the WotC forums, ENWorld, here, the Order of the Stick forums, and a bunch of others.
For the most part, you are correct. The place where I have seen things vary here is the text size, more than anything else.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostAh. I can probably add an option to print in an editable format; most of the beta testers said they wanted the power cards just so they could print them out to use them in their games, so I figured .jpg files would be the easiest way to do it. I don't know if I can do that for the next release, but I'll add that to my to-do list.
It isn't a huge deal but it would be nice. Depending on how into the game I stay and how much free time I have, I may sometimes prefer to format on my own anyway.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostThe difference is that we were smart enough to think of feats from the outset. ;) Like I said, it'll probably be rearranged to best effect later, but right now we're shoving all late-coming ideas with Rituals temporarily. I'm planning on eventually consolidating Feats and Powers, since there are several feats with powers attached.
Alright then.
Just wanted to let people know that Version 1.0.1 is out now, and that we've changed servers. There weren't any major changes, except that now it uses lower-case code so it works on this forum. Enjoy.
New link (http://www.dmtools.de.vu)
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostJust wanted to let people know that Version 1.0.1 is out now, and that we've changed servers. There weren't any major changes, except that now it uses lower-case code so it works on this forum. Enjoy.
New link (http://web11.vs168064.vserver.de/main.html)
Nice, nice. You'd still have to change the sizes, though. Any other even semi-notable changes?
Mostly bugfixes, like stopping the Class Creator's power library from cutting off the Hit and Effect fields. You can find an (almost) complete list of changes in the Changelog part of the site.
I suppose I'll congratulate ya'll on this community, where it's more likely to be spotted. I enjoy using this!
How do you get information from the DM's toolkit to show up in the forum? Thanks.
Quote from: DrizztrocksHow do you get information from the DM's toolkit to show up in the forum? Thanks.
Generate the forum code, then simply copy and paste it.
For some reason when I right clikc on it the toolbar doesn't show up. Is there something else I have to do?
Quote from: DrizztrocksFor some reason when I right clikc on it the toolbar doesn't show up. Is there something else I have to do?
Just click in the text panel, select all (Ctrl+A), and copy (Ctrl+C).
Hmm...perhaps knowledge of keyboard shortcuts is not as prevalent as I'd thought. Would it help if I implemented the right-click menu?
Yes, it would. Please do in the next edition, as it would make it much easier. Thanks for the tip, though.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice Lost[...] Would it help if I implemented the right-click menu?
Just as an idea: instead of making a context menu (screwing with the poor Mac users :P), perhaps you could make some sort of "assisstant" or "wizard" window, that gives hints to the possible actions and tips and pointers to the correct program usage.
What exactly do you do? What is the text panel and do I put parentheses? Sorry, i'm not very good with computers.
When is the next version coming out?
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostJust click in the text panel, select all (Ctrl+A), and copy (Ctrl+C).
Hmm...perhaps knowledge of keyboard shortcuts is not as prevalent as I'd thought. Would it help if I implemented the right-click menu?
I believe it generally is, we just have an exception in our midst.
Sorry for my computer illiterisy. Or, judging on how I just spelled Iliterasy, i'm just plain illiterate.
In no particular order:
--Since a Mac version doesn't exist at the moment, I think I've reached a critical mass of screwing with them already. ;)
--A help menu would probably be a good idea. Perhaps a "Using the Toolkit" popup the first time you open it....
--Exact instructions for Drizztrocks:
1) Move the mouse so the pointer is inside the box holding the text.
2) Click.
3) Hold the Control button and press A.
4) Keep holding the Control button and press C.
5) Paste it into the forum.
--Next version should be out in one to two weeks. We've aimed for a patch release every two weeks (bug fixes and such), and are aiming for 4 October for the next one, but since I'm finishing up the Monster Creator for that version (1.2.0), it might take just a bit longer.
Thanks for the directions! I got my homebrew race up on my setting. I look forward to the Monster Creator! This is a great project, I hope that it keeps alive!
Update! The Monster Creator is 90% done; the only thing I have left to do is the monster card maker, which should be simple now that regular printing is done. Hopefully, I should be able to put up version 1.2.0 sometime this weekend, assuming all homework gets finished.
Does that mean we will be able to use the Monster Creator?
Yep! The Monster Creator itself is done and ready for release; I just wanted to include the monster card maker now instead of later.
Glad to hear it. I'm looking forward to giving that a test drive soon.
From what I have read this looks really interesting and I would like to give it a try. But I can't seem to get to the link pages. The first one always times out and the New Link one shows up as a 404.
Suggestions on how to get the program?
Thanks
Quote from: http://www.dmtools.de.vuthis one[/url] and see if that one works.
Sorry, double post. Apparently the Edit and Quote buttons are too close together. x.
Quote from: Pair o' Dice LostThe "new link" should work, but you can also try this one (http://www.dmtools.de.vu) and see if that one works.
The one you listed here worked. Thanks. I will download and start to play with it!
Guess what, guys?
1.2.0 is up! The Monster Creator is done!
[/b]
And just in case there's more screwy link stuff going on, go here (http://dmtools.de.vu/) to get it.
Great job! I find myself constantly using these tools! What goodies are in store for us next?
Quote from: DrizztrocksGreat job! I find myself constantly using these tools! What goodies are in store for us next?
The Feat Creator and possibly a Trap Maker add-on to the Monster Creator, though as school is taking up more and more time as finals approach, I don't know if it'll be ready by the next release.
Sounds cool, anyway. I don't use the program constantly or anything but I do use it and I would still thank you on behalf of the community even if I never used it.
Yeah I use constantly very loosely...but I do find them very useful.
This looks interesting, maybe it will help me get all the homebrew stuff in my head onto the computer.
is there a 3.5 version of this?
Quote from: Gnomish Cheetosis there a 3.5 version of this?
No, there isn't. There may or may not be one in the works, but my partner isn't really a big 3.5 fan. When this one's finished, then we might consider doing one for 3.5.
But this can NEVER be finished. There will always be more and more and MORE, muwahahahah...what?
I am looking forward to the item creator and feat creator and stuff so much, but it doesn't seem like alot of work is being done on the program. Not blaming anyone or anything like that, just wondering if the projects been dropped or if there's still some work being done on it.
Quote from: DrizztrocksI am looking forward to the item creator and feat creator and stuff so much, but it doesn't seem like alot of work is being done on the program. Not blaming anyone or anything like that, just wondering if the projects been dropped or if there's still some work being done on it.
Basically, college has been busy enough that we haven't been able to do any work on it since November. We're going open-source with it in the next week or so, so someone else might be able to complete those; otherwise, chances are no work would get done on it until the summer.
That's cool, I suppose. You guys got the OK to go open source? Does that mean WotC has backed off of how they were a bit? I've been out of the loop there for a while.
Umm...not to sound stupid...what's open source?
Quote from: DrizztrocksUmm...not to sound stupid...what's open source?
It means anyone could work on it. Linux is open source and that's why there are so many different versions of it out there. I believe FireFox is open source and that why there are so many add ons.
Quote from: Ninja D!That's cool, I suppose. You guys got the OK to go open source? Does that mean WotC has backed off of how they were a bit? I've been out of the loop there for a while.
Well, WotC doesn't own it by any means, so now that we've written a big chunk of it and they haven't contested it, legally speaking we can do whatever the Hells we want.