Author Topic: ERA feature requests  (Read 1583 times)

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Offline alloowishus

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ERA feature requests
« on: March 07, 2021, 10:31:05 PM »
I am just starting to get the hang of ERA, I purchased the bundle, and it does some things very well, character generation is a snap! However there are aspects that are frustrating and here are some suggestions I have.

1. Adding spell lists in character Generation should allow you to pick from a list of existing spell lists from Spell Law. Currently I seem to have to type the name (exactly!) of the spell list in a text box for it to "find" it.
2. There needs to be more documentation! Especially regarding which optional rules are being used and what everything means in the adventure section.
3. There needs to a "home" button to get back to the main menu.
4. The inventory should automatically give the total weight of all the items carried and what the current encumberance penalty is. Also having the cost chart from character law as a clickable table would be great and automatically deduct money (see 5 below) would be awesome!
5. There needs to a section to put the players money, gp,sp,bp,cp,tp gems etc.
6. Where does the experience go? I don't see it anywhere. It would be great if experience was calculated automatically based on the log from the Adventure section.
7. Customization is possible by manually creating xml files, but it would great if there was a little tool for this. It could just copy a profession as a template and just change the skill costs. Spell lists too.

Keep up the good work, would love to see some these ideas incorporated into future versions!

Offline Voriig Kye

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2021, 09:36:01 PM »
1. Adding spell lists in character Generation should allow you to pick from a list of existing spell lists from Spell Law. Currently I seem to have to type the name (exactly!) of the spell list in a text box for it to "find" it.
Yes, it can be improved, and it will be. Can't say when, but expect some time this year to see that adding a skill in the character sheet module when choosing a spell casting category will offer the list of known spells.

2. There needs to be more documentation! Especially regarding which optional rules are being used and what everything means in the adventure section.
Documentation has been written in the past, and it has not received much feedback. It may happen in the not-so-short term that more modules include on screen help and tips.

3. There needs to a "home" button to get back to the main menu.
This is being considered in the short term.

4. The inventory should automatically give the total weight of all the items carried and what the current encumberance penalty is. Also having the cost chart from character law as a clickable table would be great and automatically deduct money (see 5 below) would be awesome!
Encumbrance and total weight are shown in the inventory tab of the character status module. Adding it to other places is doable and is being considered. Adding the cost (like a shop before completing a new character) would requiring variable costs and availability for each campaign/gaming group, since most players create their own characters.

5. There needs to a section to put the players money, gp,sp,bp,cp,tp gems etc.
The printable character sheet offers a place to manually write coins, since it's understood that it can change many times during a single session.
Support for currency inventory and spending it on items would be a new part of ERA not yet considered. If there is enough interested it could be done, but it has never been brought up before.

6. Where does the experience go? I don't see it anywhere. It would be great if experience was calculated automatically based on the log from the Adventure section.
Handling total XP by character is not managed by ERA at the moment. There have been few to no requests for this to be added. If there is enough interested it could be done.
The log also generates an XML file with the summary of the adventure, which eases handling out experience. It does not enforce any specific system for points related to actions since this varies too much between gaming groups.

7. Customization is possible by manually creating xml files, but it would great if there was a little tool for this. It could just copy a profession as a template and just change the skill costs. Spell lists too.
The latest versions added "variant professions" which do exactly what you say, but still require writing XML files. There are plans to also add variant races and cultures in the future. There is currently no plan to add visual customization of the configuration files since the effort required by this would be the same if not greater than many of the features that are planned in the future, which have been proven to be of interest to more users. The idea with offering the book packages is that small changes should allow all gaming groups to play their version of RM, with more complex changes and variations requiring involvement in the edition of the configuration files.

Thanks for using ERA and for taking the time to share your suggestions!

Offline Hurin

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2021, 09:45:21 PM »

3. There needs to a "home" button to get back to the main menu.
This is being considered in the short term.

I just wanted to add that I too would really like to see this feature. The first time I loaded up ERA, I was impressed by how useful and easy it was, but I kept searching for the 'home' button!
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

'Every party needs at least one insane person.'  --Aspen of the Jade Isle

Offline Voriig Kye

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2021, 08:24:16 PM »
Since all modules have their own design, aimed at using as much screen as possible for information/features, there is no single place for a home button.
Which modules are you using that would benefit from it? We wouldn't want it for the character sheet nor character status modules because the players should not have easy access to the module selection screen, even if they can guess it's URL.

Offline Hurin

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2021, 09:06:07 PM »
Why not the character sheet? I think that was where I was looking for it. I was looking for it after I created a character, and another time when I started a character but messed some things up on it and wanted to start again.
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

'Every party needs at least one insane person.'  --Aspen of the Jade Isle

Offline alloowishus

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2021, 11:18:37 PM »
Since all modules have their own design, aimed at using as much screen as possible for information/features, there is no single place for a home button.
Which modules are you using that would benefit from it? We wouldn't want it for the character sheet nor character status modules because the players should not have easy access to the module selection screen, even if they can guess it's URL.

Why not just make it when you click on the logo you are brought home? That is on every screen.

Offline Voriig Kye

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2021, 08:01:31 PM »
Why not just make it when you click on the logo you are brought home? That is on every screen.
There was not a logo on all modules. Character creation, character sheet and treasures had a top bar but no logo there.

Spoiler alert, there's a logo to the left of the top bar in all of them in the next version, and guess what, they take you to the module selection screen.

Offline Hurin

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Re: ERA feature requests
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2021, 08:04:12 PM »
Good work!
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

'Every party needs at least one insane person.'  --Aspen of the Jade Isle