RPM Pré Beta Discussion...

[Ranger One]

Thanks

Just recieved the link to download, so I just wanted to take a moment (and waste a wee bit of net space) to say thank you. I'll be reading and checking out the tutorial over the next few days and should have something concrete to report towards the end of the week.
I'll admit, my primary interest is in the character and creature generation capabilities, but I know that this is not your priority so it will go on the back burner (at least partially) until I mess with the combat applications.
This ought to be fun.

 

[bloodymage]

Finally!

I managed to get all the way through the tutorial and finish the the encounter. Pretty impressive (RPM, not me! ). I do have a couple of improvements to suggest (more likely I missed something!). First, though, I'm going to check the thread to see if someone else has brought them up. Back in a few.

OK, I'm back. After going over the posts again I just realized that I probably don't have the latest update installed correctly. Someone please get out the big teaching stick! I got not popup on the battlemap with a mouse hover and everyone was red. That color thing would've prevented one of my operator errors. It seemed to me that RPM allowed my deaders to attack! They came up on initiative and if I'm remembering correctly, did damage. May be a perception problem on my part, but I'd swear those dead hobgoblins took a swing!

Perception was definitely a problem for me on the battlemap. When I finally discovered that my adversaries were too far apart to hit each other (RPM problem or my perception?) I moved them into range. Then I couldn't tell who was who. If I had had the colors I could have differentiated between elves and hobgoblins but the text scripts were overlapping making it impossible to tell which text went with what dot.

Well those are the things that reached out and grabbed me. Even in my ineptness I was truly impressed with what RPM could do (and wishing I could figure out how to do it! ) I don't know how many times I said wow! as I was experimenting with it.

 

[Luke]

Re: Finally!

It seemed to me that RPM allowed my deaders to attack! They came up on initiative and if I'm remembering correctly, did damage. May be a perception problem on my part, but I'd swear those dead hobgoblins took a swing!

You can't even trust a dead hobgoblin Once a craeture is incapacitated, they'll turn blue on the map, and they will go to the end of the initiative list, where they won't even be considered for an action after the "Get Next Creature" initiative option.

When I finally discovered that my adversaries were too far apart to hit each other (RPM problem or my perception?) I moved them into range. Then I couldn't tell who was who. If I had had the colors I could have differentiated between elves and hobgoblins but the text scripts were overlapping making it impossible to tell which text went with what dot.

In the latest version the elves should clearly be green and the hobgoblins red. You'll also find that the latest uses shortened names on the BattleMap to prevent screen clutter, with the mouse hover giving you the full name, race, classes and hitpoint story. If they're all red, possibly you didn't check "Party" as the encounter group for the elves when you created them. You can always press [Alt+E] to bring up the encounter management screen, and shuffle creatures between the party group, and the opponents group. You can also use it pull in creatures a number of ways (as a prepared group in the adventure is a popular one), but that goes further than the simple tutorial.

I don't know how many times I said wow! as I was experimenting with it.

Thanks. It's been a long, hard road to get it to this point.

Regards,
Luke

 

[Max]

Save a battle for later?

Luke,

I'm half way through the tutorial, and need to leave it for a while. This brought up the question: can you save a combat so that you can return later and finish it?

Computers crash, people have to leave early, etc. I'd hate to be half way through a huge battle, only to have my computer crash and lose all that information that was generated. Or, the game time is up for the week, and the battle needs to be finished next week.

Is there a way to save your place in a combat that I am missing? It appears that if I leave the program and come back, it retains some information but rolled new initiatives, at least. I think it kept the hit point info though. If you cannot save the entire battle setup, then this is my #1 feature request.

I'll save my specific interface comments until I get through the whole thing, but overall it has changed a lot for the better since I last saw it.

Max

 

[nickT]

RPM Version 1.2

Hi Luke,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you!

here are some points I noticed with RPM 1.2
I have tried structure them so you can keep track of them rather easier, I have also sent a similar list with all my previous points to you, (with notes saying whether I think they have been addressed). Doubtless there are some points you have fixed that I have missed, or you have decided are unimportant, or for later implementation. If you could let me know which these are, I will stop nagging you about them,(Honest!)
On with the current list, I am sure there will be more to follow, but this is just in case you were at a loose end
rolleyes:

Function. Combat with battlemap

Error. Distance moved should be cumulative, (with the option of resetting), so you can move round things.
I may be missing a point but as far as I can see most of the coding is already there. You already calculate the distance when moving, which I would have thought was the difficult bit. You code a similar calculation onto a right-click, the only difference being that you add the results of each right click together, until you are informed that the ‘move’ is complete, either by hitting an ‘end move’ key or making a left-click move.

Current Situation For later addition





Function
Create Group (Version 1.2)

Error
Would it be possible to assign creatures to a group in the ‘group creation’ screen rather than going to the ‘show creature’ screen.




Function
Assigned Creatures to groups and then went straight into encounter ,(all flags set except flat footed and surprised

Error
Came up with the database error screen, ( Record lock failed), and I had to close and open program again. If I go via the Creature list screen it appears OK but the problem seems to be when I go directly from the ‘show creature’ screen.


Function
Battlemap

Error
NPCs do not show up in the status box until clicked on once, thereafter they are visible. This problem ‘went away’ after a while, is it just during the first round? Or when they are flatfooted?



Function
Battle Map

Error
Paul, Kyte etc although they were flagged as not in the encounter, they still came up in the initiative list, after I hit ‘current creature completed initiative’ for a creature that appeared correctly appeared




Function
Manage encounter screen

Error
If you are clicking on a box (i.e.turning off flat footed) you are automatically sent to the top of the list , this is very annoying if you have a number of creatures that have to be scrolled down to, you end up going:- scrolldown ,find creature,click on box, forced to top of list, scrolldown to next creature,click on box, forced to top of list… etc.




Function
BattleMap

Error
Need an easy option for creatures to swop sides halfway through a battle, presently you have to put each creature in an individual group to allow them to swap sides.




Function
Encounter screen

Error
is it possible to reduce the key depressions for the more used functions, (i.e. ‘current creature finished initiative ‘ from 3 (Ctrl Alt D) to just one (D)?




Function
Battlemap

Error Cleric did a successful heal on a ‘dying friend’ but in subsequent rounds that ‘friend’ was still dying. If however if you use the first aid option the patient seems to recover after a rounds delay.





Function
Battlemap

Error
Once someone is stabalised even if I go into the add damage screen and do more damage, they do not appear to be dying again.




Function.
Creatures. Attacks

Error.
Net attack critical set as 21-20,0 . Is this just a ‘fix’ to avoid doing critical hits?




Function
Add Creature wizard levelling up function.

Error
I am in the ‘Add creature’ screen, I input a class and level in the appropriate boxes, and then click on ‘Level up’, However the new screen needs to be refreshed before it accepts the class and levels I input on the previous screen.




Function
Battlemap: Options: Colour


Error
I have attempted to change the colour on this screen with no obvious result. What colour is it changing the creature or the label?( I am assuming you mean the creature name is that right?) Neither changed!
:

Have Fun
NickT

 

[Luke]

Re: Test with Players!!!

Hi Luke,
Sorry it was so long before I got back to you. I did a test of RPM last Friday, and decided to give it a real going over!

No problem. I've got a response that also incorporates the other issues you e-mailed me:

Creature Print:
It seems to happen if you're on the last creature in the list. If you move backwards 1 and forward 1, it's then okay. I'll need to fix.

Racial Template Error:
Fixed. You making up your own class of Races?

Determining if creature has finished Round:
Basically "ToDo" is set false (already done), when you say so ( Ctrl+Alt+D ). The list auto-adjusts to that.

Recognising downed creatures:
If using Battlemap, they are Blue, plus you have the "mouse over" status showing hitpoints etc.
If no BattleMap, you use the "Targeting" list in "Execute Action", where you see the Hp and the status in the list.

BattleMap Multi-targeting:
Future feature. Use the "Targeting" list for now.

PC weapon loss for a bite attack:
Some bad mixups *used* to happen there.

BattleMap "Position" crashes:
Fixed

RPM to check range for melee attack:
Too involved for current version and usability.
You now have the big white circle to give you the visual for that.

No multiple delete in maintenance:
Correct. Not planned for a long while (and quite dangerous).

Do Saves without losing current action:
Still outstanding.

Strenous actions when staggered don't cause 1hp loss:
Still outstanding

BattleMap to calculate path moved for distance (rather than straight line from start to end):
Future enhancement.

Move reach circle with creature when moving:
Undecided about accepting this. You "lose" where you came from.

Spelling of "caltrop":
Stays. This is how it is in the official SRD.

BattleMap Colours:
Now green=party, red=opponents, blue = neutral/disabled

Tie the saving throw screen to condition set up screen:
Please explain.

Explain EL buttons:
Hints added.

Block assign creatures to group:
Future feature.

Some creatures don't update the status with "mouse fly-over":
Done. It's a good fix that also sorts out targeting actions against creatures that aren't "fully loaded" (was a bigger problem - so thanks!!).

Complex grouping needed to swap which side a creature is on during a battle:
Esay solution. Use "Manage Encounter" to highlight any creature(s), and either press "Add to Players", or "Add to Opponents" button.

Can we reduce the key count for Alt keys in initiative?:
Not really. There is an established pattern for how keys are assigned, and the keys you'd like to change already do very established things. Remember that lots of people will use RPM for game preparation, and may never use initiative, since they don't bring a computer to the table. !Also, the "VCR" button equivalents are "everywhere".

Whilst the heal skill stabilizes the dying, Clerical healing doesn't:
You can add/delete any conditions through the Creature window's "Status" tab.
Remember that very few of the spells are currently coded to work automatically. There's only so much a single person can do!

What is the BattleMap colour for?:
The text color labelling creatures and locations.

Regards,

 

[Dexter]

First tests results

Hi Luke,

I've tested your application a few times this week, but I will only review the features regarding your Combat Tutorial here, as you requested.

I did the tutorial 3 times, to make sure the bugs found are consistent. Ok, here we go now

1. When you create a group of creatures with the list grid, the last CR of the creatures created doesn't show up in the grid, after the creation. No big deal, just a detail.

2. When you want to edit initiatives, it doesn't select the whole field when you click in it. This means you have to select it yourself, or click in, then delete the initiative with Backspace or Del. This is just a bit anoying and slows down the rythm.

3. When a popup window shows, like when a creature is trying to stabilize or when she threaten a critical, you cannot simply hit the Enter key to be done with it. You have to use the mouse to click on OK. This is just a bit anoying and slows down the rythm.

4. On the battlemap, creatures listed with number higher than 9 had an odd repetion of their last digit showing up. Example: number 10 to 15 showed up as 10 0, 11 1, 12 2, 13 3, 14 4, 15 5. No big deal, just a detail.

5. When selecting a target, it wont register correctly if you dont click in the left most grey area of the column. I would prefer being able to click anywhere on the line.

Then if no target is selected, there is nothing to tell you. It would be great to see your selected target and its status more clearly on screen, as to prevent errors.

6. If you attack the next creature in initiative order and you kill it, you have to click twice on the Creature round done button to move to the next "good" creature (who is not actually dead).

That's it fo the combat tutorial! It is a very promising tool, that can help on many aspect of the game (like simulating some encounters to see if they are a match to your players. I tried to create my party players, but had trouble with level up features, skills and known spells upgrade. I'm not sure if those features are ready yet, anyway.

Keep up the excellent work. I'll wait anxiously for your next release!

 

[Luke]

Re: First tests results

I've tested your application a few times this week, but I will only review the features regarding your Combat Tutorial here, as you requested.

Thanks Dexter. Much appreciated.
Please feel free to report *anything*. I only ask that PreBeta testers follow the combat tutorial and report on that as a priority. Trying to come up with a quick and decent model to process 3rd edition efficiently, in all it's possible variations, is a major challenge. You can report on anything though.

1. Last CR not showing: Think it may be fixed now. I'm having trouble reproducing that.

2. Easy and quick. A quick double click will select the whole field. No need to delete or backspace.

3. Good point. There are a number of places where dialogs can pop up with a good default, so a quick enter continues immediately.

4. Hmmm. Thanks. You've been creating some big encounters there.

5. I can't really help the way the grid works (too easily). It's such a small inconvenience that I'll need to put it near the bottom of the list.

No Target selected: You do know if there's no target selected. if there is a target, the name is shown. If there's no target, no name is shown.
Incidentally, this is kind of deliberate. RPM doesn't *force* you to have both players and NPCs/monsters entered. You may use RPM as a DM with the players not entered, and you may use RPM as a player without the DM's creatures. In such cases, there are no targets. You can simply enter the target number in the bottom part of the Action dialog (a skill CR, an opponent's AC, an opponents opposed skill check), and still determine a result...

6. Will look into it.

If you're having issues with "Level Up", please feel free to e-mail me. Chances are I've already dealt with the issues that you'll get in the next update

Looks like combat went pretty smoothly for you, if the issues are mostly about saving a keystroke or two (that is important though!).

Regards,

 

[nickT]

Hi,
I have done a brief test on my other ,(slower), machine and there is a very definite improvement in speed. It still needs to be tweaked a little but I suspect that it is now useable with players present, whereas previously it was so slow as to be useless. Over the next couple of weeks I will attempt to use RPM for a rather more futuristic scenario, so I will be attempting to create new monsters and weapons. Pushing the envelope of RPM to it's limits,(but hopefully not beyond!)

Let me know when RPM 1.3 is out I will be looking forward to seeing the changes you have made, it just keeps getting better and better!

NickT

 

[Cergorach]

I encountered the following problem:

I added the following adventure: "Into the Underdark"
to the ones already present, but somehow it doesn't display in the Adv bar, i can select it in the pulldown though. It also doesn't want to display in Adventure under Creatures/Status. I've had this problem before, and i vaguely remember finding a way to work around it, but i forgot to write it down (Doh!).

[edit]
Ack!
Found out what i did wrong, but couldn't post it because the boards where bussy. I used the 'plus' in the Adventure tab to create a new adventure, this creates the problem i described above. When i use the Create Adventure option it works perfectly. Maybe a good idea to remove the 'plus' from the Adventure tab, because it doen't work correctly and i don't see any other use for it.
[/edit]