The Archives of Nethys's page

Dude, high marks for chilling on the boards and answering questions. I know you're probably crazy busy getting AoN tricked out for the changeover and I for one appreciate it.

I can't think of any specifics I wanted to bring up (aside from agreeing with both Michael Hallet and Zin Z'arin on the woes of d20PFSRD). I do use PFSRD significantly more, but that's mostly because I'm a creature of habit. I'd like to get into the habit of using AoN more, if for no other reason than I've started playing PFS regularly here on the boards, and it's nice to have the PFS-only option for searches.

As a general question, are there any changes you're planning as far as site functionality? I know you mentioned some coding changes, but as far as like, layout or anything? One example, on the PFSRD, they have an option to use "feat trees" to easily find feats based on specific prereq's (locating Furious Focus on the list by going to Power Attack, for example). Any thoughts on doing something similar on AoN?

The current idea is to do this per Feat - IE you would load up a Feat and there'd be a small list at the bottom of all Feats which list the one you're looking at as a prerequisite, and all Feats listed in the current Feat's own prereq list (so you can see what comes before and what comes after). I'd need to play with the look and feel, but that could accomplish a type of "dynamic" tree, dependent on which Feat you're viewing.

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

Speaking of which, why are the Archives presently only going up to 6th-level in the "Spells" department - even for the 0-9 mages???

Ah, doh - I know exactly why that bug is there. Part of the reason Spells loading time improved is because I migrated over code from Starfinder, where 6th level is the cap. It's a simple fix and I'll roll that out ASAP when I get home today. Sorry for the inconvenience!

This should now be fixed.

The Archives of Nethys wrote:

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

Speaking of which, why are the Archives presently only going up to 6th-level in the "Spells" department - even for the 0-9 mages???

Ah, doh - I know exactly why that bug is there. Part of the reason Spells loading time improved is because I migrated over code from Starfinder, where 6th level is the cap. It's a simple fix and I'll roll that out ASAP when I get home today. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Since you're presently manifesting before me, may I ask something I've always wanted to know: Why is your site dramatically slower to load than most other sites? While yours isn't the only site I frequently go to that is conspicuously more troublesome than everywhere else, it is in very sparse company (a thing called listverse.com is the other thing I can think of that's similar - I don't know why).

A lot of the PF-side code is archaic and built when I was first learning ASP/SQL - the Starfinder side is built more intelligently and you should see faster speeds there. The other reason it's ultimately slower than the old PRD/d20pfsrd in places is because I dynamically build the vast majority of the pages based on database tables. This allows one or two people to manage the huge deluge of content as we just need to update simple DB tables instead of editing a huge amount of pages. For example, the legacy PRD had over 3,000 files. The PF Archives has a little over 200 (and yet supports hundreds of books compared to the dozen or two on the legacy PRD).

Now, I still want things fast, so I'm going to be moving improved code back to PF over the coming months and you should see improvements. The Spells.aspx pages alone were already drastically improved over the weekend.

Comparing the Archives of Nethys and d20pfsrd, I think I'll make more frequent use of the latter for now, mainly because I find its organization and search tool function more effective, given its greater similarity to the Paizo PRD.

I'll concede that AoN is prettier though, in a kind of goth teen way. Its black background makes me want to get some new tattoos and maybe some piercings.

If you want to change the color scheme, just click the toggle in the top-right. :)

For those upset that their old PRD hyperlinks now redirect to the new legacy frontpage, I've emailed Paizo about that to see if it can be fixed, as they setup the redirect. I would hope it could - I used similar redirecting logic myself, and hyperlinks don't break there:

Example:
Old Link: http://archivesofnethys.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Cure%20Light%20Wound s

Successfully redirects to: http://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Cure%20Light%20Wounds

Hopefully they can update their redirect to keep the same path structure and preserve old links, but I'll let them speak to that. :)

Oooooof. I like and have used AoN for a while, as it's been the better option than d20pfsrd for content that wasn't in the Paizo SRD.

But I always deferred to the Paizo SRD as the official source, so if it was in there, that's where I went.

I make EXTENSIVE use of hyperlinks in my character profiles. And now they pretty much ALL have to be updated.

Ugh.

The hyperlink issue is one I need to visit with Paizo, as they setup the redirect. I imagine it can be fixed - I used similar redirecting logic myself, and hyperlinks don't break there:

Example:
Old Link: http://archivesofnethys.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Cure%20Light%20Wound s

Successfully redirects to: http://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Cure%20Light%20Wounds

Speaking of which, why are the Archives presently only going up to 6th-level in the "Spells" department - even for the 0-9 mages???

Ah, doh - I know exactly why that bug is there. Part of the reason Spells loading time improved is because I migrated over code from Starfinder, where 6th level is the cap. It's a simple fix and I'll roll that out ASAP when I get home today. Sorry for the inconvenience!

As a new player, I personally prefer the d20pfsrd. I LOVE the filtering options, since the kitchen sink approach to spells and skills and feats and everything else over on AoN can be really overwhelming, not to mention in my game we're only using the Core book and nothing else, so there's a ton of cruft to dig through to find what Iwant.

Response time is also a big factor, I find AoN to be slow as molasses, even just loading regular pages. The last time I tried to filter a spell list it took literally 18 seconds, I timed it. That's just ridiculous.

FYI, the Spells page loading times got much improved over the weekend.

Ok this is really bizarre. I can't find the Furious Draw rage power anywhere. It's not on the PFSRD, but I found it on Archives of Nethys being mentioned as a prerequisite for another rage power, but it doesn't actually mention it anywhere else.

Re-organizing Rage Power is on my list, not happy with the current state. Furious Draw is in the Miscellaneous powers area.

The Archives of Nethys wrote:

Go to any Class page to see the Archetypes specific to that class.

Example - Note the "Archetypes" link in the header

That is a very odd decision considering there are zero archetypes specific to any classes in Starfinder.

This line in the Core Rulebook made me decide that I should probably future-proof the code and just show the Archetypes applicable per Class by default, as the day may come when there are some class-limited Archetypes:

That said, I'm not fully satisfied on the Archetypes layout either so it will likely see some revision in the near future.

Starfinder AoN has rules text describing how archetypes work, but doesn't appear to have any of the archetypes themselves on the site.

Go to any Class page to see the Archetypes specific to that class.

Example - Note the "Archetypes" link in the header

Hi everyone! With September's update we have some long needed changes to the core code, along with a few new books. Enjoy!

New Books
[Campaign Setting] Inner Sea Taverns (subsystems for new Alcohol and Bar Fight rules will be added with a later update)
[Miscellaneous] Spiral of Bones #3
[Miscellaneous] Spiral of Bones #4
[Miscellaneous] Spiral of Bones #5
[Player Companion] Heroes from the Fringe

Site Updates
- Spells page loading times improved.
- Rules section updated to allow users to sort by Source or not.
- Contact Us page updated.

The Archives of Nethys wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

I can't seem to find the Soulfire fusion from the Armory anywhere in the AoNPRD. That's kind of a big deal for soliarians. How did it possibly get overlooked? That makes me wonder what else might have been overlooked. :(

It does look like the Weapon Fusion table from the Armory didn't get pushed up - I'll get that addressed this weekend. If you ever spot a bug/anything off, just shoot me an email at the appropriate endpoint (bugs@aonprd.com or aonsrd.com). There's a lot of data and ultimately mistakes will happen - we can address most of them fairly quickly, we just need to be made aware of them. :)

Thanks man! Clearly, you've got your work cut out for you. Now that you're official, you're going to be getting a LOT of requests for various functionality improvements (such as those mentioned by Papa-DRB in the post above).

The WeaponFusion table had indeed been overlooked in the update; just pushed up the latest copy and all should be correct now.

I can't seem to find the Soulfire fusion from the Armory anywhere in the AoNPRD. That's kind of a big deal for soliarians. How did it possibly get overlooked? That makes me wonder what else might have been overlooked. :(

It does look like the Weapon Fusion table from the Armory didn't get pushed up - I'll get that addressed this weekend. If you ever spot a bug/anything off, just shoot me an email at the appropriate endpoint (bugs@aonprd.com or aonsrd.com). There's a lot of data and ultimately mistakes will happen - we can address most of them fairly quickly, we just need to be made aware of them. :)

The legacy PRD is now being hosted on my site as well: http://legacy.aonprd.com

so i have a buddy who at lvl 20 can pull off 149D6+ damage in a full round attack. the DM said that the wording on the double barrel pistols says as a standard attack act they can be fired simultaneously. the dm said that bc it can be done as an attack action, he sees no reason it cant be dont during a full round attack. specifically bc it doesn't say only or bc it doesn't say that you can't. and logically if you can as an attack action you should be able to as a full round attack. can anyone plz make a definitive ruling on this?

ive seen an organizer state that it is done as a standard attack but that didn't really help bc i also asked Nethys from archives of nethys who said that organizers dont make rulings they just organize gameplay. (nothing against organizers specifically(id actuallylove to be an orgaizer). im just looking for an actual judges ruling. this is casual play, not organized or competitive.

To clarify, I said that *I* don't judge the gameplay - not speaking for anyone other than myself and the Archives. :)

The Archives of Nethys wrote:

I'm happy with the arrangement we ended up at

Okay. There you've told me how I should feel. For which I am thankful.

Congrats, Blake. It's kinda darned neat to have a personal pet project turn into a corporate-endorsed tool.

You're telling me!

Can we get some smarter redirects? Because right now, every link that Google brings up sends you to the front page of AoN. If you don't see the blog post, it can feel almost like a hijack.

Also, can someone at Paizo float some money towards an accessible redesign?

Any redesign is all at my feet at the moment, not Paizo's, and as I've said previously, the way my site gets income hasn't changed. I do have a number of QOL improvements I want to make, so change is coming, rest assured. Mobile functionality, improved search, and minimizing the menu image are the main ticket items.

And AON appears to be down...don't remember this happening before. Too bad, I spend A LOT of time there. ;-D

Looks to be up now - I've seen a few small blibs in the last few days to the news, which I expect to stabilize, but I haven't seen an outage last longer than a minute or two yet.

I'm surprised nobody has anything to say about this:

"Nothing is changing with regards to how the Archives generates income for hosting expenses."

I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand, I'd love to jump on the "congratulations, Blake" bandwagon, because AoN is awesome and he's deserving of praise. On the other hand, this reads as Paizo offloading the expense and responsibility for maintaining and making available this content onto the shoulders of a community member. On the gripping hand, if someone volunteers, they volunteer, I guess.

I've run the Archives at my own expense for the first few years of its lifespan. Since then I ran it using ad revenue and Patreon (plus misc donations) to offset the costs.

While the statement is correct, nothing is changing with regards to how I generate income, the main change is that the Archives will now see more traffic. More traffic means more potential ad revenue, potentially more Patreon subscribers.

Ultimately, my world doesn't really change at all, and myself and my team now get faster support from Paizo with regards to early access books, quick answers to PFS/errata issues, and more.

I'm happy with the arrangement we ended up at, and want to assure everyone that thinks I'm being treated unfairly that it is definitely not the case. I wouldn't have accepted the deal if I wasn't happy with it. :)

WHHHHHAAAAAAAT?! YES! Absolutely awesome! My favorite site on the 'net is not going away and is in fact Pathfinder's (well, Starfinder too, but I'm not interested) official RD!

Congrats to Blake and all who assist him with AON!

AON/Blake, you do intend to keep all classic Pathfinder content available when 2nd ed PF kicks off, correct? It's so rich in flavor and options that I will not be making the switch. Love classic Pathfinder.

Most definitely. PF1E will be kept around even after PF2E launches.

Try visiting https://www.aonprd.com instead of just http://www.aonprd.com . Depending on how you're being blocked, that may get around it.

Just curious Blake, but does that mean stuff like Horror Adventures and Planar adventures will be in there too soon? Cause I'd love to see some of that go live soon.

Those have been live for a while (see below for links). If you mean the rules content from them (as opposed to new mechanics/options), then yes, that's coming. We aim to get all the Rules from the RPG line and any other book that includes new rule options.

https://www.aonprd.com/SourceDisplay.aspx?FixedSource=Planar%20Adventures
https://www.aonprd.com/SourceDisplay.aspx?FixedSource=Horror%20Adventures

For all who have suggestions on how to improve the site / give back functionality now lacking with the old PRD removal, please hit up the feedback emails (feedback@aonprd.com and feedback@aonsrd.com) - we have a lot in the works right now and I hope to address the most common concerns in the coming months.

Congrats. I've been a huge fan of Archives of Nethys for my freelance work, so it's well-deserved.

And I think the search function's been pretty much fine from what I can tell over the last couple years.

My one request -- I wouldn't mind some *less* in-depth levels. For example, I wouldn't mind the old PRD's style of all the weapons in one list (so if I don't know off the top of my head if a weapon is simple/martial/exotic, I can just do a search on one page for the weapon and then see what category it is).

I've actually been thinking about this for a while. Having an "All" version and one still split by Proficiency.

Nice!

Question for the Paizo People — is Blake still going to be allowed to host Paizo content that isn't part of the Core Rulebook line, or does he have to take all of that down now?

For example, the Archives of Nethys currently host a lot of rules content from Player Companions and Campaign Setting Guides, stuff that the Pathfinder RD traditionally didn't include. (Exception: Technology Guide) Is that going to change?

Golarion IP will still very much be a part. The post touches on this a little, but I can confirm for certain that part of the site will not be changing. :)

"As an official licensed partner, the Archives of Nethys includes setting-specific rules content as well as Open Game Content, so you'll be able to find the Golarion- and Pact Worlds–specific rules you're looking for quickly and easily."

PRD for PF 2.0 playtest with HYPERLINKS, anyone?

If you check out the Starfinder side, you can see a lot of areas where we've started hyperlinking other mechanics. They aren't always clearly visible as I don't change font color/boldness on links (for example: see the Absalom Station settlement - both the planet and Settlement Qualities have populated links)

Hyperlinking has been a big desire of mine, but until recently the "catch up" has taken priority. With Starfinder over the hump, there should be many updates about more inter-linking in the near future.

Tay-Dor wrote:

Boo....This blows (at least for the moment).

I was in the middle of using the PRD and WHAM...redirected to AON and the site grinds to a halt.

I preferred the organization of the PRD. Hopefully AON sees fit to put in Product references for those of us who want to limit things to certain books.

AoN has the source for things on every page, there is also a 'Source' option in the left hand menu that you can click on and select a specific source to see everything from it... it's actually miles ahead of anywhere else in that regard.

Jumping in on this to point out a another feature many don't notice: namely, you can switch the background/foreground color scheme any time by hitting the toggle in the top-right.

As Richard says, the Sources area is the best way to break up all the mechanics by Source.

Really, you announce this on the day that it goes live? No warning? The search function on AON still says it's in Beta. With Paizo redesigning their website making it almost impossible to find content, the new edition playtest, shipping off their own reference document to a 3rd party without any warning, and the debacle that was mustering for GenCon, I'm just about done with Paizo. Used to be a really good company with fun games. Hope they can find good leadership again someday.

In fairness, the search engine on PF has been "in Beta" since its inception. I honestly could remove that text without it changing anything.

Ultimately, we have a new search engine in the works that is faster, more comprehensive, and will sort results based on quantity of the search terms found, like a real search engine. My devs say they're a few days out from it being ready for SF, then it's just a matter of converting it over to PF use.

Search isn't great now, but that's top of the list to change.

As a long-time user of AON, this is pretty exciting!

A concern that has come to mind, but I didn't see mentioned here or on the AON front-page announcement:

To date my understanding is that AON has primarily consisted of character options and encounters, with little in the way of core game mechanics. Will core game mechanics be added to the AON?

That's already become a part of the site, namely in the "Rules" section: https://www.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?Name=All&Category=None

I talk a bit about this in my announcement in the "Pathfinder Backlog" section:

"Rules: For a long time I chose not to post this longer content as Paizo’s own PRD had it covered; generally, I focused on mechanics which were reproduced across multiple volumes, like Feats and Spells. Since the discussion of this partnership, however, we’ve made large strides towards bringing that same content onto the Archives. Still, this is the one area in which we’re behind the original PRD, but that gap is closing every day. We’ve already finished ingesting the rules from the Advanced Player’s Guide, and the Gamemastery Guide is next on the list."