I've been testing trial and demo versions of Hero Lab and RPGXplorer for some times now in order to determine which program is the best suited for editing the characters of my 3.5 campaign.
But now i'm facing a huge problem: I cannot find any datasets containning additionnal material such as Complete Warrior, Arcane etc.
Do both programs are running only with player handbook, Dungeon master guiter and monster manual in which case I don't find interest in them anymore.
Thanks for your replys guys!
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I've been testing trial and demo versions of Hero Lab and RPGXplorer for some times now in order to determine which program is the best suited for editing the characters of my 3.5 campaign.
But now i'm facing a huge problem: I cannot find any datasets containning additionnal material such as Complete Warrior, Arcane etc.
Do both programs are running only with player handbook, Dungeon master guiter and monster manual in which case I don't find interest in them anymore.
Thanks for your replys guys!
First off RPGXplorer is no longer supported and pretty much out of business, so don't even touch that program. HeroLabs is a great program but is restricted to OGL stuff in the data sets they add to it so the complete series is not added by them, but take a look at their forums, some enterprising Fans have made the Data themselves....
HeroLab can also be used for Pathfinder, Vampire the Reckoning, Changeling the Lost, Mutans & Masterminds, 4th Edition *kind of*, Savage Worlds, Cortex System and Call of Cthulhu. Each game system data set beyond the one you get for buying the program is an extra fee.
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... Vampire the Reckoning, ...just a minor point, its Vampire the Requiem. The Reckoning was the subtitle to the Old World of Darkness Hunter game. Its sad but I could in fact list all of White Wolf's game's full titles.
Graywulfe
you are correct, I must have been zoning when I worte that, it was 6am ;)
I've been testing trial and demo versions of Hero Lab and RPGXplorer for some times now in order to determine which program is the best suited for editing the characters of my 3.5 campaign.
But now i'm facing a huge problem: I cannot find any datasets containning additionnal material such as Complete Warrior, Arcane etc.
Do both programs are running only with player handbook, Dungeon master guiter and monster manual in which case I don't find interest in them anymore.
Thanks for your replys guys!
As Dragnmoon mentioned, the "Complete" series are not Open Game License, and thus 3rd party developers would not be able to "officially" add them to their data sets.
In BOTH cases, I am sure there are users that created data sets for those books, however. Check their forums. In both cases, you can also create your own datasets, IIRC.
By the way, it is my understanding that the main programmer for RPGXplorer is working on releasing the code so people can carry on the project, as he has been unable to due to personal difficulties. The project is not entirely "dead yet," hopefully.
Also cross-posted....
Today my laptop died, and so today I have taken my license key and gone to reinstall the Herolab I have paid for. Imagine my suprise to be then told I have to wait 26 days before I am permitted to re-activate the product!
There is a clause in their agreement that license can only be moved after 120 days and since I am at day 94 that leaves me swinging in the wind with product(s); Pathfinder Core Rulebook, the Advanced Players Guide, and The Bestiary not working.
I'm sorry to hear that your laptop died. That's an extremely frustrating event, and it's never convenient. I'm sure that the delays in getting Hero Lab running again compound that frustration. Unfortunately, we've had extensive experience with gamers and software products (12 years), so allow me to explain the situation from our side.
The reason for the waiting period is to ensure that one person in a gaming group doesn't buy the product and then share it on everyone's computers. Every year at GenCon, we have groups of gamers openly discuss doing this in front of us in our booth. So there appear to be plenty of groups with this intent, and we have to take steps to intercede.
The typical user re-formats an existing computer or switches to a new computer every 18-24 months, so the 120-day period is usually not an issue. When this problem does arise, there is a special form you are given access to. If you fill out that form for this specific issue, you're given priority in our support queue and users are usually back up and running within 24 hours.
To say I am not happy is an understatement, I get how wonderful it is you can download the product for a free trial, but the pirates are downloading the software and honest souls like me are being stuffed around.
Actually, the pirates aren't downloading the software. To the best of our knowledge, our licensing mechanism has not been cracked. Sure, there are lots of sites proclaiming they have a crack, but none of them actually have one. Those sites simply list every product in existence to drive traffic to them from people seeking cracks.
Being treated like a thief isn't what I paid for.....
Sadly, a very large percentage of gamers prefer to use cracked software whenever possible. As such, we are left with no choice but to impose the security mechanisms. If all those other gamers were as honest as people like yourself, the security safeguards would not be needed. :(
Parts of the product are quite sound. However, you can't export a plain text version of your character
You can generate a stat block using the Pathfinder standard format by going to the File menu and selecting "Output Active Hero Summary". Available formats are plain text, HTML, BBCode, and WikiText.
you can't see a version of the data showing scores or calculations
That's a lot of work and only a handful of people have asked for this feature. Since we prioritize everything based on what users ask for, this hasn't been done yet. If enough users ask for this, it will bump up in the priority scheme. Are there any other tools that provide this feature today?
you can't even amend the character sheet to make the feat descriptions more useful/readable
This is a high priority for the next big feature release of Hero Lab.
you can't see any kind of level progression (i.e. what changes on your character from level to level - really handy for level drain).
You're the first person that I've seen ask for this. Consequently, it hasn't been on our radar as something to add. I'll make sure it gets added to the todo list.
If you don't hear back from support by tomorrow evening, please let us know and I'll make sure to follow up myself.
The reason for the waiting period is to ensure that one person in a gaming group doesn't buy the product and then share it on everyone's computers. Every year at GenCon, we have groups of gamers openly discuss doing this in front of us in our booth. So there appear to be plenty of groups with this intent, and we have to take steps to intercede.
Why don't you make a group/family-version? If people do not want to pay for 5 licenses, they won't, no matter what DRM is in place. However, it might be much easier to get a group to pay for a group license (maybe 1.5 times the price for 4 licenses, 2 times for up to 6).
It might look like lost sales to you, but .. it isn't. Realistically, it's a way to get more than one person in a group of friends to pay for the software they use.
Sadly, a very large percentage of gamers prefer to use cracked software whenever possible. As such, we are left with no choice but to impose the security mechanisms. If all those other gamers were as honest as people like yourself, the security safeguards would not be needed. :(
This attitude makes 'people who want to use your product your enemy. I'm not sure if that's healthy. You won't be able to switch the 80-90% or so pirates to get a license. The best you can do is to make the market as large as possible in order to make the last 10-20% big enough to survive.
Ask google; typing hero lab into the search bar will get you the top 6 autocomplete suggestions:
hero lab
hero lab torrent
hero lab crack
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The only way to 'force' all people to pay for your software is such a pain for the legitimate users that it will most likely result in less revenue for you.
I agree with everything Malaclypse just said.
I know HeroLab is not a video game, but video games get severely pirated and the software audience for ttrpg aids and video games cross over; many video companies have started reversing severe DRM policies when they've seen sales from legitimate customers drop. See EA and their use of SecuROM (notice how Mass Effect had SecuROM on the disc and Mass Effect 2 is SecuROM free?)--mind it took several lawsuits to get them to stop using that on their discs. While I don't think HeroLab will get sued (and hope no one gets that petty), angry legitimate customers WILL complain and stop buying software when they get "punished" for something someone else might do. It has happened before and it will happen again.
Look to Stardock for an alternative attitude.
Why don't you make a group/family-version?
Interesting idea. Figuring out how best to implement the idea is another matter. We'll have to give this some thought.
I'm not sure if that's healthy. You won't be able to switch the 80-90% or so pirates to get a license. The best you can do is to make the market as large as possible in order to make the last 10-20% big enough to survive.
The only way to 'force' all people to pay for your software is such a pain for the legitimate users that it will most likely result in less revenue for you.
This argument seems sound on the surface, but it is predicated on an assumption that isn't true. Many years ago, our Army Builder V2.x product was being rampantly pirated. We instituted some metrics to track how many pirated copies were in use compared to the number of licensed copies. The ratio was about 4-to-1. The basic assumption from this data is that 80% are pirates and won't buy the product, so we should just accept that reality.
When we released Army Builder V3.0, we used a new security technology. Our sales *tripled*. That means at half of the pirates were doing so because they *could*, even though they otherwise believed the product was worth the price. Sadly, the security is in place to keep those people honest.
Based on concrete data from our real experiences, the licensing mechanism has resulted in a significant *increase* in revenue. In fact, the increase in sales numbers is the difference between having a viable product versus no product at all.
I'm sure someone will have a differing opinion. But we've got concrete data from our own experience that demonstrates the licensing mechanism is an unfortunate necessity due to the general attitudes on piracy reflected by gamers. It completely sucks, but it's the reality we have to contend with. :-(
When we released Army Builder V3.0, we used a new security technology. Our sales *tripled*. That means at half of the pirates were doing so because they *could*, even though they otherwise believed the product was worth the price. Sadly, the security is in place to keep those people honest.Based on concrete data from our real experiences, the licensing mechanism has resulted in a significant *increase* in revenue. In fact, the increase in sales numbers is the difference between having a viable product versus no product at all.
I am curious: did you survey your customers as to why they bought Army Builder 3? (And if so: how large was the sample and what were the questions you asked?)
Or, with all due respect, did you simply assume all of your new customers were formerly the people who pirated previously? Do you have any actual data that specifically proves the new customers were previously the pirates?
I recall when Army Builder 3 came out. It got a LOT of great press amongst Warhammer players and WarMachine players, both formally and by "word of mouth." IIRC (and I could be wrong) it had also been awhile since Army Builder 2 had been out and was no longer available in stores, whereas I saw copies of Army Builder 3 on store shelves where they were likely to attract curious passersby.
Did it occur to you maybe marketing and hard copy availability simply increased legit sales from new customers, rather than "converting" pirates?
Without further concrete information, the reason behind the numbers could be anything. You could WELL be right. But considering much larger software companies than yours have started reversing decisions to use strict DRM, and these software companies have frequent access to very detailed marketing data, perhaps there are other explanations to consider.
For the record: I do know someone who pirated Army Builder 2. When Army Builder 3 came out and DRM was tougher, he just continued to use his pirated version of 2 rather than purchase anything. That is a sample size of 1 and doesn't prove anything, I realize, but consider that probably, many people determined to get something for free will cling to the free opportunity as long as they can.
I am curious: did you survey your customers as to why they bought Army Builder 3? (And if so: how large was the sample and what were the questions you asked?)
We surveyed a sufficient number of customers to yield what I've been told are statistically valid results. That data was further reinforced by extensive anecdotal evidence.
IIRC (and I could be wrong) it had also been awhile since Army Builder 2 had been out and was no longer available in stores, whereas I saw copies of Army Builder 3 on store shelves where they were likely to attract curious passersby.
Your memory is incorrect. For almost 9 months prior to the release of V3.0, all purchases of V2.x included a FREE upgrade to V3.0, so there was zero impact in that regard. In addition, there was NO interruption in the flow of Army Builder on store shelves, and those copies prominently featured the free upgrade notice on the front of the box. It wasn't until months after V3.0 released online that we actually had new boxed product for V3.0. More importantly, the majority of our sales have always been online anyways. So those were all non-factors in the results and the premise for your theory is without basis.
Did it occur to you maybe marketing and hard copy availability simply increased legit sales from new customers, rather than "converting" pirates?
From your tone, it sounds like you are disputing this based on your opinion of what you feel we *should* do instead of what the actual data indicates. If that's the case, then please simply present your arguments that way. As it is, it seems you are making multiple assumptions and presenting interpretations based on those assumptions as factual conclusions, even though the assumptions are without basis.
We seriously considered abandoning further software products for this industry. We released Army Builder V3.0 as an experiment to see if we could turn the product into a viable business venture. If it didn't work financially, we planned to call it quits. We were stunned at the actual results, and the numbers far exceeded our expectations.
In the end, the data was quite compelling.
Without further concrete information, the reason behind the numbers could be anything. You could WELL be right. But considering much larger software companies than yours have started reversing decisions to use strict DRM, and these software companies have frequent access to very detailed marketing data, perhaps there are other explanations to consider.
I don't have any of the data from these other companies. However, I can draw one critical distinction between these large companies and us. The licensing technology used by these other companies has almost unilaterally been cracked, while ours has not. Once a technology is cracked, then the dynamics change, because anyone who wants to pirate the software can readily do so and the cost/benefit ratio of the DRM changes.
Our technology has not yet been cracked, so it still serves as a viable deterrent for would-be pirates. As long as that holds true, coupled with the compelling data we learned with Army Builder, there is no rational justification for us to eliminate DRM and essentially turn our products into shareware.
but consider that probably, many people determined to get something for free will cling to the free opportunity as long as they can.
There are numerous alternatives available for those folks. Between PCGen and a host of spreadsheets, anyone who wants a free solution has access to some solid options. For those who don't mind spending a few extra bucks, Hero Lab provides a professionally developed and maintained solution that offers an array of additional benefits over the free alternatives. Choice is always a good thing for the consumer.
I apologize if this isn't the right thread to ask in, but I've searched and searched and haven't found the info anywhere else...
Does the Bestiary add-on allow you to make new monsters utilizing the rules for monster creation? For example, would I be able to create a new monster from stratch by starting with type and then adding HD? Or do you have to take an existing creature and mod it?
I see!
That doesn't sound too bad, and I do intend on buying the Bestiary add-on for the utility it would provide anyways, I was just wondering how well it would work when designing new critters. Sounds like I'd be able to do pretty much what I want.
I'll have to play around with the editor some more on the main program too and see what I can do with it.
thanks!