Like Rob mentioned, Hero Lab is currently the only official character management software for both Pathfinder and the Pathfinder Society.I need something MAC compatible.
See my previous statement about buying a copy for everyone in my regular group.
No shallow boast, that!
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Hero Lab is the best $40 I've spent, such good quality characters, makes my life easy. But as a full disclaimer, I would probably pirate it if they didn't have the good copy protection. And I think most others would too.
I can't really applaud your attitude here, but at least you're honest about it. Sort of a validation of Rob's earlier statements, whatever the case.
I'm looking at purchasing Hero Labs, could you go into a little more detail on these bugs?
There are a few little quirks I've found, but I gotta say the devs have been really good at quashing them when you report them to the 'Pathfinder v.x.x Bug Reporting' thread on their forums. Ex: I noticed the Barbarian's Will save wasn't getting bumped up properly while he had the 'Raging' condition checked off. Reported it, and it was fixed three or four days later in the next release. Autoupdate picked up the fix next time I ran the program.
Only other bug I can personally remember encountering is that the Fire domain was granting cleric/inquisitor characters powers too early (IE they get Immunity to Fire at lvl 20 but were getting it at level 8) - this also has been fixed.
There have also been a few things that people developing custom items for the system have requested (such as a way to implement the Masterwork Backpack from the Adventurer's Armory before the AA package was released); these have generally been implemented fairly quickly. I gotta say, it's nice to deal with a developer who's both active and responsive in quashing bugs as they come up, compared to some other products I've used in the past.
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As to the DRM issue - seriously everyone - it's 2010 - get over it.
For the record, I don't care about ANY company protecting their assets. I don't like DRM that tells me how to LEGALLY use a product I'm paying for... which gets explained more below.
I find that the people who complain about DRM are people that had to pay for something instead of getting it for free... People only complain about the cops stopping them for speeding when it is them getting pulled over - not when it is the guy ripping around in a residential area where your kids are playing...
To burst the bubble your soapbox is sitting on...
I have four machines I would install Hero Lab on that are all mine. I have my home office desktop (where I do most of my game prep), my notebook (which I use during the game), a netbook (which I use when portability is an issue), and a family room PC (which I use when I can't go to my home office because I'm on Kid Duty). Call me old-school but I prefer desktops...
The "YOU CAN ONLY INSTALL OUR SOFTWARE ON TWO MACHINES BECAUSE OUR MARKET STUDIES SAY THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!" thing is enough of a stopper for me that I haven't bought it.
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The "YOU CAN ONLY INSTALL OUR SOFTWARE ON TWO MACHINES BECAUSE OUR MARKET STUDIES SAY THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!" thing is enough of a stopper for me that I haven't bought it.
For users with more than two computers, we offer the ability to purchase one additional secondary license for $10.00, supporting a maximum of three (3) total license numbers. You can purchase the additional license via the License Administration website at www.lonewolfdevel.com.
So you're not totally up a creek.
Honestly, 'have it your way' works better as a fast food slogan than a software EULA. Being a for-profit developer in this day & age means having to face the prospect of a ton of people stealing your work - I empathize, given that I used to have to shift between 5 different computers between work and home, but as far as Lone Wolf goes it looks like they've at least tried to reach some kind of reasonable acommodation between the needs of the devs and the desires of the users.
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I'm seriously confused on what the issue is; like, are you denying you'd probably copy it if it were avail on .Torrent? You do fall into a category of people that tend to "know their way" around computers, and Warez anything we can. So to prevent piracy they do what they can; even then it's not perfect.
For their part they do provide fast updates and an accurate representation of the rules for your money. If you have a way to avoid them using those security measures and still make a profit I'm sure they'd listen. The google model of building customer loyalty and providing free services only works if you have a few cash cows to start with. And good luck with the "donation" model nowadays.
Like, of the people arguing against the pay service, would any of you actually purchase it if it were available without this model?
For the OpenOffice and Mac users, my sheet is actually focused on maintaining compatibility for both by remaining macro-free and only using common Functions. I've been on a hiatus for a bit, but have a great base of users that are helping things along in my absence.
As for Hero Lab, I own it and all of the Pathfinder modules. It's a very nice product and I enjoy using it. As with a few others, my primary complaint is the character sheet output. It definitely could use some work to both optimize the space and more efficiently display relevant types of character data. I've grown fond of landscape character sheets these days, as having the data in three distinct columns has been a nice way to organize things. For Rob and the Lonewolf crew, you can check my sheet for what I'd recommend as the basic layout (I have both portrait and landscape options). Of course, the primary reason I still use my sheet is customizability--if Lonewolf could figure out a way to make a modular character sheet with drag-and-drop, sizeable data blocks that would be the closest I could see to using Hero Lab over mine (and even then it won't contain all of the Pathfinder OGC material I try to include from 3PP).
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For Rob and the Lonewolf crew, you can check my sheet for what I'd recommend as the basic layout (I have both portrait and landscape options).
Erian, I love your builder to death, but I'd rate your sheets a solid C+ (Lone Wolf is an F-). Everybody is going to like something different, but I've yet to hear somebody say "I love Lone Wolf's output!" I don't know if I'd look at Erian's sheet as an example of "spectacular". Personally, I like sheets that are moderately close to the "standard" sheet, but have a few more bells and whistles (and space for equipment). The one that came with Hero Forge is a good example of what I like to look for. In fact, when I transfer over my Hero Builder data by hand to a sheet, I print out blank versions of the Hero Forge sheet I like it so much.
I think the biggest problem for them is that they build the builder to function as a computerized sheet first (which it does well) and the printable sheet almost looks like an afterthought. Additionally, when I find myself using Perim's spell generator to produce my spell sheets (even though every time I level I have to reselect tons of spells which is a time-consuming pain in the behind) because Hero Builder is missing immensely critical info such as what saving through is being affected, or worse yet, what the radius of my AoE spell is, I eventually just give up using them altogether.
Of course, the primary reason I still use my sheet is customizability--if Lonewolf could figure out a way to make a modular character sheet with drag-and-drop, sizeable data blocks that would be the closest I could see to using Hero Lab over mine (and even then it won't contain all of the Pathfinder OGC material I try to include from 3PP).
This is what I'd like to see. Personally I think the place to start is with the "standard" sheets from the back of the Core Rulebook and then start working on templates from there.
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I have little sympathy and understanding for those who dislike DRM. It is so bad that when you go on amazon or any other place that has product reviews you have a horde of one star reviews just because of that without much else of a review. Check out the Starcraft 2 or Bioshock 2 reviews on amazon if you don't beleive me.
Piracy exists and to be blunt people cannot be trusted to not steal your work. It has to be protected. Before anyone telms me about the cost of herolab if it so expensive how did you afford to buy the PFRP core book in the first place. All it comes down to for the most part is some wanting to get tommorows product now at yesterdays prices without any restrictions. Not going to happen.
I downloaded the demo copy of HeroLab. Played around with it a little and decided for the moment it was just not my thing. I may get it a letter date and wait to see for more bugs to be ironed out. In the end the character builders are useful yet we made characters by pen and paper for many years before they were avaliable.
Erian, I love your builder to death, but I'd rate your sheets a solid C+ (Lone Wolf is an F-). Everybody is going to like something different, but I've yet to hear somebody say "I love Lone Wolf's output!" I don't know if I'd look at Erian's sheet as an example of "spectacular". Personally, I like sheets that are moderately close to the "standard" sheet, but have a few more bells and whistles (and space for equipment). The one that came with Hero Forge is a good example of what I like to look for. In fact, when I transfer over my Hero Builder data by hand to a sheet, I print out blank versions of the Hero Forge sheet I like it so much.
Oh, I didn't mean to imply mine is the definite way to go, just another option to look at for consideration. I've not seen that many landscape sheets out there for pathfinder. And of course, mine is built for both print and on-screen use. Since Hero Lab has other formats for the on-screen use they would not be constrained in that way.
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As far as output goes...seeing as its an official product why can't herolab output be on something closer to the pathfinder character sheet. Actually ideally something resembling the wotc deluxe character sheets
My biggest gripe is that it doesn't print the weapons stats as currently equiped all in one block....the fact its on two pages stinks. A lot of room could be saved using a smaller font for skill...the output does need major work ( pcgen has much better output )
That said I use herolab more for the calculations for my players. We still all copy on old school character sheets...that said it would be nice if we didn't have to.
Oh add me to the people that finds two licenses a bit too low. I have a desktop I use and two laptops...one for when I game at home ( big honker of a machine ) and another small netbook for travel....and at some point I may add a win 7 tablet ( thought that might make the netbook not needed )
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+1; I have a personal policy to avoid all products with Digital Restrictions Management.
DRM lets the vendor tell me where/when/what I'm allowed to do with the product. So, if the US government releases cash that lets me tell the vendor where/when/what they allowed to spend it on, then we'll be even.
Until that time, if they're free to spend my cash, then I need to be free to call the shots on the products for which I've exchanged that cash. Anything less is a non-starter.
Well said (aka +1).
The folks that write Hero Lab are always quick to tell us how easy it is to deal with the DRM (as they already have on this thread) every time someone indicates its a concern (or stopper for many of us). There are plenty of people who have purchased Hero Lab despite the DRM... but I don't think you'll find a single person who bought it because of it. Imagine how many more people would buy it if this silliness simply went away. I'm definitely one of them. Don't want DRM. Don't trust DRM. Don't care about 16 years of business... as all the business commercials say, "Past performance is not a guarantee of future earnings." Hell, even GM went belly up and I don't think the government is gonna bail out a character generator... even if it has the Paizo Stomp of Approval.
So you are saying despite the fact that Rob has come on here and said it is not something you have to worry about and that you CAN use it without being on the internet AT ALL. Hero Lab will do fine... but since you just do NOT want it.. that is fine too. but please do not keep up the false premise that HL is not something it is.
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you CAN use it without being on the internet AT ALL.
Exactly. If, for some reason, everyone associated with Lonewolf Games disappeared off the face of the earth tonight, I would still be able to use Hero lab tomorrow...and the next day, etc. The only thing that would be affected is that I would no longer receive updates.
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As to the DRM issue - seriously everyone - it's 2010 - get over it.For the record, I don't care about ANY company protecting their assets. I don't like DRM that tells me how to LEGALLY use a product I'm paying for... which gets explained more below.
I find that the people who complain about DRM are people that had to pay for something instead of getting it for free... People only complain about the cops stopping them for speeding when it is them getting pulled over - not when it is the guy ripping around in a residential area where your kids are playing...To burst the bubble your soapbox is sitting on...
I have four machines I would install Hero Lab on that are all mine. I have my home office desktop (where I do most of my game prep), my notebook (which I use during the game), a netbook (which I use when portability is an issue), and a family room PC (which I use when I can't go to my home office because I'm on Kid Duty). Call me old-school but I prefer desktops...
The "YOU CAN ONLY INSTALL OUR SOFTWARE ON TWO MACHINES BECAUSE OUR MARKET STUDIES SAY THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!" thing is enough of a stopper for me that I haven't bought it.
I too have 4 machines (one of which is a Macbook Pro laptop). I own Hero Labs.
Now with the above being said by me, I can not disagree with you more. Just because you have multiple computers does not mean everyone does. The average person has 2 or less. Now I say average... not that the marketing studies say that is what I am SUPPOSED to have as you stated. To many software users think that it is their right that they should be able to install software on every computer they own and this is simply NOT the case. If it was this way then as Rob mentioned it is going to be pirated on average because it CAN be done.
How is that fair in any way for the company that designed the software to begin with? OS's, games, and even most applications do NOT allow you to install software on multiple computers for free. When you design software and want to distribute it... you choose the way you want to do it, but do not fault the people that want to protect their software and prevent it from being abused like so many can and do.
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I am glad that LoneWolf treats me as a criminal and I have to pay to prove otherwise. Also, I do not buy a vehicle and the dealer puts limitations as to where I can buy it or to whom service can be accomplished.
How are they treating YOU personally as a criminal? There are people out there that steal software by giving it to everyone and their friends... this IS stealing. Lonewolf is not saying anyone person does this... but people DO do it, of this we know for a fact because of Bit Torrents, Kazaa and the like. So they are just protecting their software. Like it or not. You do not have to buy it. I chose to buy it because I find it easy to use and do not find any limitations on it's use for me at all. So your car analogy... holds no water and makes about as much sense as a boat on land.
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Oh add me to the people that finds two licenses a bit too low. I have a desktop I use and two laptops...one for when I game at home ( big honker of a machine ) and another small netbook for travel....and at some point I may add a win 7 tablet ( thought that might make the netbook not needed )
There is always the option of purchasing add- on licenses for 10 dollars each. Which is not to bad a price and a good compromise in my opinion :)
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To burst the bubble your soapbox is sitting on...I have four machines I would install Hero Lab on that are all mine. I have my home office desktop (where I do most of my game prep), my notebook (which I use during the game), a netbook (which I use when portability is an issue), and a family room PC (which I use when I can't go to my home office because I'm on Kid Duty). Call me old-school but I prefer desktops...
The "YOU CAN ONLY INSTALL OUR SOFTWARE ON TWO MACHINES BECAUSE OUR MARKET STUDIES SAY THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!" thing is enough of a stopper for me that I haven't bought it.
By your logic...
I'm Walmart. I'm an entity in law unto myself.
I own 82,000 computers.
I want a piece of software installed on all of them, because they are all mine, and "I" use them all.
Never even mind that... If I own a small sales firm with 30 computers that I randomly assign my employees to work on, but I as the owner might work on any one of them, I want a piece of software installed on them all just in case... and I should only pay once, even though my employees might use them when I'm not...
You are arguing the "trust" factor. The company is supposed to trust that while you are using the software on your laptop, one of your friends isn't using it on you desktop. I am saying you are untrustworthy. (Nothing personal - I don't know you - but I certainly don't trust everyone just because they tell me they are trustworthy)
And companies shouldn't be put in the situation where they have to count on the honesty of the faceless masses.
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I have four machines I would install Hero Lab on that are all mine. I have my home office desktop (where I do most of my game prep), my notebook (which I use during the game), a netbook (which I use when portability is an issue), and a family room PC (which I use when I can't go to my home office because I'm on Kid Duty). Call me old-school but I prefer desktops...The first and second computers come with each license, and a 3rd and 4th computer can be added to your HL license for $10 each.
I didn't write that. Check your quote tags.
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I am glad that LoneWolf treats me as a criminal and I have to pay to prove otherwise. Also, I do not buy a vehicle and the dealer puts limitations as to where I can buy it or to whom service can be accomplished.
You can't digitally copy your vehicle. And they can void your warranty under certain circumstances.
We are talking about apples - you just brought cake into the conversation...
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They, using your words have already labeled me as a thief because the ability to steal is prevalent therefore everyone will steal. Second, there are limitations to use of the software otherwise there would not be a EULA upon purchasing hence my analogy is spot on. Or, I can install it as many times as I want on as many PC's as I want?
Let me ask you a question. Next time you go on vacation, would you be willing to post your address on this forum, with an announcement that you will be gone for a week, do not have a security system, and will be leaving your doors unlocked? If you say no, then by your logic you are labeling everyone on this forum as s thief.
Taking sane measure to prevent theft is not the same as accusing everyone you meet of being a criminal.
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How is that fair in any way for the company that designed the software to begin with? OS's, games, and even most applications do NOT allow you to install software on...There is such a thing as Fair Use law in the US:
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted workSo, if I use the item in my own home for my own personal use, this is not breaking the law. However, due to the fact that their draconian EULA states that I may be a criminal(due to having the capability to hand out copies to anyone) I may only have two copies that have to be verified by their servers before use or I may not use them, I negate my right to make as many copies as I want as long as it is for nonprofit purposes.
You can make as many copies as you want - what you cannot do is install them on as many machines and activate them as you want.
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How is that fair in any way for the company that designed the software to begin with? OS's, games, and even most applications do NOT allow you to install software on...There is such a thing as Fair Use law in the US:
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted workSo, if I use the item in my own home for my own personal use, this is not breaking the law. However, due to the fact that their draconian EULA states that I may be a criminal(due to having the capability to hand out copies to anyone) I may only have two copies that have to be verified by their servers before use or I may not use them, I negate my right to make as many copies as I want as long as it is for nonprofit purposes.
How did my comment about fair equate with a law. Considering I never mentioned a law involved here. But I think that R.Doyle answered the question best. By your logic in being able to copy to all your computers and as long as they are non-profit makes it ok right? Wrong, Read R, Doyle's answer.
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To burst the bubble your soapbox is sitting on...I have four machines I would install Hero Lab on that are all mine. I have my home office desktop (where I do most of my game prep), my notebook (which I use during the game), a netbook (which I use when portability is an issue), and a family room PC (which I use when I can't go to my home office because I'm on Kid Duty). Call me old-school but I prefer desktops...
The "YOU CAN ONLY INSTALL OUR SOFTWARE ON TWO MACHINES BECAUSE OUR MARKET STUDIES SAY THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!" thing is enough of a stopper for me that I haven't bought it.
By your logic...
I'm Walmart. I'm an entity in law unto myself.
I own 82,000 computers.
I want a piece of software installed on all of them, because they are all mine, and "I" use them all.
Never even mind that... If I own a small sales firm with 30 computers that I randomly assign my employees to work on, but I as the owner might work on any one of them, I want a piece of software installed on them all just in case... and I should only pay once, even though my employees might use them when I'm not...
You are arguing the "trust" factor. The company is supposed to trust that while you are using the software on your laptop, one of your friends isn't using it on you desktop. I am saying you are untrustworthy. (Nothing personal - I don't know you - but I certainly don't trust everyone just because they tell me they are trustworthy)
And companies shouldn't be put in the situation where they have to count on the honesty of the faceless masses.
Well Said!!!
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They, using your words have already labeled me as a thief because the ability to steal is prevalent therefore everyone will steal. Second, there are limitations to use of the software otherwise there would not be a EULA upon purchasing hence my analogy is spot on. Or, I can install it as many times as I want on as many PC's as I want?Let me ask you a question. Next time you go on vacation, would you be willing to post your address on this forum, with an announcement that you will be gone for a week, do not have a security system, and will be leaving your doors unlocked? If you say no, then by your logic you are labeling everyone on this forum as s thief.
Taking sane measure to prevent theft is not the same as accusing everyone you meet of being a criminal.
Another well said comment!
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So you're not totally up a creek.
Honestly, 'have it your way' works better as a fast food slogan than a software EULA. Being a for-profit developer in this day & age means having to face the prospect of a ton of people stealing your work - I empathize, given that I used to have to shift between 5 different computers between work and home, but as far as Lone Wolf goes it looks like they've at least tried to reach some kind of reasonable acommodation between the needs of the devs and the desires of the users.
I'm not looking to steal anyone's work nor am I interested in hearing all the reasons why I need to be punished for wanting to use it honestly... or that I need to pay extra because my honest intentions don't fit the mold they used when they cast their DRM model.
Incidentally, I've seen DRM bypassed... granted, for higher ticket items (Photoshop, for example). So all the talk about how DRM is the end-all protector of software is pie in the sky.
DRM is really a outdated idea. There will always be a way around it, and all I've seen it do is scare off people who would otherwise by the product. Maybe there is some high end market research that shows me to be wrong or such I don't know, but I don't see the logic behind.
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I'm not looking to steal anyone's work nor am I interested in hearing all the reasons why I need to be punished for wanting to use it honestly... or that I need to pay extra because my honest intentions don't fit the mold they used when they cast their DRM model.
Incidentally, I've seen DRM bypassed... granted, for higher ticket items (Photoshop, for example). So all the talk about how DRM is the end-all protector of software is pie in the sky.
While you say you are honest and do not fit the mold where you would steal someones work. You may not be the person that does, but why can't you admit that there are people out that DO?? 90% of the people out there are basically honest but even out of that 90% might not intentionally steal software by installing unauthorized software on more then one computer when they should not be doing so. You are NOT being punished for what you are not doing but the DRM is put in place because of what OTHERS have done.
You prove MY point about theft and why the DRM is there to begin with and that people steal with your Photoshop addage. People WILL steal if given the chance. Not ALL people just some.
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DRM is really a outdated idea. There will always be a way around it, and all I've seen it do is scare off people who would otherwise by the product. Maybe there is some high end market research that shows me to be wrong or such I don't know, but I don't see the logic behind.
Rob from Lonewolf has said as much. That he has seen the DMR gain more customers then not having it.
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While you say you are honest and do not fit the mold where you would steal someones work. You may not be the person that does, but why can't you admit that there are people out that DO??
Who says I can't?
You prove MY point about theft and why the DRM is there to begin with and that people steal with your Photoshop addage. People WILL steal if given the chance. Not ALL people just some.
I'm not saying people won't steal it. If you can stop that, that's great... DRM doesn't. Despite that, I'm STILL not even saying they should get rid of the DRM. My father was a NYC police officer. He always told us that no locks on our door will stop a determined criminal. I still lock my doors at night, too. Maybe a less-determined criminal might be deterred. Fine. I get that.
My point is that I can't use it under the DRM's current model... not as I would want to, anyway... And, as an honest and law abiding customer who forks over my money without restricting how it gets used, I should be able to install the software on my 4 personal machines for my personal use. Period.
Give me 4 licenses. Don't charge me extra for them. Done deal. Otherwise, I'm not a happy customer and part of the cost of using restrictive DRM is having to deal with the incessant voice of dissatisfaction.
Give me 4 licenses. Don't charge me extra for them. Done deal. Otherwise, I'm not a happy customer and part of the cost of using restrictive DRM is having to deal with the incessant voice of dissatisfaction.
What if you have 6 machines? Should you get 6 licenses then?
And what about Windows? I've got 3 machines at home, each requires its own license that I pay Microsoft for.
I look at DRM a little bit like Pay Before You Pump gasoline. I don't know anywhere in the US where you still pump before you pay. Why? Because a few people would pump their gas and then hop in their car and drive away. And so now you get to hand over your money before getting your product.
Hyrum.
Ogre sheet is the best in my opinion. Feature rich excel file and fantastic response by the author. APG work is still in progress, so don't expect that yet.
Hey awesome Lorekeeper, I'll recommend this to my group! Thanks :D
Ogre sheet is the best in my opinion. Feature rich excel file and fantastic response by the author. APG work is still in progress, so don't expect that yet.
Excel based sheets are a bad way to go IMO. The second most popular office app is Open Office and it is probably a significantly higher portion of the market in the personal use sector. Excel sheets are only marginally compatible with OpenOffice, if that even. Moreover, the amount of pure programming being put into Excel sheets to make them work as character generators are enough to make stand alone programs if some one looked into adapting them to .Net.
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Excel based sheets are a bad way to go IMO. The second most popular office app is Open Office and it is probably a significantly higher portion of the market in the personal use sector. Excel sheets are only marginally compatible with OpenOffice, if that even. Moreover, the amount of pure programming being put into Excel sheets to make them work as character generators are enough to make stand alone programs if some one looked into adapting them to .Net.Ogre sheet is the best in my opinion. Feature rich excel file and fantastic response by the author. APG work is still in progress, so don't expect that yet.
This is what makes Erian's sheet cooler than Ogre's IMHO (both are good too). Erian's can be used in open office, which makes it really a nice option.
I hate the standard Pathfinder character sheet layout.
It was clearly designed by someone who didn't have to manage several of them at a time.
I'm the person largely responsible for the landscape view layout of Erian's sheet. (I told Erian it was desirable, he did the grunt work, I told him what to do over, he did the grunt work, I told him what needed fixing, he made me do the grunt work...) :)
And then there's the arguments we had about where data entry should happen...
The landscape layout is set up so that combat related stuff is in the left hand third of the page, general information is laid out in the center third, and noncombat stuff (skills and the like) are laid out on the right hand third.
The skill list is actually two skill lists - both sorted alphabetically. The top list is skills you can use without any training, the bottom list is skills that only function if you put a skill rank in them.
Both of these, while different from the standard layout, are different from the standard layout for ergonomic reasons.
It is entirely possible for a GM to lay three character sheets in a staggered set, and just have the combat stats showing for each major NPC.
This is what makes Erian's sheet cooler than Ogre's IMHO (both are good too). Erian's can be used in open office, which makes it really a nice option.
Thanks! As a note for folks, Kor and I actually support each others' work. I point folks looking for the macro-enabled features his way, he points folks looking for OO or other compatibility my way, etc. We've even initially discussed collaborating on our basic data so we reduce the overall effort needed for that type of general work.
Now, I definitely understand the point regarding the effort that could be used for actual programming languages (I was a software development PM for nearly a decade before moving up to mid-management stuff). For anyone with the skills, I welcome slickly coded, free solutions (like PCGen). The thing with me is this, I don't know programming languages and have no time to learn them. I do, however, know a heck of a lot about Excel from my job. My primary (personal) goal with my sheet is easy, instant customization to accommodate the many tweaks I do in games. There's absolutely no way I can do that with a tool in any programming language, or even customizable tools like Hero Lab. So, I'd say keep that in mind regarding such sheets.
I'm the person largely responsible for the landscape view layout of Erian's sheet. (I told Erian it was desirable, he did the grunt work, I told him what to do over, he did the grunt work, I told him what needed fixing, he made me do the grunt work...) :)
Yep. AAG was definitely instrumental in my landscape layout. I was resistant at first (being an old-school portrait user for nearly two and a half decades), but after using it for a while I can't comfortably use portrait sheets now.
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What if you have 6 machines? Should you get 6 licenses then?
Yup. Was this an unreasonable expectation before DRM? No. Why is it suddenly unreasonable now?
And what about Windows? I've got 3 machines at home, each requires its own license that I pay Microsoft for.
Which is also repugnant but SEEMS somewhat less so since the OS generally comes with a machine when you buy it so the cost seems built in and gets hidden. We're FOOLED... which leads to the fact that trying to use Micro$oft as an example of good, friendly, customer oriented business practices is doomed to failure from the start...
I look at DRM a little bit like Pay Before You Pump gasoline. I don't know anywhere in the US where you still pump before you pay. Why? Because a few people would pump their gas and then hop in their car and drive away. And so now you get to hand over your money before getting your product.
Don't have a problem with that. Protecting the product is understandable. But if I fill a gas can, I don't want to be told that I can fill my lawn mower and my weed whacker but if I want to also fill my generator I need a special license and, if I want to also fill my chain saw, I'm SOL.
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What if you have 6 machines? Should you get 6 licenses then?Yup. Was this an unreasonable expectation before DRM? No. Why is it suddenly unreasonable now?
Because like has been said earlier. What is to prevent you from using it on all your friends computers? using it on 200 other computers? Without the DRM there is an unlimited amount of times you can use the license and nothing preventing you from applying it to any computer no matter where it is located.
And what about Windows? I've got 3 machines at home, each requires its own license that I pay Microsoft for.
Which is also repugnant but SEEMS somewhat less so since the OS generally comes with a machine when you buy it so the cost seems built in and gets hidden. We're FOOLED... which leads to the fact that trying to use Micro$oft as an example of good, friendly, customer oriented business practices is doomed to failure from the start...
I look at DRM a little bit like Pay Before You Pump gasoline. I don't know anywhere in the US where you still pump before you pay. Why? Because a few people would pump their gas and then hop in their car and drive away. And so now you get to hand over your money before getting your product.Don't have a problem with that. Protecting the product is understandable. But if I fill a gas can, I don't want to be told that I can fill my lawn mower and my weed whacker but if I want to also fill my generator I need a special license and, if I want to also fill my chain saw, I'm SOL.
With the Gas theory then you are right... but you have a limited supply of gas to use. So using YOUR analogy, The gas has a limited supply issued with each can of gas. You can use it on what ever combustion engine you choose but eventually you are going to run out and in the case of a gas can more likely sooner then later. You are going to have to purchase more to use on more combustion engines too.
The same goes for computer DRM. You have a limited supply of licensing. You use them up you will need to purchase more. Without DRM you would have an unlimited amount of licensing basically to use where ever and when ever YOU want regardless of whether or not it is legal, the ability is there to do. So Lonewolf would need to trust everyone that purchases the product and that is asking to much based on way to many factors. Where as the sins of a few become the standard for everyone then. A software company needs to protect it's use and should do it the best way they can. If you do not like it that is fine, but complaining that it is not fair because you SHOULD be able to do what you want with it is going overboard.
Companies are in business to make money not give their product away.
Hero Lab impressed me enough to fork over the cash and purchase it.
I got to agree. Hero Lab takes all the hard work out of it for you with updated Pathfinder material. I run a VTT Adventure Path campaign using D20Pro and the ability to quickly create or update pathfinder characters with the APG material as well is fantastic. Definitely worth the money for my purposes.
Without getting into the DRM thing (it's not for me), I gave Hero Lab a shot and decided against purchasing it.
1) I'm a Mac user and having to run something in VMWare is a pain. It's 2010 - people use Macs more than ever.
2) It's WAY too expensive. $30 for the application and then a bunch more to add additional material (some of which I think isn't even optional - APG for instance). In today's software market (especially coming from the Mac world) $30 for a buggy, bloated, unappealing application is just too much to ask for.
3) I'm not slighting Lonewolf. It's a niche market for this kind of software and I'm ignorant of their staffing/resources, but just starting Hero Lab makes me feel like it's 1999 all over again.
I'm going to explore some of the other, more open options, but in the end I'll most likely use a spreadsheet or whip up something myself in Objective-C for native Mac users.
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What if you have 6 machines? Should you get 6 licenses then?Yup. Was this an unreasonable expectation before DRM? No. Why is it suddenly unreasonable now?
You trollin'. It's unreasonable now because THE INTERNET. When making a copy of a program and giving it to your pals required 10 floppy disks and a bit of shoe leather, sure, copy protection was a pretty low concern (I kinda miss having to look up stuff in the paper manual to play the game... and having a paper manual period).
Commonly excepted fair use doctrine allows you to make a backup of software in case your primary copy is damaged etc. In that respect you can download as many copies of HeroLab as you like. When you run that installer you have to authenticate *once* to LW's servers to run it indefinitely (and again if you purchase add-on products so they can be downloaded). Hardly a bewildering maze of flaming hoops and broken-glass-strewn DRM corridors to navigate.
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Without getting into the DRM thing (it's not for me), I gave Hero Lab a shot and decided against purchasing it.
1) I'm a Mac user and having to run something in VMWare is a pain. It's 2010 - people use Macs more than ever.
2) It's WAY too expensive. $30 for the application and then a bunch more to add additional material (some of which I think isn't even optional - APG for instance). In today's software market (especially coming from the Mac world) $30 for a buggy, bloated, unappealing application is just too much to ask for.
3) I'm not slighting Lonewolf. It's a niche market for this kind of software and I'm ignorant of their staffing/resources, but just starting Hero Lab makes me feel like it's 1999 all over again.
I'm going to explore some of the other, more open options, but in the end I'll most likely use a spreadsheet or whip up something myself in Objective-C for native Mac users.
1/ they're developing it
2/ buggy ? all apps are (but they're listening to us and fixing the bugs)3/ (bloated) like it's 1999 ? we need a simple and efficient interface. I don't want 3D-window turning around when I'm designing my PC!
I intend to buy it end of this month, 'cause the demo really pulled me in.
If you look at most professional software (except games) they have a per-seat licence, not a licence on the application itself.
Stephane