RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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It's actually called "Office X," from 2000. And its days at Paizo are numbered, because Office X doesn't run under OS X Lion (10.7) or newer, and as soon as Apple stops providing security updates for our 10.6 machines, we'll have to abandon it. Which means we need to get that HeroLab solution working sooner rather than later!My guess is that you're thinking of Excel for Windows. We use Macs at Paizo.I wasn't really asking for it seriously. I just thought it was funny that I am probably running a compatible version of Excel. (I've never heard of Excel 2001 though, I thought it went from 2000 to 2003.)
If there were a way to get it, I'd only get it as a curiosity. Actually, the same curiosity could probably be sated with a high resolution screenshot of the beast. (Perhaps with a sign that said "Do not feed the spreadsheet.")
So does that mean that in order to freelance for Paizo, one has to have a Mac running 10.6 or earlier and Office X so that they can use the statblock spreadsheet? Or do you have some other way of doing things when dealing with the Windows world?
Just curious :-)
The spreadsheet works on PCs, too.
Vendor lock in is something that IMO should be avoided if at all possible. Perhaps the work could be done using the Open Document Format or another open file format?
Creative Director
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Vendor lock in is something that IMO should be avoided if at all possible. Perhaps the work could be done using the Open Document Format or another open file format?
Actually...
If a freelancer doesn't have access to the spreadsheet due to not owning Excel... all that means is that we rebuild their stat blocks using the spreadsheet in-house. No worries about "vendor lock" at all, in other words.
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I once wrote a little database program that worked quite well for building basic core race and core class combinations. It was a pain, but I think a database is really a better way to go for building something like that. Better fine control and the interface can be cleaner.
What I made wasn't elegant, but it worked. Unfortunately that was ages ago and I have no idea where it went.
Never understood why everyone loves spreadsheets so much when 90% of the stuff I see in spreadsheets would be better handled with a database.
I wasn't going to say it because I get that most people just don't grok databases, but yeah. This could be handled so much more efficiently by pros that it would blow your mind. You are absolutely making the right decision handing it off.
Have you ever TRIED to convert a complex Excel sheet into ODF? It's basically simpler to rewrite the thing from scratch, sadly.
No but I can imagine it isn't the easiest thing to do. Just thinking that if it was redone (or done more efficiently) with open source/free software tools it would be able to not need conversion ten years down the road.
Vendor lock in is something that IMO should be avoided if at all possible. Perhaps the work could be done using the Open Document Format or another open file format?Actually...
If a freelancer doesn't have access to the spreadsheet due to not owning Excel... all that means is that we rebuild their stat blocks using the spreadsheet in-house. No worries about "vendor lock" at all, in other words.
If I wasn't clear initially my apologies, I was referring to Paizo staff using LibreOffice (possibly with extensions or templates?) in doing the work they do. Or another program that is capable of reading OpenDocument Format.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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LibreOffice works... it's a bit rough around the edges when you get something that complicated though.
The spreadsheet can be tricky enough to use in Excel, under LibreOffice things get weirder. While Libre is close to MS Excel, it introduces little tiny differences everywhere. When you are dealing with something fairly simple they slip by un-noticed. When you are dealing with something crazy complex, they pile up, one on top of the other and it's very noticeable.
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Lonewolf-Rob,
If you are doing that for Paizo as far as Hero Labs goes are you going to release that as an update to the users as well then as a custom type of output for those that own Hero Labs?Thanks! :)
+1
Or, better yet, the Paizo output becomes the standard output.
Unless Paizo specifically asks us to keep certain formatting changes private, I can't see any reason why we wouldn't make it available. And I don't expect that to occur.
Once we're generating the exact same format used in official Pathfinder products, we're already planning to make it the default standard format that Hero Lab outputs. Consistency is always a good thing. :)
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Lonewolf-Rob,
If you are doing that for Paizo as far as Hero Labs goes are you going to release that as an update to the users as well then as a custom type of output for those that own Hero Labs?Thanks! :)
+1
Or, better yet, the Paizo output becomes the standard output.
Unless Paizo specifically asks us to keep certain formatting changes private, I can't see any reason why we wouldn't make it available. And I don't expect that to occur.
Once we're generating the exact same format used in official Pathfinder products, we're already planning to make it the default standard format that Hero Lab outputs. Consistency is always a good thing. :)
I was TOTALLY channeling my inner awesomeness there. Could you feel it?
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Lonewolf-Rob,
If you are doing that for Paizo as far as Hero Labs goes are you going to release that as an update to the users as well then as a custom type of output for those that own Hero Labs?Thanks! :)
+1
Or, better yet, the Paizo output becomes the standard output.
Unless Paizo specifically asks us to keep certain formatting changes private, I can't see any reason why we wouldn't make it available. And I don't expect that to occur.
Once we're generating the exact same format used in official Pathfinder products, we're already planning to make it the default standard format that Hero Lab outputs. Consistency is always a good thing. :)
Freaking Awesome!!!!
Thanks :)
Sometimes I don't get back to threads as quickly as I should!
Because you asked so nicely...
As the caption suggests, though, it really is something that was never intended for anyone but Paizo staff and freelancers to use. It does what it needs to do well, but what it needs to do isn't be pretty or even that user-friendly.
Thanks for posting that. It's nice to get to see what the monster looks like, even if it did take me two months to get back to this thread.
It's actually called "Office X," from 2000. And its days at Paizo are numbered, because Office X doesn't run under OS X Lion (10.7) or newer, and as soon as Apple stops providing security updates for our 10.6 machines, we'll have to abandon it. Which means we need to get that HeroLab solution working sooner rather than later!My guess is that you're thinking of Excel for Windows. We use Macs at Paizo.I wasn't really asking for it seriously. I just thought it was funny that I am probably running a compatible version of Excel. (I've never heard of Excel 2001 though, I thought it went from 2000 to 2003.)
If there were a way to get it, I'd only get it as a curiosity. Actually, the same curiosity could probably be sated with a high resolution screenshot of the beast. (Perhaps with a sign that said "Do not feed the spreadsheet.")
Thanks for the replies, guys! I realized like right after I posted that it was probably a Mac version.
(Why is the tab called "prebuiltmonstersDONOTUSE"? Because if the user wanders over to the rightmost cells, that's where it stores data like BAB progression, weapon damage values for all creature sizes, and so on... things the user shouldn't mess with because it'll break things. So those not-for-users-to-touch tabs all have DONOTUSE as part of their names. :p)
Lock those cells and protect the worksheet?
(Why is the tab called "prebuiltmonstersDONOTUSE"? Because if the user wanders over to the rightmost cells, that's where it stores data like BAB progression, weapon damage values for all creature sizes, and so on... things the user shouldn't mess with because it'll break things. So those not-for-users-to-touch tabs all have DONOTUSE as part of their names. :p)Lock those cells and protect the worksheet?
If I lock it with a password, that means I have to unlock it when I want to work on it, make changes, then lock it again.
If I lock it without a password, that means the user can just unlock it and make changes.
If I call the tab "DONOTUSE" and the user makes changes to it anyway, I can call them a dummy and never give them work again because they're a dummy. :)
TLDR: Calling it "DONOTUSE" is less work for me, the guy who has to update the damn thing. :)
I've been toying with creating an application that can just create a PC not even trying to make a single application that can handle all the monster-rule nonsense as well. It's an amazing amount of work.
Though, typing this out, most of the content released seems focused on PCs. Monsters may be easier, actually.
... and that's why the spreadsheet started out only being able to make monsters, and then the classed stuff was added (because we also use a lot of monsters with character classes in our adventures).