MS Excel RPG game [Archive] - Wizards Community

MS Excel RPG game [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
elliottan
04-09-06, 11:15 PM I am working on an excel based RPG game. My source document so far has been the Icewind Dale 2 manual. The game is going to be a mix of a turn based board game and a card game. I will be using the dice tool provided on this site. For other DM's that play online, how do you run your games? Do you let your players roll and report their dice rolls? Has anyone done or seen an excel based RPG game before? I could use some tips or ideas in how to manage my games. Thanks.

This is a Play By eMail game, for more information see posting #19!
elliottan
04-10-06, 11:53 PM As I continue to develope this game, I catch myself falling farther away from the D&D rules. I want to make it easier to play online through email. Communication is harder and slower this way, that is why I am going for simple. I have considered playing it through chat and IM (I know it is the same thing), but it is hard to get people together to do that. Are there any copyright issues if I use the pictures from Magic, The Gathering cards for my cards?
Dielzen
04-11-06, 01:26 AM M:tG artwork is copyrighted
elliottan
04-11-06, 01:30 PM As a player, you would buy 'battle cards' for your equipment, skills and spells. Each card can be upgraded with xp instead of buying a more powerful verison of the same skill/spell. In this way each player will have a personalized deck of battle cards.
elliottan
04-17-06, 11:39 AM My first campaign is going to take place in Waterdeep. It is such a big place full of adventure opportunities. I want to stay as true to the Realms and the city as I can, IOW I don't want to make up names of places, streets, etc. if I don't have to. Can you recommend good sources to get info about Waterdeep. Good maps where I can actually read the street names and marked locations of important places?
elliottan
04-18-06, 12:17 PM I was able to locate some good resources as far as Skills, Feats and Spells listings. They are going to be extremely helpful. I still need some good Waterdeep resources, can anyone recommend some. Be it source books, novels, websites, whatever... I just what info on the workings of Waterdeep.
elliottan
04-18-06, 12:24 PM I could use a Beta or Alpha tester for this project. Someone who is creative and preferably knows ms excel fairly well. Right now I have my wife as my Beta tester, but she isn't into RPG or computers for that matter. Just respond to this thread if you are interested.
Dielzen
04-18-06, 12:35 PM I'll help ya out if you'd like, I have a decent working knowledge of Excel, tho I'm not sure what version I have on my computer atm (I'm posting at work) so may not work out for your needs, depending on the depths of programming you're doing.

I've played with some macros and VB for Excel, but haven't done anything truly challenging/exciting.

Just asked GF on AIM, only have Office 2k, nothing newer.
elliottan
04-19-06, 09:42 AM Alright, thanks for the interest. Let's first decide how best to communicate. I had originally planned to play this game by email because I was going to play with friends, but since I could not drum up enough interest in my small network of friends I decided to open it up a little. Because of this, I am thinking I should run the game from a groups website, like yahoo or msn, do let people keep their privacy. What are your thoughts?

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/msednd/
this is a link to a group site I set up. I figure it would be best to work from there.
imike
04-19-06, 12:00 PM I think that might be a good ideal to it out. Even if it did not work out well, that should be alright. At least we did try :)
__________________
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elliottan
04-19-06, 12:04 PM I think that might be a good ideal to it out. Even if it did not work out well, that should be alright. At least we did try :)
__________________
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:confused: What?
elliottan
04-20-06, 08:26 AM I need someone who will contribute to the game once a day with some breaks for vacation or what not. Someone who has played many dnd RPGs. And someone who has a little experience with MS Excel so they can make suggestions if they see an area that could be improved. I want an Alpha tester because I am in the begining stages of development, but I want a tester because I feel I work better as I go, catch the problems as I develope. I ain't going to be too fancy, but hopfully very fun.
Dielzen
04-20-06, 05:45 PM I've joined the group and DLd the files, I'll take a gander at them tonite and get back to ya =)
elliottan
04-20-06, 09:27 PM Thank you for joining up, I look forward to your suggestions. As soon as we get this developed to the point that it can be fun and useful to others, I wouldn't mind giving it to anyone who might want to use it. FREE! I enjoy playing and I want others to enjoy it too at no cost. But I know I can only DM for 4 or so people, I don't have a ton of time to be creating for a massive group. BUT once other people start using it, I do ask that they report back any modification they do to it, share and share alike to improve the system as a whole. That is the idea behind this thing.
Wolfboy
04-22-06, 02:53 AM wow nice game thought I tried that once but it went badly :weep:

send me the rules at Wolfboy_alpha1@yahoo.com
Wolfboy
04-22-06, 03:11 AM Chaotic Neutral Half-Elf Paladin Ranger
Follower Of Tempus
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :fight!::coolcthul
elliottan
04-22-06, 08:35 AM wow nice game thought I tried that once but it went badly :weep:

send me the rules at Wolfboy_alpha1@yahoo.com

I have a yahoo groups website that you can go to to look the stuff over. Remember though that it is still in the early development stages, so it is going to need a lot of improvement before it becomes fun. I just need people who are willing to put up with the annoyances and able to give good suggestions on how to improve it. The web site is linked in a message above this one.
elliottan
04-24-06, 04:26 PM As the game grows, I was thinking that I would want to add other Game Masters/DMs to the group. I think it would be better to divide the play up by location, I would take Waterdeep, another DM would take Luskan, etc... in which case, as a player travels from city to city the DMs would notify each other about that players history, people come after them, etc. That way each city is run in the same manner and players can cross paths in a city. It would also give the players the chance to play under different DMs especially if one DM is running out of ideas for that player. It would also be a competition between DMs to see who will have the biggest player population. What is your opinion.
elliottan
04-24-06, 05:29 PM FYI!!! This is a Play By eMail type of game. Some people misunderstood what I was working on. They apparently thought this was going to be more complicated, possibly a single player game run with excel. That would be quite a feat if that could be accomplished AND have it be a fun game. D&D's RPG games are meant to be run by other people, not by programs, so that they are open ended, not predefined by a programmer. To create a game that is run with excel would be to limit it to predefined options and perrameters and that is not my intention. I am using excel for character sheets, for calculating XP and other things, but the main reason for excel is to use it as a game board. I use the spread sheet squares as the 5 foot movement squares, I insert tiles for the back ground and use pieces to move around, for visual effect since the game is done by email. If you are interested in Play By eMail games, then you may be interested in this, otherwise it may not be your cup of tea. Here again is the link.

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/msednd/

Come enjoy if you wish.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
elliottan 04-09-06, 11:15 PM	I am working on an excel based RPG game. My source document so far has been the Icewind Dale 2 manual. The game is going to be a mix of a turn based board game and a card game. I will be using the dice tool provided on this site. For other DM's that play online, how do you run your games? Do you let your players roll and report their dice rolls? Has anyone done or seen an excel based RPG game before? I could use some tips or ideas in how to manage my games. Thanks. This is a Play By eMail game, for more information see posting #19!
elliottan 04-10-06, 11:53 PM	As I continue to develope this game, I catch myself falling farther away from the D&D rules. I want to make it easier to play online through email. Communication is harder and slower this way, that is why I am going for simple. I have considered playing it through chat and IM (I know it is the same thing), but it is hard to get people together to do that. Are there any copyright issues if I use the pictures from Magic, The Gathering cards for my cards?
Dielzen 04-11-06, 01:26 AM	M:tG artwork is copyrighted
elliottan 04-11-06, 01:30 PM	As a player, you would buy 'battle cards' for your equipment, skills and spells. Each card can be upgraded with xp instead of buying a more powerful verison of the same skill/spell. In this way each player will have a personalized deck of battle cards.
elliottan 04-17-06, 11:39 AM	My first campaign is going to take place in Waterdeep. It is such a big place full of adventure opportunities. I want to stay as true to the Realms and the city as I can, IOW I don't want to make up names of places, streets, etc. if I don't have to. Can you recommend good sources to get info about Waterdeep. Good maps where I can actually read the street names and marked locations of important places?
elliottan 04-18-06, 12:17 PM	I was able to locate some good resources as far as Skills, Feats and Spells listings. They are going to be extremely helpful. I still need some good Waterdeep resources, can anyone recommend some. Be it source books, novels, websites, whatever... I just what info on the workings of Waterdeep.
elliottan 04-18-06, 12:24 PM	I could use a Beta or Alpha tester for this project. Someone who is creative and preferably knows ms excel fairly well. Right now I have my wife as my Beta tester, but she isn't into RPG or computers for that matter. Just respond to this thread if you are interested.
Dielzen 04-18-06, 12:35 PM	I'll help ya out if you'd like, I have a decent working knowledge of Excel, tho I'm not sure what version I have on my computer atm (I'm posting at work) so may not work out for your needs, depending on the depths of programming you're doing. I've played with some macros and VB for Excel, but haven't done anything truly challenging/exciting. Just asked GF on AIM, only have Office 2k, nothing newer.
elliottan 04-19-06, 09:42 AM	Alright, thanks for the interest. Let's first decide how best to communicate. I had originally planned to play this game by email because I was going to play with friends, but since I could not drum up enough interest in my small network of friends I decided to open it up a little. Because of this, I am thinking I should run the game from a groups website, like yahoo or msn, do let people keep their privacy. What are your thoughts? http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/msednd/ this is a link to a group site I set up. I figure it would be best to work from there.
imike 04-19-06, 12:00 PM	I think that might be a good ideal to it out. Even if it did not work out well, that should be alright. At least we did try :) __________________ Get Perfect Photos (http://www.mensarticles.com/computers/440-perfectphotos.html) \| Superstar (http://www.mensarticles.com/computers/921-projectradiosuperstar.html)
elliottan 04-19-06, 12:04 PM	I think that might be a good ideal to it out. Even if it did not work out well, that should be alright. At least we did try :) __________________ Get Perfect Photos (http://www.mensarticles.com/computers/440-perfectphotos.html) \| Superstar (http://www.mensarticles.com/computers/921-projectradiosuperstar.html) :confused: What?
elliottan 04-20-06, 08:26 AM	I need someone who will contribute to the game once a day with some breaks for vacation or what not. Someone who has played many dnd RPGs. And someone who has a little experience with MS Excel so they can make suggestions if they see an area that could be improved. I want an Alpha tester because I am in the begining stages of development, but I want a tester because I feel I work better as I go, catch the problems as I develope. I ain't going to be too fancy, but hopfully very fun.
Dielzen 04-20-06, 05:45 PM	I've joined the group and DLd the files, I'll take a gander at them tonite and get back to ya =)
elliottan 04-20-06, 09:27 PM	Thank you for joining up, I look forward to your suggestions. As soon as we get this developed to the point that it can be fun and useful to others, I wouldn't mind giving it to anyone who might want to use it. FREE! I enjoy playing and I want others to enjoy it too at no cost. But I know I can only DM for 4 or so people, I don't have a ton of time to be creating for a massive group. BUT once other people start using it, I do ask that they report back any modification they do to it, share and share alike to improve the system as a whole. That is the idea behind this thing.
Wolfboy 04-22-06, 02:53 AM	wow nice game thought I tried that once but it went badly :weep: send me the rules at Wolfboy_alpha1@yahoo.com
Wolfboy 04-22-06, 03:11 AM	Chaotic Neutral Half-Elf Paladin Ranger Follower Of Tempus :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :fight!::coolcthul
elliottan 04-22-06, 08:35 AM	wow nice game thought I tried that once but it went badly :weep: send me the rules at Wolfboy_alpha1@yahoo.com I have a yahoo groups website that you can go to to look the stuff over. Remember though that it is still in the early development stages, so it is going to need a lot of improvement before it becomes fun. I just need people who are willing to put up with the annoyances and able to give good suggestions on how to improve it. The web site is linked in a message above this one.
elliottan 04-24-06, 04:26 PM	As the game grows, I was thinking that I would want to add other Game Masters/DMs to the group. I think it would be better to divide the play up by location, I would take Waterdeep, another DM would take Luskan, etc... in which case, as a player travels from city to city the DMs would notify each other about that players history, people come after them, etc. That way each city is run in the same manner and players can cross paths in a city. It would also give the players the chance to play under different DMs especially if one DM is running out of ideas for that player. It would also be a competition between DMs to see who will have the biggest player population. What is your opinion.
elliottan 04-24-06, 05:29 PM	FYI!!! This is a Play By eMail type of game. Some people misunderstood what I was working on. They apparently thought this was going to be more complicated, possibly a single player game run with excel. That would be quite a feat if that could be accomplished AND have it be a fun game. D&D's RPG games are meant to be run by other people, not by programs, so that they are open ended, not predefined by a programmer. To create a game that is run with excel would be to limit it to predefined options and perrameters and that is not my intention. I am using excel for character sheets, for calculating XP and other things, but the main reason for excel is to use it as a game board. I use the spread sheet squares as the 5 foot movement squares, I insert tiles for the back ground and use pieces to move around, for visual effect since the game is done by email. If you are interested in Play By eMail games, then you may be interested in this, otherwise it may not be your cup of tea. Here again is the link. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/msednd/ Come enjoy if you wish.