Second, this is intended to be a critical thread, and as such not a "WotC, you're great" thread, but I don't want WotC to interpret disappointment. Overall, I'm thrilled with this product. Once it's out of beta mode, it's going to be awesome.
Finally, if any of my criticisms are unfounded, please explain, as I've been unable to circumvent them.
My only real criticism with the direction in which WotC has taken this is the character sheet ("CS"). It sucks. This is, of course, a subjective statement on my part, so there are probably plenty of people that like it as is. Nevertheless, there are plenty who won't. You've recognized this and provided a means to customize the CS, but it is woefully inadequate. It's base remains your CS with little real customization possible. I can move things around or delete them altogether, but with the exception of the basic attacks section, I can't make any real changes to the data. For example, to shut up everyone that claims they have the PHB memorized
, I like to come to the table with the complete text of my powers right on my character sheet. Some won't like that because my character sheets are 3 pages long at 1st level (note: I also have a table on there that shows all the conditions and their effects, which 1/2 page by itself), but it removes almost all confusion and avoids wasting time looking up the powers to prove me or someone else right.The solution that I'd personally like to see would be to completely scrap your character sheet and create my own. The problem is that the XML on which the sheet is based doesn't provide any real information (beyond name, ability scores, and other basics). My guess is that you wanted to keep the data from easily being manipulated by other programs, but without the ability to create my own sheet, I'm stuck with something hideous.
As a final note, I'll mention that -- even for me -- this really isn't all that bad. I get the impression that these shortcomings exist because WotC is catering to those that bring their laptops to the gaming table. I'm happy to do that, especially because I have a wireless broadband device allowing me access to the Rules Compendium as well, and that not only relieves my CS concerns, but makes the gaming experience much easier for me as a whole (i.e., not as many books to carry around). Many don't have that access because they can't afford it. Others are annoyed by laptops at the gaming table. The solution for me will annoy others. There's nothing that WotC can do to make everyone happy in that (or any) regard, but you could help by giving people like me a paper-based option with which I could be happy.
Your responses are more than welcome.
I am now trying to teach myself how to pull the data that we need out of the XML (never used it before and I'm not a programer). Maybe there is a way to make something that would parse it into a super stripped down Excel sheet, which you could then reference for your own sheet?
I have noticed that many of the naming conventions within the XML appear to leave a lot to be desired.
Let's hope that some people more gifted with XML than I am try their hand at it.
You'd like more customization, and we hear you. We'd like our application to be as customizable as possible, but we have to prioritize functionalities, and for launch, a fully customizable character sheet in the way you describe is not in our plans.
It is certainly the kind of functionalities we are going to consider seriously for future improvements. We need to get the full version out of the door first.
I agree with you completely Cryonax. I have always designed my own Excel based character sheets and game tools. The default 4e character sheet has been a real probelm for me from day one.
I am now trying to teach myself how to pull the data that we need out of the XML (never used it before and I'm not a programer). Maybe there is a way to make something that would parse it into a super stripped down Excel sheet, which you could then reference for your own sheet?
I have noticed that many of the naming conventions within the XML appear to leave a lot to be desired.
Let's hope that some people more gifted with XML than I am try their hand at it.
The XML is written to interact best with their product, of course; I've read through it and while I get it, it's not a user-friendly XML file and the organization is non-obvious.
I'd be interested to see what the full product offers in additional export options, if any. As it stands, I'm content.
The XML is written to interact best with their product, of course; I've read through it and while I get it, it's not a user-friendly XML file and the organization is non-obvious.
After further examination, it's a bit better than I thought. It still doesn't give a lot of the information I'd like to appear on my CS, but it includes a lot more than I thought. I guess I was looking at the XML of an incomplete character.