Program to help organize adventures - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Program to help organize adventures

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zabom
May 01, 2009 20:33:06 I have been a D&D enthusiast since the late 70s. I taught my daughters to play and they are now teaching their husbands and husband’s families. In all that time there is one aspect of the game that I have always thought needed improvement. That aspect is how notes and maps are organized. From the earliest days you could buy adventure modules, yet even as well documented as they were, a DM often finds himself flipping through pages marked with paperclips or bookmarks to find the right description to read or the right encounter to start. In an effort to speed up game play, and avoid those boring note searching times, I turned to my lap top computer. While putting the notes on the computer made the work area less cluttered, it did little to alleviate the wasted time. It was in the mid 90s that I first got the idea of organizing an adventure into a series of linked image mapped HTML documents. I created an adventure in this format, and found it to be perfect for my needs. I could navigate through it just as the players navigated through the adventure. If players took a less then linear course through the game, the right notes and maps were still only one click away. However preparation time was very long and I soon found I just didn’t have the time to always go to the trouble. It was then that I began to dream of a computer program that would make putting my adventures into this format easy. In the process I also dreamed of an internet based community where DMs could share their creations. Since the format is so well organized and easy to use, it makes DMing any adventure very easy with very little prep time, so sharing those adventures is the next logical step. It took me over 10 years to learn enough about programming to make an application that would do what I wanted, but now It is finally complete. It is open-source freeware and can be downloaded at https://sourceforge.net/projects/ddadvcreate/ . The download includes a sample adventure and an easy to understand 10 minute tutorial to get anyone up and running. It is my little gift to the D&D community so please give it a try.
#2
yellowdingo
May 02, 2009 8:03:47 How big is it? Those of us on dial-up can barely manage 3 meg...

I think its great you went to that much effort. I have 5 HDDs sitting on a shelf with 30 years of creativity that will never again see the light of day.
#3
zabom
May 02, 2009 9:16:49
How big is it? Those of us on dial-up can barely manage 3 meg...

I think its great you went to that much effort. I have 5 HDDs sitting on a shelf with 30 years of creativity that will never again see the light of day.

It is a little bigger then 4 mb unfortunately for what the program does, that is as small as I could make it. I remember the days of dial-up and feel for you. Just leave the connection running all night and trust me that when you actually DM an adventure in this format you will love it. I actually envy your situation. I wish I had more adventures saved to make into web page based adventures. Maybe once i get the website/community going, you will have lots to contribute.
#4
yellowdingo
May 03, 2009 4:25:33 Sweet...It should take about 17 minutes.
#5
zabom
May 04, 2009 11:59:45
Sweet...It should take about 17 minutes.

once you get the hang of it, let me know if you see anything that needs changing....I need beta testers.
#6
s-marrow
May 04, 2009 13:20:43 That's a pretty nifty thing you've made there, mate. It takes only about five minutes to get through the tutorial and try a couple of things for a complete amateur like me to get the hang of it.

It seems like it would really help consolidate all of my maps and data when I run a campaign. I'll try it in my next campaign and see how it works. I'm having some delays with my group so i might be a while, but anyway...

Thanks for the cool program. Haven't found any bugs yet besides the one mentioned in the tutorial, but I'll play around with it some more and see what happens.
#7
yellowdingo
May 04, 2009 21:11:06
once you get the hang of it, let me know if you see anything that needs changing....I need beta testers.

Having a little trouble...is this a Mac program? What unzipper?
#8
zabom
May 04, 2009 22:58:40
That's a pretty nifty thing you've made there, mate. It takes only about five minutes to get through the tutorial and try a couple of things for a complete amateur like me to get the hang of it.

It seems like it would really help consolidate all of my maps and data when I run a campaign. I'll try it in my next campaign and see how it works. I'm having some delays with my group so i might be a while, but anyway...

Thanks for the cool program. Haven't found any bugs yet besides the one mentioned in the tutorial, but I'll play around with it some more and see what happens.

Well since you liked that, you should also try my combat tracking program. There is a link to it from the adventure creator site. It helps speed up combat by keeping track of whose turn it is, and subtracting the hitpoints with each successful attack. It's not as complex as other combat trackers I have seen, but it is quick and simple.
#9
zabom
May 04, 2009 23:12:58
Having a little trouble...is this a Mac program? What unzipper?

It is a windows program. Theoreticly I could compile it for mac, but I don't have a mac to test it on so haven't done so. If you need a mac copy, and want to test it, drop me an e-mail and I'll send a completely untested version to you. As far as the unzipper, I use Win-rar. You can also use jzip.
#10
yellowdingo
May 05, 2009 3:46:06
It is a windows program. Theoreticly I could compile it for mac, but I don't have a mac to test it on so haven't done so. If you need a mac copy, and want to test it, drop me an e-mail and I'll send a completely untested version to you. As far as the unzipper, I use Win-rar. You can also use jzip.

THats OK Zabom,

My XP is telling me its in a format that is associated with Macs...
#11
zabom
May 05, 2009 10:30:53
THats OK Zabom,

My XP is telling me its in a format that is associated with Macs...

It must be looking at the .rar format. It is a archival format like a zip. Win-rar and jzip are both free downloads and are good to have. .rar is much more versatile then .zip. After you extract it. the program is a .exe file.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zabom May 01, 2009 20:33:06	I have been a D&D enthusiast since the late 70s. I taught my daughters to play and they are now teaching their husbands and husband’s families. In all that time there is one aspect of the game that I have always thought needed improvement. That aspect is how notes and maps are organized. From the earliest days you could buy adventure modules, yet even as well documented as they were, a DM often finds himself flipping through pages marked with paperclips or bookmarks to find the right description to read or the right encounter to start. In an effort to speed up game play, and avoid those boring note searching times, I turned to my lap top computer. While putting the notes on the computer made the work area less cluttered, it did little to alleviate the wasted time. It was in the mid 90s that I first got the idea of organizing an adventure into a series of linked image mapped HTML documents. I created an adventure in this format, and found it to be perfect for my needs. I could navigate through it just as the players navigated through the adventure. If players took a less then linear course through the game, the right notes and maps were still only one click away. However preparation time was very long and I soon found I just didn’t have the time to always go to the trouble. It was then that I began to dream of a computer program that would make putting my adventures into this format easy. In the process I also dreamed of an internet based community where DMs could share their creations. Since the format is so well organized and easy to use, it makes DMing any adventure very easy with very little prep time, so sharing those adventures is the next logical step. It took me over 10 years to learn enough about programming to make an application that would do what I wanted, but now It is finally complete. It is open-source freeware and can be downloaded at https://sourceforge.net/projects/ddadvcreate/ . The download includes a sample adventure and an easy to understand 10 minute tutorial to get anyone up and running. It is my little gift to the D&D community so please give it a try.
#2 yellowdingo May 02, 2009 8:03:47	How big is it? Those of us on dial-up can barely manage 3 meg... I think its great you went to that much effort. I have 5 HDDs sitting on a shelf with 30 years of creativity that will never again see the light of day.
#3 zabom May 02, 2009 9:16:49	How big is it? Those of us on dial-up can barely manage 3 meg... I think its great you went to that much effort. I have 5 HDDs sitting on a shelf with 30 years of creativity that will never again see the light of day. It is a little bigger then 4 mb unfortunately for what the program does, that is as small as I could make it. I remember the days of dial-up and feel for you. Just leave the connection running all night and trust me that when you actually DM an adventure in this format you will love it. I actually envy your situation. I wish I had more adventures saved to make into web page based adventures. Maybe once i get the website/community going, you will have lots to contribute.
#4 yellowdingo May 03, 2009 4:25:33	Sweet...It should take about 17 minutes.
#5 zabom May 04, 2009 11:59:45	Sweet...It should take about 17 minutes. once you get the hang of it, let me know if you see anything that needs changing....I need beta testers.
#6 s-marrow May 04, 2009 13:20:43	That's a pretty nifty thing you've made there, mate. It takes only about five minutes to get through the tutorial and try a couple of things for a complete amateur like me to get the hang of it. It seems like it would really help consolidate all of my maps and data when I run a campaign. I'll try it in my next campaign and see how it works. I'm having some delays with my group so i might be a while, but anyway... Thanks for the cool program. Haven't found any bugs yet besides the one mentioned in the tutorial, but I'll play around with it some more and see what happens.
#7 yellowdingo May 04, 2009 21:11:06	once you get the hang of it, let me know if you see anything that needs changing....I need beta testers. Having a little trouble...is this a Mac program? What unzipper?
#8 zabom May 04, 2009 22:58:40	That's a pretty nifty thing you've made there, mate. It takes only about five minutes to get through the tutorial and try a couple of things for a complete amateur like me to get the hang of it. It seems like it would really help consolidate all of my maps and data when I run a campaign. I'll try it in my next campaign and see how it works. I'm having some delays with my group so i might be a while, but anyway... Thanks for the cool program. Haven't found any bugs yet besides the one mentioned in the tutorial, but I'll play around with it some more and see what happens. Well since you liked that, you should also try my combat tracking program. There is a link to it from the adventure creator site. It helps speed up combat by keeping track of whose turn it is, and subtracting the hitpoints with each successful attack. It's not as complex as other combat trackers I have seen, but it is quick and simple.
#9 zabom May 04, 2009 23:12:58	Having a little trouble...is this a Mac program? What unzipper? It is a windows program. Theoreticly I could compile it for mac, but I don't have a mac to test it on so haven't done so. If you need a mac copy, and want to test it, drop me an e-mail and I'll send a completely untested version to you. As far as the unzipper, I use Win-rar. You can also use jzip.
#10 yellowdingo May 05, 2009 3:46:06	It is a windows program. Theoreticly I could compile it for mac, but I don't have a mac to test it on so haven't done so. If you need a mac copy, and want to test it, drop me an e-mail and I'll send a completely untested version to you. As far as the unzipper, I use Win-rar. You can also use jzip. THats OK Zabom, My XP is telling me its in a format that is associated with Macs...
#11 zabom May 05, 2009 10:30:53	THats OK Zabom, My XP is telling me its in a format that is associated with Macs... It must be looking at the .rar format. It is a archival format like a zip. Win-rar and jzip are both free downloads and are good to have. .rar is much more versatile then .zip. After you extract it. the program is a .exe file.