I have an idea for a couple of projects, but I wanted to get some feedback from the community and WoTC before pursuing them - only to find out that its illegal to move forward.
Idea #1:
Parsing the Character Builder files to extract some basic info (defenses, stats, health, etc) and then storing this info into some sort of basic database. This could be used by other developers who want to make their own custom layout character sheets.
I think this is legal for a couple of reasons:
1) I'm not reverse engineering any software
2) I'm not negating the need for the Character Builder. This program would do no good for you unless you had files created using the Character Builder.
3) I would not include any formulas, text from the books, power descriptions, etc. This program would not deal with Power Cards. It would purely be for replacement character sheets.
The idea is to take the DATA generated from the Character Builder and simply standardize it - allowing creative people to come out with different layouts.
Idea #2:
This one is actually one which I think might be "less legal" - mostly because it is very similar to a product that I think WoTC plans on releasing.
I'm thinking of creating a dungeon builder and multi-player DM/Client mod using the Unreal 3 Engine. I have an artist who would create ALL of the custom art so I would not be using WoTC's tilesets, monster images, likenesses, etc.
Again, there would be no calculations, stats, text, etc. It would just be a physical layout of a dungeon and have tokens or models for players and monsters. The thing would be able to roll dice, track initiative, allow players to move characters, talk to each other using voice chat, track current health, etc. All of the RULES, allowable actions, etc would be up to the players to decide.... exactly like they do currently at live games.
The only thing the app would probably have is some basic rules for lighting and so forth, but this would not be explicitly printed out anywhere... but light sources would accurately illuminate the correct distances based on no light, dim light, and lit.
Players, on their turn, would be able to move their pawns, and rotate their facing, tell the DM and players who they are attacking, and then roll dice which everyone sees. What happens, the rules for powers, etc would all still have to be done by the players and the DM.
No stats, rules, monsters, etc would be saved. The DM will set up the dungeon and the encounters prior to the players arriving. It will only track initiative, max health, current health, maybe current conditions, and defense - all of which the DM has to set up for the level. All of the powers and so forth will have to be referenced from whatever source the players and DM have available to them (their own power cards, compendium, books, etc).
What do you guys think?
I understand there is already a program out there that sort of does this, but to be honest, it looks very outdated. With the UT3 engine, we can do dynamic lighting, a 3D environment, shadows, voice chat, animations, particle effects, tons of static meshes (like treasure chests, cauldrons), animated water and fire and slime, ambient sounds, smoke, etc.
Idea #1:
Parsing the Character Builder files to extract some basic info (defenses, stats, health, etc) and then storing this info into some sort of basic database.
Idea #2:
I'm thinking of creating a dungeon builder and multi-player DM/Client mod using the Unreal 3 Engine. I have an artist who would create ALL of the custom art so I would not be using WoTC's tilesets, monster images, likenesses, etc.
1st things 1st: I AM NOT A LAWYER. There, now that that's out of the way...
Idea#1: I really feel this one borders more closely on illegal than Idea #2 (I'll explain that later). You plan on taking WotC-created files directly from the CB program to insert them into your own program that will only work if someone is also using the CB program...right? All of this just so people can make their own character sheets? Maybe it's just me, but I see this as a tremendous amount of spent energy for character-sheet making. I mean, honestly, you don't need the info from the CB to make character sheets. Besides, everyone that makes their own sheets makes them to suit their own needs. As a matter of fact, I have a character sheet I made under Implement Games in my sig. Aside from re-organizing WotC's original 4E sheet layout, the only real additions I made are for animal companions, more background info room, and so on.
Idea #2: I really see no legal issues at all in doing this. OpenRPG, RPTools, and many more programs do the same thing. If you plan on NOT using any D&D rules, images, logos, etc., then there is no problem. You could play any RPG on this program, by your description. There is nothing you described that would relate it specifically to D&D, aside from a dungeon setting in which PCs fight monsters (which is NOT D&D-specific). As an aside, I hope you have better luck with it than WotC has had with the Game Table.
I've RP'd in UT and Half-life servers where the admin is doing console stuff to act as a game master before. It wasn't specifically D&D most of the time, and none of the servers were "running" a D&D map/mod/whatever.
That said, you'll probably run into trouble if your art has a strong resemblance to D&D art. (Of course, I'm not a lawyer and all that; but it seems like common sense: if you have a monster called "beholder" that has a central eye and eye stalks, you'll probably get a C&D.)
I'd also suggest including a kind of very generic blank character sheet available to each player, that the GM can lock/unlock and view. It could add trees with a label, and then below that can add fields with a value.
For example:
+ Accounting
-- Level [1]
-- XP [500]
-- [ADD NEW FIELD]
+ Stats
-- Body [10]
-- Mind [12]
-- [ADD NEW FIELD]
+ Aspects
-- Swordfighting [2]
-- Magery [3]
-- Alchemy [1]
-- [ADD NEW FIELD]
+ Nonstandard Inventory
-- Da MacGuffin [1]
-- Wolfsbane Charms [3]
-- [ADD NEW FIELD]
+ [ADD NEW NODE]
It can support whatever kind of game the players want to play, and let GMs store whatever kind of info they want on the player/characters, within the game.
Being able to enable/disable turn-based enforcement would be good, to allow for a more freeform game. (A third option to simply display who's turn it SHOULD be could also be handy.)
Setting turn order should be up to the GM, for both legal and practical reasons: the initiative mechanic might be part of a patent or something - I dunno, and I haven't passed the bar since my last disclaimer; and practically: I don't follow normal initiative rules, EVER, so being constrained by them would suck.
I obviously find this to be an exciting concept. :D Good luck!
The parser program is A-Okay. It is an original tool of your own creation that merely interacts with another product. Distributing the parsed data is not okay. You can make the program and distribute it by itself for others to use, but you cannot distribute the parsed data.
Idea #2: Already been done. Check out Maptools and and multitude of others like it. Keep it system neutral with the ability to add custom content and your in the clear.
Here is what is working so far:
1) Everyone can move everyone.
2) Overhead camera
3) Players can change the tiles into lava, water, slime, wood, stone, tiles, clay, ice, snow, crystal, etc
4) Players can change the tiles to 3D walls and these walls can have all the same materials as #3
5) All of it is replicating properly in multiplayer
6) DM's can walk through a level, set it up the way they want, and then save that level. With a simple file swap, the next time the level loads, it will automatically load all of the settings for each tile that he/she created
7) Zooming in/out
There is still a ton of stuff to add like:
1) Static meshes for 3D objects such as rubble, altars, statues
2) Realistic dynamic lighting
3) HUD elements such as health, team health, which baddies are bloodied, etc
4) Making many of the commands have a mouse interface instead of having to type them all in via a command line
5) Dice Roller - code is finished, but I want to add some stuff and a graphical component to it
6) Combat Tracker
7) Particle Emitters for area effects. Want a 3x3 Burst of Flame? How about a 5x5 Cloud of Darkness? Fog? Storm?
8) Freeform camera - that way you don't have to move your character to actually look at parts of the map that you can't see from your current overhead view
*EDIT*
By the way, all of this is animated - the player movements, the liquids moving, lights/shadows flickering, etc.
Here are some screenshots of me making a dungeon and teleporting around:
[noparse]
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links to images
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I just rewrote some stuff today to make it perform better. Under my previous way, I basically created a level which was 40x40 and so there were 1600 "sockets" in the level which were tiles that users could edit.
The problem was, UT3 seems to crap out once you get above 1024 such sockets. So, I had to do it a different way. I had to recreate the level using different sorts of sockets and then when the level is brought up, the server checks those sockets' settings and dynamically spawns the REAL sockets into the level with the same settings.
This works awesome because now the engine doesn't have to keep track of tiles/cells/sockets that it will never use (areas where the players will never go). Instead, it just spawns the tiles that are needed for a level and nothing more. Dead space is just... dead space.
This is REAL close to being ready for a public beta. I have to integrate the Dice Roller code and then put some code in that delegates one person as the DM.
After the public beta, I'll add mouse controls for several of the command line functions and add a HUD/GUI for player health and stuff.
In short - modeling is very tedious and expensive. I won't be doing it.
I will, however, give people the option to use any of the UT3 models that already exist out there (there are a couple that are nice for fantasy). More importantly, I'll be doing a "token" system. Players and monsters can be represented as "tokens" or "coins" with a picture on them and some number to delineate similar badguys. For example, Kobold_4 and Kobold_1.
The HUD/GUI can be toggled on/off. You can play fullscreen and just bring up the HUD when you want/need it. There will be mouse controls for all of the major actions, but some things just require a menu system.
For example, you can target a single square or a blast/burst are (3x3, 5x5, etc). There will be a UI option to select which targetting cursor you want. This is something that won't be changed often, but at the same time, having to do everything through console commands isn't very user-friendly.
And I hate to say it, but it will look a lot like World of Warcraft or some other MMO. You'll have info on your party, their status effects, your current status, etc. I'm even adding a hotbar for macro'd/commonly-used functions such as a D20 (initiative, saving throw, ToHit, etc), spending a healing surge, etc.
I appreciate the comments and suggestions. If anyone thinks of something they would like to see and/or would anticipate needing for it to be successful, please let me know. I'll try my best, but if it something like a bunch of dragons, dwarves, and elven models.... or support for built-in rules, etc... its not going to happen, unfortunately. Those are things that I just have no control over.