[X] My Assistant

[Starmage21]

There are some instances where you cannot retreive data entered, even if it is stored in the .sr4 file. I tried to open the sr4 files with an XLM editor(XML Notepad specifically) with no luck.

Having written the program, what do you suggest?

[Eleazar]

Ok, I am back. I am going to take a look at the updated files for augmentation and see what needs to be done to get them finished. I won't be able to do this till I get off work though.

[NightWatchman]

Brandon Kent! Please tell you are continuing development.

I am very interested in the creation of a good SR4 Character Gen.

[thewolf]

I eventually gave up on XML serialization, so the characters are stored in binary serialized files; hence, you won't know what's in there just by looking at the file in a text editor.

I'm honestly convinced that maybe a Windows forms application wasn't the best way to deliver the character generator. It's somewhat clunky, and I actually prefer the Excel generators to anything else. Perhaps the character generator could be delivered through a web application? That would be a massive undertaking, but would be portable and fixable in a way that thick clients could never be.

[cryptoknight]

I have to agree... the Excel generator is my choice now...

The biggest problem with it... is it's just a generator... I need to manage characters and give them Karma and be able to use that Karma to do things.

I guess what I hope for is something like Heroforge for DND... I can track my LGCS experience points, and it tells me when I level up... then I go pick a level,skills, feats, etc.

I'd love something like that in the excel generator... including the ability to enter my karma and nuyen earned on a mission so I can then go use them to up skills, stats, etc.

Problem for me is... while I can use Excel to do some cool stuff... my programmer brain tells me that something like this should be best done in a database with some kind of .net front end... not in excel... I never really bothered to learn enough VBA to use Excel to the level that the character generator is in now... much less handle leveling.

[Vegetaman]

As a computer science major and programmer, I was going to offer to help, but alas... I use Linux, and have no Visual Studio to work with. Still, best of luck.

[NightWatchman]

I have extensive training in creating web applications. I some people would work with me in creating a character generator, I would be willing to lend my expertise.

[RobertB]

I have to agree... the Excel generator is my choice now...

The biggest problem with it... is it's just a generator... I need to manage characters and give them Karma and be able to use that Karma to do things.

I guess what I hope for is something like Heroforge for DND... I can track my LGCS experience points, and it tells me when I level up... then I go pick a level,skills, feats, etc.

I'd love something like that in the excel generator... including the ability to enter my karma and nuyen earned on a mission so I can then go use them to up skills, stats, etc.

Problem for me is... while I can use Excel to do some cool stuff... my programmer brain tells me that something like this should be best done in a database with some kind of .net front end... not in excel... I never really bothered to learn enough VBA to use Excel to the level that the character generator is in now... much less handle leveling.

I use Heroforge for D&D also and love it. The closest I've found for SR4 is the Excel sheet that's here (http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?s=&a...st&p=585815). It doesn't have the latest equipment, but you can use it to add Karma to a character then spend that Karma on skills and such. Hope it helps you.

Robert (aka Spanner)

[cryptoknight]

Yah that's a pretty awesome sheet... it would again be great if this sheet was merged with it.

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=19799

[Feshy]

I'm honestly convinced that maybe a Windows forms application wasn't the best way to deliver the character generator. It's somewhat clunky, and I actually prefer the Excel generators to anything else. Perhaps the character generator could be delivered through a web application? That would be a massive undertaking, but would be portable and fixable in a way that thick clients could never be.

I considered this as well. I was going to take it as an opportunity to try out Adobe's AIR. Except, I realized there's really very little that needs to be done outside the page itself. And then I realized if I was doing all the code in the page itself, I'd be writing in JavaScript. I then promptly abandoned the idea (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

It still isn't a bad idea at all, as a web-based setup would be accessible to everything from desktops to smartphones regardless of OS. With Adobe AIR or something similar, it could be accessible online through a browser, and be downloadable as a standalone application as well. I'm just not sure it's my area of expertise, and I'm not at all certain I'll have any time available for such a project. I'm also not at all certain JavaScript and I will get along. I'm frankly not happy unless I'm micro-managing vectors of pointers to functions returning vectors of vectors of pointers, or the like. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Software should be arcane to keep the plebes in their place!

[thewolf]

Yeah, the character generation process is mostly presentation and business rules; lots and lots of arcane, inter-referenced business rules. The stats and gear items weren't really that challenging. A way that I thought of to approach the web app was to store the sheets in XML in a database; parse the sheets at runtime using the version code that you implant, and then do all of the user interface/display in Flash or AJAX. I usually despise Flash, but for an ad hoc application like this, it would probably work real well and look sick. The XML parsing routine could expose some WCF services for common functions that Flash could then call from ActionScript. Assuming you got that far, you'd be looking at:

- Print to PDF based on character type chosen.
- Save the character to a database and retrieve it later, finalize it, and add karma and improve it.
- Develop a GM portal, where players have limited access to their characters' sheets
- Implement everyone's house rules as configurable options.
- Stay up to date with new book releases, new rules, and new items
- Support multi-language.

There, I just wrote the project vision statement. As you can see, it can get involved. My consulting fee will be eleventy billion dollars. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[DamienKnight]

The biggest problem with it... is it's just a generator... I need to manage characters and give them Karma and be able to use that Karma to do things.
...
I'd love something like that in the excel generator... including the ability to enter my karma and nuyen earned on a mission so I can then go use them to up skills, stats, etc.

I know cryptoknight already knows about it, but for others reading this thread, the 'Upgraded Character Generator Beta' supports character management. You can create characters with the Karma or BP build system, then raise attributes and skills/add money etc using karma that is earned in game.

Check it out here:

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=23735

[JoeP]

I'm an Expert Software Engineer and program in C# within Visual Studio 2008. I'd be glad to contribute to your program as I've always looked from an SR4 Character Generator and was thinking of writing one myself in C#.

Contact me if you still are developing the C# program.

Joe Pacelli

[De Badd Ass]

... to store the sheets in XML in a database; parse the sheets at runtime using the version code that you implant, and then do all of the user interface/display in Flash or AJAX....

- Save the character to a database and retrieve it later, finalize it, and add karma and improve it.
...
- Stay up to date with new book releases, new rules, and new items
...

My consulting fee will be eleventy billion dollars. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Yeah! That's what I want. Your credstick is in the mail. I hope you don't mind CAS currency (or was that CSA currency)?