Utility - 4E Character Importer

[Moon Wizard]

Updated July 15, 2011

A wonderful intern has graced me temporarily with his skills for the summer. Here is his first project.

It's a work in progress, but I wanted to get it out to the community to get feedback as we polish it.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/filelibrary/FG-CharImport.zip

Known items not implemented yet:
* Attack and damage bonuses to specific powers not implemented (Dirty Fighting, Burning Blizzard, etc.)

This utility is built for exports from the current Character Builder available through the DDI subscription, so your mileage on characters from older Character Builder files may vary.

Regards,
JPG

[Dakadin]

I just tried running it and it crashes. I am running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. The event ID is 1026 and here is the error in the application log:

Application: FG-4ECharImport.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.IO.FileNotFoundException
Stack:
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.OpenUrl()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.Load(System.Xml.XmlDocument, System.Xml.XmlReader, Boolean)
at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(System.Xml.XmlReader)
at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(System.String)
at FGCharacterConverter.Form1.AppendCampaigns()
at FGCharacterConverter.Form1..ctor()
at <Module>.main(System.String[])

Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Thanks,
Dakadin

[Dakadin]

Sorry I missed one of the application log errors associated with the problem:

Faulting application name: FG-4ECharImport.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x4e0e0f13
Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 6.1.7601.17514, time stamp: 0x4ce7bafa
Exception code: 0xe0434352
Fault offset: 0x0000b727
Faulting process id: 0x1574
Faulting application start time: 0x01cc383cd3e4a630
Faulting application path: C:\test\FG-4ECharImport.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll
Report Id: 12f12401-a430-11e0-adc2-001d723f813a

Dakadin

[Moon Wizard]

Could I get a copy of the dnd4e character you were trying to import? You can send to [email protected]

Thanks,
JPG

[Dakadin]

It never got that far. The error occurred before the ui even appears.

Dakadin

[cstebbins]

Thanks Dakadin for trying out the Character Converter. I am the intern in charge of developing it. Your feedback helped me squash out a bug and add some new features so I can't thank you enough. Until moon_wizard updates the download link you download the fixed version below.

EDIT - Old link removed - JPG

If you encounter anymore problems or if this didn't fix your problem just post to this thread and I'll work on applying a fix with haste. If you have any suggestions for features those are also very welcome. Thanks again.

Best regards,
Cody

[Dakadin]

Great job Cody! The application works great now. I like how you include links to the powers and the fact that it includes the basic attack information. I haven't looked at it too closely but one thing that would be nice would be if you included the links for the other abilities if that is possible. Thanks again for taking the time to write this application.

Dakadin

[Moon Wizard]

The data for the other abilities (feats, features, etc.) is actually already being imported, but I need to update the 4E ruleset to make the data available.

Cheers,
JPG

[Dakadin]

That's great news. Thanks for the clarification.

Dakadin

[Zeus]

Nice job, Cody. I shall have to have a play with this, it sounds very promising.

This kind of tool has been attempted in the past by several community members (including me), however there have always been limitations with regards to the final XML output (particularly with regard to the linking of reference content (powers, feats etc. etc.) from module sources.

Eugenez (another community member) also got very close with a tool he developed (uses a partial XSLT approach) however it too, suffers from constraints and limitations.

Is this using XSLT for the transformation? If so, is the tool intended to support other rulesets moving forward?

[daumnation]

Hi, I have tried both downloads for this on two different computers and none of them are working. When I click to open the exe from:
EDIT - Old link removed - JPG
after it's downloaded I get the error:

I get the error: FG-4ECharImport.exe is not a valid Win32 application.


When I click to open the exe from the second link:
EDIT - Old link removed - JPG

CharacterConverter.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvience.
Error Signature
AppName:characterconverter.exe
AppVer: 0.0.0.0
AppStamp:4e)e648e
ModName:kernel32.dll
ModVer: 5.1.2600.5781
fDebug: 0
Offset: 00012afb
Exception Information
Code: 0xe0434352
Flags: 0x000000007c812afb
System Information
Windows NT 5.1 Build 2600
CPU Vendor Code: 756E6547 - 49656E69 - 49656E69 - 6C65746E

There is a ton more info but I can't cut and paste it.

The other computer which had the same issues
is a Windows 7 Laptop.

If you need more info let me know please.
Thanks

[khersheyjr]

Very nice! I imported a character on the first try...the only things that it didnt populate were AC, Reflex, speed, and coin which I believe you are still working on. Great job so far. Keep up the good work :)

[cstebbins]

DrZeuss
First off thanks for the expressed interest and I hope you enjoy the program!

Well my initial approach was to use an XSLT to transform the content, but shortly into that approach I realized that the limitations of the XSLT would hamper me from the results I wanted. So I decided to switch over to using the managed XmlDocument library provided by Microsoft in Visual C++. Although I am planning on providing a feature to allow the use of externally created XSLT for the transformation.

This tool will support other rulesets. This week I am working on implementing support for 3.5e and increasing the amount of data retrieved in the 4e. conversion. If you have any burning desire for a specific ruleset to be implemented you can always pm the request and I will try to work it in. Thanks for the feedback!

daumnation
If you can send any more information about the environments you tested the application on that would be great. A great free tool for grabbing this sort of information is located here https://www.piriform.com/speccy. While I wait for that I will be testing the application rigriously and researching the possible causes. Thanks for the feedback!

khersheyjr
Glad you enjoyed it and as you guessed those are data fields that I am working on polishing. Thanks for the feedback though!

Best regards,
Cody Stebbins

[daumnation]

I tried the program on 2 different computers but I only have access to one of them right now. The log for Speccy is attached

[Emrak]

This tool will support other rulesets. This week I am working on implementing support for 3.5e and increasing the amount of data retrieved in the 4e. conversion. If you have any burning desire for a specific ruleset to be implemented you can always pm the request and I will try to work it in.

Excellent work Sir Cody. Regarding 3.5, I would humbly request you try to parse in Pathfinder sheets exported from Herolab and/or PCGen (the two big 'uns). It'd definitely be 100% awesome! While there are folks who still play 3.5 specifically, I think it's safe to say most of them have transitioned over to Pathfinder, so I think you'd maximize your time and market penetration if you worked in that direction.

Thanks!

[cstebbins]

Thanks for the feedback Emrak! Luckily Pathfinder parsing and 3.5e parsing are very similar so if support for Pathfinder were ever to be implemented there would be minimal coding to do.

As for Pathfinder, Hero Lab, and PCGen support these are all options currently being discussed and your request for them greatly helps us in deciding the scope and direction of this project so thanks again!

Best regards,
Cody

[Moon Wizard]

Just updated the download link with the latest version of the character import tool.

EDIT - Old link removed

Known Issue
* Attack and Damage bonuses to specific power types not being added (Dirty Fighting, Burning Blizzard, etc.)

Please let us know if you find anything else.

Regards,
JPG

[Andugus]

A character importer sounds fantastic. I am interested in hearing about importers that would work from PCGen and Metacreator.

[GMTroll]

I cannot get this app to load. Using Windows Vista Ultimate x64.

I get the following detail in the the generic windows error dialogue box:

Description:
Stopped working

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: FG-4ECharImport.exe
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 4e17e911
Fault Module Name: KERNEL32.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.0.6002.18005
Fault Module Timestamp: 49e038c0
Exception Code: e0434352
Exception Offset: 0001e124
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.256.1
Locale ID: 2057

[cstebbins]

The fix for those who are having immediate application failures when running the Character Converter is to install the latest .NET framework (https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=24872).

Best regards,
Cody Stebbins

[GMTroll]

Thanks Coby.

Unfortunately I still cannot get this to load. I had both the full .net 4 and client installed but reinstalled to fix any issue that may have crept in. I've run windows update too and that applied some security patches but still nothing.

[daumnation]

I used my third computer this time, a Windows 7 64bit, installed the .net file you linked but the application still won't load.

Here are the error details from windows. When I have time to get you a speccy report I will.

So I can't get this run on Win XP SP3 Laptop, Windows 7 starter 32bit netbook or Windpws 7 64bit Desktop.

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: FG-4ECharImport.exe
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 4e17e911
Fault Module Name: KERNELBASE.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7600.16385
Fault Module Timestamp: 4a5bdbdf
Exception Code: e0434352
Exception Offset: 0000b727
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 0a9e
Additional Information 2: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Additional Information 3: 0a9e
Additional Information 4: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

[Acroyear]

Works great on my Windows 7 64bit Professional setup.

[ranakanth]

Program won't even load on my Win 7 Home Premium 64 Machine, but it works on my Win 7 Starter 32 netbook (go figure?). Have the same .Net 4.1 on both machines. Also tried doing a repair install on the one that wasn't working to no avail.

Crash dump from my main computer:


Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: FG-4ECharImport.exe
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 4e17e911
Fault Module Name: KERNELBASE.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7601.17625
Fault Module Timestamp: 4de8781e
Exception Code: e0434352
Exception Offset: 0000b9bc
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 0a9e
Additional Information 2: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Additional Information 3: 0a9e
Additional Information 4: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

[cstebbins]

This post is targeted towards those having crashes. To everyone else giving feature feedback I want to thank you again and know that I am taking the requests in to consideration.

First off I express my thanks to those reporting crashes. I believe I have narrowed down the problem you all are having, but I need some testing and feedback to be sure. Below I have wrote down a list of solutions targeted by processor architecture. Please go through the solutions in sequential order and report back to this forum as to which one worked or if none worked. If you find a solution that works don't bother with the rest.

Step 1: Install .NET Framework 4.0 if not already installed. Only the client version is required. https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=24872
Step 2: Download and run the updated version of Character Converter,
Edit - Old Link removed

Best regards,
Cody Stebbins

[GMTroll]

Thanks Coby, the new x64 version runs like a dream.

[ranakanth]

I can confirm this is working 100% on my machine now. Nicely done and thanks for the work!

[daumnation]

That did the trick for my XP SP3 32bit Laptop, will test my Win 7 machines tomorrow but I'm sure they'll be fine now. Thanks again.

[Moon Wizard]

Updated the link in the original post to the latest download.
JPG

[NJCommanderX]

First of all thanks to CODY who put this utility together... I've been playing with it since you posted it. VERY COOL!

I came out here to see if there was an updated version and found that the link in the first posting is "broken".

What is the status of this effort and will the latest version be made available?

Thanks again!

:confused:

[Moon Wizard]

There's a new thread with the latest version that imports 3.5E/PFRPG characters from Hero Lab and PCGen as well.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15025

Regards,
JPG