.monster file conversion?

[Sharpevil]

I know I've asked about it before, but now I'm looking into the guts of what it would take, myself. Having this tool would cut out a significant amount of boring work for me as a dm, and allow me to focus on worldbuilding.

So, I understand getting the info out of the xml file. That's the easy part. Have the program search the xml files for certain parameters, and store the data. But how could I get that info into Fantasy Grounds, besides manually? Would it require an update to the program itself, or is there a way to import information?

[Griogre]

I'm not sure what a .monster file is. There is a 4E parser that scrapes monsters from the DDI database and then parses the scraped files into a monster manual that can be used inside of the 4E ruleset. See this thread: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14951

[Zeus]

I believe .monster files are XML exports from DDI's Monster Builder tool.

If the data is in XML format already, it maybe simpler to use XSLT and an XSL stylesheet to reformat into FGII compatible XML format (for either a module or import of NPC data using /import).

Can the OP attach an example .monster file (make it a custom one so we avoid IP issues with WotC). I can then take a look at what it would take to enable /import into Personalities.

[Sharpevil]

Sure. Here's a .monster file, zipped up.

[tpkurilla]

I plan on supporting .monster format with the parser / module builder that I'm working on as a follow-on for Tenian & EugeneZ most excellent work.

For now, we're waiting on EugeneZ item update for Tenian's parser. (...and I'm hoping for a pointer or two from them on scraping techniques...)

Life really does seem to suck up most of my time, but I am still making progress.

One of the reasons that I want to support the .monster format is to have the capability to completely support all the custom monsters that I build using Adventure Tools in DDI. The side-effect, of course, is that any official monster can be exported in .monster format as well, allowing very accurate NPC creation in FGII.

I honestly have no idea how long this is going to take me to get somewhere presentable. Rest assured that I will share with the community as soon as I feel comfortable with the tools.

In the mean time, Tenian's parser is quite capable for nearly everything except items. One of the reasons that I'm working on the follow-on is because EugeneZ will be ending his support of Tenian's parser. Once that happens, any changes in the DDI site/data could cause us trouble. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to fill the need.

-Thomas

[khersheyjr]

I was just wondering about something like this when I was looking at the adventure tools..would be another useful tool to use :)

[jimshu]

Did anything come of this?

[valeros]

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?17679

A while ago, I created a program to convert .monster files from the Adventure tools to a FG module. I was converting files from the old Monster Builder, but it seems to work against files created using the new Silverlight monster builder. It is definitely not perfect, but it gets most of the info into a monster/NPC record.