Using Fantasy Grounds for Traveller

[bhoins]

Well the demo looks interesting. I am very curious as to how difficult it would be to set up Fantasy Grounds to referee Traveller (T20), which is D20 based.

Is it well documented enough for this to not cause me to get frustrated and give up within a week?
How difficult is it to set up a character sheet?
Can I import one from someplace or do I have to build from scratch?
Is anyone using this software to run a Traveller campaign, especially a T20 campaign?
How stable is it?
How much support is available?

Quite frankly, I have already spent too much to get this campaign up and running. While I, personally, am not happy with the results so far, I am not going to just spend more money hoping to find the right way to do this. Especially with software that I have to purchase copies for my players, instead of simply licenses that I get to keep when they eventually leave.

Any help in making my decision as to what software package to purchase is greatly appreciated.

[richvalle]

South Bend IN? Why aren't you on your way to Gencon? :)

How easy/hard FG is to convert to d20 Traveller is going to be based on how good you are with xml. If you are not very good, I would not bother with it or wait for someone else to do the work and share it.

If you are good with it... I think it would take a far amount of work. As far as I know the files are all open for you to tinker with but they are not documented. Others have figured out how to change things and make new characters sheet/rule sets.

Truth is, I'd be leaning towards you not getting... at least not yet. Maybe let the software mature a bit more first.

My 2 cents.

rv

[Dupre]

We are going to provide documentation for the XML, but until then, you can check the tutorials and ask details about modifying Fantasy Grounds in the Workshop (https://forums.fantasygrounds.com/viewforum.php?f=10).

[richvalle]

And... I thought I heard something about software to create rulesets...? Code Monkeys maybe?

Hopefully we'll hear about some planned updates and plans coming out of Gencon.

And the much anticipated announcment on Thursay!

rv

[msd]

The one thing I would say is that every day it is getting a little easier. That may not sound like a ringin endorsement to you, but the fact is that the system is totally open and exposed and that comes with a price - the price is that a lot more has to be documented before users can make effective customizations.

To date, I think the developers' focus has been on creating a stable version 1 of the product (which I believe they have successfully done) and not really on the documentation.

But, a lot of the community has focused on making the kinds of alterations that you are talking about and so while there may not be a lot of "centralized" knowledge, I think there are quite a number of good resources out there to begin a customization.

This, of course, all goes with the caveat that you are pretty conversant in XML... :D

[bhoins]

Well I am definitely not conversant in XML and after hearing about what it does when a player crashes, I think I will pass. I already learned one language from a poorly documented system and a month later my character sheets almost work. I am not interested in going through that again. Thanks for the responses.

Too bad. I love the way it looks and the way you have to actually roll the dice.

[bhoins]

Well I may only be a couple of hours (Actually about 3) from GENCON but I have to work for a living, and working is evenings and weekends. :(

Thanks again.

[richvalle]

Check back here from time to time and ask how things are going. Maybe by then there will be d20 Travellers already done!

Also, the player boots are not that bad. Happens once in a great while and they just reconnect. No data lost. Worse thing is when they can't see the messages being typed and have to disconnect and try again.

The software is very stable and nice to use. Its just... young. As msd says its open and people and the devs are making it better all the time.

rv

[sunbeam60]

I already learned one language from a poorly documented system

Your decision entirely, but learning XML is pretty easy and it's used everywhere, so whatever skills you acquire will be helpful some day, somewhere else, I'm sure.

If you're a wildlife ranger, or something completely non-computer related, I suppose XML skills aren't exactly something to strive for, though :D