Engineer Suite

[Maasq]

MOD: This project is no longer active. Please see posts;
110 (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?45630-Engineer-Suite&p=475819&viewfull=1#post475819), 119 and 137

Engineer Suite
A windows program designed to facilitate the process of getting data into Fantasy Grounds.

Website: E (https://www.masq.net)ngineer Suite (https://www.masq.net)
Discord channel: Engineer (https://discord.gg/uH8NJ4x) Suite (https://discord.gg/78SdFgg)
Issue tracker: Engineer (https://github.com/Maasq/NPC-Engineer/issues) Suite (https://github.com/Maasq/NPC-Engineer/issues)

(https://github.com/Maasq/NPC-Engineer/issues)24679
Engineer Suite ties NPC Engineer, Spell Engineer, Table Engineer, project management and the parsing engine together into one framework. All future releases in the series will also be tied into this framework, with the current one under development being Equipment Engineer. There are several advantages - tighter integration of packages, reuse of shared code makes maintenance easier, and easier updating for users.

There are 3 complete modules, one in whatever-the-letter-before-alpha-is state, the project management module, and the parsing module (which is largely invisible until you click 'create module').

NPC Engineer


Enable the import of NPCs from a variety of sources (PDFs, D&D Beyond, CritterDB, RPG Tinker and others);
Edit the imported information;
Parse to produce a bestiary module for Fantasy Grounds;
Export to a variety of formats, including RTF for MS Word, BBCode and HTML.

It is also possible to create NPCs from scratch, save them individually, save to an NPC file for later parsing, and export to a NPC file suitable for other parsers.
Images and tokens are handled as smoothly as possible - both are copied to the correct directory and renamed properly to make the process of building a bestiary as quick and as accurate as possible.

The module file produced has a library section which mimics the Monster Manual, and NPCs import spell information automatically when opened or added to the combat tracker (assuming you have the source book required open). All NPC functions are fully supported - Actions, Legendary Actions, Lair Actions, Spellcasting and so on.NPCs created with NPC Engineer are 3.3.4 (and later) ready - spell slots will automatically populate.

A reference manual can be created automatically for your NPCs.

The many tool-tips and (hopefully) clear layout should guide you through the process.

24680

Spell Engineer


Enable the import of spells from a variety of sources (PDFs, D&D Beyond and others);
Edit the imported information;
Parse to produce a codex module for Fantasy Grounds;
Export to a variety of formats, including RTF for MS Word, BBCode and HTML.

It is also possible to create spells from scratch, and save them individually to a Spell file for later parsing.
The module file produced has a library section which mimics the Player's Handbook.

24682


Table Engineer


Paste tables from MS Excel, Google Sheets, MS Word;
Edit imported information;
Easily include links to other tables (or other items);
Make table entries such as '1d6 trolls' rollable with the click of a button;
Parse to produce a module for Fantasy Grounds;
It is also possible to create tables from scratch, and save them individually to a Table file for later parsing.


28308

Equipment Engineer


Enable the import of equipment from a variety of sources (PDFs, D&D Beyond and others);
Edit the imported information;
Parse to produce a catalog module for Fantasy Grounds;
Export to a variety of formats, including RTF for MS Word, BBCode and HTML.

It is also possible to create equipment from scratch, and save individually to an Equipment file for later parsing.

The current build is 0.5.29 (release date 6 August 2019), and can be found on the E (https://www.masq.net/)ngineer Suite website (https://www.masq.net). The FG forums don't allow exe uploads, and the installer is an exe.

Maasq

[Maasq]

Engineer Suite
==============
UPDATED: Links to tables enabled throughout the Suite.
UPDATED: Link menu reorganised - the first menu entry lets you insert a link from a set of cascading menus. Far easier than before!
UPDATED: Adding links to parcels and items is now enabled throughout the Suite. It will remain fiddly until I build Item Engineer and Parcel Engineer.
UPDATED: The right-click menu for inserting links sets the caret at the point you right click, putting it in line with Word etc.
FIXED: Strange link error spotted and fixed. I hope.
FIXED: Blank submenus no longer crash the application.


NPC Engineer
============
NEW: The 'Import' window will remember its position when you reopen it. It stores the last position between sessions too. If you need to reset it, close it while its left edge is off the left side of the screen.
UPDATED: Some minor changes to the top of the 'Base Stats' tab the 'Gender', 'Unique' and 'Name' fields have moved to the right and other fields have had their width changed for cosmetic reasons. 'Type' is now full-width to allow for the swarms (see below) and 'Tag' is on its own line.
UPDATED: The 'Type' list now includes 'trap'.
UPDATED: Swarms should be picked up correctly on import, and have been added to the 'Type' box.
UPDATED: Weapons can be tagged as 'Versatile'. This will increase the hit die by 1 class for 2-handed use, and this should suffice for most use cases. If something different is required the 'other text' box can be used.
FIXED (0.5.16): An issue with the above addition.
FIXED: Editing an NPC from the CTRL-M entry now properly reloads the 'NoID' field.
FIXED: In actions, weapon hit die with 2 digits (d10, d12, d20) were not being read properly when edited. This has been dealt with for damage, bonus damage and ranged damage.
FIXED: 'Sahuagin' was mis-spelled in the languages box, meaning it wasn't being tagged properly. Fixed. Check any of your NPCs with this language selected as they'll need to have it re-selected. Sorry!
FIXED: If 'Add Descriptive Text' was NOT selected but Reference Manual output was, an XML error cropped up in the FG Module. This has been fixed and will now work as intended.

Spell Engineer
==============
NEW: The 'Import' window will remember its position when you reopen it. It stores the last position between sessions too. If you need to reset it, close it while its left edge is off the left side of the screen.
FIXED: An issue with imports where non-standard capitalisation was being ignored.
FIXED: Rogue commas in the caster list and a memory leak that this could cause have been sorted.
FIXED: 'Clear all casters' now correctly clears the user list too.

Table Engineer
==============
NEW: The GUI is now active. You can build tables. You can even save and load them.
NEW: You can add links in table cells in the same way that you can in NPC/Spell Engineer. There is an 'Information' menu entry all about links, so please read it before telling me how broken things are. Once you have RTFM and still think they are broken, I'm happy to listen :)
NEW: Ranges calculated & shown for 3 roll methods.
NEW: An 'Add Notes' button has been added to allow the entry of formatted text for the 'Notes' tab in FG. This is written in such a way that I can add it with a single line of code, vastly simplifying the upkeep as the number of sections of the Suite increase.
NEW: 3 roll methods allowed for: 'Based on table values' (min and max values taken from data in the table) 'Preset range' (min and max values set in advance), 'Custom dice roll' (you set ranges based on a number of dice - examples are 2d8 or 1d6+1d8 to give probability curves).
NEW: Lock tables checkbox added. This should be left checked unless you want your tables to open up in edit mode in FG.
NEW: Added two buttons: 'Text Dice' and 'Rollable Dice'. This refers to entries in your table that read '1d6 orcs' or the like. 'Rollable dice' converts all statements like this to read '[1d6] orcs' and this makes the entry rollable in FG - when this result is chosen by dice roll then it will send '4 orcs' to chat rather than 1d6 orcs. 'Text dice' removes all the square brackets should you need to.
NEW: Tables now parse into a module along with spells, NPCs, images and tokens. The parsing may require tweaking as I add features but in my testing it seems robust.
NEW: Links to other tables parse, allowing for nested tables.
NEW: Rows & columns can be cleared via the right-click menu.
NEW: Rows & columns can be inserted via the right-click menu.
NEW: Rows & columns can be deleted via the right-click menu.
NEW: The whole table can be cleared via the right-click menu.
NEW: Paste from Spreadsheet (Excel and Google Sheets tested) or word processor table (Word; NOT Google Docs. It doesn't use tabs to delineate). Dice cells ignore non-numerical (or blank) cells.
NEW: Table increases in size to accomodate pasted data.
UPDATED:The 'From' and 'To' cells only accept numerical information (or being blank). I'm not totally happy with what happens when you try to insert text but I can't find an easy fix. Just don't do it and we'll all be happier.
UPDATED: Some GUI changes to allow for some more options.
UPDATED: 'Previous table' and 'next table' buttons are enabled.
UPDATED: 'Manage tables (CTRL-M)' enabled. This is only for deleting tables. Editing is proving problematic and will be added at a later date. hopefully this isn't something you need to do often anyway as you save your tables :)
FIXED: Rogue spaces appeared in the RichText table. Even though they never affected the output they were still offputting. This has been sorted.
FIXED: Data remained in 'deleted' cells when reducing a table size. The cells are now properly deleted.

Equipment Engineer
==================

[Zacchaeus]

I suppose you’ll want me to change the stickies AGAIN! PM me so I don’t forget :D

[dmbrown]

These look great, but I run a Mac. I tried running it on Crossover but no go. Has anyone been able to get these to work through wine?

[Maasq]

I don't know how much luck you'll have, as there are a lot of Windows calls.
It would be interesting to hear if anyone on Mac or Linux has this running through WINE.

Sorry I can't be of more help here.

Maasq

[KlatuB]

Maasq,

I downloaded the zip version of Engineer Suite, I can load the program and get to the main menu, but when I click on either icon I get the below, also after clicking OK the program looks like it is closed but the process is still running.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=24690&stc=1&d=1537484691

[Maasq]

Ah, the dll didn't update in the zip for some reason. I'll rebuild the zip and post it in the morning. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Maasq

[KlatuB]

No problem, at least is was an easy fix ;)

[dmbrown]

Thanks Maasq. It is the thought that counts.:)

[Maasq]

Maasq,

Good day! Another question...the Shadow (SRD Creature) has Stealth +4, +6 in dim light or darkness. Any way to add (Stealth +6 in dim light and darkness) to the skills area of the Engineer?

Thanks,

GBFF

I didn't know such creatures existed. Is this rare? Unique? I wonder if the mighty Zacchaeus can help out here, or some of the other gurus?
Basically, is this something I need to allow for, or is this a one off?

The way I have NPC Engineer set up this would require a lot of work to enable, although there may be ways to mitigate some of the work (right-click the skill to add further text rather than add new GUI elements). Let me hear from people how commonplace this is before I plan too much into how I am going to fix it. I will fix it, though.

Maasq

[Maasq]

Maasq,

I downloaded the zip version of Engineer Suite, I can load the program and get to the main menu, but when I click on either icon I get the below, also after clicking OK the program looks like it is closed but the process is still running.

All sorted now, I hope. Let me know if it isn't.

Maasq

[LordEntrails]

I didn't know such creatures existed. Is this rare? Unique? I wonder if the mighty Zacchaeus can help out here, or some of the other gurus?
Basically, is this something I need to allow for, or is this a one off?

The way I have NPC Engineer set up this would require a lot of work to enable, although there may be ways to mitigate some of the work (right-click the skill to add further text rather than add new GUI elements). Let me hear from people how commonplace this is before I plan too much into how I am going to fix it. I will fix it, though.

Maasq
It's the only one I know of, but Mr. Z would have a better idea.

[KlatuB]

Originally Posted by KlatuB
Maasq,

I downloaded the zip version of Engineer Suite, I can load the program and get to the main menu, but when I click on either icon I get the below, also after clicking OK the program looks like it is closed but the process is still running.


Originally Posted by Maasq

All sorted now, I hope. Let me know if it isn't.

Maasq

Thanks Maasq that fixed it.

[Maasq]

New update (v0.4.19) posted on the website (www.masq.net). Here are the highlights:

Engineer Suite
NEW: Added an option in 'Settings' to set the tooltip timeout to a custom value to allow more time for reading them if desired.

Spell Engineer
NEW: The spell count for the current project is displayed in brackets in the status bar, mirroring NPCE behaviour.
NEW: The 'Add to Project' button changes to 'Update Project' if the current spell name is already in the project, mirroring NPCE behaviour.
UPDATED: The 'edit' button in the 'manage spells.json' dialogue now works as expected - ie. it reloads a spell from the json file to be edited anew.
FIXED: A rogue comma was appearing at the end of the source list. Removed.

[Xemit]

Trying this out with a Dagon https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/print/By-WND-Ve?dialog=true

For Hit Points, the creature should be "525 (30d20 + 210" but when I enter it from double click, the bonus is limited to 200, so I end up with "515 (30d20 + 200)".

Using v1.2.15 of NPC Engineer in the suite.

I can enter the correct text manually in the box, just not through the double click dialog.

[Maasq]

Hiya. I'll increase the max on this right now; it'll be available when I put out the next update.
Thanks for the heads up!

Maasq

[Xemit]

Liking your tool so far. There are some save issues that I'm encountering in that if you change some fields you have to be sure to save them at the lowest component level, and then do saves of all parent components (in order) afterwards or the changes do not propagate.

Just added two spells to my module where the NPC has as Innate Spellcasting. Updates to these entries must be made and saved, then updated in project, then select the NPC to edit, do nothing but save and update in project, then finally generate the module. Without doing it in that order, when opening the NPC in FG, those spells will show as missing references.

While on the spells, I created one for Cleric, Druid, and Wizard, and the second spell for Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard. When opening the module spell list from the Library and selecting the spells by Class, it only lists Cleric, Druid, and Sorcerer. Wizard is missing.

Also, I'd think that all module/project properties/settings were settable from the main level of Engineer Suite, instead of buried inside NPC Engineer.

[Maasq]

Liking your tool so far. There are some save issues that I'm encountering in that if you change some fields you have to be sure to save them at the lowest component level, and then do saves of all parent components (in order) afterwards or the changes do not propagate.

Just added two spells to my module where the NPC has as Innate Spellcasting. Updates to these entries must be made and saved, then updated in project, then select the NPC to edit, do nothing but save and update in project, then finally generate the module. Without doing it in that order, when opening the NPC in FG, those spells will show as missing references.

Some of this isn't true, and the rest of it isn't a 'save issue'. It is a feature of how the suite works.

Eventually, Engineer Suite will have plugins to allow the creation of all content. It is (and will be even more) quite a complex piece of software. Its methodology followed that of the famous Par5e program (no longer available) - all materials for the module are prepared, and then a parse process is done to create the final FG module - this is similar to hitting 'Render' in a 3D program that you have built a scene in.

In the case of your workflow, you added two spells via Spell Engineer. You need to hit 'Create Module' to produce the module. This is all you have to do.
The rest of what you say isn't true. You don't need to save the spells if you don't want to, although I'd certainly advise you do. Even if you did, the two buttons are adjacent, so any time impact is minimal. The other part of what you say - opening and saving the NPCs again - is wrong. This is not necessary. The code for filling out a spell's information in an NPC's card in FG is not mine - this is code included in FG itself. If your NPC has a spell listed and this spell is defined in any open module (including the one generated by Engineer Suite), it will show up.

To reiterate - nothing in the code I have written for NPCs checks anything about Spell Engineer's output - it couldn't, as NPCE was written prior to SpE even being thought about.

I checked this myself before posting, BTW, and it is working as intended.


While on the spells, I created one for Cleric, Druid, and Wizard, and the second spell for Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard. When opening the module spell list from the Library and selecting the spells by Class, it only lists Cleric, Druid, and Sorcerer. Wizard is missing.

This is a bug; sorry about this! Thanks for spotting it. I'll fix it and get an update out soon.


Also, I'd think that all module/project properties/settings were settable from the main level of Engineer Suite, instead of buried inside NPC Engineer.

You'd be right :) Big blue button on the Suite interface.

Maasq

[NineShadowEyes]

Can I use ES to make a UA Revised Ranger class and port it into FG? Thanks.

[Maasq]

Not yet. I haven't done a 'classes' component yet. Sorry!

[Maasq]

New version (v0.4.26) released and on the website now!

This consists mainly of bug fixes, including those mentioned here, but one new feature made its way in. There are now button bar options to 'load previous' and 'load next' in each component to allow quick cycling through if you have to update a whole load of items at once. The sorting is alphabetical in case you were wondering :)

Thanks in particular to those on Discord who provide questions, bug spotting, suggestions and support when I need it!

Maasq.
(Not a natural in front of the camera!)

[viviolay]

Thank you so much for this software. My FG is less responsive than I like. Making an npc usually takes me 5-15 minutes. With your software, since I can copy and paste from sources, it took me less than 1 minute. Making the module was also easy. This will make a big difference in my session prep and converting a lot of my resources to FG.

[Maasq]

Thank you, Viviolay! It's great to hear that the application is having a positive effect. Also, thank you for the donation; that was most kind of you!

Maasq

[Kalua]

Maasq, this is great software. Thank you.

I've been playing around with the NPC Engineer and only found the following 'issue':
When importing text using the PDF & Web Source converter: if an en dash (−) is encountered in the Hit Points section, it translates to a question mark (?) instead of a hyphen-minus (-).

If this is something you decide to change, you may want to set the replacement filter logic to look for em dashes (—) as well --- I've seen them pop in from copy/pastes on other fields (Languages), although they aren't causing any conversion issues that I've noted.

edit: I just observed that this only impacts the preview window, when you click Import and Return the stat block renders the en dash character instead of the question mark.

[Maasq]

Maasq, this is great software. Thank you.

Thank you for saying so!


edit: I just observed that this only impacts the preview window, when you click Import and Return the stat block renders the en dash character instead of the question mark.

That's good to know. The preview in the import box is RTF and things can throw RTF. When I was writing NPCE I couldn't get the HTML to work for both the main GUI and the import. Somehow I overcame whatever issue I had faced by the time I got to Spell Engineer - I remember having an 'AHA!' moment - so I'll go back and replace the dodgy RTF element with a shiny HTML one.

Also on my 'to do' list... I will sort out accented characters so that they work in the 'Description' box. I know that isn't what you were pointing out, but it is somewhat linked in my head, so I thought I'd mention it!

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hi folks!

New update (v0.4.38). This one contains the GUI for Equipment Engineer for you to play about with and spot issues, but don't expect anything to happen on the right hand side. Or anywhere else :) Just the main GUI.

Several little changes to NPC Engineer too; bug fixes, updates, and the addition of support for accented characters.

I hope you all love it :) Get it from the website (www.masq.net)and let me know how you get on here or on Discord.

Maasq

[Dax Doomslayer]

Massq,
A quick question on the creating modules part. I watched your YouTube on this (which was very helpful btw - thanks). A couple of things / questions. The first is more an FYI (I'm not sure this is normally supposed to be happening), when I launch the Engineer Suite, occasionally a pop up message box pops up saying: "4308" (I think that was the number). This also happens sometimes when I click "check for updates" (that's definitely the number). When I click "OK" it then launches another message box that says that I have the most current version.

I have two questions, once you create a module using NPC Engineer, are you able to later go back and add to it and then recreate (to basically override)? If so, what is the quickest way to call up a previously created module. Is it click "Directories" >>"View Projects Folder" and then click on the associated .ini file? I also notice that there are sub-folders in the Project Folder which have further subfolders of input & output. So I'm a bit confused which to choose. I'm sure I'm making this harder than it should be but I have the computer aptitude of a rock - lol.

The second question is, when I want to create additions say to Weapons or Actions to the drop down in the Action Tab, are those items created available from there on out for all creatures in the future, just for the project or is it just for that one creature? My apologizes in advance for the dumb questions - lol!! Thanks for creating this tool!!

[Maasq]

The first is more an FYI (I'm not sure this is normally supposed to be happening), when I launch the Engineer Suite, occasionally a pop up message box pops up saying: "4308" (I think that was the number). This also happens sometimes when I click "check for updates" (that's definitely the number). When I click "OK" it then launches another message box that says that I have the most current version.

That was bug test code that I forgot to comment back out. I am blushing :) Can I ask that everyone who sees this on this version just pretend it isn't there? The next version will have it removed, of course.


once you create a module using NPC Engineer, are you able to later go back and add to it and then recreate (to basically override)? If so, what is the quickest way to call up a previously created module. Is it click "Directories" >>"View Projects Folder" and then click on the associated .ini file?

You don't need to reload a module (and in fact, you can't. I never bothered with the decoding of a module!) Once a module is written, it is out of your control - think of it as a Polaroid of your work up to that point. You can continue to work on the project in Engineer Suite and just save out a new Module whenever you want. It will overwrite the previous version. If you don't have Engineer Suite set to reopen a Project at launch, you use Project Engineer (blue button) to load up one of your projects. I hope this explains it fully!


I also notice that there are sub-folders in the Project Folder which have further subfolders of input & output. So I'm a bit confused which to choose. I'm sure I'm making this harder than it should be but I have the computer aptitude of a rock - lol.

Short answer - stay out of those folders. Longer answer - still stay out of those folders :)
The folders are where Engineer Suite stores files in preparation for making Modules. You shouldn't need to go in here, really. The 'input' and 'output' folders are redundant for my work, and are just a hangover from trying to make Suite compatible with Par5e.


The second question is, when I want to create additions say to Weapons or Actions to the drop down in the Action Tab, are those items created available from there on out for all creatures in the future, just for the project or is it just for that one creature?

Those are ambiguous. Let me try to clear them up.


If you add a new weapon or action as part of a creature - in the creature tab, as you mentioned - then that is an edit for that creature alone. It won't be available elsewhere.
If you add a weapon, action or trait using the menu items 'manage weapons.json', 'manage actions.json', or 'manage traits.json' (all in the Options menu) then these are global - they will be available in all projects from here on in.




My apologizes in advance for the dumb questions - lol!! Thanks for creating this tool!!

There are no such things as dumb questions, mate. Happy to answer them!

Maasq

[Dax Doomslayer]

Hey Maasq,
Thanks as always for the detailed reply. OK - I guess I misspoke for the second point about reloading a module. Replace the word 'module' with 'project'. My question is, how do I get to a previous project that I created? I can't seem to figure this out and I'm sure it's something incredibly easy that I'm being obtuse about. The weapon/action answer does clear it up for me and means I should probably use the menu option for there on out - lol. Thanks again for all your hard work!!

[Maasq]

To reload a project, you go to the project management element. Either click on the big blue button top right in the launch screen, or use 'Engineer Suite | Manage Project' from within any part of the suite. Once on this screen (see screenshot), there are 3 icons top left to create a new project, load a previous one, or save. You click the centre one to load a previous project. A project file is an ini file, so now I see what you were asking - yes, you double click on the appropriately-named ini file offered to you here.

So 'Engineer Suite | Manage Project' (or the big blue button from the home screen)
Followed by 'Load Project' - the centre button on the button bar top left
Then select your project's ini file.
Close this window and continue editing to your heart's content!

Maasq

[Dax Doomslayer]

OK - so when I launch the .ini file, I see it pop up in the window and fill in the thumbnail picture etc. My problem is, where do I go from there (that is the step where you stated "Close this window and continue editing to your heart's content)? When I close out of that window, it just sends me to basically the launch window with the buttons. I've attached the screenshot of the screen that I'm not clear where to go/what to do after to start adding additional monsters/NPCs. I appreciate your patience! Thanks.
25239

[rob2e]

I use it.
I recommend it.
I bought Maasq 700 coffees. (Disclaimer: I may not know how much a coffee is because I don't drink coffee)
DO IT!

[Xemit]

@Dax - Your picture is the Project Settings dialog. Make whatever changes you might need (probably none since you are editing an existing module/project). If you made changes, then save them and then close this dialog.

That will return you to the main launcher dialog with the six big icons.

Now select the icon for the content you wish to add or edit. That will open the dialog for the content type you will edit. This should open the last edited item of that type. You can edit it, or select one of the other items from the file/open menu.

Remember to save the edits if you ever want to edit them again (very likely) and update project to transfer/update the item into the project.

Either open new items to edit, or close this dialog and open another item type to edit/add.

When done close the dialog until you are at the launch dialog again. In the bottom right corner select the button to update/create the modified/new module in the FG folder.

A project is the configuration information and data that will be 'compiled' into the module file.

[Dax Doomslayer]

HI Xemit,
Thanks for the reply. The issue is when I'm back at the big icons page and choose NPC Engineer, it opens the blank screen to enter the NPC. However, as best I can tell, it's not in any "project". I guess my question/issue is, how do I 'pull up' a project to modify it? I'm sure it's something easy and I'm being totally stupid (as usual) but it isn't clear to me how to do that. When I first create a project, there are no issues. However, trying to go back into it or open a new project is where I'm having the issue...

[Maasq]

Hi Dax

Sorry for the late reply - they make me work for a living *grumble*

Xemit's description is perfect. Do you have Discord? This sort of thing works far better with screenshare, or at the least back-and-forward conversation. If not, what is it you are trying to do when you say you want to modify a project? Add monsters, add spells, delete monsters, delete spells? This will help me direct you.

Your screenshot shows that you have pulled up a project. When you hit close on that dialog, the project will be loaded. You will be returned to wherever you entered the project management from. The status bar should show the name of the currently loaded project at the bottom left of each window.

In NPC Engineer, choose 'Options | manage npcs.json' or press CTRL-M. This opens a small dialog where you can delete an npc from the project. You can also choose to edit one from the list, but it is better to load the NPC from its *.npc file. This was a last resort option in case you hadn't saved the npc separately or had deleted it somehow.

If you have a list of NPCs, then your project is open and anything you add will add to that project.

A project is just an ini file with all the options you have chosen, along with any saved files on your hard drive. Think of it as being a folder in a traditional filing cabinet. All the important documents are in the folder so they are held together, and there's some writing on the folder to identify it (the ini file), but you wouldn't ever be editing the folder - just the files inside. Does that make more sense?

Try to catch me on Discord if you can. I can show you via screenshare :)

Maasq

[Maasq]

Rob bought me a whole coffee factory. I am most grateful!
I am now legally bound to bear his children :)

Maasq

[Dax Doomslayer]

Hi Maasq,
Thanks for the reply and no worries, I don't think it was a 'late reply'. You've always been quite patient and generous with your time when I've asked questions and I greatly appreciate it. I'm travelling and probably won't be able to get back to this until next Wed so I'll see if we can sync up then (fyi - I'm on EST in the USA). Let me try to ask my question a different way. I want to add monsters to a module that was already created in the Engineer. I understand that you basically do this by calling up the project in the Engineer and then export the same module again and it will override the previous. I get that. My question is, once you get to the screenshot which I've attached above, I'm to close out of the dialogue box after choosing the project via the named .ini file. When I close out of the project, it brings me to the main screen with the 6 large, colored buttons. I then click into the green NPC Engineer portion (the icon of the dragon which you use for your little avatar here). Where does it indicate which project that I'm in or that in fact that I am in the project that I chose? How do I know that I'm in this Project. Am I just now automagically in that project? What if I chose the wrong project by accident - how would I know this? Thanks as always!!

[Maasq]

Hi Dax

The answers are the same, I am afraid :)


Once you open the project in the screen in your screenshot, that's it. The project is selected. It is an open box, and anything you create and add will add to that project.
The status bar at the bottom of every window tells you the project that is open. If it says nothing, you have no project open.
After the project name you'll see how many items are currently in the project in brackets.


See the screenshots. In both, '1d6 Adventurers Compendium' is open. You can tell because the name is present at the bottom left corner in the status bar.
In NPC Engineer, you can also see that there are 510 NPCs already in the project.

25252
25253
To add a new NPC, just enter it in the same way - import, type it up - then click 'add to project' as you've done for all the other NPCs you've created.

Remember to click the 'Create Module' button to update your FG module!

I hope this helps, buddy. If not, you'll need to see it in action to convince yourself. The thing is, you're not doing anything wrong - you're just not believing the project is open.

Maasq

[Dax Doomslayer]

Ahhhh!! OK. I see it on the 6 button page. I guess my issue is when I click the NPC Engineer button from there, the dialogue box pops up and in the bottom left, it says "None Loaded". The second screenshot is the one where I'm not seeing the message of the module name and number of NPCs...

[Maasq]

Hey there.
This looks to be a bug, but not one I can reproduce. The previous iteration had issues like this but I don't think they went public - I think they were fixed before release. In any case, you have the latest release. I know this because of the debug code issue :)

So an appeal. Can anyone else reproduce Dax's issue, and if so - what causes it?

Dax - as soon as we can screenshare we'll get a better idea.

Maasq

[raif11152]

Hey Maasq, loving your software. Just a heads up, not game crashing!

When i get into add or edit NPC actions, i input in the Weapon field: "Horsechopper (Small Halberd)"

It shows fine in the preview below: "Horsechopper (Small Halberd). Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage."

But when it gets to the resultant output to FG it looks like this: "Horsechopper (Small Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage."

You will note it seems to be dropping the closing parenthesis at the end of the word Halberd. It does this pretty regularly with most items where I have something in parenthesis. It seems like it would be an easy fix, a wayward or missing ")" somewhere in the code to the output, I'd imagine (with my limited programming skills).

Thanks for the cool utility! Its saved me hours of work.

[Maasq]

Hiya!
I'll go look at this. I had issues with close parentheses at one point and was swapping them out. I thought I had dealt with the issue but clearly not! I'll fix it asap. Good catch!

Maasq

[Maasq]

New release today.

This deals with the parenthesis issue mentioned above, the developer dialog that shouldn't have been showing and an issue with asterisks.

Grab the application here: https://www.masq.net/2017/11/npc-engineer-information.html
Read about the changes: https://www.masq.net/2017/11/new-version-changes.html

Maasq

[treefallingquietly]

I have been looking over the instructions and I have some questions. I have extensive monster info in xml format. Is there a way to import xml? the FG xml doesn't work, I guess they are using proprietary tags. I also have monsters in JSON files. No way to bring in that file?

I own Tome of Beasts and Creature Codex. I was playing around with importing using the PDF & Web Source. It works pretty amazing! I was practicing on the Aboleth, Nihileth. In the book there is a section for Regional Effects but in the toolset there is not a tab or table to put this in? I believe Dragons and other high powered creatures have this listing as well.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ii4sXUH9raEGmZfTg2BP58xxWc7K4h7o/view?usp=sharing

To see the output. Color me impressed.
The next question is is it worth my time to save $80 or just buy the dang thing in FG store :P

[Maasq]

Hiya

Thank you for using and enjoying ES :)

Firstly, the Regional Effects just go in to the 'Description'. There's no function for them in Fantasy Grounds and none of the official monsters such as dragons have them anywhere other than the 'Other' tab (ie the description). Here's the ES window and an inset of a Black Dragon in FG:
25752

XML import is tricky, as XML tags can be defined in any way the program writer wishes. I'd need to write a specific routine for your files. The same is true for json files. Hop onto Discord and let's chat - I might be able to do something.

As to the final question.... I'm biassed :)

Maasq

[treefallingquietly]

That is easy enough!

[Maasq]

Hi folks!

First new release in quite a while. This is small update to fix some bugs and add minor tweaks. I enjoyed my afternoon working on it though, so it has given me impetus to do something again. The whole holiday period was a wipeout for a variety of reasons, so it is nice to be back. Come and chat to me on Discord :)

Grab the application here: https://www.masq.net/2017/11/npc-engineer-information.html
Read about the changes: https://www.masq.net/2017/11/new-version-changes.html

Maasq

[Tielc]

I am running into issues with this whenever I copy and paste large amounts of text into the Description editor. For example, I'm copying all of the text from an Adult Black Dragon. When I do this NPC Engineer locks up and becomes unresponsive. Is this due to the amount of text, or possible from the options at the bottom?

Additionally, I have noticed that when I choose to load a project, it doesn't actually register. I end up having to click save, then save over the existing ini file a second time to get it to load. Is this normal?

Also, does NPC Engineer support tables in the description? I'm trying to do this the way the xml files are created, by using very basic HTML code. This appears in the view on the right but doesn't properly show up in fantasy grounds. It shows just as it does below.

The attached image shows the Monster Manual Black Dragon with a table, while the other shows my results.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=26112&stc=1&d=1548431188

[Maasq]

Hi there

Sorry I missed this before now. Firstly, I have no issues here pasting a large quantity of text into the description box. In fact, I just did it with the Dragon text you mentioned without issue. It has never been reported as a problem either (up to now). Memory issues on your PC? I'd doubt it, as even a decent chunk of text is minimal in its memory footprint, but worth mentioning. Possible artefacts from the PDF you are copying from, or the PDF reader program? Try pasting the text into Notepad++ or the like first to strip formatting characters to test this.

The 2nd issue - when you open a project, you have the option of making changes to it before progressing. Hit the 'close' button at the bottom right to progress without saving again.

3rd issue - no table support yet, I'm afraid. Sorry!

Maasq

[Maasq]

Bad news - version 0.4.44 had one (or more) bugs that was causing an issue in the creation of FG modules. I am stumped, so I have rolled back to 0.4.41 on the website. I'd urge you all to roll back to avoid unwanted behaviours (my program's; not your own behaviour!)

I'll try to add the various updates that I had made one at a time.

Deep apologies for any grief this caused people.

Maasq

[Three of Swords]

Thanks for the warning, Maasq!

[Maasq]

Hey folks!

After a 6 week absence, I got myself together enough to release an update again. I fixed the underlying issue that messed up the last update - so everything from that is back in the application. I added a couple of other things too that will hopefully improve the quality of using the application. I'm quite excited about the validate XML button, although in its current state it just shows you the XML. The next stage is to actually validate it to a certain degree - check for overlapping tags (the biggest issue), extra or missing close tags. I hope to colourise tags at some point too, and to highlight the broken ones. Lofty dreams!

So here's the list of new stuff, updates, and broken bits fixed:


v0.4.49
Engineer Suite
==============
UPDATED: I changed the 'Parse Log' window quite radically. It is no longer a log - mainly because I never managed to implement an XML checker. That is far harder than it looks :) Anyway, the window is still called a parse log for now, but really it just updates the progress. Bonus: it compiles a module far faster now. Bonus 2: The reason I changed it was that I was seeing some strange (but non-critical) behaviour. That is gone now. I hope you all like it.

NPC Engineer
============
NEW: A checkbox on the 'Innate Casting' tab allows you to mark the casting as Psionics. No other changes are necessary to introduce psionic casters to FG (thankfully!).
NEW: There is a menu option to add custom languages to the interface. It works exactly the same as weapons, traits etc in that it saves to an external json file. This was part of the overhaul of Languages (see below).
NEW: There is a 'Validate' button under the RTF window on the 'description' tab. At the moment this just displays the XML, but it will build up into an XML checker over the next few releases. For now, though, it allows you to have a look for errors in the description code before committing the NPC to a module.
UPDATED: The 'Languages' interface on the 'Skills' tab has been radically reworked. It should still operate flawlessly with save files - let me know of any issues. The tickboxes are gone, replaced with 4 multiselect boxes. Click to select, click again to deselect. A dropdown box for the special language options replaces the 8 radio buttons. The biggest impact on users is the ability to add custom languages to suit your campaign. I have added two from Frog God Games' NPCs as an example. The other knock-on effect is that it gives me GUI space to expand the skills section, something I have had multiple requests for over the years.
UPDATED: Languages sort alphabetically in the statblock.
UPDATED: Autosaving NPCs is now an option. It is on by default to ensure consistency of naming of NPC and graphics. You may switch it off to cause a 'Save NPC as..." box to pop up. This will point at your selected NPC save path and have the NPC name as the suggested name.
UPDATED: Range increased on 'Senses' by request.
UPDATED: Weapon damage bonuses are suppressed if they are zero ('1d8' rather than '1d8 + 0')
UPDATED: Removed mention of 'JSON' in menu options.
UPDATED: Added 'half-orc' and 'dragonborn' to the drop down list of tags for NPCs.
FIXED: Parentheses at the end of some fields were disappearing - weapon names, for instance. I've added a check for the parentheses. If anyone needs other non-alphanumeric character specifically excluded in this way, let me know.
FIXED: (I think) Issues with adding asterisks to spells.
FIXED: NPCs with numbers in their name will now properly add to a project in Fantasy Grounds.
FIXED: NPCs with an ampersand in their name will now have that ampersand appear in Fantasy Grounds.

Spell Engineer
==============
UPDATED: Removed mention of 'JSON' in menu options.
UPDATED: Added 'CTRL-M' keyboard shortcut to edit the spells file.

Have fun, and let me know what you think of the language change. I much prefer it, and it gives flexibility to allow easy addition of other languages. I will change the resistances tab to use this style at some point if there's not a huge negative reaction to it!

Finally, I have posted another couple of videos on the Patreon site, and I will be uploading a short one about today's changes later on.

Thank you for all the support and suggestions!

Maasq

[iotech]

Hi Maasq! Thank you for the update, your work is appreciated! One very small feature request would be to lengthen the timeout on the tool tips... some of the longer ones close before I can get the whole thing read. Seems like they're just over 2 seconds now, would you mind going to 4 or even 5 seconds on these? Thanks for considering!
-G

Edit: Nevermind, I found the setting for this in Settings. D'oh!

[Maasq]

Hehe
You weren't the first to ask me to do that :)
I'm glad the feature is getting use!

Maasq

[Targas]

Would it be possible to include a ‚PC Engineer‘ functionality, with which you could import a DnD Beyond Character into FG, similar to the NPC Engineer?

[Maasq]

Would it be possible to include a ‚PC Engineer‘ functionality, with which you could import a DnD Beyond Character into FG, similar to the NPC Engineer?

Hiya!

Maybe one day, but there is a lot of functionality to be coded before then. The suite is primarily to build modules and there are lots of elements of those I haven't incorporated yet.

Sorry that this isn't what you need to hear at this stage.

Maasq

[mattekure]

Would it be possible to include a ‚PC Engineer‘ functionality, with which you could import a DnD Beyond Character into FG, similar to the NPC Engineer?

There is one thats been built. Its not 100% perfect, but it does a great job with everything I've thrown at it. check it out at https://www.ai6k.com/dndbeyond/

[Targas]

There is one thats been built. Its not 100% perfect, but it does a great job with everything I've thrown at it. check it out at https://www.ai6k.com/dndbeyond/
Thank you very much. I‘ll give it a try. It doesn‘t need to be perfect.

[Maasq]

Hey folks!

There's an update to Engineer Suite. We're now at v0.4.55 and it can be downloaded from www.masq.net as always. This version adds the ability to insert FG links into any free text area and a quickstart guide amongst other improvements. The future has changed a little too - Equipment Engineer is taking a step to the rear for the moment as I try to figure out how to integrate magical items. I should have listened to people from the start! The new 'current project' will be Table Engineer, and I hope it helps people out!

Full update notes:

v0.4.55
Engineer Suite
==============
NEW: You can insert links to other objects in free text fields. These are Rich Text fields (recognisable by the 'bold' etc buttons underneath them). There is a right-click menu with several options. Please note - DON'T FORMAT INSIDE THE LINKS!
The ones in the top half of the menu are riskier - you need to know the object's correct name or the link will not have an effect. The 'Displaytext' part of the link is what you want it to show on screen. There are just a few options for now, but I am happy to add whatever people feel they need - just request.
The bottom half of the menu is safer - it only allows you to add objects from your current project. It opens a small GUI to allow you to choose the object and generates the link code automatically. This is obviously limited to NPCs and Spells at the moment, but will be expanded as each new part of Engineer Suite is coded.
NEW: Windows 'Toast' notifications can be turned off. If you do so, the notifications will be delivered on the statusbar.
NEW: There is a 'Quickstart Guide' option in the information menu (F12 shortcut). Engineer Suite is becoming quite complex and I felt that an 'in-house' help document might be in order.
UPDATED: Object types are highlighted in bold.
UPDATED: Tooltips in the 'Options' box.
UPDATED: Status bar text has been removed. With the control of the tooltip timer, this text was pointless.

NPC Engineer
============
NEW: The NPC's description box can have any number of links inserted. See general text above.
UPDATED: Some missing tooltips added.

Spell Engineer
==============
NEW: The spell's information box can have any number of links inserted. See general text above.
NEW: There is a menu option to add custom classes or archetypes to the interface. It works exactly the same as weapons, traits etc in that it saves to an external json file.
UPDATED: You can add any number of casters to a user-defined list. When setting who can cast a spell, items in this list are available.
UPDATED: Artificer and its archetypes added to casters list.
UPDATED: Casters aren't tagged automatically on import as there is no standard way to deliver this information. To deal with this, the 'Casters' box opens automatically after an import. If this is NOT to your liking, you can turn it off in 'Options'.
UPDATED: The import function should deal with custom spell schools. Let me know if anything isn't working!

Table Engineer
==============
NEW: An icon :) Watch for things appearing as time goes on.

Equipment Engineer
==================
########################################

Cheers
Maasq

[sorvan76]

This app is brilliant. I purchased a 5e zombie book from DMs Guild and converted the whole book to a *mod file. All NPCs with full descriptions and pictures. Keep up the good work. :)

[Maasq]

Excellent! Thank you for the compliment. :)

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hey folks!

There's an update to Engineer Suite. We're now at v0.5.7 and it can be downloaded from www.masq.net as always. This version updates and improves the ability to insert FG links into any free text area and has a guide in the 'information' menu. The 'validation' feature has moved on a little too.

Full update notes:

v0.5.7
Engineer Suite
==============
NEW: A menu entry in the 'Information' menu - 'Links in FG' - will open a help document to support the link system.
UPDATED: The link entry system has been upgraded. The menu entries hopefully read better, and there is a GUI to support the entry of links. This GUI can be switched off in options if it feels unwieldy.
UPDATED: Some changes to how the XML is displayed in the 'validate' box.

NPC Engineer
============

Spell Engineer
==============
UPDATED: The 'At Higher Levels' box has been merged with the spell description. There was no actual need for it to be separate (other than saving you typing 3 words!) You don't need to do anything with previously-saved spells as the two fields will be merged on load. Typing 'at higher levels: ' (note the colon and space after it) will be bolded and italicised automatically.
UPDATED: The spell text box has a 'validate XML' button.

Table Engineer
==============
GUI and basic functions to allow it to load.

Equipment Engineer
==================

Maasq

[Shadranar]

Awesome utility, Maasq! Keep up the great work. We sure do appreciate it.

[Maasq]

Awesome utility, Maasq! Keep up the great work. We sure do appreciate it.

Thank you!

I have finished my intense summer term of marking, so I am now free to get back to my first love (the programming). Look for some progress again over the summer months!

Steph

[Maasq]

Hey folks!

There's an update to Engineer Suite. We're now at v0.5.15 and it can be downloaded from www.masq.net as always. This version fixes some bugs, adds the ability to set the position of the import window and retain it between sessions, and adds the ability to use versatile weapons in Actions for your NPC.

Full update notes:

v0.5.15
Engineer Suite
==============


NPC Engineer
============
NEW: The 'Import' window will remember its position when you reopen it. It stores the last position between sessions too. If you need to reset it, close it while its left edge is off the left side of the screen.
UPDATED: The 'Type' list now includes 'trap'.
UPDATED: Weapons can be tagged as 'Versatile'. This will increase the hit die by 1 class for 2-handed use, and this should suffice for most use cases. If something different is required the 'other text' box can be used.
FIXED: Editing an NPC from the CTRL-M entry now properly reloads the 'NoID' field.
FIXED: In actions, weapon hit die with 2 digits (d10, d12, d20) were not being read properly when edited. This has been dealt with for damage, bonus damage and ranged damage.
FIXED: 'Sahuagin' was mis-spelled in the languages box, meaning it wasn't being tagged properly. Fixed. Check any of your NPCs with this language selected as they'll need to have it re-selected. Sorry!
FIXED: If 'Add Descriptive Text' was NOT selected but Reference Manual output was, an XML error cropped up in the FG Module. This has been fixed and will now work as intended.

Spell Engineer
==============
NEW: The 'Import' window will remember its position when you reopen it. It stores the last position between sessions too. If you need to reset it, close it while its left edge is off the left side of the screen.
Fixed an issue with imports where non-standard capitalisation was being ignored.

Table Engineer
==============

Equipment Engineer
==================

There's an instructional video on Spell Engineer on the Patreon site and it is likely to be the last video for a wee while. I can't think of anything else to do!

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hi folks

New update to Engineer Suite today - it is now v0.5.29 and the '5' is because a new element has been added - Table Engineer! You can now build rollable tables within Engineer Suite, allowing easy linking from any other part of the program. Crucially, you can also link tables together to give a cascading set of tables that will auto-roll.

I've worked hard to make it as usable as possible (set against the backdrop of being forced to work with RTF - a format that has no real support for tables). You can add/insert/delete/clear rows and columns and paste from Excel/Google Sheets/MS Word. The table will also auto resize to accommodate the pasted values.

I have done what I could with my limited imagination. I have never built tables in FG before now, though, so I am almost certainly missing something useful or necessary. I'd really appreciate feedback and suggestions to make this better.

There are two things I am still working on: Import of CSV file (although pasting seems far easier; best to go for completeness though) and how to deal with the situation where dice ranges get changed. Aside from these it is fully functional, including parsing.

There are a good number of small updates to the other elements too, including the consolidation of some code to make the package lighter and maybe a little faster.

Let me know what you think!
As ever, the newest version can be had from the website (see the sig below).

Maasq

[Maasq]

Ooops.... I had uploaded a previous version. It is fixed now.
As a bonus I added another feature, so it is now 0.5.31 :)


NEW: Added a switch to make rolls visible/hidden for players in FG's Chat.

Maasq

[Zacchaeus]

Nice one.

[Xemit]

After installing, it says v0.5.31, not v0.5.30 as the description says.

[Maasq]

Hiya. There was a last minute emergency update after the post and I forgot to update here. I'll edit my post now.
Well spotted - thanks!

Maasq

[El Condoro]

Great work, Maasq - very easy to use and even fun!

Minor point: when using the Name option (to just use the first name of the NPC), it uses lower case, rather than title case, in the description window (for traits, for example).

[Maasq]

Great work, Maasq - very easy to use and even fun!

Minor point: when using the Name option (to just use the first name of the NPC), it uses lower case, rather than title case, in the description window (for traits, for example).

Excellent! I am glad you are enjoying it.

The issue you found is the result of being too close to the project :) I had made an assumption that if someone had a proper name they'd also be unique, so only tested for the 'unique' property when judging whether a name should be capitalised. I have changed it so that it also checks for the 'proper name' property and capitalises appropriately. This will go out in the next update, and that should be soon.

Good spot!

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hi folks.

Yet more additions to Engineer Suite. Links have been changed slightly - not the information in the patch notes below. Table Engineer now imports directly from a CSV file if cutting and pasting doesn't float your trireme :) Categories have been enabled throughout. Other fixes.

NPC Engineer now outputs Fight Club XML for those of you that would find that useful. It replaces the woefully outdated XML export feature that hadn't been updated along with NPC Engineer itself. This routine was written and graciously offered to me by Discord channel member Zamrod, so if you find it useful then he's the one that deserves your love. (If it doesn't work, he gets the hate mail though!)

Thank you all for keeping me enthused with your feedback. :)
As ever, download from the website (link in sig) and come chat to me on Discord.

Maasq


v0.5.40
Engineer Suite
==============
NEW: A new GUI element at the bottom of each screen allows you to set a category for the NPC/Spell/Table/Equipment etc. The default for this is the module name & for many purposes this will be fine. If you want to sort objects by chapter or the like, this is where you'd change that. It cannot be left blank (it'll default to the module name). You don't need to update all your previously saved work as the parser inserts the module name for blank entries. This felt like a big change and an important change so I hope it proves useful to everyone!
NEW: Tooltip system written for Suite.
FIXED: Some diagnostics had been left switched on. Sorted.
FIXED: Links were causing problems, meaning I had to rewrite the link code. Big job, necessary job. However this means any links you have in projects or saved files may no longer work. I would advise recreating the link. At the very least you know what to do if the link stops parsing properly!

NPC Engineer
============
NEW: 'Categories' GUI element.
NEW: 'Manage NPCs' button on button bar.
FIXED: Categories weren't displaying properly when an NPC was autoloaded at boot. Fixed.
FIXED: Names weren't being properly capitalised under certain circumstances. They are now!

Spell Engineer
==============
NEW: 'Categories' GUI element.
NEW: 'Manage Spells' button on button bar.
NEW: Tooltips added for all GUI elements.
FIXED: Menu item for importing text was pointing to the wrong subroutine and causing a crash. Sorted.
FIXED: Categories weren't displaying properly when a spell was autoloaded at boot. Fixed.

Table Engineer
==============
NEW: 'Categories' GUI element.
NEW: 'Manage Tables' button on button bar.
NEW: Tooltips added for all GUI elements.
NEW: Load item on startup option enabled. This can be set from the 'Options' box (F11).
NEW: Import from CSV file.
FIXED: A boot problem where the default table wasn't displaying correctly in some instances was sorted.
FIXED: Categories weren't displaying properly when a table was autoloaded at boot. Fixed.

Equipment Engineer
==================
NEW: 'Categories' GUI element.
NEW: 'Manage Equipment Items' button on button bar.

[Maasq]

Hi folks

I've released a new version today amidst my hacking drama - it keeps my mind off the huge amount of money that is not yet back in my bank account!

I have revamped Equipment Engineer and it is now running at about 60% functionality for mundane items - magic items will be added once I have everything nailed down.
28642
Item creation, loading and saving are all enabled, and the viewport shows you your data. You can also import from and export to the NPC weapon list (a pair of features I like a lot even though they don't do too much that is exciting - it just seems sneaky :) )
Still to come: parsing to FG and importing.

Other ideas:

See all equipment in the current project as a 'Player's Handbook' style list of tables.
Save equipment lists to allow sharing between users.
Load equipment lists.
Build kits.
Build packs.



What do you think? Any other suggestions?

How about my GUI? I know it gets busy in the weapons section, but I can't see a way of simplifying. Any suggestions welcomed. Praise is too as I am shallow and maybe even venal :)

Maasq

[Ceazor]

Is it possible to go in reverse with this application? Take an NPC FG module and convert it to PDF?

Also, seemingly, at least for me, that the download site is currently down. Is it just me?

[Ceazor]

Seemingly, at least for me, that the download site is currently down. Is it just me?

Seems it was my office firewall as your site is flagged unsecure. I got the application on my home PC

[LordEntrails]

Is it possible to go in reverse with this application? Take an NPC FG module and convert it to PDF?

Also, seemingly, at least for me, that the download site is currently down. Is it just me?
There is already an application that does this for not locked content (i.e. to prevent creation of a PDF of official content). https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?48045-Utility-FG-Print-Tool-(Print-campaigns-or-character-sheets)
Note that if you use it for product creation their are some licensing restrictions with it.

[Ceazor]

There is already an application that does this for not locked content (i.e. to prevent creation of a PDF of official content). https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?48045-Utility-FG-Print-Tool-(Print-campaigns-or-character-sheets)
Note that if you use it for product creation their are some licensing restrictions with it.

Thanks.. but I can't get that to run on my Win 10..compatibility issues

Actually both apps.. The Engineer Suite and the FGPrint tool are given me the same issue.

[LordEntrails]

Thanks.. but I can't get that to run on my Win 10..compatibility issues

Actually both apps.. The Engineer Suite and the FGPrint tool are given me the same issue.
Check your security settings. Both are "unsigned" and some security doesn't like those since they don't have traceability.

I think Doug mentioned in the other thread he uses the print tool on Win 10 and something specific to check. Not sure what. Do you get any errors? If not, can you try running them from a command prompt and let us know what it shows?

[Ceazor]

28703
I get the same error for both.

I have tried a bunch of setting changes, developer mode, compatibility modes. No luck.

Can these both be run locally, off the grid as it were?

[LordEntrails]

I think you stated on the other thread this was solved by trying on your home computer and not work computer. As stated there, that points to security software on your work computer blocking unsigned executables.

[Maasq]

Hail, Ceazor. (I couldn't resist)

Getting digitally signed is too expensive. I'd love to, but the cheapest I could find it was $74 per year, and I'm not up for that.
Are you saying that Engineer Suite is blocked from installing, blocked from running once installed, or something else? Like Lord said, try it out on a home machine rather than a work machine.
Hit me up on Discord if you need anything.

Maasq

[Ceazor]

Hail, Ceazor. (I couldn't resist)

Getting digitally signed is too expensive. I'd love to, but the cheapest I could find it was $74 per year, and I'm not up for that.
Are you saying that Engineer Suite is blocked from installing, blocked from running once installed, or something else? Like Lord said, try it out on a home machine rather than a work machine.
Hit me up on Discord if you need anything.

Maasq

I got it running at home, I will try it again at the office when I return and update you on these. paying for the signing is pointless, especially since its freeware. Forget that noise.

Thanks again for the great work.

[gqwebb]

Did not work me? Is this 64 bit? Setup installed but app won't run?

28756
28757

Update, This does work fine on my Desktop.

[Doomskull]

Hey fellas, I keep getting this error when I try and load the module in FG.
"Database Error: A XML parse error occurred processing file Doomskull's Homebrew:db.xml - Error on line 7965: Error reading end tag."

How can I fix this?

[Maasq]

Hiya.

Yes, this is a 64-bit application and won't run on 32 bit versions of Windows.

Hope this helps

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hey fellas, I keep getting this error when I try and load the module in FG.
"Database Error: A XML parse error occurred processing file Doomskull's Homebrew:db.xml - Error on line 7965: Error reading end tag."

How can I fix this?

Hiya. I am at work just now but I'll post a detailed answer later when I get home.

Maasq

[LordEntrails]

Hey fellas, I keep getting this error when I try and load the module in FG.
"Database Error: A XML parse error occurred processing file Doomskull's Homebrew:db.xml - Error on line 7965: Error reading end tag."

How can I fix this?
Until Maasq gets back to you, you can try opening in an XML editor (like Notepad++)and seeing what's on line 7965. Then go back and look before that for some tag (<something>) that is not closed (<\something>). And xml editor can help because it will "connect" all the tags to each other when you select one, like this;
28772

[Maasq]

Hey fellas, I keep getting this error when I try and load the module in FG.
"Database Error: A XML parse error occurred processing file Doomskull's Homebrew:db.xml - Error on line 7965: Error reading end tag."

How can I fix this?

Hiya Doomskull.

You didn't say what you had in your module but I am guessing NPCs with formatted text in the Description tab. This is usually the culprit as the formatting produces overlapping tags (ie a new tag opens before the previous one is closed). The best way to fix this is to go through each NPC in the Project one by one and examine the XML using the 'Validate XML' button. Here's step-by-step instructions in case you need them:



Open the first NPC in your project. Move to the 'Description' tab and click 'Validate XML'. This doesn't actually do any validating on its own yet - a future task for me - but it does allow you to view the XML without opening up your *.mod file.
Look for overlapping tags. I can help with this if you post the results to the Discord channel.
If there are errors, go back to the Description tab and remove formatting from the affected area.
Reapply formatting carefully - in particular watch out for when a whole line (or end of line) selects automatically as this causes the formatting to break over a linefeed. Make sure you only select to the end of the last word/punctuation mark.
Check again with 'validate XML'
Save NPC and update Project if any changes were made.
Cycle to the next NPC with the 'Open Next NPC' button on the button bar.


I'm sorry for the work this has caused. The RTF formatting is by far the weakest area of the app but it is also the only option within the language I use to program it. :(

Maasq

[Doomskull]

Thanks for the help!
I have not found the error yet but I'll keep looking. It's there somewhere!

[Doomskull]

I still cannot figure it out. I have both NPCs and Spells in the module.
I looked at the client.xml and line 7965 was in a spell description, so I just deleted the spell and remade the module. Now I get the same error in line 7964 but can't see anything wrong with it.
Am I looking at the wrong xml file?

Line 7964: "<p>The DM may also rule that certain traits are too intrinsic to the nature of a creature to be removed, such as the Water Form trait of a water elemental. However, if a creature has no traits you can affect with this spell, the DM will inform you before you use an action to cast the spell.</p>"

What am I missing here?

[Thirsterhall]

Is there a way to disable the popups when parsing imported text?
I need to do some fixes to get things imported properly and having the popup show up for ever key press in the text edit window is enough to make me stop using it at all, extremely annoying.

[Doomskull]

I was looking at the wrong xml. Still got errors but I'm going to uninstall and re-install the program and go from there.
I looked at the correct xml, found an error and fixed it but then got another xml error.
I'll redo the install and rework my files and go from there.

[Maasq]

Is there a way to disable the popups when parsing imported text?
I need to do some fixes to get things imported properly and having the popup show up for ever key press in the text edit window is enough to make me stop using it at all, extremely annoying.

Hiya
If the import is so badly messed up that you are getting popups, I'd suggest editing in Notepad++ or the like first. The warning is there because importing badly formatted text will really mess up the app. Annoying or no, it would be equally annoying to only find out about bad formatting when you tried to parse.
However I'll look at removing the pop-ups or putting in an option to disable them.

To be fair, they were part of the earliest iteration of the app and could do with a look.

No promises on timescale I'm afraid. The code is in the middle of sorting out parsing for Equipment Engineer and I'm not releasing that half-formed!

Maasq

[Maasq]

I was looking at the wrong xml. Still got errors but I'm going to uninstall and re-install the program and go from there.
I looked at the correct xml, found an error and fixed it but then got another xml error.
I'll redo the install and rework my files and go from there.

Hiya

It will be in the formatted text boxes. It might be worth getting into the habit of checking each one with 'validate XML' before you save or add it to a project.

Maasq

[LoremasterCBurke]

Maasq. Love the program. Quick question is there away to add skills to the NPC Engineer. I'm Loremastering Adventures in Middle-earth 5e and their are some new skills that are not in your program

[LoremasterCBurke]

Thank you for your time and diligence LoremasterCBurke.

[Maasq]

Hey there Loremaster!

I'm sorry to tell you that the skills are hard-baked into the system at the moment. I have plans to return to the skills section in the future but it is a big job and it won't be any time soon. Keep your eye out, though - it'll get done eventually!

Maasq

[LoremasterCBurke]

Okay thank you. Love the program. Helped my DM prep in leaps and bounds.

[Maasq]

Okay thank you. Love the program. Helped my DM prep in leaps and bounds.

Thank you!
:)
Maasq

[LoremasterCBurke]

Maasq how do you open the other files. Like Races, Background, Feats. I'm prepping for my groups game session and I need to add new races and backgrounds

[Maasq]

Maasq how do you open the other files. Like Races, Background, Feats. I'm prepping for my groups game session and I need to add new races and backgrounds

Hiya.
I haven't got to those parts yet. I'm sorry!
Currently there are NPCs, Spells, Tables, Equipment. I am working on Magic items now. Parcels next then probably feats, backgrounds.

Maasq

[LoremasterCBurke]

Okay it's all good my Brother. As a DM tool this is great. Just want to convert my old campaigns to 5e and get Adventures in Middle-earth 5e run smoothly for our group

[Balamor33]

I'm trying to download Engineer Suite but it's saying the blog is invite only. :-(

29344

[LordEntrails]

I'm trying to download Engineer Suite but it's saying the blog is invite only. :-(

29344
I'm not sure what's up. But I do know that Maasq mentioned on his Discord channel that he was shutting down the channel. Not sure if that meant his website too, etc. Let see what happens in the next day or two and see.

[notrealdan]

:(

https://www.patreon.com/posts/stopping-for-now-30638703

[Maasq]

Hey folks. The website should be active again. Ping me if it isn't.

As LordEntrails said, I am taking a step back for a while to focus on real life. I'll leave the channel active on Discord as there's a community there; I'll just not necessarily be there all the time.
I'll be back to keep working on this at some point. I've come too far to stop, but I need a break.

Speak soon folks.

Maasq

[Zev610]

Hey, sorry if this problem has already been addressed before. I can install Engineer suite no problem, however when I go to run it windows makes an error message sound and refuses to go past the green and black dragon icon.

[Maasq]

Did you download it from the website?
Someone else had that issue. I have uploaded the latest version I have, and this version was what was posted in the Discord channel - it should sort the issue.

Good luck!

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hi folks

I will no longer be actively participating in the upkeep and evolution of Engineer Suite. The time commitment became too much and I felt that the community deserved better. I loved working on this project; in fact, for much of the 3 years I was working on it I never actually played D&D - I was too busy and having too much fun programming. Engineer Suite was my 'baby' and I am sorry to see it go. I'd have liked to mothball it and come back to it in the future but I could see that was a very selfish viewpoint. It was (is) a much-needed project.

Thankfully Theodore from the Discord channel was happy to take over and he will set up a website etc in due course. I am sure that it will go from strength to strength under his guidance! He has plans for it becoming open source and written in C#. Maybe if I learn C# in the future I could contribute - now that would be an irony of sorts!

I have left him in charge of the Discord channel too, and I have left the channel. I felt that was for the best as no-one needs the previous incumbent hanging around when they are trying to move a project forward! It has been about 2 weeks, I think - I am not sure as to how far he has come on with it. There was an enthusiastic crowd of people wanting to offer help with the project too. I have every faith that you will get the Engineer Suite that you deserve.

Thank you all for your support. I really appreciated it. I'll miss you :)

Maasq

[LordEntrails]

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May good luck be with you Wherever you go, and your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.

May your days be many and your troubles be few, May all God’s blessings descend upon you, May peace be within you, May your heart be strong, May you find what you’re seeking wherever you roam.

May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been
the foresight to know where you’re going
and the insight to know when you’re going too far.

[Dax Doomslayer]

Hey Maasq,
I'm sorry to hear this! I just wanted to say that I really appreciate what you did and how patient you were with me when I needed help. This tool was like mana from heaven when converting modules etc. and I want to thank you for all your time and hard work. You will be missed!!

[damned]

Good luck Maasq!

[L. R. Ballard]

Hey Maasq,

Thank you for your presence here and for your coding knowledge. Your first versions of Engineer Suite introduced me to AutoHotkey and taught me how to work in it. That led to my writing many scripts and other code to facilitate the module conversions that I'm still working on--got over 500 hours in and have almost got the high-level NPCs finished. What you and your work taught me about AutoHotkey helped me to write scripts that have made me far faster and more efficient as a grader, appointment scheduler, and email writer in my work as a university lecturer. The accuracy and speed of freelance editing and proofreading projects have also improved as a result of the coding knowledge you helped impart to me. I owe you a big thanks and want you to know that I appreciate your dedication to the coding craft. Engineer Suite continues to impress me. I'm on the Discord channel and will check in periodically to see how it goes. Enjoy your freedom once more, and here's wishing you continued success in all that you do.

Best,
LRB

[Torgaard]

Thank you so much for the work you've done Maasq! I am a bit of a parsing fiend/addict/what-have-you, and the Engineer Suite has been awesome. Just know that your hard work has greatly contributed to countless hours of fun and joy for me and my players. Good luck!

Tor

[swest]

Greetings,

While researching and reading up on NPC Engineer, I thought that I saw clues that it would could be persuaded to import Pathfinder NPC Stat Blocks... however, now that I have it installed, I don't see any way to do it.

Is NPC Engineer strictly 5E?

Thanks,

- s.west

p.s. Terrific work, by the way.

[Mortar]

Its 5e only, and I have knowledge of someone being to import a non-5e stat block. Maasq has ceased development, but was kind enough to turn the source code over to someone else. That individual well on his way to do a Engineer Suite 2.O in C# (iirc), and has stated once he has all the planned modules of ES working correctly then he would like to expand it to other rulesets as well.

[notrealdan]

Its 5e only, and I have knowledge of someone being to import a non-5e stat block. Maasq has ceased development, but was kind enough to turn the source code over to someone else. That individual well on his way to do a Engineer Suite 2.O in C# (iirc), and has stated once he has all the planned modules of ES working correctly then he would like to expand it to other rulesets as well.

That’s good news! Does that individual have a website or something that you know of?

[alessandro]

Hi notrealdan,
Discord: https://discord.gg/78SdFgg
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/engineersuite2

[swest]

Thanks for the response(s).

That whole ecosystem looks really slick, I'll try to keep up with it so that if it eventually includes Pathfinder I can revisit. As it turns out, what I need to do right will be served more than adequately by Trenloe's venerable Creature Parser, v2.0. Thanks (!) Trenloe.

Cheers,

- s.west

[epithet]

Has anyone been able to get Engineer modules to open in FG Unity?

[LordEntrails]

Has anyone been able to get Engineer modules to open in FG Unity?
What errors are you getting? I suspect either comments are not compliant or the header is wrong if it just won't open at all.

[Moon Wizard]

There was an error with a couple tools I noted earlier (possibly this one, though memory is foggy). In those cases, simply unzipping and rezipping the files fixed the issue. (The tool was appending an extra null character in the internal ZIP file name entries; which a unzip/zip fixed.)

Regards,
JPG

[epithet]

Re-zipping the mod did indeed fix it.

[GunnarGreybeard]

Used this when it first came out but see Maasq is no longer working it. Is this still being maintained?

[LordEntrails]

Yes, someone, but I'm not sure, has taken it over. I believe they post most info on the Discord server Maasq had setup. I can find it if you need it.

[GunnarGreybeard]

Yes, someone, but I'm not sure, has taken it over. I believe they post most info on the Discord server Maasq had setup. I can find it if you need it.

Thank, I think it's linked in Post #119 of this thread (I should have read through and seen that earlier).

[Keriks]

I've also had zero success getting the NPC Engineer to work in Fantasy Grounds Unity. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling with no success.

Using the Engineer Suit Setup.exe download, I can do the following:
1. Get the program to install properly
2. Get the Desktop shortcut to appear
3. Open the Engineer Suite and create a project
4. Input info and save an NPC in the .npc format
5. Click on the "Create module" dragon head

And that's it. Each step I see "success" updates for everything but when I go to where all my modules are located (everything bought from the store or from DMs Guild)...nothing. I've checked the output from Project Management and it says:
Module Path C:\Users\erikh\AppData\Roaming\NPC Engineer\Saved Project Files\Project XY\
Fantasy Grounds Modules Path C:\Users\erikh\AppData\Roaming\Fantasy Grounds\modules

The "Fantasy Grounds Modules Path" has all the modules but nothing I create from the NPC Engineer appears.

Any ideas anyone? Can someone confirm that NPC Engineer works with FGU?

Any help or troubleshooting tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[damned]

This was written before FGU and is not in development.
What you are seeing is the current state.
AFAIK this tool in its current form will not be updated.
There is a new project owner and they are rebuilding it from scratch but I have no progress data.

[Keriks]

Thank you, good sir.

[Keriks]

I took a look at the Discord channel and they appear to be tentatively looking at JULY 2020 as a possible Engineer Suite 2 launch date.

[Keriks]

If anyone is interested, Theodore in Discord at #engineersuite was instrumental in helping me with my Engineer Suite issues. Theodore took over from Maasq for this application and is currently (along with Kertic and LordDusk) re-coding the software from AutoHotKey to C#. I'm not a coder and have no idea how difficult this is but I'm assuming it takes a while and follows the: [have something] + [miracle happens] = [something new] format and doesn't occur overnight. That said, those working on the project are TENTATIVELY shooting for a 1 July 2020 release date of the revamped program.
If anyone's interested [hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this] in supporting them and their efforts through Patreon, you can reach it through Discord at #Patreon-donation or https://www.patreon.com/engineersuite2.
Thanks to damned for the response here and to Theodore et al for their insight and assistance!

[Sumerin the Black]

What ruleset does Engineer Suite work for is it just 5e.

[Mortar]

Engineer Suite is solely for 5e. Its successor will be only for 5e when Theodore launches it, although he does have plans to expand its functionality to other rulesets.

[Sumerin the Black]

Thx

[greglbg]

the patreon link for engineer suite 2 above doesn't work. did the project shut down, or change the link?

[dmbrown]

This is where you want to go.

https://www.patreon.com/fantasymoduleparser

[JayTee]

Hi All,

I know this is no longer supported but until Fantasy Module Parser is active I still need a way to input NPCs int FG.
I am having some issues with importing text via PDF and it seems to be around the letter TT to TI in sucession

When I take a PDF and paste it into MS word I get the below36902

Popping the same PDF data into notepad++ or NPC engineer gives me the below. You can see it cuts off at the same point in both36903

Now dumping the PDF text into word first gives me something mostly usable that I can fix manually but still leaves a bit to be desired. But I can work with it.
36904


The big issues seems to be around casting, at present innate casting. No matter what I do I get weird breaks and such in NPC engineer. I get a weird >T that only disappears when I remove the first 'I' in the word innate, but then it duplicates other data. I also still lose everything after the first 'TI' in the word action. And it doesn't seem to matter what I pop it into first (Word, Notepad++) I can only be fixed manually but still causes duplication. If I remove the Uppercase I and add a lower case i, it seems to work but not perfectly
36905
36906



I have tried using other sources (owned PDF of MM), I have tried foxit, I have tried using word or notepad++, I have trawled the forums and the user manual for NPC Engineer and I can't pin down the issue.
I have very little understanding of markup but I do have a bunch of PDF's I own I'd like to use in my FG games, not to mention all the monsters I have created myself.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind putting in the work to manually correct things before parsing, I just want to make sure that if I do all that work it'll pop into FG correctly, links spells etc and be usable.

Thanks

[Varsuuk]

I’m about to head to sleep and have never used these tools.

That said, some questions if this is the first time you posted on this:

Are you using Windows or Mac pc?
In case it matters, could you pick a common pdf for which you are having this issue and post the name of it (and version if there is a ver)

Is there some option to pick an encoding on this app? Like UTF8 or Isosomething Latin... I forget.

Are you using any tools as part of the cut and past?

When pasting to Word, it appears it is still foobarring it. So maybe it is the source, that’s why asked what file it might be.

In addition, have you tried copying with acrobat if you own it?

I don’t use to it so can’t check that angle but I’m sure many do.


Good luck!

[damned]

Hi All,

I know this is no longer supported but until Fantasy Module Parser is active I still need a way to input NPCs int FG.
I am having some issues with importing text via PDF and it seems to be around the letter TT to TI in sucession

When I take a PDF and paste it into MS word I get the below

Popping the same PDF data into notepad++ or NPC engineer gives me the below. You can see it cuts off at the same point in both

Now dumping the PDF text into word first gives me something mostly usable that I can fix manually but still leaves a bit to be desired. But I can work with it.

The big issues seems to be around casting, at present innate casting. No matter what I do I get weird breaks and such in NPC engineer. I get a weird >T that only disappears when I remove the first 'I' in the word innate, but then it duplicates other data. I also still lose everything after the first 'TI' in the word action. And it doesn't seem to matter what I pop it into first (Word, Notepad++) I can only be fixed manually but still causes duplication. If I remove the Uppercase I and add a lower case i, it seems to work but not perfectly


These are ligatures. You will need to clean up the text before you parse it - no matter what tool you use.


I have tried using other sources (owned PDF of MM), I have tried foxit, I have tried using word or notepad++, I have trawled the forums and the user manual for NPC Engineer and I can't pin down the issue.
I have very little understanding of markup but I do have a bunch of PDF's I own I'd like to use in my FG games, not to mention all the monsters I have created myself.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind putting in the work to manually correct things before parsing, I just want to make sure that if I do all that work it'll pop into FG correctly, links spells etc and be usable.

Thanks

There are no legal PDF copies of the MM.

[Varsuuk]

Hah - go figure. It was 4am and I was in bed on phone didn’t even notice I was in a 5e thread (got here via email “topic alert”

The problem interested me since seemed like a weird interplay. Now it’s not so weird. If you use knockoff pdf, all bets are off on what whoever did what did in making it.

I only have created stuff for SW and 2E and a personal in progress corerpg based system all of which have legal pdfs for.

[JayTee]

Ok that's weird one is a legit pdf for a core book. The other is a freely available pdf from GM binder. At least the ones I am testing anyway.

I'd be more inclined to think it's the other way. People protecting their material so it can't be bulk copied into another format. But if it's a freely available pdf it'd work. Unless they just did a poor job.

[Trenloe]

What @damned is saying is that there is no official/legal PDF of the D&D 5e Wizards of the Coast Monster Manual - i.e. this product: https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/monster-manual

None of the D&D 5e core books (PHB, DMG or MM) are legally available in PDF. The only legal electronic copies are Fantasy Grounds, D&D Beyond or roll20 - none of which are in PDF, the data is in each platform's propriety format. If you paid for a "legit" copy of a core book, then I'd guess you've been had - unless there's some place I'm not aware of, in which case please provide a link!

[JayTee]

What @damned is saying is that there is no official/legal PDF of the D&D 5e Wizards of the Coast Monster Manual - i.e. this product: https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/monster-manual

None of the D&D 5e core books (PHB, DMG or MM) are legally available in PDF. The only legal electronic copies are Fantasy Grounds, D&D Beyond or roll20 - none of which are in PDF, the data is in each platform's propriety format. If you paid for a "legit" copy of a core book, then I'd guess you've been had - unless there's some place I'm not aware of, in which case please provide a link!

The only thing I have to say are curse words :mad:. I didn't even know there weren't PDF's. I suspect I have indeed been had.
Thankfully is was only about $20.
I got it several years ago when I first started playing 5e after moving from Pathfinder and just assumed like Paizo PDF's where the norm.

Well that at least explains why the 'Official' PDF isn't working!

[Trenloe]

Well that at least explains why the 'Official' PDF isn't working!
Indeed it does! Well, at least maybe explains why the copy/paste isn't that reliable.

Sorry you were had. Happens to us all unfortunately. :/

[Maasq]

Hiya

The behaviour you describe in NPC Engineer is usually caused by non-standard language or punctuation in the source statblock.
A lot of the sections don't have obvious breakpoints and so I had to search for text patterns to grab data.

3rd party stuff made me grind my teeth sometimes.

I don't know if the Discord channel is still alive; if it is, some people on there were very good at spotting these issues.

I hope this helps!

Maasq

[damned]

Google pdf ligatures

Hey Maasq!

[Weepdrag]

It seems that this produces modules that are not recognized by FGU. I created a NPC mod in the program and the mod was created successfully (it's in the MODULES directory) but will not come up in the library of FGU to load. I tried opening the MOD in FGC and it works fine. I re-exported a module from the module in FGC. It was also not readable in FGU. Now the big question: Is there a way to EASILY export the data (NPC's) from this newly created MOD into FGU to recreate the MOD in FGU or possibly a parameter in the MOD files to make FGU happy with it?

[LordEntrails]

It seems that this produces modules that are not recognized by FGU. I created a NPC mod in the program and the mod was created successfully (it's in the MODULES directory) but will not come up in the library of FGU to load. I tried opening the MOD in FGC and it works fine. I re-exported a module from the module in FGC. It was also not readable in FGU. Now the big question: Is there a way to EASILY export the data (NPC's) from this newly created MOD into FGU to recreate the MOD in FGU or possibly a parameter in the MOD files to make FGU happy with it?
unzip and rezip the module. I believe ES uses a zip protocol FGU doesn't recognize.

[Weepdrag]

Thanks, I tried that first with no effect then I changed the "root version" from 3.3 to 4.0 in both XML files and it did the trick.

[Maasq]

Hey folks.
I'd been forced to continue with an older version of the compiler I worked with because the zip protocol it used changed and the newer version couldn't be read by FG Classic.
Now that FGU is here it is using a more modern zip protocol (I remember having a discussion about it with a dev a long time ago) - sod's law, the old zip protocol isn't compatible with FGU!

Installing the newest version of the compiler should be easy; the only issue is that there'd be 2 versions of Engineer Suite. People would have to use the appropriate one.

I say this confidently but I have no way to test; I don't have FGU. Are people interested enough that I should do this? I can change the root version at the same time.

How's the successor to ES coming on? Is it out?

I hope everyone is well!

Maasq

[tstory30]

Hey Maasq. We have been working hard on the successor named Fantasy Module Parser. It is almost ready for Beta. Our patrons have been messing around with the Alpha version so far. It is a complete rebuild. Our last major hurdle at this point is the Description section for NPCs. Once that is done and it has been tested "thoroughly", there will be a beta release for everyone to test. Fantasy Module Parser is also able to import Engineer Suite NPCs. We don't have any support yet for D&D Beyond, PDF, etc. importing but that is definitely going to happen.

[tstory30]

the patreon link for engineer suite 2 above doesn't work. did the project shut down, or change the link?

The new link is https://www.patreon.com/fantasymoduleparser

[Judgement]

Would love if they had something like this for the Pathfinder 2.

[Arghun]

I'm still using (and loving) your NPC Engineer jewel. Even though it can't produce FGU ready files it's pretty easy to 'convert' once you know what do to.

I'd love you to maintain your suite but I understand the life is what it is. If you could (without too many efforts) compile a FGU version I wouldn't mind though :-)

Thanks for all you've done!

[tstory30]

Arghun,

You should check out Fantasy Module Parser which is the re-write project of Engineer Suite. Currently, only the NPC Option is available but we are working towards finishing spells at this point. The Discord server is https://discord.gg/78SdFgg and it is FGU ready. Any questions on using the program can be sent there too and plenty of people to assist.

[Maasq]

I'm still using (and loving) your NPC Engineer jewel. Even though it can't produce FGU ready files it's pretty easy to 'convert' once you know what do to.

I'd love you to maintain your suite but I understand the life is what it is. If you could (without too many efforts) compile a FGU version I wouldn't mind though :-)

Thanks for all you've done!

Hey there, and thank you!
I haven't written a line of code since retiring my involvement in the project, so I wouldn't know where to start, I am afraid. FGU is totally new since I quit, and again, I have no idea where to start coding for it. Sorry!

All is not lost, though - you'll see from the other reply that there's a 'spiritual successor' program :)

Good luck

Maasq

[Arghun]

I totally understand, I just had to try ;-)

Thanks again for all the work you've put in the Engineering Suite in the past.

[Dax Doomslayer]

Hey Maasq,
I just wanted to say thanks for all your work and support on this. I'm sorry to hear that you 'retired' but totally understand. You've always been gracious with your time helping me previously on a few issues. Take care.

[dungeonscoast2]

I don't know if this is the right place to share this. But I'm going to share my trait, action, and weapon .json files. They contain a bunch of standard options. Link (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rtUXDLBYe8jhegUZG3YshO7YOTuzgeJ0?usp=sharing)
File location: C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\NPC Engineer

[SharedFG]

Hey! Thanx for your nice tools, just wanted to ask if its possible to add import from Giffyglyph's Monster Maker (https://www.giffyglyph.com/monstermaker/app/) to NPC Engineer? It has export in JSON which contains all the stats.

[LordEntrails]

Hey! Thanx for your nice tools, just wanted to ask if its possible to add import from Giffyglyph's Monster Maker (https://www.giffyglyph.com/monstermaker/app/) to NPC Engineer? It has export in JSON which contains all the stats.
This project is no longer active. Please see posts;
110 (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?45630-Engineer-Suite&p=475819&viewfull=1#post475819), 119 and 137

[Maasq]

Hey! Thanx for your nice tools, just wanted to ask if its possible to add import from Giffyglyph's Monster Maker (https://www.giffyglyph.com/monstermaker/app/) to NPC Engineer? It has export in JSON which contains all the stats.

Hiya, and thank you. As Lord said, I haven't been working on this tool since January 2020. I don't think Engineer Suite is compatible with the current version of FGU.
Having said that, I might quite like to play with the programming again and so *might* look at it in the summer. Work is too crazy just now to even consider trying.

Maasq

[WildKnight]

I know this thread has been dead for some time, but is there any reason that anyone knows why this suite wouldn't still be working? I'm pretty lousy with all things tech, so maybe its something I'm missing. I can get it to create the NPC stat blocks, etc, but when I go to load the module in Fantasy Grounds, FG doesn't seem to be seeing the Module at all. I can open the folder for FG on my desktop and see the Modules name and icon in with the rest of the Fantasy Grounds modules, but when I start a campaign I can't actually see the module on the list available for activation.

[LordEntrails]

I know this thread has been dead for some time, but is there any reason that anyone knows why this suite wouldn't still be working? I'm pretty lousy with all things tech, so maybe its something I'm missing. I can get it to create the NPC stat blocks, etc, but when I go to load the module in Fantasy Grounds, FG doesn't seem to be seeing the Module at all. I can open the folder for FG on my desktop and see the Modules name and icon in with the rest of the Fantasy Grounds modules, but when I start a campaign I can't actually see the module on the list available for activation.
Not sure, other than FG has changed a lot since then. Make sure you have placed the module in the modules folder of your FG data folder. That you restart FG, and that you are in a new 5E campaign with no extensions. If that doesn't work, I would have to guess that it's just too old. Usually old modules can still be opened in current FG, but I only dabbled in this and that was years ago.

[Maasq]

Hiya. I assume it is Fantasy Grounds Unity you are using? FGC used an older version of the zip standard to pack and unpack modules. I had to keep using an older version of the language that Engineer Suite is written in to stay compatible with FGC.

FGU uses a more modern version of the zip standard and so the version used by ES isn't compatible any more.

The good news is that I am actively messing about with programming again and I should be able to make ES compile working modules again. Check back in a couple of days :)

Maasq

[Maasq]

Hey folks

OK, I got the programming done a little quicker than I thought I might. I have a version that works. There are a couple of glitches but nothing game-changing. Work on backups of anything you have until I'm certain that it works fully.
I haven't updated the web site in 4 years, so rather than mess around with that I have created a new Discord server. The install file is hosted there in the 'announcements' channel. If all you want to do is grab a version that works with FGU, that's fine. If you want to stick around and chat, that's also fine :) Discord link in sig.

Going forward, I plan on making some pretty big changes (and I've started implementing some of them). It turns out I love programming again. Obviously some of the changes will be forced on me by WotC's new formats, and that's fine.

My main drive is to simplify my own life as a DM. If I make anything useful for others, that's grand. I know that FGU has a lot more functionality for importing stuff so there may be no use-case for Engineer Suite beyond my own :)

Hope to speak to some of you soon.

Maasq

[Dax Doomslayer]

Hey folks

OK, I got the programming done a little quicker than I thought I might. I have a version that works. There are a couple of glitches but nothing game-changing. Work on backups of anything you have until I'm certain that it works fully.
I haven't updated the web site in 4 years, so rather than mess around with that I have created a new Discord server. The install file is hosted there in the 'announcements' channel. If all you want to do is grab a version that works with FGU, that's fine. If you want to stick around and chat, that's also fine :) Discord link in sig.

Going forward, I plan on making some pretty big changes (and I've started implementing some of them). It turns out I love programming again. Obviously some of the changes will be forced on me by WotC's new formats, and that's fine.

My main drive is to simplify my own life as a DM. If I make anything useful for others, that's grand. I know that FGU has a lot more functionality for importing stuff so there may be no use-case for Engineer Suite beyond my own :)

Hope to speak to some of you soon.

Maasq



Hi Maasq,
Nice to see you back! I just wanted to let you know that it would appear when trying to link out to the Discord channel you get a message of:
"No Text Channels - You find yourself in a strange place. You don't have access to any text channels, or there are none in this server."

[Maasq]

Hi Maasq,
Nice to see you back! I just wanted to let you know that it would appear when trying to link out to the Discord channel you get a message of:
"No Text Channels - You find yourself in a strange place. You don't have access to any text channels, or there are none in this server."

Cheers, mate. I'll look at that & fix it later when I am at the computer!

[Maasq]

OK, the Discord link has been updated and seems to work, as far as I can tell.
Engineer Suite Discord Server (https://discord.gg/mmCjEkMpzc)

[Dax Doomslayer]

OK, the Discord link has been updated and seems to work, as far as I can tell.
Engineer Suite Discord Server (https://discord.gg/mmCjEkMpzc)

Hey Maasq,
There's still an issue it looks. When I clicked on it you get a message of: "The invite may be expired or, you may not have permission to join."

[damned]

Im also getting Invite Invalid

[Maasq]

It seems my skills with Discord are long gone :)
Discord Server (https://discord.gg/Vd7Q3RFgzB)
This definitely works - I got my daughter to join with the same link :) I think the problem was I hadn't set any permissions on the channel.

Maasq

[SmackDaddy]

It seems my skills with Discord are long gone :)
Discord Server (https://discord.gg/Vd7Q3RFgzB)
This definitely works - I got my daughter to join with the same link :) I think the problem was I hadn't set any permissions on the channel.

Maasq

It worked for me, thanks!