open question about "converting" extensions to be usable in coreRPG

[Morenu]

OK, I know this will be a opinion based, depends, type answer, but I am curious.

How difficult is to take an extension created in one of the CoreRPG rulesets, say 5e and edit it to be either CoreRPG or to 1 similar ruleset (Say 5e to PF1e)? I assume if it is reasonably ruleset neutral (doesn't pull from the rule books) like character sheet, party sheet or Combat tracker type things, then it would be easier.

As I do not have any current coding experience, I am unsure of the difficulty and don't want to insult someone if I wanted to offer cash to try and entice a creator to spend time converting. Now I know I can't afford to pay for the actual conversion, but it buy the evening food or two... I know for most creators it is about time vs value (that value could be personal use, money, recognition...) I love the extensions we have for PF1e (thanks to all the wonderful creators), but when I see an extension in another ruleset that would be awesome in PF1e and seems like with only a few surface changes (might be crazy change under the hood though)

and I understand 1 coder's thoughts will probably be different than others.

[Zarestia]

I probably think you don't wanna hear this, but it depends...

Some are easy, some are hard, it's really a case-by-case scenario.

Do you have some in mind?

[Morenu]

I probably think you don't wanna hear this, but it depends...

Some are easy, some are hard, it's really a case-by-case scenario.

Do you have some in mind?

LOL see I told you I knew it...

Well mostly it is DM side QoL items. We are playing PF1e (started in 5E but moved).

Mad Nomad makes a 5E Enhanced Encounter Extension that my DM misses about half of the functions terribly (although we have not discussed this in some time) forge (https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/141/view)
There was a clear all creatures or players from the CT (dead or alive). there is a clear dead button but if we avoid combat he has to remove each living creature 1 at a time.
I have not used this Grim Press extension but it sounds like it would do a lot of what my DM is missing... Forge (https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/154/view)

Cohorts and companions is a little glitchy but takes care of most shifting/polymorphing ... so that works (used to be on the list).


there were others I can go look. honestly, your character sheet took care of a lot from the player's side, so I need to reach out to the DM.

[Zarestia]

Hmm, imho those extensions should be convertable to another CoreRPG ruleset. Because they're all paid and closed-source I can't take a look at the code to tell exactly though. :D

Probably best to just ask, more ruleset availability means more potential costumers means more potential $$$.

[SilentRuin]

I only do 5E because rulesets are so "unique" they regularly trash the CoreRPG functionality and all have their own way of doing the same things. This makes it not worth maintaining in things I don't actively play - which is only 5E.

[bayne7400]

Matt Kure has a clear the dead extension that is free. So on 3.5 if you right click the menu it doesn't clear NPCs?

[mattekure]

Yeah, my Clear Dead is for cleaning up the CT of dead entries. https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/212/view

Its free, and should work in 5e, 4e, 3.5e, PFRPG, PFRPG2, and OSE2. However, it is not CoreRPG. The main reason is that CoreRPG being a base system provides a lot of the functionality, but doesnt itself implement it all. In this case, each ruleset defines functions which check to determine the health status of the CT entries. CoreRPG provides the framework for making that happen.

There are many challenges in supporting multiple rulesets with an extension. Some ruleset authors adhere very closely to how CoreRPG does things. Others change behavior in minor or major ways. Also, the data might not be represented the same way. For example, some rulesets might have HP represented as a dbnode with a number value. others might have the HP node as a parent node that holds many different values beneath it, like HP Max, wounds, etc. These kinds of differences between implementations mean that in some cases, the entire extension would need to be rewritten to take them into account.

So making something Core compatible really depends on what is being performed. If its interacting with ruleset specific data/rolls, its a lot more work than if it is entirely self contained (like my weather extension, which is totally ruleset neutral).

[Trenloe]

There was a clear all creatures or players from the CT (dead or alive). there is a clear dead button but if we avoid combat he has to remove each living creature 1 at a time.
No extension needed - click on Menu -> Delete -> Delete Only Foes or Delete All Non-Friendly