DOE: Locations Extension

[bobbylain]

love how this Location extension works.. Great job. It has allowed me to start imputing my entire game world into fantasy grounds and share it with my players. With so many locations and personalities my players cant say enough good things about finally being able quickly locate any information they want to find. It really helps speed up our games when I share sheets and players can look things over without interrupting play to ask for the specifics on some location. Keep up the great work, I cant wait for the next version. Kudos on the weather extension as well, it helps to add great depth to our gameplay.

[Wolfheart]

(This is scary, my first post here.. be gentle).

I was kindly directed from FG's Steam forum to this thread by nylanfs (who might be lurking around here as well?) as I was looking for something that this extension seems to be doing.
While I am so new to FG that I can't really understand everything (like, what's a "Child Ruleset"?) I still have to dip my toes in the water and ask a few probably übersilly questions before I dare downloading this

The extension file that I need to download, is the one in the first post on the first page of this thread?
Does it still only work for CoreRPG or can I make use of this with other rulesets (and if yes, which rulesets?)

Thank you, Dulux-Oz for creating this extension. It sounds just like what I want to have in FG in terms of keeping lots of material straight.

[Blackfoot]

I use it with Pathfinder.. it's pretty cool... and yeah the file should be in the first post. Save it off and put it into your extensions folder.

[Wolfheart]

All right, I downloaded it and fired it up in my "The Riddle of Steel" (best.rpg.ever.) and it looks goood.
Thanks!!

[Tiqon]

(This is scary, my first post here.. be gentle).

RAWR!

Gentle?! MUAHAHHAA!

*swallows Wolfheart whole*

MUAHHAHAHA another soul devoured!

.....

Sorry, got carried away there a bit. I'm better now. Welcome to "la foruuum"! and FG!

One of the REALLY strong things about FG is the community (not me, I'm not sane, and never can remember anything, so often can't help with anything. I was titled "forum Troll" once in another forum, a title I wore with pride!, but that is another story...) but everyone else here are really nice, and helpful, and awesome. So no need to be scared . Your a big bad wolf anyhow... Oh my that wolf on your avatar do have a big mouth eh?

Wife: Tiq! Time for bed, you are rambling again!
Me: Comming dear!

*runs of to brush teeth (gotta keep them pearly whites shiny and strong)*

[damned]

Hey Wolfheart you might be more familiar with the Steam forums but you will get input and response here from a much wider group of people
Dulux also has a weather extension and is working on an Organisations one. I think the organisations one will probably suit you too.

[damned]

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...ther-Extension
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...uest-For-Input

[dulux-oz]

(This is scary, my first post here.. be gentle).

I was kindly directed from FG's Steam forum to this thread by nylanfs (who might be lurking around here as well?) as I was looking for something that this extension seems to be doing.
While I am so new to FG that I can't really understand everything (like, what's a "Child Ruleset"?) I still have to dip my toes in the water and ask a few probably übersilly questions before I dare downloading this

The extension file that I need to download, is the one in the first post on the first page of this thread?
Does it still only work for CoreRPG or can I make use of this with other rulesets (and if yes, which rulesets?)

Thank you, Dulux-Oz for creating this extension. It sounds just like what I want to have in FG in terms of keeping lots of material straight.

Let me see if I can explain.

The FG "architecture" consists of the base engine (the fg.exe, the program) on top of which runs a Ruleset. A Ruleset contains all the mechanics of playing a given RPG: the die rolling, what constitutes a hit, how the hit points work, how the saving throws work, how everything works. So the 3.5E D&D mechanics are different from (but similar to) the 4E D&D mechanics, which are different from the 5E D&D mechanics, etc, etc, etc. Thus, each of the rules mechanics for a given RPG is collected into a different Ruleset.

Now because a lot of the mechanics for a lot of different RPGs/Rulesets are the same (or very close) it makes sense to pull those common mechanics out into a separate, common "pile", and then load that "pile" into FG when we load a given Ruleset. This idea is accomplished by using "parent" and "child" Rulesets; the common "pile" for just about all current Rulesets is the CoreRPG Ruleset, and any Ruleset which uses the common "pile" is a "child" of the CoreRPG Ruleset.

So, the 3.5E Ruleset, the 4E Ruleset, and the 5E Ruleset (& others) are all "children" of the CoreRPG Ruleset, and the CoreRPG Ruleset is the "parent" of these Rulesets. When we load/select a child Ruleset in the FG Launcher the parent Ruleset is loaded automatically first, and then any changes to the parent Ruleset specified in the child Ruleset are applied.

It is possible to continue down this chain indefinitely, with child Rulesets having children of their own, and so on. An example of this is the Pathfinder Ruleset: it's very, very close to the 3.5E Ruleset, so the Pathfinder Ruleset has been made a "child" of the 3.5E Ruleset and is loaded on top of the 3.5E Ruleset (which in turn is loaded on top the CoreRPG Ruleset). So we could say that the Pathfinder Ruleset is a "grandchild" of the CoreRPG Ruleset.

It's important to note that only one Ruleset is in action at a time (the last one in the Ruleset Stack), even though parent Rulesets may be loaded first.

So now when a Ruleset Developer wants to develop a new Ruleset all they have to do is work out which of the existing Rulesets has the closest mechanics to the desired RPG and then make their new Ruleset a child of that Ruleset. At the very least just about all new Rulesets should be children of the CoreRPG, because the CoreRPG has just about all of the "basic" things needed by FG to play a RPG. This is why you can play any RPG with FG: just use the CoreRPG Ruleset.

So how do Extensions fit in? Well, an Extension is a modification to a Ruleset. It might be a change of language, it might be a change of graphics, it might add some extra functionality (some "house rules") to a Ruleset, or just about anything else. This Locations Database Extension adds the ability to store information organised by place, for example, while my Weather Extension provides a mechanism for determining the weather. My Alternate ColourGizmo Extension adds the ability to set your die colours by using a Colour Hex Code, in addition to using the 11 Colour Buttons; you get the idea.

Extensions are loaded after the Ruleset Stack is loaded (after the parent Ruleset and any child Rulesets), and more than one Extension may be loaded at once. The order that Extensions are loaded is arbitrary: it is possible for an Extension Developer to specify when their Extension is loaded relative to any other Extensions (try to be first, try to be last, etc) but there is no guarantee, and most Extension Developers don't bother to specify anyway. It is also possible for an Extension Developer to specify if their Extension should or should not be loaded with others, but again most Extension Developers don't bother to specify.

Because each Extension modifies the existing computer code or graphics, etc, of the loaded Ruleset, if two Extensions try to modify the same thing then only the last Extension in the Extension Stack that effects the thing being modified applies. This is why some Extensions won't work with others and why sometimes two Extensions will "break" each other - they're trying to both modify the same thing in the loaded Ruleset. The only way to fix these problems is for the two Extension Developers to work together to come up with a solution.

So should a Developer use a child Ruleset or an Extension for their changes? Well, it depend upon the extent and the scope of the modifications. If the modifications are designed to be used for more than one RPG (such as my Locations Extension) then an Extension is the way to go. If the change is relatively minor and doesn't really involve changing the mechanics (eg changing the graphics) then again, an Extension is probably best. If the modification is significant and might really be considered a new RPG, then a child Ruleset is probably best. But in the end it's really a matter of taste for the Developer.

So, finally, how do Modules fit it to the FG Architecture? Well, Modules hold information relevant to the RPG setting. Typical Modules might be a Monster Manual, a Spell Grimoire, or the details of a Adventure. This information isn't the mechanics of an RPG, but often uses the mechanics. Modules are loaded and unloaded as required by the GM and/or the Players during the FG session, just like you'd open and close an RPG's physical reference books.

I hope that help you to understand how it all fits together in FG.


Oh, and you're welcome!

Cheers

[weretygr]

As a fellow developer, is there any way of adding entries outside of the FG interface? What file is the data stored in. I'm familiar with XML as well as a number of programming languages/tools. I'm working on a tool to generate an entire town with shops, npcs, and residents and am wondering if it would be better to use this instead of the module I am currently creating ( last one was a metropolis with roughly 25000 npcs - Yes I was concerned about FG handling it but so far so good).

[damned]

You can add data directly into a DB so long as you keep it consistent. Campaign data is stored in db.xml
For what you are doing I would add that (I havent tried this for this extension) to a module data file an load that file separately into my campaign.
I created a web page that you could input NPCs into and it would output a FG module for CnC use. It was done that way so that multiple people could contribute to the DB.