Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Bull on <07-27-11/0413:14>
-
http://gamerati.com/loot/2011/07/27/hero-lab/
Gamerati and Loot! (Their pseudo Woot! program for gaming) has the HeroLab software up today (and today only, so far as I know) for 1/2 off. So $15 instead of $30.
For those of you interested in the Shadowrun software when it's released next week, I'd say grab this up now while you can. Download it, but wait until the Shadowrun software is released to install. You get one "free" game system when you buy the core software, and you choose it when you do the install. Of course, they also have D&D 3.5, Pathfinder, World of Darkness, and Mutants & Masterminds on there, among others, so if any of those grab your fancy, you can install and pick up them, and grab the SR Datafiles next week.
Bull
-
Heck, that's likely cheaper than buying the rule set on its own (for those of us already owning copies); assuming the core set will be priced at $20.
AJC
-
Thanks Bull! - will do when I hit the coffin hotel tonight 8)
-
Something I should've checked before hitting the 'pay now' button, but is this a download or a physical shipped copy?
-
Sold out!
-
BIG SIGN SAYS
SOLD OUT
-
Hmmm... Guess it was a limited offer!
-
Guess so. Glad I picked it up early.
-
Wish I had logged on earlier in the day!
-
*Sniff-Sniff*
...
:'(
-
Sorry! I tried!
(And man Can Ray, you're usually on 24/7. Bad day to actually sleep!)
-
Yeah, well, the things that usually allow me to be on 24/7 ended a bit ago, and won't be back for awhile. But I promise a pleasant surprise when those days do come back.
-
*twitch* Considering I have all kinds of bad luck with homebrewed Char Gens and trackers, I'm kind of leery of the idea of shelling out money for something that could be as bugged and lacking as some of the drek I've downloaded... Anyone have anything to say that would sway me to pay for this thing? Like "Seriously, it's only $30 for the main pack, and $20 for the Shadowrun upgrade when it comes out. And for that, you get a program that is almost as perfect as writing out the character yourself!"
I don't mean to bad-mouth here, but a lot of the char gen programs I've seen... I gave up on using most of them, and went back to pencil and paper. And it's not like I could FIX most of those programs, as they are either write-protected excel files, or didn't offer source code so I could fix their mistakes.
*grumbles* Sorry, guess I'm just wondering, is this program worth the full price? 'Cause it seems like a lot...
-
Well, it's $30 for the main pack, but... You get to choose one game datapack with it. So you can choose Shadowrun as your datapack, once it's out. So it's only $30, not $20.
And yes, it's really, really well done. These guys have been doing professional character generators for years now. I bought HeroLab a few years ago for Mutants & Masterminds, and it was brilliant. Superhero games being what they are, chargen can get complicated, especially when you're buying superpowers (especially when there are a lot of variables and options you can buy for each power). Herolab is great because it tells you what everything does. It has the rules right there in the pop up toolbars. And when you do something wrong, it tells you what and tells you why.
That along makes it well worth it for me.
That said, it's been in betatest for several months now, and we've been bashing the hell out of the bugs. They have several people working on it full time. This isn't something someone's throwing together in their spare time as a hobby. THis is a professional grade program done by people who've been doing this for over a decade.
Not sure what else to say. There will be more reports when it comes out. If you're worried about bugs and glitches, simply wait a couple weeks. This is the internet, this is a Shadowrun forum. If there are any problems, someone with bitch about it. Endlessly. :)
Bull
-
Also... http://forums.shadowrun4.com/index.php?topic=2150.0
Herolab got discussed a fair bit there, and a number of points you asked about got some discussion in that thread.
-
Good enough for me. You make it sound awesome, Bull.
-
Good enough for me. You make it sound awesome, Bull.
It is awesome. I've been using it for Pathfinder as well. Now, I'm not going to lie and tell you it's cheap, but the base price is really good and they have reasonable prices for additional datapacks.
The best part, however, is that it is customizable. So, with a little work, you can make sure that race/item/whatever that isn't in the system can be added to your system.
-
I seem to recall that out of the gate it wasn't even going to support all the released material, and from personal experience they have been sloooooow in the past to add that kind of thing. And then you have to pay for it. This is in regards to new books, IIRC they do update errata for free (hahahaha assuming there was a source for it).
Sure, they are a business, and I have a choice as a consumer. So the notepad, pencil, and calculator as always available choices as well.
-
I'm still under NDA, so I'm limited in what I can say, but out of the gate they support a fair amount. But for the initial release, the concern is getting everything working right. Once the rules are in place, a lot of Shadowrun update material is simply a matter of adding in numbers, since most stuff doesn't really change the rules at all.
-
Don't get me wrong, I think the tool itself is awesome. I used the crap out of it during my Warhammer 40k days.
It's the support and practices around it that keep me away from em. The whole fool me once thing and all.
-
Yeah, well, not like I have a group to make it useful for me anyhow. :'(
Someday... Someday...
-
Don't get me wrong, I think the tool itself is awesome. I used the crap out of it during my Warhammer 40k days.
It's the support and practices around it that keep me away from em. The whole fool me once thing and all.
Same company, different program and different license. Their support of Pathfinder has been pretty solid...for me, no issues at all with the speed of data set releases. It is a little frustrating not knowing the releases plan(s)...though all should be revealed next week when the data set launches.
That being said, at the end of the day, you have a number of different choices available to you...just have to find what works best.
AJC
-
Yes it's a different tool but the same concept. They make software that facilities playing games. The software is pretty solid.
-
Fair point.
Rob just posted (http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=10283&page=11) over on the Lone Wolf forum indicating that full details would be provided in the July update, due in a couple of days.
AJC
-
I'm a pretty big fan of Lone Wolf. I use their Army Builder software quite a bit for various miniatures games and it is well done.
-
Info from the latest Lone Wolf update:
The long wait is nearly over - Shadowrun will be releasing at Gen Con next week. For our final preview before Shadowrun releases at Gen Con, we have two last screenshots for you. First, the Technomancer (http://wolflair.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=44507e05522091b161937b744&id=60999569c7&e=d0d14afbd6), showing complex forms, sprites, and an inset image of the Living Persona on the Matrix tab. Second, a street samurai (http://wolflair.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=44507e05522091b161937b744&id=704621ac4d&e=d0d14afbd6) with two identies, multiple lifestyles, and enough contacts to keep him in work.
Remember, we'll be releasing the Shadowrun data package at Gen Con next week! It'll be released concurrently on our web site on August 4th, the first day of the show.
AJC
-
Some info from Rob re the release tomorrow (yay!!):
The initial release will include just the core book and a few bits from supplements. We've already begun work on some of the major supplements, and we plan to begin releasing those as addons in the next few months. As always, users will be able to add whatever custom material they want via the editor, but we'll be tackling all the major stuff ourselves.
We need to nail down the details about the addons with Catalyst at GenCon this week (and possibly in the weeks following), so we won't be announcing any concrete details until that's all sorted. Thanks in advance for you patience on that stuff....
AJC