Showing posts with label Game Aid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Aid. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

PyMapper Version 8 Available

PyMapper version 8 is now available. It looks like there is some functionality to use your maps for real time roleplaying with the implementation of Fog-of-War. It still has all the useful settings and features of prior versions as well.
 
You can get the latest version of PyMapper here and the PyMapper web site is here. In past posts there were comments indicating my PyMapper post should be updated because the program was no longer supported. I could find no evidence to support this claim then and I certainly can't find any now. For the record, there are several links to the tile scans here.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Where Heroes Dare Character Sheet

I wanted a way to store all my pulp heroes and villains for Where Heroes Dare! in some kind of file format that would allow me to edit the characters later if needed and I also wanted to be able to put some kind of character picture on the sheet as well. MS Excel was not my first choice, but as it turns out, it worked well. When I entered all the data for the combo boxes I included the rule book page numbers because I always spend too much time looking up specific rules and I think that detail will really help.
 

If anyone would like to use this, I have uploaded it to MediaFire here. There are two character sheets per page and you can make copies of the blank character sheet tab to store more heroes and villains in the workbook. Enjoy.
 
Edit: I found an error in the workbook. Here is a new link.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Solo or GMless Roleplaying

Recently, I have been doing a little research on solo RPGs. Some of you might ask why I would want to do such a thing. It is pretty simple; circumstances do not allow me to be as social with my gaming friends as I once was, but I still want to play RPGs. The trick is finding a way to surprise yourself or have the adventure unfold in a way which isn't obvious so that it doesn't feel like you are the player and the GM. There are a couple of options here, especially for the roleplayer who enjoys story telling games.
Mythic, by Word Mill Games, is an RPG system in its own right which can be adapted to play other RPGs GMless or even solo. This system combined with the two player game World vs. Hero, by the same publisher, can up the story telling ante considerably. Check out the solo play World vs Hero webpage HERE and see if that sounds like something that would interest you. The rest of the site has many interesting tidbits as well. I especially enjoyed reading some of the story dialogue that was generated using these systems. There are several examples on the site.
 
When the roleplayer uses these resources along with other resources like donjon, Ptolus or the multitude of other resources available, there is no telling what adventures may be had. While reading the World vs. Hero web site I could not help but crave adventures in all my favorite genres using that system. I am hoping to put these resources to the test. I would enjoy hearing from others or reading the adventures of others who are like minded.
 
B.

Monday, October 29, 2012

donjon

The donjon web site is a fantastic rpg resource. Not only will the site generate a fully stocked dungeon with the size and level specifics you provide, but it will do so for several different versions of D&D as well as generic fantasy too. The generated dungeon material can be downloaded as a nice pdf package once the desired results are obtained. What an awesome FREE resource. Cudos to the donjon folks!

 

Dungeon created as a result of the settings above.
Example dungeon and room description for the dungeon above.

There are other generators that are handy for several genres of rpgs, not just fantasy. The person or persons responsible for this site have been doing it for quite a while and as a result, many of the offerings are quite polished and offer lots of variety.

B.

 

Friday, October 5, 2012

ZunTzu

I can't believe I haven't written about ZunTzu (www.zuntzu.com) in the past. I really like this program. It allows people to create and share digitized version of games by re-creating the components in a virtual environment. If you have heard of Vassal, it is much the same idea without the automation. Game box creation is pretty easy once you understand what is going on.
I have completed a Star Trek Deck Building Game Box, a Field Commander Rommel Game Box and a play-test Game Box for Battle of the Bulge.
Star Trek Deck Building Game
With some imagination, I believe this platform could be used to play skirmish miniatures games as well. I have been wanting to try this idea With Battletech and Where Heroes Dare. Maybe that will be a project for this winter.
The program's creator has announced an iPad version expected sometime late this year. I will likely give this new version a go when it is available. I am actually pacing in anticipation, but am trying to remain calm. :-)


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Banners on the Cheap

You may have noticed the playing surface we used on our X- Wing game. It is actually a banner printed from images taken by Hubble. A company named Banners on the Cheap (www.bannersonthecheap.com) prints banners using all sorts of images. They even make roleplaying maps. The 4' x 4' banners I purchased cost $22 plus about $6 for shipping. I have ordered a total of four of these play mats. So far my experience with this company has been very positive and I highly recommend them.

 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

FFG Star Wars Dice App

To go along with Fantasy Flight's Roleplaying and Miniatures games is a dice rolling app for iOS and Android devices. The dice roller supports other roleplaying games with a generic set of multi-sided dice as well. There are all kind of sounds and backgrounds to go along with the dice rolling, but for $4.99 I expect a few extras. In general I think this price is high for an app of this type, but they did an excellent job and it really helps set the atmosphere for X-Wing games.

 

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Axis and Allies Simulator App

Whenever we played Axis and Allies in college, one of the tools that always accompanied the game was a calculator. Yeah, we really geeked out when we played, but what do you expect from physics students. So, I was kinda excited to see someone actually made an app to calculate the same sorts of things we used a calculator for. It is free too. There are other apps that do the same thing that are not free. This one comes with my recommendation.


Monday, November 14, 2011

Heavy Metal Map


I mentioned Heavy Metal Pro in previous posts which is a pretty kick-butt Battletech utility set. The Same company makes a mapping program that is equally kick-butt. Heavy Metal Map is a program that lets you make your own maps in the standard Battletech map size with your choice of custom or stock graphics as well as pre-made maps from some of the released map packs of past years. The big draw for me is the custom print settings. I want maps to accommodate my 12mm Mechwarrior miniatures that I have based and this is the program to do that.

Heavy Metal Map interface
I have only had the program a short while, but I am impressed with the number of features present. This game aid gets two thumbs up from me!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

News: Announcing PyMapper version 5.2



 A few months ago I posted an entry about a mapping program called PyMapper. A new version is now available. The big addition is the random dungeon creation using pre-defined geomorphs. Below is the announcement from the yahoo group:

Posted On The Yahoo Group: 
PyMapper version 5.2 adds the long awaited random dungeon generation functionality. After much development (and much frustration and finally inspiration) a workable randomizer methodology was developed for the program. Random dungeons are based around the concept of a geomorph, which is a fancy way of saying "a collection of tiles that fit together." Each geomorph is 12 squares wide and 14 squares high. Each geomorph has a series of 'connection points' defined to tell pymapper how they align next to other geomorphs. The dungeon randomizer takes a group of geomorphs and fits them together according to these connection points. A sample set of geomorphs is included in this release. Users are highly encouraged to submit new geomorphs so that we can get a wide assortment of options. The randomizer can be found in the Maps menu. A tutorial file is also included in the /geomorphs/ folder where you installed pymapper.

I have created a library of geomorphs to be used with pymapper. The zip file is also located in the pymapper folder. I strongly encourage the community to send in their own geomorphs to expand our choices. Please send geomorph files to pymapper (at) hotmail.com and I will compile and distribute them.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Super System Character Generator

  The SuperSystem Annex web site is very handy for the SuperSystem gamer. Along with other game play odds and ends there is a Character/Team Sheet Builder and a Character Generator. The first item allows the user to print pre-defined SuperSystem characters for gaming. The sheet for Sabertooth, shown above, also happens to have a picture and some flavor text. The tool prints multiple sheets per printed page if multiple superheroes are selected. The second link, the Character Generator, allows the user to define custom superheroes which can later be printed in the same manner as the pre-defined characters.
  I have made extensive use of this site while compiling and designing the character sheets for my SuperSystem characters. I would like to thank Dave for making this available to us all.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Downing of the Sun Sword: The Game

  Tom did a fantastic job on the playing surface. The same company that made the software for printing the mech sheets also makes a mapping program called HeavyMetal Map. He used this program to make the map. The addition of trees and hills makes for an awesome setting.
 
Our dropship landed near a patch of trees to the south west of the objective. As we were unloading we saw another dropship landing to the east of our location just over the ridge. The race was on.

The first turn saw little action as everyone's forces spread all over the map. A small fire erupted in a light woods near the objective and one of the mechs defending the Sun Sword crash site was destroyed. It didn't fight back so it was probably a decoy.
  
Our competition does not appear to be worried about the mine fields, hidden mechs and ship's weapon arrays and have run full strength to the objective. My mechs have advanced cautiously to the west of the objective while my teammates have opted for a more direct approach attempting to stop the other team from running away with the game.
 
The competition up close and personal with the downed ship's defenses. The communication beacon toward the upper left part of the picture is about ready to be destroyed.
  
One of the defensive mechs was hiding in a stand of light woods and activated just as our forces were rounding the north western part of the lake. Much to our dismay the two mechs in the foreground stumbled into a mine field and were lightly damaged and had to stop their advance giving the rival team more time we didn't have to give. 

We caught a small break when one of our mechs was able to get to the communication beacon just before it was destroyed by the other team and was able to finish it off securing 7 victory points.
One of our mechs who was watching the line of retreat of the other team was unlucky enough to receive a Gauss Rifle slug to the head and prematurely end the game for that mech. This will leave their line of retreat unhindered.

Unfortunately we ran out of time and could not completely finish the scenario, but the rival team had accumulated twice as many points as we had and also had the data core in their possession.

A great time was had by all participants and I hope we can do this again soon. Many thanks to our host. :-) 

Monday, November 15, 2010

Downing of the Sun Sword: Lance Composition

  So, we are allowed a 240 ton lance for each participant and we get victory points for taking stock mechs. It will have to be stock mechs for me because I simply don't have the time to create 4 or 5 mechs from scratch before the game. I do have a program called Heavy Metal Pro for printing out the mech sheets and it assists in selecting the right type of mech from the correct timeframe as well as other filtering selections. This program comes highly recommended from myself and they have several other programs for various aspects of gaming.
  The briefing mentions a swamp, but we have no idea what percentage of the total layout will be swampy. I think mechs with jump jets will be in order for this mission. The briefing also states the data core can only be retrieved by mechs with their hand actuators intact. So there we have it, I need 240 tons of mechs with jump jets and hand actuators. Narrowing the list down to the right tech period with jets and hand actuators proved to be the most difficult task of the whole ordeal. Here is what I came up with:


Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Ultimate Computer Based Gaming Table or I gotta Have One Of These

  Some ingenious role players took computer based game play aids like I have mentioned in recent posts and built an awesome gaming table. I gotta get one of these. Check out the video ....


There are other examples of similar setups on the internet. There is a portable version that is very nice if you need portability. Check out the video for this version ...


BTR

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

RPTools MapTool

   MapTool is part of the RPTools suite of game play aids. This software allows gamers to share a game session over a network (including the internet). The possibilities are immense. With a little preparation on the GM's side, any map and encounter graphics can be used in the software with fog of war and line of sight built in. Whether the players live on opposite sides of the world or one player can't make it because it is their turn to watch the kids tonight, this software or something like it may play a role in the future of gaming. I have missed out on many gaming sessions because of long term work assignments and would have appreciated a setup like this so I could have participated.
  It is interesting to note that it appears most people who use the software are roleplaying. I would like to experiment with miniature gaming as well. With some modifications I think a setup like this could work with games like Where Heroes Dare! and Battletech.

MapTool with Temple of Fire Map

  It was easy enough to import my Temple of Fire map into the sofware. Any graphics software can be used to make maps or tokens, but there are several editors purpose built for making maps of this nature and many of them are free on the internet.
  One person hosts the session and the other players join the session on their computers or a two computer setup could be used for  regular gaming session where the the GM has the 'Master' computer and the other players use the 'Player' computer. Typically in this last example a projector is used so all players can see the game board on the playing surface instead of all crowding around one computer monitor.

  I look forward to seeing what role programs like this will play in the future of our hobby.

BTR

Monday, May 24, 2010

PyMapper

Temple of Fire

I recently discovered the PyMapper program on the internet. When the tile packs for D&D were released several years ago, a fan created a Java based mapping program that was posted on the WotC web site. I really liked the program because I could tell it how many sets I own and it would keep track of the tiles I used to make the maps and then I could print the tile manifest for game preparation. Support for the program fell off and when new tile sets were released they weren't made available for the mapping program. PyMapper is another fan supported mapping program and a Yahoo group was created to distribute the files and provide a mechanism for feedback. The group can be found here: PyMapper Group.

 

PyMapper Interface
 

Pymapper can do all the things I like about the other program and then some. The interface is easy to use and fairly intuitive. Best of all the tile sets are up to date and now match what I currently own. If you have a need for this type of program you can't beat it, especially since it is FREE!

BTR