Ok, just started my first PbP game. Here are some things you could do that would help immensely just making it more friendly.
Dice rolling button You guys are using tinymce as your editor for the forums. You should be able to create a button to roll the dice. A little popup window with options. It would just have to write the proper bbcode directly into the post.
In Character and out of character button This is a little harder to explain. Basically 2 copies of the blockquote button. One for in character text and one for out of character stuff for the DM. This way when going from game to game there would be a nice cohesion in text styles. Everything in the In character box would be stuff NPCs could hear while the other would be out of character questions, comments, etc.
That's it so far. They are pretty simple to write in TinyMCE, honestly say the word and I'll write them for you.
Both of these are definitely on our list. And to Hardcopy's point, they are not terribly difficult, but they do require time. And as these are "Quality of Life" enhancements, they will have to take a back seat to some other features, like say... Phase 2 & 3, site launch, mobile app, etc., etc.
The Dice Roller modal will have to be fairly robust as Skizzerz's API that we're using is amazing in all the different kinds of dice rolls that it can handle.
As far as the character text button, we're going a little further than that. You will be able to post AS your character. Meaning, for example, if you make a dice roll on perception it will use your character's stats. Yes, the character you've built on the site with the character builder. So by default, your post text will be from your character, and we will provide a way to add OOC or OOG text outside of that. By posting as your character we can do some crazy things like replay the thread as a campaign history, tied to characters. Calculate who has done the most damage, had the most crits, and so on, and so on.
Hang in there PC's, we've got a LOT planned. Just takes time.
I know this is probably a dream, a fantasy even, but it would be cool to have a game setup in a subforum in the play by post section. So I could have an OOC Section, Player knowledge section, story thread, etc (kinda like RPOL.net). Inside that Subforum each person could be assigned an Identity for that Subforum alone, so their name would appear as their character instead of as "Madclergy".
Like I said I know this is a dream, but it would still be cool.
Skizzer went well beyond what anyone would have expected with number of features.
That said I am not sure that 90% of those features will be used by anyone but dungeon masters who will be advanced users. I was thinking of something simpler, something that could be whipped up in say an hour or so. Something like:
I whipped that up pretty quickly but I think it covers most day to day rolls and is pretty unobtrusive. I can give you the code if you are interested (or you can just swipe it).
The character text thing... I like your idea much better than mine. :D
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
YAY!!! Just noticed it! But for PbP, I think that we should also be able to track like the hit points of enemies and PCs. Like maybe a button which we can use to track the monsters and PCs by campaign, then adjust hit points, AC, and basically a mini monster manual.
I think that will have to come with the character creator.
Message creator would be tagged as dungeon master and have to be able to deduct from active HP of posters. Posters would have to "activate" a character for a thread.
This would have to tie directly into Phase 2 which is supposed to go live this month I believe.
Unlike the die roller, this isn't a simple javascript trick to get working, this would involve core rewriting of the forum software. It isn't a super hard thing to do depending on how phase 2 is laid out but it could also take a while to integrate properly.
Thanks Hardcopy for the roller. I agree that the modal in the editor should be simple and only have the most-needed features (some of the features in the roller itself don't even apply to D&D 5th edition at all; they are only there in case someone wants to play some other system on the forums for whatever reason). I think you covered everything that would be needed. Some feedback on the modal:
Advantage/Disadvantage and Keeping/Dropping dice cannot be mixed together. If one is selected, the other should be grayed out (or have some other indication that it is an error).
The label "Number of Die" should be "Number of Dice."
Add in d100 / d%. Needed for rolling on tables like the random loot tables, or for people that play with crit/fumble charts.
Drop the modifier type dropdown, someone can just type in a modifier if they want. So a modifier of "4" or "+4" is written as +4 and "-4" is written as -4.
The label "How many die to drop?" should be "How many dice to drop?"
Make the labels consistent in their casing. They should either be all Title Case or all Sentence case. My preference is Sentence case, so a leading capital but everything else is lowercase.
The bottom bar with the OK/Cancel buttons juts out a bit on the right compared to the box above it on Chrome. Looks to be about 3-4 pixels or so.
Another PbP feature that is sorely needed is the ability to preview replies. When rolling dice, it's nice to be able to preview and compose your reaction to the roll in private rather than posting a partial post and then needing to edit it 300 times to react to the rolls.
I mentioned previewing replies above, but another needed Play-by-Post addition would be naming spoilers. In other words, instead of needing to split a spoiler into two lines
Something something
Put your spoiler here.
I should be able to name the spoiler itself "Something something" and it will display on one line (perhaps replacing the word "Spoiler" in the button itself). Much more compact and easy to read.
Going to go ahead and put in another request, in case anyone goes back and reads this (and maybe I'm a newb and just missing it) but I ran into a situation where I'd like to write out a roll code in a post without it actually rolling. So basically a wrap I could put around the roll function that would stop it from actually calling the function ([noRoll]).
Edit: Just a clarification, I'd like this so one could for instance roll a new character/monster etc by simply quoting a post and then removing the [noRoll] tag
You can add in a space, e.g. [ roll]1d20+4[ /roll] (note the space between [ and the roll or /roll). Then someone can quote that and remove the space to get it to roll. Not perfect, but it lets you put it inline with other text easily, and you can format it (font color, bold, etc.)
There used to be a "code block" button on the editor which would block the roll tag from being parsed, but that button seems to have vanished. However, the code block is like a spoiler or blockquote in that it takes up its own line, and you can't apply any additional formatting to it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Ok, just started my first PbP game. Here are some things you could do that would help immensely just making it more friendly.
You guys are using tinymce as your editor for the forums. You should be able to create a button to roll the dice. A little popup window with options. It would just have to write the proper bbcode directly into the post.
This is a little harder to explain. Basically 2 copies of the blockquote button. One for in character text and one for out of character stuff for the DM. This way when going from game to game there would be a nice cohesion in text styles. Everything in the In character box would be stuff NPCs could hear while the other would be out of character questions, comments, etc.
That's it so far. They are pretty simple to write in TinyMCE, honestly say the word and I'll write them for you.
1 - The dice rolling button is something that has been discussed, and I believe they will be implementing it before or near release.
2 - I will make sure the devs see this suggestion. Thank you!
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
I was just thinking this the other day :D
Both of these are definitely on our list. And to Hardcopy's point, they are not terribly difficult, but they do require time. And as these are "Quality of Life" enhancements, they will have to take a back seat to some other features, like say... Phase 2 & 3, site launch, mobile app, etc., etc.
The Dice Roller modal will have to be fairly robust as Skizzerz's API that we're using is amazing in all the different kinds of dice rolls that it can handle.
As far as the character text button, we're going a little further than that. You will be able to post AS your character. Meaning, for example, if you make a dice roll on perception it will use your character's stats. Yes, the character you've built on the site with the character builder. So by default, your post text will be from your character, and we will provide a way to add OOC or OOG text outside of that. By posting as your character we can do some crazy things like replay the thread as a campaign history, tied to characters. Calculate who has done the most damage, had the most crits, and so on, and so on.
Hang in there PC's, we've got a LOT planned. Just takes time.
I am the Inquisitor Imperitus. I am judge, jury, and executioner. Draw your last breath now, as I send you to the Nine Hells.
I know this is probably a dream, a fantasy even, but it would be cool to have a game setup in a subforum in the play by post section. So I could have an OOC Section, Player knowledge section, story thread, etc (kinda like RPOL.net). Inside that Subforum each person could be assigned an Identity for that Subforum alone, so their name would appear as their character instead of as "Madclergy".
Like I said I know this is a dream, but it would still be cool.
Skizzer went well beyond what anyone would have expected with number of features.
That said I am not sure that 90% of those features will be used by anyone but dungeon masters who will be advanced users. I was thinking of something simpler, something that could be whipped up in say an hour or so. Something like:
http://www.five-star.com/dnd/tinymce/
I whipped that up pretty quickly but I think it covers most day to day rolls and is pretty unobtrusive. I can give you the code if you are interested (or you can just swipe it).
The character text thing... I like your idea much better than mine. :D
13
Test Roll!
I am the Inquisitor Imperitus. I am judge, jury, and executioner. Draw your last breath now, as I send you to the Nine Hells.
Thanks to Hardcopy there is now a handy-dandy dice roll icon on the editor toolbar!
I am the Inquisitor Imperitus. I am judge, jury, and executioner. Draw your last breath now, as I send you to the Nine Hells.
Well well, three cheers for Hardcopy! Hip Hip!
Cool
Marav(Druid/Ranger) -Storm Kings ThunderDontontion(Rogue/Warlock) - Storm Kings Thunder
DM - Stormpoint Mountains :: A Critical Role Adventure ( Map of Trunau )
YAY!!! Just noticed it! But for PbP, I think that we should also be able to track like the hit points of enemies and PCs. Like maybe a button which we can use to track the monsters and PCs by campaign, then adjust hit points, AC, and basically a mini monster manual.
15 Persuaasion
Just an average metalhead who plays DnD in his spare time.
PbP Character: Roberta Thalan, Void Beyond the Stars Otherside
PbP Character: Primus Eidolon, Eotha 2
PbP Character: Usmor Illiqai, Tomb of Corrosion
PbP Character: "Templar" Danver, You're the Villains
Homebrew stuff
I think that will have to come with the character creator.
Message creator would be tagged as dungeon master and have to be able to deduct from active HP of posters.
Posters would have to "activate" a character for a thread.
This would have to tie directly into Phase 2 which is supposed to go live this month I believe.
Unlike the die roller, this isn't a simple javascript trick to get working, this would involve core rewriting of the forum software. It isn't a super hard thing to do depending on how phase 2 is laid out but it could also take a while to integrate properly.
Marav(Druid/Ranger) -Storm Kings ThunderDontontion(Rogue/Warlock) - Storm Kings Thunder
DM - Stormpoint Mountains :: A Critical Role Adventure ( Map of Trunau )
So many features on the horizon! :D
Site Rules & Guidelines --- Focused Feedback Mega Threads --- Staff Quotes --- Homebrew Tutorial --- Pricing FAQ
Please feel free to message either Sorce or another moderator if you have any concerns.
I think I want to be Hardcopi's best friend :)
Thanks Hardcopy for the roller. I agree that the modal in the editor should be simple and only have the most-needed features (some of the features in the roller itself don't even apply to D&D 5th edition at all; they are only there in case someone wants to play some other system on the forums for whatever reason). I think you covered everything that would be needed. Some feedback on the modal:
Another PbP feature that is sorely needed is the ability to preview replies. When rolling dice, it's nice to be able to preview and compose your reaction to the roll in private rather than posting a partial post and then needing to edit it 300 times to react to the rolls.
HartlessD20 made a couple changes to it before it went live. I'll see if he wants me to make those changes or if he wants to.
I mentioned previewing replies above, but another needed Play-by-Post addition would be naming spoilers. In other words, instead of needing to split a spoiler into two lines
Something something
Put your spoiler here.
I should be able to name the spoiler itself "Something something" and it will display on one line (perhaps replacing the word "Spoiler" in the button itself). Much more compact and easy to read.
Going to go ahead and put in another request, in case anyone goes back and reads this (and maybe I'm a newb and just missing it) but I ran into a situation where I'd like to write out a roll code in a post without it actually rolling. So basically a wrap I could put around the roll function that would stop it from actually calling the function ([noRoll]).
Edit: Just a clarification, I'd like this so one could for instance roll a new character/monster etc by simply quoting a post and then removing the [noRoll] tag
Thanks :-)
You can add in a space, e.g. [ roll]1d20+4[ /roll] (note the space between [ and the roll or /roll). Then someone can quote that and remove the space to get it to roll. Not perfect, but it lets you put it inline with other text easily, and you can format it (font color, bold, etc.)
There used to be a "code block" button on the editor which would block the roll tag from being parsed, but that button seems to have vanished. However, the code block is like a spoiler or blockquote in that it takes up its own line, and you can't apply any additional formatting to it.