I've began work on a different, yet similar and RPG related project which will have a new name. I won't reveal what it is, but once a new site is up, I will post a link from here. RPGWorkbench will return in another incarnation as part of the new project, in the future. Thanks for following to date, check back here every back in a while for an update in the future.
Thanks.
I am virtually back. That's almost back, but not entirely. Owning a house and getting major renovations started is not fun. To be fair, I am a bit more handy now, and not just with code. heh. I've spent the last couple of months mulling over whether it is still worth continuing with the project after all this time. I did some research on "the competition" and it seems that a bunch of new tools are out there, but again, nothing that satisfies what I want to build. That's good. It validates my need to continue this project. I have, however, decided to make this a hosted service as opposed to a download app. The reason for this is that it makes it easier to provide "online" functionality without forcing people to mess with routers and firewalls. It also allows me to monetize the project later, if it ever gets that far.
The hosted model also gets rid of the whole upgrade problem for users. You can use the site from anywhere, anytime. Initially it will be an open beta as it is developed and people will be free to use the features built to date and help me develop them by doing testing and suggesting improvements. Those will remain free even after there are pay for features. This path will cost me some money by having the need to have a server hosted somewhere, however its a risk I'll take. I may have also mentioned this in the past, but I have a new name for the application which will be revealed in due time. Meanwhile, keep checking, I will be starting up again soon.
Thanks for checking in.
Sorry for the lack of updates over the past couple of months. I've had to take a break from the project due to a lot of personal things happening recently (all good stuff). I'm moving this month and will need to put some time into the new house. If all goes well, I will start up coding again in March. The break is kind of nice to think and not to think about RPGWorkbench. Gives me time to decide whether to make this a web app or a download app which I have not yet decided myself as well as do a few things which I had been too occupied to do. Be back soon...
I have not posted any updates in a while because I did not have anything interesting to post. I've been heads down in the character generator designer redesign and coding whenever I had time to work on it. The redesign took longer than expected, but I am extremely happy with the new look. You will also notice a lot of other design changes in the new screenshot. Those occured here and there between the last time I posted screenshots and now. I am constantly experimenting with the look and feel whenever I need a break from a complicated piece I am working on. It gives me a break and lets me refocus on the problem at hand. This strategy has worked well for me, though it does consume more time I find it rewarding.
Onto the screenshot. It is a bit large, I wanted to get all the goodies into the single shot. The editing is now done inline thoughout the character generator designer, and soon the rest of the application. The inline editing is a bit more natural for a web application and looks a lot better than having input controls all over the screen which makes it look both confusing and ugly.
The Configuration area as well as the action hooks are expandable and in fact start out collapsed. I expanded them for the screen shot. You click on the field you want to edit and the inline editor pops up. The screenshot has only one step, but you can have as many as you wish and to sort them, you drag and drop them (a new component I built). As you can see, the flow of the page looks pretty natural, is clean and easy to read.
The hooks are composed of actions, same actions you already defined in the rule editor and here you just select the one you want to add, and configure the properties. All actions from the rule engine are available, though some would not really be useful, they are still available and editable in the single place (the rule editor).
After approximately 2+ months of working on the character generator wizard I decided to toss all the code and design I had come up with and started from scratch again. Having written reams of code and having created a bunch of user interface (UI) mockups I came to realize the not only was the UI design complex to understand, but the code behind it was even worse.
A week ago while sitting in the car on a long drive in traffic, I realized that when the character generator wizard was complete, it would not be what I wanted it to be. The design was flawed and broke the one principle I set out to design with - simplicity for the user. The whole wizard idea in the traditional incarnation (with the next/previous buttons) was not cut out to work for character generation. The simple, single page design is much easier to follow, to create and to manage. My new design is much more concise and satisfying. I spent the past week ironing out the look and started coding this weekend. Not only will the UI be simple and easy to follow, so will the code.
Sometimes you have to admit that all the time you put in was wasted and start over. The final result is so much better off for it. Now if Micro$oft would do the same with Windows. ;)
Next update should include some new screenshots, stay tuned...
I'm still here and working on RPGWorkbench. Last little while has been a bit busy with the new job and just getting back into my regular routine. I also spent quite a bit of time developing new components for the Echo framework because the available components are not suitable for the Character Generator Builder I am developing. I integrated jQuery into Echo and added some of its effects. The expandable panels now slide nicely as opposed to just appearing, etc.
What can I say, May was a bit crappy. I got laid off from a company which I really enjoyed working at and spent the month looking for work (good work that is). I worked a bit on RPGWorkbench still, but did not get a lot done due to my mind being distracted with real life. The good news is that I now have a new job I start in a week. Things are looking better again and I am about 30% through the UI development for the Wizard Designer. I hope to get some serious hours during next week as my house chores are almost all done. The wife puts me to work if I'm not working. :) Depending on how demanding my first couple weeks at the new job will be, I hope to finish the wizard designer; or be almost finished by the time I have to do the next update.
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