RC Builder Update, The Rifter Annual Submission, TMNT Kickstarter Thoughts
Wow, my last post was about GenCon. I’ve been slacking on updates!
RC Builder Update
I’ve made a lot of updates to my RC Builder. Some of the updates are on the back-end (bug fixes, performance improvements, etc.), but I’ve also added new content such as additional Races and O.C.C.s Most notably, I have built support for R.C.C.s, so I’ve coded a flood of them. Some examples: Ichthylean, Lanotaur Hunter, Idie Fisherman, Obsedai, and a bunch more. Here is a snippet of the change log:
A big problem I’m experiencing is that I’m my own worst enemy. Because I’ve worked on this thing for so long, some of my code was written years ago. When I need to update or fix a portion of that code, I look at it and wonder what I was smoking when I first wrote it. I’ve learned so much since then. My first inclination was to rewrite parts of that code, but then I’d fall into a bottomless pit. Someday, I’ll do that re-engineering, but not now.
I almost made an exception do that: combat stats. I really want to redo the way the app calculates and displays H2H combat data. Something that the app does not handle well yet is special H2H moves, such as “Elbow strike” or “Knifehand strike.” Some races/O.C.C.s have their own special moves, such as a ‘bite’ or ‘funky kick move.’ To handle those exceptions, I need to change how combat bonuses are handled. I started that work, but I went down a rabbit hole and decided not to pursue it at this time.
A related struggle I’m having is handling the damage inflicted by those special H2H moves if the character has, say, Supernatural strength. If you have a Supernatural strength of 25, the amount of damage a punch does is well-documented in RUE. That’s great for kicks, punches, etc… but what if it’s a non-standard attack such as that triple-flip-upside-reverse strike? It seems silly that a punch would do M.D., but that alternative strike would not. But how do you translate an S.D.C. strike to an M.D. strike if it’s not a standard punch/kick? I can’t find a formula for how to do this. If you have any insight, please let me know.
Palladium still hasn’t given me their blessing on this. I’ve contacted them electronically several times and have discussed it with them in person. I’m frustrated because I’m in limbo. It would be easier if I just got an answer, even if the answer is “no.” In their defense, they explained to me that they receive a LOT of fan-submitted material and, frankly, a lot of it isn’t that good. From their perspective, my app may be just one of a million other crap submissions they’ve received. I like to think my work is an exception, but they have no way of knowing that - without trying it. Getting them to find the time to try it (or at least watch one of my demo videos) has been challenging.
Rifter Annual Submission
Speaking of fan submissions, I wrote to PB and asked if it was too late to re-submit an adventure I’m hoping to get published in the next Rifter Annual. The deadline has passed, but they graciously let me submit a revised version of my adventure. I am appreciative of that.
I’m not a writer by trade, but something I’ve noticed is if I go back and read something I wrote weeks ago, I suddenly find grammatical errors (yes, I use a spell/grammar checker), bad wording, plot holes, etc. It doesn’t matter how many times I re-read and revise, I inevitably find major problems. The original version of my adventure, having re-read it, sucked. I re-wrote it, and I think it’s much improved.
I don’t recall if I blogged about it already, but it’s a Dead Reign adventure titled “Zombies 101,” and I’ve run it several times. Each time I run it, the players have a blast. Here’s a picture of some happy players who just played in the adventure at TotalCon.
As you can see, they all received the Dead Reign core book as a prize! (Gotta love those Christmas Surprise packages, plus some generosity from KS!)
(Edit: I just realized I posted this same photo in a previous post. Oh well. It’s a good picture, so I’m posting it again!)
TMNT Kickstarter!
We all heard about the TMNT Kickstarter, and it sounds like most folks are as excited as I am. My story with the TMNT RPG is similar to most others: I played it in junior high school, and it was my first RPG that wasn’t D&D. It got me hooked on Palladium’s material. After TMNT, we got the TMNT expansions, Heroes Unlimited book, Ninjas & Superspies, Beyond the Supernatural, etc. We used all of them in our adventures.
I think this Kickstarter is a win for Palladium Books. My issue with the Kickstarter: there doesn’t appear to be a softcover version of the book being published. Or maybe I missed something? I like the hardcover books as collector’s items, but I don’t like to use them in practice. So I am hoping for a softcover that I can use, abuse, get dirty, etc. We’ll see.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been receiving positive responses to my posts in support of my RC Builder. I appreciate each and every note of support and request to try it out. I’m still open to a few more testers, so if you want to help me out and give it a spin, feel free to shoot me a message using the “Contact” link below.