Awesome People Needed
One thing we’d really like to do, now that the Masterplan community has grown so much, is to create a FAQ for new users. We’ll maintain the FAQ on the Masterplan website, and there’ll also be a link to it from within the application itself.
So this is a call to arms. What questions do you think we should include? What stumped you when you first used Masterplan? Are there any features that you aren’t sure how to use?
There’s a bit more. We’d also like to maintain a library of helpful ‘how to’ style articles* on the website. You know the sort of thing: introductions, walkthroughs, guides and suchlike. We think that could be a really useful resource, especially for newcomers.
Do you think you could write one of those articles?
Now, obviously you’d get a great deal of kudos for this - maybe as much as 10 kudos**, if we’re feeling particularly generous. But we wouldn’t want you to expend all that effort without a little reward, so here’s the proposal: to anyone whose article we use, we will award a $20 gift voucher for RPGNow, or Noble Knight, or Amazon.
How does that sound?
Or, indeed, does anyone have any better ideas? We’re always open to suggestions.
* I say ‘article’, but it could be a PDF, or a PowerPoint, or a video, or an example adventure, or… all sorts of things.
** The market value of kudos can go down as well as up, and is not guaranteed.
May 13th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
I will definitely consider writing an article. I have used the program for quite some time now and it’s great for keeping track of plots and combat.
Hmm . . .
May 13th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
I’m rather familiar with masterplan from using it in one of my campaigns, and I could probably pull together some articles or materials on the subject.
As for the FAQ, it’d probably be a good idea to cover things like iPlay4e importing and such, along with how to use monster decks in practical situations. Other good ones are when you should disable libraries, and what to do if masterplan runs slowly.
May 13th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
I use Masterplan all the time as well, from plot design to encounter management. I’ll see if I can think of something to write up.
May 13th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
I’d like to see a tutorial on how to build an advnture using party goals.
May 13th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
I would suggest a wiki!!!!
May 13th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
1. How do I import creatures into an encounter?
2. How do I keep track of zones?
These puzzled me once upon a time!
May 13th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
I’ve been interested in Masterplan ever since a fellow DM started using it. What would sell me on it would be a video that shows a DM using the Masterplan in game. Just the video of the program… not of a DM at a table, although that would be cool
May 16th, 2011 at 1:11 am
Alright, I think I have a start on an introduction video. It basically just talks about where to get it, how to start a new campaign, and some of the elements. Its a little longer thatn 5 minutes, its pretty cheeky.. but I didn’t want to leave it too dry.
I’d like to get an approval before posting it randomly somewhere. What’s the best way for you guys to preview it?
May 16th, 2011 at 6:06 am
Stick it on YouTube.
May 16th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Hrm. In hindsight that was pretty obvious…
May 17th, 2011 at 7:30 am
That’s brilliant, exactly the sort of thing we need. If you can email us the video file, we’ll sort out your $20.
Now get to work on the rest of the series.
May 17th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
I think some FAQs would be useful regarding how to cleanly handle initiative throughout a combat encounter, particularly on how to get the correct results from delayed turns and readied actions.
May 21st, 2011 at 9:24 am
I’d like to toggle views between the regional map and the flow-chart.
The goal would be so I can use the regional map to setup/link to additional maps that are in the campaign world, so that if a ‘random’ encounter happens, or suchlike, then I can plug encounter setups into the map.
Other wish items:
*Be able to setup automatic level scaling of powers for monsters.
*Have the ability to apply the entirety of a template to a ‘standard’ monster of a set type (ie lurker, elite, striker, etc) at a set level.
**Adding the above to items would allow a GM to quickly create an entire race of monsters that are similar in feel and abilities throughout the levels.
* Add more features to the encounter deck, so that a GM could more or less use it to create complete ‘delves’. This would include labels for sorting for: Level (already there), type of location (ie: woods, urban, dungeon, sewer, etc), encounter difficulty (based on # of players), and map(s) to link to it.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:44 am
Second Chapter is live:
June 19th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Hi all,
A bit off topic, but is there a bug reporting forum in here? I searched for it but I get no results.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:02 am
Send bug reports by email or through the Facebook group’s Discussions page.
September 6th, 2011 at 6:20 am
The only thing MasterPlan is missing is integrated sound effects.
The mina problem is the creature search. I have so many creatures, and some don’t have the proper keywords. An ability to organise the creatures (level, alphabetical) and look for keyword within the creature card. When I type ‘vampire’, I want all the vampires, not just those named vampires, or keyworded as vampire.
Thanks! Keep up the good work!