Well, it's not so much "coding" as "data entry." The file contents themselves for the database entries look a lot like HTML coding -- I can in theory basically just cut and paste a "template" from some existing item entry (for instance), then plug in the proper fields (name of the item, description, item type -- and then for an item type of "weapon," things such as damage rating, minimum Strength, weight, cost, special properties).
OR, within the game itself, I pull up a "card" and type in that data into the appropriate fields. I rather wish it were possible for me to do it that way first -- fill in data within the program itself, then "save" my work into the game library, and possibly even export so that someone else could use it later on. Maybe such a tool exists, but it's not part of the package deal I got.
I can do all the text editing with an ordinary text editor such as Wordpad. It shouldn't really be any more involved than back when I'd do lots of custom HTML coding to make up an information support page for running my "Lunar Blues" Mutant Chronicles campaign ... in theory.
The main thing I need to focus on is whatever is "player-facing." That is, one appeal to this is that when it's time to Advance (or "level up") your character, you have the tools ready for you. You have $X ready to spend on new gear? Well, it's up to you to calculate your shopping list and see if you've got enough money, but then once you figure out what all is in your shopping cart, you can drag-and-drop item entries from the Gear Library, and it'll add that to your Inventory, along with the relevant item entry that you can reference. So, if the rule for a flashlight is, let's say, weighs 1 lb and clearly illuminates everything in a 10-square beam, then that's attached as a rule note to the item that you can click on if you need a reminder. Or, if you pick up a Colt semi-auto pistol, it's got the damage, rate of fire, number of shots, weight, etc., already figured in, so you don't have to look it up.
Or, a character gets an Advance, and you want to pick up a new Edge, you can drag-and-drop the appropriate entry from the Edge Library, rather than having to type it all in for yourself. I suppose if you have a copy of the rulebook at hand, you could always look it up, but it's just kind of handy that if someone says, "I have the Elan Edge!" that someone could actually look up "Elan" in game, click on it, and get the description right there.
In that case, I only need to worry about building up the database if I'm introducing a bunch of new items of gear that players can purchase, or Edges they can select when advancing, etc. If I'm running a fantasy game, and players are normally only allowed to buy NORMAL weapons and armor, and only find magical gear through questing, then I could easily -- on the fly -- copy an item card from the Gear Library of a Longsword, and I'd rename it "Longsword of Stabbification," grant it a +2 to damage, but put in a special note that, "On a Critical Failure when using this weapon, you deal damage to yourself as with a normal strike." And then if such a thing ever happens, then I as GM could just roll the damage vs. the player (I don't need to automate something that I HOPE will be fairly rare) and we can resolve it normally.
I don't plan on having LOTS of Longswords of Stabbification in the game, so I don't necessarily have to update the database to have that entry ready to go. I just create a unique item card and give it to one of the players, or put it in the "party loot box" for the players to decide among themselves who's going to drag and drop it into his or her inventory. (And if it doesn't work out, he or she can always put it BACK into the party loot box for someone else to grab instead.)
Wonderland No More could end up being a lot of work since it DOES introduce an awful lot of new Edges, Hindrances, character Races, and Gear that players can freely pick from. For Fallout, I would probably want to populate the database with some fairly common items unique to the Fallout setting, and definitely any setting-specific Edges, but I don't necessarily have to have EVERY SINGLE ITEM OF SPECIAL EQUIPMENT in the Fallout universe right there in the player database libraries. (Some of it might be out there in the wasteland for the heroes to discover ... or maybe when they reach a bigger city -- and I've had more time to code in more stuff -- they'll find a broader selection of bigger guns available for purchase. ;) )
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OR, within the game itself, I pull up a "card" and type in that data into the appropriate fields. I rather wish it were possible for me to do it that way first -- fill in data within the program itself, then "save" my work into the game library, and possibly even export so that someone else could use it later on. Maybe such a tool exists, but it's not part of the package deal I got.
I can do all the text editing with an ordinary text editor such as Wordpad. It shouldn't really be any more involved than back when I'd do lots of custom HTML coding to make up an information support page for running my "Lunar Blues" Mutant Chronicles campaign ... in theory.
The main thing I need to focus on is whatever is "player-facing." That is, one appeal to this is that when it's time to Advance (or "level up") your character, you have the tools ready for you. You have $X ready to spend on new gear? Well, it's up to you to calculate your shopping list and see if you've got enough money, but then once you figure out what all is in your shopping cart, you can drag-and-drop item entries from the Gear Library, and it'll add that to your Inventory, along with the relevant item entry that you can reference. So, if the rule for a flashlight is, let's say, weighs 1 lb and clearly illuminates everything in a 10-square beam, then that's attached as a rule note to the item that you can click on if you need a reminder. Or, if you pick up a Colt semi-auto pistol, it's got the damage, rate of fire, number of shots, weight, etc., already figured in, so you don't have to look it up.
Or, a character gets an Advance, and you want to pick up a new Edge, you can drag-and-drop the appropriate entry from the Edge Library, rather than having to type it all in for yourself. I suppose if you have a copy of the rulebook at hand, you could always look it up, but it's just kind of handy that if someone says, "I have the Elan Edge!" that someone could actually look up "Elan" in game, click on it, and get the description right there.
In that case, I only need to worry about building up the database if I'm introducing a bunch of new items of gear that players can purchase, or Edges they can select when advancing, etc. If I'm running a fantasy game, and players are normally only allowed to buy NORMAL weapons and armor, and only find magical gear through questing, then I could easily -- on the fly -- copy an item card from the Gear Library of a Longsword, and I'd rename it "Longsword of Stabbification," grant it a +2 to damage, but put in a special note that, "On a Critical Failure when using this weapon, you deal damage to yourself as with a normal strike." And then if such a thing ever happens, then I as GM could just roll the damage vs. the player (I don't need to automate something that I HOPE will be fairly rare) and we can resolve it normally.
I don't plan on having LOTS of Longswords of Stabbification in the game, so I don't necessarily have to update the database to have that entry ready to go. I just create a unique item card and give it to one of the players, or put it in the "party loot box" for the players to decide among themselves who's going to drag and drop it into his or her inventory. (And if it doesn't work out, he or she can always put it BACK into the party loot box for someone else to grab instead.)
Wonderland No More could end up being a lot of work since it DOES introduce an awful lot of new Edges, Hindrances, character Races, and Gear that players can freely pick from. For Fallout, I would probably want to populate the database with some fairly common items unique to the Fallout setting, and definitely any setting-specific Edges, but I don't necessarily have to have EVERY SINGLE ITEM OF SPECIAL EQUIPMENT in the Fallout universe right there in the player database libraries. (Some of it might be out there in the wasteland for the heroes to discover ... or maybe when they reach a bigger city -- and I've had more time to code in more stuff -- they'll find a broader selection of bigger guns available for purchase. ;) )