Custom content, where should it be?
Added 2017-11-08 09:23:25 +0000 UTCWhile I’m working on the new website I’m also looking at the other things that need to happen before I can put the new version of the sheets online. One of those things is to have a central place where all the homebrew material will be available.
And with homebrew material I of course also mean all the official D&D 5e content by WotC that I am no longer allowed to put in the sheet directly.
I also can’t put the content on my own website, because I can’t be the one distributing it or I’ll have to face WotC’s legal team…
So please don’t discuss this post on public forums or even on public posts of mine on this Patreon!
Note that I fully intend to have the sheets that are available here on Patreon (and through the Dropbox and Google Drive shared folder) have all the official WotC content pre-loaded. However, I envision a distinct possibility that WotC might crack down on that, and then we will all have to move to this method of importing all the content.
How will this work?
The next version of the sheets will have a way to import a file and even import directly from an URL. All you will have to do is copy the URL to a file into a dialogue in the sheet, and it will be able to use all the content form that file.
Prerequisites
I have some ideas where this new place can be, but I would love to hear from you what you would find most useful.
Ideally, there would be a place where anybody can post the content that they made for the sheets and where everybody can download that content, comment on it, and help with improving the code.
My wishlist for such a location is as follows:
- Anybody can upload files
Ideally with built-in storage of those files, so that it doesn’t suddenly become unavailable such as with links to people’s personal Dropbox or Google Drive; - Anybody can download these files, without first needing to log in somewhere
If it is behind a login, the import directly from URL functionality of the PDF won’t work; - People can leave comments, thus helping to improve the code
Just a repository of files is not enough, because that will quickly become a mess of unfinished code if anybody can just upload stuff; - Ability to moderate the content
If somebody familiar with the project can moderate the content so that things that don’t work get called out or removed, that would greatly improve the ease of use.
Options
So far I have come up with three locations where most of the above prerequisites are met:
1) Reddit – a subreddit for the materials that can be imported.
- pros: can be moderated by myself and interested fans.
- cons: no built-in online storage, files will have to be links to some other form of online storage.
2) ENworld – a separate forum thread for the materials that can be imported.
- pros: built-in storage for the files.
- cons: not easily moderated. Moderating would consist of keeping a list of working files in the top comment.
3) GitHub – a repository for the materials that can be imported.
- pros: very good framework for commenting on the code. Very good built-in online storage that can also easily be downloaded as a whole. Easy moderation of the content.
- cons: not very user friendly to those that have never worked with GitHub. Not easy to get the direct URL for a file. A single user has to control read/write access to the repository.
4) Suggestions welcome! – if you have any to add to this list, please let me know
I think that it might be the best solution to have a combination of GitHub with Reddit. Thus, having a subreddit with direct links and discussion of the content, while the files reside on GitHub.
Voting
Please vote on which option you would be comfortable using. This can be multiple options!
Comments
The additions for v12.998 are still available on my Dropbox: <a href="http://flapkan.com/mpmb/additions" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://flapkan.com/mpmb/additions</a> V12.999 is not done yet and will be available through this Patreon what it is.
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-12-15 07:45:28 +0000 UTCThe files that are already available can we have them in 12.998 version as well as i really want to use the Matt mercer subclasses but only have access to the 12.998 version of the sheet
Mathew
2017-12-15 05:18:47 +0000 UTCI first got referenced to MPMB's character sheet by someone on Giantitp.com Great site with a ton of fans of all sorts of stuff. They may be able to talk with you about hosting or something.
The Dread Pirate Mittens
2017-11-22 02:23:45 +0000 UTCThank you for all your efforts to ensure that your amazing character sheet can stay alive and stay current!
Patrick Egan
2017-11-16 18:25:59 +0000 UTCThe JSON syntax for importing to the has been around for a long time and you can already transcribe and use all XGtE materials, or anything you want really. Just click on the "Add Custom Script" bookmark inside the PDFs.
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-11-16 05:09:15 +0000 UTCSo with the release of Xanathar's, it occurs to me that you may be wrong about priority order. Because I'm going FUCKIN NUTS not being able to use your excellent sheet! Tools exist for the source material to spread once you define a format, be it GitHub, Reddit, or even just P2P networks. What we need is the ability to USE new source material, and a defined format to plug into said usage. From there, the more programmatically inclined of us can start plugging away on the new Xanathar's material we want to use -- and once you get your site ready, you'll get an instant influx of material from those of us who have been waiting in the wings. Create the 'basic' sheet first, and possibly don't even bother with the full SRD's worth of material. Your fans can take it from there, so long as you give us the tools to. I can't build a PDF -- but once I know what what you want built, I can build a site that outputs JSON or XML format data that could be plugged into your tool, allowing even the least competent to start building up their own material, including homebrew material for their own, personal campaigns.
Ronald Lugge
2017-11-16 01:39:11 +0000 UTCI'm sorry, but I don't fully follow what you are trying to say. A non-profit organization owning a website wouldn't mean that the website is publicly owned. It would just mean that the non-profit owns it and be completely liable for any content on the website, unless it is a forum that makes it very clear that it isn’t liable for what it users post on the forum. But in the case of it being a forum it wouldn’t be much different than me hosting it on my on website… However, this is something I would rather avoid if possible, because it would probably reach a bigger audience at one of the more established sites out there instead of being another thing requiring to make an account. Then you go on to say that I should “add an option to allow all the match and stuff to it without labels”. I think this is pretty much what the sheet is already, a character sheet using the D&D 5e rules where you can add all your own homebrew content if you are so inclined.
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-11-12 14:12:11 +0000 UTCIf its non profit, and your not selling it. As we are supporting your code via patreon not the document. But the mpmb has to be empty of any copy righted material, but add an option to allow all the math and stuff to it without labels. Like a simple template to add classes and archetypes. Like imputing the levels and if done correctly this could potentially work for other systems as well. Remeber the 5e d20 system is open source that part is not copyrighted.
ShcrodingersGamecat
2017-11-11 20:00:32 +0000 UTCThank you for the suggestion, but what do you mean with a publicly owned website?
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-11-11 19:32:11 +0000 UTCi would suggest your own website, that is publicly owned or something to avoid legal accidents?
ShcrodingersGamecat
2017-11-11 19:30:04 +0000 UTCTheir javascript code is also publicly available on git and linked from their site, so the author might be amenable to allowing a custom fork of his code.
Chris Harding
2017-11-11 06:20:19 +0000 UTCI think a website in the vein of Wago.io would work best. It is made for code import submissions for a World of Warcraft addon, allows for comments, tags, and community submissions. I think it would be a perfect model for custom content.
Chris Harding
2017-11-11 06:14:08 +0000 UTCCould I create a branch as a user that would only have races / classes / feats I am allowing in a given campaign?
Bartholomew Klick and Zachary Stoppel
2017-11-09 23:33:43 +0000 UTCGoogle Drive
Jay
2017-11-09 01:28:34 +0000 UTCA few notes on Github: first, you can share access to a repository with other people. If you have trusted moderators, you can add those people to be able to modify things. Secondly, it's very user-friendly to make edits directly to a file from the web interface, since now it will transparently (to the user) create a new fork, commit the changes, generate the pull request, and send it in. Lastly, you can create releases on GitHub that include a zipped version of all the content, and if you create a 'stable' branch that you merge master to then you can have one URL which is always the 'latest release'.
Dan Udey
2017-11-08 19:15:36 +0000 UTCI'll quote from my post: "The next version of the sheets will have a way to import a file and even import directly from an URL."
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-11-08 19:07:02 +0000 UTCI think GIT is a good option. While it may be difficult to get a direct URL to a give file, it's not hard to just download the entire repository, which should get the files to the local machine. (I'm assuming local files are allowed, if not this has all sorts of issues)
Ronald Lugge
2017-11-08 19:05:34 +0000 UTCCurrently I'd guess not, since there's no publicly accessible API. Once he *releases* the format for these sheets? You betcha some of us will start making it.
Ronald Lugge
2017-11-08 19:04:38 +0000 UTCHey thanks for pushing forward through the mess with WotC. Your content rocks and I'm very glad to see it progress, even in the face of adversity. Keep up the good work!
Daniel Parker
2017-11-08 18:49:38 +0000 UTCI think Github, with gits versioning ability, is perfect when multiple people may be collaborating on a file, and a Reddit subgroup to present links and questions is great for the community. Looking forward to the update.
Adam D
2017-11-08 18:25:15 +0000 UTCGithub + Reddit.
Bartholomew Klick and Zachary Stoppel
2017-11-08 18:19:45 +0000 UTCThank you for the suggestion. The downside of Google Drive and Dropbox is that not just anybody can add content as well as that it doesn't offer any place for people to discuss or add new content. Adding stuff would have to be done by a select group of people and requesting to add things would have to be done through them, for which no inherent system is provided. This it could with together with a forum or something like Reddit, but not on its own I'm afraid.
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-11-08 17:36:14 +0000 UTCThank you for the suggestion! A torrent site wouldn't work with direct importing from URL though...
MorePurpleMoreBetter
2017-11-08 17:02:18 +0000 UTCAs much as I like an easy interface, GitHub looks like the safest, best option.
Wandering Knight
2017-11-08 16:41:53 +0000 UTCWhat about a Dropbox or Google Share folder?
Erik T.
2017-11-08 16:34:49 +0000 UTCI agree with Github as a repository, even in my unfamiliar with scripting ways I know it's a great place for code sharing and review. The reddit would be a good place to communicate for those of us less familiar with Github and would allow a nice place for the exchange of ideas and help if we want to custom code classes or other things from DMSGuild for example. A lot of the other D&D Apps use Github and Dropbox accounts for the sharing of these resources, so I think we're on the right track for this. Could also look at having a MEGA setup maybe.
Patrick
2017-11-08 15:30:05 +0000 UTCAs I said in my email to you, I’d be happy to host the brews. Not too difficult for me to open a github account. And, as you say above (and as the votes seem to be showing), a combination of github and reddit would be best.
soilentbrad
2017-11-08 14:47:23 +0000 UTCOne place that hasn't been suggested yet is a good torrent site to host all of this
Tyler Daughtry
2017-11-08 13:56:48 +0000 UTCA Reddit would be really helpful, regardless of where the files themselves end up. I've tried creating homebrew for the sheets and I've had a lot of trouble, so some place to ask questions and get help would be amazing. Plus, I think it would encourage more homebrewers to convert their content.
Emily Payeur
2017-11-08 13:06:24 +0000 UTCIs there currently a large community of homebrewers that are making their own scripts / imports for your character sheets?
Avinash Arora
2017-11-08 11:51:35 +0000 UTCI just hope that Reddit will be utilized, too often I see a subreddit for somewhat obscure stuff just go fully abandoned and unattended because there aren't enough users. I love everything that you're doing and whatever you go with, I'll do whatever I can to help!
Avinash Arora
2017-11-08 11:50:09 +0000 UTCGithub is definitely the best place to store the scripts, not super friendly for new users, but easy enough to provide direct links for those that are unfamiliar, and it'll be the best way to track open source feedback / forks, etc.
Avinash Arora
2017-11-08 11:49:15 +0000 UTCI think Reddit with GitHub would work very well. Reddit's voting system would allow the best contributions to be recognised more easily, while GitHub's issue tracker and PR system would prove very useful for contributing. Also, most developers are already familiar with Git and GitHub, whereas non-developers wouldn't have to touch it since they'd get the links through Reddit.
Samadi van Koten
2017-11-08 10:01:40 +0000 UTC
