Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Oct 07, 2003 10:03:29	I am very, very, very rarely impressed by a program as I am of the opinion that most programs are poorly thought out and even less consideration is given to the actual code. This is especially true, IMO, of Windows programs. However, every so often I'm genuinely impressed and when this happens, I feel the need to tell everyone about the product in question. Now, there is one cavaet that I will announce before going into the recommendation of this program, and that is that there ARE bugs in it and I would NEVER recommend anyone buy a program that is buggy. However, the program is good enough that should the bugs be fixed, I highly recommend purchasing it. The program is called 'DM Genie'. It is a very complete program that includes campaign manager, combat tracker, character creator, etc. and is by far not the only product of this type available. What seperates this program from the chaff is that it actually WORKS. Now I should also mention that when I say that it works, I'm sure other programs of this type also work, however I have this little rule when it comes to testing out new programs and that is 'The Tolerance Limit'. To put it simply, if I can't figure out how to do something with the program in under twenty seconds, then it's beyond my tolerance limit to figure it out at all. I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent individual, so if I can't figure something out in twenty seconds, then to me, it's TOO FRIGGIN' DIFFICULT. A program should be intuitive. In other words, it should work FOR you, not AGAINST you. It should work the way you EXPECT it to work. There should be a logical path to follow in order to get the program to do what you want it to do. Every other program, including basic PC generators, don't seem to have this basic necessity as a part of their make-up, and thus they fail my tolerance test and are thrown out the window. DM Genie has, so far, passed pretty much every tolerance test I've thrown at it. Almost everything that I've wanted to be able to do, I've been able to figure out how to do it in under twenty seconds. From customizing all character classes to have an additional 2 skill points, to giving half-elves the human skill point bonus, to granting poor old fighters access to the spot and listen skills and changing the XP tables to be double that presented in the PHB. This program is a gift from Pelor, people, check it out! But what prompted me to bring this to the GH forum was what I just discovered a few minutes ago... there is a time-keeper utility with recordable events (that countdown to an expiry date and give you a warning, ie. you know when the alarm spell or endure elements spell wears off) and a space for notes and... wait for it... drum roll... it's customizable to the Greyhawk calendar! This was the final straw the broke the camels back and made me decide to buy this (once the bugs are sorted out) product and recommend it to you all. If you're a DM who is anything like me, then you'll have WADS and STACKS of paper and FOLDERS worth of data, not to mention a gazillion websites with even more data on everything to do with running a game in a fantasy world and in GH. Quite frankly, I never use half of it because it's simply inaccessible or I forget during a session to mark of this and that. But this program essentially will bring most of that data into one, neat little package accessible on computer! I haven't even begun to delve into the program and find out all the possibilities of it and I'm already hooked. This is THE program I've been wanting for the last ten friggin' years; ever since I first got the notion that a computer could do all this RPG stuff much easier than I. But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself with the 60-day free demo. Now... admittedly, the interface isn't pretty, and it DOES have bugs, but it's truly the epitomy of it's genre and well worth the time it takes to download and play with to give it a go. http://www.dmgenie.com/
#2 zombiegleemax Oct 07, 2003 10:36:03	Wow, after viewing the interfaces and reading about it's features I am impressed. Your definition of tolerance level certainly hits home as well. I have about 5 seconds to figure any given program out before I grow too frustrated to bother. Too bad the Genie is a 3rd Ed. Everyone I know involved with D&D are 1st and 2nd Ed. exculsively. Abysslin