[Character Generation Software]: Rolemaster Character Software Companion, reviewed by Brent Knorr (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10217.phtml

Brent Knorr's Summary:

A worthwhile investment for Rolemaster players and GM's looking for a simpler way to generate characters

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by Arcadayn at 2004-04-07 10:18:07
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I'm a big fan of Jonathan Dale's Excel program for character creation. Other than not needing Excel to run, how does the Companion stack up against John's spreadsheet?

Post originally by Brent at 2004-04-07 12:42:50
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I'll have to go back and take a look at Jonathan's sheet to do a comparison. Off the top of my head, I know the software has more internal documentation and information embedded, it's harder to break, and probably a little easier to learn for someone unfamiliar with both. There is a free demo version of the software available if you want to give it a try.

Post originally by John Cardinale at 2004-04-08 08:31:03
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Trying not to be too biased, I would say the the Character Software Companion wins out in content and usability while Jonathan's wins out in customizability. Specifically, Roleplaying Software.com has a permission from ICE to use copyrighted material from 25 books. For example, when selecting a race, you get full descriptions, height, weight, etc.; Full Talent/Flaw and TP descriptions. There is A LOT of content. As for usability, you can pretty much sit down and create a character without reading any documentation. The program guides you through the process. One of my reasons for building the program was in response to other programs (note: programs not spreadsheets) that had no documentation, were not intuitive, and broke for unexplained reasons.

Jonathan's spreadsheet wins for being ultimately customizable. The next version of the CSC will allow for creating/editing races, professions, TPs, Talents and Flaws, etc., but will never approach what you can do with an open spreadsheet. The trade off is you have to know enough of Jonathan's spreadsheet and Excel not to break it. Jonathan has a great product and a lot of people use it. Over time, I hope to catch up with him in popularity :-)

Post originally by Arcadayn at 2004-04-09 11:55:53
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Thanks for the honest comparison. I will check out the demo and see what I think.