As far as I know, we are not wanting to reduce the capabilities of Heroscribe from what it is now. PNG export will still be there. PNG format is probably best because it supports alpha channels whereas JPG does not. About the only thing that likely won't be kept is the ability to export to EPS, but this is being replaced with the ability to export to SVG. This is being done for compatibility reasons. Anderas said that EPS support is being dropped in many programs due to the ability to write viruses in them, so we think it's best to just phase it out now. But we still want to have the ability to export to a fairly universal vector format.
Also, there is no intention of getting rid of a format of icons, but we do want to expand what's available. I imagine we can reduce the number of icons by just allowing the user to choose the color of them (EU, US, or custom) and we would be able to get rid of half the file clutter right off the bat. I know there are icons that look different based on locale, but it's nothing to keep those and still give the user the ability to choose the color of them. One thing that I don't care for about the current set of files for Heroscribe is that there are three locations for all icons (the raster, vector and sample folders), two sections for all boards (the raster and vector folders) and then those sections are doubled when you factor in two locales (EU and US). So 1 icon needs 6 representations in the folders and 1 board needs 4 representations. I have to believe that there is a better way to do this. I would think we could have one file for an icon or a board and Heroscribe manipulates that data according to user input. I would hope so anyway. If we could do this, it would also aid in creating icons. When someone wants to create an icon, they just make one version and import that, then Heroscribe would edit the colors from there. But we are getting WAY ahead of ourselves. We're still working on getting a Python version of the current Heroscribe working. But input from everyone now is very helpful because the data structures can be designed with upgrades in mind so we won't have to rewrite them later.
Also keep in mind that we would like the ability to do ALL quest generation inside Heroscribe to make it easier for everyone. You might decide you like that better than using Word in the end. I'd really like to not have to use Pages for ones I do anymore.
Anderas is flying through the back-end stuff. I just started the GUI interface. I'm thinking the interface might change a bit for usability, but I don't intend to do a major overhaul. I don't want everyone to have to relearn how to use the program, I just need to make room for the new ideas we want to implement and I don't want to have to rewrite everything when it comes time to implement them. So to begin with, you may see a bit of wasted space but that should be filled in as we add the features.
. If you can import and export the table as a whole (or one or more individual monsters), you'll have tackled most of that problem. One thing you should probably also include is the symbol to use for it on the map.
I would also like to keep the UK version of the icons if possible too. Beyond that I can't think of any other functions I would like in it... I will have a think and see if I can come up with anything.
