Advanced Authoring Concepts

Context: HL Kit

This section delves into many of the more advanced concepts involved in creating data files. These concepts cover both structural and visual facets of the data files, as well as suggestions for an effective design philosophy. Simply click on one of the many topics below to learn more about it.

IMPORTANT! This section of the documentation is not yet complete. Topics that have been written will be found at the top of the list below and possess live links. Other topics are simply identified by name, sometimes along with a few notes about what the topic will contain. These topics will be added over time to complete the documentation.

• Bootstraps
• Automatically Adding Picks to Actors
• Advanced Script Handling

[TBD] 

• The "Live" State
  • Using "Live" Tag Expressions
  • Structural Elements
  • Visual Elements

• Actor Rules

• Required Elements

• Just-in-time Information
  • MouseInfo Scripts
  • Description Scripts

• Game System Logo

• Leveraging Usage Pools [!]

• Advanced Things
  • Uniqueness of Things [!]
  • Pick Linkages [!]
  • Replacement of Things

• Validation
  • Detecting validity of structural elements
  • Reporting validation errors to user
  • Highlighting validation errors to user (i.e. color-coding)
  • Errors Versus Warnings
  • Prompting to select missing information
  • Panel Linkages [!]

• Managing Gear [!]
  • Holders
  • Gear Weight Determination [!]
  • Stackable vs. Non-Stackable [!]
  • Splitting and Merging

• Character Advancement [!]

• Pre-Requisites [!]
  • Dependencies on Specific Things [!]
  • Expression-Based Requirements [!]
  • General Pre-Requisites [!]

• Advanced Components and Component Sets [!]
  • Re-using Components in Multiple Component Sets
  • Designing Components for Re-Use
  • Adding "Short Name" Behavior [!]
  • Creation/Deletion Handling

• Advanced Fields [!]
  • Field Types
  • Field Styles
  • Persistence of Fields
  • Bounding of Fields
  • Calculated Fields
  • Finalized Values (Picks vs. Things)
    • Using calculated fields to ensure updates to finalized values
  • Delta for User Fields
  • Formatting of Fields (signed, multiline, integer/float)
  • History Tracking

• Character Sheet Output [!]
  • Standard Sheets
  • Spillover Sheets

• Managing Dossiers

• Statblock Output

• Editor Integration
  • Edit Things
  • Input Things
  • Designing for Editor Integration

• Debugging Techniques

• Distributing Data Files
  • Designing data files for user-extensibility
  • Game System FAQ
  • Appropriate Copyright Information [!]
  • Relying on Minimum Product Features [!]
  • Importance of Release Notes [!]
  • Version Numbers for Data Files [!]
  • Stock Portfolios
  • Using the HLExport Tool [!]
  • Publishing Your Files Through Hero Lab

• Special Tags
  • Actor Tags [!]
  • Identity Tags [!]

• Actor Configuration
  • Sources [!]
    • Required Sources
    • Precluded Sources
  • Rule Sets and Contexts

• Advanced Gizmos [!]
  • Editable Gizmos
  • Associating a Form
  • Setting Up a Default Thing
  • Buy Templates for Gizmos
  • Shadowing [!]
  • Displacement [!]

• Transactions [!]
  • Buy vs. Sell
  • Quantity vs. Cash
  • Using Buy Templates for Customizing Selections (e.g. with choosers)
  • Transaction Tags

• Dashboard

• Tactical Console
  • Initiative

• Design Philosophy
  • Development strategy
  • Designing Data Files
  • Iterative Evolution

• Visual Interactive Behavior
  • Rules for auto-sizing and default sizing of portals
  • Where to use tables, choosers, menus, etc.
  • Showing items within tables
  • Choosing items within tables and choosers
  • Restricting available items within tables and choosers
  • Dual-purpose Headers on Tables [!]
  • Freezing portals
  • Tricks with templates and portals
  • Tricks with layouts, panels, forms, and sheets
  • Automatic placement mechanism for layouts and templates

• Macros

• References

• Condition Tests

• Hidden Things

• Imposing Unwind Logic on Picks [!]

• Minion and Master Relationships [!]
  • Masters Influencing Minions
  • Minions Influencing Masters

• Adaptive Portfolio Loading
  • Load Mods
    • Source Maps
    • Field Maps
    • Silent Objects
  • Load Fixups

• Configuring the Dice Roller [!]

• Evaluation cycle
  • Relative timing of Leads vs. masters vs. minions
  • Rules for sequencing of tasks with the same phase and priority

• Using Visual Resources [!]
  • Built-In Resources
  • Adding Custom Resources
  • Transparent Bitmaps
  • Managing Styles [!]