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0.6.0 Deep Realms characters sheets
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0.6.0
Deep realms

@illuday · Dec 06, 2023 · 7 minutes read

Long-awaited since the launch of Minimal Roleplay, the Deep Realms update marks a turning point with the addition of character sheets. But that's not all! Let's take a look at all the major changes in this incredible release in this article.

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Character sheets at last!

This was undoubtedly the most recurrent request we had, and rightly so, I think it's safe to say that over 90% of role-playing games use this system to manage their characters.

For the uninitiated, here's a quick overview. A character sheet is a sheet of paper on which all the characteristics of a character are recorded: name, levels, biography, inventory, skills and so on. It's a bit like the management interface for the character we're playing. Each player has their own character sheet and will take care to fill it in as their adventure progresses.

Adapting paper for use in applications

Whether on the web or on the application, the constraints are not the same as on paper. We wanted to give Minimal Roleplay a completely bespoke interface designed for flexibility. On paper, with an eraser and a pencil, it's easy to change the information. On a browser, it's a bit more complicated. But we've worked hard to make it as easy as possible for you to change, fill in and read the character sheets, both on the phone and on the big screen.

A complete editor

We didn't just want to provide you with character sheets for the best-known games. We wanted to provide you with an experience that allows you to customise everything, to create as much as you like to give free rein to your creativity and to meet your needs perfectly.

When creating a character sheet, whether you're starting from scratch or not, you'll be free to add information, modify it and order it. Numerous formats, such as progress bars, selectors and text fields, are now available and documented directly in the application.

Featured information

When editing information on a form, you will be able to highlight it. This means that the information will be available more quickly on the game tables, displayed in the player columns or directly in the adventurer list.

This mechanism has been designed so that you don't have to open your character sheet to check important things about certain characters, such as remaining life, passive wisdom (dungeons and dragons) or the gold coins each player possesses.

The card management system

During development, the following question arose: "How can we manage inventory, equipment and spells from one role-playing game to another using a single system?"

Our unique card system was the answer to this problem. These cards have a simple but highly flexible format, starting with a title and a description. Then comes the flexibility: you can add pastilles. These allow you to indicate additional information with an icon, a title, a value and a colour. This should make it possible to specify the properties of a spell, an object or any other type of data.

Thanks to this system, you should be able to emulate a wide range of behaviours, regardless of the role-playing game you are playing.

One of the final problems concerns items and equipment. On a character sheet, it's not easy to equip an item, or simply swap it with another player. First you have to delete it from your inventory, then rewrite it somewhere else. It's a pain. And it can quickly get messy.

On Minimal Roleplay's character sheets, all the card information is linked together, so by clicking on a card you can place it in another card field. Simple, but effective. And for exchanges between players, we've set up a card copy and paste system. No need to rewrite anything!

Authorise reading and writing

The last point about configuring a sheet is the permissions system. First of all, you should know that a player has read access to other players' character sheets. Now that you know that, rather than trying to explain the permissions of a piece of information in a few paragraphs, here are some of the possibilities:

  • Default: The information is visible to all players and can be edited by the owner of the file and the game master.
  • The information is visible and editable by the owner and the game master.
  • The information is visible to the owner but can only be edited by the game master.
  • The information is invisible to everyone except the master of the game (ideal for taking notes on a player).

The sheet library

Despite a tried and tested system, creating a character sheet is still a long and rigorous process. We know that many people don't have the energy to do it themselves, which is why we've included a library of pre-constructed character sheets (which can be expanded by adding new ones).

The programme includes Dungeons and Dragons 5, Pathfinder, Tales from the Loop, Dungeons and Kittens, Aria, Vampire the Masquerade and Call of Cthulhu. And, of course, we'll be adding to the list according to your requests!

A quick note: we were asked if we could eventually save our own templates and share them. The answer is yes, and at the beginning of next year you'll be able to save your own templates and reuse them for your own tables, and even share them on our discord or with your friends.

A boost for new role-playing games

We're very keen to help young artists and creators, and we know how hard it is to get started and succeed. That's why our library is the first place where we'll be showcasing role-playing games that are just starting out, in particular those that use crowdfunding.

Don't hesitate to contact us about your projects and why not become a Minimal Roleplay partner!

The game master screen

Just like in real life, this screen contains everything the players can't see. Game management, player management and various additional options. New features include the following top titles:

Spectator mode

Allow the public to view your game and read the story you're writing with your players. With one click you'll be able to share a public link to your game.

Cover photo

In anticipation of the next update, we're introducing photo uploads. And what better way to do this than to change the image, seen and seen again, that everyone now has in their hub and on each of their gaming tables.

Discover our upload module and download your own images. In addition, we've created a small gallery of ready-to-use images for you to use without moderation. We'll be adding new photos and categories regularly.

The game freeze

A comprehensive new mechanic designed to prevent games from progressing too quickly in the absence of certain players. Game masters will now be able to freeze games while waiting for a particular player. Only that player will be able to send messages.

New player management

We've redesigned the player interface to make it nicer and more useful. You can now see when each player last logged in, transfer the power of the game master and, of course, ban a player if you need to.

Lots of pleasant little things

Loading screen

The old loading screen, which was more annoying than useful, has said its last words. It has now been replaced by its little brother, which is faster and, above all, automatic. You no longer need to click a button to access your table.

Copy a message

A little button has been added so that you can copy the content of a message. It's not incredible, but it can be very useful in some cases!

Complete redesign of pop-up windows

The master screen set the tone, and the other pop-up windows followed suit. All have benefited from a new, more attractive style.

Display optimised for visibility

Visibility could be confusing. We've created small dots that appear at the bottom of the input field. The same applies to the freeze function.

Lots more

Of course, a whole host of additional fixes and optimisations have been made to Minimal Roleplay. See the changelog for full details.

The last word

It was the most ambitious and challenging update we've done so far. It's with great pride and pleasure that we present it to you today, I hope you enjoy our work and that it brings you a lot of pleasure in your games on Minimal Roleplay.

Thank you again for your daily support, our motivation is proportional to it. We have great things in store for you in the coming weeks.

See you soon! 💜

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