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3000 - Tips, Tricks, and Work-arounds.

Posted by Chief TinkerFor group 0
Chief Tinker
GM, 10 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Mon 29 Jan 2018
at 03:38
  • msg #1

3000 - Tips, Tricks, and Work-arounds

Yup, you guessed it.  If I discover a tip, trick or a better way of doing something, I'll write it up here.

Anyone who joins can share tips and such here, too.
Chief Tinker
GM, 11 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Mon 29 Jan 2018
at 05:04
  • msg #2

3001 - Downloading an RPoL Page as HTML

BACKGROUND:

This subject comes up from time to time, usually in Community Chat.  Someone will ask, "How can I download my threads?"

The methods provided by RPoL for this are two:

In the Game Menu, a game owner or Moderator can use the D/L link to display a plain-text of the thread to the screen for view/copy/paste operations.  If all you need is the text of the thread, this is quite sufficient.

It is notable that using this option gives the operator the option to display or not display private lines as part of this text.

From the Edit Thread menu, a GM can Archive a thread.  Quoting the RPoL Help on this function:

quote:
When a thread is archived, it becomes publicly viewable with all Private Lines becoming public text. The "archive" function may be accessed through the Edit Thread menu.


Recent clarification to this has been issued by Shannara in the thread referenced below (see the link in the WORK-AROUND section):

quote:
Archived threads remain in the group they were archived in.

It is also simple to unarchive threads -- (edit the thread and uncheck the box.)


This means that archiving a thread does not put GMs of Mature or Adult content games at risk inadvertently. (Thank you again, Shannara, for that clarification.)

WORK-AROUND:

This work-around was suggested by ShadoPrism in the thread Archive Your RPoL Games with help from Nerwen.  Thanks, folks!

Saving Threads as HTML:

This work-around requires:

  • free space somewhere on your local hard drive
  • a compatible browser (any variant of Chrome or Firefox should work, I don't know about IE - I don't use it.)


To save an entire thread as HTML, first open and display the entire thread in your browser of choice.  To do this:

  • Click on the Thread Title to open the thread.
  • Click on the link at the top right of the first message in the thread that reads [all]

(NOTE:  for threads already short enough to display in one page, no [all] link will be displayed.  Proceed without this step.)

Once this is done, the entire thread is opened as a single scroll-able web page.  Now use your browser's Save Page As feature to save the page as HTML.  In my browser, a variant of Google Chrome, this feature is under the More Tools menu.

When the Save As dialog opens in your operating system, browse to a folder where you want to save this thread and click OK, Save, Save As, or whatever starts the save process for your system.

{I would choose to create a new folder for each game, and save all threads for that game in that folder - that keeps things organized and easier to find.}

The result will be an HTML file and an associated folder with the images and script elements needed for the saved page to display properly.

Advantages?  All avatars, horizontal rules, and other image features are preserved, as is the color scheme you have set for use at RPoL when the save was made.

Any links in the thread should also work if you have internet access and permission to view the links (e.g., you'd need to be logged in to RPoL to access links to a game there).

Any adult or mature content is safely stored off-site where you, the GM, can easily limit access to it in accord with RPoL Terms of Use and Policies.

Lastly, downloading a thread in this way does not alter or delete the saved thread, so it can be used as a live local backup for an active thread.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:53, Wed 14 Feb 2018.
Chief Tinker
GM, 21 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Fri 9 Mar 2018
at 02:19
  • msg #3

3002 - Using a Custom Theme to Strip Colors from Messsages

This tip comes as a result of this thread:  Removing font colors in posts

Setting up a custom theme can be useful for a multitude of things:  setting up high contrast color sets, keeping one's theme from changing for holidays, and generally making the RPoL website display in a color set of the user's choosing for whatever purpose.

In the custom theme editor almost at the bottom sits a checkbox for "Disable colouring in messages".  Simply checking this box and saving the new theme will cause all messages to display in the default color set in that new theme for that purpose.

That is, if your theme's default color for text (which is specified in the custom theme editor under "normal text:") is BLACK, then ALL message texts from any place on RPoL will be displayed by that theme as BLACK.

This is dead simple, so I'll probably also include this in a "1003 - Where Do I Find..." entry.

Thanks, and a tip o' the old top hat to MalaeDezeld for this bit of kit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:06, Mon 28 May 2018.
Chief Tinker
GM, 22 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Sun 25 Mar 2018
at 04:48
  • msg #4

3003 - Forms for Fate Core

These are forms I created using HTML wrapped Easy Tables for Fate Core as part of an experiment I participated in which, regrettably, died-a-borning.  These are free to use for anyone here at RPoL, and have been submitted to Heaven - Gaming Resources.

UPDATE:  I am pleased that my submissions to Heaven - Gaming Resources have been accepted.  These forms are also copied to a new topic here dedicated to all things Fate:  4000 - Twists (and Turns) of Fate

<table width=600><tr><td>
|6! Fate Core Game Creation Worksheet |100%
|6 <i>(Game Name)</i> |
|6 <i>(Setting/Scale)</i> |
|6! ISSUES |
|<3! <i>Current issues</i> |<3! <i>Impending issues</i> |
|3 <i>(Line 2)</i>        |3 <i>(Line 2)</i>          |
|3 <i>(Line 3)</i>        |3 <i>(Line 3)</i>          |
|6! FACES AND PLACES |
|<2! <i>Name</i>  |<2! <i>Name</i>   |<2! <i>Name</i>   |
|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i> |2 <i>(Line 2)</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i> |2 <i>(Line 3)</i> |
|<2! <i>Issue/Aspect</i> |<2! <i>Issue/Aspect</i> |<2! <i>Issue/Aspect</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i> |
|<2! <i>Name</i>  |<2! <i>Name</i>  |<2! <i>Name</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i> |
|<2! <i>Issue/Aspect</i> |<2! <i>Issue/Aspect</i> |<2! <i>Issue/Aspect</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i>|2 <i>(Line 2)</i> |
|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i>|2 <i>(Line 3)</i> |
|6! DIALS |
|<3 Number of Aspects: |<3 5|
|<3 Number of Phases:  |<3 3|
|<3 Skill Cap: |<3 +4 |
|<3 Skill pyramid or columns? |<3 Pyramid |
|<3 Number of Columns: |<3 N/A |
|<3 Refresh rate: |<3 3|
|<3 Number of initial stunts: |<3 3|
|<3 Types of stress tracks: |<3 Physical and mental |
|<3 Default No. of stress boxes: |<3 2|
|<3 Default consequence slots: |<3 2/4/6|

|6! SKILLS |100%
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
|<2  |<2  |<2  |
</td></tr></table>


Fate Core Game Creation Worksheet
(Game Name)
(Setting/Scale)
ISSUES
Current issuesImpending issues
(Line 2)(Line 2)
(Line 3)(Line 3)
FACES AND PLACES
NameNameName
(Line 2)(Line 2)(Line 2)
(Line 3)(Line 3)(Line 3)
Issue/AspectIssue/AspectIssue/Aspect
(Line 2)(Line 2)(Line 2)
(Line 3)(Line 3)(Line 3)
NameNameName
(Line 2)(Line 2)(Line 2)
(Line 3)(Line 3)(Line 3)
Issue/AspectIssue/AspectIssue/Aspect
(Line 2)(Line 2)(Line 2)
(Line 3)(Line 3)(Line 3)
DIALS
Number of Aspects:5
Number of Phases:3
Skill Cap:+4
Skill pyramid or columns?Pyramid
Number of Columns:N/A
Refresh rate:3
Number of initial stunts:3
Types of stress tracks:Physical and mental
Default No. of stress boxes:2
Default consequence slots:2/4/6

SKILLS
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


<table width=600><tr><td>
|6! Fate Core Character Sheet |100%
|<6! ID
|<5 Name:   |<1 Refresh:  |
|6 Description: |
|6 (Line 2)  |
|6 (Line 3) |

|<6! ASPECTS |100%
|<6 High Concept:  |
|<6 Trouble:   |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |

|<6! SKILLS |100%
|>1 Superb (+5) ||||||
|>1 Great (+4)  |!|||||
|>1 Good (+3)   |!|!||||
|>1 Fair (+2)   |!|!|!|||
|>1 Average (+1)|!|!|!|!||
|<6! STUNTS |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6! EXTRAS |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<6 |
|<2! PHYSICAL STRESS (Physique) |!1|!2|3|4|
|<2! MENTAL STRESS (Will) |!1|!2|3|4|

|<6! CONSEQUENCES |100%
|<3! 2 (Mild) |<3 2 (Mild) |
|<3! 4 (Moderate) |<3.2 |
|<3! 6 (Severe) |
</td></tr></table>


Fate Core Character Sheet
ID
Name:Refresh:
Description:
(Line 2)
(Line 3)

ASPECTS
High Concept:
Trouble:
 
 
 

SKILLS
Superb (+5)     
Great (+4)     
Good (+3)     
Fair (+2)     
Average (+1)     
STUNTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
EXTRAS
 
 
 
 
 
 
PHYSICAL STRESS (Physique)1234
MENTAL STRESS (Will)1234

CONSEQUENCES
2 (Mild)2 (Mild)
4 (Moderate) 
6 (Severe)

This message was last edited by the GM at 19:52, Fri 05 Oct 2018.
Chief Tinker
GM, 34 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Mon 2 Jul 2018
at 02:53
  • msg #5

3004 - Keeping Track of Game Ads

BACKGROUND:

Here's the scenario:  you are a GM on RPoL who has several games in play, each of which was developed at different times, and is in a different stage of play or development.  At some point, you created advertisements for those games in Wanted - Players.

Now, TIME PASSES...

Your ads are no longer on the front page because you haven't bumped them in a while, probably because you are no longer accepting players.

So, how do you find the game ad if you suddenly need to add players or restart an existing game that has lain dormant for a while?

This takes a little forethought and planning.

INFORMATION NEEDED:

The key piece of information to make this tip work is the URL for the game ad of interest.  It is easiest to find this data near the time when you first create the ad.  This is because you don't have to search too many pages back to find it.

UPDATE:  05 Oct 2018.  IF you do need to find ads for games you own, Hunter tipped me off to an easy way to do this quickly.  At the bottom left of the forum menu for Wanted - Players (and, indeed, for almost any forum on RPoL) there is a Search tool which allows searches by Poster and Subject.  Searching for your own posts in Wanted - Players will quickly locate all your own games, no matter how old their ads might be.  This is just one particular use for this handy feature.  I'm sure others will leap to mind, as well.  Thanks, Hunter!

Find your game ad, copy the URL from your browser's address window, and proceed.

SETTING UP A HANDY LINK TO YOUR GAME AD:

In order to keep this tip within the terms of service, I'm only going to provide a template which does not contain a valid URL.

Pick a spot within your game that you are able to see, but your players are not.  I find the Scratchpad works well for this, but you may prefer something more permanent (and private) like a topic in Group Z.

UPDATE:  05 Oct 2018.  It has come to my attention that players can read Group Z if their characters are added to it.  Sorry if this caused any confusion or inconvenience.  Select a topic within a group privately assigned to the GM exclusively.  This could be Group Z, but remember this caveat.

From within a text editor window, create a link that looks like this:

<a href="Paste the URL of your Game Ad between these quotes"><i><u>Ad for (Name of Your Game)</u><i></a>

then save your post/scratchpad.  When you view this link in the post, or view your scratchpad as a message, you will see something like:

Ad for (Name of Your Game)

except that the link will actually be clickable, and will take you directly to your game ad.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:01, Fri 05 Oct 2018.
Chief Tinker
GM, 75 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Sun 3 Mar 2019
at 05:21
  • msg #6

3005 - Recovering a Deleted rMail

From Technical Discussions at link to a message in another game

If you have accidentally deleted an rMail and need to recover it, reach out to a  recipient of that rMail and ask them to reply to again.

This should cause the entire rMail thread to re-appear in your rMail inbox.
Skald
Mod, 7 posts
Sat 9 Mar 2019
at 05:26
  • msg #7

3005 - Recovering a Deleted rMail

I've also found that if you notice immediately that you've deleted the email, and you had just been viewing it, you can back your browser and find it in history and then reply to it, which puts a copy back into your rmail list.

May or may not work for all browsers, though - I use Firefox (whatever the latest version is).
Chief Tinker
GM, 76 posts
Just knocking around
to see how things work.
Mon 11 Mar 2019
at 16:49
  • msg #8

3005 - Recovering a Deleted rMail

In reply to Skald (msg # 7):

Thanks for that, Skald.  Good info.
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