• Nodes

Basic Node Usage

Nodes are the basic building blocks to construct character sheets and helpful GM Tools. So, obviously youi're going to want to know how to use them effectively, right? Right. Well, lets get cracking.

First thing we're going to want to understand about nodes is where to find them. There should be an icon on your Game Tree that says 'OpenRPG 1.6.1', or whatever version you happen to be using. I'm using 1.6.1. If there isn't such an icon, right-click on Game Tree and go down to Insert Features Node, this will bring up the icon I was telling you about.

So, now we're going to click on the little + sign next to the icon, which decompresses into other menu items. We're going to want to go down to Templates, this is where you're going to spend most of your time when constructing character sheets and all that jazz. Decompress Templates by hitting the + sign next to it. Inside you'll find Nodes, Containers and Tools; the latter of which we won't be discussing here. So, we've got Nodes and Containers ' what do we do with them, you say? Let me break it down for you:

Nodes ' The meat of any character sheet or tool you make in the Game Tree.

Containers ' Think of these as the plate that holds the meat, literally.

Those are sort of dodgy explanations; let me explain both of them in a more technical sense using an example.

Example

Containers are literally what hold Nodes, hence the name Container. Lets go ahead and see what they can do. Open up the Containers menu by decompressing it and double-click on Create New Form, this will create a new Form at the top of the Game Tree; so you may have to scroll back up to see it. By clicking on the name beside the icon you can rename it, and by double-clicking the icon (not the text) you can open it up. Pretty dull, huh?

Lets add some Nodes to spice it up. Compress the Containers menu the same way you decompressed it; doing this reduces clutter on the screen. Now, decompress the Nodes menu. The three that you're most commonly going to use are the Create New Text Box, Create New Grid, and Create New List Box.

For now, lets add a Text Box to our form; so double-click on the icon next to Create New Text Box, it should appear right above the Form and be called Text. Now what we're going to do is make the Text a child of the Form, which basically means the Text will be inside or apart of the Form. So, click and hold on the icon next to Text and drag it down over the icon for Form. You'll know you're doing it right if you see a pointing hand as you drag. Now, release! It should ask you if you want to make the node a child, click yes.

Now you'll notice that instead of the Text being on top of the Form it's actually inside of the Form, and it resembles the menu items we've been using in the fact that you can compress and decompress Form now. Now, double-click on the Form icon. You'll notice that now there's a text box in the window that opens up. Click out of it and go to the Text inside the Form, right-click on it and go down to Design, where it says Title, type in Name, and where it just has a white box below all the options put in your name. Then X out of it. You'll notice your Text isn't called Text anymore it's called Name. Now double-click on the Form icon again.

Congratulations, you've just learned the basics of making a character sheet or tool. That's how simple it is, really. You just have to learn how to organize everything.

Below, I'll tell you what all the other Containers and Nodes do briefly, you'll just have to experiment and figure out what you like best yourself. I've also found downloading character sheets from http://openrpg.wrathof.com/ and studying them give you a good idea on how to use Nodes and Containers.

Containers

Folder ' Just like any folder, it serves no purpose other then to hold everything else. I usually end up putting my finished product in a folder for organizational purposes.

Tabber ' Very helpful, anything you put into it makes it a tab at the top of the window, so you don't have to have all your information jumbled on one page.

Splitter ' Putting two nodes into this will split the window up between them, so you can have two different areas of information on one screen.

Form ' Already went over, it's a basic Container that holds Nodes.

Nodes

Create New Text Box ' Places a text box in the Container, the options inside of the Design mode for it let you do different things like make the text field large, etc.

Create New Grid ' Good for when you want to organize things more, which the Text Box doesn't really allow. In the Design mode you can set how many columns you want and rows, and enter text in the columns and rows.

Create New Web Link ' Blank

Create New Web Image ' Blank

Create New List Box ' Allows you to create a list of sorts. In the Design mode it lets you choose what kind of list, and you can edit what each option in the list says.

That sums up Nodes in general. You'll always want to save your Node, and your Game Tree when working just in case your computer crashes.