Features

Feature	Benefit
Game system neutral	Not being tied directly to a particular gaming system allows you to use kLoOge.Werks in a wide variety of situations.  As long as the game you’re playing is turn based, uses a map and icon representations, you should be able to improve the quality of your gaming sessions with kLoOge.Werks.
User-modifible game system definitions	The basic rules of a game system (how long a round lasts, whether initiative counts up or down, for example) are defined in a text file that you can easily modify to customize the look and behavior of the program for your particular gaming needs.
Written in Java	Runs unmodified on any system that supports Java 2, v1.4.2 or later, so no matter what your hardware or operating system, kLoOge.Werks will be there for you.
Mature user community	Since kLoOge.Werks has been availble for over four years, we have a very established and helpful user community. This community assists new users and makes available useful content, including map images, Icons and game system definitions.
TCP/IP connections	As long as you are using TCP/IP on your LAN, and are not behind a firewall (or other address translation mechanism), you can make and accept connections.  This includes LANs and the Internet. Even behind a firewall, configuration is generally a simple matter of correctly forwarding two ports.
Password protected game sessions	If you’re playing over the Internet, and you’d like to restrict access to your gaming session, you can define a password which clients must supply before they join the game.
SI (metric) units	You can use either English (feet) or SI (meters) units for map measurement and scaling.
Notes aplenty	The GM can create private notes and the players can create notes.  Notes can be stored in each Icon and in the character sheets.  You can even create an unlimited number of note pages, so you will never be at a loss for information.
Use any JPEG, PNG or GIF image as a map	Scan, paint, render you decide.  Any type of JPEG, PNG or GIF image (from anywhere) can be used as a map, so you have complete flexibility.
Use any JPEG, PNG or GIF image as an Icon	As for maps, so too for Icons.  Snap a picture of your players in full costume, and then use it as an Icon, for example.  You are only limited by your own imagination.
Integrated Icon Image processor	Use the kLoOge.Tokenizer to add overlays to your Icon image without the need for a third-party image processing packages.
Import popular XML files	If you use popular third party character generation programs to generate monsters or characters, then you can import them directly into kLoOge.Werks as character sheets.  Just about all the information contained in the XML file will be used, including modifiers and equipment.
Powerful integrated character sheet	PCs, NPCs and Items can have their own individual character sheet.  These sheets contain just about all the information about an Icon in a single place.  Once entered, this information becomes available during play by creating dice roller expressions that are accessible from the Icons.
Dice expressions	Dice expressions allow you to create unique dice rolls for things like spell effects, initiative, attack and damage.  You can create lists of these expressions, which can be exported to text files for editing and imported so multiple Icons can use them.  With expressions, you can create just about anything, like “My magic missile scorches you for {3d4+3} points of damage.”
Dice panels	Dice expressions are available in the pop-up menu for any Icon, but they are also available in a stand-alone panel that gives you instant access to all the expressions defined for an Icon.  You can also fake rolls (if you’re the GM), define modifiers to rolls (both one-shot and repeating attack modifiers) and adjust hit points (even players can, if the GM so decides).
Custom dice	You can define dice that roll words instead of numbers.  This makes it easy to create random weather (i.e.: “Today’s forecast: Sunny”) or support game systems that use unnumbered dice.
Dice labels	You can also define a set of labels to be displayed when a die is rolled.  With this you can configure an expression to output “Attempt failed” if the roll was less than, say, five.  Or you can output “Success!” on a roll greater than eighteen.  You can even play sounds instead of outputting text.  The possibilities are almost limitless.
Configurable map scale	Set up how many inches on the screen represent how many feet or miles on a map.  This scale is then used to render Icons proportionately for their size as well as to measure distances on the map.
Interactive map scale setting	You can draw a line on a map and tell the program how long the line you drew is, and the program will set the map scale for you.
Configurable grid	You can have a rectangular or hexagonal grid, with or without numbers, at whatever size you want and whatever color you want.  Or you can choose not to have a grid at all.
Optional snap-to-grid	For game systems that require a grid and base movement on that grid, you can enable “snap-to-grid.” Once enabled, all Icon movements will be locked to grid “squares,” making management of movement a…snap!
Unexplored area concealment	The players only see what the GM lets them see.  Start off with a completely obscured map (which appears black, or whatever color you decide, for the player’s view), then, as the players explore, the GM can reveal rectangular or freehand areas.
Client-level concealment / light radius	You can (optionally) enable a second level of concealment that is removed as items (or PCs or NPCs) with a light radius defined move about the map.  If a PC or NPC is carrying an item with a light radius (in their inventory), then the light radius of the item is used.
“Fog of War”	If you use the “client-level” concealment, you can also enable the “fog-of-war” feature, which re-conceals areas once the light source moves.
Circular and conical spell effects	You and your players can indicate the center of a circular spell effect, or the range of a conical spell effect with two clicks of the mouse.
Threatened area display	Some game systems define the notion of an area being threatened by a character. kLoOge.Werks allows you to set this area and toggle the display of a threatened area circle when Icons move into another Icon’s threatened area.
Animated GIF images supported	You can specify an animated GIF image that can be toggled on and off whenever you like.
WAV, AU, OGG and MP3 file support	Any Icon can have a sound file associated with it, which can be played at any time.  When playing sounds, you can set the program to either play only on the GM’s machine, or also on the player’s machine.
Sounds tied to events	During combat, sounds will play when certain events occur.  These include commencing combat, changing initiative and round, hits, critical hits and critical misses.  Sounds add dimension to play, and keep players aware of what’s going on (which is very important, especially during Internet play).
Game-time calendar	You can set up a calendar to keep track of game time.  The calendar can be configured with your own day and month names, if you like.
Invisible to player option	Icons that you place on a map and can always see in the GM session can be made to be invisible to a player session.  In this way you can prepare items for later discovery, or marshal an army without the player’s knowledge.
Variable transparency on any Icon	Any Icon can be set to be semi-transparent.  Use this to represent extra-planar creatures or characters under the effect of an Invisibility spell, for example.
Variable rotation on any Icon	If you have an Icon with an image that indicates direction, for example, you can rotate that image to point anywhere you like.
Icon facing	An Icon can be drawn with an indicator for any of eight possible facing directions. This is useful for game systems where facing is important and for conveying where an Icon is “looking.”
Marching order	You can assign a marching order number to any Icon, for keeping track of which order the players are proceeding in.
Party grouping	Add any Icon to a party and you can operate on the party as a whole.  Gather them together, select all of them, move them all to another map in a single operation.
Icon following	You can specify that an Icon (or Icons) is “following” a “leader” Icon. When the leader moves, all of his followers also move. This makes it easy to move a group of Icons as a whole, without having to select them all first.
Drawn items	Used to create dramatic temporary effects that unfold during play.  Drawn Items can be a solid color, or just an outline, or can be filled with a texture that is any GIF or JPEG image.  They can be rectangular, circular or drawn freehand.  They can also be semi-transparent and/or invisible to the players.
Targeting	When one character attacks another (or intends to attack), you can indicate this by targeting the opponent.  For friendly characters, a blue line is drawn that connects the attacker to the foe.  For unfriendly characters, the line is red.
Health gauge	Each Icon can display a “health gauge” that indicates, at a glance, the health of the creature.  As hit points change, the gauge adjusts.  Of course, the gauge is only visible to players for Icons that the GM decides.  Also, if you find the gauge distracting, you can turn it off entirely.
Client status feedback	Each connected client has a node in the GM’s campaign tree.  Along with the name of each client is displayed a host of useful information, including:  whether the client is away from the keyboard, is entering a chat message, the “ping time” (the amount of time it takes a message to get to the client and back to the master, which is especially useful during Internet play) and file transfer progress (it can take a while to transfer a large map to a client, so this gives the GM an indication of how well the transfer is progressing).
“Away from keyboard” indicator	There is a toggle button right on the tool bar for indicating that you are “away from your keyboard.”  When selected, your Icon in the campaign tree will change to indicate that you are away and a chat message is broadcast to everyone, notifying them of your state.
Hit point and stat management	Each character Icon keeps track of hit points, armor class, attack bonus and a number of other stats.  This information is displayed whenever you hover your mouse over an Icon and can be edited very easily.
Icon tracking and centering	Players can specify that they want to track an Icon.  When doing so, no matter where the Icon moves on the map, the player’s view will be centered on that Icon (so long as it doesn’t move to a different map, or become invisible, that is).
Hostile/Friendly indication	NPCs can be designated as being “friendly” to PCs.  PCs can also be designated as being “hostile” to other PCs.  When these designations are flipped, the color of the targeting line is changed accordingly.
Integrated dice roller	Almost a program in itself.  Roll dice from 2 to 100 sides.  Roll as many as you like, adding a modifier to each dice if you like.  The Dice Roller can keep a list of frequently used modifiers so you can get to them easily.  You can also change the appearance of the dice to any of a number of included “themes.”  Additionally, you can create dice expressions with the roller, even storing them for future use (by saving them to disk).
Variable zoom levels	Zoom into any area of the map, or zoom out so view the entire map at a glance.
HTML/Text/Image file viewer	If you have a document pertinent to the adventure, you can place it directly on the Map and have instant access to it.  When the Icon is visible to players, they, too, can access the document/image.
HTML/Text/Image file transfer to clients	Let’s say your players come across a scroll in their travels.  You’ve prepared an image of this scroll, so you’d like them to see it.  You can send any HTML, text or image file directly to the player’s so they can view it at any time.
Distance measurement (at map scale)	With the measure tool you can measure the distance between any two points on the map.  With this you can quickly determine how far away something is, or what the range modifier would be if someone was considering an attack.  Distance measurement is also reported whenever an Icon is moved, so you always know how far people are trying to go.
Character-based effects	You can define an unlimited number of “effects” that are operating on a creature.  These effects can have a duration (or be unending), can be visible to players or not and can even apply temporary modifiers to rolls for the Icon.  When affected, the effect is displayed whenever you hover your mouse over the Icon and is also announced when the creature’s initiative comes up.
Round/Initiative/Attack/Event counter	The program keeps track of round, initiative and attack order so you don’t have to.  Who goes when is displayed in a small panel, along with the round.  You can also set up events that last for a fixed number of rounds.  As the rounds are counted up, the rounds remaining for the event are counted down — all automatically.
Public chat	You and the players can exchange public messages right on the map, each choosing a unique chat text color, if you like.
Private chat	You can also exchange messages privately on a one-to-one basis with any player.  Players, too, can send each other messages without the GM seeing them.
“Chat as” feature	The GM can chat as any Icon on the map (players can chat as friendly PCs and NPCs).  What this means is that when the chat message appears, it will appear to come from the NPC (or item) itself, adding to the role playing experience.
Drag-and-drop chat text	If you have a document or file that contains text that is meant to be spoken by a particular Icon or issued when an event occurs, you can select the text and simply drop it on the Map or an Icon. The text will be issued as a chat message from whatever you dropped it on. What’s more, you can even drag-and-drop text from outside of the program (from a browser, for example).
Client participation	Allows the players to suggest where they would like their character Icons moved to.  When a player drags an Icon, a “phantom” is left behind to indicate where the Icon started from.  The GM can accept the player’s move, or a part of it (if multiple stops are indicated), or reject the move all together.  Or, if you prefer, you can turn off the confirmation mode, so players are free to move their Icons anywhere on the map.  You can also give players the power to adjust hit points for Icons (although any such adjustment is accompanied by a broadcast chat message).
Save chat history	You can save your chat history buffer either as plain text or HTML (saving as HTML preserves italics and chat text color, so it is the recommended method of saving) and can even save chat history with your campaign.  This is very useful for groups that share their gaming sessions with others, since it gives a blow-by-blow account of what went on.
And much, much more!

A Word About Licensing

There are four types of licenses for kLoOge.Werks. Each is explained below. First, however, a terminology explanation. We refer to an “unlicensed Client” a lot in the text below. An unlicensed Client is simplykLoOge.Werks running in “Client” mode without a license. To get an unlicensed Client, all you have to do is download and install the software. That is, there is no purchase required.

Master Only

This license allows you to host a game. Clients wishing to connect to your game must bring their own license.

Client Only

This license allows you to play in any game.

Master & Client

This license is essentially a “Master Only” and a “Client Only” combined into one. With this license you can host a game and play in anyone else’s game. Additionally, you can have one unlicensed Client connect to your game.

Multi-License

This license is a collection of “Client Only” licenses bundled into a single package. With Multi-Licenses installed you can have as many unlicensed Clients in your game as you have Multi-Licenses. For example, if you bought a “Multi-License 6-pack”, you could have six unlicensed Clients connected to your game (and any number of licensed Clients, of course, since they bring their own license). When a seventh unlicensed Client tries to connect, he will be told that you are out of licenses. Note that you must have a “Master Only” or “Master & Client” license to install Multi-Licenses.

With a “Master Only” or “Master & Client” license installed, you can add as many Multi-Licenses as you want. You can also add “Client Only” licenses, which, when installed along with one of the “Master” license types, will act just like Multi-Licenses (i.e., they allow unlicensed Clients to connect to your game).

You can think of a Multi-License as a “floating” license. When an unlicensed Client connects, he borrows one of your Multi-Licenses for the duration of his connection. When he disconnects, the license he borrowed is returned to your pool of licenses, allowing someone else to borrow it. If all of your Multi-Licenses are borrowed, any new unlicensed Client will not be able to connect (since you are out of licenses until someone leaves your game).

Which license is best for you?

That depends on your game play, whether you are a Game Master and, if so, what your relationship with your players is like. If you feel that it is easier for you to manage the licenses (so players don’t have to worry about it, or because players constantly come and go), then a “Multi-License Pack” (or several, since they can always be added to) may be best. On the other hand, if you prefer that Clients manage their own affairs, you can require that they buy their own licenses.

Please note that you can not buy a “Master & Client” version, install its license on your machine, then give your license to a friend and have him connect to your session. The program will detect the duplicate license and not allow the connection to take place.

From a player’s perspective, if you buy your own “Client Only” license, then you are able to connect to anyone, anywhere, and at any time. If you do not, then you can only connect to an unlicensed Master (which would then only be a demo connection) or to a Master that already has “Multi-Licenses” or “Client Only” licenses installed. This means that your freedom may be limited. You should consider your playing habits and the habits of your GM (if you have one) before deciding which path is best for you.

Special License Situations: Lost Licenses and License Revocation

We try to keep a record of all issued licenses, but circumstances beyond our control sometimes mean that we are unable to retrieve your license should you lose it. We will try everything in our power to recover your license should it become lost, but you should be aware that recovery may not be possible. As a result, you are strongly encouraged to back up your licenses or make hard copies and file them away. Since we do not charge for updates, your license is a valuable thing — treat it as such!

Should you lose your license and we are unable to recover it, take note of the fact that we can not issue a free replacement. While this situation has never occurred in all the years that we have been selling the program, it might someday, so you should be aware of our policy.

Also be aware that we do not support any means of “revoking” a license. Once purchased, a license is yours — there can be no refunds or exchanges.

What you can do with the Demo Version

Without a license, kLoOge.Werks as a Master starts in “demo” mode.  Starting in demo mode will cause an example campaign to be loaded.  This campaign contains a couple Maps, a number of PCs (including character sheets), a few NPCs, items and drawn items.  You can modify a number of the settings for these Icons and Maps, but you can not save any of your changes.  When in demo mode, the program will accept connections only from other unlicensed programs.  This allows you to test the functionality of the software without first buying it.  Note, however, that connections are time limited.  After about thirty minutes, all client connections will be terminated and the default demo campaign will be reloaded.

System Requirements

System requirements vary depending on operating system and what version of the program you will be running.  Here is a general guide that should help you in determining if your hardware will be able to meet the needs of kLoOge.Werks.