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  • What is HCS?
  • Features
  • System Software Specifics
  • System Hardware Specifics
  • Limitations
  • Complete HCS Manual

     

    What is HCS?

    Hero Combat Simulator or HCS is software built to help GM's track all characters in a combat as well as
    simulate combat between characters to test their effectiveness BEFORE they are used in a campaign. It
    currently implements rules from Deluxe Champions and The Ultimate Martial Artist. As I write this some components of HCS are being rewritten for 5th Edition.
     

    HCS is an all-encompassing environment that accounts for everything that needs tracking on a Hero System character. Below, is a list of features that are currently implemented.
     

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    Features

    bullettracks all characteristics
    bullettracks damage done to STUN and BODY
    bullettracks OCV/DCV
    bullettracks combat order based on DEX and SPD (we also track aborts and holds)
    bulletallow look ahead of "on deck" characters
    bullettracks defenses which are automatically deducted from damage rolls
    bulletCreation Workshop filter and import (We provide a filter for CW that  can output a file readable by HCS)
    bulletcustomizable powers including their features and options (most popular already complete)
    bulletAdjustment powers (except transfer) are complete and can dynamically drain or aid powers and characteristics. Targeting by SFX is also supported
    bulletadvantages and limitations (most popular already complete)
    bulletupdate of all character information during battle (add a power, change a stat, etc)
    bulletautomatic deduction of END when powers are used
    bullettracks on-the-fly assignment of combat levels and counts them only when they should be active-combat maneuvers (move-by, move-through, haymaker with it's extra segment, etc.)
    bulletcombat maneuvers with weapons (move-by with sword, Martial strike with TK)
    bulletallows automatic or manual rolling of dice (GM can auto roll any rolls he wants or type in the damage from real dice into HCS)
    bulletallows targeting to be aware of entangles and force walls so that damage is applied to them before the final target is struck.
    bullettrack stunned, unconscious, bleeding, knocked down states for characters and limits character abilities based on this
    bullettracks when constant powers should go down (Force Field will go down at end of segment when stunned)
    bullettracks knockback damage
    bulletability to undo actions easily to account for human error (not computer error, of course)
    bulletheads up display to give you vital statistics on the active character
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    System Software Specifics


    HCS is written using Java 2 v1.3 and requires the Java Runtime Environment. This coding language was chosen specifically so that it could run on many different platforms. HCS has been tested on Window
    95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP. The JRE v1.3 is available on many UNIX variations including Linux and has been tested on Redhat 7.0 Intel.
    Successful limited testing has been done on Mac OS 10.x. This really allows for a great base of computers to support.
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    System Hardware Specifics

    On the windows platform, it is recommended that the PC has a Pentium II processor and 128 MB of RAM. In the future, we will test performance on lower end configurations to recommend a minimum configuration.
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    Limitations

    HCS is a work in progress and so it is not complete. It is robust enough to be used to run real sessions of
    Champions, but there are numerous missing Hero System components, features that will be needed to make HCS easier to use and, of course, bugs in the existing versions.
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    Last modified: 12/14/02.