Does anyone know if there is an offline version of this shot counter?
darleyconsulting.com/FengShui/Shot.pl
I e-mailed the guy, but since the page is probably old, I'll probaby not get any answer. I wondered if anyone had come across that page while it was being maintained, and had managed to get a verson that doesn't require an internet connection to use.
Having something like this would definetley help me speed up things even more at the table.
I imagine that you could set up a server on your computer and run it there, but that's inelegant.
I only discovered that recently, but I've got wireless so I can use it from my laptop comfortably. Although that version doesn't handle extra-long actions rolling over into the next sequence.
I could always write my own, without too much difficulty. If there's a call for it I'll write a stand-alone version and make it available.
Heh, maybe I would (should?) do that myself if I weren't so:
a) lazy
b) rusted shut in terms of programming (the few bits of knowledge I ever managed to obtain are probably fossilized somehwere in my head)
Running a server would be a possible solution (inelegant as it may be), but for that I'd need the Perl script (I think its perl anyway) that Peter Darley created for his site to run it in localhost. So that's out of the question then.
I would be lying if I said I am not interested in seeing you come up with an offline solution, Queex... but I wonder if there will be "a call for it" apart from mine... sigh I wish I'm wrong, though.
So if there are any lurkers out there interested, please say "aye." 
Well, I might do it purely for myself, as it will come in handy. The online one doesn't handle extra-long actions moving into the next sequence or Speed changing mid-fight (through Movement or the Neural Stimulator) which would be annoying if you needed it. Also, it doesn't allow the GM to choose who goes next on tied shot numbers, which it should technically do.
Stay tuned, anyway.
Ask and ye shall receive.
Needs a few tweaks at the moment for best performance and good looks, but it is functional.
edit: Changed url
chthonic.150m.com/feng/ShotCounter.jar
chthonic.150m.com/feng/ShotCounter.jnlp
end of edit.
Run with:
java -jar ShotCounter.jar
You'll probably need Java 5 or better.
Features:
Everything the on-line shot counter does
Delay from extra long actions
Changing speed mid-fight (although only takes effect next sequence)
More control over editing various things mid-fight.
To do:
Quick Draw
Me First
Other initiative-based schticks
JNLP launcher for convenience
Queex, I feel really silly saying this but... Yo da Man!
There are not enough smileys here or ka-chinks in the FS book to express my thanks. This senile, numerically-challenged GM humbly bows in respect to your java-fu.
Ed.
Ding! An update. Should be a lot quicker flipping between screens, and the button placements should be marginally better.
Downloaded it again
Great things do come in small packages often. 39k! Wow. It was already in my PC even before I clicked on the link, 
Fixed an annoying bug- named characters weren't going down. Also changed the file location.
chthonic.150m.com/feng/ShotCounter.jar
chthonic.150m.com/feng/ShotCounter.jnlp
The jnlp file should be opened with Java WebStart (javaws) when you're online. If you're online, it will automatically check for updates but can still be run when offline after the first run.
If you run Java Web Start, it should appear in the application cache and can be run from there.
The jar can still be run with javaw -jar ShotCounter.jar or double-clicking.
Heh, didn't notice that, since I was only putting "down" the Mooks when I tested it. Worst beta tester in the world I am... 
That's above and beyond the call of duty 
.... I really appreciate the effort you put in this. It should be added to the list of links on the main FS page IMHO (or stickied here at the very least)... it's just too darn useful, especially for those of us with a big group of players.... and by big I mean 5+ players. I often have 10 at the table, and I just go nuts trying to manage a group of that size in combat.
I hear that, although I've only ever had to deal with 8 or 9 at most. Not long after I started GMing I decided to have mooks of the same type act on the same initiative, thus removing their ability to active dodge. It's a neat hack, although you wind up being a little fuzzy when the mooks act. 'How many times have I rolled? Screw it, none of them are going to hit, anyway.'
Going back to 'classic' initiative after all this time keeps the players engaged more, I find, and gives them more inspiration for targets and stunts.
Three more improvements I will make will be to enable Mr First, Fast Draw and note boxes for the characters (so you can keep track of which mook is attacking whom).
I've had to do that as well most of the time. Lots of players need lots of opponents (although there are also "Playstation 2" moments when all of them have to gang up on one tough mean boss). Maybe lazy of me doing that, but I'm getting too senile (or too disorganized, plus too slow and absent minded... not exactly a helpful combination of traits) to have to deal with the init order of ten players PLUS an equal or greater number of enemies. 
Which is great. Now I can deal with combat at the speed it's supposed to go, unhampered by the "all thumbs" panic (so to speak) that sets on me once I have to manage initiative.
Looking forward to those
BTW, and very OOT, all this has feverishly inspired me to start learning a programming language, so I can do something like this for my d20 games or any other system that I might come across in the futire. I read that Python was a friendly language to learn, so two weeks ago I looked for several manuals and started reading about it. I'm liking it a lot so far (it's starting to brush away the cobwebs and thick layers of dust covering the small but fossilized remains of what little FORTAN, Pascal and C I "learned" ages and ages ago).
I just hope I have the stamina NOT to give up once I face the first brick wall, as I often do.
Maybe by the end of the year I might be able to write something I can use, heh. Wishful thinking, but who knows.
Ed.
Excellent! Cheers! I salute your code-fu! I'll be trying that out when I get home.
Well, a newer version is up and available at the same addresses.
It now handles fast draw, me first, and includes note fields for all characters.
When you run the jnlp, you should download the newer version automatically. If not, then run 'javaws' and delete the ShotCounter, then download again.
I'm not going to include other initiative schticks, because they're probably better handled manually.
The next task, though, is tracking Fu.