I've been thinking of using Nandeck to help with my prototypes but the problem is that I am usually using a Mac or a Chromebook. I read some forums on BGG that walked me through how to install Nandeck on a Mac but I didn't have any success with it and I'm looking for an alternative. I'm wondering if any of you know any good alternatives?
Thanks!
It works from a web browser, so works on every operating system.
It does have a monthly cost, but you can get it for only $4.99 per month if you use "firstk" as the coupon code. plus there is a 3 day free trial so you can see if you like it.
You could have a look at my inkscape countersheets-extension. Should run on anything that runs inkscape (or you can run from the command-line if you prefer, if that helps on a chromebook?).
Inspired by nandeck, but built on top of existing free software and formats instead of building everything into the tool itself. Make graphics in inkscape and combine with data from spreadsheet.
You might also try out my Card Editor, which is a free and open source desktop application. It's designed for Windows, however, but you may be able to get it running on Chromebook using CrossOver.
May I recommend my app Multideck? It's designed for Mac. Learn more at http://www.semicolon.com/multideck/multideck.html
@Rick-Holzgrafe,
I'm looking at your app right now. Thanks for mentioning it! In many ways I may prefer to pay once for a good resource instead of maintaining a subscription. I guess it all depends on how well it meets my designing needs. Thanks again!
Try this Windows application for generating your card games. Not for mac but it connects directly to Google Sheets and has easy to use and familiar layout tools.
Hands down the best software I have used is Magic Set Editor:
http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/
I use it for all my prototypes. Once you make your template, it is extremely easy to use it to generate cards. It takes a bit of work to learn the scripting and formatting language, but it is worth it.
Edit: Just realized you are asking for Mac software; unfortunately, I don't think it runs on Mac.
http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/
I use it for all my prototypes. Once you make your template, it is extremely easy to use it to generate cards. It takes a bit of work to learn the scripting and formatting language, but it is worth it.
Edit: Just realized you are asking for Mac software; unfortunately, I don't think it runs on Mac.
Friend of mine just made a card game using that, after learning the scripting language. Pretty powerful.
There is also a web version of nanDECK, here:
http://www.nandeckonline.com:8899
Some info:
- it's a login-less server, your session is personal, maintained only when used, and discarded after ten minutes of inactivity. You can create different sessions on different browser on the same machine; instead, on the same browser you see the same session on different tabs, that means also that you can close your tab, and you see your data if you re-enter the site (without closing the browser) before the timeout. And if the site hangs up, hit F5 and the session will reappear.
- the "help", "modify", and "syntax" buttons work on the current line in the editor.
- if you click on the "validate & build deck" button, the current script is validated and built, and you can browse the deck (and the canvas) with the right-side buttons.
- every time you build your script, the version is saved and you can browse them with the top-left buttons.
- a built deck can be downloaded as a pdf, or as a zip (with single cards in png format) with the corresponding buttons.
- the upload button is used to upload images and spreadsheets (you can also drag-and-drop a file over it, it accepts multiple files and also a zip, if it contains a script.txt file, it's loaded in the editor), you can't use files from your pc without uploading them (the site can't see the files that are stored locally).
- the list over the upload button contains the files uploaded, that can be inserted in the editor with a double click, or with the "insert" button.
- when you want to end your session, you can download the project with the "save project as zip" button (it creates a zip with every file uploaded, and the current script), and re-upload it in a future session.
- the "wizard" button let you choose some card options, or start from a template.
- the "share script" let you upload a template (that will be available to everyone).
- the "Edit link" -> "Read" menu scans the current script for LINK directives, and add the spreadsheet files to the menu. If you choose one spreadsheet from this menu, you can edit it.
- the "Auto layout" menu creates an automatic template reading the data from a spreadsheet, therefore you must have uploaded a spreadsheet and added a LINK directive before using it.
- to avoid memory crash, I've limited the deck to 120 cards and the size of a card to 10x10cm.
Note: the server is the smallest available from AWS, therefore with too many users connected it can be slow.
I second Multideck for use on the Mac. I use it for all my prototypes. It's easy to learn and when I had an issue after an update the creator quickly answered my email and addressed the issue.
http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/
I use it for all my prototypes...
Do you know of any Tutorials for the Magic Set Editor??? I used it at some point just to "download" the MtG Font used on cards... But for making my own cards, I prefer using Photoshop and Excel (all manual of course). No automation...
But I guess MSE is both a "specialized spreadsheet" and a template for the card layout themselves...
Like I would say, would like a Tutorial or a walkthru about how to configure properties (stats), illustrations (images) and layering everything...?
http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/
I use it for all my prototypes...
Do you know of any Tutorials for the Magic Set Editor??? I used it at some point just to "download" the MtG Font used on cards... But for making my own cards, I prefer using Photoshop and Excel (all manual of course). No automation...
But I guess MSE is both a "specialized spreadsheet" and a template for the card layout themselves...
Like I would say, would like a Tutorial or a walkthru about how to configure properties (stats), illustrations (images) and layering everything...?
Sorry, I don't know of any such tutorials (it has been long enough since I first learned it that I don't remember what resources I used, and I think a lot of it was trial and error and looking at existing templates).
However, there is a program for designing MSE templates; MSE Designer v0.3. I use it to get started and then modify the code from there. It won't let you generate any of the REALLY fancy features of MSE, but it should get you started with a simple template:
http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/node/8141
One important thing to note when using this software is that for some unknown reason it miscodes the background color (card background in the style file) as rgba(255,255,255,255), which is not a legal value. After generating a template, you have to manually change this value to rgb(r,g,b) (for example, rgb(255,255,255)). You cannot use rgba.
Hope this helps.
Edit: There is a second template generator in the link, but I haven't tested it.
All the designers in our group use Cardmaker.
https://www.nhmk.com/tools.php
It's not super user-friendly but it does almost everything. There's a pretty dedicated bgg group to answer questions.
I thought Nandeck was coded in java!
Else is the source code available, you could build your own version if you have a compiler. I ran Nandeck a very long time ago, not sure if I was in windows or in linux back then.
Magic Set Editor is awesome for making magic cards, but making your own card template seems very complicated. I have not explored it.
Did anybody tried making their own template?
I managed to compile Magic Set Editor on linux and with a lot of struggling, it worked.
You have to go into the scripting language, but you can apparently change everything in MSE.
Did anybody tried making their own template?
Yeah @Ananda uses it... He pointed out a "Designer" tool for creating your own templates. According to him, it's a bit buggy ... but when you fix the erroneous line, it should work. Here is the link again:
http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/node/8141
From that page you can DOWNLOAD the "Designer" and another tool used for Scripting. Anyways I'm sure you can BUILD all these tools. I'm just downloading and using version 2.00 with the 0.3 designer version.
Cheers! Happy Designing too!!!
On BGG, they said that NannDeck was developped in Delphi with proprietary libraries where the cost could reach 2000$.
This is why, there is no open source code, because nobody would be willing to pay that amount of money.
Nand posts here, so you can probably just ask her :)
For anyone still looking, Paperize is a great free tool.
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Thank you to those who have commented! I really appreciate the resources you've provided!