Unfortunately, there are no really good open-source alternatives out there for generating an army list. Until there is (don't look at me, I've got enough on my plate to last me a pretty good while), I have decided to put my 5th edition codices into a spreadsheet.
Using Open Office, I've developed a template that will accommodate the entire army list - including weapons, wargear, and rules (complete with page numbers). The goal was to find a way to represent as much, if not more, data than Army Builder provided. Additionally, I wanted to try and get the entire list on a single sheet of paper - stats and point costs on one side, wargear and rules on the other.
The Wargear and Special Rules use a simple code reference system to save space. It's not quite as useful as actually having it spelled out for you on the paper, but I'm of the opinion that it's more for a opponent's reference, since a player should already know what special rules affect his army.
Give it a whirl and let me know if it works as a tool for army building, if there are any errors I missed, or what changes might enhance its usefulness. Enjoy!
Codex: Orks Template (Mediafire, .ods)
Next up: Blood Angels! (nearly finished)
UPDATE (6-3-10): I made some additions and format changes to the spreadsheet - mainly to the Reference page. Calling it version 1.3
Thank you Thank you thank you! As a Mac user I have not been able to find a port for Army Builder that works. I hope this will be a viable solution.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found it useful!
ReplyDeleteThat encourages me to get the (nearly done, but put on hold) Blood Angel spreadsheet finished.
awesome spreadsheet. I hope you get the time and interest to do one for the new Dark Eldar codex
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Eldar spreadsheet is almost done. The most tedious part is getting the weapons/equipment/special rules codes put with the army list.
ReplyDeletesweet! I've got most of the orc info input now. I think I see what you are going for, spreadsheets are not my forte but it is a good opportunity to work on that.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I looked at the Ork spreadsheet - I think I forgot to put the codes in for it. Definitely check out the Blood Angels spreadsheet if you get confused/frustrated - I know I put them in there, and will definitely have them in the DE sheet.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could include all the stats and descriptions. But, if you know GW at all, you know they'd be down on me so fast you'd think someone had called in an Exterminatus.