GURPS Magic (OT, probably not FOSS)

[trent shipley]

(((
My real questions are:

* Is this too much to bite off as a first project?
* What architecture advice do you have?
* What political advice for dealing with the author and publisher do you
have?
* What other advice do you have?
* What other comments do you have?
)))


I use a role-playing system called GURPS 4ed, which has a reputation for
being enormously complex and crunchy.

The default magic system certainly is more calculation intensive than
D&D5's.  Mostly because it's based on spending points from a pool to power
spells, and because acquiring new spells involves a complex network of
categorically distinct prerequisites.

I want to construct a play aid which will have the following features:

* Given my current spell prerequisites, what spells can I acquire next?
More generally, what spells can I acquire in N more layers of the spell
prerequisite graph?  (Output is tabular)

* Given the character's current state, and the fact I want to get a cool
spell X,  what paths lead to X? There is the obvious derivative, optimizing
for A, what are the most optimal paths to X.  (Output is graphs with drill
down.)

* Integration with GURPS Character Assistant 5, which is, alas, proprietary
and witten in VB.net is needed.  GCA5 only runs on Windows.  (You get
around it by running a virtual Windows guest on your Mac or Linux host ...
Or just running it on Windows.)  Everyone in my group uses GCA4 or GCA5 if
they use automated character management at all so--

The magic system network assistant needs to interface with GCA5 as
effectively as possible, especially since the source books are stored in a
semistructured, machine readable format (I *think* they transitioned to
JSON), and character stats, advantages, and disadvantages can be critical
prerequisites for spells.

* It needs to have an adequate GUI (preferably consistent, or even
integrated with GCA5).


I know I'd rather not work in the dying VB.Net language.  C# would
therefore be the obvious choice.  I'd rather work in Scala, Python, or Java
(in that order).  I know just enough Prolog to know it is almost directly
applicable to this problem's backend, but I would spend forever getting
competent with Prolog, and then no one else would be able to maintain it.
F# guts plus a C# outer layer might be a reasonable compromise.

I haven't yet contacted Steve Jackson Games, the publisher, or the GCA
author, Armin D. Sykes.  GCA5 is currently selling for $16.00, but I think
they let you install it as often as you want on your own computers.  At any
rate, I'm not optimistic SJG, in particular, would like to open their
proprietary creative content in the form of data sheets for rule and source
books through an insecure interface.  I'm thinking for that reason they
wouldn't like a Python or scripted solution, or an open source app.

My real questions are:

* Is this too much to bite off as a first project?
* What architecture advice do you have?
* What political advice for dealing with the author and publisher do you
have?
* What other advice do you have?
* What other comments do you have?
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