Item Cards QOL

Database
#1

Has anyone ever had the idea of putting a QR code on an item card that gives the item description and mechanics? Just to make it so logistics doesn’t have to write down every single item card every time. Or having a card printer on site and printing a card with the name, description, and mechanics on it than just signing it and putting on the expiration date manually?

With the database becoming a centralized place of information I feel like we could devise a way to save on the labor time of logistics having to spend literal hours writing on small hard to read cards.

#2

The downside to QR is that it would mean phones in the middle of a game, and imo that would be really bad for immersion and such. Also not all sites have reliable internet or cell service (and not all people have reliable or cheap data from their service provider) and people need to be able to know what their items do.
A card printer would be good if it’s possible but that’s also more potential spending for games, printers are finicky as they are, and those cards are hard to write on and still be usable and durable-enough paper (while being relatively cheap). I agree that there might be a way to save time, I’m just not 100% sure what it would be, and I don’t think card printers or especially QR codes are a great idea as you’ve suggested.
I wonder if National might be able to pre-print certain often-used cards and ship those to games, but who’s to say what those would be and how fast they might go through them.

As a side note, I think a great QOL change would be servings of meals marked on item cards instead of each meal being its own card, similar to how scrap and herb currently work. That would definitely help with cutting down on some of the card writing.

2 Likes
#3

I’ll echo Gorramshiny and say that QR codes aren’t really a good solution, though my issue is less with phones coming out at games (I actually would support more phone integration, honestly, since it’s a much easier way to maintain the “live document” element of the ruleset; could do item-DB and rulebook as a phone app to just DL all of it and push updates through the app), and moreso with QR codes requiring an extra step compared to just reading a card.

As a Coord, I am 1000% behind getting card printers, but not because of the amount of work it is for Coord marshals to write the cards but rather ensure consistently written cards, mechanics, etc while keeping them legible. I’ve got tiny handwriting and use draftsman’s script (so that it’s legible and easy to read), but I know a lot of Coord marshals don’t have that skillset, which can make it extremely hard to write out extended mechanics and descriptions on the tiny area that the 3.0 cards allow compared to the 2.0 cards (7 rows on the back for basic, proficient, master, and PFA mechanics). Yes, it takes long, but, imo, accuracy and consistency is the bigger concern as mechanics seem to be getting longer and more complex as new prints come out, especially given that we’re supposed to reference the card for the mechanics rather than having to bring up the item-db constantly (I challenge anyone to fit the new gambling item descriptions on a card in a comprehensive manner; it’s basically impossible while keeping it legible).

A card printer with a nationwide database of “card print docs” would be able to ensure that every card is written with exactly the same description and mechanics while ensuring that it’s a legible font.

1 Like
#4

If only there was a gambling mechanic in the rule set, then half the text on that item could go away. :stuck_out_tongue: