If you’ve followed along with the latest news updates it will come as no surprise to you that I will no longer be continuing the project in it’s current form. I would have liked to continue to dedicate more time to my project but I am not able to do so in the same capacity. This has been a wild year, and with some changes that are out of my hands I am making these decisions. There are still uncertainties for me which is why I am not discontinuing the entire project, but instead postponing the development indefinitely. The concrete changes are listed below.
While I would like to create a new version of Aurora, at this point I can’t give guarantees. It’s best to reiterate that it’s not something that would be happening anytime soon and that is something you should take into account if you only want make a donation to the project for future possibilities instead of the work that has been done in the past few years. Once I have processed the upcoming changes I will continue to work on the Aurora Studio (details below). I had already started to work on this and it is something I would like to finish.
In time I will explore other possibilities and do other things I’ve wanted to do over the past few years but never really had time for while pouring all of my time into creating this project. Should anything come from this, beyond demo projects, it will likely be developed in public. So should you be interested, you can always follow my GitHub account here. Also, should I ever decide to create a new version of Aurora, it would be done in the form of an open source project.
I’ve always wanted to create a large project by myself and this project has been a great learning process for me these last few years. I’ve learned a lot about how to do certain things, and also what not to do in the future. The contact information will stay available for a while for any questions and comments.
I hope you enjoy(ed) using Aurora and take care!
Aurora – Development Postponed Indefinitely
The current version (1.0.3) of Aurora will remain available for download for as long as possible but will not receive updates.
Going by the results of the recent survey, the software works perfectly fine for most of you, and will still be usable when it’s no longer supported. This is also one of the reasons while it will still remain available for anyone who happens to find it after today, and it may just inspire another developer to create a brand new character builder in the future.
When you find that the software in its current state doesn’t meet your needs I encourage you to use other tools that do.
Content Repository (on GitHub) – Discontinued, Archived
In an attempt to avoid more take down requests in the future the public content repository is currently archived and will not receive updates. While you can currently still include the archived content as normal this will most likely not be for long.
A simplified archive of the content is available for download from the Patreon page and stay available as long as it can. This can replace the current content and is decoupled from the repository to avoid possible future issues when files are removed permanently. Should I create some more content for myself that is worth sharing, I will update the archive there accordingly.
Aurora Studio – (Development Continues)
This is a tool to create content files (xml) for Aurora using a user interface instead of creating content files only using a text editor. You will be able to create new content files or open (multiple) exiting files and change them. The idea is that there will be wizards that allow you to easily create content step by step and edit details later.
Once I have processed the upcoming changes I will continue to work on the Aurora Studio. I had already started to work on this and it is something I would like to finish for those who support & supported the project.
Discord – Changes Reflecting Project State
There will be changes in the discord server to reflect the changes with the project and repository. While you can still talk about the content from any source this does not necessary apply to the actual content files.
The channels dedicated for the content in the repository (e.g. official, unearthed arcana, third party) will be archived, leaving content channels open for support with bundled content present in the system reference document, personal homebrew content, and generic questions about creating content files.
When you want support with implementing content or share content files that hold copyright I urge you to do so elsewhere or in private as this is no longer be possible.
Do not request, share, or post links to copyrighted content files, pirated content or resources, or mention pirated resources by name.
The discord server’s main focus is on support for the character builder and creating content files. I highly recommend you join the Discord of Many Things for all general Dungeons & Dragons 5e related needs such as discussions about the game, characters, rules, worldbuilding, and homebrew.
Thank You for using Aurora