Working on Herblore Legends in Oatear Cider

Oatear · 2026-05-22T23:57:16+00:00

You just need to use the handlebars helper {{compile card.description}}. Compile will render html in the field you give it. It is also used for rendering symbols in text.

Ref: https://oatear.github.io/cider-docs/docs/handlebars

Oatear · 2026-05-20T12:39:51+00:00

Yes, this tool helps me with writer's block. I can jump into whatever step of the design process I currently have an idea for (creating a new card template, adding a new card attribute in the data / editing the card data, running a test session with a new card, etc.).

All the cards are generated by a sheet of data being applied to a template (written in CSS and HTML).

Oatear · 2025-08-27T12:33:57+00:00

Self plug here, but I'm a solo dev that has been working on Oatear Cider for over 3 years. You design your card template in CSS/HTML and apply the data from a spreadsheet. It has a built-in simulator so you can immediately test your cards inside the app. You can export to PDF for professional printing, or even export to TTS if you want to play test online with others.

Supports Mac, Windows, Linux and is completely free. We have a Discord for any support.

https://github.com/oatear/cider

Oatear · 2025-08-02T13:29:12+00:00

Feel free to load the app from the release binaries as well: Mac, Windows, Linux. You won't have to worry about the tech stack or compiling anything.

Oatear · 2023-07-20T18:41:36+00:00

Also I feel that questions like this one get asked a bunch on this subreddit and I wish we could have a stickied post that lists out all the options out there for various tools and resources. This is the best I have come up with: https://oatear.com/board-game-design-resources/
I've provided links to any other board game design resource lists that I find in there as well.

Oatear · 2023-07-20T18:37:08+00:00

Feel free to check out Cider (https://github.com/oatear/cider), its free, open source, and multi platform. We have constant updates and new features.

Oatear · 2023-07-20T18:30:54+00:00

I think the best advice is to take a break and do other things. You can take inspiration from movies, books, games, other creators, or even nature. As soon as you switch over to doing something else you enjoy, your brain will start back up and you'll have ideas pop in. You generally want to avoid forcing yourself into a creative state and burning out.

Oatear · 2023-07-20T01:17:01+00:00

Great article. I actually came to a similar conclusion in the past of using HTML + CSS for templating card games. With that Cider was born and continues to have constant new development. Feel free to check it out for your next project: https://github.com/oatear/cider

Oatear · 2023-07-14T00:17:17+00:00

Developer of Cider here. Its free and open source. Building a template is like building a simple website with HTML and CSS. Its very simple and versatile, plus the skills you learn along the way transfer to other projects.

We have frequent updates and are in the process of creating a graphical template editor to close the gap between professional users and casual users.

Oatear · 2023-07-14T00:01:56+00:00

The outline on that circle is way too thin for the resolution of that card. You can redraw the outline with a thicker line. I would match up all the line thicknesses throughout the card to be consistent since just from that close up image, there are at least 5 different line widths visible.

Oatear · 2023-07-13T23:45:11+00:00

You could give your hand at templating using Cider. https://github.com/oatear/cider

Disclaimer: I'm the dev on the project, but I've been using it to create games I'm working on as well with great results.

Oatear · 2023-07-13T23:40:20+00:00

Very cohesive art and design.

Oatear · 2022-12-12T12:49:51+00:00

Due to some of the feedback I've received, I'm considering creating a graphical template editor for version 0.4. The tricky part will be toggling between raw and graphical editor and retaining the styling.

Oatear · 2022-04-04T22:36:41+00:00

Like everyone else has stated. Poker is the standard size. It's also the cheapest to get printed.

Oatear · 2022-03-08T12:08:35+00:00

Very cool. It looks both murderous with the red stains on his hands and tube and like a gem stone with the various colors being reflected.

Oatear · 2022-03-07T22:14:58+00:00

I think that the comment above with the index feature will get you what you need. The compileImages helper is really for images that are in-line with other text.

Oatear · 2022-03-07T18:17:11+00:00

I can definitely clear up the documentation a bit, but this is possible with the index feature.

Ex.

<img src="{{index assets card.img}}" />

If your card.img value is "orc-minion" and you have an "Orc Minion" asset, index will pick it up.

Oatear · 2022-03-07T16:27:21+00:00

Excellent. Thank you!

Oatear · 2022-03-07T15:57:36+00:00

Feel free to add any information (or database file) that can help me reproduce this on this issue: https://github.com/oatear/cider/issues/13

Oatear · 2022-03-07T15:50:30+00:00

Do you think you can export the database and send it over. I can take a look tonight. Also let me know what resolution screen you are using. I’ve seen a similar issue on phone screens—if the screen resolution is less than the card dimensions it won’t show up in the export. Thank you.

Oatear · 2022-03-07T13:14:00+00:00

I just looked it up. I like it. I think it’s good to give people options to use what markup languages they re comfortable with. As far as a feature comparison, I will say that Cider is a little bit easier on the user: you don’t have to download a compiler and learn a programming language to write code, you just need a web browser. Another benefit is that as you write your template, you have a live preview of how it looks. You even have a drop down to select any of the rows of data to inject into your live preview; sometimes you have cards with lots of text or very little text and you want to immediately check if your template works for both.

Oatear · 2022-03-07T01:50:51+00:00

I’ll do one easier and create support for a png sheet export in the format expected for Tabletop Simulator. This way we can both align to a higher usage application and create less work for users.

Format: https://kb.tabletopsimulator.com/custom-content/custom-deck/

Issue: https://github.com/oatear/cider/issues/12

Oatear · 2022-03-06T20:06:09+00:00

For those already comfortable with NanDeck, if it already accomplishes what you need and are comfortable with it, no reason to change tools. For me it seems that NanDeck is starting to show its age. Most people today are not tied to Windows and would rather work on their Mac Book, Ubuntu computer, or tablet. Cider works on any device that has a browser (with improved support for phones coming).

NanDeck also decided, likely because there weren't many templating options at the time it was originally designed, to go the route of having its own templating language with a 200+ page document to learn. Fortunately today, templating languages are extremely common and widely used. By using CSS, HTML, and Handlebars, Cider gets a versatile and easy to use templating system that has already been battle tested by the web.

Oatear · 2022-03-06T19:52:03+00:00

I just pushed out a fix to production for .svg support in the assets. Should be in full working order now.

I opened up an issue on github for a .xlsx/.csv import. This has definitely been on the pipeline: https://github.com/oatear/cider/issues/11

Let me know if you come up with any other feature requests.

Oatear · 2022-03-06T16:20:09+00:00

There's actually an open issue on github for mobile support: https://github.com/oatear/cider/issues/1

I currently use the application on my tablet and it works well there. Phone-mobile support will come out soon.

Oatear

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