Starfinder Playlist
Page 3 of 5 First 12345 Last
  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by ddavison View Post
    and it took me a very long time to convert over the Tome of Beasts.
    That would take you minutes with NPC Engineer now

    Maasq
    Engineer Suite
    Import, build or edit NPCs/spells/equipment and then parse them directly into a Fantasy Grounds module.

    Download the latest version from the website.
    Support me by becoming a patron on Patreon.

    Chat directly about issues or suggest features on the
    Discord channel.
    Post issues on the issue tracker on Github.

  2. #22
    ddavison's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    6,123
    Blog Entries
    21
    Tome of Beasts is not just NPC records. Most of the time was in formatting the readable reference manual with embedded images. I believe the stat blocks also need to be reorganized and cleaned up as I went.

  3. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by ddavison View Post
    I hate to have to bump this one up again, but I need to.

    We just had another content creator on Kickstarter who was confused about the process after a fan offered to do the conversion work for them. Please don't do that or speak on our behalf. I realize that everyone wants FG to be everywhere and everything to be on FG, but we absolutely need to get everyone on the same page prior to people offering rewards or unlock levels. Nobody wants a content creator to fill burned if they get contacted after they've already made commitments.
    I was reading an email for a kickstarter campaign I backed and saw that they were claiming issues from Smitworks with giving away their content to us in FG format. Now I have downloade many free adventures, magic item lists, tables, etc from many sources (including these very forums) and thought it was BS, so I sent them a rude comment:

    @Limitless - I think you must be confused! There are thousands of mod's out there for totally free. Maybe you are just accidentally talking to them about it being in their store??? The ability to just download a free .mod file and dump it into our FG directory is something I have been doing for years! How can they know, meter, or ask you for a piece of the action for a file that you just give us and we manually drop in our FG directory?!?!?
    I also have purchased tons of modules, adventures, content add-ons, etc. from GMs guild and Drive thru RPG. Some for $$ and some free. I don't understand the issue.
    In the next email in my mailbox (coincidentally) was this email by SmiteWorks:
    An important note about Kickstarter Projects

    If you see a Kickstarter that is including Fantasy Grounds modules or even using our logo, please confirm in the comments or ask on our forums if this is one that we are working with. There have been numerous cases where creators, in their desire to appeal to a larger community, have used our name and logo without permission. SmiteWorks only allows Kickstarter creators to user our name and logo if we are sure the creators can deliver what they promise and we have come to an arrangement in advance to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Monies have to be exchanged, developers need to be assigned, quality control needs to occur and then awards need to be delivered to consumers at the conclusion of the project.

    We don't go into this lightly and we are probably less likely to support a Kickstarter if we've not already done business with the creator.

    If you are a backer of a Kickstarter and want to suggest that they add a Fantasy Grounds reward that is unlocked, please don't. You can encourage them to reach out to us directly at [email protected].

    SmiteWorks and Fantasy Grounds are not currently sponsoring any Kickstarter projects.
    -- What the heck, SmiteWorks?!?! "If you are a backer of a Kickstarter and want to suggest that they add a Fantasy Grounds reward that is unlocked, please don't"?!?!?!?!!? Way to kill your own community! I can see this if they were expecting YOU to do the conversion for them or if they wanted to sell it in your FG Store, but this is just another format. Heck, I could just take their PDF and Par5e it myself. They also said they were told that if they GIVE the FG files to the backers, they would be on the hook for a percentage of sales that would have been made. Really?!?!

    Doesn't having lots of content HELP the FG community?

  4. #24
    ddavison's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    6,123
    Blog Entries
    21
    Here is the kicker, the modules they are selling are not free. They are essentially selling a PDF and then giving the FG version away for free. Their assumption is that people that get a PDF+FG are willing to pay money only for the PDF portion of the combo and the FG version is essentially worthless. I don't believe they actually think that, but that is basically what is occurring when you give the FG portion away for free but charge money for the original content. Why not sell the FG version and then give the PDF away for free?

    There are a lot of things that *are* free on DMsGuild.com. If people want to offer a PDF and FG version of something as free or pay-what-you-want, then you are welcome to do that. What you can't do is say that a PDF of the content is worth $25, $50 or $75 and the FG version of that is $0. The only place we allow that and give the right to use our logo is strictly through DMsGuild.com. If you publish through DMsGuild, you also agree not to sell or distribute outside of DMsGuild. If you do, then you are in violation of your agreement there.

    Using another company's name and logo in the promotion of your product offering is something that is illegal. Those names and logos bring value in product awareness, legitimacy, etc. It's the same reason that company's launching products can't use the name Dungeons & Dragons on their product. They obviously have way more value than we do, but that is for them to control how other company's can use their name and logos. In this particular case, the folks at Limitless-Adventures added the FG versions, name and logo to their project with no ill-intentions. We reached out to them and discussed the issue and we will be working with them to provide the content in an official capacity after and outside of the KS campaign. They remedied the situation immediately and they wanted to move forward with pursuing conversions in an official capacity.

    We have a menu option under our Help menu on the main page that links to our FAQ about Kickstarters.
    https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...kickstarter3pp

    Limitless-Adventures looked on our Wiki and didn't see that link, so they asked if we could also add it to the wiki under the Developer section where they originally looked. We added it to help avoid any future issues.

  5. #25
    Aloha,
    Thanks for the clarification. I agree that the FG version is the valuable object for me. (they can give away the PDF all they want ;-)

    and I totally understand protecting your logo. They totally blew it on that part. Everyone should know you can't just willy-nilly use logos, especially if it may look like support/endorsement.

  6. #26
    ddavison's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    6,123
    Blog Entries
    21
    After speaking with them, I'm convinced they are good people and capable of delivering a good product. I just want to make sure that we have a chance to review things in advance to ensure that we protect us, them and our customers.

  7. #27
    Myrdin Potter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    East Bay, SF
    Posts
    1,977
    Blog Entries
    4
    AlohaJerry - I just wanted to let you know that I have referred publishers to Doug on a regular basis and 100% feedback has been not only is Doug easy to work with and the standard contract quite reasonable, Smiteworks also has a reputation for paying on time without being chased.

    This warning is important as most Kickstarters are late and take manual work to distribute the files and make sure you get updates. Doug needs to allocate developers where he can and there is a shortage of people able to do robust development. So he is trying to make the user experience as smooth for everyone as possible, especially since the developer may get the files months after they said they could do it and may not actually have the time if the Kickstarter is late.
    Ultimate License. Running Hyperborea and CoC. Asks lots of questions. Mgpotter.com. PureVPN is a tested solution to run games when traveling. https://billing.purevpn.com/aff.php?aff=33044

  8. #28
    ddavison's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    6,123
    Blog Entries
    21
    The 2nd part of that phrase about "please don't" is "You can encourage them to reach out to us directly at [email protected]." We like to form relationships with as many creative people and companies as we can.

  9. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by ddavison View Post
    The 2nd part of that phrase about "please don't" is "You can encourage them to reach out to us directly at [email protected]." We like to form relationships with as many creative people and companies as we can.
    Thanks for explaining this and defusing the situation. I have to admit that when I got the FG/SmiteWorks email, it made me a bit angry. It sounded more like, "if you find a cool product on Kickstarter and would love to see it usable in FantasyGrounds, too bad and shut yo mouth." ;-) Seriously, though, I really thought that the .mod format for using in FG was more open to use and not so much tightly controled dev stuff.

  10. #30
    damned's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    26,649
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by AlohaJerry View Post
    Thanks for explaining this and defusing the situation. I have to admit that when I got the FG/SmiteWorks email, it made me a bit angry. It sounded more like, "if you find a cool product on Kickstarter and would love to see it usable in FantasyGrounds, too bad and shut yo mouth." ;-) Seriously, though, I really thought that the .mod format for using in FG was more open to use and not so much tightly controled dev stuff.
    The .mod format is open and is mostly allowed to be used freely but if there is money being made from it then it requires a license and a revenue split.
    It is easy to overlook or miss that or there are grey areas like the pricing on the /mod being zero but another product having full value etc.
    Looking at it the other way it could be read as SmiteWorks have a license fee for the use of their platform, but they typically waive it if the product is a genuine free, community product.

    Sometimes written words (eg the email) get read in a different way/tone than they were intended etc as well

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
FG Spreadshirt Swag

Log in

Log in