Floating License

[Macgreine]

Is it possible to buy a floating lite license or two to invite people to try FG2, if the GM is using a full license?

[Griogre]

Currently FG doesn't have floating licenses. If you have the ultimate license then anyone can join the game though. The full license can be upgraded to an ulitimate license.

[Macgreine]

Thats too bad. I have some friends who i game with in play by post. I wanted to introduce to Fg. I cant do the $115 upgrade. It would be nice to have an extra license or two that people could try it out before they purchase. Maybe we can try something on roll d20 instead. Thanks.

[Griogre]

Bear in mind the demo allows two connections so you could use it to show off FG. The full license can run demos in demo mode as well. Every VTT has its strengths and weaknesses. FG's stengths are it has a very close to face to face feeling and is character sheet-centric with low data input.

However, FG doesn't have floating licenses and dynamic fog of war for the map. In addition to Roll D20 you should check out MapTool which is free and has a good developer.

[Macgreine]

Cool. Thanks for the info.

[Macgreine]

By the way is there a reason why the developers of FG2 are opposed to making floating licenses available? Is it a difficult thing to do or is it a marketing strategy or something?

[tdewitt274]

The majority of software licenses are designed for one PC. Since most licenses (ex, Office, video games, etc) is purchased by the individual, having them cart around a license key would be difficult. Assigning the key to a "User ID" would require an internet connection, which Fantasy Grounds can work without.

One option that I'm not sure has been mentioned would be to "gift" a license to another individual with a forum User ID. A GM would buy multiple light and designate these to specific forum IDs. The recipient would gain the license, but at the expense of the person buying it. I'm sure this is one of the reasons the Ultimate license was created.

[Macgreine]

I am not saying that you would hand out a key to players. It would work like the ultimate license but would limit the additional unlicensed players to the "floating" lite licenses that the DM has purchased rather than to unlimited player seats.

[JohnD]

I'd imagine that would be quite difficult to administer.

Instead of; Demo, Lite, Full, Ultimate license versions, you'd have; Demo, Lite, Full, Full +1, Full +2, Full +3, Full +4, ... , Ultimate.

At some point buying these extra "floating" licenses, you'd get to the same cost as just upgrading to Ultimate.

Would be a massive PITA on the back end I'd imagine.

[Macgreine]

Lets say the DM has a full license. If he could purchase two additional lite licenses for $50 he could always have 2 seats available at his table for people without a license. I think its an excellent way to introduce people to the game without the gm having to shell out $115 bucks.
I am not a programmer but I would assume its almost the same as someone purchasing an ultimate license only limiting the number of unlicensed players a GM could host.

[damned]

no licensing model will work for everyone perfectly...
fantasy grounds is imho pretty darn good value whichever licensing model you choose.
remember that this product is continuously updated and to date - they have never charged for new versions. not many products like that out there.

[Macgreine]

Oh please don't get me wrong Damned I am not criticizing FG or anyone for that matter. I think its a wonderful way to play with people all over the world. Otherwise I wouldn't be interested in sharing it :) I was just being curious.

As a matter of fact I like it so much that I am willing to spend the time posting here. I never said it wasn't an excellent value and you don't have to sell me on it. I'm sold.

[Trenloe]

Currently, the lite license is linked to one user. Giving out floating licenses would require a change to the licensing model code.

But, I think there could be room for coding for full +X licenses. The GM (with the full +X license) has paid for their full license and a +X lite license addition, costing somewhere between the full and the ultimate license. They can have X unlicensed players and then any number of lite, full or ultimate players connect.

I think this is a good middle ground between a full and ultimate license. Administer it like an ultimate license (the GM has to be able to connect to an FG server to verify their license code), but limit the number of unlicensed connections.

Not knowing the underlying license code in FG I don't know if this is possible, but it sounds similar to an ultimate but with unlicensed connection limits.

[Doswelk]

The Ultimate license is a new solution that was provided when people wanted to be able to use FGII without having to buy a license to use it.

The Ulimate license was the solution they came up with that gave the ability for players to play without having to pay and at the same time try and minimize piracy / need for a dedicated server to run FGII.

After all of that has been said the group I play with were happy to buy licenses to allow us to continue role playing together over any distance (without even trying it out), but I know some people can be more frugal with their money (I certainly should be!)

I would say try out the demo version /full version in demo mode with these people and see if they are happy to buy a bit of software that means they can role-play with anyone in the world (if they want to) for $24 (ignoring any discount options)

If you need more incentive, currently the planning of FGII Con II is underway, this was three days of role-playing using FGII and was a lot of fun last year, I think the date will be end of May so that will give them the ability to role-play for 72 hours (more I think in reality) for the cost of their lite license.

Anyhow I've gone one far too long, I hope you and your friends find a tool that fulfills your needs (whichever product it is) and you enjoy your time RPGing - which after all, this is what it is all about!

[Greygor]

As we are discussing licensing it's time for a newbie to join in and reveal his ignorance.

Full License: I have this installed on my home PC. This is where I'll be hosting my games. However when designing Campaigns/Modules it would be useful to be able to do that on my laptop, I'm assuming this is not allowed.

Full License: I can GM or Play but if another player wanted to connect they would need a license, correct?

Additional Licenses: Do I as the GM purchase these to allow a player to connect or does my players purchase these so they can connect to me or anyone else who is GM'ing?

Ultimate License: Anyone whose downloaded the installer can connect to me whether or not they have a license, right?

Sorry if these seem obvious, but on the basis that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask I'll risk it :)

[damned]

1. It is a technical violation of the license however the developers have stated in this forum that providing it is not abused they dont mind this type of use of the software. Many people here do something similar.
2. Yep
3. If you buy the licenses all at the same time you get some good savings - but once you allocate a license to another person it belongs to them and should not be transferred to another person. Players can buy their own, you can buy them for them or you can all pool your $$ and buy it together.
4. Yes - as a GM anyone with or without a license can join games hosted by you. This only applies to games hosted by the ultimate license. If you join a game as a player, with an ultimate license, your ultimate license doesnt extend to other players - only when you are hosting a game....

[Greygor]

1. It is a technical violation of the license however the developers have stated in this forum that providing it is not abused they dont mind this type of use of the software. Many people here do something similar.
2. Yep
3. If you buy the licenses all at the same time you get some good savings - but once you allocate a license to another person it belongs to them and should not be transferred to another person. Players can buy their own, you can buy them for them or you can all pool your $$ and buy it together.
4. Yes - as a GM anyone with or without a license can join games hosted by you. This only applies to games hosted by the ultimate license. If you join a game as a player, with an ultimate license, your ultimate license doesnt extend to other players - only when you are hosting a game....

Thank's very much, nice to know I understood more than I thought.

Point 1 was useful to know, your taken on trust and it's down to you not to abuse it. That seems fair.

[damned]

I dont think the system will let you connect both machines to games at the same time...

[Greygor]

I dont think the system will let you connect both machines to games at the same time...

I assumed that, I was purely thinking of using the laptop as a creator. It wouldn't be connected to the internet anyway. Just building Adventures.

The PC at home is the only 1 to be used for connection and running actual games.

Is that what you were meaning?

[damned]

yes - even being connected to internet is not an issue - you just cant use both machines in a game at the same time...
prepping on one and playing on the other has unofficially been given the thumbs up.

[Greygor]

yes - even being connected to internet is not an issue - you just cant use both machines in a game at the same time...
prepping on one and playing on the other has unofficially been given the thumbs up.

Cool, that's what I wanted the option to do. Both instances would definitely NOT be on at the same time.

[JohnD]

Hey Greygor - lots of people use that same setup... I know I do and everything works fine.

Oh and welcome to FG.

[Greygor]

Hey Greygor - lots of people use that same setup... I know I do and everything works fine.

Oh and welcome to FG.


Thanks, I did look for a welcome thread to intro myself but couldn't see one. Probably missed it.

[Macgreine]

I am still interested in floating licenses if you decide to do it. I have no interest in the ultimate license but i have fifty bucks for two floaters. Thanks, Mac