Buy Now or Wait for FGU?

[Arakiel]

Hey Folks, I am interested in hearing your arguments for purchasing FG now rather then waiting for FGU to come out. From what I have read, FGU is due sometime this year and I am not keen on dropping $150 on FG today and having to drop an additional $X when FGU comes out soon(tm).

So let me have it. Why should I lay out the cash now AND later and not just wait until later?

-A

[Trenloe]

Welcome to the forums.

This topic has been recently discussed here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?41972-Buy-perm-license-or-wait

There is not date set for the Unity release. If you want to use Fantasy Grounds any time in the next few months then get the license now.

There has been no pricing structure set for the Unity release either - but SmiteWorks have frequently said that any upgrade fee will be scaled based on how long you've had your old license - less time, less money.

[Nylanfs]

Welcome to the forums and FG community

A) Doug said "may"

and B) They has said previously that it will some type of sliding scale pricing so that the people that just bought in will pay a small nominal upgrade (if any, while those of us that have gotten the most use out of it will pay the most.

[mrgrey]

FGU might come out next year, but honestly I'm not holding my breath. When it does, the upgrade fee will be "pay what you want" to an extent.

Other than that, what do you plan to use it for? If you just plan on playing, then quite a few GMs already have an ultimate license that lets you play for free. If you plan on running games, then a fair number of users have a standard license, meaning that you only need the standard license to run games for them. I only picked up the ultimate license because I specifically wanted to run games on Fantasy Grounds for people who were unlikely to have the money to buy a standard license, and I did so long after I first picked up the standard license. I mean, $150 is a lot of money to drop in one go, I completely agree. $40? That's a lot more reasonable. It's also worth noting that you only need to buy rules stuff for games you plan to run - in games where you're a player, the GM can share access to their rulebooks.

The other thing to remember is that all the stuff you buy for regular Fantasy Grounds will also work on FGU - that compatibility is one of the major design goals.

In short, I'd say it's worth picking up a standard license and a single ruleset for the rough cost of a new video game if you want to run games; if you'd rather just play, then you can generally get away with just using the free version. Only pick up the ultimate version if you're planning to get your money's worth out of it.

[Trenloe]

...if you'd rather just play, then you can generally get away with just using the free version.
I wouldn't rely on this. There are a lot of GMs who have an Ultimate license, but there are many more who only have a standard license. Sure, you can try and find only games where the GM has an Ultimate license, but that will definitely limit your options.

[LordEntrails]

Why buy it if you are not going to use it? And of course, if you are going to use it now, then buy it now. The longer you wait to buy it, the less value you will get from it.

So, if you want the benefits today of the best VTT available , buy it today if you can. I seen no benefit to waiting an unknown amount of time for FGU.

[Jay_NOLA]

I'd go with a standard license unless you plan to run several of the games that are in the ultimate license and you want the extras it has. You can also watch for sales to buy Fantasy Grounds or upgrade to an ultimate.

Have you tried out the Demo version. Before you do anything try out the demo.

One other thing to consider is to know others mentioned are you looking to run games for players who don't have Fantasy Grounds. If your looking to get several friends to play via Fantasy Grounds who don't have the program go Ultimate. They are most likely going to just want to get the free version.

Don't hold off waiting for the new Unity version. No release date as was stated has been announced and it still is going to need beta testing and that hasn't even started yet. I wouldn't expect to see it for another year or two.

[Trenloe]

I'd go with a standard license unless you plan to run several of the games that are in the ultimate license and you want the extras it has.
Just to be *very* clear here - the Ultimate license does not come with anything extra compared to the standard license - be it games, RPG systems, DLC products or anything else. It comes with *exactly* the same as the Standard license.

The only difference between standard and ultimate is that ultimate allows demo/free (unlicensed) players from joining the their game.

[JohnD]

Goodness... buy now! Think of all the gaming you'll be missing out on if you wait.