New FG User - No Modules available, not even normal included

[Zguy1217]

I just bought FG and the Ultimate License, tried to start messing with it and creating a campaign. I followed the new user guide and selected my ruleset (4e), and after loading, I get nothing. There's no rulesets in place. When I try to make a character, everything is freeform with no connection to any class information, race information, feats, or anything. All the buttons lead to empty lists with no data or information.

What's going on?

Please advise.

Edit:
I guess nevermind. Over half an hour with zero response from any support team member. I've put in a request for a refund from steam. Perhaps you should consider re-evaluating your Customer Support procedures?

[Zacchaeus]

I don’t know the 4e ruleset terribly well, nor what comes with it. When you start any campaign and select a ruleset that ruleset gets loaded in. The ruleset is simply the structure or rules if you like. To create characters, or encounters or items you need other information which is strored in modules. You need to open those modules in order to access the content. You do that via the Library button. Click it, click modules and you will get a list of what is available. Click the load button beside the module. Back in the main interface clicking any of the buttons will show show a list of what is there be it monsters, items, spells etc. As I say i’n not really sure what comes as standard with the 4e ruleset, but in most cases you would get any OGL content. However in most cases additional content needs to be purchased such as Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual etc. to enable you to create characters and adventures. Alternatively you can enter all of that information manually yourself.

[LordEntrails]

Welcome to the forums. Sorry FG has not yet met your expectations.

Official customer support is actually not provided here on the forums.If you look at the help menu on the homepage you will see offcial support is done through the email address [email protected].

This forum is generally for community support, though the Smitework employees are regulars on here as well.

Next I would ask you to re-consider your expectations for support response time. I do application engineering for a living, and my company and my customer's pay software hundred of thousands and millions of dollars each year just for technical support. And the contracted agreement times are always at least 60 minutes, if not 2-12 hours. So I'm not sure why you would be upset without a response in 30 minutes, nor am I aware of any software support that would respond with anything but an automated in that time frame.

To address your issue; A rule set is not a set of rule books. A rule set is the mechanics of a game system. This is represented in the character sheet, NPC sheets, and that the system knows that an attack roll is compared to an armor class, and whether it is a hit or miss. Rule books are classes, feats, races, items etc and are what you apparently are looking for and thought was included with an FG license.

Rule books (except as noted below) are not included in a FG license. All rule books, adventures, and other "content" is done in separate DLC content. A FG Ultimate license does not include any additional DLC over a Standard license. Their are some free/included rule books with any FG license. This includes the 5E SRD and the D&D 5E Basic Rules (both of which are available free in pdf form and SW has a license to include free with FG). Their are also some 3/3.5/PF SRD content available in FG in the forums here (since they have been converted to FG and can be distributed under the OGL and Community License agreements that pertain to them).

Since you appear to be interested in 4th Edition D&D, I will state right now that no rule books or other content of 4E have never been licensed for digital formats. Therefore you will not be able to purchase, download or distribute 4E FG content. You will find though that their is a community program that will download and convert some information if you have a DDI subscription and convert into FG modules for you. See; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?17485-4E-Item-Parser

[JohnD]

Half an hour? Yowzers that's a hell of a service level to meet (!).

Lord Entrails has it right - WotC has not licensed 4e content so you will have to assemble your own for FG and, indeed, any other brand of vtt you may look at.

[dberkompas]

I have a sneaky suspicion that the OP could be the Blue guy we've seen a few times in the past.


Dave

[Zguy1217]

LordEntrails,

I am grateful to you for telling me the truth when the Steam description says otherwise. I'm also glad that my gut told me to request a refund when I did.

As to your expectations of customer support, I won't argue with your own protocols, but I work in CS for a company that responds to all Customer Requests in under 5 minutes if they come by email, and in under 2 rings when they come by phone. It is not unreasonable to expect a simple response of "We see your message, and we're going to look into this" in a timely manner. Maybe I'm spoiled by the expectations my company provides for its customers, but apparently it benefitted me this time around.

I honestly don't know what level of connection you have to the creators of this program or those members of their staff who decide on the phrasing of the marketing information provided on Steam, but I'd really recommend altering the "About This Game" section remove 4th Edition from its description - since no content is actually available, contrary to what is currently listed there.

[Andraax]

I see nothing incorrect about the description on Steam. It says the 4E ruleset is included, and it is.

[LordEntrails]

LordEntrails,

I am grateful to you for telling me the truth when the Steam description says otherwise. I'm also glad that my gut told me to request a refund when I did.

As to your expectations of customer support, I won't argue with your own protocols, but I work in CS for a company that responds to all Customer Requests in under 5 minutes if they come by email, and in under 2 rings when they come by phone. It is not unreasonable to expect a simple response of "We see your message, and we're going to look into this" in a timely manner. Maybe I'm spoiled by the expectations my company provides for its customers, but apparently it benefitted me this time around.

I honestly don't know what level of connection you have to the creators of this program or those members of their staff who decide on the phrasing of the marketing information provided on Steam, but I'd really recommend altering the "About This Game" section remove 4th Edition from its description - since no content is actually available, contrary to what is currently listed there.
I am a customer and user of FG. I have never been paid by SmiteWorks or received compensation of any form from them. Nothing special about me, I'm just one of many users who try to help others understand and use FG.

As I said earlier, these forums are not the formal request mechanism for support. Sorry you thought otherwise. If you would like to suggest that SmiteWorks changes description on the Steam product page, I suggest you reach out to them directly via the support mechanism ([email protected]). Discussion here is unlikely to draw the official consideration you would like.

I suspect your concern or misunderstanding comes from this section (emphasis mine);

Fantasy Grounds comes pre-loaded with Rulesets supporting compatible play for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, Dungeons & Dragons 4E, Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (R). Additional Rulesets are available for free and for purchase from our Workshop. The 3.5E, 5E and PFRPG rulesets are good places to start for new GMs and for people new to Fantasy Grounds. These Rulesets come pre-loaded with some basic Library modules full of abilities, spells, monsters and items that have been marked as Open Gaming Content (OGC) by their respective copyright holders. The 5E ruleset contains all the content from the D&D Basic Rules for D&D fifth edition.

So reading this, the first two bolded parts indicate that FG supports play of D&D 4E. Which it does as discussed in my prior post. The second two bolded parts need to be taken together, and this indicates that 3.5E, 5E, and PF come with basic modules. But, 4E does not (because 4E never had any content released under an SRD/OGL/OGC).

I'm sure if you reach out directly to SW with a the text of a paragraph that you feel more clearly makes this distinction they will be sure to consider it.

If you do look to reconsider and purchase in teh future, I would suggest you consider the FG Store here on the website, rather than being limited by Steam's 2 hour return/refund policy, everything in the store here has a 30 day money back guarantee. Which obviously gives you a lot more time to evaluate.

Good gaming to you, and if you do have more questions that the community can help with, please let us know.

[dberkompas]

Seriously, can we close this thread.

The OP obviously has no interest in getting any help, only wants to complain. Like I said, I suspect it's the Blue guy that comes and says the same thing, except this
time he's not saying he's spent $1500 on the product.


Dave

[Trenloe]

@Zguy1217 - I'm sorry your expectations of support levels from a small, niche software company weren't met. I appreciate that the Steam refund policy of 2 hours probably didn't help your need for a fast response.

I assume that the reasons why you purchased Fantasy Grounds in the first place are still valid - i.e. to play RPGs systems online with your friends.

If so, and you're interested in 4E in particular, you can get a one month subscription to D&D Insider and use the excellent 4E parser here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?17485-4E-Item-Parser This will give you basically all the 4E content from D&D Insider in FG module format - more than you'll reasonably ever need!

[Trenloe]

Seriously, can we close this thread.

The OP obviously has no interest in getting any help, only wants to complain. Like I said, I suspect it's the Blue guy that comes and says the same thing, except this
time he's not saying he's spent $1500 on the product.
I don't think this is the case. There'd be way more asterisks in the post if it was him. Let's give the benefit of the doubt here.

If the OP is still interested in Fantasy Grounds, I'm sure there's plenty of help and information we can still provide.

[damned]

I suspect that the OP is Chinese and many Chinese companies (much, much larger than this company) do indeed have 5min support response times.
Many also do not.
Most Western companies - especially small ones - are not able to meet those response times for a multitude of reasons.

The game includes what it claims to include however there may have been a misunderstanding as to what some of the terms used mean.
You can download the demo and have almost the same experience without committing to a purchase so you have more time to assess the product.