Why STEAM? ...and Paizo, for that matter?

[connivingsumo]

I am trying to figure out why I would bother buying FG DLC on STEAM? My friends, who know less about FG than I do (I'm currently proselytizing), suggest buying things on STEAM because then you can "share your library with your STEAM friends." I assured them that would not work like it does with their video games because you sync your STEAM account with FG account. I told them - because of the syncing - I don't think you can run around "sharing your FG book bundle" you bought on STEAM with your STEAM friends?

So... if that's true, why bother with STEAM? I want 100% of the money to go to FG peeps, not STEAM, so why would I purchase via STEAM; what's the advantage? Why sync to Paizo, for that matter? *I've not researched my Paizo question*

In attempt to answer my own question, and straighten out my friends, I went 'key-word searching STEAM' here, but this was all I found:

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?44387-Can-I-buy-on-steam-then-use-without-steam&highlight=STEAM

[Talyn]

Some people just like to keep their purchases on Steam, so there's that. Note that Fantasy Grounds is not a "Steam app" however; it only uses Steam as a wrapper. For non-US customers, however, Steam quite often is able to garner more inexpensive rates than PayPal can via the FG Store so many international customers prefer that. As for purchases, the two stores are separate and do not talk to each other. (The main thing to pay attention to that one is for the Bundles, otherwise you're free to mix-and-match DLC from either store.)

As for Paizo, when they licensed, they setup a deal where if you already own a PDF from the Paizo store, you get that amount deducted off the price of the DLC. That also works vice-versa: if you purchase a DLC, you get the PDF added to your Paizo account for free.

Personally, as a US customer (the VAT rates are not a factor) I prefer to give the small team at SmiteWorks the full percentage so I buy from the FG Store. Valve already makes gazillions, they don't need their 30%.

[Bonkon]

Good Day connivingsumo :)
I do not purchase through Steam, but from reading the boards here one of the reasons for purchasing through Steam vs Smiteworks is international purchases.
I personally prefer purchasing direct from Smiteworks as more money goes directly to the company.

I am sure you are correct about sharing, you cannot share any purchased items unless you are running the campaign and allow those connected to your server to used your purchased books. But they can only see/use them when connected to you.


There are many here that can correct me if I am wrong :)

[ddavison]

The Share your Library option won't really work like it does in other games and Fantasy Grounds depends on the 3rd party license key system and username/password for your account. It is against our terms of service to share accounts. I'm not personally a fan of the Share Library feature within Steam for other games either because it locks you out of your library if someone else is using it and/or boots them unceremoniously out even if you start playing a different Steam game from your Library. At least, that is the experience I have had using it to share my library with my 12 year old son.

As others have stated, though, there are reasons to buy on Steam instead of here.
1) You like everything to show up in your library on Steam instead of keeping stuff in multiple places
2) You get a discounted purchase for international buyers due to differences in exchange rates on Steam versus PayPal
3) You don't like to use PayPal

We generally try to match sales. Whenever we put something on sale on Steam, we put it on sale here as well. The bundles should be the same as well.

[connivingsumo]

Some people just like to keep their purchases on Steam, so there's that. Note that Fantasy Grounds is not a "Steam app" however; it only uses Steam as a wrapper. For non-US customers, however, Steam quite often is able to garner more inexpensive rates than PayPal can via the FG Store so many international customers prefer that. As for purchases, the two stores are separate and do not talk to each other. (The main thing to pay attention to that one is for the Bundles, otherwise you're free to mix-and-match DLC from either store.)

As for Paizo, when they licensed, they setup a deal where if you already own a PDF from the Paizo store, you get that amount deducted off the price of the DLC. That also works vice-versa: if you purchase a DLC, you get the PDF added to your Paizo account for free.

Personally, as a US customer (the VAT rates are not a factor) I prefer to give the small team at SmiteWorks the full percentage so I buy from the FG Store. Valve already makes gazillions, they don't need their 30%.

Thanks, Talyn. That all makes a lot of sense, and I really like the Paizo-exchange thing. So, for me, it sounds like I don't need to do squat with STEAM in the context of FG & FG DLC. I'm going to buy it all here. I do think I'll take advantage of the Paizo syncing, however. I don't own a ton of stuff over @ Paizo, but it'd be nice to have in my FG games if I ever do Pathfinder again.

[connivingsumo]

Good Day connivingsumo :)
I do not purchase through Steam, but from reading the boards here one of the reasons for purchasing through Steam vs Smiteworks is international purchases.
I personally prefer purchasing direct from Smiteworks as more money goes directly to the company.

I am sure you are correct about sharing, you cannot share any purchased items unless you are running the campaign and allow those connected to your server to used your purchased books. But they can only see/use them when connected to you.


There are many here that can correct me if I am wrong :)

Agreed, and I'm really (really!) glad I reached out to this community before buying anything because the point of buying directly from SmiteWorks for their better benefit really speaks to me, so I'll be doing the same. Thanks for the input! :)

[connivingsumo]

The Share your Library option won't really work like it does in other games and Fantasy Grounds depends on the 3rd party license key system and username/password for your account. It is against our terms of service to share accounts. I'm not personally a fan of the Share Library feature within Steam for other games either because it locks you out of your library if someone else is using it and/or boots them unceremoniously out even if you start playing a different Steam game from your Library. At least, that is the experience I have had using it to share my library with my 12 year old son.

As others have stated, though, there are reasons to buy on Steam instead of here.
1) You like everything to show up in your library on Steam instead of keeping stuff in multiple places
2) You get a discounted purchase for international buyers due to differences in exchange rates on Steam versus PayPal
3) You don't like to use PayPal

We generally try to match sales. Whenever we put something on sale on Steam, we put it on sale here as well. The bundles should be the same as well.

ddavison ~ thanks for chiming in on the (STEAM) sharing thing. I don't share accounts with anything, so no danger there, but I was trying to explain how sharing a game library on STEAM isn't the same with FG DLC, so thanks for verifying that.

I don't play a ton of games on STEAM, so keeping it all in one place isn't even a consideration to me; however, with a platform like FG I would really want to keep that content together so I'll just be buying here.

I think by this weekend I'll have an Ultimate License and a few of the 5e DLC.

I appreciate the input, from everyone - thank you.

[lostsanityreturned]

Good choice to buy directly from here :)

And you won't regret your purchase dude. Two years ago I made the full 5e move from roll20 to here and went all in, it resulted in more games and less fuss by an order of magnitutde.

[Nylanfs]

On the Paizo front, they have a 10-year anniversary Humble Bundle (https://www.humblebundle.com/books/pathfinder-10th-anniversary-books?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=pathfinder10_paizo_announce) right now that you can buy for dirt cheap, get those in your Paizo account, then also get the PDF discount in the Smiteworks store. :)

[Nylanfs]

Good choice to buy directly from here :)

And you won't regret your purchase dude. Two years ago I made the full 5e move from roll20 to here and went all in, it resulted in more games and less fuss by an order of magnitutde.

Plus less community drama. :)

[connivingsumo]

Good choice to buy directly from here :)

And you won't regret your purchase dude. Two years ago I made the full 5e move from roll20 to here and went all in, it resulted in more games and less fuss by an order of magnitutde.

Thank you for sharing your experience. This is exactly what I’m doing, so reading experiences and opinions like yours is really helpful.

[connivingsumo]

On the Paizo front, they have a 10-year anniversary Humble Bundle (https://www.humblebundle.com/books/pathfinder-10th-anniversary-books?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=pathfinder10_paizo_announce) right now that you can buy for dirt cheap, get those in your Paizo account, then also get the PDF discount in the Smiteworks store. :)

That sounds great! I hope that HB deal lasts until Friday evening, or I get a chance to check it out at work today. FG pdf discount? I’ll have to check that out, too!



Plus less community drama. :)

It sure seems true so far. Over the last couple of decades I’ve participated in many different hobby communities. Where I only recall one ever being “bad” I can certainly say many had their share of drama & overall disgruntlement.

I’m still a bit shocked at the depth of not only the welcoming, but also the quality of the dialogue. I came here very unsure, but in my posts I’ve received nothing but solid positive vibes and kindness.

[LordEntrails]

That sounds great! I hope that HB deal lasts until Friday evening, or I get a chance to check it out at work today. FG pdf discount? I’ll have to check that out, too!
So any PDF's you buy through Paizo (including the ones in that bundle) get recorded in their store, then when you link your FG and Paizo accounts here on FG and go to buy an FG module of a Paizo PDF that you own, it takes the full price of the Paizo PDF off the price of your FG item.

[connivingsumo]

So any PDF's you buy through Paizo (including the ones in that bundle) get recorded in their store, then when you link your FG and Paizo accounts here on FG and go to buy an FG module of a Paizo PDF that you own, it takes the full price of the Paizo PDF off the price of your FG item.
Oh nice! Ok so for my preference I can skip STEAM all together, but it sounds like I want to sync my Paizo account.

If I buy something here at FG Store that I do not have over at Paizo is there any advantage to then buying said pdf over at Paizo?

[LordEntrails]

If I buy something here at FG Store that I do not have over at Paizo is there any advantage to then buying said pdf over at Paizo?
Only if you want a second PDF copy of it. If you buy a Paizo product on FG here, and you have yoru accounts linked, you will see that you now own the PDF on Paizo's site. i.e. you get the PDF free when you buy the FG module!

[ddavison]

You can do it either way (buy at Paizo first or 2nd) and the result should be basically the same. There is a slight difference on how royalties pay out but they are close enough. In the case of the Humble Bundle, you want to get the PDF at Paizo first and claim the award so it shows up on Paizo.com as you owning the PDF. Then sync it. You don't have to get everything from the bundle here right away, but just backing the basic level will get you several $10 discounts if you ever decide to buy those products here.

[connivingsumo]

Only if you want a second PDF copy of it. If you buy a Paizo product on FG here, and you have yoru accounts linked, you will see that you now own the PDF on Paizo's site. i.e. you get the PDF free when you buy the FG module!

Oh, so almost the opposite of FG-STEAM. Cool ~ thank you.



You can do it either way (buy at Paizo first or 2nd) and the result should be basically the same. There is a slight difference on how royalties pay out but they are close enough. In the case of the Humble Bundle, you want to get the PDF at Paizo first and claim the award so it shows up on Paizo.com as you owning the PDF. Then sync it. You don't have to get everything from the bundle here right away, but just backing the basic level will get you several $10 discounts if you ever decide to buy those products here.
Ok good tip ~ thank you! :)

[GavinRuneblade]

Plus less community drama. :)

But... we're a roleplaying community isn't everything we do a form of improv drama?

Also, now I think a FG theatre troup would be hilarious for the misunderstandings it would cause when we say we have more drama queens than any other VTT. Lol. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

[connivingsumo]

But... we're a roleplaying community isn't everything we do a form of improv drama?

Also, now I think a FG theatre troup would be hilarious for the misunderstandings it would cause when we say we have more drama queens than any other VTT. Lol. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Improv comedy ftw! :D