Thread: Princess of the Apocalypse
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July 2nd, 2015, 14:40 #31
That's fair. We have more room for improvements on catching errors. It does go through a lot of back and forth testing and error handling, but obviously things still slip through. The more difficult ones to test for are the ones where FG doesn't recognize the characters and replaces them with gibberish in-game.
The module actually does have many improvements over the physical books though. For instance, the maps are all scaled up to be usable for play instead of as references. All encounters have the tokens pre-placed on the map and the monster stats are placed in-line instead of requiring you to go look them up in the MM. If you've ever done this yourself, you'll know that it takes a lot of time rescaling the maps just right, making DM and player versions, etc. Pre-linking all the story entries is another long process.
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July 2nd, 2015, 15:30 #32
While it would be nice, I feel it would be unreasonable to expect Smiteworks to employ an artist to have the rights to make new royalty free tokens which would all then have to go through a corporate approval at wotc and/or have wizards do so with their tiny staff for a support product which they 3rd partied to not have to deal with other than oversight. And to do this at a price which is less than the book. I am sure a big part of our digital cost goes right back to wizards pocket....
I feel you pay for your time with these products. Not having to manually input all the information yourself is well worth every penny as I can't sit there for 80+ hours doing that and still have time to play (assuming you only have the physical book which you then have to scan yourself and or manually type everything as this is the legal route used for example). The only thing that bugs me is the occasional broken link with story or encounter links that open up a blank page and the spelling/transcription errors, but unlike a lot of companies they are receptive and fix these issues quickly with nothing but kind words. I understand completely what they must go through. Its not like they want to put out a product with errors, it seems they are gamers at heart and I am sure they take ownership of their work and take every error personally.
Its easy to pick apart 50 errors that slipped through when there are 10000 possible ones to choose from that are error free and say this is not worth my money, its just not very reasonable....
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July 2nd, 2015, 17:29 #33
What would be great is to have a "bundle" available through the FG store, where you could buy the hardcover and the FG module together. Given that the hardcovers seem to retail for about 30% less than MSRP, I think setting the bundle price at MSRP would be about right. I know you're not currently set up to sell physical products, but you've probably been thinking about selling FG merch in your store anyway, haven't you?
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July 2nd, 2015, 18:24 #34
Lesser Deity
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When I used Par5e to do the monster manual I used the Fiery Dragon portrait tokens, myself. As I had tokens for all the 4E monsters, I could mostly just use them since there are a lot less monster variation in 5E. For some of the stuff (dumb flump) I had to go back to 3.x tokens.
It would be nice if the official MM packs allowed you to put a set of tokens in a folder that would override the ones in the monster pack if there was a token in the folder kinda like the extensions and modules overrides. Personally, I agree its strange that the monster packs have to use letter tokens as filler. Maybe since they are licensed, Smiteworks can get permission to use some of WotC's old art for missing tokens.
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July 2nd, 2015, 19:22 #35
the irony would of been... if I charged to read my post
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July 2nd, 2015, 20:00 #36
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On the errors in the current modules, one thing to keep in mind is they've been playing catchup with the current release of D&D product. So it's a balance between releasing as fast as possible in a market where the hard copy is already out vs getting everything perfect. Since they can update the modules at whim, I think releasing a little early and patching small mistakes was probably the way to go. On future product they should be getting content before release so hopefully that'll take the pressure off.
For module content, I really don't expect them to add in content not already in the official modules. It would be nice if we could buy "enhancement packs" for the modules that alter them with additional maps, tokens, and so on. I wonder if the module code allows for sub-classing them that way. If not that might be something for the future engine so people can sell/give out "mods" that alter and add to the base modules.
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July 2nd, 2015, 20:12 #37
That's a pretty disappointing response from a dev.
No, because this isn't something expected from that product. Having tokens for a VTT product is expected. Having letter tokens is lazy.
The creative costs to produce the actual story from absolutely zero is greater than scanning a book and running it through PAR5E. The people creating it for FG are not creating the story in that sense, it's data entry.
Right and I have paid for almost every pack out there. I have had custom jobs done by Devin Night regularly over the past few years, and I know these tokens can be commercially licensed - which is what should be happening here instead of using letter tokens for what amounts to the key NPCs in this story.
Just the attitude that is denounced on every other forum in regard to FG having the rights to WotC products.
Look you can go two ways with it. Get all bent out of shape and bury your head in the sand that someone dared criticize a product, or acknowledge the fact that a paying customer of many years has issues with the quality of products being released now, and see if solutions can be worked out for further releases. That's your call. Your choice will ultimately decide the $$ in your wallet.
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July 2nd, 2015, 20:24 #38
Thanks for the reply.
I'm happy to send a PM of the errors I've noticed.
I know Raymond Gaustadnes (https://www.rpgartkits.com/) commercially licenses all his tokens for around $200 - couldn't these or something he creates be used in future modules? Then the modules would have hires top down tokens for all NPCs. Just an idea.Last edited by Koreapsu; July 2nd, 2015 at 20:27.
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July 2nd, 2015, 21:06 #39
Its not our call Koreapsu as the intellectual property rights for these products belongs to WotC. The brand marketing and artwork style that can be used with these products is very specific and requires prior approval. Having said that I am a big fan of Raymond's work and look forward to possibly working with him in the future for future products.
FG Project Development
Next Project(s)*: Starfinder v1.2 Starship Combat
Current Project: Starfinder v1.1 - Character Starships
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* All fluid by nature and therefore subject to change.
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July 2nd, 2015, 21:28 #40
Zeus, I see you list the DMG as completed, while your current project is a "Magic Items & Parcel Generator." Will that be a stand-alone tool, or included with the DMG?
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