How important to Community is a SmiteWorks store app to do Extensions?

[bratch9]

Just joining the group chat, had one of my 6 extensions on dmsguild flagged. For now I've reduced it to 5E ruleset only in a hope to keep it as alive as possible.. But I think most extensions need a new home, and glad FG Forge, as some point, might be it.

I hope we can get some 'account' action going between the 2 sides to allow owners from dmsguild to move them into FG Forge account, maybe with the oath token/api they use for the download application etc..

For me some suggestions,

1. Better use of the min/maxrelease in extensions to work with the rulesets.. ( Issue is I see updates to rulesets that dont change the release version and also dont even change the version string number, but do change the code which might cause a conflict issue. )
2. the ability to have multiple versions of rulesets active on a machine.. ( Say a campaign specific version tag for ruleset/extensions etc... so a big campaign might be waiting for an extension update and needs to stay on the old ruleset/extension(s) code, until everything can be updated... while a different campaign might be valid to update as all its extensions have updated or even maybe the campaign just does not need updating as its working fine with the current versions in use etc... )
3. Some way to 'select' versions of ruleset so as a developer I can check extension against these versions, and hence update the information in the extension to 'say works with etc..' in the min/max release/version of ruleset.
4. some way to use the 'range' of ruleset supported by the extension, and all extensions, to generate the best/range of ruleset versions that this combination of extensions would require.
5. some way to 'request' changes into rulesets that break larger functions into smaller sections/add access point(s), to try and hope resolve conflicts between extensions that have to make a small change in these functions that conflicts with the small change in the function from another extension..
6. some way to 'message' between extension developers, to 'coordinate' conflicts, that does not need to go into 'general' issues/chat from users are having.

While I'm sure we all will have feedback when the first 'free extension' version for FG Forge goes live, I'd like to see the 'paid' version come on line quickly to resolve the issues.. As I'm sure most developers of paid extensions do not want to move these to a free host and loose income. ( Minor issue for me, but I'm sure some developers make a reasonable living etc.. )

I do think getting some idea of when 'free extensions' hosting will be available and when 'paid extensions' hosting will be available.. ( As I'd like to see this issue getting resolved in months, and not in years... )

-pete

[arkanis]

I hope this gets sorted out soon. Extensions are very important for me, like 5 on a 1-5 scale.
I think they hit the right spot, because a lot are made by DMs and that means they know the weak spots and try to fix them.
The main problem with RPGs will always be the assymetry in workload between players and DM's and everything that eases the workload of the DM is worth it.

[maugrim8866]

I hope this gets sorted out soon. Extensions are very important for me, like 5 on a 1-5 scale.
I think they hit the right spot, because a lot are made by DMs and that means they know the weak spots and try to fix them.
The main problem with RPGs will always be the assymetry in workload between players and DM's and everything that eases the workload of the DM is worth it.

Agree 100% with arkanis comments.

[SilentRuin]

Ugh. Now I have TWO extensions waiting for something to be resolved per this thread. Sometimes I think I'm the only one effected by all this. Both combat groups and now Assistant GM are in limbo

May as well post a screen shot of what at least I have for my campaigns - to show I am doing stuff even though in limbo (besides fixing stuff still out there)

[Zarestia]

Half of my bought extensions are currently in the archive on dmsguild (and their website is slow as hell like always). You're not the only one affected creator
I think we can probably see somehting soonish, most holidays are over now

[DGM]

Most folks are checking out others systems like Foundry VTT or varius others.

FG is great with automation but lagging behind in many other fronts.

The extensions made the 5e FG experience and better then other platforms, a platform which the community has confidence in to get extension and keep it is very important.

[A Social Yeti]

I find the extensions /modding situation is no different for this app than for video games.

If, without mods the app can do what its base sold as functionality is. And we can run mods to change that up as we see fit, this is really nice to get.
But it is key to note that the game on its own with no mods ought to be stand alone worthy of the cost as is.


So double edge sword that says, buyer beware.

A game/app designed and meant to be modded can be a great thing for end users to get way way more functionality/play time out of it than it shipped to be.
So mod-ability is not an automatic bad thing to have.

HOWEVER as a consumer in the market i cannot turn a blind eye to the situation that modding steps in to fill very real development gaps that were just left out or half done, knowing full well modding community labor is free, BUT does add value to help sell product.


So i am always a little hesitant, and will not move quickly on anything touting mod-ability too much, as that is the signal to me that i'd have good odds of buying a half done product and hoping the end users freely finish it up for me.


Also on mods, i do understand the value of labor time and know how. But i cannot find it a good situation to have both modability and moders profitability expected in that too.
paying for the base product and then potentially having to pay for the mods that sometimes just are the rest of the work to be done, gets into some deep weeds i find is best just never gotten into in the first place.

Mod for the love it, mod privately for yourself, mod because it's good skill practice and can go on your resume, but no i can't get behind the idea of a paid for product designed so as to also be a profit platform for moders.

[Jiminimonka]

I find the extensions /modding situation is no different for this app than for video games.

If, without mods the app can do what its base sold as functionality is. And we can run mods to change that up as we see fit, this is really nice to get.
But it is key to note that the game on its own with no mods ought to be stand alone worthy of the cost as is.


So double edge sword that says, buyer beware.

A game/app designed and meant to be modded can be a great thing for end users to get way way more functionality/play time out of it than it shipped to be.
So mod-ability is not an automatic bad thing to have.

HOWEVER as a consumer in the market i cannot turn a blind eye to the situation that modding steps in to fill very real development gaps that were just left out or half done, knowing full well modding community labor is free, BUT does add value to help sell product.


So i am always a little hesitant, and will not move quickly on anything touting mod-ability too much, as that is the signal to me that i'd have good odds of buying a half done product and hoping the end users freely finish it up for me.


Also on mods, i do understand the value of labor time and know how. But i cannot find it a good situation to have both modability and moders profitability expected in that too.
paying for the base product and then potentially having to pay for the mods that sometimes just are the rest of the work to be done, gets into some deep weeds i find is best just never gotten into in the first place.

Mod for the love it, mod privately for yourself, mod because it's good skill practice and can go on your resume, but no i can't get behind the idea of a paid for product designed so as to also be a profit platform for moders.

We don't need mods and extensions to run the game. They just save us time (and also make people lazy with the rules, especially with all the 5e extensions that automate stuff). They are just QOL items really. FG works fine without them.

[MrDDT]

We don't need mods and extensions to run the game. They just save us time (and also make people lazy with the rules, especially with all the 5e extensions that automate stuff). They are just QOL items really. FG works fine without them.

Need is relative. You don't even need FG at all to play D&D so your point is wrong if you consider the function of what FG is trying to do. For me I NEED a mod that rolls dice randomly because FG has really bad RNG for dice. For you, you might be totally happy with the way it rolls the dice with less RNG.

So saying something is a QOL is really relative. For me I need better tracking of attunement items, or options to see players range on players "vision". So can I do this with tape or just "remembering" to check their vison? Sure I can do it, however, it is not just a QOL thing. Unless you want to consider everything in FG is 100% QOL, because you don't need FG whatsoever to play D&D so anything over nothing is QOL.
Personally I feel like there are many minor things that should be coded into FGU that are much harder for ext to code than it be done straight into the FGU itself. EXT writers have to do extra things (sometimes greatly) to make it work, when if it was done on FGU side, it wouldn't need to be coded as hard. Example is concentration in 5E ruleset. You can roll it manually however, it being already programed in with extra tags for people to make effects for it make it so much better.

[Jiminimonka]

Need is relative. You don't even need FG at all to play D&D so your point is wrong if you consider the function of what FG is trying to do. For me I NEED a mod that rolls dice randomly because FG has really bad RNG for dice. For you, you might be totally happy with the way it rolls the dice with less RNG.

So saying something is a QOL is really relative. For me I need better tracking of attunement items, or options to see players range on players "vision". So can I do this with tape or just "remembering" to check their vison? Sure I can do it, however, it is not just a QOL thing. Unless you want to consider everything in FG is 100% QOL, because you don't need FG whatsoever to play D&D so anything over nothing is QOL.
Personally I feel like there are many minor things that should be coded into FGU that are much harder for ext to code than it be done straight into the FGU itself. EXT writers have to do extra things (sometimes greatly) to make it work, when if it was done on FGU side, it wouldn't need to be coded as hard. Example is concentration in 5E ruleset. You can roll it manually however, it being already programed in with extra tags for people to make effects for it make it so much better.

Yes let's play D&D. I'm in London. See you in 10 minutes.

And the dice rolls are as random as sitting around a table.