-
December 31st, 2022, 21:27 #1
- Join Date
- Mar 2005
- Posts
- 671
Fantasy Grounds and Dungeons of Drakkenheim
So lately, I kickstarted Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim, and went back and purchased dungeons of Drakkenheim. I have recently fell in love with the setting, and am looking forward to the books. The second kickstarter also had a stretch goal that they hit that would provide VTT support.
For Foundry and Roll20.
I asked them about why FGU wasn't being included, and after a long conversation in which one of their number said they weren't entirely sure, but that it had something to do with difficulty working with FGU. I wasn't sure if they meant from a technological or personal standpoint, so myself and others kept asking for more information, and eventually were were told (by a third party that claimed had been privy to the conversation) that Smiteworks was wanting a rather high percentage of the profits, something like 60%, but that since the dungeon dudes were already splitting their profits with Ghostfire Gaming, as their partners and publishers, they just couldnt afford it.
Now, I will admit immediately that this was third party information, so I realize this information may not be accurate and, if so, I apologize in advance. But I wanted to say, if this IS true, I'm a little disturbed by that, and here is why:
Foundry is already seeming to be making some headway in claiming marketshare. I see lots of conversations of Foundry as a potential advantage over FGU and Roll20 already. IT would appear to be easier to develop for it, and I see a TON of third party and homebrew modules coming up right and left compared to FGU. Now, that being the case, I've spent a great deal of money over many years on FGU, so I though i was keeping an eye on things, I wasn't motivated to switch.
But now the Dungeon Dudes and Ghostfire Gaming are able to design official products for Foundry, and Roll20.... but not FGU. This makes me think that FGU is pricing themselves out of the market, so to speak. I will fully admit, I'm a bit sour over the idea that Smiteworks MAY have made it too expensive for the Dungeon Dudes and Ghostfire Gaming to do business with them, compared to their competitors, but it also makes me concerned that I'm invested in a piece of software that may not be able to remain competitive either.
So, I'm biding my time. Their VTT support isnt coming out until September 2023. But this DOES concern me, and I hope that there will be moves by Smiteworks to keep FGU competitive, and in the process make some wise business moves to keep third party people bringing products HERE as well as with Foundry and Roll20.
And with that, if my information was incorrect, please feel free to correct me and accept my apologies in advance.
-
December 31st, 2022, 23:54 #2
First, the 60% number is not true. Or at least in terms of Smiteworks "cut".
Second, Smiteworks doesn't do conversions to FG themselves for anyone except WotC (and them only some), they outsource to community contractors. This is simply because they have too much work. You can find more info on 3rd party conversions here: Publishers looking for conversions for Fantasy Grounds
If Ghost Fire Gaming and Dungeon Dudes want to make their product available on FG, they can do so. It's not hard, but depending upon many things we don't know, they may have found it more challenging or expensive than it usually is.
I've done some "professional" conversions myself for third parties, and it's not hard or particularly time consuming. Depending upon how they approached it, I could see it being "expensive". I do know of some FG converting sources/organizations that at one time charged 50% of profit just for their conversion & marketing. If you add that to a FG Store percentage, it could be quite expensive. But, that is not the "normal" way a third party publisher would go about getting a conversion done (see link above).
But, they might decide it is not worth it for many different business reasons.
Problems? See; How to Report Issues, Bugs & Problems
On Licensing & Distributing Community Content
Community Contributions: Gemstones, 5E Quick Ref Decal, Adventure Module Creation, Dungeon Trinkets, Balance Disturbed, Dungeon Room Descriptions
Note, I am not a SmiteWorks employee or representative, I'm just a user like you.
-
January 1st, 2023, 02:41 #3
Supreme Deity
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
- Posts
- 20,696
Those numbers are definitely not correct. The publisher can either self-publish through the Forge, or they can reach out to our Support team to get in contact with Doug to discuss terms for other options.
Regards,
JPG
-
January 1st, 2023, 05:38 #4
- Join Date
- Nov 2018
- Location
- North East USA
- Posts
- 351
I got the books for this as well from the kickstarter yet to find time to read through it all but so far it’s quality. My usual problem is there is currently no less than five campaign or rule sets I want to run. Finding the time to do so is the constant challenge, that’s why it takes me two years to run some campaigns I already bought.
-
January 1st, 2023, 14:27 #5
Those numbers are not way off guys. SW takes 40 and the dev gets 15 if they go through the store. That leaves 45% for the game maker. If they do the conversion themselves then yeah they can save the dev compensation but most game guys can't do that.
For items converted on the forge that's between the dev and game maker. So I can say that some devs get more than 15%.
Also let's bring up one bookshelf. If they use FG to distribute their product they have to give up 5% when they sell on drive thru rpg. Drive thru gets game guys to lock in exclusive agreements for that extra 5%. So financially for many of the guys it is not worth.Last edited by bayne7400; January 1st, 2023 at 14:29.
https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/199/view
Old School Essentials Ruleset
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/352...eon-Builder-5E
5e Random Dungeon Generator!
-
January 1st, 2023, 15:27 #6
This not about a new ruleset, this is about a D&D 5e adventure, Doug listed the converter % by 8-15% in the post linked by LordEntrails.
And honestly, pretty much everyone who can handle the MS Office suite should be able to enter an adventure in the reference builder with a bit of guidance, it's not that hard, but rather time-consuming.GitHub
Ruleset: FFd20
Extensions: Advanced Charsheet - Attack Modifiers - Big Portraits - Enhanced Skills - Legacy Items - Spell Action Info - Spell Record Actions - Tooltips
-
January 1st, 2023, 15:32 #7
I wanted to address the Foundry information separately. First Foundry takes a flat share of $1 or $2 if they host. If you use the DTRPG program its worse. If you use DTRPGs exclusive program you can no longer sell your products on FG or any digital platform. DTRPG takes 35% of your Foundry sale. Foundry Takes $2 for premium content. All that being said $~20 is the magic cut off. Below $20 FG takes less after you pay a creator 15% above more. You can develop on Foundry cheaper, if your Free League and can host your own files you make out very well but smaller game developers that are less well known cannot. I hope this helps you.Last edited by bayne7400; January 1st, 2023 at 15:34.
https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/199/view
Old School Essentials Ruleset
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/352...eon-Builder-5E
5e Random Dungeon Generator!
-
January 1st, 2023, 15:33 #8
Right 15% leaves the game maker 45% after the SW cut. I'm not arguing it is what it is.
https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/199/view
Old School Essentials Ruleset
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/352...eon-Builder-5E
5e Random Dungeon Generator!
-
January 1st, 2023, 22:36 #9
If they already sell on their own website then they have already given up that extra 5%.
Selling on Drivethru they give up 35% by default and 40% if they sell elsewhere on top.
The platform % seems similar but that they are additionally paying someone to convert the product to this alternate format.
-
January 1st, 2023, 22:48 #10
Yup. I am trying to say it is basically the same unless they are big enough to have their own website and sell their own products. I looked into this for some of the companies I work with. I have also spoken with several other game makers who did not want to put their ruleset on FG for various reasons. Id say less than half the time its money considerations. White Star did not get converted as an example of the DTRPG exclusive rights thing. When I speak with them I start off by telling them this is not going to be huge revenue for them but it will for sure help them sell more books, PDFs and give them additional exposure.
Last edited by bayne7400; January 1st, 2023 at 23:13.
https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/199/view
Old School Essentials Ruleset
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/352...eon-Builder-5E
5e Random Dungeon Generator!
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks