Any recent updates on the progress of Content Market
 

I'm not trying to start any thread for people to post compliants or anything.
I'm just seeing if there is any new information about the Content Market.
Like a status report you would provide your manager on progress.

The last information we had was from before PaizoCon.

No news on the content market that I've seen. But hopefully we might hear something about it by GenCon.

I would hope to hear something well before GenCon, that's 2 months away

I'd expect some news around GenCon... mostly because it is the biggest RPG gaming event of the year.

I would also like to know what is the situation with 5th edition DnD content. Will it be available or not? Should I start looking into other programs?

The SRD will be available. They don't have a license currently for anything else official.

We can see they are working with Kobold Press in Hero Lab so I'd assume we will see Kobold Press 5e content at some stage.

Yeah, I know about the SRD. But, generally, that doesn't mean much, especially when the official digital tools are in beta. They had said that we would be able to buy ready adventures from the 5th in the store, which is one of the main reasons I bought Realm Works.

Was that simply a lie?

You will be able to buy 5e products eventually yes but at this stage that product list will not include the official WOTC products.

We don't know if that situation has changed but last information we had was that LWD are seeking a license with WOTC.

Until a license is announced the 5e products they can legally sell will be restricted to products by other producers such as Kobold Press.

Thank you for your replies, but these news are years old, which means we have been hearing the same things over and over again with no actual progress.

Great.

Official tools? I wouldn't count on those too much.

I'm a 5e player, so yup, keen to hear some more positive news on this front.

Hopefully once the CM launches and LWD can show it in use things will change quickly.

I don't, but they are being developed.

No matter what happens with them there is no excuse for RW to sat so far behind of everything they had promised. Especially when it comes to content.

I understand that the coding and logic for the Content Market is going to be very complex. I myself am a Software Developer doing SQL Server Development and writing c# services. I've done plenty of ETL development so I can understand that the importing and exporting is complex.

What LWD need's to do is remove the portion from their web site with the features for Realm Works.
The tab - INTEGRATE READY-MADE CONTENT INTO YOUR WORLD
This then says: Pre-Created Content is Ready to Drop In
Coming in 2016.

We are half way through 2017 already.

I remember starting a thread in March 2016, asking the release date for Content Market after finding and reading information about the Content Market from 2014;
Content Market - Tentative Date?
I waited to purchase Realm Works and finally purchased it last month in May after a post from BJ
All I'm asking for is more frequent updates on the progress. At least a weekly progress report from LWD on their progress.
Spending 10-15 minutes at the end of your week providing this information is much less time than having to respond daily to everyone's complaining of failed promises.

This is beyond unacceptable at this point.

As joepacelli says, remove all mention of TO-BE features. Too many people buy the product based on road-map promises rather than what the product currently offers and then the rest of us have to keep reading their whining and complaining.

I have to disagree with the posters who ask for more updates, I think RW should give FEWER updates. People are going to hang on the developers' every word and hold them accountable for any suggested future feature, regardless of the caveats. They should only announce features when they are ready to release. Not "we expect to have by Some Con", not even "we hope to have in the next 2-3 months", only: the features are complete and will be released on the following date.

RealmWorks is an excellent tool for what it does and is well worth the price for many people as it is now. Too much of LWD's marketing, however, is focused on features in development and they are too small of a company to crunch or crash schedules to meet their release-date goals. It is best that they stop talking about it until its ready to release.

For those who bought the program based on PLANNED features, well, caveat emptor. Don't do that next time. Don't buy something that doesn't currently have a feature you require because it might have that feature some day. Keep your money in the bank and collect interest until a tool has the feature set you need.

For Kickstarter backers, yeah, you have grounds for complaint, but we've all heard them. Periodically coming to the forums to post complaints isn't accomplishing anything. If you feel you must vent, isn't that what the Kickstarter comments section is for?

Thankyou

OK, they are not where anyone wanted them to be, particularly LWD. But you have to respect how they have handled it. We are still not paying anything for the cloud service we have enjoyed for as long as we have owned the program, and they have resisted the urge to dream up some scheme to get a cash injection while the development has taken more time than anticipated.

Personally, I could only wish for a monthly progress update that shows what they have accomplished and what they are working. No projections on release, just a 'this is what we have accomplished,' kind of summary. That way, we could get a sense of the progress and the enormity of their challenges. It's just that the silence gets kind of deafening. I miss the days when LWD folks were on multiple times a day talking about their software dream. It was exciting, even though progress was way behind even then.

Being able to copy a realm now is a HUGE plus to this tool. So there is one plus from LWD trying to launch the content market. Big Positive there.

Honestly for me, the delay and LWD giving the free cloud service has been a positive.

Since they are not going to have WOTC content, I hope the content market keeps getting delayed as then I would not have to start paying for the cloud service. I already entered the WOTC module we are using by hand into realm works, and am not interested in the Paizo stuff. So i am not sure it is worth the cloud subscription as I am only DMing one group now and I am not sure it is a good outlay just so 3 guys who have the players version can sync to the realm.

I probably would be ok if the content market didn't come till the end of the year. Right around when Kobold Press releases the updated Midgard setting. Hopefully that will be in Realm Works!

Don't buy software too early if it does not contain what you want - unless you are prepared to trust the devs and take a certain "risk". I learned that on Steam "Greenlit" games.

This is also why I generally do not support software in Kickstarter. Especially video games. I did in the past and it almost never ends well. I'm making exceptions recently for map-making software. I'm currently backing three different programs now. But I'm going in eyes wide open. None of them required a big financial commitment and I treat it like a charity, not a purchase. I want to help the developers and perhaps see some cool new options and more competition in the space. I fully expect that I will not use them all.

It always perplexes me to see how outraged some bakers get when a Kickstarter fails, or deadlines slip, or the original scope contracts. Even if you don't understand what KS is and how it works and are mistakenly treating it as a pre-order market (which it most definitely is not), if losing the cost of the pledge (either total loss or partial lost through delays and failures to deliver planned features), then why did you spend the money? KS projects can and will have scope changes and you can and will lose money or not get what you want if you back enough of them.

My first rule of Kickstarter... don't back software development.

Steering back to the original post and thread question - is anyone privy to any updates at all on Realm Works? Anyone in some sort of beta or with some inside information that would allow a wee bit of positive speculation?

FYI, I don't care about content market. I would rather see the other tools that would help with campaign management get some loving. Using RW/HL at the table has made my players very happy.

I think this is a fair point. However, I also think we are way past this just being a kick starter. I was not a part of the kick starter. I purchased the product based on what was still being promised way past the KS. The same logic applies, I should not have bought a product based on what it is planned to have later. Its just that everyone keeps saying that only the KS backers have any cause to complain, and I disagree. I was not in the KS and have owned RW for three years -- we have been blowing by promises that whole time.

I also agree with what others have said - LWD is just a frustrated by all this a we are currently. I think LWD is doing its best and I don't have a solution other than to just hang in there.

I bought RW 3(?) years ago based exclusively on the features then available.

Anyone who buys software based on promised features is asking for trouble.

Yes, I'd like some of the planned features but as long as they maintain the cloud support and fix some existing bugs I could live with RW as is.

Yes - as is I'm happy. I'd love to see more added to the program though - if the content market allows them the revenue to take this next level I'd be ecstatic.

I think the other features that are being pushed back though, could also help the revenue.

Maybe, but not as much as the content market. Though...I suppose that many of the long-awaited players-version features would make the cloud service more attractive when it is no longer free. But even if the player versions had all the bells and whistles on the road map, if there isn't content to buy, I think it will limit to potential customer base. Far more DMs want to use or precreated content—at least as a starting point, rather than build worlds and adventures from the ground up.

I guess it's as always:
I lost count on how many times I heard such things.
To be honest I've seen this "this update brings us a lot closer" to the Content Market Release" soooo often since they had already announced that they are "very close" to the release that it makes me wonder if they might have been not "very close" in the first place but more like far far away.

I don't believe you anything until it is actually there.
@dapluk and everyone else trying to say that it's the KS backers fault that they backed a SW project on KS and failing to realize that dates can change:
If it weren't for the KS Backers RW would be not even close to what it is now, if existing at all. Projects on KS are always only financed on promises. Failing to deliver in time is almost certain BUT if something is announced as "nearly complete" with a planned Release date in six months you certainly do not expect to not even see the most basic delivery of that promised functionality not even four years later.

I've made a summary of the promised to delivered functionality last year august:
http://forums.wolflair.com/showpost....1&postcount=73

What did change in the meantime?
"automatic change detection and resolution": Nope nothing changed.
"Customer Calendars": Nope nothing changed.
"Countent Market is called as SOON so often I lost track." Still true, this was done just again.

"GMs can share their creations through the cloud for use by others." Partly: You can finally export and yes you can share it through the cloud but that sharing is through a file exchange service not the actual content market.

"GMs can browse the work of others and integrate it into their own worlds. Imagine being able to find a pre-made encounter, or a tavern, or an entire region with adventures and NPCs. Drop it into your own world, change a few names, hook it into locations in your world, and it’s fully integrated for use. No scribbled notes. No Post-Its. No juggling between PDFs, books, and your own files. Realm Works is built from the ground up for exactly this purpose." --> Partly: The content needs to be exported that way instead of allowing you to choose what part to import.

So current plan, as far as the available information goes is:
1. Export/Import functionality Somehow DONE
2. Deliver free content DONE
3. Start to deliver Kickstarter content NOT DONE
4. Launch the Content Market NOT DONE

So even the KS Content is not even available and that's supposed to be available BEFORE the release of the Content Market.

I think you'll find i said no such thing... Me personally having a rule against backing Kickstarters associated with software development is very different to me telling everyone else that it's their fault for backing the KS.

If I was a KS backer I would be as angry as everyone else. I'm not though. I love RW for what it already offers and simply look forward to the benefits that future updates will provide.

Just my opinion, but I think a lot of the blame for the delay in the content market release can be laid at the feet of the IP holders. I'm almost willing to bet that LWD thought they were close to launching the content market when some IP holder(s) brought up some scenario that LWD is now forced to take into consideration.

Is some of it LWD's fault, sure. Managed expectations has been, shall we say, lacking. But I'm not sure it would be good for them to come out once a month, or three and say to the user base that X, Y, and Z has happened which pushes the release of the content market back even further.

I guess it is simply a situation of damning LWD if they do or do not inform us. For which, in my opinion, they don't deserve.

Seriously?

Yes IP holders held up RW for years...... But only a little LWD's fault.

I love RW, but I have grown despondent here, all this work towards this mystical magical fantasy of a content market has been exhausting. Especially when it has been the sole reason features I want are held up.

No, the blame falls squarely on LWD, for not managing the project, for not understanding the project.

Like reliving Vanguard all over again.

I remain hopeful that some day, before we replace pen and paper with holodecks, it will see some features I want, and even a content market. But even I can't remain positive about broken promises forever.

WELL put..
and before LWD emerges from the shadows to say, "we the lowly forum supporters, don't know all the details" "shouldn't / don't assume what you don't know" or "things are far more complex than the forum population knows" etc......

Remember, you conveniently leave out those who have been suffering WITH you and have hundreds of years of combined experience in a multitude of similar and supported job types that would understand better than you give them credit for and could in theory help from a community standpoint............

But instead, You have chosen to sail the storm alone and in silence for fear of negative critique (some warranted and some not), yet as my grandfather often told me, "silence gives consent".

Jeesh, guys, the whining about due dates is bloody annoying. If you are unhappy ask for a refund and go away. Regurgitating the same complaint over and over, has not and will not force LW to release software before they believe it is ready. So please just give it up already.

The content market is something i must endure if i want custom calendars i am willing to shut up and let them do their work for that

I think even the most ardent supporters and cheerleaders for LWD are getting very frustrated. We have been told "close" for nearly 2 years!!! I'm sure you can see the frustrations and why people may want to vent a little.

It is getting very hard to have ones' hopes repeatedly raised and then dashed by a deafening silence.

I understand they only get one chance to roll it out and to release the CM before it is ready would be disastrous, but still this is quite disheartening.

Oh dear, I chime in with the "get this content market thing over so they can get on to features I personally want"-crowd. For me that's the web-view (with stress on view, just want to show my players stuff on any device).

I long ago learned that the CM won't be what I wanted it to be: integrated in the program itself and a source for small tidbits like NPCs, sidequest or location. Instead it will probably be modules downloadable from the website. Meh.

Having worked in software development, I agree that the main problem here is the communication. Maybe they bit off more than they can chew, but talking about "soon" all the time loses you the support of even the most die-hard fans. Instead do what has been suggested several times and just give short updates about what you did in your last week/sprint: "spent all week hunting a bug. still haven't found it", "restructured the database to integrate field X without breaking everything", "reworked the UI, looked horrible, reset everything", ...
Let people know that you ARE working, even if there's no tangible output.

But for me, I couldn't care less about the CM anymore, but I DO care about Realm Works as a tool that made my DMing so much easier!

The devs are quiet because they are working to get everything in place, such as the appropriate security measures required to be able to release content that's going to be sold. The KS backers getting their content also falls into that as the content they are receiving will also be sold to others.

We don't deny that much of the blame is ours and we've apologized for it a great deal, but we can't do anything about it other than continue to work toward the goal. When it's ready we will let you know. No amount of commentary, positive or negative, will change that.

Dervish: I laughed, thanks! If I could magically give you calendars I totally would!

Beeing in the same situation as Dervish, I really understand your and the devs need for the content market, BJ. I argued that way more than once.

But, like many others around this forum, I beg to differ on a very important point:

One of your most important assets are we, the users and customers. Sounds strange and slightly presumptous, I know. But the users, especially those lurking around various forums and the FB group, not only pay for your products. We are an important means of promotion also. If we are satisfied, we talk to others about it. If not, well, we do the same. If we can understand your problems and delays, will tell others also.

Yes, we know, and we are gratefull for it, since we all want RW to succeed and get all the features (like custom calendars and individual reveal) we are all excitedly waiting for.
But - speaking as someone with some experience in PR - we need to know it on a different level.
Therefore I have to agree with Merion, the major problem is the communication.

BJ I totally understand this and I wasn't trying to start a bitch session when I started the thread. I myself have been doing software development for the last 22+ years, starting with VB6 and now do C# windows services and SQL Server Database Development.

I totally understand the intricacies of proper database design of tables, indexes, views, etc.

But coming from this development world I know one of the most important things in Software Development is communication. Whether your doing 2 or 3 weeks sprints, we also did daily stand-ups.

I'm not asking for these daily updates. But just once a week or every other week give us a report.

Like Merion said:
I agree your products are great and help the gaming community a lot. And current you have a very good reputation, but if GenCon comes and goes this year and the Content Market is not released, I'm not sure how long this good reputation will last.

One of the most frustrating parts of the world of software development is the cry of all the users saying "give us updates!" As a developer, it doesn't matter how much you communicate, everyone wants more/different/less/other information. Daily updates to anyone not directly involved in a project is a joke, and even sprint updates to those not invested is a waste. It's a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. I'm stoked to already have the things that I have from RW, and I'll wait until the rest gets done. I KS'd an awesome project that has made my DM'ing life so much better than it was, and I thank you.