Quote:
Originally Posted by AutoDMC
The core functionality of the product DOES work, as does cloud syncing with a player's edition. The core product is "off the ground." Now's the time to provide a feature they've been pushing off.
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That argument can be made for dozens of features that users have asked for and that are on the todo list, not to mention outstanding capabilities that have been considered part of the core product vision from the beginning. A few that spring immediately to mind include the content market, web access, calendars, journals, individual player reveal, the list goes on and on...
We did the survey at the start of the year to find out which of these many capabilities are COLLECTIVELY considered most important by our users. We're prioritizing (and in some cases, re-prioritizing) our efforts based on the survey results. Our rationale for this approach has already been discussed at length elsewhere here on the forums, so I'm not going to rehash it all again in this thread. I encourage you to take a look at the other threads for more information.
If you HAVE to extract your content from Realm Works in order to use it NOW, then you are in the tiny minority of users. Unfortunately, that means the feature you consider mission critical isn't going to be added in the near term. Given your personal requirements, which aren't shared by the majority of our users, it's possible that Realm Works isn't a viable option for your needs at the present time. That's unfortunate, but it doesn't change our plans.
You've twisted our words for the sole purpose of hyperbole and saber-rattling. Sorry, I'm not going to engage beyond clarifying misinformation. If you don't trust us simply because we're a software company, that's entirely your choice - although it's one that seems NOT to be shared by the vast majority of our users.
Since you quoted a strategically snipped version of the statement we made, I’ll clarify it here for others. The pledge began with “
Even if it’s the last feature that ever gets into Realm Works (and even if Rob has to add the feature himself)…” [emphasis mine]. That does NOT mean the plan is to never add the feature until the “ship is sinking”, as you’ve portrayed. It simply means that we pledge to ensure users can get their data out if that event should one day occur. You’ve chosen to read into it vastly more than what was said, and you’ve then distorted the entire matter here in this thread.
In a subsequent post, you asserted that we could readily provide export without supporting import. Well, the problem IS the export. If you can get published data out, you can then do ANYTHING with that data. You don’t have to put it back into Realm Works via an import. You could pretty it up and post it on a website, or give it to others. That’s what the publishers are worried about. They don’t care whether you can put the data back into Realm Works – they care whether you can get it out in the first place. So that complicates any efforts towards providing export, as does the fact that the data is split across dozens of tables, and anyone who wants to get their data out will want it nicely organized. When we provide export capabilities, we’ll do it well, and in a way that is truly useful to users who want the feature – not in a quick-and-dirty manner that would suffice for your needs but few other users.
As @Parody pointed out, we use Firebird as the database engine. However, that's not going to be sufficient for extracting data from the database manually. Key realm content within the database is encrypted, which was a decision driven by feedback during the early stages of development. There are common usage scenarios where GMs and players share the same computers in a household, so it was requested that we safeguard against tech-savvy players sneaking a peek at a GM's material by going straight to the database. Since we have to encrypt purchased content anyways, we simply encrypt key content regardless of its source.
Based on the sensationalized narrative you've already presented and your proclaimed distrust of honest folks just because they develop software, I won't be surprised if you take this information and characterize it in an alarmist manner. However, please understand that, by doing so, you are willfully working to undermine a product that you claim you want to use. That’s exactly what actively telling others to avoid the product amounts to, especially when it’s simply because you don’t trust software companies in general and the product lacks a feature you consider necessary to satisfy your self-professed jaded perception. If you think telling others to stay away will in some way pressure us to give you the feature you want now, I can assure you that's not going to work. All it will do is lessen the chance that the product evolves to a point where it's successful enough that we DO have the resources to add the feature you want. I don’t have any problems with you saying Realm Works lacks a feature YOU value, but let others make their own choice whether the product meets their requirements – which, if our survey results are any indication, will usually be very different from yours on the matter of export capability. Striving to scare users off because Realm Works lacks a feature few of them actually care about is essentially fear-mongering, and I respectfully ask that you not do that.
How you choose to proceed is entirely your option. What I ask is that you be mindful of what you're doing as you do it and consider whether your path will actually give you what you ultimately want.
Thanks to everyone for reading through to the end.
