I really wish I had read this thread before purchasing. Sadly, neither this thread, nor the wiki is current. The offline PDF links do mention that the PDFs may be out of date with the wiki, but there is a reasoned, entry-level presumption that the wiki would not also be profoundly (half a decade) stale.
Had I done my due-diligence and not assumed maturity in the documentation, it is highly unlikely that I would have purchased -- and, having experienced this buyer's remorse, I feel obligated to caution others and coach the leadership team.
The ability to customize is one of (if not the) flagship cornerstone(s) of this product. The fact that there is a significant barrier to entry that is self-inflicted by Lone Wolf Development is disappointing. Documentation is as important as the product itself. The amount of focus upon and the investment in product documentation that is meaningful and actionable is a direct reflection of management commitment to providing a satisfying customer experience.
Quote:
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The Authoring Kit for Hero Lab provides a vast array of capabilities, which will continue to evolve with the product. As such, we needed a means of documenting all those capabilities that could readily adapt and evolve as well. We concluded that the best way to accomplish this is to create a wiki that we can extend on an ongoing basis.
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You recognized the challenge. You concluded and you took action. Then you stupendously dropped the ball. I now note after the fact, that it does not say "
we can revise and extend on an ongoing basis." First impressions are lasting impressions and contribute to the "word-of-mouth" narrative. In the spirit of coaching, I waggle-my-finger shamefully.
You can do better. You must do better.
There is no forward looking initiative, burn-down, or deadline that should ever stand between development and documentation. While the "business case" for mature documentation is often obfuscated by myopic, short-term interests, the business case for responsible documenting exists and is compelling. A product is only as complete as is its documentation.
A stupidly silly example that makes my point spectacularly, on the
front page (
http://hlkitwiki.wolflair.com/index.php5?title=Home):
Quote:
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Hero Lab is Copyright © 2006-2009 by Lone Wolf Development, Inc. [...]
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While legally unnecessary, you initially cast your copyright notice in the long form; however, you have not found the time/resources to update a simple date annually! Out of a work year consisting typically of 2080 hours, no one, anywhere in your extended organization of employees or associates could find the couple minutes to edit a single item on the customer-facing front page to the principle documentation for the Authoring Kit. This isn't a legal matter, it's a matter of perception. It is a perception of abject laziness and irresponsibility. How can anyone believe you are serious about supporting a product that you can't be bothered to change a couple digits once a year?
Details matter! Either you want to best-in-class or you do not. Or to be crude, "defecate or perform egress from the evacuation station." Half-measures avail nothing.
Make no further excuses. Apologize and make to do better. Or not; it's your brand.
While I'm in for a penny, I can be thankful that the method of entry (store setup) only allows a single initial purchase. As it is, a couple 10'ers is largely well within my pain tolerance [EDIT] for a boondoggle.
That said, despite my dissatisfaction with Hero Lab, I am enamored with Realm Works. The alleged synergy between HL/RW intimated potential time savings; therefore, I had hoped to leverage both tools to uplift my game. Unfortunately, to make use of Hero Lab requires an investment of time in reverse-engineering that steals time away from the actual creative process of story design and gaming. I don't disparage those for whom meta-gaming brings great joy. I simply would rather game than meta-game.
There are suitable substitutes in the market for custom character and npc management that are more closely aligned to my requirements. I'm profoundly grateful that I discovered the tragic state of the dilapidated documentation before investing further.[/EDIT]
Despite my assertive tone, I am not angry. I would not have taken the time to be explicit if I did not have some belief that you can do better. I simply don't know if you want to do better.
Z