Realm Works Feature Survey – Charting the Future

[Exmortis]

For all the rhetoric here, all I can say is this with 100% honesty:

Realm Works in its V1.0 state has represented the second best program I have ever bought for use as a creationist GM for support of my table-top RPG gaming. Features I want, need, would like aside, changes nothing about its core functionality and just plain improvement of the creation process for me. I can't wait to "reveal" my world of Daede to my players, more then any other campaign world I have built (there has been many).

For the record, the single best program I ever bought??? Hero Lab.

LWD supplies both, go figure.

Thanks Rob for the posts, too bad the negative just took hours out of the next release time.

[Seregil]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

Except that we haven't actually seen the survey results. That's what LWD tells us what the results are. We're just have to take their word for it. Which I don't.

Ok dude, there is no way to please you. Even if LWD gave you the results, you would have no way to verify them and, in the very high probability they are telling the truth, you wouldn't believe them if they didn't follow your desired narrative.

So, really, get over it.

[Grey Mage]

Just a quick comment from the peanut gallery...

I have used LWD products (HL and RW) for several years. Over that time, I have seen a company that delivers a quality product(s). HL, now, is a very different program than when it first came out. And the iPad app is even more impressive.

I look at RW as a seed. And like any seed, it is going to take time and the right environment to grow. Rob and company are doing their part, but we the users have to do ours.

We have to be patient and also, we have to leverage our players and social networks to provide an influx of new ideas and revenue (Player's Edition!).

There were things on the survey I had not even considered as possibilities. So I know (now) that that influx of new ideas I mentioned is happening. I look forward to seeing how RW is going to grow in the coming year.

Bottom line:

Rob, Liz, and company keep up the good work, fight the good fight and thank you.

[mirtos]

Originally Posted by AEIOU

Various comments on various items.... There are no right answers and LWD is being forced to make some very hard decisions. We're not helping but in the end I'm hoping it's cathartic for all involved.

I loved Rob's positive outlook on patience. I'd add options like grudgingly complacent or not satisfied but living with it.

honestly, thats me.

As one of the kickstarter backers, I wont say i've been thrilled. But Im not beyond upset either.

People on this forum tend to go into two camps:

1. LWD can do no right
2. LWD can do no wrong.

neither side is realistic, or really constructive, IMO.

(which is part of the reason i participate less in the forums than i used to)

[mirtos]

This post has both compliments and complaints. Take it for what its worth. Just being honest.

But one thing that is worth mentioning, and im sorry, but a lot of the responses on the original kickstarter were things like "you will definitely be able to print your material, no worries there". They were said in such a way in direct response to questions that seriously implied printing was part of the program. In fact there were responses stating that you could select different pieces and export them as part of the PDF.. it all sounded pretty well in place.

They weren't "we hadn't originally considered printing, but are going to add it"... or anything to that effect. Maybe it was bad communication on running the kickstarter, or the craziness of the short timespan of the kickstarter, but I can understand how some people who were involved in the beginning were upset about it.

Now if you purchased at the beginning, and printing wasnt promised, and werent a backer, that's actually a different story.

On the other hand some people who donate to a kickstarter, like myself, think of it as more of a donation because you want to support the venture, and even if they spend more than the piece of software costs, they feel its worth it, but when you purchase a piece of software, you want it to feel complete. That could also be some peoples feeling too.

Do I think the software is in a point that I would recommend it as vital? Nope, not yet. Do I wish I hadn't donated? Nope, I'm happy I did.

I cant say enough good things about HeroLab. I think some point I will feel that way about RealmsWorks. I like it, but I'm not there yet.

[EightBitz]

I'm disappointed that printing isn't closer to the top of the list, but also gratified that it's not at the bottom.

[rob]

Originally Posted by Chemlak

I just wanted to address this from my own perspective (it would appear that I'm one of these patient and understanding Kickstarter backers). (a) is not quite what I would represent it as. (What, Chem is saying something even vaguely negative about RW and LWD? Inconceivable!) I am happy with the general level of functionality that RW provides. I am not happy that calendars are currently on the back-burner. Nor am I angry about it. It's just "a thing".

Sorry. In hindsight, it wasn't an ideal choice of words. Instead of "happiness", I should have said "happy enough" so that the full text was "happy enough with the functionality that exists". Would that have been more accurate?

[rob]

Originally Posted by Exmortis

For the record, the single best program I ever bought??? Hero Lab.

And it took us quite a while to evolve Hero Lab from its humble beginnings into the powerful tool it is today (after 8 years). I like to think Realm Works is on the same trajectory.

Originally Posted by Exmortis

Thanks Rob for the posts, too bad the negative just took hours out of the next release time.

Yep, that sucks. I lost a lot of hours going through everything and replying. I had to go through multiple editing passes on all my responses to make sure I wasn't letting the emotions and frustrations seep through. That just made it take a heck of a lot longer. And it looks like I'm going to cause the next release to slip into next week as a result.

At the end of it all, I'm hopeful that the benefits and clarity brought by the survey will ultimately be more valuable than the huge cost of putting it together, analyzing the results, and dealing with the frustrations of users whose favorite features didn't fare as well as they felt they should. Unfortunately, it was a big cost NOW, and the potential benefits won't be reaped for a while still. I'm crossing my fingers that it will have been worth it in hindsight at the end of the year.

[mirtos]

I think option d rob should have been:

d) have decided to put enough faith in LWD that they felt it would be there eventually.

Thats the type of backer I am.

[Mystic Lemur]

I'm in that "d" camp, as well. The first time I ever saw a LWD product was in 2004 when a friend showed me Army Builder, and I was hooked. In over a decade, I have never had reason to doubt that LWD was doing anything other than their level best to create quality product. If rob came to my house and shot my dog, I would assume he had a good reason. That's the level of goodwill he has built in me as a customer, so it really irks me that others are railing about promises that were never made going unfulfilled.