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Kairos
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 173

Old February 15th, 2017, 08:43 AM
I mostly lurk here, but I thought I'd chime in as someone who had shelved RW and have now come back to it.

I love HeroLab. HeroLab is genius and that was what brought me to the RW KS. Now, I backed because I was under the impression web-sharing was close to release (in 2013). I was playing mostly PBP games at the time and wanted a campaign management tool. That, obviously, hasn't happened.

I'm not as much as a planner when I GM like I used to be -- so the lavish detail I can bring to a campaign world is not my bag these days.

But the mechanics reference...oh the mechanics reference. This is where it is at for me. I've loaded up a couple games' rule structure into RW, and the autolinking is magical. That alone has saved me so much headache and speeded up play at the table (well, on Roll20 which is my gaming life right now).

This has gotten me excited for the Content Market. If I can come to a system like Pathfinder, load up a rulebook (maybe) and some APs and have everything there at a click? Yeah, I'd pay for that convenience.

But yeah, to the OP, if it isn't floating your boat right now, take a break. Come back later. Put your stuff in OneNote (I do) -- it transfers to RW quite nicely.

Me? I was an Alpha Wolf backer so I feel in for a penny/in for a pound. My kids will be in high school before I get the web sharing I think, and I haven't gotten a ton of use out of the tool, but that is changing with my Mythras/Luther Arkwright campaign now. The auto-linking is killer and rewards your time and effort with exponential convenience later IMO.

But I recommend checking back in when the Content Market is in swing.

Authoring Kit Rule Sets (now with functioning links!):

Qin: The Warring States

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space

MEGS/BoH/DC Heroes (work in progress)
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kbs666
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Old February 15th, 2017, 11:51 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by daplunk View Post
Wiki does it injustice IMO. Realm Works is so much more.

It's a dm binder full to the brim of every piece of information I have ever found that I thought might be useful that's is perfectly organised and goes out of its way to help me find the information I need when and where I need it. Realm Works is my OCD side. It organises everything to enable me to forget about organisation while I am running a session. It let's me let the story take control because I have faith that Realm Works is there backing me up when I need to get back on track quickly. It's got a much better memory than me which means my stories are lasting longer and becoming more details. It's the reason I will make the leap from pre made content to building a world of my own.
I've always built my own worlds. I've been a GM off and on, mostly on, since 1979 when I got the blue box of D&D as a gift. I ran my friends through the adventure that came in the box and then had to start building a world and adventures since there wasn't exactly a ton of stuff on the market back then and my allowance wouldn't have let me buy it even if there was.

RW turns the process of building a world into one of simplest pleasure. Everything fits together. Nothing gets forgotten or misplaced. The more you think about the world and fill in the blanks the more easily and naturally adventures just fall into place.

my Realm Works videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZU...4DwXXkvmBXQ9Yw
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diamondb
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Old April 8th, 2017, 05:36 PM
I had a long rant about how I teetered on the edge of leaving and the pros and cons I had juggled with RW, but I deleted it. I still have my files in RW, I'll likely keep using it as an organizational tool, I want RW to succeed and I want to love RW. However, I don't know if it will ever live up to the hopes and dreams I had for it. The content market is a non-issue for me, I never intended to use it and my switch to 5e hammered a few more nails in that coffin (a switch that is likely going to be the end of my HeroLab use as well).

The one issue that keeps me questioning my continued use of RW is the inability to print from the program. Yes, yes EightBitz, I know you addressed the ability to print.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EightBitz View Post
As for printing, you can do that now. When LWD introduced the import/export function, the first thing I did was write a PowerShell script that transforms the XML output into HTML.
I applaud your work (and the work of all the community members making RW and HeroLab great). My issue, however, is why must a third-party community member have to write a script to provide us with functionality that should have been part of the program in the first place? I understand the need to focus on revenue streams, but I feel the functionality I hoped would come from RW was sacrificed for the sake of those revenue streams and I fear that functionality will never arrive. Unless, of course, the community steps up and patches the holes.

Sorry, if that still sounded ranty, maybe my frustration got the better of me. I'm still a user, I just wonder sometimes how much longer I will remain and what I will use if I ever leave.
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Exmortis
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Old April 10th, 2017, 05:33 AM
Funny, the delays with RW features affect me....Like 5 on a scale of 1 to 1000. With 4.99 of that being calendars.

One has to remember, to quote Kosh "Understanding is a three edged sword". But here it has hundreds of edges.

For me, RW is a campaign building tool that has no comparison, or competition. All in one systems are crap, yes crap, jack of all trades is convenient but never great. I have CC3+ for mapping (there is no better, just easier), I have Hero Lab for characters (Again there is no better, just easier or different), have RW Campaign building and delivery (no better just different), Soon to use D20 for replacement of miniatures.

The content market for me is one of convenience, I hope to be able to buy the rule books to import into my campaign, then link to them (can you image no more book/page flipping?). I build my own campaigns, have done for 20+ years of gaming, ever since my first attempt at campaign "Merchant's Gate". This was centered around the thieves guild being expelled from Waterdeep, their founding of this town on the major trade route. Other than the map, everything was custom, after that, I never used anything but a self build world.

In this light, nothing beats the tools I have outlined above, with my latest incarnation Daede (and my personal fun project, Telon), I have custom races, deities, maps, everything. Find me a tool like HL that allows me to build my races into the generator, like they came with it? Find me a tool as good as CC3 for making interlinked maps? And find me a better tool for pulling it all together then RW, with the ability to deliver content, have players archive it, access it on a whim, at home or at the game table? For the price of admission and small up coming cloud fee. You won't.

For those who want to run pre-built materials, YES RWs delays are annoying, frustrating and wholly the main point of lost faith. No one can argue otherwise period. All the fanois can't argue AMD bulldozer sucked, any more then RW fanbois like me can argue the delays are beyond forgiving. If I cared.

But I don't.

I don't defend the delays, I defend what the product offers, but it may not be the same for everyone. I am grateful I have not invested in RW to run my Pathfinder campaign and say an AP like rune lords, or with the entire intent to buy content. I would have long ago left, how long can one wait for vapor ware? However I do agree now is a poor time to leave, the final drive is here. A person has to at one point decide to cut your losses on something and bail, but on the eve of a new day isn't the time to give up on tomorrow when today has been so bad.

I agree with the sediment that the delays are inexcusable, "don't promise what you can't deliver". But you have to understand that the average person "I want a hard date now!" are loud and just as annoying, as ETA is just estimated, but too many need to buy a dictionary. This is the land they [LWD] operate in, and Rob is much nicer then I would be to that vocal group. Why LWD is successful and I would fail.

However the fans points are JUST as valid, they love and work with the product, we have found a way to use the software with its faults, and see the growth over time, and can see that the future is brighter than the past. That's why they are passionate, almost makes me feel dirty like I was an apple fanboi!! But make no mistake, they understand the delays annoyances, not everyone is a fountain of negativity like some self proclaimed royalty.

You take RW two ways:

Love it for what it is, and is evolving into.
OR
Hate it for what it isn't.

Both are just as legit as the other, but if you stand on your soapbox and preach, you bring both voices in return. YOU asked for the discussion, anyone who posts in an open forum is looking for the attention, so stop making a big deal about it either way, fanboi or not..PMs don't have this issue, we fanbois are annoying to the detractors, but understand, the detractors are just as annoying to the fanbois.

IN the end, we have symmetry, thus balance. And that's all the matters.

Exmortis aka "Scott"
RW - Needs Rez spell
HL - Game Master/Designer
RPG Tools - Campaign Cartographer 3+, D20 Pro Ultimate
Real Life - IT Security
Hobby - Anything on water or ATV

Last edited by Exmortis; April 10th, 2017 at 05:36 AM.
Exmortis is offline   #44 Reply With Quote
gaffneyks
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Old April 10th, 2017, 06:58 AM
For those who say the Content Market delays do not affect you because you don't purchase content.

True at this time they do not and since you don't plan on using it you assume that it is not a big deal, but if LWD is relying on it as a business strategy, then the loss of customers might ultimately have an impact to the product and thus affect you and me.

Since the content market will not include any Forgotten Realms content and that is what I am currently playing, the complete inability of LWD going live with the content market is actually a positive to my players. After having to manually enter everything myself, I actually know the module better than I would have if I had bought it. So things have gone more smoothly for them.

But I am concerned about the complete face plant the content market has been. I have seen this before with software products, and loss of revenue always has an impact on the product getting new features and upgrades.
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Exmortis
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Old April 10th, 2017, 09:23 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaffneyks View Post
For those who say the Content Market delays do not affect you because you don't purchase content.

True at this time they do not and since you don't plan on using it you assume that it is not a big deal, but if LWD is relying on it as a business strategy, then the loss of customers might ultimately have an impact to the product and thus affect you and me.

Since the content market will not include any Forgotten Realms content and that is what I am currently playing, the complete inability of LWD going live with the content market is actually a positive to my players. After having to manually enter everything myself, I actually know the module better than I would have if I had bought it. So things have gone more smoothly for them.

But I am concerned about the complete face plant the content market has been. I have seen this before with software products, and loss of revenue always has an impact on the product getting new features and upgrades.
Agree, but the only feature I want, is calendars...Period. And it is not anywhere near a make or break feature.

Anything else is just gravy, and gravy doesn't make the meal, that is how the meat was prepared and tastes. And RW tastes great!

Exmortis aka "Scott"
RW - Needs Rez spell
HL - Game Master/Designer
RPG Tools - Campaign Cartographer 3+, D20 Pro Ultimate
Real Life - IT Security
Hobby - Anything on water or ATV
Exmortis is offline   #46 Reply With Quote
Farling
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Old April 10th, 2017, 10:54 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaffneyks View Post
After having to manually enter everything myself, I actually know the module better than I would have if I had bought it. So things have gone more smoothly for them.
This is the one of the big reasons to input the campaign yourself. It is amazing how much extra detail can be gleaned whilst you're thinking about how to structure the snippets in each topic (even down to thinking about which snippets need rewording so that they can be revealed, and possibly presented in the player view).
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kbs666
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Old April 10th, 2017, 02:05 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaffneyks View Post
But I am concerned about the complete face plant the content market has been. I have seen this before with software products, and loss of revenue always has an impact on the product getting new features and upgrades.
I'm reaching this point as well. I love RW and use it almost every day. I no more want to go back to my old way of building and managing a campaign than I want to be poked with a sharp stick a few thousand times. I know enough about software projects to know what one heading in the wrong direction looks like.

I just hope that LWD straightens things out soon.

my Realm Works videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZU...4DwXXkvmBXQ9Yw
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chaoscowboy
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Posts: 68

Old April 10th, 2017, 02:12 PM
Realmworks is a glorified database. Why it isn't web-based boggles the mind, but then Lone Wolf seems to be trying to treat the internet like it's still 2004.
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Farling
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Old April 10th, 2017, 02:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by chaoscowboy View Post
Realmworks is a glorified database.
So is the internet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chaoscowboy View Post
Why it isn't web-based boggles the mind, but then Lone Wolf seems to be trying to treat the internet like it's still 2004.
I think you'll find many posts on here from people who don't have unlimited access to the internet from their gaming locations.

Many parts of the world are still not connected reliably to the internet. This is a fact that many city dwellers fail to remember.
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