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I agree with the original poster and appreciate the respectful and understanding tone they took.
I can understand how making HL accessible from more platforms is a real boon to a number of users. I also understand why, from a development and cost perspective, it is much more efficient to do that on a web-browser basis rather than one around apps tailored for each platform/OS. I do get that, honestly. And I've always found the iPad app to be clunky and prone to crashing my iPad, so something that is browser based would be, I'm sure, much more efficient.
But, it's a functionality I don't really need nor want, and never asked for. It's why I paid for multiple licenses for each of my computers.
I've been an "evangelist" for Hero Lab, getting all of my players to use it in two separate games. I've never had a problem buying the data packages for HL that I wanted. The amount of money I've tossed at Wolf Lair (or coaxed my players into spending) is significant and I don't begrudge it in the slightest. They've got a right (and need) to make a profit, and I've found the functionality that is delivered in HL is worth the cost.
When it comes to HLO, I've got a nice job and $2/month really is not a problem for me. Always online isn't a problem for me (I don't go to cons and pretty much everyone I go there is WiFi). But there's just something about the way this is getting rolled out that sticks in my craw. Pay up front and then every month and, if I stop paying every month, I lose the content I've already paid for? And access to my characters? :-/
I'd rather either pay it up front and be done with it, or pay for a subscription with access to all the data packages for a game system (as Syrinscape does it, though they also let you keep any sound packages they release during your subscription).
I truly don't begrudge the folks who are happy with this approach. It sounds like it actually does meet a need that many users want.
And who knows... I may sign up for the beta. I may eventually buy it. But I am actively trying out other systems (PCGen) right now because of this. I appreciate that, in one of his posts, Rob acknowledged this as a reality and did so without rancor.
We'll see what happens.
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