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Realm Works Feature Survey Lobbying

Users =/= readers.

On the whole, I believe that roleplayers are more intelligent than average. Unfortunately, it also means that roleplayers think they know things. Even when they don't.

I now also think that Rob is going to murder the realm of the next person who admits to not reading things. Be afraid, folks. Be very afraid.
 
Chemlak said:
Users =/= readers.

On the whole, I believe that roleplayers are more intelligent than average. Unfortunately, it also means that roleplayers think they know things. Even when they don't.

I now also think that Rob is going to murder the realm of the next person who admits to not reading things. Be afraid, folks. Be very afraid.
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lol :)
 
rob said:
Yep. That fact is explicitly what the first page of the survey spelled out. Er, let me rephrase that. That fact is what the first page was INTENDED to explicitly spell out. It seems we failed in that effort for at least one user. :(
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It might have been good to include it in the list of "fundamental features we're not mentioning in the survey". I know most of the folks who hang out here know that's the big next feature to add, but I don't know how far that spreads.

As with football, it's a lot easier making and acting on suggestions from the comfy chair than it is in the field. :)
 
Got it. Put my CALENDARS vote in. Did my best to prioritize and keep things non-essential to myself rated low (though it all sounded good!)

Very thorough survey, thank you LWD.

(oh, and CALENDARS )
 
rob said:
Yep. That fact is explicitly what the first page of the survey spelled out. Er, let me rephrase that. That fact is what the first page was INTENDED to explicitly spell out. It seems we failed in that effort for at least one user. :(
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Glad to hear its me miss interpreting that page then! however I will note that when taking a look at the page in question the content market is not mentioned on there either, making it easy to think that its not in the immediate plans
 
You know, I have seen people scream calendars over and over again (or maybe it's just Chemlak over and over :-) ). Is it REALLY that big of a deal? (and I mean this respectfully)

I mean, we currently have "Game Sessions" that are essentially useless: they are "on the side" hidden in the manage section. They don't auto-link to anything and can't be referenced with the rest of the Realm. They don't create any relationships, they don't add to the Timeline etc.

I would think that the lack of functionality of Game Sessions would be a universal problem. Surely almost every game must keep session notes?

I routed around the issue by using Events/Time Period as my Session Notes but that'a kludge. It works though, so maybe people have just done something similar and can live with it.

In all my years gaming, I have NEVER seen a non-Gregorian calendar work. It just doesn't get picked up by the players, it's just a bureaucratic element that doesn't work. Now, mind you, I KNOW some people really get into it and use them religiously (literally, in some games), so I can see the usefulness, but I just can't imagine where they would be MORE useful than Session notes.

Plots are screaming for extra data at the Plot Point level, although Rob pointed out that might not be such a good idea because you end up with a 'slippery slope' phenomenon where you keep adding stuff to Plots until it eclipses everything else. Again, I see it as being more important that Calendars.

However, I can understand that trying to shoehorn a non-Gregorian calendar into the system and having all the various timeline functionality not work because your calendar in unrecognised must be annoying.

Can someone explain to me why it THAT important?
 
Seregil said:
You know, I have seen people scream calendars over and over again (or maybe it's just Chemlak over and over :-) ). Is it REALLY that big of a deal? (and I mean this respectfully)

[SNIP]

Can someone explain to me why it THAT important?
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There are numerous threads in the fora explaining why many people see calendars as a very useful addition to RW.

I can give you are quick example why it would be useful by referring to one of my earlier rambles in another thread: http://forums.wolflair.com/showpost.php?p=180005&postcount=43

(the entire thread can be found here: http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=45442)

One of the reasons why people really want this tool is, that it isn't really available anywhere else and it needs to be a part of RW to be useful.

Please ask if you are still in the dark as to why many people really want this calendar tool.
 
It's probably just me and the deputy calendar champions over and over and over again.

Here's why it's a big deal for me:

For the last 25 years, I've been running campaigns in a persistent-world version of the Forgotten Realms, which has its own calendar. I have a very rich and detailed history of the events that have happened in those campaigns, but they are all tied to the calendar of Harptos (the "normal" calendar in the Realms). In addition to this, there is the WotC published Grand History of the Realms, which I use for ideas and to tie events in my campaigns into the "official" history. Which (naturally) uses the calendar of Harptos. And then there's the fact that I also have the occasional adventure where characters end up on an alternate-history version of Earth in the early 21st century, which uses the Gregorian calendar.

So, my "normal" campaign has an official timeline, my campaign timeline, and an Earth timeline. To tie different events together, I want to be able to seamlessly swap between the two calendars I use.

This doesn't even touch upon the immersion factor, which is helpful but non-essential.

In other words, while I don't really need custom calendars, I want them, so that I can properly write up my overarching campaign, and plan its future.
 
Vargr said:
Can I sign up for deputy duty?

I for one really need that calendar functionality in order to get my campaign world working.
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Heh. It all started when I realised that the phrase "Chief Calendar Champion Chemlak" was delightfully alliterative, but also could be shortened to C4, which tickled me.

It's entirely self-bestowed and means absolutely nothing, and anybody who wants can sign up for deputy duty (since that likewise means nothing) - all it requires is that you want calendars and are willing to share that desire.
 
Seregil said:
You know, I have seen people scream calendars over and over again (or maybe it's just Chemlak over and over :-) ). Is it REALLY that big of a deal? (and I mean this respectfully)

<SNIP>

Can someone explain to me why it THAT important?
Click to expand...

For me, it would be like having to use a real-world map instead of my custom fantasy maps. Calendars are an important part of world building for me and crucial for the immersive experience. This is especially important to my current campaign where cultural fault lines and flash points play a large role in events and encounters in the campaign. Like currency, clothing, and hair styles, calendars are one of the easily overlooked sources of cultural fetishes and controversies that I find an incredibly fascinating window into history and the politics, religious disputes, and cultural identities of different groups in different ages.

The main draw of RW for me was that it provided a tool to help with world building. The ability to create custom calendars is a critical part of world building. That is why it is important to me. For my use case, everything else is bells and whistles and I'm happy with the tool as it is—EXCEPT for the lack of support for multiple custom calendars.
 
Yep, what they said.

Like Chemlak, I run a Forgotten Realms campaign, so having the Calendar of Harptos in RW would help organize the hundreds of events occurring on any given day.

I've also created my own worlds, with their own calendars that aren't Gregorian-based, and I need the ability to tie my history / clues that players stumble upon to specific dates that currently can't exist within RW.

It's vital from both an immersion and organizational stand point.

RW is for world building. You can't build a world *without* a calendar.

Nor live in one without it, for that matter! Try making through the work week without one. :)
 
As an interim step for updated map pins, would it be possible to use the associated Topic icon as the pin shape? being able to differentiate Communities, Locations, Geographic Regions, and Quests would be a phenomenal benefit for more developed worlds, even while waiting for the full solution.
 
Y'see, I'm of two minds about a spell-checker. On the one hand, I love getting my words right, and simple spelling errors bug me six ways from Sunday. On the other hand, having to go through my realm and add every single proper noun to the dictionary would be a pain.

Calendars, on the other hand...
 
I agree - a spellchecker doesn't seem very important. And which language should it check? I believe there are at least 7 different versions of English not to mention the hundreds of other languages.

I for one use a mixture of languages when writing, not being a native English speaker.

And I too would hate to see all my non-English nouns pointed out in red.

At least it should not be a priority or take up time from other projects.

Calendars, on the other hand...
 
EightBitz said:
I put this in the survey, but I want to say it here, too. Whenever I've recommended Realm Works to other gamers, someone invariably brings up the fact that it's a closed product. Once your data goes in, it never comes out.

My personal experience in recommending your product has been that this has been the single most common criticism, and has kept you off the radar of many potential customers.
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This! In so many ways this. As it is I can enter my data, while planning my sessions, but then I can't print or export to create player handouts or use the information during the session itself. (I don't allow opened electronic devices during a session.)
 
I would love a spell checker to deal with the occasional "fat finger" typing but I never thought about the language issue. I wish there was a way a user could add a spell checker to the program so they can choose which language to use.
 
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