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Realm Works Web View timeframe?

Fiordhraoi said:
I agree on the need for web access - it was one of the promised features that made me kickstart/buy Realmworks. The primary attraction of Realm Works for me was to be able to use it as a place to publish a lot of detail and let my players be able to see what details have been revealed. I run an ongoing, 15 year game with a rotating character base, so being able to make historical story information available to players is a huge draw for me. As it is, the time investment needed for me to be able to put things into realmworks just isn't worth it.

Crossing my fingers that they supply that feature soon. As is, Realmworks has pretty much been gathering dust on my PC while I wait for the primary promised feature I wanted.
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So, first off, I don't recall web access being "promised" for the Kickstarter...more like "suggested as a future enhancement". Reviewing the kickstarter page now, I see no mention at all of web-based access to the content.

Second, the web access that has been briefly discussed would begin with read-only player access that would be more limited than the access from the desktop Player Edition.

Some period of time after that, some GM access might come. The discussion in the past indicated that the desktop application would always be "ahead" in terms of features and access; new features would migrate to the web after the desktop.

Naturally, since what has been discussed in the past was all tentative, it is subject to revision as time goes by.

Having said all that, leaving RealmWorks idle because it doesn't have "the one key feature" you want is misguided, I think. You mentioned that the input time isn't worth it. That time investment will not change much if/when web access is available. You're STILL going to need to spend time learning the application, organizing how you want to present your data, and putting it in. As part of this, you may well need one or more attempts before it is "just the way you want it". Your players can have access now to the Player Edition and can have all the features you talked about being what you want.

"a place to publish a lot of detail and let my players be able to see what details have been revealed. I run an ongoing, 15 year game with a rotating character base, so being able to make historical story information available to players is a huge draw for me." That's all in the application now. Just not web-based.

If you're on a non-Windows platform, that's a bit different, but you did not mention that.

So rather than leave RealmWorks idle while waiting for a feature that may be years out (the ones actually promised in the kickstarter are just now nearing fulfillment, 4+ years after the original estimated delivery date), I would say you should be using the time in order to conquer the learning curve and working out your organizational plans.
 
Silveras said:
So, first off, I don't recall web access being "promised" for the Kickstarter...more like "suggested as a future enhancement". Reviewing the kickstarter page now, I see no mention at all of web-based access to the content.

Second, the web access that has been briefly discussed would begin with read-only player access that would be more limited than the access from the desktop Player Edition.

Some period of time after that, some GM access might come. The discussion in the past indicated that the desktop application would always be "ahead" in terms of features and access; new features would migrate to the web after the desktop.

Naturally, since what has been discussed in the past was all tentative, it is subject to revision as time goes by.

Having said all that, leaving RealmWorks idle because it doesn't have "the one key feature" you want is misguided, I think. You mentioned that the input time isn't worth it. That time investment will not change much if/when web access is available. You're STILL going to need to spend time learning the application, organizing how you want to present your data, and putting it in. As part of this, you may well need one or more attempts before it is "just the way you want it". Your players can have access now to the Player Edition and can have all the features you talked about being what you want.

"a place to publish a lot of detail and let my players be able to see what details have been revealed. I run an ongoing, 15 year game with a rotating character base, so being able to make historical story information available to players is a huge draw for me." That's all in the application now. Just not web-based.

If you're on a non-Windows platform, that's a bit different, but you did not mention that.

So rather than leave RealmWorks idle while waiting for a feature that may be years out (the ones actually promised in the kickstarter are just now nearing fulfillment, 4+ years after the original estimated delivery date), I would say you should be using the time in order to conquer the learning curve and working out your organizational plans.
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This!
 
Silveras said:
So, first off, I don't recall web access being "promised" for the Kickstarter...more like "suggested as a future enhancement". Reviewing the kickstarter page now, I see no mention at all of web-based access to the content.
Click to expand...

I think it's not an unreasonable assumption in 2013 for an application featuring "cloud service" to have web-based access to that content. It was definitely a thing early-on, but fell off the radar. LW even had a web developer on staff IIRC, but he/she departed at some point after the initial release was delayed.

But anyway, there was going to be the payed client access (which we eventually got in the player client), and a free web-based view of your content (which has not been released). Both were slated for release sometime after the initial v1.0 release.

I know the ability to share electronic content with players was one of the big draws of the tool for me -- and the reason I went with the Alpha Wolf backer level was the ability to share that content via the web. Still hoping for that, and the remaining backer rewards. ;)
 
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It can't be too hard to write a php script or something like that, that takes your RealmWorks XML-Export and generates web pages from that.
 
Possible work around for remote users.
Using your DM version I believe you can place the player view on a second monitor, then using conferencing software share that screen with the remote users.
 
HDScorpio said:
Possible work around for remote users.
Using your DM version I believe you can place the player view on a second monitor, then using conferencing software share that screen with the remote users.
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Yes, I've done this when I was running a game with most players at the table and one who was remote. Worked well.

But that is not what the Web version will be for. The Web version will not be for live play, but rather will give players access to revealed content between games (or for lookup during games). The DM will not need to be running Realmworks.

IIRC, they made enough progress to give a sneak peak but the Content Market issues sidelined it. Hopefully Web view will be come out not too long after the Content Market is released.
 
My big question is, what is their revenue stream from web content/access? Is it going to have ads in it? Are they going to charge a subscription fee for web access to get rid of ads?

I understand the revenue stream from the player edition and the GM edition, but not the web based access. As it has been discussed, anyway.
 
I would assume there would be ads or a subscription model but its never been discussed.

Tbh from my experience ads are a terrible revenue stream unless you're getting millions of page views per day so I would lean towards some sort of subscription.
 
Hmmm. My recollection (or maybe my assumption?) was that the web-view was going to be an alternative for those who didn't want to or couldn't buy the Player version. Much more limited functionality than the actual program - just a way to look at the information, with no ability to enter any data, keep a journal, etc.

Using it as a revenue stream was never discussed that I can recall. Not sure why anyone would pay a subscription fee when it would be cheaper in the long run to pay the one time fee for the Player Version.
 
Remember that Realm Works Cloud Service is already supposed to be a paid subscription, and player access (including via the web) requires Cloud Service. The only stated reason that they're not currently charging anyone for Cloud Service is the long delayed launch of the Content Market.

RW FAQ: My GM does not have Cloud Service. Can I still use Player Edition in his/her game?

RW Cloud FAQ: If I have cloud service, will my players be able to view my realm for free through the web app? (Emphasis mine.)

Plans may change, of course.
 
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THAT'S what I remembered! Thanks, Parody.

So (at least as of the time that FAQ was written) there was free access planned for players to view, as long as the GM has the cloud subscription.
 
Still no revenue stream through the web based app though. Only the GM's are going to get charged for cloud service kind of sucks. Maybe GM's should consider charging for access to their content to offset the cost of their cloud service then.
 
I doubt the cloud service sub will be very expensive. cloud storage costs have gone down dramatically in the years since RW launched. I have 4 separate free cloud storage account and none of them are less than 2 Gb, and one is 50. Even if LWD winds up charging some nominal fee per year for the their cloud storage for people with reasonable sized DB's, under 5 Gb for instance, I'm not going to get all worked up over it and I'm going to have a lot of trouble restraining eye rolls and sarcasm if others do.
 
That all depends on what they are going to charge for cloud service. If it's under $25 a year for that 5 GB of storage or more, then I wouldn't bitch either. But that is still a limited revenue stream for LWD. My experience is that most gaming groups have 1 or 2 GM's out of a group of 5 or 6 people. That's roughly 4.5 people out of 6 that LWD will never see a dime from with web access. Charging them as little as a Quarter a month ($3.00 a year) could significantly increase there revenue stream. Which could help with future development of the product and possibly content. Let's not forget that web only users most likely will not be buying anything from the content market either.
 
IIRC correctly, the web view will be quite limited but players who buy the player license will have access to all shared content. But I may be remembering it wrong and things may have changed since it was last discussed. Too lazy to dig up the Web view discussion thread where this was all discussed.
 
Viking2054 said:
That all depends on what they are going to charge for cloud service. If it's under $25 a year for that 5 GB of storage or more, then I wouldn't bitch either. But that is still a limited revenue stream for LWD. My experience is that most gaming groups have 1 or 2 GM's out of a group of 5 or 6 people. That's roughly 4.5 people out of 6 that LWD will never see a dime from with web access. Charging them as little as a Quarter a month ($3.00 a year) could significantly increase there revenue stream. Which could help with future development of the product and possibly content. Let's not forget that web only users most likely will not be buying anything from the content market either.
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There's always been issues with all of the RW continuing business model. That's why they piled all the eggs in the CM basket.
 
Throwing all their eggs into the baskets of 'Content Market' and 'Cloud Subscriptions' for 1.5 out of 6 potential users is severely limited in my opinion. I don't remember which tycoon of America's early industrial age said it, but they said something along the lines of "I'd rather have one dollar on a continuing business from millions of users then a million dollars from a single user." Don't bother me if the quote isn't quite accurate. Point is that they could be making some money from all potential users even if it isn't much on a monthly basis. They could even offer a discount if you pay for 6 months or a year at a time.

Also, just my opinion, but they'd have to severely limit free web access to the point of being near useless to overcome the "Free" part.
 
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