Sneak Peak of Realm Works on the Web!

Lone Wolf Development makes the popular Hero Lab character generation software, and is also the creator of Realm Works, a campaign management suite. They've sent along an update and preview of the latter in video format, which you can see below. "Brought to you by the creators of Hero Lab®, Realm Works is the tool every Game Master has dreamed about for managing campaigns. Spend less time preparing, more time creating, and focus on sharing the story with your players! Built by a team of experienced GMs, Realm Works can be used with any game system and allows you to create and manipulate your world like never before."

Here's the post from Lone Wolf's Liz:

As more roleplaying gamers discover and explore Realm Works, the positive reviews continue to pour in! But what does the future hold for Realm Works? Today, GMs and players can explore worlds and stories from their laptop or desktop PCs. Soon, worlds created and run within Realm Works will be available through the web!

Check out a behind-the-scenes look at the web version of Realm Works with Joe, one of the developers. He provides a peek at a few of the features we already have in place, including content reveal, basic navigation, user notes, and more! He’ll also show off how Realm Works will look on your tablet. Yes, your campaign will literally be at your fingertips!

[video=youtube;Vmfq8UR4WCI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmfq8UR4WCI[/video]

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[Jester David]

I do like the idea of Realmsworks. I haven't pulled the trigger but it's on my radar.

The cost is steep though. Mostly the need for player licences. I wish that was folded in the price rather than the cloud storage.

 

[dd.stevenson]

I dunno--I'm mostly okay telling players that they need a one time payment of less than $10 US to view handouts and such.

I'm much less okay putting my content into a highly propitiatory format that requires a contrived monthly fee from me in order for players to view it.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

The one thing that makes Realm Works appeal to me despite the subscription (normally a deal-breaker), is the fact that your content and software stays local on your machine and you aren't required to keep a subscription to use it. You only subscribe for cloud storage (and sharing via the web). So if you are using it for your personal DMing organization rather than as a way of sharing info with players, you just have a one-time cost.

Of course, they are including 6-months of subscription with the initial purchase, which will probably serve to get a lot of people like me hooked on the subscription service and more likely to try to squeeze it into our budget after the trial. But at least I don't have to.

 

[LWDLiz]

I do like the idea of Realmsworks. I haven't pulled the trigger but it's on my radar.

The cost is steep though. Mostly the need for player licences. I wish that was folded in the price rather than the cloud storage.

One perk of the web version is that there will be limited player access for free.

I dunno--I'm mostly okay telling players that they need a one time payment of less than $10 US to view handouts and such.

I'm much less okay putting my content into a highly propitiatory format that requires a contrived monthly fee from me in order for players to view it.

The PC version of Realm Works does not require cloud service, as Sword of the Spirit mentions. You can create content and share your creations with your players through the player view window, all from your computer. Using the web version or using Player Edition with your players would require the cloud service, as that's how your information is shared across the web or to your player's copies. I hope that clarifies things.

 

[Slayyne]

One perk of the web version is that there will be limited player access for free.



The PC version of Realm Works does not require cloud service, as Sword of the Spirit mentions. You can create content and share your creations with your players through the player view window, all from your computer. Using the web version or using Player Edition with your players would require the cloud service, as that's how your information is shared across the web or to your player's copies. I hope that clarifies things.

The only thing though is if you choose not to use the cloud service, you would need to regularly back up your local database.

 

[LWDLiz]

The only thing though is if you choose not to use the cloud service, you would need to regularly back up your local database.

All of your changes are automatically saved locally to your machine. However, you're right that if you want additional protection beyond that without cloud service, you would need to manually backup your database. This would be equivalent making a backup of a Word document onto an external hard drive or into DropBox, if you're currently working on your campaign in Word.

 

[jusdup]

I think this is awesome.

 

[pming]

Hiya.

WARNING! : Negativity burst below! Curmudgeonia-Grognarditis flare up!

Mr.Naysayer here... I don't see the point. Honestly, I (and my players) want to get together every Sunday to roll some dice, have a few laughs, and do some imaginative roleplaying. We enjoy all the "RPG" stuff, but we are also sitting around the table for that face-to-face connection. We can see each others faces. If I draw out a quick sketch of an area on a sheet of paper, we can all see it and everyone can make marks on it, point to stuff for questions, etc. It's a group engagement; a collective activity, with no digital wall between anyone. Now, I'm probably just an old fart, but when I DM and describe some awesome view the PC's are encountering...after I'm done and ask "So what do you want to do?"... when I look up from my notes, I want to see their faces looking back at me. I don't want to see their noses buried into a tablet. And, honestly, repeating You see, this. 50 times over an evening would get ridiculously boring from a DM'ing point of view. I'd much rather explain what they encounter where I can use inflection, tone, volume, dramatic pause, etc. It is MUCH more entertaining if you ask me.

When we are playing, we all want to engage each other...y'know, using facial expressions, eye contact, and all that other stuff that humans have developed over tens upon tens of thousands of years. This tool seems to think that taking away that and replacing it with pretty pictures on a digital screen is somehow "better" for the social dynamic that is at the core of every roleplaying game group.

Don't get me wrong. A tool for managing a campaign is useful. But one that is intended to be used during the session... again, I just don't see the point, desire, or need. Maybe I'm alone in this, I don't know. But we definitely won't be using this.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[dd.stevenson]

The PC version of Realm Works does not require cloud service, as Sword of the Spirit mentions. You can create content and share your creations with your players through the player view window, all from your computer. Using the web version or using Player Edition with your players would require the cloud service, as that's how your information is shared across the web or to your player's copies. I hope that clarifies things.

It was clear. I don't think the distinction is important--without the Player Edition, Realms Works offers no particular value to me, as I would be using this product for online games.

I am sorry for the negativity--I do hope your product succeeds wonderfully. (And that you soon face a direct competitor whose business model is more to my tatstes!)