New Digital Games Studio announced by the president of Wizards of the Coast

Charles Rampant · Jan 16, 2017

LordEntrails said:
I think the question you should be asking yourself is why are you buying a printed book when for the same price you can buy something that has everything a printed book has AND more AND is digital?

Because I run my game from books, have bought all the books, and it is a game intrinsically associated with books. I don't want electronic books for D&D.

LordEntrails · Jan 16, 2017

Charles Rampant said:
Because I run my game from books, have bought all the books, and it is a game intrinsically associated with books. I don't want electronic books for D&D.

So you are willing to have a "companion app" digitally but not the product digitally because to you D&D requires printed books.

It may be intrinsically linked to a book to you, but that is a choice you make and continue to make every time you insist on doing things your way. Good luck with that.

Morrus · Jan 16, 2017

LordEntrails said:
So you are willing to have a "companion app" digitally but not the product digitally because to you D&D requires printed books.

It may be intrinsically linked to a book to you, but that is a choice you make and continue to make every time you insist on doing things your way. Good luck with that.

What's with the hostility? Some people - including me - prefer books. Is that a problem?

Staffan · Jan 16, 2017

LordEntrails said:
And you will have to wait 8-10 years for a PDF or something as piratable and flat, at least.

Because the absence of official PDFs have certainly meant that there are no pirate copies of the D&D books available.

Charles Rampant · Jan 16, 2017

LordEntrails said:
So you are willing to have a "companion app" digitally but not the product digitally because to you D&D requires printed books.

It may be intrinsically linked to a book to you, but that is a choice you make and continue to make every time you insist on doing things your way. Good luck with that.

Why are you so bent out of shape about this idea? Are you hoping, through strident declarations and hostility, to convince me that I am wrong to want a companion app that other RPGs demonstrate is possible? I'm not really understanding your point here.

L R Ballard · Jan 16, 2017

LordEntrails said:
Yes, if you want to see it, PM me and we can do a Goto Meeting or I can launch an FG campaign and you can log in as a player and see what it's like.

Thanks for the offer to demo, but I'll likely spring for a one-month subscription to have a look at the platform.

L R Ballard · Jan 16, 2017

Charles Rampant said:
I want a companion app to the books, not a replacement to the books. Why on earth would I want to pay the same price again in order to get the same content, but electronic? I want something that will improve the book, not make it redundant. How hard is that to understand?

It's either a digital or a print medium for me, too. I like FG but am also open to an app. The most useful app for me would include a combat tracker.

Myrdin Potter · Jan 16, 2017

Morrus said:
What's with the hostility? Some people - including me - prefer books. Is that a problem?

The difference is that the desire for a "companion app" means there is a digital addition to just the book. What is being asked for is already there except for the QR code and the free digital addition. Marvel does it with comics in their app as well. WoTC could easily add something for digital version if you own the paper as long as the owners of Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 were compensated.

Many groups ban phones and computers during a game as they view them as a distraction.

I really didn't read much hostility into the response, more like impatience, but gamers are often very particular in what they want.

Personally, I think that the announcement will be focused more on MtG as the game system is much better suited to mobile games. D&D as a game I can't see playing on my phone with any real automation.

LordEntrails · Jan 17, 2017

I said it before, I have meant no hostility, in what I have posted before and what I'm posting now.

@Morrus, I also have no problems with books, I thought my exchange with @darjr around post #98 of this thread made that clear.

@Staffan, I see no point in discussing theft as a legitimate business option. A consideration, yes, an option, no.

@Charles Rampant, I'm not bent out of shape. I'm amused. As Myrddin points out, most of what you ask for is already available. As I pointed out earlier, I find it amusing that people continually make the same complaints yet refuse to acknowledge that options other than what they have envisioned are available. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe your ideas of a companion app are something new and revolutionary, but what has been described in this thread fails to describe something new and revolutionary in my understanding.

I find discussions on ENWorld interesting. One aspect of that is that people seem to assume hostility here rather than interest or critical consideration.

Sorcerers Apprentice · Jan 17, 2017

ArchfiendBobbie said:
That's why I suggested the two companies I did. BeamDog's DnD games are advertised on the DnD website, and Harebrained Schemes is currently finishing their fourth video game using IP owned by Catalyst.

IP owned by Microsoft. Microsoft ended up owning the video game rights for most of the FASA Properties when they aquired FASA Interactive, and Harebrained is licencing Shadowrun from them.

Catalyst on the other hand is licencing all the rest of the Shadowrun IP from Topps, they don't own anything either, just like Harebrained.