Pathfinder 2E Paizo Officially Supporting Foundry, Free Content Ending

[Retreater]

I'm linking this blog post from the Paizo site that's getting nothing but positive feedback from the Paizo fans, but I think there's some real criticism to be made. The previous way we would access content on Foundry would be to legally purchase the PDF from Paizo, and a fan-made module would upload maps with dynamic lighting, journal entries, art, NPC and monster stats, etc.
Now the marketing team at Paizo is putting a spin on it that this module is no longer going to be supported and that you'll have to purchase premium digital assets from Paizo to do what you used to get for free with the purchase of a PDF. It seems to add no extra value, and customers will have to re-purchase things they have already bought to use with the PDF Importer.
This is anti-fan and probably a start of things to come as can begin shutting down other PF2 fan content (Archives of Nethys, Pathbuilder, etc.) to encourage other digital subscriptions (Nexus?)

paizo.com - Community / Paizo Blog

Edit: I'm changing the title of the thread now that I know FryGuy was ending his work by choice.

 

[Morrus]

Where does it say the fan project is being halted?

 

[Retreater]

Where does it say the fan project is being halted?

In the FAQ.

Paizo Partnership FAQ | Foundry Virtual Tabletop

The official website and community for Foundry Virtual Tabletop.

foundryvtt.com

What Does This Mean For The PDF to Foundry Module?​

Foundry VTT staff have been in FryGuy's corner from the very moment we approved PDFtoFoundry, and like many of you we were saddened to hear about his decision to step back from adding new content to it. However, we are also in the rare position of understanding just how much effort it requires to do the kind of conversion he was doing by hand on a monthly basis.

With the knowledge that official conversions were coming for Pathfinder Second Edition content, we took the time to ask Fryguy what his plans for PDFtoFoundry are, so we’ll let him tell you in his own words:

PDF to Foundry was, and always has been, a temporary solution in my mind. Due to how it works, it is practically impossible to be as high quality as something that has been adapted for a virtual tabletop directly. If you've seen the quality of the journal entries that are in the premium Foundry VTT content, I'm sure you'll agree. I only intended to add adventures to PDF to Foundry until they were sold on the FVTT marketplace. And now that they are being released, it means that I can stop updating it.
Honestly, I'm relieved by this announcement. Keeping PDF to Foundry up to date has been pretty stressful lately, especially when I fall behind the AP release dates. I've put off working on the PF2e system to instead add content to PDF to Foundry. Not having to maintain PDF to Foundry means I can focus more on the core PF2e system and let better qualified people make amazing conversions of Adventure Paths. I think that this arrangement will be better for everyone.

 

[Morrus]

Sounds like he’s pretty happy about it.

 

[Retreater]

Sounds like he’s pretty happy about it.

Yes, it seems like it was a lot of work for him to maintain it, and apparently it was something that he was planning to stop doing anyway.
But I'll tell ya, I'm not happy about the development as someone who just started a PF2 game on Foundry partly because of this module being available.
And it's frustrating to see nothing but celebration about this from fans on the official site (and YouTube). Even if it's a positive thing for the guy developing it that he can step away, I don't want to cheer about having to re-purchase things from Paizo and spend a premium for (what I consider) little added benefit. I will never use soundtracks. I don't care that the maps will be in higher-definition (they're on a little monitor anyway).

 

[Morrus]

Yes, it seems like it was a lot of work for him to maintain it, and apparently it was something that he was planning to stop doing anyway.
But I'll tell ya, I'm not happy about the development as someone who just started a PF2 game on Foundry partly because of this module being available.
And it's frustrating to see nothing but celebration about this from fans on the official site (and YouTube). Even if it's a positive thing for the guy developing it that he can step away, I don't want to cheer about having to re-purchase things from Paizo and spend a premium for (what I consider) little added benefit. I will never use soundtracks. I don't care that the maps will be in higher-definition (they're on a little monitor anyway).

What’s the alternative? Forcing the poor guy to keep doing it for free? He clearly doesn’t want to. I’m not really seeing the issue here, except that you won’t be getting free labour any more.

 

[Retreater]

What’s the alternative? Forcing the poor guy to keep doing it for free? He clearly doesn’t want to. I’m not really seeing the issue here, except that you won’t be getting free labour any more.

Not celebrating the increased costs as a positive development, happy to throw money for stuff we were getting for free?
I'm not entitled to this developer's work, and I applaud him for what he was doing.
And if I decide to purchase a Foundry AP I'll do it begrudgingly, not that I'm really happy that Paizo is selling me something twice. Everywhere else online people are doing dances (like literally a fan on YouTube is dancing) for something we already had for free.

 

[Morrus]

Not celebrating the increased costs as a positive development, happy to throw money for stuff we were getting for free?
I'm not entitled to this developer's work, and I applaud him for what he was doing.
And if I decide to purchase a Foundry AP I'll do it begrudgingly, not that I'm really happy that Paizo is selling me something twice. Everywhere else online people are doing dances (like literally a fan on YouTube is dancing) for something we already had for free.

So you want free labour from Paizo staff instead?

 

[JThursby]

I'm with Morrus, Fryguy was doing what was essentially a second job to make Foundry content. And it wasn't like it was free, you had to buy the PDFs. Besides, there is no ban on doing what Fryguy was doing, it isn't like this is a case where Paizo is shutting down fan content. Was Archives of Nethys, the entire Pathfinder 2e system and all of PDF to Foundry work insufficient free content? To me it's a frankly rare treasure trove of free value, not nearly the norm.

 

[Retreater]

So you want free labour from Paizo staff instead?

No. But I bought the PDFs expecting to use them in Foundry. As long as I get to keep using them like they are now, I'm good. I'm not going to buy them again for Foundry. (Especially after purchasing on PDF, print, and Roll20).
I'm guessing you and I won't see eye-to-eye on this one.
My wife has a similar concern that Wordle will be put behind a paywall now that it's been purchased by NY Times. Good things are made by hobbyists, develop fans, then are bought out by companies who add no value to it.