Four Whines and a Funeral

[Delta]

Software, by the way, wasn't covered in the OGL either.

Not so. From Wizards.com OGL/d20 Software FAQ ( http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/oglfaq/20040123i ):

Q: Can the licenses be used with software?

A: Yes, both licenses can be used with software. However, several sections of the licenses require a bit more work to properly implement in software than they do in printed material and the d20 License has restrictions specific to software.

 

[PeelSeel2]

I feel you Wis. Maybe your name should be Wisdom Bonus?

 

[Dykstrav]

Point the Second: Charging additional fees for virtual minis. Come on, man, that's an ass move. I've always hated dropping $19.95 at the amusement park's gate only to find The Coaster of Doom will run you another $4.50. You've got tons of MMOs out there slapping out content without charging anything other than a standard subscription price, yet we have to be different to get a static 3d model? Is this the airline industry? Pffffft.

This part seems like a gimp move. I understand that they have to pay for modelers to make virtual models and all that, but it still comes off as being a fee-based revenue type of thing, like when banks want to charge you to look at your account balance or something like that. If they're going to want to charge you for virtual miniatures, I'd much rather they just raise the price of the subscription and let you get everything under one flat fee.

I guess what is really bothering me about more fees is that I'm seeing DMs at the FLGS talking about passing the cost of their subscriptions around to their groups, literally charging people to play with them. That's a great way to hurt some feelings, make some people look like skinflints, and get players across the board to drop like flies.

Point the Fourth: Dammit, I miss my regular dead-tree versions of Dragon and Dungeon. I don't care if Paizo's doing it or not (though I firmly believe the best heydays of either magazine were under the Paizo regime), but someone should be doing it. On paper.

Now here's another thing where I think someone failed an Insight roll. Alot of people aren't willing to pay for web content, especially since free, user-generated content can approach the same level of quality. Reading a web article isn't the same as reading the same article on paper, not everyone wants to carry a laptop to game (or even owns a laptop, for that matter). I just wonder if WotC will follow the lead of the music and film industries and blame filesharing for low revenues.

 

[Jack99]

I mostly agree with Wisdom as well.

While I don't mind the online mags, I do prefer the paper version. But unlike others, I thought Dragon was better in the old days, not during the Paizo era (but they still did a great job, though)

The Virtual Mini situation is a joke, and the GSL doesn't look as if it will benefit me, as a customer. But final verdict is still pending imo.

The Compendium, though, looks just fine, if it is indeed an alpha version. I don't mind not having the rules, as they seem to be dumbed down enough for me to understand and remember them

Cheers

 

[Wisdom Penalty]

While I don't mind the online mags, I do prefer the paper version. But unlike others, I thought Dragon was better in the old days, not during the Paizo era (but they still did a great job, though)

I should probably have been clearer, cuz I agree with you. I was mainly a Dungeon subscriber and I absolutely loved what Mona & Co. did with Dungeon. Never subscribed to Dragon during the Paizo era, so probably shouldn't comment too much on that side of the house.

Wis

 

[Delta]

I guess what is really bothering me about more fees is that I'm seeing DMs at the FLGS talking about passing the cost of their subscriptions around to their groups, literally charging people to play with them. That's a great way to hurt some feelings, make some people look like skinflints, and get players across the board to drop like flies.

This is off on a tangent, but -- you're making me recall that this exact same thing was actually recommended way back in the 1E DMG (1979) with regard to actual, physical miniatures.

I suggested it to my players, but got back the grousing that you specify here, "We pay and then you keep the miniatures?" I didn't expect that in advance, but then I was only 10, so my see-things-from-others-perspective skill wasn't fully developed at the time.

 

[Scribble]

Give me some love on the name "Rules Compendium" being a misnomer, then?

Sure... I can see how it will bother some, but eh...Names don't really bother me much. They could call it Spunkatizer 5000 if they wanted... As long as it serves a useful purpose rock on.

 

[Particle_Man]

I revel at how much money I save by remaining an Outsider.

Love the PHB though.

 

[Scribble]

I revel at how much money I save by remaining an Outsider.

Love the PHB though.

Shrug... People spend money for things they feel are worth spending it on.

also... as of now... I'm an insider, and I'm saving as much money as you are.

 

[Particle_Man]

Shrug... People spend money for things they feel are worth spending it on.

also... as of now... I'm an insider, and I'm saving as much money as you are.

You are avoiding the monthly fee? And get virtual miniatures for free? Tell us how!