D&D 5E Good news about DungeonScape

[Tony Semana]

Couple of points around the 'should be free if we're being their testers' and 'should be free to try' whingin.

1) From what I've seen/read of the product it seems like they've gone a long way towards testing and refining the product what with the demo/walkthroughs at the cons and the alpha series testers on the iOS platforms. And, while yes, web is different from iOS I'm pretty confident that it will have a fair bit of polish on release. What they've said they will be looking to with the Beta release is the cloud/resource load testing which makes sense, but yes also the bugs missed so far.

2) They've mentioned in different sources that a component of the tool will be free to use, so there will be a way for people to try before they buy. I would think that this is the case from the beta all the way to the full release.

So if these two points pan out you have a multitude of choices. You don't have to pay to test if you don't want. Either test the free stuff to your heart's content, or wait until they do the production release. Personally, I'm planning to pay to get early access to the product with the understanding that it's beta and will contribute to the betterment of it.

 

[ThirdWizard]

They want us to test their software for them and help them iron out the bugs then they shouldn't expect us to pay for it. I'm not expecting to get free content once the beta is over but while it's being run, I also don't expect to pay for anything. I don't see why they couldn't simply make beta accounts and live accounts and close off access to beta accounts once the beta is over.

But, they've repeatedly said that once you pay for something, you own it forever. If they could just take away content whenever they want it would go against that ideal. That would be a fairly uncomfortable place for them to be sitting.

 

[Thank Dog]

If there is downloadable content within the application, this would be closing the barn door after the horses have escaped.

Downloadable content that is only accessible through the application which you need an account for. A special beta account would only last as long as the beta does.

Plus, if we start running our campaigns in the beta, folks would be very upset if they can't then get at their own information - they'd need to transition your account or its data in some way, which starts getting hairy.

It's a beta. Running a campaign and relying on everything to be the same after the beta is over is silly and the fault of the user.

 

[Umbran]

I have tweeted withe the DS people this morning and there will be nothing to purchase in the DS beta (at least initially).

That solves that question. Payment system in place, but nothing to buy.

If/when they wish to test the payment system broadly, they can introduce a cheap tidbit for the beta testers - pay a buck and get this bit of content that only Beta Testsers have access to! After the test, they can remove that content from the store, and carry on.

 

[Astrosicebear]

One would expect this be a free app with the in-app purchases covering the cost.

Since the free version would cover the free pdfs, its a good model to get people using it.

 

[Umbran]

Downloadable content that is only accessible through the application which you need an account for.

I haven't seen it specified that all content gotten through Dungeonscape will only be accessible through Dungeonscape. I could easily imagine Dungeonscape also being their marketplace for digital content. So, for example, Basic is free, you can download the pdf yourself, and have access to the Basic content in Dungeonscape. Upgrade to the PHB, you get that content, access to the classes and races in Dungeonscape, *and* the downlodable pdf version of the PHB...

It's a beta. Running a campaign and relying on everything to be the same after the beta is over is silly and the fault of the user.

It is a beta, they *need* people to be exercising as much functionality as possible, which means running campaigns, not just stand-along adventures. You want characters leveling up over time, and such. It's kind of jerkish to ask them to do that testing, then trash the work they may well want to continue to use in the production system.

 

[fjw70]

DungeonScape tweeted this about a month ago.
[MENTION=26489]ForumFerret[/MENTION] [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION] you can't export the library, no. The library and eReader will be fully functional from the app but not exportable.

 

[Umbran]

DungeonScape tweeted this about a month ago.
[MENTION=26489]ForumFerret[/MENTION] [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION] you can't export the library, no. The library and eReader will be fully functional from the app but not exportable.

Okay. That's less than I was hoping for, but I can see the point. Fair enough.

 

[BoldItalic]

We have an update to the DungeonScape blog post:

So what will be included in the beta? Right now the beta will include:

• A sample of the PHB (think Basic D&D plus the Starter Set).
• Two adventures.
• Full access to the Character Module (this includes character creation, character sheets, printable/shareable character sheets)
  • In the beta, you’ll be able to roll up ANY character you want – no limitations here – all races, classes and backgrounds will be accessible. You can also take any character up to level 20.
• You can create as many characters as you want.
• You’ll have access to the sample PHB content through the Library Module – this is where you can read the rules, annotate and bookmark.
• Access to the Home Module where you can enter badge and cert info, assign characters to factions and link out to news articles.
• Access to our Feedback Forums – this is where you can post feedback, read other beta testers ideas and vote for future features.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to make purchases in the beta at this point. We had hoped to be able to offer this and may in the future – we’ll keep you updated of course.

 

[drjones]

It's a beta. Running a campaign and relying on everything to be the same after the beta is over is silly and the fault of the user.

Yes this seems to be a real beta, as in a chance to test and find bugs, as opposed to a fake beta which is just marketing a product with free samples. If you are concerned that something you put in there might disappear someday, do not use it till it is officially released.