NEWS: OGL and SRD dates/info announced

[I'm A Banana]

I think you forget the "using this material means that, as a condition of use, you agree to/not to...." model.

But you can use the material (the mechanics) without agreeing to jack, because the mechanics cannot be protected as WotC-exclusive stuff.

"Using this material" actually means using the WotC-penned expression of those mechanics.

If you don't touch that with a 10-foot pole (creating your own expression), you're pretty golden as far as the law so far has seemed concerned.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I am a big fan of www.d20srd.org and its fired up at the start of every session I DM. The lack of online ruleset will suck, but if the DDI has a good, hyperlinked, easily searchable ruleset for subscribers, then it will be OK. It needs to be as good or better than what we already have, though.

This is also a concern for me. My laptop is my DM screen, and I need something I can run offline, too. I'm a little concerned about the DDI's ability to handle what I need.

 

[catsclaw227]

I have worked in accounting and payroll for a variety of small businesses. I can tell you plainly that if there was a sudden $5,000 expense, it would be a struggle for the typical company to come up with the money. I currently work for a multinational corporation. You would think $5,000 would be a drop in the bucket. But If we need a new copier or printer or piece of equipment, we need approvals from three different managers and then have to fill out a requisition request that goes to purchasing. It can take two to three weeks for a major corpoation to decide to spend $5,000. It is not a drop in the bucket for ANY company. We are constantly looking for ways to save money, because there are a host of static expenses that must be covered. A sudden $5,000 expense is something you don't just shrug you shoulders and pay, regardless of how much money you have. That is, not if you want to be profitable.

But sometimes, the process of getting the $5000 through the bureaucracy of a larger company is even more painful than a smaller company. Also, no matter what the industry, if the $5000 was so that they can continue to do business at a pace with the rest of the industry, then it's a no brainer -- especially for a larger company.

 

[SteveC]

What's that sound? I believe it's the sound of the RPG market fracturing again.

The OGL gaming movement was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?

--Steve

 

[Delta]

And possibly far, far beyond, depending upon the terms of the SRD-called-OGL.

I think I prefer the phrase "d20-STL-called-OGL".

 

[BadMojo]

For the folks who think $5,000 is no big deal...you have never ran a business.

$5000 for resources to publish material for a game they haven't even seen yet! I hope Goodman and Green Ronin get on board since they're two of my favorite companies, but I certainly wouldn't blame them if they said "no thanks" to the Dev Kit.

 

[Raven Crowking]

WotC has stated very specifically that they aren't going to be 'stealing' folks material off Gleemax.

The also stated very specifically that there would be an OGL and no tiered STL, but it looks like what they are calling an "OGL" is really a tiered STL.

So, buyer beware.

RC

 

[Maggan]

For the folks who think $5,000 is no big deal...you have never ran a business.

It's really not that simple. I myself do run a business, and while $5,000 is not a trivial sum of money, to put it in perspective I need to raise $70, 000 every month to pay for wages, and another $3,000 to pay for rent, and then sundry expenses on top of that. So considering that we have to take in close to $75,000 each month, raising $5,000 more is not an impossible task. We would need for everyone to bill on average 6 or 7 hours extra that month to cover that expense.

I do understand that it's not done at the drop of a hat, but I do also know from my own experience that it is possible, and for some companies not even a big deal, to raise that kind of money, would it be deemed strategically important enough.

It should be noted that I'm not in the business of publishing roleplaying games, since then I would not be at all confident of even raising $5,000 in a month to pay for wages.

/M

 

[Brown Jenkin]

The also stated very specifically that there would be an OGL and no tiered STL, but it looks like what they are calling an "OGL" is really a tiered STL.

So, buyer beware.

RC

Yes, look at this Q&A

Q. What about the d20 license? Will that still exist in 4th Edition?
A: We are making the OGL stronger by better defining it. We’re rolling certain elements that used to be in the d20 license into the OGL, things like community standards and other tangible elements of the d20 license.

I am particularly concerned about "community standards" and how that can/will be enforced. The OGL worked in part because WotC didn't have to look at or enforce anything that fit under the OGL but not the d20 License. Now it would seem that WotC will have enforcement authority of its interpretation of "community standards" of everything done under the new OGL from printed books to websites. This paragraph seems to be imply the exact opposite of what an OGL is and is instead a no-cost restricted license.

 

[helium3]

QFT.

I am a big fan of www.d20srd.org and its fired up at the start of every session I DM. The lack of online ruleset will suck, but if the DDI has a good, hyperlinked, easily searchable ruleset for subscribers, then it will be OK. It needs to be as good or better than what we already have, though.

I'm not very confident that the folks that brought us the WotC website and Gleemax are going to be able to produce what you're asking for above. I'm sure it will have a lot of pictures and a trillion links to other WotC products, though.

Something akin to the current online d20 SRD would be acceptable . . . but I'd rather have something like the hypertext d20 SRD.

I'm not a huge fan of searchable PDF's. I've never seen one that worked very well.