[UPDATED] Out of the Abyss Reviews Have Started Rolling In

I just found one of the first reviews of Out of the Abyss. I thought it could be nice to keep all links to reviews in one thread, so here is the first I found:

http://diehardgamefan.com/2015/09/0...he-abyss-dungeons-dragons-fifth-editiondd-5e/

The previews have been okay, but this review is what has me stoked. This kind of adventure is right up my alley. Can't wait for it to show up!

 

[Mistwell]

The problem is that artists are trying to SELL the maps. WOTC distributing free copies undermines that. All that tells me is that the artists aren't getting paid enough for their work if they have to sell the same pieces to the same customers twice.

You don't think it could be the artists are making plenty of money but also want to make even more money selling individual pieces...just like comic book artists do with their artwork? It has to be they are not getting paid enough, to want to sell individual art on their own as well?

 

[TarionzCousin]

NE'EDS M'ORE D'R'IZZ''T'ZT''!!'!

 

[Steven Winter]

A single book is less expensive to produce than multiple booklets with separate map folders, and substantially less expensive than anything that goes into a box. Those classic AD&D boxed sets came to the TSR building from the printer in separate pieces. TSR had an assembly department where actual people on an honest-to-god assembly line put everything into the boxes by hand before running them through the shrinkwrap machine. The same goes for modules with loose covers and other inserts. Binding everything together into a book is inconvenient for GMs and everyone knows it, but it allows the product to be produced at a lower cost and sold at a lower price.

Steve

 

[ExploderWizard]

You don't think it could be the artists are making plenty of money but also want to make even more money selling individual pieces...just like comic book artists do with their artwork? It has to be they are not getting paid enough, to want to sell individual art on their own as well?

Having customers pay twice for the same content in order to have it in a user friendly format is just plain crappy. You can read a comic book ( its intended use) without needing additional prints. Trying to use maps at the table that are bound into a large tome sucks. So in effect you are buying the content twice if you actually want to use it. It would be like selling a comic book with the dialogue all blurry unless you held a magnifying glass to just so, or buy the individual panels with clear writing.

 

[Sacrosanct]

You know, speaking of plopping existing PCs down into OotA, I'm seriously thinking about running only the 1st half of OotA, and then taking those PCs right into the GDQ series.

Hmm....

 

[Mistwell]

Having customers pay twice for the same content in order to have it in a user friendly format is just plain crappy.

The assumption that the only way it can be user friendly is digital is also just plain crappy.

So in effect you are buying the content twice if you actually want to use it. It would be like selling a comic book with the dialogue all blurry unless you held a magnifying glass to just so, or buy the individual panels with clear writing.

Again, the assumption that the only way it can be used is if it is digital, is just plain crappy.

I don't know if this sort of hyperbolic rhetoric works with anyone.

I get it, you ALSO want digital larger images. Understood. You don't NEED them to play it though - digital didn't even exist for much of the lifespan of this game. Many Many Many people do not use digital maps right now. Your preference is not the same as everyone's necessity. So, dial back the hyperbole maybe?

 

[smiteworks]

We're doing in-thread advertising now?

Just a minor one.

It is mostly in response to other threads about digital versions of the maps being available for sale from Mike Schley directly. By the same token, we have digital versions of the player and DM maps included for play in the digital Fantasy Grounds version too. Our versions are not available for print and are locked in a secure vault; however, they have been pre-scaled for fast sharing online and are also suitable quality-wise for folks who run with a laptop or PC connected to a second display like a projector or TV.

The actual organization of a module that you plan to run is super important in print. The digital version on FG is indexed and separated into components that make it easy for running for an in-person game too. I still like to pick up the physical books for most of my stuff because I still like to collect the books and sit down and read through them in physical format. With that being said, the version we made for Fantasy Grounds is probably the easiest adventure module to read through exclusively within the program of any that we've made previously. The simple addition of the Next and Previous links for each section and the ability to return to a section index or the next index makes it potentially easier to read through digitally now.

If you are running a physical game without the aid of digital tools, then by all means pick it up. If you want to print your own high-quality maps and/or further support the artist (who is brilliant), then order directly from Mike Schley's site. If the DM doesn't mind the aid of a digital tool, and is concerned about the organization of the larger Wotc modules, then I encourage them to consider getting it in FG.

 

[Dire Bare]

Just a minor one.

It is mostly in response to other threads about digital versions of the maps being available for sale from Mike Schley directly. By the same token, we have digital versions of the player and DM maps included for play in the digital Fantasy Grounds version too. Our versions are not available for print and are locked in a secure vault; however, they have been pre-scaled for fast sharing online and are also suitable quality-wise for folks who run with a laptop or PC connected to a second display like a projector or TV.

The actual organization of a module that you plan to run is super important in print. The digital version on FG is indexed and separated into components that make it easy for running for an in-person game too. I still like to pick up the physical books for most of my stuff because I still like to collect the books and sit down and read through them in physical format. With that being said, the version we made for Fantasy Grounds is probably the easiest adventure module to read through exclusively within the program of any that we've made previously. The simple addition of the Next and Previous links for each section and the ability to return to a section index or the next index makes it potentially easier to read through digitally now.

If you are running a physical game without the aid of digital tools, then by all means pick it up. If you want to print your own high-quality maps and/or further support the artist (who is brilliant), then order directly from Mike Schley's site. If the DM doesn't mind the aid of a digital tool, and is concerned about the organization of the larger Wotc modules, then I encourage them to consider getting it in FG.

Appreciate the info! Keep that on-topic in-thread minor advertising going! Before I DM this adventure, I'm investing in Fantasy Grounds! The new features you mentioned pushed me over the fence I've been sitting on for a while. Any chance you'll upgrade earlier D&D adventures with these features?

I also appreciate the map artists making nice digital files available at a small cost directly through their websites. No "Whut? I have to pay for it twice" kvetching from me! These digital maps are accessories, not even remotely necessary, and I don't mind paying a small extra cost to improve my experience. Similar to the way I'd love a boxed set of dungeon tiles and minis to support the adventure (I'm aware of the collectible minis tied to this adventure, but not keen on the collectible format). Heck, if I get the Fantasy Grounds product, I guess I'm paying for the adventure yet again! And I'm okay with that!

 

[joshinminn]

You don't think it could be the artists are making plenty of money but also want to make even more money selling individual pieces...just like comic book artists do with their artwork? It has to be they are not getting paid enough, to want to sell individual art on their own as well?

Nope. Artists for hire never make "plenty of money." I find it quite refreshing that they are able to retain the intellectual property rights to the works so that they can sell high res versions on their own at low cost as accessories. I'm happy to pay those artists for their work, and I don't view it as paying for the same thing twice.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Nope. Artists for hire never make "plenty of money." I find it quite refreshing that they are able to retain the intellectual property rights to the works so that they can sell high res versions on their own at low cost as accessories. I'm happy to pay those artists for their work, and I don't view it as paying for the same thing twice.

If only those of us who work in a written medium had that same option.