Introducing the Pathfinder Combat Tracker App

Hum... I can confirm that as a GM I can drag and drop combatants in the app. I don't know why some people think it's not possible?
The actual initiative number doesn't change unless you edit that combatant, but I don't see this as a big problem.

To answer another comment from other users:
Some effects granting frightened don't let it go down as long as some condition is met, sometimes at all, other times it only stop dropping at 1. There's kinda a lot of "corner cases" for these things, so I'm not surprised to see it absent in what is clearly an MVP (minimum viable product) that is expected to grow with time.

Huh, good to know. Yeah, I don't care much about the number, I just care about the order. Thanks for the info!

Erpa wrote:

Nothing like being indignant or outraged at paying the price for a vendor cup of coffee for an app that will only update and improve.

3 bucks a month subscription? I'd probably say no. If it improves to add in tracking of conditions? Sounds like a purchase well worth making.

Will the improvements come for free ?

Say that it doesn't. What's another dollar to something you like using?

No one is making anyone purchase anything. Chances are if your are at this forum, you're buying 50 dollar books already from Paizo (and they are well worth it; thanks guys!) But drawing a line in the sand and shouting NO to 2-3 bucks is just silly.

I like the idea but the execution is very rough. Without the ability to save parties or encounters and quick adjustments I think I prefer my dry erase pad or piece of scrap paper.

I have tried other free alternatives that are way better than this.

While the price is low I don't think it is worth it for me.

The Raven Black wrote:

Erpa wrote:

Nothing like being indignant or outraged at paying the price for a vendor cup of coffee for an app that will only update and improve.

3 bucks a month subscription? I'd probably say no. If it improves to add in tracking of conditions? Sounds like a purchase well worth making.

Will the improvements come for free ?

Say that it doesn't. What's another dollar to something you like using?

No one is making anyone purchase anything. Chances are if your are at this forum, you're buying 50 dollar books already from Paizo (and they are well worth it; thanks guys!) But drawing a line in the sand and shouting NO to 2-3 bucks is just silly.

You could argue you posting about people complaining about it is just as silly them actually complaining. The average cost of an app is under $1, so you have to compare to what else is available - the competition. It's rather reductive to brush people off on the notion of "its just a cost of a cup of joe" - that's not how markets, especially app markets, work.

Non-free/non-freemium is the least effective pricing strategy in the mobile market. The price point is a huge factor for an apps success and there's already some glaring issues with this one. The free competition does effectively the same thing if not better in some cases, at a better price point and with broader application - that is not pigeonholed to PF2E. The niche market is even more niche when you add an upfront cost without any way to even try it out.

It's all good feedback for the dev and perhaps they'll take the feedback into consideration, maybe even offer an alternative pricing strategy to gain more customers (maybe include Paizo/3pp ads in the app??). For me, $2.99 is a hard sell when there's already a number of complaints and the alternative is likely better for the cost.

I wish higher base price of apps was normalized. We'd have much higher quality apps available.

Last time I'll ask about Fire tablet availability?

We know our community wants more apps. Paizo looks to professional licensed partners to build them as we focus on our core competency of making RPGs. We are, currently, a "boutique" or "niche" market with limited mass appeal. I'm not saying any of us should pay for something we don't want, or pay more for something then we should, but I do support an ongoing conversation, with words and with purchases, with an app dev who knows the community, who listens and responds. BJ is such a partner. This is a relationship to be nurtured. I hope this app is the first of many, with evolutions and updates to come.

This is pretty cool!

Last time I'll ask about Fire tablet availability?

You might have better success asking the people making the APP.

And telling them is particularly important, because, as a mobile game developer, I can guarantee you that any publicly (and not so publicly) available numbers point to these tablets having a very low number of users, so usually seen as very low priority. Poking them about it will show there's vocal demand. (But it is not a guarantee, and developing a fire tablet version is not free. I have seen more than one port to fire tablets canceled because it wasn't viable in the end.)

This is a relationship to be nurtured. I hope this app is the first of many, with evolutions and updates to come.

I hope the nurturing includes educating your partners about accessibility.

Aaron Shanks wrote:

This is a relationship to be nurtured. I hope this app is the first of many, with evolutions and updates to come.

I hope the nurturing includes educating your partners about accessibility.

Thank you.

Thomas Keller wrote:

Last time I'll ask about Fire tablet availability?

You might have better success asking the people making the APP.

They have a tweet here asking for new feature ideas. Telling them there is a demand for a fire tablet version would go there.
Digital Dragon Studio tweet asking for how to make it better
They also have an email address

And telling them is particularly important, because, as a mobile game developer, I can guarantee you that any publicly (and not so publicly) available numbers point to these tablets having a very low number of users, so usually seen as very low priority. Poking them about it will show there's vocal demand. (But it is not a guarantee, and developing a fire tablet version is not free. I have seen more than one port to fire tablets canceled because it wasn't viable in the end.)

I'm not on Twitter and the email link just takes me to the paizo blog screen, but thanks I guess.

Elfteiroh wrote:

Thomas Keller wrote:

Last time I'll ask about Fire tablet availability?

You might have better success asking the people making the APP.

They have a tweet here asking for new feature ideas. Telling them there is a demand for a fire tablet version would go there.
Digital Dragon Studio tweet asking for how to make it better
They also have an email address

And telling them is particularly important, because, as a mobile game developer, I can guarantee you that any publicly (and not so publicly) available numbers point to these tablets having a very low number of users, so usually seen as very low priority. Poking them about it will show there's vocal demand. (But it is not a guarantee, and developing a fire tablet version is not free. I have seen more than one port to fire tablets canceled because it wasn't viable in the end.)

I'm not on Twitter and the email link just takes me to the paizo blog screen, but thanks I guess.

How about you take a second, and just look at the link he gave you? Just try a little bit, just a little.

Thomas Keller wrote:

Elfteiroh wrote:

Thomas Keller wrote:

Last time I'll ask about Fire tablet availability?

You might have better success asking the people making the APP.

They have a tweet here asking for new feature ideas. Telling them there is a demand for a fire tablet version would go there.
Digital Dragon Studio tweet asking for how to make it better
They also have an email address

And telling them is particularly important, because, as a mobile game developer, I can guarantee you that any publicly (and not so publicly) available numbers point to these tablets having a very low number of users, so usually seen as very low priority. Poking them about it will show there's vocal demand. (But it is not a guarantee, and developing a fire tablet version is not free. I have seen more than one port to fire tablets canceled because it wasn't viable in the end.)

I'm not on Twitter and the email link just takes me to the paizo blog screen, but thanks I guess.

How about you take a second, and just look at the link he gave you? Just try a little bit, just a little.

I looked at it. Like I said, it just takes you back to the paizo blog general screen.

I'm confused why something like this doesn't have health tracking on creatures you add to initiative? I mean, I know that it's not that hard to do this with a dozen other things, but I feel like it would be extremely convenient to have it on-hand all in one place.

Elfteiroh wrote:

Thomas Keller wrote:

Last time I'll ask about Fire tablet availability?

You might have better success asking the people making the APP.

They have a tweet here asking for new feature ideas. Telling them there is a demand for a fire tablet version would go there.
Digital Dragon Studio tweet asking for how to make it better
They also have an email address

And telling them is particularly important, because, as a mobile game developer, I can guarantee you that any publicly (and not so publicly) available numbers point to these tablets having a very low number of users, so usually seen as very low priority. Poking them about it will show there's vocal demand. (But it is not a guarantee, and developing a fire tablet version is not free. I have seen more than one port to fire tablets canceled because it wasn't viable in the end.)

I'm not on Twitter and the email link just takes me to the paizo blog screen, but thanks I guess.

Yeah, sorry, I failed the linking for the email. Shouldn't have made it into a link.

Interesting that Digital Dragon' haven't replied to a single post here or Tweet since Saturday 13th, the day after the product launch, and now over a week ago.

So I grabbed this, as $3 seems eminently reasonable...not to mention I want to encourage this sort of thing.

Overall it is quite good for what it is. The single thing I would need to make it truly useful is a way to track the degree of a condition (wounded 1 vs, wounded 2; for instance). That pretty much a must have.

Hello all!

I didn't expect this to become an ongoing thread when Paizo invited me to do the guest blog! I'll try to add it to my rotation to check on more often now that I see folks are still chatting here. :)

If you ever have a question, please don't hesitate to reach out via email ( support@ddsapps.com ) or message us on Facebook or Twitter, we're always happy to help and love all the feedback.

Our first update is out now and while it doesn't address everything folks are asking for just yet, it does allow for the bulk adding of combatants, deleting entries as needed, and saving selected GM added combatants for the next encounter. Additionally, we’ve provided a brand new long-press menu to allow for quick edits of individual participants.

Is this available on Fire tablets?

Only if you have the Google Play store on your tablet.

I'm confused why something like this doesn't have health tracking on creatures you add to initiative? I mean, I know that it's not that hard to do this with a dozen other things, but I feel like it would be extremely convenient to have it on-hand all in one place.

The app was really only ever meant to be an interactive mimic of the Combat Tracker but we've already made a number of improvements and I have added your request to the pool of others! :)

Kind of confused by the affiliations here. What's the relationship between Paizo, Digital Dragons Studios, and Lone Wolf Development?

Should I be looking forward to more Paizo official content from DDS in competition with LWD?

Good questions! I can see how that might be confusing! As a polymath who rarely sleeps, I wear a great many hats around the industry and it just so happens that I am the owner of DDS and technically I am still the VP of LWD as well. Though that's mostly just a fancy title, I don't really make many decisions over there, and I haven't done more than part-time post their news since the layoffs over a year ago.

DDS is not in competition with LWD, I just have their blessing to make my own stuff too. LWD focuses more on Character Creation for computers and I focus more on app making for pocket-friendly aids. I have a ton of ideas and I hope to have more apps out for DDS later this year.

Hope that helps!:)

Themetricsystem wrote:

From what I can tell this is a kind of low-hanging fruit App that is more or less just a digital version of the Magnetic Combat Tracker board that Paizo sells given that it lifts the vast majority of the visuals and UI straight from that product.

I don't need it to be a complete combat manager. But one of the reasons we go digital is because digital tools can automate some of the mundane aspects of a physical tool. If it adds the ability to add notes, it seems like noting specific conditions and removing them on the appropriate round is exactly the kind of the that would convince me to use this over the physical product.

I really like the idea of having a notes space too and it's on our list for the future. :)

WatersLethe wrote:

Kind of confused by the affiliations here. What's the relationship between Paizo, Digital Dragons Studios, and Lone Wolf Development?

Should I be looking forward to more Paizo official content from DDS in competition with LWD?

Good questions! I can see how that might be confusing! As a polymath who rarely sleeps, I wear a great many hats around the industry and it just so happens that I am the owner of DDS and technically I am still the VP of LWD as well. Though that's mostly just a fancy title, I don't really make many decisions over there, and I haven't done more than part-time post their news since the layoffs over a year ago.

DDS is not in competition with LWD, I just have their blessing to make my own stuff too. LWD focuses more on Character Creation for computers and I focus more on app making for pocket-friendly aids. I have a ton of ideas and I hope to have more apps out for DDS later this year.

Hope that helps!:)

Thank you very much, that clarifies a lot!

Is this the same BJ who was the community manager at Lone Wolf?

Is there any chance this app is going to get any further updates? It’s pretty limited at the moment, and less useful for me than my physical combat pad.