Hey I found this little tid-bit over at Hero Labs....not expecting an answer, but are you major RPG publisher being referred to?
"We got back from last week's tradeshow and had a huge pile of stuff to get done. We're also in the midst of preparing for a big presentation this Thursday to one of the major RPG publishers - we fly out in about 36 hours. "
I bet it is because they have been saying for a while that they had a meeting with Paizo and I bet now that the Gamemaster guide is out Paizo has the time
Awww, you guys are sweet. This is really flattering. ^_^
Awww, you guys are sweet. This is really flattering. ^_^
Is this a yes or what?
Let the speculations commence!
They have been talking at the hero labs site about talking to Paizo about the Bestiary and APG so maybe its that plus a little more like the direction they want Hero Lab to go with its Pathfinder support
Hey I found this little tid-bit over at Hero Labs....not expecting an answer, but are you major RPG publisher being referred to?
"We got back from last week's tradeshow and had a huge pile of stuff to get done. We're also in the midst of preparing for a big presentation this Thursday to one of the major RPG publishers - we fly out in about 36 hours. "
*If* it's Paizo, that would be AWESOME! I can't recommend Hero Lab enough, I absolutely love it.
Hyrum.
A sales pitch. And not the only one the folks at Paizo are going to hear on this subject either.+1
-Lisa
Now that's just mean.
But it makes me all smiley. :-)
Is this all in reference to the new Realmworks campaign management software that Lone Wolf just announced?
Not specifically, no. Since Lisa effectively confirmed we're going to be meeting with Paizo, I figure I can clear a little bit of the haze here.
We'll be outlining our overall digital tools vision to Paizo. That includes our existing Hero Lab product and our evolution plans for it. It also includes our upcoming Realm Works product and how it fits into our vision. Plus it includes a variety of other elements that I'm not at liberty to discuss publicly right now. Basically, it's where we are, where we're going, and the synergies we envision with Paizo and the Pathfinder line.
Paizo is undoubtedly talking to multiple tool developers about their respective visions. Based on those discussions, I'm guessing that Paizo will identify the companies whose vision best matches Paizo's own vision and/or best resonates with Paizo's goals. Strategic partnerships can then be established with those companies to bring the most value to Paizo's customer base.
Here's hoping I get a "+1" from Lisa, too. :->
Any chance you could tell us more about Realm Works, Rob ? Your HeroLab is high on my list of 2010 gaming purchases, and I'm thrilled about any new products you guys have in the pipeline !
We're going to be rolling out information about Realm Works on our website and support forums over the next few months. Initial information ought be up next week. If there is significant interest here on the Paizo forums, we can readily post updates in a thread here to point everyone to links on our site when new information is made available.
As for release timing, it's still a ways off. While we'd love to have the product released by GenCon, it's more realistic to think that we'll be in Beta testing at around that time. Since we want to maintain some semblance of competitive secrecy, we probably won't be unveiling some of the juicier bits (including screenshots) until we get closer to the start of Beta testing.
Thanks!
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Is this all in reference to the new Realmworks campaign management software that Lone Wolf just announced?Not specifically, no. Since Lisa effectively confirmed we're going to be meeting with Paizo, I figure I can clear a little bit of the haze here.
We'll be outlining our overall digital tools vision to Paizo. That includes our existing Hero Lab product and our evolution plans for it. It also includes our upcoming Realm Works product and how it fits into our vision. Plus it includes a variety of other elements that I'm not at liberty to discuss publicly right now. Basically, it's where we are, where we're going, and the synergies we envision with Paizo and the Pathfinder line.
Paizo is undoubtedly talking to multiple tool developers about their respective visions. Based on those discussions, I'm guessing that Paizo will identify the companies whose vision best matches Paizo's own vision and/or best resonates with Paizo's goals. Strategic partnerships can then be established with those companies to bring the most value to Paizo's customer base.
Here's hoping I get a "+1" from Lisa, too. :->
'vision' 'synergies' 'resonates' 'strategic' - woohoo, BINGO!
:)
In all seriousness, I hope this goes somewhere and I look forward to seeing the results. HeroLab is good software, made by good folks.
Mac support?
Mac support?
As far as I can tell from the Website (which takes a little navigating) HeroLab is PC only. Whatever it is they are showing off to Paizo, who knows, but one would hope it would cross platforms.
One of our requirements for a partner is cross platform compatibility.
-Lisa
Sweet! I have a Sega Genesis in the closet!
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One of our requirements for a partner is cross platform compatibility.-Lisa
Well, that makes this Mac and Linux fan very happy, but probably causes lonewolf-rob some headaches. We've discussed in other threads just how hard it is to write software that is both cross-platform and feels native on each platform. Intrigued to see how this one is going to turn out.
Kinda confirming stuff
Is this going to threaten PCGen's ability to use the Pathfinder data in their product releases?
Is this going to threaten PCGen's ability to use the Pathfinder data in their product releases?
If Pathfinder continues to be OGL, it shouldn't.
Is this going to threaten PCGen's ability to use the Pathfinder data in their product releases?
Kinda confirming stuff
Best not to speculate on anything at this point. We're being rather mum on the issue, I suspect, because getting anyone's hopes up about anything would be premature at this point. Many things have to be reviewed, studied, used, and discussed before we would even be ready to start hinting about our future or even outright talking about plans with regard to digital tools.
Everyone should take a deep breath and be patient. We'll let you know our plans as soon as we're able. :-)
And be patient could be until the year 2476 CE, so I really mean "patient."
:-P
Is this going to threaten PCGen's ability to use the Pathfinder data in their product releases?
Kinda confirming stuff
Best not to speculate on anything at this point. We're being rather mum on the issue, I suspect, because getting anyone's hopes up about anything would be premature at this point. Many things have to be reviewed, studied, used, and discussed before we would even be ready to start hinting about our future or even outright talking about plans with regard to digital tools.
Everyone should take a deep breath and be patient. We'll let you know our plans as soon as we're able. :-)
And be patient could be until the year 2476 CE, so I really mean "patient."
:-P
Is that by January 1st, 2476 or December 31, 2476?
Chief Technical Officer
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We're being rather mum on the issue, I suspect, because getting anyone's hopes up about anything would be premature at this point. Many things have to be reviewed, studied, used, and discussed before we would even be ready to start hinting about our future or even outright talking about plans with regard to digital tools.
Yep. We're still in the planning phase of planning the planning phase.
Apple IIe+ > Atari 65 XL
Preach it!!!!
We're being rather mum on the issue, I suspect, because getting anyone's hopes up about anything would be premature at this point. Many things have to be reviewed, studied, used, and discussed before we would even be ready to start hinting about our future or even outright talking about plans with regard to digital tools.Yep. We're still in the planning phase of planning the planning phase.
Is that before or after the planning meeting wherein we establish the plan for future planning meetings?
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Chief Technical Officer
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Is that before or after the planning meeting wherein we establish the plan for future planning meetings?We're being rather mum on the issue, I suspect, because getting anyone's hopes up about anything would be premature at this point. Many things have to be reviewed, studied, used, and discussed before we would even be ready to start hinting about our future or even outright talking about plans with regard to digital tools.Yep. We're still in the planning phase of planning the planning phase.
Planning that plan was not yet in my plans, but I plan to plan plans like that.
Is this going to threaten PCGen's ability to use the Pathfinder data in their product releases?Best not to speculate on anything at this point. We're being rather mum on the issue, I suspect, because getting anyone's hopes up about anything would be premature at this point. Many things have to be reviewed, studied, used, and discussed before we would even be ready to start hinting about our future or even outright talking about plans with regard to digital tools.
Christopher's question seems rather black and white, though. If Pathfinder remains OGL, then PCGen, d20pfsrd.com, and the other fan SRDs and chargen programs can continue to do their thing, right? What Paizo does for their own digital tools doesn't much matter to them.
Yeah, but it still requires a great deal of speculation on our part about things of which we're not ready to speculate.
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And for every one of these "Lone Wolf Development is evil" posters, I'm sure there are as many if not more posters that will be happy to talk about how their experience with LW was courteous and professional, and how personal and friendly their support has been.
Lone Wolf uses DRM, and some people will rail against any DRM on principle alone. Or is this more "ARMY BUILDER!!!" nonsense?
Today is the Big Day Good Luck Lonewolf
I'm sure as a company staffed and owned by adults, we'll take everything into consideration that we feel warrants being taken into consideration as we think about the possibility of digital tools in the future.
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And for every one of these "Lone Wolf Development is evil" posters, I'm sure there are as many if not more posters that will be happy to talk about how their experience with LW was courteous and professional, and how personal and friendly their support has been.
Lone Wolf uses DRM, and some people will rail against any DRM on principle alone. Or is this more "ARMY BUILDER!!!" nonsense?
Its a repeated pattern of behavior that I've seen from the company including plenty of miscommunication, abrasive & dismissive posts, and questionable policies and stances from their legal department. ("Army Builder" not being the only policy I find issue with.)
I dislike DRM, yes, but I accept it in plenty of software I use, (Photoshop, Apple, Steam, iTunes, etc...) but I find Lone Wolf's implementation of its DRM more restrictive than I prefer, because it allows no user control over their installs, and does not allow the user to move a license without direct intervention from the company if you are within the 120 day window of install. (Though I'm glad for the recent policy changes that gives these requests priority.)
I also dislike that the company does not answer support questions by phone. While I do not expect a small press company to have a 24/7 support line, I do expect to be able to contact any company (including companies smaller than Lone Wolf) by phone during business hours.
I've yet to reduce my disagreements with lone wolf to trivialities such as "Lone Wolf is Evil." (I did call DRM an 'necessary evil' in one post on the subject.) And I've yet to shout "ARMY BUILDER!!!" and don't intend. There are plenty enough reasons to have issue with Lone Wolf Development that don't involve lowering myself to immaturity.
P.S. - To Paizo, I did not mean any disrespect to you or your business decisions, you obviously know what you are doing. I was mainly wanting to shine a light on the issue a bit more closely because I don't believe it is a 'universally good' announcement, or not announcement, or leak, or whatever it is.
And for every one of these "Lone Wolf Development is evil" posters, I'm sure there are as many if not more posters that will be happy to talk about how their experience with LW was courteous and professional, and how personal and friendly their support has been.
Lone Wolf uses DRM, and some people will rail against any DRM on principle alone. Or is this more "ARMY BUILDER!!!" nonsense?
The measure of a company isn't just how many people they please, but, in many cases, more importantly, how many people they displease.
It's pretty much accepted, you're never going to please everyone. I think everyone rational gets that.
One doesn't need to go out of their way to be rude, and then make excuses for it.
Compare and contrast Lone Wolf Development to Paizo, for a moment. Paizo's staff don't attack critics or displeased customers. Lone Wolf Development's staff does.
I'd like to see a future Paizo partner with even an even marginally similar customer service ethos.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
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Stealing software is also a repeated pattern of behavior, one that makes things more expensive for legitimate buyers like me. There are plenty of scumbags out there stealing Paizo material too. I receive Google news alerts all the time with links to bit torrent sites with Pathfinder materials made available as well as supposed hacks of Hero Lab. This sort of behavior is far more reprehensible and wide spread. Frankly, if you don't like a company's business setup then don't do business with them. It's absurd in this day and (electronic) age to insist that a company be available during business hours like a bank, especially for a small shop. Do you have any idea how much it would cost them just to have someone man a phone for 40 hours a week just for the 10-12 phone calls they'd probably get?
Have I been inconvenienced by Hero Lab's DRM, yes I have, right before session time as a matter of fact. Is it worth it? Yes it is, especially if they can continue to keep the price of their software down by stopping the heinous piracy that goes on and on.
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One doesn't need to go out of their way to be rude, and then make excuses for it.
Compare and contrast Lone Wolf Development to Paizo, for a moment. Paizo's staff don't attack critics or displeased customers. Lone Wolf Development's staff does.
Not that I don't believe you, but your definition of "attack" and "rude" might be different from mine. Could you point me at some of this behavior so I can read it for myself?
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Not that I don't believe you, but your definition of "attack" and "rude" might be different from mine. Could you point me at some of this behavior so I can read it for myself?One doesn't need to go out of their way to be rude, and then make excuses for it.
Compare and contrast Lone Wolf Development to Paizo, for a moment. Paizo's staff don't attack critics or displeased customers. Lone Wolf Development's staff does.
I believe that this post is one like he is refering to, which includes this line when pointing out one of the customer's mistakes:
"Do you have an initial clue about why the email might not have been seen or replied to?"
Not that I don't believe you, but your definition of "attack" and "rude" might be different from mine. Could you point me at some of this behavior so I can read it for myself?One doesn't need to go out of their way to be rude, and then make excuses for it.
Compare and contrast Lone Wolf Development to Paizo, for a moment. Paizo's staff don't attack critics or displeased customers. Lone Wolf Development's staff does.
I believe that this post is one like he is refering to, which includes this line when pointing out one of the customer's mistakes:
"Do you have an initial clue about why the email might not have been seen or replied to?"
That there would be the exact thread.