Poll: Early Access or Pre-Sale in December

[CatDadCode]

I like option 2 as long as it is clearly pushed as Early Access™ and people purchasing are made overtly aware of what they are getting. As long as it's obviously EA and the dev team is dedicated to an actual release date rather than perpetual never-ending early access like a lot of other games, then it's a great option that allows us to start enjoying FGU earlier with our friends which is when I'm really going to start dedicating time to it and giving more useful feedback if I'm being honest.

I only like option 3 if you release it WHEN IT'S DONE. And I mean done. A few bugs here and there are forgiveable but all known major issues would need to be resolved for me to be happy that I waited, otherwise I'm gonna feel like you should have just slapped an Early Access flag on it anyway. As long as it's not misrepresented as being ready for full retail release then I'm fine waiting. I've already been waiting for what seems like eternity so a few more months isn't a big deal if that's really all it is. My only worry about waiting is that we'll wait, you'll resolve all *known* major issues, then we'll finally dive in as a group and start breaking it left and right because my group never had a chance to put it through the ringer before it officially launched.

If the consensus is to wait then that's fine. If it launches as a polished largely bug-free product then I'll be happy. But my preference is definitely to play it sooner rather than later. It already seems decent enough for my friends and I to hop in and try it out and I know they'd be fine doing so even with the known issues just as long as I warn them up front that we are diving in early in order to be able to provide useful feedback for the dev team. With that caveat it sounds fun to explore the new FGU and report bugs as a party. Right now I'm just kinda playing around here or there and then realizing I should be putting more time into my actual campaign I'm running. Once I can actually play it with my group that's when I'll really be able to provide the devs with actual useful feedback. That's when we generate edge-cases lol.

Edit: I just saw the end of the email that demo accounts will be able to participate in the beta on December 3rd. If that means my group gets to start testing it at that point then that puts a lot of my concerns to rest as we will dive in then regardless of release schedule.

[dikdastard]

Would have voted option 3, FGU definitely needs more time to be ready for the masses, but voted option 4 as like lot of folk suggested, if you need to generate sales and revenue in xmas period then offering a pre-purchase of FGU (subscription or outright purchase) with a free subscription FGC until the product actually becomes available makes sense to me.

There are still a lot of similarities to the interface right now and transposable content/DLC so new customers wont be wasting their time getting familiar with FGC and will have incentive to splash the cash on all sorts of FG product. I think people buying FGC right now, in the sales or otherwise, will feel a bit dumb and resentful further down the line, unless there is a considerable discount for the upgrade, given how close FGU is now to being the product Smiteworks will be selling to ALL future customers.

[Kyler]

Option 3:

Stay on the path you are going down.

Releasing gaming software before it is ready is a fools errand. One can see the effect across all recently released AAA games. The negative publicity is not worth the small profit in the short run.

The best option is to delay release. If you want to go the extra mile, give people something they did not expect (if possible). This capability could be something you wanted to do that was special, something that was not disclosed, or something that was out of the parameters of the current goal. Just some thing that gives added value. Creativity is a wonderful thing.

People can still buy FGC and get a discount for the FGU update (the amount to your discretion) when it is ready for total public release. Overall, much of the functionality is the same.

As a beta participant, I can say that it is not ready at this point. It is my view that doing so would result in negative feedback. If opened to the general public who did not participate in the kickstarter and who are not part of the current FG community, you would end up in a place you did not wish to be.

Those of us who are part of the community and who participated in the release through kickstarter are much more forgiving and know what a great company you are.

[Nilram the Grey]

I think you should wait to release it until it is in much better shape than it seems to be in at this stage. I say seems because I'm a Mac user and therefore don't have access to FGU. I say this even though, I don't even have access to FGC anymore as there is no longer an reasonable way to run FGC on Mac's. All the Window's install BS isn't reasonable no matter how much rationalizing people try to do.

If you want to consider something else, then I'd suggest you consider FGC sales after some date to include a free update to FGU. FGU was supposed to be out this year, so make your Christmas sale be full price FGC, or discounted if you wish, but include a free upgrade to FGU when it goes public. In this way, you can keep revenue flowing, and people can also buy into FG now without feeling like their investment was wasted as soon as FGU launches.

[Gissur]

As a DM and recently moved to FG, currently running Dungeon of the Mad mage.
I bought Ultimate and FG due to the Unity engine being on its way. However:

I definately would not go near Unity unless its complete. Its ok for groups testing, and as such there is an open beta testing going on.

So with my personal experience in any matter regarding software and the issues it can cause, I most definately think you should stick to option number 3.

Release when ready. We can wait. And if its not ready until mid 2020, then so be it. You will shoot yourself in the foot if you release too soon.
Again, people that desperately want it, join open beta.

[Gissur]

I think you should wait to release it until it is in much better shape than it seems to be in at this stage. I say seems because I'm a Mac user and therefore don't have access to FGU. I say this even though, I don't even have access to FGC anymore as there is no longer an reasonable way to run FGC on Mac's. All the Window's install BS isn't reasonable no matter how much rationalizing people try to do.

If you want to consider something else, then I'd suggest you consider FGC sales after some date to include a free update to FGU. FGU was supposed to be out this year, so make your Christmas sale be full price FGC, or discounted if you wish, but include a free upgrade to FGU when it goes public. In this way, you can keep revenue flowing, and people can also buy into FG now without feeling like their investment was wasted as soon as FGU launches.

Personally since I bought FG Ultimate and i went with FG specifically due to the Unity. I would not mind a free upgrade at all.
That said, I also dont mind helping Fantasy Grounds grow financially and paying an extra 30 dollars or whatever it is for the upgrade from FG Ultimate to Unity, is no big deal.

Its a nice offer if they give a free upgrade to existing FG ultimate users, atleast such as myself that bought it in October 2019, but on the other hand I dont want their business model to be financially hampered by this. I think we all need to chip in a little for them to make it work.

[LordEntrails]

... Its ok for groups testing, and as such there is an open beta testing going on.

...
Again, people that desperately want it, join open beta.

Note, the beta is not open. It is closed and only available to those who backed during the Kickstarter.

[ddavison]

@ddavison, Thanks, yeah I missed my window to be a backer because of moving, so now I'm just trying to get all the news I can. Is there any way to get into the beta at all? I have experience in QA testing and a bunch of different rigs and don't mind paying.

Thanks Koriley,

Yes, that is what we are weighing -- whether or not it makes sense to move into some form of Early Access or Open Beta prior to official launch. If we do decide to open this up, we need to determine when we reach a point that is good for that. Based on feedback, we are not likely to do this on Steam and probably not in mid-December. We want it to be as early as possible as long as we can provide a good experience for people and they are clear that it is not finished yet. It's a balancing act.

[ikitklaw]

Option 3, while early access would be nice, I (and some friends that couldn't get into the beta) think it is best to wait till most of the problems are fixed

[Nilram the Grey]

Personally since I bought FG Ultimate and i went with FG specifically due to the Unity. I would not mind a free upgrade at all.
That said, I also dont mind helping Fantasy Grounds grow financially and paying an extra 30 dollars or whatever it is for the upgrade from FG Ultimate to Unity, is no big deal.

Its a nice offer if they give a free upgrade to existing FG ultimate users, atleast such as myself that bought it in October 2019, but on the other hand I dont want their business model to be financially hampered by this. I think we all need to chip in a little for them to make it work.

I'm not saying make it free to people that have already purchased. I'm saying instead of releasing on their original timeline of the end of this year, to wait until it is ready. To avoid their cash flow dropping lower and lower as people wait on FGU, they could make the sales of FGC after the end of the year or for a Christmas special and onward include FGU. Of course they could make the special include FGU for a very small additional fee. In this way people waiting to buy into FG can stop waiting. I'm sure people that bought into FG after the kick starter will likely get a discount too. Smiteworks is a very customer friendly in my experience. I guess their concern is upsetting Kickstarter backers. As one, I don't have an issue with this because I got very good use out of my FGC license until it stopped working for me and I got a discount off the full price of FGU by backing the kick starter.