Rules Enforced iOS App

Has anyone on this forum discussed partnering with Sirlin on the development of rules enforced iOS App perhaps as a profit share?

Or would anyone know if Sirlin already has something in the pipeline?

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Sirlin has said multiple times that there is nothing in the works because the company now focuses on Fantasy Strike. I haven’t heard it super recently but I doubt this has changed.

I hope you’ll be able to convince him to do it. Lots of us here would love it. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t rules enforced - I tend to like these better when it comes to cards games. But if there was a solid interface to play this game, I would do it a ton.

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More accurately, he’s said that a rules-enforced version of Codex is something he’d love to do, but can’t until Fantasy Strike is complete and a major success. So… tell everyone about FS if you’d like a rules-enforced Codex somewhere down the line!

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Well, I wanted to create a browser-based rules enforced version, but when I asked Sirlin his permission to use the game in this way, his response was

.

.

.

total silence.

And while I started to implement it anyway, about the milestone of complete play of the BvF decks I lost interest because there’s no point to continue developing something that won’t see light of day.

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Maybe show him what you’ve done? Complete silence is better than a
’cease and desist’ letter. Maybe he’ll be excited if what you’ve done is good.

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I think excitement only comes with a clear method of monetizing it.

uhhh working for free is bad, actually

edit: that includes “working for the potential that maybe you get paid sometime later”

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I think to monetise Codex the first step is to market it well by supporting/encouraging these fan made initiatives. They do not detract from the final product they are only additive.

It’s fair enough to prioritise other Sirlin projects over Codex, but why not encourage passionate Codex fans to create their own endeavours to serve as a multiplier effect?

I think with the right browser based rules enforced UI this game would easily market itself to many of the MTG crowd that Sirlin was aiming for at the outset.

If you make it and put it out there, nothing is going to stop it from being played by people. Even a cease and desist will just mean you can’t personally distribute it, but won’t stop others from doing so. I keep thinking it’d be a cool project as well, but that’s a hella lot of work for something that may never pick up steam.

edit: there’s a non-zero chance i’d be willing to help, but that chance isn’t high either.

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@zhavier
That’s your take on the reason for silence. It might be true or false, but without the man himself answering we cannot know why he doesn’t answer.

@rathyAro
I like your idealism, but let me tell you that it doesn’t work that way. A while back I developed a digital adaptation of another pretty famous game and had to take it down after a C&D. In two years after that nobody that I know of runs their own server, despite the code being online along with instructions on how to set it up. I believe that without the central place of distribution (either an app on a known app store, or a website) the attempt of getting the adaptation out there is doomed from the start.

@shamusj
Agreed 100%. Fans working on stuff for your game is free promotion of the game and the brand. Why would one ignore something like that is beyond me.

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I totally hear where you’re coming from. You are buy no means making a high percentage play if you make any game, particularly an adaptation against the wishes of the creator. I’m just saying that a cease and desist isn’t necessarily a game ender. I can totally understand, particularly given your previous experience, that the idea of risking a c&d is totally unmotivating though. I don’t blame you.

I agree that supporting enthusiastic fan made content will only enhance the brand. I’m sad this is not happening.

Does Sirlin engage with his customers/users on this forum?

I would love to know his thoughts on the roadmap for Codex in particular.

Regional product champions may be a good way to build a global brand, perhaps in exchange for free products to use for local tournaments / prizes etc…

With permission for participants to use print and play, it wouldn’t even have to cost the company anything.

Sirlin will occasionally pop into the forums, but it’s much easier to reach him on the Fantas Strike discord. Since development started on Fantasy Strike, all of the company’s time and money is focused on making that game. And I do mean all the company’s time and money. So I wouldn’t expect a great reception to any suggestions that don’t have to with Fantasy Strike, especially if it involves time and resources being donated. Just as an fyi.

I don’t understand. Everyone has permission to use Print and Play already. There’s nothing stopping someone who has the Print and Play from creating loaner sets and using them for tournaments, or even just giving the sets away to their friends or local boardgame people.

Just understand, the desire of the people on this forums for a rules enforced browser version of Codex to play has been known and discussed literally since before the Codex kick-starter happened. The resources for creating it have never been there for it to be created in-house (hence the non-rules-enforced version on Tabletopia being the official online version of the game). Several people have either been working on a rules enforced version on their own time, or have approached Sirlin about one.

So I’m not saying “give up hope” because I’d still love to play a rules enforced online version of this game, and maybe someday it will happen. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it never does either.

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Huh, so there are others?! Do you happen to know who they are or what became of their efforts? Or what was Sirlin’s response to their approaching?

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You’ll have to have a look through the Codex sub-forum. They should be fairly easy to spot by subject. Anything like “rules enforced version?” or “tabletopia” or “table top simulator” as those were the threads where the discussions tended to happen.

Don’t get too excited, I think everyone that discussed it didn’t take it very far.

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So I haven’t been Codexing in a while (though it’s nice to be back!), but one of the things I have been doing for the last 6 months is writing the game engine for an LCG in my spare time (FFG’s Legend of the Five Rings - the online browser based implementation is here if you’re interested).

While there’s still a few loose ends to tie up with that, it works pretty well, and I’ve been casting about for other similar stuff to do. I came across this thread, and it struck me that there are a lot of similarities between the way codex works and the stuff I’ve already done, and maybe it would be possible to fork that code and write a Codex version.

There are a lot of hurdles to cross, and I share a number of concerns raised in this thread (esp. with regard to IP theft), but if anyone is looking to push a browser based rule-enforced version forward, I’d be interested in hearing about it.

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I’ve played a lot on the online implementation of another LCG, Game of Thrones, and had a ton of fun. It kept me buying the game for a whole year (I would never have bought so much of it if it wasn’t for the online play). Obviously I already bought everything for codex but if I could play online I’d have the game more fresh in my mind and I’d be introducing it o way more people.