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BattleScribe Dying?


Dracos

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I picked up on a rumor that the developer of BS had t been heard from in months and that the application was likely being abandoned to OS updates. Has anyone heard anything similar? GW app is still pretty hit and miss from what friends tell me so I just can’t jump onboard a bad product.
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I picked up on a rumor that the developer of BS had t been heard from in months and that the application was likely being abandoned to OS updates. Has anyone heard anything similar? GW app is still pretty hit and miss from what friends tell me so I just can’t jump onboard a bad product.

Wait, is this an April Fools thing? I haven't heard anything like this, I hope not because at least BS works. I tried to use the GW app once, I will not do that again hahahaha worst experience ever!

Edited by Grand_Master_Alpharius
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There is one developer, who hasn't touched it in over a year and a half (even up to two and a half now) - it's a well-known problem.

 

You can see this handy summary on Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/BattleScribe/comments/r1tn55/bols_battlescribe_approaching_abandonware/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

 

And also on the dreaded spiky bits - https://spikeybits.com/2021/11/battlescribe-is-being-abandoned-by-its-developer.html

Edited by Petitioner's City
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I've always used BS premium. The cost is low and it supports the devs.

 

If more people did this the app likely wouldn't be getting abandoned by anyone.

The other side to this is that some people are paying for it and it's not being worked on. At least t's still functioning and as already mentioned it's the community which supplies all the data and keep that up to date.

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The only Developer (and owner) left years ago, only the Data Authors remain. It's not a new development or a rumour and has been known for a long while.

As explained in the Reddit posts Petitioner's City, alternatives are being worked on.

 

As an aside, Battlescribe premium money goes straight to the Developer not to the any of the Data Authors. The Data Authors do everything voluntarily and is currently entirely community driven.

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I've always used BS premium. The cost is low and it supports the devs.

 

If more people did this the app likely wouldn't be getting abandoned by anyone.

 

Okay but you are paying money to a guy who has already abandoned it, for him to do literally nothing except pocket your cash while the people who keep Battlescribe relevant do it for nothing.

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I've always used BS premium. The cost is low and it supports the devs.

 

If more people did this the app likely wouldn't be getting abandoned by anyone.

Okay but you are paying money to a guy who has already abandoned it, for him to do literally nothing except pocket your cash while the people who keep Battlescribe relevant do it for nothing.

No, they are paying the guy that actually created the app, regardless if it's updated or not. Would you rather they pay money to the people ripping off GW and pirating their information from codexes into the Data/plug-ins for the app?

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At the end of the day the payment is given with the promise of further support of the application - which isn't happening. Jon is wilfully incommunicado and has been for years now, and we're tracking well towards the third year in that regard. It's abandonware, and will inevitably cease to function once the wrong OS update is pushed to your desktop or mobile device.

 

You shouldn't support BattleScribe financially anymore. Turn to one of the two other roster builders which are currently in development, and are more Warhammer-bespoke than BS.

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BS will stop working over time as devices get software/security updates or swap to new devices entirely. Such is the nature of old apps that dont get updated


 

You shouldn't support BattleScribe financially anymore. Turn to one of the two other roster builders which are currently in development, and are more Warhammer-bespoke than BS.

Which are...?

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No, they are paying the guy that actually created the app, regardless if it's updated or not. 

 

Right, and if it was a one-off "chuck the creator a couple of quid/bucks/euro as a thanks" then that might have some validity, but you are expected to pay for that "supporter pass" every year as if you're being provided an ongoing service, which you absolutely are not. It hasn't been touched in nearly 3 years.

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There are relatively consistent updates for the Heresy lists at the moment? Every Exemplary Battle unit has been added only a few days after it was released, usually along with a few other fixes.

Aye, the Data Authors are separate from the Developer. Data Authors are all volunteers who transcribe the datasheets etc into a Format that Battlescribe reads. They largely have no affiliation with the Developer of the app.

 

The problem doesn't lie with Data Authors (they do a thankless job and largely don't get credit for the hard work they do), the problem lies with the developer of the App. As Malakithe pointed out, as OS/software updates, certain older apps run the risk of being left behind for many different reasons like compatibility issues or security issues. The App itself has many known issues that are unlikely to get fixed as there's no one at the Helm.

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You can also see that Jon (Jonathan) Taylor is alive, as of a few months ago

 

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Yep. It's particularly frustrating, as people have been trying to reach him for some time now and he just doesn't respond. BattleScribe is a fantastic tool for the wider wargaming community beyond Warhammer, so for it to have been abandoned the way it has been is really disappointing.

 

Yeah I mean at least hand it off to someone else for them to continue work, right?

 

Unfortunately (as we've seen from above in this thread) it is generating him a direct income for zero effort, so there's no incentive for him to let somebody else take it over.

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