Thank You Joseph Sweeney

Thank you Joseph Sweeney!

Just finished the three video tutorials provided in the annual, and they were fantastic. Was getting close to giving up on CC3, but your explanations really helped crack the program open... great stuff, truly. The only frustration is that such instructions come as an 'extra'--surely a beginner's guide (a proper one, not the very limited 'Essentials') should come free with the software?

-Mike

Comments

  • Allyn is working on a CC3 manual.
  • Fantastic! I'll be looking forward to it....

    -Mike
  • jaerdaphjaerdaph Traveler
    I agree - Joseph's video tutorials in the June '08 annual were extremely well done. I've been using Profantasy software for about a decade now, and I *still* walked away with something new.

    I'd like to make a suggestion to Simon: consider giving away that particular annual as a "free sample" of what's in the annuals, and as an aid to helping new users. And if potential customers can watch the software in action, it may help increase sales of the main software as well as the annual.
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 46 images Cartographer
    I second that suggestion. That video is extremely helpful both for new users, and for people wanting to see CC3 in action before buying it.
    The free dungeon tutorial available is great, but overland mapping is where it all starts.
  • MoskMosk Newcomer
    As someone's who's purchased several Campaign Cartographer products, I couldn't agree more with the preceding comments.
    I think CC3 has amazing potential, but I'm often stymied by the myriad details in the program that I've yet to master. Joseph Sweeney's Dungeon Designer tutorials were extremely helpful, and I think I'd get much more out of CC3 if I could see similar tutorials on overland mapping (as well as other add-ons). I haven't purchased the Annual, however, because I resent being asked to pay an extra $40 for some tutorials to help me unlock the basic functionality of a program I've already paid for.

    My previous interactions with ProFantasy customer service have all been positive, and if customer relations are as important to this company as it would seem, I hope they'll take the initiative to simply pay Joseph Sweeney to create some more excellent video tutorials and publish them for on the web for free. In doing so they might well reach a whole new market of less tech savvy people who've been standing on the sidelines due to the very appropriate concern that they'd not be able to master CC3 enough to make the program and its add-ons behave as they'd like.

    Just by way of comparison, Lynda.com offers a vast number of tutorials on over a hundred programs (Adobe products, Microsoft Products, 3D Applications, etc), and $25 buys you a full month of unlimited access. So to pay $40 to get one 70 minute tutorial on one portion of one program (rather than several hours on CC3, City Designer, Dungeon Designer, Cosmographer, and so forth) . . . well, it just doesn't seem like the right way to engender further loyalty from people who've already purchased your products. If I decide to purchase the Annual, it should be as an eager customer who wants the extra symbol sets along with all the cool tips to take my mapping to the next level, not as a disgruntled patron who's had his arm twisted by thin documentation and a dearth of online support.

    Hope these comments are taken in the right spirit.

    Mosk the Scribe (Rob)
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 46 images Cartographer
    edited July 2008
    I agree that paying $40 just for the sake of the video tutorial alone is steep, but don't forget, that with a subscription to the annual, you get 12 issues of vary nice stuff, including extra symbols and sometimes extra functionality. Assuming you want the rest of the annual as well, the video only represents about 1/12th of the price = $3.5 for 73mins. Some users are of course only wanting a very small part of the annual, but the product is a package deal.

    As for your comment about unlocking basic functionality of a program, don't forget that the annuals are basically a way of helping you to get more out of the program, and in most issues, they come with extra tools for the program (drawing tools, symbols, etc). Most of these takes time and money to make, and they will have to charge money for it.

    As for the comparison with Lynda.com, don't forget they cover software that millions of users all over the globe is using, and thus have a much larger market. Production costs are more or less fixed, so the more people you can sell to, the less you can charge from each. I don't use Lynda.com myself, but I assume if you buy a month's access, you can't actually download the videos to watch them later? I did notice they sell the training videos for a single program for $99.95 for most popular sofware. For that sum, you get 2.5 annuals, which contains a lot of stuff for CC3.

    I do agree that a few more free video tutorials would be excellent. Not for my own use, but for beginners. Perhaps offer a low-res download for public access, and a high-quality one only for registered users if bandwidth is an issue.
  • MoskMosk Newcomer
    Hey Monsen,

    I think we're basically in agreement.

    As to the Annual, I don't mean to dispute its value. I just don't want to feel 'coerced' into buying it in order to use CC3 on a reasonably proficient level.

    And you're right about Lynda.com - you don't get to download the tutorials for later use unless you purchase specific sets at what struck me as an exorbitant price.

    So for the time being, I'll probably just rely on the charitable advice of this community's more accomplished users.

    Best,
    Mosk the Scribe
  • I'd like to jump in on this and say... I bought CC3/DD3 because of the Sweeney dungeon tutorials. Had I not seen them, I probably never would have jumped on board and bought the software. So maybe factor that in with the idea of offering those videos for free. How many people on the fence thinking of picking up CC3 will see them and say, "Wow, that doesn't look as hard to pick up as I thought it would be..." and purchase the software.
  • Simon RogersSimon Rogers Administrator, ProFantasy Traveler
    Having Joseph do tutorials for all the add-ons is is something we've already considered. I'll get back to you if anything transpires.
  • I'd like to echo Eugee's sentiment. John Sweeney's tutorials were a major motivator to get me to purchase the 2008 annual now, instead of later. At Origins this year I purchased CC3, DD3 and the 2007 Annual, based on the suggestion of the extremely helpful folks running the booth there. I found the 2007 Annual to be worth the money for both the new styles and the PDF tutorials...but Joseph's tutorials for DD3 were so excellent, when I saw he was doing a long set for the 2008 Annual, I immediately jumped in.

    His tutorials not only showed me how to use CC3 for more effect, but also taught concepts that actually demonstrates why CC3's approach to things like Sheets and Layers is actually quite powerful. It made the daunting learning curve that CC3 presents much more manageable. My maps became much nice virtually overnight.
  • 12 days later
  • Let me echo the compliments, I'm just now getting around to viewing the tutorials, great stuff.

    And to anyone who hasn't subscribed yet, the annual is the best investment you'll make for improving your mapping IMO.
Sign In or Register to comment.