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So I started a coding course a few months ago and I am now at the point that I want to try building my own web application for 40K just for fun.

Initially I thought about doing a list builder web app similar to https://www.warhammer-community.com/warscroll-builder/ but I will never be able to go live with this as I can't compete with GW's Legal department (unless I sell it to them for unlimited plastic). So I was wondering f you guys have any suggestions.

YellowSkin wrote:
So I started a coding course a few months ago and I am now at the point that I want to try building my own web application for 40K just for fun.

Initially I thought about doing a list builder web app similar to https://www.warhammer-community.com/warscroll-builder/ but I will never be able to go live with this as I can't compete with GW's Legal department (unless I sell it to them for unlimited plastic). So I was wondering f you guys have any suggestions.

Warscroll Builder wasn't developed by GW, but they bought it later. So just do it.

They haven't released the 40k version yet, despite having said it is coming (I can't recall where I saw that).

 Skinnereal wrote:
They haven't released the 40k version yet, despite having said it is coming (I can't recall where I saw that).

Which actually amazes me as the new way that the codexes are built point wise actually makes it easier to build lists from a coding perspective.

They change it so often though, it's hard for someone to sit and plod though the list entries.
Get the framework right, and changing the entries later shouldn't be a problem.

Man, there's a thing I've started and walked away from so many times before it's not funny. Had at least three efforts toward something like that before, and two of those were VERY serious attempts. I just never had the amount of time to put into it above and beyond my dayjob and this was right when GW ramped up their release cycle to unheard of rates somewhere early 7th ed.

They never actually spell out which parts exactly are the problems, but as far as I can tell, every time someone rubs against GW Legal the wrong way, it's because of one of a few things:
- Using GW artwork or logos
- Too many rules (though this doesn't stop BS somehow)
- Donation buttons (on software SPECIFICALLY made for GW stuff only)
- Datafiles built into the software*

* Army builder and Battlescribe both avoid doing any of those things, and they're just fine. Yeah, sure, you can download datafiles for either through the application, but they're not specifically integrated into it. I'm not sure if that's significant.

If you want to do it, I'd recommend:
- Making something general case enough to be used for other systems.
- Allowing user created data files through some editor software
- Open sourcing the code OR hosting it in some place that's hostile toward legal takedown requests.

That last one is super important to making it hard to get rid of, but at the same time, makes it difficult for you to monetize. If this isn't about money, definitely open source it as well as putting somewhere anywhere else. The strategic thinking behind this is that, in the case of the webapp that got taken down most previously, it only existed in the one instance the guy who wrote it started, so no one else had it to mirror/fork/run privately on their own computer. It was dead. But if you build it in a way that anyone can get the code for it or at least be able to run it on their own hardware, then when the software goes live, the cat's out of the bag. People start downloading and using it, and if it's good, they'll continue to use it even if it gets taken down. That's a thing of beauty.

And if you are thinking about monetizing this or trying to do anything serious with it beyond this, it's probably worth getting a consultation from a lawyer.

Given the amount of effort I've put into this before, I could probably babble about it even more than I already have. I'm going to cut myself short at this point though.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
You might also want to page a mod and see if you can get this moved into 40k GD or Tournament Discussions or something. Might see more interested eyeballs that way.