A functional web player?

Suggestions
#1

I love that Syrinscape has all sort of fun features like apps and remote players for virtual tabletops. But how about actually making a functional website first? Like, this is the minimum viable product that reaches a maximum of users. It’s not optional, but it doesn’t even seem to be on your road map.

I can say without reservation that the Android app is the ugliest, least usable mobile app I’ve ever used. You took every design practice that the entire industry spent ten years solidifying behind and threw them out the window because it just wasn’t old-timey enough. Not only does it not support LastPass autofill, I can’t even paste my username and password into the fields. The broken app wouldn’t be a big deal if I had any bloody alternative, but for some reason this is the only way to actually play sounds?

I would never have spent a penny on this, but it came with my Descent into Avernus Platinum Edition, so I feel like I should at least try to make it work. But my goodness, this app-first development of yours goes well past shooting yourselves in the foot. You’re over there in the corner enthusiastically attacking your foot with a rusty saw.

#2
#3

Hey @leot,

Let’s keep the tone respectful and constructive. I have a team of actual real humans working here, who deserve to be treated kindly.

If you are looking for a view at our design philosophy moving forward into the future, then take a look at the Online Player UI.

The Fantasy Player, is certainly VERY popular despite being a bit long in the tooth now… you are looking at something 5 years old there. It IS ready for a bit of love, and that’s what we are getting onto next, after having spent a LOT of time and imagination on getting a great solution going for Online Play.

If you are keen to be involved in a feedback kind of relationship here, where we can all contribute to something that gets better and better into the future then you are VERY welcome on these forums! So go for it. Have a try of everything, and continue to post. I’m SURE you’ll LOVE the sounds. They are the best in the industry. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#4

From the title of this post, maaaaaaaaaaaybe you are misunderstanding a bit about how Syrinscape functions to create sound etc.

Just to get you started, have a quick look at this vid:

Then ask some questions etc… the protips section of this forum can also be pretty useful.

#5
#6

I apologize for my tone. I’m frustrated because, as you say, the sound is top-notch, and I would really like to use it at my table. But I’m not installing and juggling yet another app (in WINE no less) just for sound effects. There’s no reason this can’t be done in a browser, with, sure, an option to use an app if you want a local cache of the sound files.

App-first development is bad. App-only development is worse. Browsers are not the enemy.

I’ve come across Syrinscape a couple of times in the past, and every time I’ve checked to see if you had gotten around to building a web player yet. Seeing that the answer was still no, I rolled my eyes and moved on. I don’t think I’m the only sale you’ve lost that way.

This time, I have a code for a sound set worth $20 or $30, so I figured I should at least test it out, despite the barrier to access.

#7

Hi @leot

Believe me, I’d love to have a pure browser based solution. It is something we did look at when we started developing Syrinscape Online, but for various reasons, it wasn’t feasible for us at the time.

I’m certainly not closing the door on future possibilities, but it would be a lot of work and we do have to consider many factors (such as cost vs benefit, popularity of each feature request, and usage numbers per platform, etc.) when deciding how to prioritise the work we want to get done with the resources we have available.

But perhaps I can help you a little right now by suggesting that you take a look at Syrinscape Online. Its primary interface is a bit more modern (less skeuomorphic, browser based) and has several benefits over the Fantasy Player such as:

  • Immediate access to all your content (all genres, no need to download and install individual soundsets).
  • Better search.
  • Remote play (SuperSyrin subscribers).
  • The ability to modify official soundsets or create your own original soundsets (SuperSyrin subscribers).

It is still in beta, and it does still require an app for audio playback, but you can run the app on another device (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows) while controlling it from your browser, and avoid the need for WINE.

1 Like
#8

I’ll just add that while the Syrinscape fantasy player works in Wine, I find it a bit slow. I’ve been using Syrinscape Online and have my phone attached and it works great. I should note though that I only use Syrinscape for Music and Atmosphere and don’t use any of the one-shot items.

And not to pile on a feature request for Syrinscape online in a random thread, but the one thing I’d like to be in SO from the Fantasy player is the ability to show the soundsets from one of my campaigns. When I’m in a game, I have little need to search all the soundsets to find a specific sound and would rather just have quick access to stuff I’ve already cultivated (as speed to starting the music is more important than access to everything)

#9

Heya, what do you mean specifically here, can you explain a bit more? :slight_smile:

1 Like
#10

@thomas1 Do you mean from the campaign manager?

At the top of the soundset list above the search field theres a “Select a campaign” drop down that should filter the soundset list according to the selected campaign.

image

2 Likes
#11

IDK why I didn’t get notified of this update, but what sonofconan posted was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

3 Likes
#12

Any plans on making this happen? My players (understandably) don’t want to have a dedicated player installed. There really should be a browser-based solution for this, or at least an add-on/extension for the browsers…