Leave a Review Pocket Bard App
pricey but useful and satisfying
i will admit the free version is very generous but as others have mentioned the paid one is kinda pricey 7$ month for the full collection of sounds is kinda much i don’t think this app will be as successful for user and developers if the price doesn’t change and make a one time purchase option that’s 35$ or monthly cost like 4$ I ALSO HATE MONTHLY SERVICES and yearly in a comparison cost about the same as dnd beyond master tier which is 55$ while pocket bard is 50$ it’s not a good business model even though they say it is i see other tabletops tools like tale spires add one time purchase options and succeed off of itShow lessfbhdvhu
Developer Response
Thanks for reaching out to share your feedback. I wanted to begin by acknowledging the validity to your sentiments. As someone who personally juggles with far too many subscriptions, I completely understand how you feel. We have a full explanation from our CEO as to why we chose this model, which you can find on our Discord: https://discord.com/channels/982003221897838703/1105206613834465281/1170112981187702934 In short, we are an incredibly small team - comprising less than 10 core members. At this stage in our development as a company, we found this to be one of the only reliable ways to grow our business. Because we know that this model is not for everyone, we are committed to making the Free experience of Pocket Bard robust and full of content. For example, we spent a vast amount of capital in order to provide our brand new Tavern Collection completely free for every single user, just as we did earlier this year by releasing Cave and Dwarven Kingdom free of charge. We hope in doing this, we can excite and expand our current user base, and from there, perhaps we can show users in need of Sci-Fi, Seafaring, Horror, or Desert (4 scenes available now with 4 more soon) music that we have a solution - a subscription that they can cancel at any time! Because we have maintained our commitment to a Customer Focused Approach, this model is also what allows for us to keep Pocket Bard an ad free experience for every one of our users, regardless of subscription status. I’d also be remised if I didn’t mention that thanks to user feedback concerning our pricing, we would not have made our most recent price change by dropping our yearly subscription to $49.99 per year. When a user feels skeptical about subscribing, we want to know why that is. We may not necessarily react accordingly to how that user feels, but we believe that understanding where our community is coming from is a crucial element to what makes Pocket Bard a success. This philosophy was conceived to keep us accountable to our users and committed to create the best possible experience. As always, our door is open to discussion! support@pocketbard.app Thanks again, Nick Barakos Customer Support Manager, Pocket Bard LLCIncredibly useful and user friendly!
I absolutely love this app!
Now, I say this as someone who is only using the free assets (which the developers have been generous with), as I loath subscription services. If ot were a set amoutn for the whole shebang, then i would probably pay it. I just won't pay monthly. Minor rant out of the way, there are so many features that make the already generous free assets even better. The sliders don't affect volume, but the intensity and complexity of the sounds. Genius! I love the way each environment has a collection of background music, so each time you select it, it isn't exactly the same. This is simple to use, quick to use in game, and the quality and variety is spectacular.Show lessBodies Britt Nehru
Great start — Desperately needs AirPlay
I have used both Syrinscape and RPG Sounds in the past, and eventually settled on just using Shortcuts to trigger various Apple Music playlists.
This app does a lot well, but it really needs AirPlay before it becomes part of my normal gameplay. I have a dual HomePod setup in my game room specifically for ambient sounds, and without the ability to AirPlay, this app feels super lackluster.
Pros: The ‘fading’ between sounds is REALLY well done. I love hitting the Victory button, and the fanfare is added into the music really well at a time that fits perfectly. The “intensity” slider is incredibly interesting, and adds a really nice touch.
Cons: Needs AirPlay. Like, seriously.
Other: It took me entirely too long to realize that the “Location” ambiance was different depending on the scene I was in. A “Tavern” scene would be REALLY welcome as well. Tavern ambiance is probably the most common on that I’m usually playing, and right now it (appears to be) missing.Show lesslevenimc
Developer Response
This was a really great review for us to read through, thank you for your time! Learning from our users will always be a core principle of Pocket Bard, so your transparency is much appreciated. As far as Airplay/Chromecast goes, This is feedback we get quite often - and for good reason. We know that many of our users with Chromcast and AirPlay compatible accessories would love to integrate Pocket Bard into their audio systems. Pocket Bard is designed to be a high fidelity experience and we'd love our users to truly get the most out of it. Unfortunately, this is an issue that we cannot at this time circumvent. This is because the audio middleware that we use, which is traditionally used in the video game audio pipeline, is incompatible with AirPlay and Chromecast. We brought this to the attention of this company and they have assured us this is something they intend to fix in the future, and once they do, WiFi casting will be an absolute breeze. We look forward to this update, but our hands are sadly tied for the time being. In the meantime, we do have a few workarounds. Often times, depending on the device you're using to play Pocket Bard, users are able to mirror their displays to smart home hubs like Smart TVs and Apple TVs. If your audio system is routed through the TV, mirroring your device should also output the audio, and hopefully take advantage of your sound system. This is currently our preferred work-around, but of course, Pocket Bard is currently compatible with all Bluetooth speakers as well. We apologize for this inconvenience and we hope you stick with us as we work these issues out! As for Tavern, hang tight. We have wrapped recording of our Tavern Expansion and we could not be more excited to bring it to our community. We're truly proud of what we have made and we hope you look forward to its release later this year! As always, our door is open. Please let us know if you have any other ideas or feedback! support@pocketbard.app Thanks again for your review and we look forward to improving!