Continuation of great discussion from DM resources

It is too soon for me to say anything about fantasy grounds, but it looks like a good solid system. I have not researched it intensly, but the basic idea I love. Fantasy Grounds seems to be intensly helpful, especially since 5e is integrated (so helpful!)
The problem, at least for me, lies in the cost. Not that it is too expensive, but that it is a recurrent payment (correct me if I am wrong, if I am wrong, hurrah). I have never enjoyed recurrent payments on anything and it turns me off to any program.
Only other thing I can think of saying is that they should start thinking of an iPad app (they might, but I doubt it)...

Same, but scheduling such things is a nightmare for me! When something gets rolling (as I'm sure it eventually will), I'll lurk around and see where the chips fall.

This is a very valid point actually. Companies are always trying to find the best ways to monetize their intellectual property, and WotC is no exception. They've got it a bit tough due to the format of their product. As I've mention elsewhere; I still own the 2e books I bought over 20 years ago from TSR, I can run a 2e game using IP owned by WotC and they receive no profit at all from it. So, they seek to branch out and use cross media (things like FG and the D&D MMOs) to cross market and monetize their product. Minis are part of that game.

Three points regarding minis:

1. One never needs minis to run a game. I ran my current campaign for well over a year without any minis. I occasionally used chess or other game pieces to create visual representations of combat situations, but that was free to me as I already owned the games they came from. I assume that the digital tokens and graphics are included in the FG license. But if not, and one has to purchase them individually, then perhaps not such a money saver.

2. One can buy minis at discounted prices. They've gotten significantly more expensive than when I used to buy them as a kid, but with some adroit Ebay usage, I've managed to get a small collection at a reasonable price. And they are almost all old-school, single cast, pewter minis. None of this plastic garbage that is so common now.

3. Minis are cool! Looking into minis has rekindled the joy I felt for them when I was young. They are tiny bits of sculpture; little pieces of RPG art. And when they are based off 2d art by greats such as Tony DiTerlizzi and James Elmore...well that's just double cool. Now, I can appreciate a great piece of digital art, don't get me wrong! I love maps and some of the map making software out there produces some amazing stuff.

Edit: On the subject of time spent painting minis: I never paint my minis and I'm kind of upset with the fact that many new minis have to be assembled. I love the look of bare metal on the table, so no desire to paint my minis. I realize that the artists can create cooler poses and finer detail by making multiple casts, but some of them are just impractical. I may have to do a gray primer on a few minis due to the need to use epoxy putty to make assembled joints secure.

If I hadn't bought any of the books yet I think that buying them inside of FG would be awesome given the extras that you are getting because of the conversion into digital assets. However, that is most certainly not the case for me as I was buying the books the split second they came out from my FLGS so I could get them earlier than Amazon. Have you purchased any of the modules inside of FG to run (like Elemental Evil or Tyranny of Dragons.) If so, can you run those without purchasing other resources from FG? Definitely would be interesting to see the interface and how it works.

I'll set up a session this coming Wednesday for anyone who wants to check it out... evaluate... who is interested?

May I ask (since I can't find my way around the FG website) how much Fantasy Grounds cost?

I am interested as well...