# Army Builder Drops License Expiration



## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Army Builder is changing its business model:



> It's hard to believe, but Army Builder is 15 years old this summer! To celebrate the occasion, we've been taking a close look at the feedback you've been giving us, and are pleased to announce some changes that we think will be welcomed by everyone. Read on to find out more!
> In recognition of Army Builder's 15th birthday, we're streamlining and simplifying how licenses work by retiring Army Builder’s license renewal mechanism. *Starting on August 1st, active Army Builder licenses will no longer require yearly extensions to access program and data file updates for Army Builder 3.* As of that date, all Army Builder 3 licenses that have not yet expired will forever more remain "active" and never expire.
> All new licenses purchased henceforth will never expire. All existing licenses that are active on August 1st, 2013, will similarly never expire. Army Builder licenses that are expired on August 1st can be renewed to that date and will thereafter never expire. All future updates to Army Builder 3 will be free to all users with unexpired licenses. In other words, everything just became a lot simpler!
> We hope these changes will let even more people enjoy Army Builder than before, including the upcoming "Army Builder Roster Viewer for iPad and iPhone", which you can read all about in our May newsletter. We're putting the finishing touches on the roster viewer now, and we anticipate this great free tool becoming available in August, assuming approval on the app store goes quickly! If you don't have an iPad or iPhone, or if you'd just like to see it in person, come see us at Gen Con this month and we'll be happy to show it off!
> ...


So everyone who uses this tool will have an easier time using it now.


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

So rather then a yearly subscription, its now a single purchase system that lasts forever? Not exactly free, but still good news.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Don't see the fuss, my army builder is free...I got the notepad when I used to work for free, nicked the pen for free, and grabbed a calculator from a desk since it was a freebie


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## Loki1416 (Apr 20, 2010)

I see the advantage of AB and the fact that they are doing a one time lifetime fee is fantastic. I might get it now. But I still like using Excell. It just works for me and I'm used to the program.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

Where army builder wins hands down against paper and pen is that you can check opponent's builds and also use it gain an idea of the sort of things opponents might field, without having to have the Codices.


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## Xabre (Dec 20, 2006)

Considering Battlescribe, they kind of had to do this.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Magpie_Oz said:


> Where army builder wins hands down against paper and pen is that you can check opponent's builds and also use it gain an idea of the sort of things opponents might field, without having to have the Codices.


But they can do that, you just ask for the list and codex *shrugs*


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

GrizBe said:


> So rather then a yearly subscription, its now a single purchase system that lasts forever? Not exactly free, but still good news.


Good catch. I've fixed it now.


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

This is good news I might be tempted now. Before there was no way I was going to touch it.


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## revilo44 (Sep 17, 2010)

i have never heard of this but it does sound quite appealing. Would be nice to have see my lists on ipad.


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## iamtheeviltwin (Nov 12, 2012)

How is Army Builder? How does it compare to BattleScribe (what I am using now)? I like LoneWolf's HeroLab product, it is a central feature in our PnP games. Is Army Builder of that same quality?


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## Bayonet (Aug 13, 2010)

Atlast! The licence model they had going on was pretty pants.


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

Army Builder is somewhat better than Battlescribe, as it puts the stat-lines in the printout, as well as many special rules, weapon statistics, and the like. I prefer it, but use Battlescribe on my pad cause it's easier. AB is only on PC right now, and even with the "reader" going on PAD, I doubt it'll be usable on mobile, just being given a reader.


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## Farseer Darvaleth (Nov 15, 2009)

The website still says you buy with "one year worth of updates"...?


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

Because the new policy hasn't gone into effect.


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## d3m01iti0n (Jun 5, 2012)

GW should buy them and whore it out. Makes perfect sense, business wise.


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

They tried to enter the Battle Builder Contest a few years ago, and determined they sucked at writing code.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Farseer Darvaleth said:


> The website still says you buy with "one year worth of updates"...?


The new policy starts 1 August, so of course it'll stay that way until then.



d3m01iti0n said:


> GW should buy them and whore it out. Makes perfect sense, business wise.


Army Builder is useful for more than just 40k and Fantasy, it supports a wide number of games, and if you know how to program for it can support more.


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## iamtheeviltwin (Nov 12, 2012)

Zion said:


> Army Builder is useful for more than just 40k and Fantasy, it supports a wide number of games, and if you know how to program for it can support more.


This is one of the reasons I like their Herolab program. I have input a myriad of prestige classes, feats, etc that are not covered in the core rules. I will have to check out Army Builder when it goes one time fee.


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## Bubblematrix (Jun 4, 2009)

d3m01iti0n said:


> GW should buy them and whore it out. Makes perfect sense, business wise.


AB tried to work with GW, but after years of being dicked around and neither party being able to come to an agreement they canned the project. (there is the full story on the AB site).

Good news to me, I really like AB, it makes army sketching very simple and can be invaluable in trying to squeeze silly builds into an army shape.

Guess it is time to pay for the update as it is now perpetual.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Bubblematrix said:


> AB tried to work with GW, but after years of being dicked around and neither party being able to come to an agreement they canned the project. (there is the full story on the AB site).
> 
> Good news to me, I really like AB, it makes army sketching very simple and can be invaluable in trying to squeeze silly builds into an army shape.
> 
> Guess it is time to pay for the update as it is now perpetual.


I wouldn't go paying for that update too soon as their announcement covered people who had the license and it expired.


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## Xabre (Dec 20, 2006)

Son of a.... my license expired today. Fail.


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

I think you will need to prorate it for a day. Or maybe not. Mine expires in two weeks, so I think I'm good.


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## SSG.House (Jul 29, 2013)

Wonder if they plan on doing an android version? 
I just Doanloaded Battlescribe, and linked it to the 40k repository.....and it seems half ass.
cant have a squad more then 5 warning messages etc.
Im still waiting on my GKs to arrive, so I havent started building my army, but dabnabbit it would be nice to war game and mess around with builds....but Battlescribe mobile so far sucks donkey balls.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

Army Builder is certainly a more polished product than battlescribe but does suffer from a lack of Android capability.

There is talk of an iPad port but nothing definite as yet.


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## scscofield (May 23, 2011)

Battlescribe is only as good as he data file being used also. Some of them work really well, some don't.


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## SSG.House (Jul 29, 2013)

Magpie_Oz said:


> Army Builder is certainly a more polished product than battlescribe but does suffer from a lack of Android capability.
> 
> There is talk of an iPad port but nothing definite as yet.


Sucks I live off the grid. Solar power in the day, gen at night. my internet access is my Galaxy Tab 7.7



scscofield said:


> Battlescribe is only as good as he data file being used also. Some of them work really well, some don't.


The one Im using is on the BS website. It only has 5th edition GK, and No NDKs, as well as a few of the HQs units are missing. :ireful2:


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Creon said:


> I think you will need to prorate it for a day. Or maybe not. Mine expires in two weeks, so I think I'm good.


Mine is expired and I'm playing it safe by waiting to know for sure just in case. No sense in wasting my money if I don't need too.


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## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

Stella Cadente said:


> Don't see the fuss, my army builder is free...I got the notepad when I used to work for free, nicked the pen for free, and grabbed a calculator from a desk since it was a freebie


Those were the good old days. :so_happy:


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Warlock in Training said:


> Those were the good old days. :so_happy:


Eh, paper still costs money, and I've known people who can't add even when using a calculator. Army Builder also has summaries in the print offs that make it easier to show people special rules, or at least figure out where they are in the book.


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