I love D&D. I HATE trying to navigate the website, where the information I paid for is hiding (yeah, I'm lame enough to bring up that card).
As examples:
- The menu bars on the left are horrific medieval expanding blocks that hide most of the navigational tools and links. To top that off, they don't remember if you've told them to be open when you leave and come back later (or if you click a link!)
- The... flow... of each page is staggered and difficult to just browse through, with a font so small (I assume to fit more onto the page) as to be awkward to read. All pages are artificially limited to... what is that? 900 pixels across? That's not any kind of standard. With how blocky all the graphics are, it makes it weird and gives the impression of canned sardines.
- Clicking on "Message Boards" under the Dungeon horrific medieval expanding block gives a URL invalid error.
- All the list type things are but into tiny little boxes that scroll forever, you need a better solution. Click on Dragon or Dungeon and look at the Features and Columns lists. That was less than optimal 5 years ago - now it's abhorrent.
Those a just a few of the issues swamping the website. Please, for the love of god, for the honour of the players and your own self-respect, overhaul the website and embrace web2.0!
I just open six or seven bookmarkers/tabs and just flip to what I want to see and refresh it. I keep one tab to the D&D viewing forum open in case something pops up that looks intersting otherwise.
Give it time.
We were told at DDXP that the dnd website would be getting an overhaul between then and summer.
Give it time.
No offense, but I recall being told at GenCon 2007 that the character builder, character visualizer, and virtual table would be completed by the time 4th Edition released.
And here we are, 10 months later and we're still down two of those items.
Love the game thus far, the char generator, Dragon, Dungeon etc, but disappointed with promises not fulfilled with the online stuff promised in 07
I mean seriously... there is A LOT wizard could do to make a lot of people happy and less tense about new products and changes and updates and what is being worked on, what is being fixed etc...
And all they have to do is change their website to make it all possible...
Buuuuttt... knowing wizards... it's not gonna happen...
*shrug* may be they'll supprise me...
I, presumably like most people not using DDI, have simply stopped visiting the main website until they make changes to attract me back.
This.
I have long loathed the re-designed website (at least the music didn't hang around). As the content became increasinlgy sparse, so too did my visits. Now I have a bookmark to the errata pages and check it every once in a while.
Design things more intelligently, and I imagine I'd once again start looking at previews, podcasts and the like.
Heh... I remember a time, before 4E was announced, when the Realms and Eberron subsites offered new articles almost every weekday.
Exactly!
Come on Wizards, get with the times... a live update feed would be nice... doesn't have to be on a minute basis or even hourly...
I agree with everything but two things
Information travels AT light speed, not faster - fiber optics =p
One thing Wizards have done right on their website is an RSS Live Feed:
http://www.wizards.com/rss.asp?x=dnd
I have long loathed the re-designed website (at least the music didn't hang around). As the content became increasinlgy sparse, so too did my visits. Now I have a bookmark to the errata pages and check it every once in a while.
Design things more intelligently, and I imagine I'd once again start looking at previews, podcasts and the like.
I have no memory of the old site - I thought this WAS the old site lol.
I have to agree... with the use of a bit DHTML and AJAX they could make the primary wizards page much more interactive and easier to navigate. The menus on the sides are hard to navigate, and should be streamlined if possible. Maybe having a drop down menu system in place instead of the click interface would make navigation quicker as well.
The flipside of that is too much interactivity. Please see the McDonald's Australia website (Click Broadband)
I agree with everything but two things
Information travels AT light speed, not faster - fiber optics =p
Physics 101: Light traveling through Fiber Optics is slowed by the refraction of the optical fibers, same as electricity is slowed and lost from resistance through normal electrical conductors.
Are the light beams not still moving at the speed of light, just through a bouncy tube?
The beams are moving at the speed of light through that medium, which is slower than than the 186,282 miles per second that light travels in a vacuum. Then the signal is slowed further because it's not going in a straight line, bouncing from one side of the fiber to the other.
This short physics note has been brought to you by the letter c. We now return you to the thread in progress.
Actually, to find out what's new (most of it at least), just go to the monthly editorial calendar.
my (our?) point is not that we can't FIND it... it's the LACK of new things on a daily basis...
http://www.dragonavenue.com/dnd/post/redesigning_the_dungeons_and_dragon_website/
Too bad WoTC won't hire Mr. Sigler to do the work.
I agree with the OP and I will point you to this wonderful blog
http://www.dragonavenue.com/dnd/post/redesigning_the_dungeons_and_dragon_website/
Too bad WoTC won't hire Mr. Sigler to do the work.
Now THAT's what I'm talking about!! that's a site I'd Loooveee to come to on a daily basis...
Nice and easy flash manuverability and none of that crappy javascrip they got running now... maaann... I so want that design for the site now...
I want it
I want it
I want it!!!!
:D
No matter what they do, not having DDI means at best we can hear about releases (but not actually see anything of them, I fully expect even excerpts will be unavailable to any but DDI subscribers soon), errata, and events. The only thing we'll get to actually access is the errata.
The reason I have issues with that isn't because I'm CHOOSING not to get a subscription. I have 0 dollars to spend on this hobby under current economic conditions. Likely, I won't for years. So what books I have are all I have...and borrowing the books of friends IF they get them. So, strictly because of my financial situation I'm barred from basically everything but knowing what rules they screwed up and how to fix them.
Now, that said, I'm not suggesting all of DDI be free. But certain things should be...at least occasionally. Perhaps things like the character builder and the gaming table (if it ever exists), could be usable for a total of 24 hours each per week for free for each account. The rest could all be pay only and wanting to use such "free" featues more often than they're free, one would have to subscribe. But at least then fewer hobbyists would be left out simply because the economy decided to leave them in a joo fuen chse. Personally, I think it's a fine compromise with practically nothing lost on the part of WotC.
But anyway, I don't care that much if they update the site or not...since their site now does not, and will not ever, do me any good at all. But, obviously they SHOULD still update it for the others.
Now. I don't want this turning into a DDI arguement. This isn't even about the DDI.
This is about the website on which all content is housed;
Podcasts, pictures, articals, eratta, RPGA things, customer service (which I believe is a third party system) and, yes, DDi stuff.
To the people who don't have DDI, fine, don't go to the site. I'll be blunt - I don't care if you can't afford DDi, it's optional so get it or don't get it. If you can't afford $60 once a year, that's not Wizard's fault. For the people that DO have DDI, the problem is much MUCH worse.
Now. I don't want this turning into a DDI arguement. This isn't even about the DDI.
...
Then you shouldn't try and start one! :P
Just because someone doesn't have DDi doesn't mean they can't afford it.
To the people who don't have DDI, fine, don't go to the site. I'll be blunt - I don't care if you can't afford DDi, it's optional so get it or don't get it. If you can't afford $60 once a year, that's not Wizard's fault. For the people that DO have DDI, the problem is much MUCH worse.
Now. I don't want this turning into a DDI arguement. This isn't even about the DDI.
This is about the website on which all content is housed;
Podcasts, pictures, articals, eratta, RPGA things, customer service (which I believe is a third party system) and, yes, DDi stuff.
Unfortunately, Dragon Magazine was my version of DDI mainly because it carried so much content... but then it died out to becoming solely an online magazine?
I prefer to have something real in my hand. Not pay for something intangible, and have to merely see on a virtual screen. The economy is one reason. WOTC bad marketing is another.
Unfortunately, Dragon Magazine was my version of DDI mainly because it carried so much content... but then it died out to becoming solely an online magazine?
I prefer to have something real in my hand. Not pay for something intangible, and have to merely see on a virtual screen. The economy is one reason. WOTC bad marketing is another.
Dragon wasn't making money as a real magazine, so they switched it to digital.
Dragon wasn't making money as a real magazine, so they switched it to digital.
That's completely false.
Paizo produced Dragon and Dungeon under license from WotC, and WotC chose not to renew the license in order to bring the magazines in-house and convert them to digital to be part of the DDI. The magazines' profit margins as real magazines weren't part of that.
The website is hideous. I make sure to bookmark anything I will want to return to easily, like the 4.0 FAQ, since I will be unlikely to ever find it again.
I am going to be very grateful if they update the thing, I might actually find features I like and use often.
Only read the first several responses to the thread.
The website is hideous. I make sure to bookmark anything I will want to return to easily, like the 4.0 FAQ, since I will be unlikely to ever find it again.
I am going to be very grateful if they update the thing, I might actually find features I like and use often.
Well... I don't think calling the site HIDEOUS is quite rig... Ah who am I kidding, it's hideous. At one point is was high design, but that point is faded, far in the distance.
Good idea on the bookmarking thing.