"I'll Join DDI When...." - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

"I'll Join DDI When...."

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Tony_Vargas
Jul 20, 2010 18:58:19
(I assume new DDI functionality would count as a future release)

Let us know what it would take to get you to sign onto DDI, if you're not already. Or, go ahead and share what made you finally sign up.

For me, I've gotten to try out Monster Builder and I do like it a lot, but if Adventure Tools included something like Encounter Builder that let me use custom Monster Builder Monsters, that'd be a big selling point. I can't imagine what a 'Skill Challenge Builder' might be like, but it could only help...
#2
Duke5150
Jul 20, 2010 19:36:50
When I get a new pc with more virtual memory, I'll subscribe. As is right now, the demo runs really friggin slow after about 20 minutes of being kept open. Hopefully by then, there will be some new editions to the CB (houserules improvements) and AT (ability to design encounters, traps and so on)
#3
MechaPilot
Jul 20, 2010 19:40:55

When I get a new pc with more virtual memory, I'll subscribe. As is right now, the demo runs really friggin slow after about 20 minutes of being kept open. Hopefully by then, there will be some new editions to the CB (houserules improvements) and AT (ability to design encounters, traps and so on)

I'm in the same kind of boat. My decision to join DDI isn't based on what features might be added in the future but on real world conditions.

But to answer the question: I'll join DDI when . . . I get a better paying job. Right now I'm a college student working at a minimum-wage fastfood job. Once I get my degree though (within the next 6-9 months) I'll be qualified for a job that will pentuple my current income.
#4
greatfrito
Jul 21, 2010 2:15:12 ... they stop making books I want to buy, but continue making content I would like to "have". (Such as a format change, to predominently paperbacks.)

Even then though, I have a player with DDi, and I have the basic books and enough supplements to keep me going for a long time now, so... maybe not even then.

If they got a nice (and I mean really nice) virtual table top going, I would probably consider that too, if I could rope my old college buddies into getting back into it too.
#5
ascottbay
Jul 21, 2010 7:05:30 First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews.

My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like.
#6
praion
Jul 21, 2010 9:38:12 When i get the CB on MAC
#7
mellored
Jul 21, 2010 9:50:59 When they get CB on linux.

Really, if they dropped the .net framework, they could solve the slow/mac/linux problem in one shot.
#8
ranadiel
Jul 21, 2010 16:48:42
Really, if they dropped the .net framework, they could solve the slow/mac/linux problem in one shot.

Yes because we all know that completely changing programming languages without creating any bugs whatsoever is an easy and quick task to accomplish especially when you don't have a lot of resources to use on the problem. -_-
#9
Austinwulf
Jul 21, 2010 17:41:01
First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews.

My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like.

I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea.

If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like.

#10
ekhawkman
Jul 21, 2010 19:31:29 I have to agree on the CB for non-PC. If that happens, I'd be more than willing to buy, but until then, the content just isn't enough for me to warrant getting a sub. I've used the CB Demo on a PC, and it is wonderful, but for now I won't get it.
#11
MusicOfCreation
Jul 21, 2010 20:42:21 The only reason why I am not on DDI is because my girlfriend is subscribed to it and I use her account.
#12
migo
Jul 21, 2010 22:29:20
First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews.

My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like.

I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea.

If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like.

I didn't realise this was an option. If you do that, can you get everything that was released while you didn't have a subscription (in terms of Dungeon/Dragon) or do you only get the issues for the month you subscribe?
#13
ekhawkman
Jul 21, 2010 22:41:06
First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews.

My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like.

I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea.

If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like.

I didn't realise this was an option. If you do that, can you get everything that was released while you didn't have a subscription (in terms of Dungeon/Dragon) or do you only get the issues for the month you subscribe?

You can download whatever you want. Doesn't matter when it was uploaded.
#14
Duke5150
Jul 21, 2010 23:28:51
First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews.

My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like.

I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea.

If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like.

I didn't realise this was an option. If you do that, can you get everything that was released while you didn't have a subscription (in terms of Dungeon/Dragon) or do you only get the issues for the month you subscribe?

Yup. You get all the magazines, the most currently updated character builder and adventure tools (monster builder). All of which stay on your computer even when your subscription expires. While subscribed, you gain access to the compendium and access to the latest updates and newest magazines. Once your subscription expires, you no longer get anything new, and you can no longer access the compendium (IIRC) but you still have the CB and AT and every magazine you download. (which should be all of them IMO)

Personally, I'v seen the compendium and while it's neat, I don't find it "essential", so I would subscribe for one month every four months. So I'd update my CB/AT and get the latest magazines three times a year. I'd do that now, but I use my buddies laptop and he does yearly? subscriptions. Plus his laptop is current, so it's not slow like my pc when using CB or AT. My friends also print out the magazines and leave them here for when we game and so I can always read them.

{edit}
If they ever release the virtual table top, I think it will be like the compendium. So, in order to use it, you will have to be a subscriber.
#15
Alter_Boy
Jul 22, 2010 3:08:36 When I can no longer get D&D in book form.

I have the money for it, but aside from the Assassin class, I have no urge to get into DDI. Something about having a book in real life as opposed to a computer screen makes me care more about it. It feels more legitimate IMO. I'm eagerly awaiting Psionic Power, but don't give a flip about Psionic articles on Dragon.
#16
ADHadh
Jul 22, 2010 7:55:03 When I get some spare money.

Commission a picture please? ;)
#17
Gazra
Jul 22, 2010 14:51:58 For me, the compendium and character builder are enough. I use the monster builder regularly, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of Dragon and Dungeon, but I would still be willing to pay the same price if those features weren't included. I use the compendium almost ever single day. I use it in game, while researching for a game I'm running, when making a character, as a reference when reading forum posts (especially CharOp), and sometimes just when I'm bored. The compendium and the character builder are the two greatest applications for D&D ever created. As long as those two tools remain, I will always be a DDI subscriber.
#18
celloshane
Jul 22, 2010 14:59:58 Reposted from the DDI forum thread.

There are several actions WotC can take to make DDI more attractive to me. The first is to increase the quality of Dragon and Dungeon. I don't want to see the publications devolve into a vehicle by which WotC releases powers, feats, and other rules elements that they don't want to publish in books. I would like to see the magazines used as a vehicle to release setting optional information like detailed locations, histories, organizations, and characters. What's more I'd like to see more integration between the two seperate entities - if you're going to detail a guild of vampire hunters in Dragon, why not show me a profile of their arch enemy in Dungeon? I'd also like to see more articles like Ecologies.

Secondly, they can release more tools that will make my life easier as a DM. A mapping tool with a low learning curve, a combat tracker for round to round record keeping, or even an adventure flowchart creator. I need tools that will reduce the prep time I spend on D&D, and while the Character Builder and Monster Builder are great, they don't exactly help with that.

Thirdly, they can increase my trust in DDI management. Let me clarify; I feel the people doing the day to day work on DDI are contributing excellent work. My concern is that management is unwilling to commit the resources necessary to make DDI great. Offhand, here are some steps they can take to improve my view:
1. Increase the proof time on Dragon and Dungeon articles. If articles are ready to publish even a month ahead of time, the result should be more consistancy in the monthly calendar and the added benefit of being able to plan ahead for "light" months to increase consistancy in page counts. Personally, I don't accept the excuse that it's ok to publish fewer articles because of holidays or con season. That's why you plan ahead.
2. Be more open in the communication of what application(s) are in active development. I know this is a dead horse subject for the forum so I won't go into detail, but the current situation feels like I'm Dorothy staring at the curtain.
3. A website design that has a clearer divide between subscriber and non-subscriber. The website should be useful to non-subscribers, and they shouldn't have to wade through DDI articles and tools to find the occasional nugget that's intended for everyone. The website should be more than simply a gateway to DDI.
#19
thax
Jul 24, 2010 16:30:27 Celloshane -- *Ding*

Your right on the nose with this, and very well written. I would like to add that the current character generator did not need to be attatched to this service, but needed to be a stand alone program that could have been sold in the game stores. Instead, we have a "client" that was eventually made after a web only application was found to be impossible to do or would not have been that intuitive and lacking in structure.

In the future, I would like to see Wizards separate the meanings between "game" and "aid," allowing the market to provide quality character generators without having to worry about being shut down. I don't see it happening anytime soon.
#20
tsukinousagi
Jul 25, 2010 8:34:50 In it for the PC generator and only the PC generator.

I have a friend that clearly is in it for the Monster generator and the encounter builder as he does't want modules and wants to run his own made encounters. He likes how that is simple with the Encounter building function. Pick the right monsters, copy paste to a a graphics program, print out the page of monster blocks and all comfortably handy for running the event.

He was tickled pink when I demonstrated it for him.

I'd likely run some virtual groups if they made a decent program. I'm not holding my breath on that though.

The second the manual releases dry up, my interest in maintaining the account likely dries up though.

Once you have the thing installed, you are really only paying for an update service and some online mags.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Tony_Vargas Jul 20, 2010 18:58:19	(I assume new DDI functionality would count as a future release) Let us know what it would take to get you to sign onto DDI, if you're not already. Or, go ahead and share what made you finally sign up. For me, I've gotten to try out Monster Builder and I do like it a lot, but if Adventure Tools included something like Encounter Builder that let me use custom Monster Builder Monsters, that'd be a big selling point. I can't imagine what a 'Skill Challenge Builder' might be like, but it could only help...
#2 Duke5150 Jul 20, 2010 19:36:50	When I get a new pc with more virtual memory, I'll subscribe. As is right now, the demo runs really friggin slow after about 20 minutes of being kept open. Hopefully by then, there will be some new editions to the CB (houserules improvements) and AT (ability to design encounters, traps and so on)
#3 MechaPilot Jul 20, 2010 19:40:55	When I get a new pc with more virtual memory, I'll subscribe. As is right now, the demo runs really friggin slow after about 20 minutes of being kept open. Hopefully by then, there will be some new editions to the CB (houserules improvements) and AT (ability to design encounters, traps and so on) I'm in the same kind of boat. My decision to join DDI isn't based on what features might be added in the future but on real world conditions. But to answer the question: I'll join DDI when . . . I get a better paying job. Right now I'm a college student working at a minimum-wage fastfood job. Once I get my degree though (within the next 6-9 months) I'll be qualified for a job that will pentuple my current income.
#4 greatfrito Jul 21, 2010 2:15:12	... they stop making books I want to buy, but continue making content I would like to "have". (Such as a format change, to predominently paperbacks.) Even then though, I have a player with DDi, and I have the basic books and enough supplements to keep me going for a long time now, so... maybe not even then. If they got a nice (and I mean really nice) virtual table top going, I would probably consider that too, if I could rope my old college buddies into getting back into it too.
#5 ascottbay Jul 21, 2010 7:05:30	First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews. My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like.
#6 praion Jul 21, 2010 9:38:12	When i get the CB on MAC
#7 mellored Jul 21, 2010 9:50:59	When they get CB on linux. Really, if they dropped the .net framework, they could solve the slow/mac/linux problem in one shot.
#8 ranadiel Jul 21, 2010 16:48:42	Really, if they dropped the .net framework, they could solve the slow/mac/linux problem in one shot. Yes because we all know that completely changing programming languages without creating any bugs whatsoever is an easy and quick task to accomplish especially when you don't have a lot of resources to use on the problem. -_-
#9 Austinwulf Jul 21, 2010 17:41:01	First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews. My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like. I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea. If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like.
#10 ekhawkman Jul 21, 2010 19:31:29	I have to agree on the CB for non-PC. If that happens, I'd be more than willing to buy, but until then, the content just isn't enough for me to warrant getting a sub. I've used the CB Demo on a PC, and it is wonderful, but for now I won't get it.
#11 MusicOfCreation Jul 21, 2010 20:42:21	The only reason why I am not on DDI is because my girlfriend is subscribed to it and I use her account.
#12 migo Jul 21, 2010 22:29:20	First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews. My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like. I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea. If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like. I didn't realise this was an option. If you do that, can you get everything that was released while you didn't have a subscription (in terms of Dungeon/Dragon) or do you only get the issues for the month you subscribe?
#13 ekhawkman Jul 21, 2010 22:41:06	First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews. My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like. I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea. If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like. I didn't realise this was an option. If you do that, can you get everything that was released while you didn't have a subscription (in terms of Dungeon/Dragon) or do you only get the issues for the month you subscribe? You can download whatever you want. Doesn't matter when it was uploaded.
#14 Duke5150 Jul 21, 2010 23:28:51	First I subbed for just one month to get the full Character Builder. Then I subbed again to get some of the Ampersands with early-early Dark Sun previews. My next foreseeable resub will be when the Dark Sun content is added to the CB. I don't ever see myself getting an annual subscription, but I'm willing to drop $10 occasionally for an update or content schedule that I like. I've been an Insider since 2008, and shall likely continue as one, but this guy has the right idea. If you don't want to pay the monthly, just purchase 1 month a year, or only on months right after updates you would like. I didn't realise this was an option. If you do that, can you get everything that was released while you didn't have a subscription (in terms of Dungeon/Dragon) or do you only get the issues for the month you subscribe? Yup. You get all the magazines, the most currently updated character builder and adventure tools (monster builder). All of which stay on your computer even when your subscription expires. While subscribed, you gain access to the compendium and access to the latest updates and newest magazines. Once your subscription expires, you no longer get anything new, and you can no longer access the compendium (IIRC) but you still have the CB and AT and every magazine you download. (which should be all of them IMO) Personally, I'v seen the compendium and while it's neat, I don't find it "essential", so I would subscribe for one month every four months. So I'd update my CB/AT and get the latest magazines three times a year. I'd do that now, but I use my buddies laptop and he does yearly? subscriptions. Plus his laptop is current, so it's not slow like my pc when using CB or AT. My friends also print out the magazines and leave them here for when we game and so I can always read them. {edit} If they ever release the virtual table top, I think it will be like the compendium. So, in order to use it, you will have to be a subscriber.
#15 Alter_Boy Jul 22, 2010 3:08:36	When I can no longer get D&D in book form. I have the money for it, but aside from the Assassin class, I have no urge to get into DDI. Something about having a book in real life as opposed to a computer screen makes me care more about it. It feels more legitimate IMO. I'm eagerly awaiting Psionic Power, but don't give a flip about Psionic articles on Dragon.
#16 ADHadh Jul 22, 2010 7:55:03	When I get some spare money. Commission a picture please? ;)
#17 Gazra Jul 22, 2010 14:51:58	For me, the compendium and character builder are enough. I use the monster builder regularly, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of Dragon and Dungeon, but I would still be willing to pay the same price if those features weren't included. I use the compendium almost ever single day. I use it in game, while researching for a game I'm running, when making a character, as a reference when reading forum posts (especially CharOp), and sometimes just when I'm bored. The compendium and the character builder are the two greatest applications for D&D ever created. As long as those two tools remain, I will always be a DDI subscriber.
#18 celloshane Jul 22, 2010 14:59:58	Reposted from the DDI forum thread. There are several actions WotC can take to make DDI more attractive to me. The first is to increase the quality of Dragon and Dungeon. I don't want to see the publications devolve into a vehicle by which WotC releases powers, feats, and other rules elements that they don't want to publish in books. I would like to see the magazines used as a vehicle to release setting optional information like detailed locations, histories, organizations, and characters. What's more I'd like to see more integration between the two seperate entities - if you're going to detail a guild of vampire hunters in Dragon, why not show me a profile of their arch enemy in Dungeon? I'd also like to see more articles like Ecologies. Secondly, they can release more tools that will make my life easier as a DM. A mapping tool with a low learning curve, a combat tracker for round to round record keeping, or even an adventure flowchart creator. I need tools that will reduce the prep time I spend on D&D, and while the Character Builder and Monster Builder are great, they don't exactly help with that. Thirdly, they can increase my trust in DDI management. Let me clarify; I feel the people doing the day to day work on DDI are contributing excellent work. My concern is that management is unwilling to commit the resources necessary to make DDI great. Offhand, here are some steps they can take to improve my view: 1. Increase the proof time on Dragon and Dungeon articles. If articles are ready to publish even a month ahead of time, the result should be more consistancy in the monthly calendar and the added benefit of being able to plan ahead for "light" months to increase consistancy in page counts. Personally, I don't accept the excuse that it's ok to publish fewer articles because of holidays or con season. That's why you plan ahead. 2. Be more open in the communication of what application(s) are in active development. I know this is a dead horse subject for the forum so I won't go into detail, but the current situation feels like I'm Dorothy staring at the curtain. 3. A website design that has a clearer divide between subscriber and non-subscriber. The website should be useful to non-subscribers, and they shouldn't have to wade through DDI articles and tools to find the occasional nugget that's intended for everyone. The website should be more than simply a gateway to DDI.
#19 thax Jul 24, 2010 16:30:27	Celloshane -- Ding Your right on the nose with this, and very well written. I would like to add that the current character generator did not need to be attatched to this service, but needed to be a stand alone program that could have been sold in the game stores. Instead, we have a "client" that was eventually made after a web only application was found to be impossible to do or would not have been that intuitive and lacking in structure. In the future, I would like to see Wizards separate the meanings between "game" and "aid," allowing the market to provide quality character generators without having to worry about being shut down. I don't see it happening anytime soon.
#20 tsukinousagi Jul 25, 2010 8:34:50	In it for the PC generator and only the PC generator. I have a friend that clearly is in it for the Monster generator and the encounter builder as he does't want modules and wants to run his own made encounters. He likes how that is simple with the Encounter building function. Pick the right monsters, copy paste to a a graphics program, print out the page of monster blocks and all comfortably handy for running the event. He was tickled pink when I demonstrated it for him. I'd likely run some virtual groups if they made a decent program. I'm not holding my breath on that though. The second the manual releases dry up, my interest in maintaining the account likely dries up though. Once you have the thing installed, you are really only paying for an update service and some online mags.