But WotC has a deliberate policy now of not announcing new stuff for DDi until it is actually 100% ready to be released. They screwed up big time before 4th edition came out, promising all sorts of impressive stuff for DDi that they were not, in the end, able to deliver (mostly for reasons beyond their direct control). They let people down and they don't want to put themselves in that position again.
So, there could be some big new DDi tool released next month and we still should not expect to have heard anything about it yet.
I wonder if Hasbro could ask help to videogame company to have got a better character builder...(but there could be potential desagreement about software copyrights). Let´s imagine the medieval sim creator be used for official D&D videogame..
I talked with the guys from (company I don't want sued) at the Gen Con that announced the surprise new edition. They had offered to make the character generator for them but Wizards declined the offer. I believe that at the time, they were still hoping for a web page instead of a client. The (product I don't want pulled off the market) is better than the CB, but you have to get the info from DDi, meaning one has to get another product to get the complete package. Sucks.
Wizards needs to put more resources into DDi to get it up to what they said it was going to be when 4th was announced, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
...meaning one has to get another product to get the complete package. Sucks.
You have to be kidding me!
The (product I don't want pulled off the market) is better than the CB
Any objective reasons? What's better in it?
Browser's not good if you dont have internet connection.
Character builders not good if you don't have windows.
Both have their faults.
maybe ... if the guys at wizards finally realized the tools are not just a feature but a whole product that will bring more people into the game
I really don't see how freaking difficult it is to write 2 lines of code to get a few monsters on a list & have the total XP for the encounter ... or 2 more lines of code to have a list of encounters for a whole adventure or delve ...
I really don't see how freaking difficult it is to write 2 lines of code to get a few monsters on a list & have the total XP for the encounter ... or 2 more lines of code to have a list of encounters for a whole adventure or delve ...
Or that's great! Please do it, genius.
maybe ... if the guys at wizards finally realized the tools are not just a feature but a whole product that will bring more people into the game
I really don't see how freaking difficult it is to write 2 lines of code to get a few monsters on a list & have the total XP for the encounter ... or 2 more lines of code to have a list of encounters for a whole adventure or delve ...
TSR/WotC has never had a lot of luck with digital products in the past. The current character builder and adventure tools are probably their most successful digital products to date. That being said, it is understandable why they are very cautious about what they release and probably why they only sell the tools as a feature rather than a whole product.
When 4e was first announced, there were a lot of veteran D&D players that were upset because they felt their favorite hobby with books and dice was being turned into some computer game when they saw a laptop at the game table on the D&D promo ad.
While as a company, you do want to attract new customers but you don't want to burn the old ones that have been with you through the Abyss and back. WotC made it clear that the D&D was not going in that direction and that the digital tools were just going to be optional accessory, not part of the required product to play.
Or that's great! Please do it, genius.
are you going to pay me for it? I am not cheap, you know
my point is that the bulk of the data is already there, on the monster builder.
Or that's great! Please do it, genius.
are you going to pay me for it? I am not cheap, you know
my point is that the bulk of the data is already there, on the monster builder.
And my point is that Internet is full of guys who'd do DDi better, do Windows better, do _______ better. But words are cheap.
DDI has been up and running at less that 50% for about 2 years now, & as time goes by people tend to have opinions .... specially in open forums like this one.
are you satisfied with the current tools?
there are companies out there that actually wrote more than the 2 lines of code and have their own character/NPC/campaign builders for d&d and other systems as well .... & I hear those are pretty cool. so, it is doable, not just cheap words.
well, no one would argue that Windows could actually be better
DDI has been up and running at less that 50% for about 2 years now, & as time goes by people tend to have opinions .... specially in open forums like this one.
are you satisfied with the current tools?
I'm quite satisfied with what they've acomplished. I'm actually glad that they are not churning out buggy garbage in a rush to be 100%. I'm also glad that the tools are not "the game" but just tools that are there to enhance it if needed.
there are companies out there that actually wrote more than the 2 lines of code and have their own character/NPC/campaign builders for d&d and other systems as well .... & I hear those are pretty cool. so, it is doable, not just cheap words.
I actually prefer that Wizards is taking this on by themselves rather than have somebody else do it. It doesn't bother me that they are taking their time. Taking their time means they are taking the time to do things right. Sure there will be bugs but can you honestly tell me that any digital product is 100% "bug free"? I've had bad experiences with 3rd party character builders in the past. The only other company I would probably invest in would be Lone Wolf Development, the creators of Hero Labs.
Taking their time... I would say that they are, instead, focusing on individual tools, one at a time, and have "given up" on the table and mapper. Someday, they will either hire more help to develop it and get it out (just in time for 5th?) or license it to another (conceding defeat) for sale at a store instead of stuck in DDi.
The (product I don't want pulled off the market) is better than the CB, but you have to get the info from DDi, meaning one has to get another product to get the complete package. Sucks.
Yeah, it 'sucks' that you have to pay WotC for their content, instead of just paying Lone Wolf Development for content they didn't create. Boo hoo.
The (product I don't want pulled off the market) is better than the CB, but you have to get the info from DDi, meaning one has to get another product to get the complete package. Sucks.
Yeah, it 'sucks' that you have to pay WotC for their content, instead of just paying Lone Wolf Development for content they didn't create. Boo hoo.
so is it like masterplan? is it a pc or a DM tool? and how expencive is it...
there are companies out there that actually wrote more than the 2 lines of code and have their own character/NPC/campaign builders for d&d and other systems as well .... & I hear those are pretty cool. so, it is doable, not just cheap words.
Can you direct me to any Campaign Builder save for Masterplan? (Which I like and use.) As for characters and monsters builder I don't see anything better than WotC own software. I don't see anything even close to WotC software really.
I wouldn't say its frozen, more like its immobilized and slowed
Stunned, with a -5 to its save.
Shhhh!! don't mention their name, Wizards may C&D them.
Something I seriously doubt. Unless Lone Wolf provided the information from the printed material or DDI for free (something Wizards has every right to go after somebody for), they have nothing to worry about. They have already provided an open source 4e character builder, you just have to provide your own information.
Taking their time... I would say that they are, instead, focusing on individual tools, one at a time, and have "given up" on the table and mapper. Someday, they will either hire more help to develop it and get it out (just in time for 5th?) or license it to another (conceding defeat) for sale at a store instead of stuck in DDi.
I don't entirely agree. They are focusing on one tool at a time but I don't think they have given up on the table and mapper. From what they advertised already a couple years ago, they would not just scrap what they've already accomplished. I'd imagine they have the table and mapper completed, it is building the network to allow people to play it online is what they are probably stuck on.
My contention is that this is the likely conclusion rathor than a long shot.
They most likely haven't given up on the mapper and table... yet. I talk of the long term, when a decision will need to be made and Wizards could give up on it and hand it to, or license, a third party software developer. Said developer will want to sell it in a store (with the nice box and lovely text explaining what it is) instead of sticking it in a sub service.
My contention is that this is the likely conclusion rathor than a long shot.
I suppose the only challenge to this is will a third party actually be able to sell enough of this to recover costs - baring in mind it will need to be constantly updated to stay current with monsters etc.
Can you direct me to any Campaign Builder save for Masterplan? (Which I like and use.) As for characters and monsters builder I don't see anything better than WotC own software. I don't see anything even close to WotC software really.
I agree with you that the less I need (or use) a laptop on my d&d table, the better, but for large groups it is not so easy. I have seen in use several independent programs that keep all the data of monsters and PCs for encounters (along of power use, action points, monster recharge, surges, hps), and you can save the encounters ahead of time and have it all ready for hack & slash day .... as someone else already said, I don't want to name any in here just in case wizards decides to C&D them.
herolab from lone wolf has a tactical option for DMs to use during combat, straight from it's character builder to play encounters. so, one step ahead right there.
Okay, so has no one noticed that they have stated that there will be a digital tool out this month? It was announced along with the fact that the CB update is going to be on the 21st along with the Essentials book. Its on one of the foums..... can't remember which one. But yeah, new tools. Slowed, but not imobilised.
New tool? or is it just the normal CB/AT updates for errata being moved to when the books come out?
The second was my reading of the announcement, but I hope I'm wrong