23 months since the launch of the Character builder Beta. We had very good flow of information from the developement side as to what was being worked on, and how progress was being made. Character Builder released in Jan '09. Notified that updates would be less since
13 months since the launch of the Monster Builder. It was dropped in our lap, and while an ok tool, it is still in beta, has not been updated, save for the MM3 monster layout and content.
2 months since we heard from Mike Robles that 'something' is being worked on and is coming. No communication since. 2 also represents the number of weeks, and the number of times we've had DDi content updates delayed in the past 6 months.
On a similar note, I really wish the search function of the US Patent and Trademark website worked better, that way we could find any Trademarks filed by WotC, and thus send up the information that they seems so reluctant to provide us.
Ramius
I am content with what I am paying for, if I wasn't I wouldn't have a subscription. I am not paying for them to release information. Although as a customer, I am dissatisfied with their stance of not saying anything. I would like to know more, and would prefer that they go back to the style of communication that they had when working on the CB. I don't need a release date, just an idea of what is being worked on, maybe how it's progressing.
In software developement there are 3 elements, good, fast, and cheap. You get to pick 2. The way things have been going lately (ie the past year and a half) it seems that Wizards has picked cheap, and half of good.
On a similar note, I really wish the search function of the US Patent and Trademark website worked better, that way we could find any Trademarks filed by WotC, and thus send up the information that they seems so reluctant to provide us.
Google to the rescue!
www.google.com/patents?hl=en
Please keep your posts polite, respectful, and on-topic, and refrain from making personal attacks.
A little communication goes a long way, if they opened up a little, let us know about things until they're dropped in our lap, or were simply up front about things, I think a lot of the drama on the forums would calm down.
In my completely anecdotal personal experience and avid participation in many forums of subscription-based services, I think I can safely say that I'm pretty sure that you would not get the result you're suggesting.
If I had to pick a single problem DDI has at the moment, it'd be communication. A little communication goes a long way, if they opened up a little, let us know about things until they're dropped in our lap, or were simply up front about things, I think a lot of the drama on the forums would calm down.
I disagree, and history is on my side showing that in fact, that would not happen.
Take the recent update push back. People were told directly over a week before the update was going to hit it was going to be delayed more.
Even though many posters have said just what you have said, they still got upset. They say that all they want is clear communications before the fact, but when they got it, they still acted the same way.
I would love more communication. But more or less (if it's possible to have less), isn't going to change the way people are.
When a company doesn't communicate, everyone is angry. No one seems to appreciate it. But its a low-key anger. No one really froths at the mouth.
When a company does communicate, some people really appreciate it, especially when everything goes right and the company delivers what it said it would. But when something bad happens, it leads some people to intense personal anger, and feelings of betrayal .
Which is better? Who knows. Depends on what you are more comfortable dealing with as a company I suppose.
they prob have the fixes but for some stupid reason we have to wait for essentials to get done before we can get a mb fix
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
they prob have the fixes but for some stupid reason we have to wait for essentials to get done before we can get a mb fix
You know what? You are more then probablly right about them having the MB fixes, and just holding off on the update till they can do it all at once.
And honestly, being in the same type of position of one that releases materials, I don't want to have to go through all the same steps twice, when once will do.
No body likes having to do the same job more times then needed.
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
Master plan is also an indie release where as Monster Builder is controled by the constraints of a company.
Essentially what you are saying is that a child complaining to their parents about not getting enough tacos to eat is met with a quicker response than a child complaining to the school about the same problem; larger size begets longer response time.
they prob have the fixes but for some stupid reason we have to wait for essentials to get done before we can get a mb fix
'some stupid reason' = New format for monsters requiring retooling of the database, I presume?
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
Master plan is also an indie release where as Monster Builder is controled by the constraints of a company.
Essentially what you are saying is that a child complaining to their parents about not getting enough tacos to eat is met with a quicker response than a child complaining to the school about the same problem; larger size begets longer response time.
they prob have the fixes but for some stupid reason we have to wait for essentials to get done before we can get a mb fix
'some stupid reason' = New format for monsters requiring retooling of the database, I presume?
Not to mention, Masterplan works, but it's not pretty, and when I pay for something I like it to look nice. It's not intutive to work with, the MB is far more intutive (it's not full proof easy, but it's getting there). Masterplan works but skips on many things professional software needs for it to have value.
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
Master plan is also an indie release where as Monster Builder is controled by the constraints of a company.
Essentially what you are saying is that a child complaining to their parents about not getting enough tacos to eat is met with a quicker response than a child complaining to the school about the same problem; larger size begets longer response time.
no essentially what im saying is that one guy in his spare time put together something an entire paid staff couldnt do in two years
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
Master plan is also an indie release where as Monster Builder is controled by the constraints of a company.
Essentially what you are saying is that a child complaining to their parents about not getting enough tacos to eat is met with a quicker response than a child complaining to the school about the same problem; larger size begets longer response time.
no essentially what im saying is that one guy in his spare time put together something an entire paid staff couldnt do in two years
He also didnt make a Character Builder or Monster builder.
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
Master plan is also an indie release where as Monster Builder is controled by the constraints of a company.
Essentially what you are saying is that a child complaining to their parents about not getting enough tacos to eat is met with a quicker response than a child complaining to the school about the same problem; larger size begets longer response time.
no essentially what im saying is that one guy in his spare time put together something an entire paid staff couldnt do in two years
without either the visual appeal or the ease of use that character builder and monster builder has, nor the seamless integration of the rules that CB has, which is actually Quite difficult to pull off in a dynamic system like 4E.
Masterplan would be much simpler to make. This makes the fact that DDi doesn't yet have something like it all the more puzzling.
yall talk about the monster builder as if it works. the bugs make it completely useless, i can just pull the faulty buggy crap mb does and put it into masterplan (a free program that actually works and gets update all the time)
Master plan is also an indie release where as Monster Builder is controled by the constraints of a company.
Essentially what you are saying is that a child complaining to their parents about not getting enough tacos to eat is met with a quicker response than a child complaining to the school about the same problem; larger size begets longer response time.
no essentially what im saying is that one guy in his spare time put together something an entire paid staff couldnt do in two years
without either the visual appeal or the ease of use that character builder and monster builder has, nor the seamless integration of the rules that CB has, which is actually Quite difficult to pull off in a dynamic system like 4E.
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
as for ease of use, im no genius, if i can figure out how to use masterplan then im sure you can
as for seamless, you edit a monster and it pulls it right in, along w pcs. all conditions there. parcels there. skill challenge template there. combat builder with xp breakdowns there. dungeon mapper there. read aloud text, combat tracker, etc etc are you seeing a pattern? every rules element that can possibly be in the program is in the program and the guy takes requests for changes
. ive tried dozens of programs and i can tell you with all certainty that there is no more intuitive program more specifically integrated into 4e dnd than masterplan. thats not opinion. i respect you standing up for the designers thoughheres the real question. have you ever even tried masterplan?
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
I assure you it takes alot more than slapping images on something. If thats all it took then masterplan would be much prettier than it is. Doing it right requires artistic ability, something most programmers are lacking, they are different skill sets.
as for ease of use, im no genius, if i can figure out how to use masterplan then im sure you can
The point of ease of use is that you don't need to figure out how to use it, it should be intuitive. MB and CB are, mastertools is not. There are people whose entire career is making software easier to use. Microsoft has spent millions in reasearch to make their products as intuitive as possible.
masterplan is just one programmer and as such has the elements that one programmer can supply, Looking pretty and useability require a development team which is why the CB and MB have them.
Brings me back to my point though, given that DDi has a team, there should be new tools availiable, ...wait for it ... soon
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
I assure you it takes alot more than slapping images on something. If thats all it took then masterplan would be much prettier than it is. Doing it right requires artistic ability, something most programmers are lacking, they are different skill sets.
i think youve missed the point. i could care less what the skin of the program is, only that it works and is useful.
as for saying its not intuitive, almost every time i use the program and go to look for something, its already programmed in. 4e rules are intrinsically woven into the program. again...have you ever even used it?
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
as for ease of use, im no genius, if i can figure out how to use masterplan then im sure you can
Maybe I shouldn't have used software engineering terms in public (I'm not one though, I am hobbyist so have a vague idea of what they mean though).
Visual Appeal includes the gui aspect of the two, the organization of the database, and autotracking of requirments.
as for seamless, you edit a monster and it pulls it right in, along w pcs. all conditions there. parcels there. skill challenge template there. combat builder with xp breakdowns there. dungeon mapper there. read aloud text, combat tracker, etc etc are you seeing a pattern? every rules element that
I'm not saying Masterplan isn't a good program, but as Father puts it there is 1 programmer and its limited that programmer's abilities.
can possibly be in the program is in the program and the guy takes requests for changes
Again direct customer-product interaction is a luxury of a small company/indie design.
heres the real question. have you ever even tried masterplan?
I have, I have stated several times I utilize it, but it does not replace the functionality I get from CB or MB, and were I not a computer geek of sorts, its interface and learning curve would be a negative, and more importantly its not something I would pay for, where as CB I don't mind paying for.
As for you father; soon defined by programmer 'between now and the next version' so they haven't missed it yet :P
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
Then you are simply an anomalous to the common end user, case in point: DOS was highly functional, highly useful, woefully inept at visual appeal and intuitiveness, when Windows came along (welll really Windows/GEOS/Deskmate/other GUI's) it was the death knell for DOS as DOS was simply put not what the public desired.
I think also you are choosing to be obstinate in this discussion so I believe this shall be the last time I respond directly (or indirectly) to you.
ok i have entered the twilight zone
I find it easier to never leave.
I've used Mastertools to run an online game for a few months now, and its pretty decent all in all. I'm still using the version that does the Compendoum scrape to get content into it.
Its a fine tools, and very useful, buts it really clunky in places, and counter intuitive. Doesn't stop me using it, but its not perfect.
As for the comments on GUIs... Anyone who's designed and coded a good GUI knows its actually takes alot of finesse. I'm not talking about making things pretty - that typically is just slapping some images around - but making it work smoothly, logically and cleanly is actually quite tough.
Its easier to throw a bunch of controls on a page, populate them with stuff from a database and have buttons do things. Easy! Working through the possible interactions a user can do, handling and cleaning user input (yes, error checking and cleaning user input is GUI work) and so on takes a real eye for detail, patience and skill. Its on of the things that makes a clean separation of game/business logic and gui logic essential though. Otherwise you end up with situations where the slightest tweak to the GUI and the game rules break.
My only real compaint with the CB GUI (for example) is the poor to non-existant filtering options on various pages (primarily equipment, but powers and feats could be improved).
With mastertools, the GUI complaints range from the navigation between encounters and treasure parcels and the over all adventure diagram is horrible. Its easy to end up in blind alley with no way out. The combat manager is pretty good, but things take too many clicks to change HP, conditions and so on. Adding the party into a combat also isn't obvious! (Well it took me a while to get the hang of it anyway). And thats just stuff off of the top of my head.
I use mastertools and CB and MB. They're all pretty good in their own way. None of them is flawless though.
So if any or all of you could give me a few specific examples of ways in which I could improve the UI, places where the program is counter intuitive, and so on, it would be much appreciated.
As the designer of Masterplan, I really appreciate this.
My sincere apologies for continually referring to it as mastertools in my post! My brain is obviously bogged down with WotC application failures ;) (Although for reference, no matter how bad it was, they did at least manage to ship a working version of the 3.0 character builder as a CD with the original PHB. Of course, that project fell into a nasty pit too. Pattern? I think so!)
I'll put some complete thoughts together on the GUI stuff over the weekend and get back to you Devereaux (and hopefully others will too).
Masterplan is undoubtedly the best tool in its class out there at the moment. My references to its GUI were more to demonstrate how a great program could still be poor (my opinion, not necessarily an absolute) in some places and that GUI design is not 'easy' stuff.
If any offense was given (and you don't appear incensed, I'm just being cautious) it certainly wasn't intended!
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
as for ease of use, im no genius, if i can figure out how to use masterplan then im sure you can
as for seamless, you edit a monster and it pulls it right in, along w pcs. all conditions there. parcels there. skill challenge template there. combat builder with xp breakdowns there. dungeon mapper there. read aloud text, combat tracker, etc etc are you seeing a pattern? every rules element that can possibly be in the program is in the program and the guy takes requests for changes . ive tried dozens of programs and i can tell you with all certainty that there is no more intuitive program more specifically integrated into 4e dnd than masterplan. thats not opinion. i respect you standing up for the designers though
heres the real question. have you ever even tried masterplan?
I've tried Masterplan. I can use it. It's not intutive, and the documentation on how to use it seriously lacks. Basically it works, but it's over all design fails at a very important aspect, it doesn't work how people think. I still use it, to build maps so I can screen shot it and include it in my layout for my adventures.
And let me tell you getting the tile images into Masterbuilder wasn't the easiest thing, nor is making a map. It works, but it could be way better.
As for dismissing the look of the other tools. Trying to dismiss the look of it because you might not thing it's pretty, isn't a counter arugment, it's personal preference.
The fact is, Masterplan has NO visual design to it. If I'm going to pay for something, it needs to have ALL the bells and whistles, and maybe a slice of cake too. Certainly a cup holder.
Master plan has none of that. It's a barebones, functional, if somewhat clunky application that you have to put a lot of information in yourself, to get it to work. I'm sure that Masterplan wouldn't be udated as often or as successfully if he was allowed to include all the data from the game.
And before anyone goes on a rant about how mean WoTC is for not letting people do that.
It's their game, their property, get over it.
As the designer of Masterplan, I really appreciate this. I get a lot of emails praising the software, but people who don't like it or can't get the hang of it tend to just abandon it rather than explaining how it's failed for them.
So if any or all of you could give me a few specific examples of ways in which I could improve the UI, places where the program is counter intuitive, and so on, it would be much appreciated.
Those millions that microsoft has spent on GUI design and usability? They're givin it away...
www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.a...
ok the visual appeal is just a matter of slapping some dnd images on it, are you really trying to tell me the monster builder is 'pretty'?
as for ease of use, im no genius, if i can figure out how to use masterplan then im sure you can
as for seamless, you edit a monster and it pulls it right in, along w pcs. all conditions there. parcels there. skill challenge template there. combat builder with xp breakdowns there. dungeon mapper there. read aloud text, combat tracker, etc etc are you seeing a pattern? every rules element that can possibly be in the program is in the program and the guy takes requests for changes . ive tried dozens of programs and i can tell you with all certainty that there is no more intuitive program more specifically integrated into 4e dnd than masterplan. thats not opinion. i respect you standing up for the designers though
heres the real question. have you ever even tried masterplan?
I've tried Masterplan. I can use it. It's not intutive, and the documentation on how to use it seriously lacks. Basically it works, but it's over all design fails at a very important aspect, it doesn't work how people think. I still use it, to build maps so I can screen shot it and include it in my layout for my adventures.
And let me tell you getting the tile images into Masterbuilder wasn't the easiest thing, nor is making a map. It works, but it could be way better.
As for dismissing the look of the other tools. Trying to dismiss the look of it because you might not thing it's pretty, isn't a counter arugment, it's personal preference.
The fact is, Masterplan has NO visual design to it. If I'm going to pay for something, it needs to have ALL the bells and whistles, and maybe a slice of cake too. Certainly a cup holder.
Master plan has none of that. It's a barebones, functional, if somewhat clunky application that you have to put a lot of information in yourself, to get it to work. I'm sure that Masterplan wouldn't be udated as often or as successfully if he was allowed to include all the data from the game.
And before anyone goes on a rant about how mean WoTC is for not letting people do that.
It's their game, their property, get over it.
the reason for these things is hes not allowed to use images by wizards, otherwise they would be there
if they came out with a vtt, would people be talking about what the load screen looks like
, or what it does. lets get real here and realize he cant use wizards images otherwise i expect it would be done in a week
the reason for these things is hes not allowed to use images by wizards, otherwise they would be there
if they came out with a vtt, would people be talking about what the load screen looks like , or what it does. lets get real here and realize he cant use wizards images otherwise i expect it would be done in a week
I know and said that. WoTC doesn't allow him to put out his application with their data, nor can he no longer connect directly to it, and download it from the Compendium.
It would be a whole different game if he had to take all that data and make it part of his package.
Basically, Masterplan is a working shell. It doesn't have bells and whistles, it's isn't visually pleasing, and requires you to put the data in.
So yes I can see how one person could put this out and keep it updated. Congrats to him, that in and of it's self isn't an easy or small task.
the reason for these things is hes not allowed to use images by wizards, otherwise they would be there
if they came out with a vtt, would people be talking about what the load screen looks like , or what it does. lets get real here and realize he cant use wizards images otherwise i expect it would be done in a week
I know and said that. WoTC doesn't allow him to put out his application with their data, nor can he no longer connect directly to it, and download it from the Compendium.
It would be a whole different game if he had to take all that data and make it part of his package.
Basically, Masterplan is a working shell. It doesn't have bells and whistles, it's isn't visually pleasing, and requires you to put the data in.
So yes I can see how one person could put this out and keep it updated. Congrats to him, that in and of it's self isn't an easy or small task.
Dane is right. Masterplan is (now) a working shell and for that reason I have stopped using it. When you were able to download Compendium data (using your subscription info and for personal use only) it was a much better package and extremely useful both for campaign planning and for running combats in-game. That one person has put something this good together is to be applauded and unfortunately a sad reflection on how poorly WotC have done in the same period.
I now use Fantasy Grounds 2 which works well although it is also not perfect or free. Maybe one day we'll get an official VTT..............
the reason for these things is hes not allowed to use images by wizards, otherwise they would be there
if they came out with a vtt, would people be talking about what the load screen looks like , or what it does. lets get real here and realize he cant use wizards images otherwise i expect it would be done in a week
I know and said that. WoTC doesn't allow him to put out his application with their data, nor can he no longer connect directly to it, and download it from the Compendium.
It would be a whole different game if he had to take all that data and make it part of his package.
Basically, Masterplan is a working shell. It doesn't have bells and whistles, it's isn't visually pleasing, and requires you to put the data in.
So yes I can see how one person could put this out and keep it updated. Congrats to him, that in and of it's self isn't an easy or small task.
i still....you said that the map builder isnt good or intuitive...are you talking about the dungeon builder, bc thats point click and drag. is there an easier or more intuitive way? and clunky, i dont get that. if you mean that there is a comprehensive and complete range of 4e tools all in one place, then yes, its not exactly one button that says 'monster builder' and 4 other ones with nothing on them for two years. in other words, the sheer amount of pure 4e support takes space
as to the rest, i have suggested before that wizards buy the software, re-skin it, and allow monsters etc to be pulled straight into it without having to save yet...you can pull pcs and monsters in without much trouble at all...like an extra few seconds? if thats why you dont use it, you are indeed a finicky chap. i still disagree as well that somehow a lack of a dnd load screen image makes it somehow horrible to look at. its not supposed to be a picture of a wizard, its supposed to be organized. and its very, very well organized. masterplan makes a lot of the tools they batted around far less necessary. heres a thought, open a dnd book next to your cpu screen the next time you run masterplan and you have your official wotc working tool
the reason for these things is hes not allowed to use images by wizards, otherwise they would be there
if they came out with a vtt, would people be talking about what the load screen looks like , or what it does. lets get real here and realize he cant use wizards images otherwise i expect it would be done in a week
I know and said that. WoTC doesn't allow him to put out his application with their data, nor can he no longer connect directly to it, and download it from the Compendium.
It would be a whole different game if he had to take all that data and make it part of his package.
Basically, Masterplan is a working shell. It doesn't have bells and whistles, it's isn't visually pleasing, and requires you to put the data in.
So yes I can see how one person could put this out and keep it updated. Congrats to him, that in and of it's self isn't an easy or small task.
i still....you said that the map builder isnt good or intuitive...are you talking about the dungeon builder, bc thats point click and drag. is there an easier or more intuitive way? and clunky, i dont get that. if you mean that there is a comprehensive and complete range of 4e tools all in one place, then yes, its not exactly one button that says 'monster builder' and 4 other ones with nothing on them for two years. in other words, the sheer amount of pure 4e support takes space
as to the rest, i have suggested before that wizards buy the software, re-skin it, and allow monsters etc to be pulled straight into it without having to save yet...you can pull pcs and monsters in without much trouble at all...like an extra few seconds? if thats why you dont use it, you are indeed a finicky chap. i still disagree as well that somehow a lack of a dnd load screen image makes it somehow horrible to look at. its not supposed to be a picture of a wizard, its supposed to be organized. and its very, very well organized. masterplan makes a lot of the tools they batted around far less necessary. heres a thought, open a dnd book next to your cpu screen the next time you run masterplan and you have your official wotc working tool
I never said it wasn't good. It's not as simple as point and drag. Finding the right piece requires going through menus, that are slow. Which means I have to do a lot of searching to find the right pieces.
That's of course after getting the tiles in there, which means either scanning them myself, or finding good scans online.
Undoing things in master plan isn't always easy. I gave up on the adventure outline tool. To many steps to get things the way I want them.
It's slow, and clunky and I have a fast system, I use it for digital illustration.
You can slip in all the petty jabs you want. I haven't slammed Masterplan, I've been honest about what it is, and even the designer acknowledges it's limitations.
I wonder about the communication issue a lot.
When a company doesn't communicate, everyone is angry. No one seems to appreciate it. But its a low-key anger. No one really froths at the mouth.
When a company does communicate, some people really appreciate it, especially when everything goes right and the company delivers what it said it would. But when something bad happens, it leads some people to intense personal anger, and feelings of betrayal .
Which is better? Who knows. Depends on what you are more comfortable dealing with as a company I suppose.
Communication has always been a problem at WotC. Over in the Magic: Online forums we screamed about this for years. This is par for the course.
/me shrugs @'s
Communication needs to be improved. So does editing, quantity of content in Insider, quality of content in Insider, exigency with which new materials are added to Insider, followthrough on announced content, etc...
When I started Insider two years ago, my expectation by this time was that we'd have:
1.) Virtual Table Top
2.) Character Visualizer
3.) Character Builder
4.) Monster Builder
5.) Mapper
6.) Map Printer
7.) Adventure Writer
8.) Campaign Manager
9.) Every PC in D&D would have at least 2 Dragon articles a month that focused on aspects of that PC (Class, Race, Weapons, Implements, Paragon Paths, Epic Destiny - something that made that month's purchase useful for the PC).
10.) Things that I had not yet imagined.
I also expected to see all of this executed at a professional level of quality.
I'm sad to see how far from that expectation we are.
For my part, I don't think there is a single answer to the question, "What does WotC need to fix?"
Communication needs to be improved. So does editing, quantity of content in Insider, quality of content in Insider, exigency with which new materials are added to Insider, followthrough on announced content, etc...
When I started Insider two years ago, my expectation by this time was that we'd have:
1.) Virtual Table Top
2.) Character Visualizer
3.) Character Builder
4.) Monster Builder
5.) Mapper
6.) Map Printer
7.) Adventure Writer
8.) Campaign Manager
9.) Every PC in D&D would have at least 2 Dragon articles a month that focused on aspects of that PC (Class, Race, Weapons, Implements, Paragon Paths, Epic Destiny - something that made that month's purchase useful for the PC).
10.) Things that I had not yet imagined.
I also expected to see all of this executed at a professional level of quality.
I'm sad to see how far from that expectation we are.
If you were running this, could you say, right now, that you would be able to make sure all this happened?
Well, he definately woulden't have done any worse.
You know that can't be backed up.
I didn't expect all the things Myztec expected, but two years in I certainly expected more than a Character Builder and a Monster Builder that only mostly works. Hell, a year and a couple of months in from the launch of Monster Builder I expected at the very least one more button filled in on the Adventure Tools "suite" (sarcasm quotes because I don't really consider a single tool to be a "suite")
Assuming that they plan on five tools, at the rate they are going they will have the Adventure Tools finished roughly 2016. Just in time for 5e.
Well, he definately woulden't have done any worse.
You know that can't be backed up.
In fairness Dane, you challenged Mystek to say whether he could have done better and Sijal commented on the challenge you put down. In reality, I agree that none of us can say whether we could have done better or worse as we have very little idea of what has actually happened over the last two years, thanks to the keeping silent PR policy of WotC.
If someone could show me D&DI progress reports, some organisational charts and a few other things, I could tell you whether I could have done better but given we have no information, I can't. What I can say for certain that I would have done a better job at is communication as it is a joke. I have been spending money on D&D for nearly 30 years and this is as close as I have ever got to abandoning the game altogether. I am a Greyhawk fan at heart and despite the abandonment of the setting I love I have stuck with the game. I disliked the changes made to the Forgotten Realms (my next favourite setting) but I adapted. This information blackout on a product I am paying good money for month after month is ridiculous. Let's see some real information whether timescales have to change or not.
WotC could learn a lot from the LFR Administrators who are communicating weekly on the changes that they are planning to the campaign even though some parts are not yet set in stone. I check the blog weekly to see what news there is and if things have changed then so be it. At least they are talking to us.
When I started Insider two years ago, my expectation by this time was that we'd have:
1.) Virtual Table Top
I figured we would too, but it was a hardly a reason for me to be interested in investing. I like maptools, can tolerate openrpg (am liking the newest whatist build), and as such the VTT's 3d shiny was all that was new.
2.) Character Visualizer
I have a friend who is an artist, so this again wasn't that big of a deal but I can see where others who are not as fortunate might be upset by its lack (I am so glad I don't have to draw)
3.) Character Builder
4.) Monster Builder
Both exsist, though the MB has a few minor-major kinks (depending on opinion)
5.) Mapper
6.) Map Printer
I again have found freeware/opensource solutions for 5, what exactly did you have in mind for 6 though? Something that would take an image put squares on it and print it?
7.) Adventure Writer
8.) Campaign Manager
These two I agree...
9.) Every PC in D&D would have at least 2 Dragon articles a month that focused on aspects of that PC (Class, Race, Weapons, Implements, Paragon Paths, Epic Destiny - something that made that month's purchase useful for the PC).
10.) Things that I had not yet imagined.
Wait...what?
Even at launch there was 8 classes with 2 builds (minimally, warlock and wizard had built in third builds, and the paladin had a theoretical third build). thats 64 class builds (excluding races) to make an article for PER issue. Even assuming grouping things down, is it really reasonable to expect 20-30 odd articles/month let alone the editing and balancing fiasco that would entail?
I mean no disrespect, but its just plain out from launch not a reasonable expectation nor do I think it was ever implied.
I also expected to see all of this executed at a professional level of quality.
I'm sad to see how far from that expectation we are.
Overall I agree with all but number 9 and of course CB is professional so I guess thats 1/9. But there is also 10 in there what with the compendium. tis good enough for baseball ;)