Anything new? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Anything new?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
kyros_tachyus
Mar 24, 2010 14:52:48 Anything new in DDI? ANY updates?

Anything?
#2
dayzdark
Mar 27, 2010 16:26:36 I came back to the forum today more or less to ask the same question. The Monster Builder has become as indipsensible for me as Character Builder has become essential to my players. The Compendium remains an excellent tool for finding anything from every book and magazine, and the magazines make a nice addition to the DDI subscription.

That being said, there are still lots of orbs left to fill up in the Adventure Tools start-up screen, but I haven't seen any news about new software releases for DDI (other than content packages and bug fixes) in quite some time. Any news on that front?

I'd still like Adventure Tools to reach a point where I pick or design the monsters, terrain, hazards/traps, and draw out the map, and it outputs a printable encounter, skill challenge, or entire adventure in a format similar to what we see in Dungeon each week (albeit without the art).

- The Compendium still doesn't have a Terrain category. There's awesome terrain in DMG, DMG2, The Plane Below, and lots of other supplements and magazines, but there's no one-stop place to find the right terrain for the job. I'm thrilled that traps and hazards were added way back when, but I'd love to see Terrain added, too.

- The Compendium also lacks skill challenges.

I'm sorry if I'm now spoiled by the idea that everything should be in a general index of everything ever published, but you did your job too well with the Compendium, and now searching through books looking for the right monster, trap, or whatever feels as crude and unnecessary as going into the woods with a spear to hunt when I can just order my food delivered.

- I'd still like a map tool that allows me to pick from Dungeon Tile sets, customize from an existing Dungeon Tile and freehand draw some or all of the map details. I'd like for it to let me sort of create my own drawn dungeon tiles or import an image in some way so I can copy and paste that funny-looking rune several times on the map instead of drawing it each time. An output that lets me print out a scale map in color or black and white would be awesome.

- I'd like an updated and much more high tech version of the old Encounter Builder tool, something that plugs into the Monster Builder so I can choose the monsters I want to include and their numbers. It should also have the ability to import traps, hazards, terrain features, and skill challenges from the books and magazines, complete with the option of customizing them (a la Monster Builder). I should be able to include sections on setup, tactics, treasure, and similar sections if I want, but if I want to keep things simple, I should have the option of just printing the sections that have content. If I don't have time to write up the monsters' tactics for an encounter, for example, the output shouldn't even have a heading for Tactics to have blank under.

- Still wouldn't say no to a Character Visualizer, though that's low priority, but a Monster Visualizer could be a nifty little addition. That way, when and if you release the Gaming Table, I can have my own customized miniatures if I want them. The possibilities for Gaming Table still pile up in my mind a little, but I'll admit I'm not convinced that I or my players will ever make real use of it.

So, what is *really* going on in DDI-land? I'm sure I'm not the only one who is reasonably curious.
#3
sijal
Mar 27, 2010 21:17:41 www.habitualindolence.net/masterplan/

there ya go. No more waiting for WoTC to get off their collective rear ends and do something for us players. Support these guys, they actually get stuff done.
#4
The_Jester
Mar 28, 2010 12:36:20 It looks like WotC has settled into a once/year release schedule with the Character Builder in 2008 and the Monster builder in 2009.
Look for a new release around the time of this year's GenCon and likely finished this fall.

But it is very, very sad they've done NOTHING to the Monster Builder since its release except update for the new monsters in the Compendium.
#5
coppro
Mar 29, 2010 0:23:46 I actually asked this question of CustServ last week, here was the reply:

Thank you for contacting us. While we are indeed working on things behind the scenes, we have not yet made any new announcements about any other Adventure Tools offerings. When we do, we'll post it on our website and the community will be the first to know.

:/
#6
dayzdark
Mar 29, 2010 1:48:04
It looks like WotC has settled into a once/year release schedule with the Character Builder in 2008 and the Monster builder in 2009.
Look for a new release around the time of this year's GenCon and likely finished this fall.

But it is very, very sad they've done NOTHING to the Monster Builder since its release except update for the new monsters in the Compendium.

That sounds about right. Maybe my timing isn't all that far off, then. Without looking, I seem to have a vague sense that we heard a bit about the Monster Builder last summer around the time the price increase for DDI was announced.

I'm not complaining. CB and MB were the two biggest items on my wishlist, but they were so awesome that I'm kind of beginning to get curious about what WotC is planning to do for an encore.
#7
asmodeuslore
Mar 30, 2010 14:10:23 Hey guys.

I'm sorry to report that I have nothing new to report.

I spoke with Trevor, and all he could tell me was that he is hopefully going to have new information soon. Keep your fingers crossed, for the moment. As soon as we do have more information, you'll see it here on the forums.
#8
dayzdark
Mar 30, 2010 23:21:36
Hey guys.

I'm sorry to report that I have nothing new to report.

I spoke with Trevor, and all he could tell me was that he is hopefully going to have new information soon. Keep your fingers crossed, for the moment. As soon as we do have more information, you'll see it here on the forums.

No problem, Asmodeus. I'm not in a rush - just curious. I work in customer service, so I understand all too well the value of "underpromise, overdeliver." I'd rather they get it right before telling us about it than jump the gun on an announcement. That said, I look forward to hearing what Trevor has for us once he can talk about it.
#9
Otakkun
Mar 31, 2010 7:28:56
"underpromise, overdeliver."

That's my motto for most office dealings :D
#10
fcjamison
Apr 03, 2010 2:38:14
"underpromise, overdeliver."

Isn't that what Scotty used to do on Star Trek?
#11
dayzdark
Apr 03, 2010 5:28:32
"underpromise, overdeliver."

Isn't that what Scotty used to do on Star Trek?

In essence, yes. Done right, it can indeed make you look like a miracle-worker.
#12
Vilnias_Nastavnik
Apr 07, 2010 10:35:47
It's been almost a year since the Monster Builder was released, does this mean we will only get one new tool per year? That's gonna suck....
#13
voodoodolly
Apr 14, 2010 8:54:44 "underpromise, overdeliver."

I wish they would have done that before talking endlessly about the character visualiser, and interactive game table.

There is video on youtube and an intervew over at g4.

Not to mention the advertisment in the back of my books.

...and why I paid the first year in advance...

#14
sijal
Apr 14, 2010 11:04:43 See, thats the problem... Dating all the way back to TSR, it's been one let down after another for official D&D products.

It's always the most awesome thing that they are making, then suddenly POOF. the product disapears in a thick cloud of vapor.

This isn't the first time that WotC has dropped the ball on a program, and it wont be the last.

It's been about a year now since they announced that they were going to drop all other projects to work on a campaign planner. In that time, several people have developed their own versions of a campaign planning program. And they do it for FREE.

I have no doubt that the campaign planner will soon be scrapped for some other idea messing around in the brain trust of WotC, which will no doubt be advertised to it's fullest to pull in new players, and give people a reason to sign up for DDi, but to then only be dropped as well because of some obscure reason that they refuse to tell us.

It's a boy who cried wolf scenario - How many times does WotC need to cry wolf before you stop beliving them?
#15
mudbunny
Apr 15, 2010 9:12:37
It's been about a year now since they announced that they were going to drop all other projects to work on a campaign planner. In that time, several people have developed their own versions of a campaign planning program. And they do it for FREE.

Huh?? Where did you read this? I don't recall WotC announcing, in any sort of manner, what the next tool that they were working on would be. Hence the threads asking WotC (and me passing on those requests) what the next tool is going to be.

#16
hardhead
Apr 24, 2010 11:14:07
"underpromise, overdeliver."

Isn't that what Scotty used to do on Star Trek?

If you remember in the original series, Scotty always said fixing something would take an hour, and Kirk would tell him he had ten minutes (or whatever). They poked fun at that in the Next-Gen episode that had Scotty, where he had a conversation with La Forge.

La Forge: I've got to have this ready for Picard. I told him it'd be done in six hours.

Scotty: And how long will it really take you?

La Forge: Six hours!

Scotty (aghast): Lad, you'll never be known as a miracle worker if you don't give yourself some cushion!
#17
marius4
May 08, 2010 23:39:17 Anyone know what the priority of the Tools is? Iow, if there is something likely to come out later this year, what is it most likely to be? (Character visualizer, gaming table, +hmm...what are all those other orb spaces for again?)

Despite the amazing utility of map and dungeon building, I seriously want that character visualizer. If I can see all the individual, player-created characters manifested in rich 3-D detail, I don't mind imagining up the rest on notebook paper for another year (or more...or ever). : )
#18
rjdafoe
May 18, 2010 11:06:45 My guess is that they will be announcing a Campaign Builder or something like that.

Now that they have sent a C&D to MasterTools and essentially stalled the entire project and it cannot be downloaded from the official site anymore.

And before you say anything abou tthe DDI import - so what. They have the API available. Any developer would know that others would import that work into their stuff (an the good ones would require the user to have an account to do that). Go after the users who are actually sharing the illegal stuff. Wether people have to type it in themselves or not, there really is no difference.

#19
thax
May 27, 2010 20:59:10 Actually, typing it in yourself means you either have the book or a subscription to DDi, thus have paid for the info in some way. If Wizards tries to prevent people from using Exel or other programs that they type the info into themselves, they are either uptight about this whole thing or extremely obtuse.
#20
Phobos
May 28, 2010 7:17:08
"overpromise, underdeliver."

In Wizard's case, I fixed this for you...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 kyros_tachyus Mar 24, 2010 14:52:48	Anything new in DDI? ANY updates? Anything?
#2 dayzdark Mar 27, 2010 16:26:36	I came back to the forum today more or less to ask the same question. The Monster Builder has become as indipsensible for me as Character Builder has become essential to my players. The Compendium remains an excellent tool for finding anything from every book and magazine, and the magazines make a nice addition to the DDI subscription. That being said, there are still lots of orbs left to fill up in the Adventure Tools start-up screen, but I haven't seen any news about new software releases for DDI (other than content packages and bug fixes) in quite some time. Any news on that front? I'd still like Adventure Tools to reach a point where I pick or design the monsters, terrain, hazards/traps, and draw out the map, and it outputs a printable encounter, skill challenge, or entire adventure in a format similar to what we see in Dungeon each week (albeit without the art). - The Compendium still doesn't have a Terrain category. There's awesome terrain in DMG, DMG2, The Plane Below, and lots of other supplements and magazines, but there's no one-stop place to find the right terrain for the job. I'm thrilled that traps and hazards were added way back when, but I'd love to see Terrain added, too. - The Compendium also lacks skill challenges. I'm sorry if I'm now spoiled by the idea that everything should be in a general index of everything ever published, but you did your job too well with the Compendium, and now searching through books looking for the right monster, trap, or whatever feels as crude and unnecessary as going into the woods with a spear to hunt when I can just order my food delivered. - I'd still like a map tool that allows me to pick from Dungeon Tile sets, customize from an existing Dungeon Tile and freehand draw some or all of the map details. I'd like for it to let me sort of create my own drawn dungeon tiles or import an image in some way so I can copy and paste that funny-looking rune several times on the map instead of drawing it each time. An output that lets me print out a scale map in color or black and white would be awesome. - I'd like an updated and much more high tech version of the old Encounter Builder tool, something that plugs into the Monster Builder so I can choose the monsters I want to include and their numbers. It should also have the ability to import traps, hazards, terrain features, and skill challenges from the books and magazines, complete with the option of customizing them (a la Monster Builder). I should be able to include sections on setup, tactics, treasure, and similar sections if I want, but if I want to keep things simple, I should have the option of just printing the sections that have content. If I don't have time to write up the monsters' tactics for an encounter, for example, the output shouldn't even have a heading for Tactics to have blank under. - Still wouldn't say no to a Character Visualizer, though that's low priority, but a Monster Visualizer could be a nifty little addition. That way, when and if you release the Gaming Table, I can have my own customized miniatures if I want them. The possibilities for Gaming Table still pile up in my mind a little, but I'll admit I'm not convinced that I or my players will ever make real use of it. So, what is really going on in DDI-land? I'm sure I'm not the only one who is reasonably curious.
#3 sijal Mar 27, 2010 21:17:41	www.habitualindolence.net/masterplan/ there ya go. No more waiting for WoTC to get off their collective rear ends and do something for us players. Support these guys, they actually get stuff done.
#4 The_Jester Mar 28, 2010 12:36:20	It looks like WotC has settled into a once/year release schedule with the Character Builder in 2008 and the Monster builder in 2009. Look for a new release around the time of this year's GenCon and likely finished this fall. But it is very, very sad they've done NOTHING to the Monster Builder since its release except update for the new monsters in the Compendium.
#5 coppro Mar 29, 2010 0:23:46	I actually asked this question of CustServ last week, here was the reply: Thank you for contacting us. While we are indeed working on things behind the scenes, we have not yet made any new announcements about any other Adventure Tools offerings. When we do, we'll post it on our website and the community will be the first to know. :/
#6 dayzdark Mar 29, 2010 1:48:04	It looks like WotC has settled into a once/year release schedule with the Character Builder in 2008 and the Monster builder in 2009. Look for a new release around the time of this year's GenCon and likely finished this fall. But it is very, very sad they've done NOTHING to the Monster Builder since its release except update for the new monsters in the Compendium. That sounds about right. Maybe my timing isn't all that far off, then. Without looking, I seem to have a vague sense that we heard a bit about the Monster Builder last summer around the time the price increase for DDI was announced. I'm not complaining. CB and MB were the two biggest items on my wishlist, but they were so awesome that I'm kind of beginning to get curious about what WotC is planning to do for an encore.
#7 asmodeuslore Mar 30, 2010 14:10:23	Hey guys. I'm sorry to report that I have nothing new to report. I spoke with Trevor, and all he could tell me was that he is hopefully going to have new information soon. Keep your fingers crossed, for the moment. As soon as we do have more information, you'll see it here on the forums.
#8 dayzdark Mar 30, 2010 23:21:36	Hey guys. I'm sorry to report that I have nothing new to report. I spoke with Trevor, and all he could tell me was that he is hopefully going to have new information soon. Keep your fingers crossed, for the moment. As soon as we do have more information, you'll see it here on the forums. No problem, Asmodeus. I'm not in a rush - just curious. I work in customer service, so I understand all too well the value of "underpromise, overdeliver." I'd rather they get it right before telling us about it than jump the gun on an announcement. That said, I look forward to hearing what Trevor has for us once he can talk about it.
#9 Otakkun Mar 31, 2010 7:28:56	"underpromise, overdeliver." That's my motto for most office dealings :D
#10 fcjamison Apr 03, 2010 2:38:14	"underpromise, overdeliver." Isn't that what Scotty used to do on Star Trek?
#11 dayzdark Apr 03, 2010 5:28:32	"underpromise, overdeliver." Isn't that what Scotty used to do on Star Trek? In essence, yes. Done right, it can indeed make you look like a miracle-worker.
#12 Vilnias_Nastavnik Apr 07, 2010 10:35:47	It's been almost a year since the Monster Builder was released, does this mean we will only get one new tool per year? That's gonna suck....
#13 voodoodolly Apr 14, 2010 8:54:44	"underpromise, overdeliver." I wish they would have done that before talking endlessly about the character visualiser, and interactive game table. There is video on youtube and an intervew over at g4. Not to mention the advertisment in the back of my books. ...and why I paid the first year in advance...
#14 sijal Apr 14, 2010 11:04:43	See, thats the problem... Dating all the way back to TSR, it's been one let down after another for official D&D products. It's always the most awesome thing that they are making, then suddenly POOF. the product disapears in a thick cloud of vapor. This isn't the first time that WotC has dropped the ball on a program, and it wont be the last. It's been about a year now since they announced that they were going to drop all other projects to work on a campaign planner. In that time, several people have developed their own versions of a campaign planning program. And they do it for FREE. I have no doubt that the campaign planner will soon be scrapped for some other idea messing around in the brain trust of WotC, which will no doubt be advertised to it's fullest to pull in new players, and give people a reason to sign up for DDi, but to then only be dropped as well because of some obscure reason that they refuse to tell us. It's a boy who cried wolf scenario - How many times does WotC need to cry wolf before you stop beliving them?
#15 mudbunny Apr 15, 2010 9:12:37	It's been about a year now since they announced that they were going to drop all other projects to work on a campaign planner. In that time, several people have developed their own versions of a campaign planning program. And they do it for FREE. Huh?? Where did you read this? I don't recall WotC announcing, in any sort of manner, what the next tool that they were working on would be. Hence the threads asking WotC (and me passing on those requests) what the next tool is going to be.
#16 hardhead Apr 24, 2010 11:14:07	"underpromise, overdeliver." Isn't that what Scotty used to do on Star Trek? If you remember in the original series, Scotty always said fixing something would take an hour, and Kirk would tell him he had ten minutes (or whatever). They poked fun at that in the Next-Gen episode that had Scotty, where he had a conversation with La Forge. La Forge: I've got to have this ready for Picard. I told him it'd be done in six hours. Scotty: And how long will it really take you? La Forge: Six hours! Scotty (aghast): Lad, you'll never be known as a miracle worker if you don't give yourself some cushion!
#17 marius4 May 08, 2010 23:39:17	Anyone know what the priority of the Tools is? Iow, if there is something likely to come out later this year, what is it most likely to be? (Character visualizer, gaming table, +hmm...what are all those other orb spaces for again?) Despite the amazing utility of map and dungeon building, I seriously want that character visualizer. If I can see all the individual, player-created characters manifested in rich 3-D detail, I don't mind imagining up the rest on notebook paper for another year (or more...or ever). : )
#18 rjdafoe May 18, 2010 11:06:45	My guess is that they will be announcing a Campaign Builder or something like that. Now that they have sent a C&D to MasterTools and essentially stalled the entire project and it cannot be downloaded from the official site anymore. And before you say anything abou tthe DDI import - so what. They have the API available. Any developer would know that others would import that work into their stuff (an the good ones would require the user to have an account to do that). Go after the users who are actually sharing the illegal stuff. Wether people have to type it in themselves or not, there really is no difference.
#19 thax May 27, 2010 20:59:10	Actually, typing it in yourself means you either have the book or a subscription to DDi, thus have paid for the info in some way. If Wizards tries to prevent people from using Exel or other programs that they type the info into themselves, they are either uptight about this whole thing or extremely obtuse.
#20 Phobos May 28, 2010 7:17:08	"overpromise, underdeliver." In Wizard's case, I fixed this for you...