Continue to cancel your subscriptions and tell them why.
Continue to voice your concerns over the new CB.
Continue to ask for the old CB back.
Don't listen to the the apologists.
I have been an uninterupted subscriber for 2 years and I am, like many others, flat out angry at the mess that has been made of the CB situation. Yes, I have tried the new CB (created several characters with it), so I know firsthand what a steaming pile of crap it is.
Please give me back my old CB, I'll pay double. Dave.
For obvious reasons I can't go in to details, but lets just say, "I know a guy". My "source" tells me that Wizards is hearing our feedback concerning the new CB in a significant way. Sooo......
Continue to cancel your subscriptions and tell them why.
Continue to voice your concerns over the new CB.
Continue to ask for the old CB back.
Don't listen to the the apologists.
I have been an uninterupted subscriber for 2 years and I am, like many others, flat out angry at the mess that has been made of the CB situation. Yes, I have tried the new CB (created several characters with it), so I know firsthand what a steaming pile of crap it is.
Please give me back my old CB, I'll pay double. Dave.
Dont tell them you will pay more....they will probably take us up on it!
For obvious reasons I can't go in to details, but lets just say, "I know a guy". My "source" tells me that Wizards is hearing our feedback concerning the new CB in a significant way. Sooo......
Continue to cancel your subscriptions and tell them why.
Continue to voice your concerns over the new CB.
Continue to ask for the old CB back.
Don't listen to the the apologists.
I have been an uninterupted subscriber for 2 years and I am, like many others, flat out angry at the mess that has been made of the CB situation. Yes, I have tried the new CB (created several characters with it), so I know firsthand what a steaming pile of crap it is.
Please give me back my old CB, I'll pay double. Dave.
Agreed with most of what you said and I've posted at length my displeasure, but I don't think they need our feedback to know of the issues with the new CB. Just reading the known issues list at launch should have indicated it wasn't ready to launch. I think they knew/know that.
If they were listening, someone should have written, "No, we're not deliberately making CB break." or "If the code itself breaks, we'll fix it; but it still won't get new content."). Their silence is deafening.
IF they were listening, they would have announced that they were correcting their error of not having a version of CB available offline. They could easily do this (simply have a time-stamped copy of the data that expires after X days without a connection to the server). But, they not only haven't, they've not even suggested that they're looking at it.
If they were listening, they would have changed their EULA to tell people their content is safe from WotC potentially stealing people's ideas and using them in their own published materials. They have neither changed it nor suggested they're even looking into it. Even FaceBook changed their EULA, and they're a LOT bigger than WotC.
etc.
I will not cow from hyperbole because this is a Dungeons & Dragons forum.
Dave.
If they are "listening" they might try to ramp up getting the new CB as functinal as the old one more quickly. But given the state that its in, I wouldn't expect miracles there either, no matter how quickly they want to get it done.
I think that anyone who thinks that they might go back to the old CB is fooling their self. At best, they allow it to once again be downloaded until the new CB is more functional (ala their plans for the MB), but go back to it in the sense of new content updates and such? No way. I will video tape myself standing on my roof singing "I'm a Little Teapot" complete with the accompanying dance and post it here if that ever happens, 'cause it ain't gonna happen.
With that kind of incentive, they'd be fools not to go back to the old CB.
Nyarlathotep is right though. The offline CB is over and done with. They will not reverse gears and go back to a previous platform. What they might do though, is switch to a different online platform. For instance, Java. With the VT being Java based. I can't see this being out of the realm of possibility. Just food for thought.
I agree that thier response to concerns of the community has gone all but ignored, but my point is that they are feeling the pressure. Let us not throw our hands up, let us the community, continue to hold the boot to the throat. "If they will not deliver us justice when we ask for it, then we shall demand it!".
You are taking this all way too seriously.
The offline CB is over and done with. They will not reverse gears and go back to a previous platform.
Why would they when most complainers still have a DnD Insider account? Take this thread, for example. Until my post, all but one poster still have the DnDI icon. If everyone that was discontent with the web CB actually canceled their sub and demanded refund, Wizards would most certainly do an about face.
It's not about getting a minuscule refund - it's about making them take notice and making them spend the time and resources to deal with each cancellation and demand for refund. You'll increase the chance of getting the original CB back. Don't listen to anyone saying there's no chance. There's only no chance if we act like lemmings.
Even if you have just a week left, if you're unhappy, CANCEL AND DEMAND A REFUND. More than getting your money, you'll get HEARD.
The offline CB is over and done with. They will not reverse gears and go back to a previous platform.
Why would they when most complainers still have a DnD Insider account? Take this thread, for example. Until my post, all but one poster still have the DnDI icon. If everyone that was discontent with the web CB actually canceled their sub and demanded refund, Wizards would most certainly do an about face.
It's not about getting a minuscule refund - it's about making them take notice and making them spend the time and resources to deal with each cancellation and demand for refund. You'll increase the chance of getting the original CB back. Don't listen to anyone saying there's no chance. There's only no chance if we act like lemmings.
Even if you have just a week left, if you're unhappy, CANCEL AND DEMAND A REFUND. More than getting your money, you'll get HEARD.
Woot....I have a convert to the cause!
I just wanted my forty bucks back.
I agree, actually canceling my account and getting a refund would send a message to WotC, and increase the likelyhood that they'll roll back their changes.
The problem is, I really don't care anymore. I've got a few weeks left on my subscription, and it's just not worth a few bucks for me to play email tag with some guy in India.
If WotC starts releasing patches for the old CB again, that's awesome, I'll pirate them. If not, whatever, there's a dedicated community of modders who will keep it up to date better than WotC ever has. I really don't give a **** what message they get from me or if they change their minds or not. They've lost me as a customer.
So like I said, it's odd. If I still cared about them I would get a refund and cancel alltogether. I don't care, so I remain subscribed.
The problem is, I really don't care anymore. I've got a few weeks left on my subscription, and it's just not worth a few bucks for me to play email tag with some guy in India.
No email tag necessary. I canceled my online per my sig and sent a single support ticket to tell them why I was canceling and stating that I wanted a refund. They replied to confirm the refund would be processed.
If WotC starts releasing patches for the old CB again, that's awesome, I'll pirate them. If not, whatever, there's a dedicated community of modders who will keep it up to date better than WotC ever has. I really don't give a **** what message they get from me or if they change their minds or not. They've lost me as a customer.
Well, saying you'll pirate patches if they start supporting the old CB again really supports their reason for dropping it.
I for one would go back to doing three-month subs when I'm playing DnD, letting it expire when I'm not. I certainly don't look forward to having to do character sheets by hand (Wiz did a fantastic job of creating a game that pretty much forces you into using a CB), but since the new CB is utter &*^% when it comes to the character sheet, I'll stick to the old CB until it's so outdated I have no choice but to do them by hand.
It is not hard to cancel, especially if you do it over the phone. Also, it takes forever for the insiders icon to go away, I canceled over a week ago.
Really, makes me wonder whether Wizards is purposely delaying the actioning the actual cancelation of the account because of the possible domino effect this might have. If people see enough other people actually canceling, it might encourage them to do so, too.
If you've already canceled and gotten refund, great - but I bet you can still go through the steps in my sig to 'cancel' online and have the icon disappear within a few hours. It'd be great if you could give it a try and let us know!
I'm sure they're listening. I mean, why wouldn't they? Why not implement every single good idea suggested on the forums, in emails, from the phones, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they 'assigned' a WotC employee to simply read the forums all day scouring it for ideas.
That would be me. :D
Yes...we're listening, so keep making suggestions (and complaints, we listen to those, too).
I'm sure they're listening. I mean, why wouldn't they? Why not implement every single good idea suggested on the forums, in emails, from the phones, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they 'assigned' a WotC employee to simply read the forums all day scouring it for ideas.
That would be me. :D
Yes...we're listening, so keep making suggestions (and complaints, we listen to those, too).
Why didn't WotC assign you a "WotC" handle? How can we be sure you're actually speaking for WotC (or communicating directly with the staff) without something official to prove it? Can you get WotC_Trevor to post an acknowlegment that you're the real deal? Perhaps some forum veterans know you, but I've only been here a short while, and I'm suspicious that someone with a handle of "crazy monkey" could be in any way officially affiliated with WotC.
That little "W" Icon next to his D&DI icon denotes him as staff, FYI.
I'm sure they're listening. I mean, why wouldn't they? Why not implement every single good idea suggested on the forums, in emails, from the phones, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they 'assigned' a WotC employee to simply read the forums all day scouring it for ideas.
That would be me. :D
Yes...we're listening, so keep making suggestions (and complaints, we listen to those, too).
Why didn't WotC assign you a "WotC" handle? How can we be sure you're actually speaking for WotC (or communicating directly with the staff) without something official to prove it? Can you get WotC_Trevor to post an acknowlegment that you're the real deal? Perhaps some forum veterans know you, but I've only been here a short while, and I'm suspicious that someone with a handle of "crazy monkey" could be in any way officially affiliated with WotC.
I do have a nifty little staff tag under my name, if that helps (the "W" next to the D&D Insider icon). And twitter.com/Wizards_DnD" title="twitter.com/Wizards_DnD">here is WotC's D&D Twitter page. Take a look at the tweet by Trevor currently (as of this post) three posts down.
Now that that's out of the way, I won't be posting much (for now), but you'll see my name amongst the users reading the forum fairly frequently.
That little "W" Icon next to his D&DI icon denotes him as staff, FYI.
Ahhh - many thanks for that bit of information. Perhaps there's hope yet that WotC will surprise us before the end of the month - either with some detailed communication, or a robust improvement to the online CB.
If the CCB comes back then a dragon icon will most likely reappear under my name. Until then I will play DnD until the latest Encounters is over and then I am done. It would be sooner but I am DMing the sessions and I like to finish what I start. Just got my copy of Warhammer Fantasy Core Set delivered so I will give that a look see.
>wave<
Though CMP won't have the resources to provide their help once again, they can get Lonewolf to look at it and provide help, or another company that has provided good electronic aids for the game in the past and to a lesser degree, in the present.
For now, I expect that the WEBCB will never reach the functionality that the CBC had, ever, while maintaining the grade school GUI.
I repurchased the insider subscription the same week that it was announced, and I have put a whole lot of hours on it testing and playing with it. I find that I do enjoy this character builder quite a bit. Beyond the annoyance of mutliclass issues and the lack of homebrew rules, I havent felt at all like it has been wasted money.
I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that I have nothing to compare it too.
I believe firmly that the chosen software to build this web approach was a very poor decision, however. The only other person that can afford it and plays in my group cannot use it due to the lack of compatibility beytween it and linux, and neither of us are big fans of resorting to software that has already been discontinued by its designer. There should have been a much better way to go about this mess. The character maximum is a real pain in the arse as well.
I've looked at the idea of online gaming, but if the builder is the design quality expected, and everyone needed their own subscription... I just dont see that as being anywhere near enough incentive. The quality of the material online isnt that easy to work with, heck even the site is more of a maze then the old one used to be. Not of fan of that change at all. Just cause it's flashy, just make it better.
I find that group subcriptions, one per table, makes more sense then economically then the idea that everyone of us will be able to afford it. Five ways a years subscription is about $20. Thats not a bad investment, I just wish I got more out of it then merely a almost-ready character builder.
That's my two cents, ~Ebok
If they really were listening, changes would have been made (not necessarily to the code -- yet --, but at least to their posture). Look at my thread on whether the October CB update is safe. It's been consistently at the top of that stack of threads, yet not one Wizards person has commented in it nor have they clearly referenced the problem.
If they were listening, someone should have written, "No, we're not deliberately making CB break." or "If the code itself breaks, we'll fix it; but it still won't get new content."). Their silence is deafening.
If they were listening, they would have announced that they were correcting their error of not having a version of CB available offline. They could easily do this (simply have a time-stamped copy of the data that expires after X days without a connection to the server). But, they not only haven't, they've not even suggested that they're looking at it.
If they were listening, they would have changed their EULA to tell people their content is safe from WotC potentially stealing people's ideas and using them in their own published materials. They have neither changed it nor suggested they're even looking into it. Even FaceBook changed their EULA, and they're a LOT bigger than WotC.
etc.
Hey there Daddicus. So I didn't answer your question because I thought the community members that had already downloaded the most recent patch for the CB classic did a great job of explaining what to expect from the patch. But I can chime in on that if you want:
Your question was something close to: "Did we (Wizards) maliciously and intentionally break the CB classic with the last CB patch?"
Answer: No, we did not. As you've already seen in the thread that you started, there were some changes and some information removed (the RPGA magic items removed, precisely). From all reports, the CB classic continues to work after the last patch. We don't have any further patches (either fixes or content) planned for the CB classic.
That little "W" Icon next to his D&DI icon denotes him as staff, FYI.
Ahhh - many thanks for that bit of information. Perhaps there's hope yet that WotC will surprise us before the end of the month - either with some detailed communication, or a robust improvement to the online CB.
Monkey is indeed the newest member of the community team as his badge and his signature line indicates. While he is silent like a ninja sometimes, you should see him popping up in various areas in the community.
But back to the thread topic - yes, please keep giving us your feedback. My entire team makes sure the opinions here are passed on to the teams making the decisions. I've actually been in several conversations in these forums and the DDI forums each week for the past week, and I'm sorry if I've missed your specific issue/topic/concern. We are not going to be able to hop in to every thread. If it's something a friendly/helpful community member can give you a definite answer on, please let them. If they're incorrect, then we'll hop in and clear things up.
Now as to the CB classic vs. the web-based CB debate/argument/pleas - We're currently moving ahead with the web-based CB and have no plans for another update to the CB classic. There are very few things completely outside the realm of possibilities, so I won't say that we'll never update the CB classic, but right now that seems very unlikely, and I don't see any changes coming to our plan/focus for the web-based tools.
And yes, we will be updating the web-based CB with more content, more features, and bug fixes. No, I don't have exact dates. I'm still hopeful that we can get some of this in before the holidays hit here, but no real info yet. By the end of the week I'll either have dropped back into the forums with more information on what's happening and when, or at the very least, let you know that I wasn't able to get any more concrete information.
Does WotC have an official stance (that you can communicate to us) on the the work the community is doing to update the Classic CB ourselves. I'm sure you must be aware of its existance at the very least.
Now as to the CB classic vs. the web-based CB debate/argument/pleas - We're currently moving ahead with the web-based CB and have no plans for another update to the CB classic. There are very few things completely outside the realm of possibilities, so I won't say that we'll never update the CB classic, but right now that seems very unlikely, and I don't see any changes coming to our plan/focus for the web-based tools.
I'm curious if you have an official response to:
Why doesn't Wizards continue to update content to the classic CB alongside the web CB until the web CB has equivelant functionality?
By stopping updates to the former when the latter is missing functionality that I require (an equivelantly customizable character sheet, where the character fits on two pages), you've removed my reason to subscribe.
Wouldn't it make more sense to continue updating both until the web CB is equal in functionality; what do you think it says to customers that you don't?
Wizard's simply thinks by forcing the online builder; more players are going to sign up for accounts and they'll make money off the DDi. The fact is, that instead of sharing the offline builder with friends - so they can make D&D characters easily where people don't have internet access (like say Pax or some other conventions) - they're either sharing the online account - or people just say "screw it, this is too complicated - I don't want to play 4.0; let's play 3.5..."
You're only hurting yourself by having only an online builder. Players simply don't want to mess with going through all the different books; so why bother if no one subscribes to DDi. 3.5 is far superior to 4.0 in ease of use.
If Wizards was smart, you'd offer Character builder service for free - and then add more services that players need to the DDI subscription (things like online maps - the virtual table is a good step) and things like the compendium, etc, etc... (Being able to look up a rule without searching 50 books is well worth the monthly fee...))
>wave<
I'm REally unhappy with the new CB and I'm holding out until June to see if they get it to work...but really i wish they would keep the offline builder...heck why not offer patches for the old cb at a small fee?
Why not make cheese and sell it to mice? /sarcasm
Two words: Business Decision. Regardless of the motives that caused this decision in the first place, this is where we are. If you're not happy with this, see my sig.
I'm REally unhappy with the new CB and I'm holding out until June to see if they get it to work...but really i wish they would keep the offline builder...heck why not offer patches for the old cb at a small fee?
Why not make cheese and sell it to mice? /sarcasm
Two words: Business Decision. Regardless of the motives that caused this decision in the first place, this is where we are. If you're not happy with this, see my sig.
Know what, kenjoon? People come on here to do the very thing that you are continually asking them not to do. In fact you are one of the biggest complainers yourself! Only, your gripe is with anyone who dares to point out any negatives.
I could just as easily say to you:
Not happy with people complaining about the reduced-in-functionality OCB? Stop whining on the forums about it and do the only thing that will actually reduce the quantity of complaining on this board. Refrain from reading threads where people complain, and stop responding to people's legitimate complaints by asking them to quit DDI entirely. By not following these steps, you tacitly approve of forum complainers (because you are one).
Nonetheless, you have the right to espouse your opinion. I'm just not sure you were aware of how you come across to some others, like me, who aren't threatening to cancel their subs.
I cant select power unless I made the system do it for me.
I try a lot of thing but still do not work.
The progam is bugged.
I could bypass the bug if it allow to easyly retrain everything but it stuck on one retrain by level.
And I got another bug : The retraining list of feat and power was the one of the character I was previously editing.
The Feat List is slow. Once you choose by source if you go back you still got to rechoose it. No good.
The whole progam could be if they first correct the bugs.
And a last point still no Hexblade, No scout at least a month after the book went on. Not realy professional.
I was thinking to take an insider account, but after that tryout I will wait a couple of month at least.
F
I'm sure they're listening. I mean, why wouldn't they? Why not implement every single good idea suggested on the forums, in emails, from the phones, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they 'assigned' a WotC employee to simply read the forums all day scouring it for ideas.
That would be me. :D
Yes...we're listening, so keep making suggestions (and complaints, we listen to those, too).
Why didn't WotC assign you a "WotC" handle? How can we be sure you're actually speaking for WotC (or communicating directly with the staff) without something official to prove it? Can you get WotC_Trevor to post an acknowlegment that you're the real deal? Perhaps some forum veterans know you, but I've only been here a short while, and I'm suspicious that someone with a handle of "crazy monkey" could be in any way officially affiliated with WotC.
I do have a nifty little staff tag under my name, if that helps (the "W" next to the D&D Insider icon). And twitter.com/Wizards_DnD" title="twitter.com/Wizards_DnD">here is WotC's D&D Twitter page. Take a look at the tweet by Trevor currently (as of this post) three posts down.
Now that that's out of the way, I won't be posting much (for now), but you'll see my name amongst the users reading the forum fairly frequently.
IMO, the best way to complain is to cancel DDI service and demand a refund with an explanation of why in the email. DDI *MIGHT* get my money back but improvements must be made first.
IMO, the best way to complain is to cancel DDI service and demand a refund with an explanation of why in the email. DDI *MIGHT* get my money back but improvements must be made first.
I completely agree.
IMO, the best way to complain is to cancel DDI service and demand a refund with an explanation of why in the email. DDI *MIGHT* get my money back but improvements must be made first.
I completely agree.
Well, I've just found out about the changes to the character builder (I was out of commision there for a while) and within 5 minutes I cancelled the DDI subscription I've been paying for since February.
It runs out on the 25th of this month so I can't really be bothered asking for a refund, if they want to go back to the download version then I'll resubscribe.
Anyhow, just wanted it recorded that that's why I cancelled.
Hey there Daddicus. So I didn't answer your question because I thought the community members that had already downloaded the most recent patch for the CB classic did a great job of explaining what to expect from the patch. But I can chime in on that if you want:
Your question was something close to: "Did we (Wizards) maliciously and intentionally break the CB classic with the last CB patch?"
Answer: No, we did not. As you've already seen in the thread that you started, there were some changes and some information removed (the RPGA magic items removed, precisely). From all reports, the CB classic continues to work after the last patch. We don't have any further patches (either fixes or content) planned for the CB classic.
Thanks! I appreciate the response!
IMO, the best way to complain is to cancel DDI service and demand a refund with an explanation of why in the email. DDI *MIGHT* get my money back but improvements must be made first.
I don't agree. The "best" way would be if I could give them time to sort through their decision-making, but let them know that the clock is ticking. This is what I (and most of the other "cancelers" have done: We turned off auto-renew, but kept the subscription.
This way, they still have some funding for projects, and can hopefully cure some of the greatest ills. I don't have any real issues with the new model other than online-only. The other issues I can survive, but online only, it's just not possible.
However, for others, they do not agree with only having one reason for giving up. There are those who don't want to give WotC their proprietary information (characters they've made, stuff like that). Etc. I'm not going to fault them for that, but those are just not in my list of "absolutely must haves". Offline viewing is an imperative for me, though. I can't consistently use the tools enough any other way.
Now, WHY have I not simply canceled right now? After all, I could get $30 back for the next 6 months of subscription. Why not? Because I don't need the money, and I really don't think these guys are "bad guys". I think they've made some decisions in a vacuum, though. My hope is that continuing to subscribe and post will let them understand I really am out for their interests, and not just mine. My half-year subscription is my "putting my money where my mouth is" statement.
I don't agree. The "best" way would be if I could give them time to sort through their decision-making, but let them know that the clock is ticking. This is what I (and most of the other "cancelers" have done: We turned off auto-renew, but kept the subscription.
That is a perfectly valid viewpoint. For me, the clock started ticking on September 7th. They had a couple months to sort through their decisions, and they made the decisions they made. In the end, the result was not acceptable to me, so I ended my subscription. I will be entirely honest, however: the only interests I'm concerned with are mine. Wizards is looking out for theirs, which seems fair all the way around.
To each his own, though. I miss some of the things DDI provided. I just don't miss them enough for me to change my mind.
Being an old school player, thank god for books. I can still play the old school way.
I would hope that Wizards would take a serious look at having contracted help to help fix the mess they made in an expeditious manner. With E-Tools, they had waited until Fluid put out two separate mostly unusable patches before they got Code Monkey Publishing to come in and fix (and eventually take over) it.
I should think that an enraged development manager on the phone to the Microsoft rep who convinced him to use the assnugget Silverlight in the first place could get a lot of help - both quickly and free.
Oh, and for the record, my auto-renew didn't.
T
I am very disappointed in this web based browser application. To keep this short and simple, I am glad that my auto-renew is off. This application isn't worth it, a poor quality product, and I feel it is a waste of my money & time.
Being an old school player, thank god for books. I can still play the old school way.
100% the same. I'd love to use the new tools and technology, but it seems like they are almost daring me not to.
My account goes till July 2011, maybe June. I keep asking for a refund each month for said month, not because I want to, but for the same reasons everyone else is complaining. The tools I want to use (not need) and the magazines I want to use (not need) are not worth the money I agreed to pay (not forced to).
I've also been watching the DUN/DRA content and while I realize its mostly opinion based, I take out all the non game material and just look to see how many adventures, character options, monster options and settings material we get and of late, its a very very small amount.
I find that I do enjoy this character builder quite a bit.
Ah so that ampersand column was written to you.
"If you’re (still) a D&D Insider, then (we assume) you’re enjoying the new web-based D&D Character Builder. If you’re not, watch this video to see what all the fuss is about."
I don't agree. The "best" way would be if I could give them time to sort through their decision-making, but let them know that the clock is ticking. This is what I (and most of the other "cancelers" have done: We turned off auto-renew, but kept the subscription.
That is a perfectly valid viewpoint. For me, the clock started ticking on September 7th. They had a couple months to sort through their decisions, and they made the decisions they made. In the end, the result was not acceptable to me, so I ended my subscription. I will be entirely honest, however: the only interests I'm concerned with are mine. Wizards is looking out for theirs, which seems fair all the way around.
To each his own, though. I miss some of the things DDI provided. I just don't miss them enough for me to change my mind.
That's a good point (the clock started ticking in Sept). I only learned about the madness to come in early November. It was quite a shock to my system. I took a whole day sorting through threads before I could even accept that it was true. I thought there HAD to be some kind of mistake; this set of decisions is SO bad that no for-profit company should even consider them.
Then I got the sickly feeling deep inside as I realized they were indeed doing this. Over time, it became nauseating as I realized they not only were adamant in their decisions, but that they wouldn't even consider any of the hundreds of sane choices they had. It was at this point that I felt like I had lost a loved one.
And, yes, that started in September. Probably earlier, but we know for sure September.
That's a good point (the clock started ticking in Sept). I only learned about the madness to come in early November. It was quite a shock to my system. I took a whole day sorting through threads before I could even accept that it was true. I thought there HAD to be some kind of mistake; this set of decisions is SO bad that no for-profit company should even consider them.
Then I got the sickly feeling deep inside as I realized they were indeed doing this. Over time, it became nauseating as I realized they not only were adamant in their decisions, but that they wouldn't even consider any of the hundreds of sane choices they had. It was at this point that I felt like I had lost a loved one.
And, yes, that started in September. Probably earlier, but we know for sure September.
For me, at least, WotC has until December 31st to make some noticeable functional improvement to the online CB that makes it worth my while, because it's really the only thing I regularly use with my DDI subscription. Come January 1st, if WotC hasn't made a significant improvement, then I'm going to prove them right (about piracy) by cancelling my subscription, getting a refund for the unused months, and then using the offline CB until the online CB is made better than the offline one (and doesn't require a constant Internet connection to utilize my character sheet dynamically during game play, such as subtracting hit points, surges, action points, spell uses, etc.). I at least want to see Inherent Bonuses, more concise and efficient character sheets, and calculation bugs fixed by the end of the month or I'm history.
I should think that an enraged development manager on the phone to the Microsoft rep who convinced him to use the assnugget Silverlight in the first place could get a lot of help - both quickly and free.
MS probably wasn't involved, to be honest. The "classic" tools were coded with .NET 3.5, so they would have had most of the tools and applicable experience already in-house.
T
However, the hash they've made of things since August, culminating with foisting on us the not-ready-for-release online version of the CB...well, it was just too much.
I am no longer a subscriber, and will not be again until the CB is a quality product. At this point, I'm not holding my breath unless they clean house at Wizards.
Clean it off the web. I subscribed for over a year while our campaign was running. We're starting a new campaign next week so I resubscribed especially to use the Character Builder. I've already unsubscribed and warned the rest of our players not even to bother.
I've recovered the real Character Builder from a friends computer and have it patched to October. Since that's the latest we'll be able to use, we probably won't buy any future books - after all, there's no point buying them when you can't use them in your campaign.
Not being able to do anything offline - like, say, while playing at a table. Having to rely on a server-side transaction to make even the tiniest change (incrementing an attribute requires a client-server round trip? What were your programmers smoking?). Depending on Wizard's laughable ability to maintain an online service (just how many forum outages have we seen since the launch?).
From now on, it won't make a difference to me, and your obvious incapacity to service your customer's requirements merits financial failure. I doubt your theoretical losses from piracy up to this point will make a dent in the loss of your subscribers due to your stubborn our-way-or-the-highway attitude.
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Please return discussion to the topic of the thread, or it may need to be closed.
Please keep your posts polite, respectful, on-topic, and refrain from personal attacks and flaming, these are violations of the Code of Conduct. You can review the Code here: wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg... . You are welcome to disagree with one another but please do so respectfully and constructively.
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Please return discussion to the topic of the thread, or it may need to be closed.
I have to respond to this. AndrewH did not personally attack anyone by name, and it was completely on-topic based on the name of this thread. While his post was extremely critical of WotC, and one somewhat sarcastic aside was included regarding "your programmers," a fair reading of the Code of Conduct shows that his comments do not rise to a violation of the terms. (You must know this, because his post is still there.) While calling the CB "exrement" may not seem constructive or respectful, it very succinctly sums up the feelings of many other people on this forum, and very candidly conveys to WotC at least one user's passionate feelings about this direction.
Up until now, I've seen a lot of tolerance from WotC for much worst posts, so I'm surprised to see this reprimand suddenly appear for such a tame critique. If WotC starts censoring strong, valid opinions on these forums, I will join AndrewH in cancelling my subscription. It's very diffuclt to convey the extreme level of disappointment and anger many subscribers have without using stronger-than-normal language. Otherwise, WotC might think its customers are only mildly annoyed instead of flaming mad.
WotC has no problems with criticism of their products. The extensive threads registering complaints about the web CB, DDI in general, errata/rules updates (to mention but a few) should be proof positive of that. However, posts that directly insult (or worse) WotC employees is an area where there is no tolerance on the part of WotC.
However, posts that directly insult (or worse) WotC employees is an area where there is no tolerance on the part of WotC.
Nor should there be.
If you have problems with the moderation performed on the forums, your best bet is to contact WotC CS directly. The WotC CS team does not browse the forusm looking for problems, they only act upon complaints as reported to them by customers.
Is there a key or FAQ that explains the various icons/badges one can encounter on these forums? From "Orcs" to "VCLs" to "Staff" to others, I have no idea who these people are, what their jobs are, and whether they actually speak officially for WotC. The only one I know for sure is the "D&D Insider" dragon badge that denotes DDI subscribers.
Please keep your posts polite, respectful, on-topic, and refrain from personal attacks and flaming, these are violations of the Code of Conduct. You can review the Code here: wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg... . You are welcome to disagree with one another but please do so respectfully and constructively.
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Please return discussion to the topic of the thread, or it may need to be closed.
I have to respond to this. AndrewH did not personally attack anyone by name, and it was completely on-topic based on the name of this thread. While his post was extremely critical of WotC, and one somewhat sarcastic aside was included regarding "your programmers," a fair reading of the Code of Conduct shows that his comments do not rise to a violation of the terms. (You must know this, because his post is still there.) While calling the CB "exrement" may not seem constructive or respectful, it very succinctly sums up the feelings of many other people on this forum, and very candidly conveys to WotC at least one user's passionate feelings about this direction.
Up until now, I've seen a lot of tolerance from WotC for much worst posts, so I'm surprised to see this reprimand suddenly appear for such a tame critique. If WotC starts censoring strong, valid opinions on these forums, I will join AndrewH in cancelling my subscription. It's very diffuclt to convey the extreme level of disappointment and anger many subscribers have without using stronger-than-normal language. Otherwise, WotC might think its customers are only mildly annoyed instead of flaming mad.
There is no "higher expression of your feelings" than to stop supporting a company with your money. There are only three states that any given customer can be in where DDI is concerned.
1) Current subscriber with auto-renew turned on. (happy)
2) Current subscriber with auto-renew turned off. (disappointed)
3) Not a subscriber. (mad as hell)
If you think you need any stronger language then you are sadly mistaken. To quote a famous dead ex-US President "Walk softly and carry a big stick". The big stick in this case is your money and you use that stick by not giving it to someone who has made you mad.
If you have problems with the moderation performed on the forums, your best bet is to contact WotC CS directly. The WotC CS team does not browse the forusm looking for problems, they only act upon complaints as reported to them by customers.
Is there a key or FAQ that explains the various icons/badges one can encounter on these forums? From "Orcs" to "VCLs" to "Staff" to others, I have no idea who these people are, what their jobs are, and whether they actually speak officially for WotC. The only one I know for sure is the "D&D Insider" dragon badge that denotes DDI subscribers.
VCL = Volunteer Community Leader - works for free, but speaks for WotC in many cases.
ORCs = WotC employees - they do all forum moderation for CoC violations and such. Probably CS reps if I had to guess.
Staff = WotC employees
If you have problems with the moderation performed on the forums, your best bet is to contact WotC CS directly. The WotC CS team does not browse the forusm looking for problems, they only act upon complaints as reported to them by customers.
Is there a key or FAQ that explains the various icons/badges one can encounter on these forums? From "Orcs" to "VCLs" to "Staff" to others, I have no idea who these people are, what their jobs are, and whether they actually speak officially for WotC. The only one I know for sure is the "D&D Insider" dragon badge that denotes DDI subscribers.
I don't know if there is a FAQ, but here is my tl;dr version:
ORC - Online Response Crew - Employed by WotC to enforce the Code of Conduct.
VCL - Volunteer community lead - Unpaid minions who help out WotC with the forums.
Staff - WotC Staff members
Genrally, Staff members can speak on behalf of WotC.
ORCs will rarely speak, unless it is to indicate where you have crossed the CoC.
VCLs can usually provide good hints or ideas as to what WotC is thinking, but as we do not work for WotC and do not have all of the info that WotC staff members have, our educated guesses may occasionally be wrong.
I can only guess that they were what the deleted post took issue with.