Will we be getting the virtual tabletop?
* Mearls: We're still focusing on the Character Builder, and perfecting it. We still don't have any scheduling information for other products
Monster builder - will we be able to make Elite or Solos?
* We don't want to overpromise, but we want to keep refining and updating these products.
DDI Compendium - Timout is too short!
* This has been mentioned and is being looked at
DDI Rules Compendium - would it be possible to get versions or dates on updates to the Compendium, so that we know if something has been changed there that isn't yet in the Rules Update documents?
* Chris Tulach - I'm actually on the Rules Update Team, and we've recently revised our Update schedule to address this concern, but this should be less of an issue going forward.
I saw the title, read your first sentence and thought, sweet some *real* info!
Then I read the following:
Will we be getting the virtual tabletop? - same answer as before, we can't say
Monster builder - will we be able to make Elite or Solos? - same answer as before, we can't say
DDI Compendium - Timout is too short! - same answer as before, we're looking at it.
DDI Rules Compendium - same answer as before, we're looking at it.
I wish I had the faith you seem to have, or the excitement any more.
Madbunny, you always make me smile, and I do not mean this in a bad way. You're an optimist I guess.
I saw the title, read your first sentence and thought, sweet some *real* info!
Then I read the following:
Will we be getting the virtual tabletop? - same answer as before, we can't say
Monster builder - will we be able to make Elite or Solos? - same answer as before, we can't say
DDI Compendium - Timout is too short! - same answer as before, we're looking at it.
DDI Rules Compendium - same answer as before, we're looking at it.
I wish I had the faith you seem to have, or the excitement any more.
Heh, I decided early on that I'd jump on the 4E bandwagon...
just as soon as the Virtual tabletop was up and ready to go. For me, all 4E is usable for would be internet games as I ahve plenty of 3.5E, 3.0E, 2.5E, 2.0E, 1.0E and OD&D material to last me three or four lifetimes of gaming at the tabletop.
I haven't bought a single 4E product yet, but I promise I'll get the core rule books and subscribe to DDI just as soon as that virtual tabletop is up and running, so long as it doesn't look like 4.5 or 5.0 is going to be released in the within 18 months of the virtual tabletop being up and running. Might even purchase additional books, too.
Still beats getting poked in the eye with a stick, I suppose.
While the answers really don't give any answers, the fact that the questions were asked means that WotC knows that people are interested/have concerns/have questions about those topics. Hopefully enough peoplenaggedasked WotC about those topics that it causes some discussions over the next couple of weeks over on the West Coast.
My hope is that it encourages them to be determined to see through the vision of a fully funcitonal DDI as originally presneted at Gen Con, online, and in the core books.
Will we be getting the virtual tabletop?
* Mearls: We're still focusing on the Character Builder, and perfecting it. We still don't have any scheduling information for other products
Funny, I thought the character builder was DONE. They just came out with the full version, right? Only thing they need to do is put in the updates from books, ect. Why does WOTC keep misleading the customer base? What will the ad be for digital insider this week?
Funny, I thought the character builder was DONE.
done, however with lots of bugs and flaws. the "TODO" list for character builder actually reads longer than some of the requirements i get for new software.[1] I believe WOTC has at least 4 man-months of bug fixing in front of them, and judging by their sw-design[2] and track record[3], it will take more than that to iron out all of those bugs. While they definitely will not take all that time to only bugfixing, it will still be a major point. After all, it's their current selling point. (cash-cow? definitely not yet.)
[1] projects with less than 6 months of development time, but still...
[2] from various statements on the forums, one can be certain that wotc did a prototyping approach to sw-development. which means, early easy successes, but lots of pitfalls later on if you try to actually clean up your code and don't restart from scratch.
[3] e-tools did not fail just due to fluid. wotc management has to carry much of the blame as well. enough said.
Funny, I thought the character builder was DONE. They just came out with the full version, right? Only thing they need to do is put in the updates from books, ect. Why does WOTC keep misleading the customer base? What will the ad be for digital insider this week?
It's called they were late as heck and once they'd promised a release date, they had to release it given how behind or nonexistant much of the original DDI was and still is. As I see it, they released the "full" Character Builder before it was actually ready for release; just released with artificial fanfare on the public with known bugs still not fixed. Given the problems reported with it so far, that's all I can figure was the case.
But call my cynical I suppose.
Example: let's say the community decides it would be a really good idea if every page of the character sheet had my picture on it (awww, you guys are so good to me.
).That's a feature that, with enough support behind it WotC wants to add in later months.
They made sure the software was stable, productive, shiny, and clean - and gave it to the public when it was ready for us to use - knowing that the remaining issues were fairly minor and easily worked around for now.
But, call me optimisitc I guess.
google has a 70-20-10 approach to their work.
70% is your assigned task, 20% is a freely chosen project where you can do whatever you want. 10% you are free to do whatever you like. (even play games or sleep)
all in all, 30% of your worktime is what other companies would call waste of time, and it comes as no great wonder that e.g. gmail started off as a 10% project that was given more attention and has risen through the ranks. there are but two reasons why i would not want to work at google's:
a) USA is to far away
b) open plan offices. i dislike seeing 50+ people at once, i prefer smaller spaces (2-6 people in one office, but no cubicles pls)
Yet again, we hope we get a bit of info only to have it dashed away when we look at the post.
I still am betting that they'll be dropping the VTT and the Dungeon Builder or the VTT and the CV. I'm pretty sure we will NOT have a VTT from DDI though.
However, now that we have the CB in our hands (bugs and all) I have swung towards being glad we are not getting information at this point. I don't think we are doing to see half of the programs still on the list and seeing "progress reports" will only give me false hope. So continuing to give us no real information is fine by me.
The day each piece of software releases (if it releases) I will celebrate with the masses and enjoy it. In the meantime I am happy with my DDi subscription and I don't wish for much more so I won't be disappointed further.
That's how I plan to maintain my optimism, by being an absolute pessimist.
:D
I've never played PNP D&D before this past Friday, and I'm DMing a game with some close friends. I've played the D&D CRPGs obsessively growing up and, tempted by dark geeky seduction, I studied the 3.5 and then 4e rules front to back in anticipation of my first actual game. As for the latter rule set, though I've been alternately horrified and orgasmified by the rule changes, I was glad to hear that the complete rules would be available online by subscription (it definitely makes more sense to me than having to constantly shell out for huge-ass hardbacks in order to get all the latest rules).
As for the game, it was totally awesome, but one thing that didn't really work so well was the pnp combat: probably because we were using printouts from my computer for a map and bits of lint to mark character placement. So I, thinking that it would be pretty cool to just do all the combat on my computer using that DDI subscription i just got and save the paper and effort, went on an hour-long quest to find it which has eventually led me here.
Let me be clear: I'm not upset that it's not out yet. I know that programming rules for an open-ended game, even just a tabletop for a user-controlled one, is HARD. What pisses me off is that I've been staring at this full-page ad at the back of the monster manual which promises me an online 3d tabletop environment with a fully-functional Character Builder/Visualizer and, now that I've actually paid my subscription, I had to dig through FORUM POSTS to figure out that half the stuff I paid for hasn't been programmed yet, almost a year after release date.
Curse you, WOTC, curse you in all your geeky temptationyness.
Will we be getting the virtual tabletop?
* Mearls: We're still focusing on the Character Builder, and perfecting it. We still don't have any scheduling information for other products
Which strikes me as a fancy way of saying "We are going to concentrate on what we have already done and hope everyone forgets about the rest, which wea ren't working on at all."
Let me be clear: I'm not upset that it's not out yet. I know that programming rules for an open-ended game, even just a tabletop for a user-controlled one, is HARD. What pisses me off is that I've been staring at this full-page ad at the back of the monster manual which promises me an online 3d tabletop environment with a fully-functional Character Builder/Visualizer and, now that I've actually paid my subscription, I had to dig through FORUM POSTS to figure out that half the stuff I paid for hasn't been programmed yet, almost a year after release date.
Don't worry, you're not paying for the Virtual Tabletop or Character Visualizer. When those come out, WotC is planning a subscription price increase (with guesstimates anywhere from $10-15 per month). What you're paying for right now is the magazines and bonus tools, at $5-8 per month. They've also decided to include the Character Builder in that without raising the price, which is something I didn't expect them to do but it's nice that they did.
Don't worry, you're not paying for the Virtual Tabletop or Character Visualizer.
that's not really a nice answer to give, however. the user is feeling fooled by ads and the webpage, not ripped off. it does not matter whether he pays 1 or 100 dollars - he feels he's not getting what he wanted. and this is a more serious problem than the definition of how many bucks you're paying.