Yeah I'm an oldschooler, AD&D 1E is what I cut my teeth on and I've come to 4E because of the Essentials line. 3.5 was too rules-heavy for me, and when 4E came out, it seemed more like a miniatures game IMHO than an RPG, and Essentials is bringing back that old RPG feel.
But I digress...
I LOVE my hardcovers, I like old style playing, hardcopy character sheets, REAL dice...etc. And don't get me wrong, I have a smartphone and a laptop with 3G. It's not the technology that has me bothered, but when I'm on my leisure time I DONT WANT TO STARE AT ANOTHER COMPUTER SCREEN. I'm ok with CB and MB as long as I can do it, print it out and use my hardcovers if I need to. I just want to be sure that if I don't have web access that I can still PLAY!
But I was considering DDi for the character/monster builder tools (which are great, I've tried them) to save me time. And the only reason I want to save time is so I can get to the tabletop experience faster. I don't really want to look at a computer screen while I'm playing, I see enough computer screens at home and work.
Is DDi going to negate the need for hardcovers? I HATE reading loads of material digitally. I use a kindle because it looks and feels like a book, less strain on the eyes. But I won't read it on a computer screen.
So the way I see it is that WotC is probably going to make the move to total web-content, quit producing hardcovers, and publish everything web-based. I HOPE I'm wrong. I mean...yeah the subscription will contain the same information as the hardcovers, probably around the same price, but I want a hard copy. Really, if they ever got rid of hardcovers I wouldn't play. It's also a philosophical thing to me. It just seems like a logical progression for them...and it would "make me sad" as King Arthur once said.
This is SO going to lead to third parties putting out their own versions of character/monster builder, albeit illegally.
Probably lots of unknowns here.....but feel free to say if you know something
The most use I've gotten out of it has been checking out errata and magic items: the Compendium really isn't good for looking up actual rules questions, just content. And if you've got the books to answer your questions, the only thing you need the Compendium for is to have a convenient way to access Dragon and Dungeon stuff.
I don't see them switching over to web-only publishing: the new webtools being released strikes me more as an anti-piracy measure than anything else.
The new webtools afford you the option to print out Monsters in .pdf format, so there aren't any issues there. Assuming Wizards keeps releasing materials like they have been since 2008, I don't think you'll have to worry about DDi "replacing" hardcovers.
The most use I've gotten out of it has been checking out errata and magic items: the Compendium really isn't good for looking up actual rules questions, just content. And if you've got the books to answer your questions, the only thing you need the Compendium for is to have a convenient way to access Dragon and Dungeon stuff.
I don't see them switching over to web-only publishing: the new webtools being released strikes me more as an anti-piracy measure than anything else.
Yeah, I completely understand the anti-piracy view. I mean, you don't need a subscription to use CB or the Tools at all, that is until November 16. I know folks who have the most recently updated CB on their PC and never subscribed for even a month. So financially it's a very smart move for them.
How dependent are most folks on Dungon/Dragon content? I miss the hard copies a lot. Digital magazines are a turn off. I mean this is for the most part an exploratory measure by me to see if I even want to subscribe at this point, and the web-based deal really threw a wrench in it for me.
It just seems REALLY expensive to create and maintain a character, adjust a couple monsters. Really poor pricing model.
The Dungeon/Dragon content is cool, I suppose, but I've never been blown away by it. I've heard complaints that they've been releasing less interesting/useful material, but I think the quality's been of consistent quality since I subscribed.
I don't get much use out of Dungeon magazine, and I imagine anybody who runs their own campaign setting won't either. Or any non-DM, for that matter. Of course, I've never bought a Monster Manual or synonymous book before, nor do I use premade encounters.
I don't know what you mean by maintaining a character, though: what's expensive about the current model?
I don't know what you mean by maintaining a character, though: what's expensive about the current model?
I was referring to the new model. You can no longer update your character digitally without being a subscriber and logging on to do it. The cost is too high for players,
I was referring to the new model. You can no longer update your character digitally without being a subscriber and logging on to do it. The cost is too high for players,
Oh, gotcha.
Yeah, I see the issue: can't keep accessing the character you made if you unsubscribe or for some reason don't have an internet connection.
It's bad, but I think if you maintain a habit of saving a .pdf of your character you should be okay.
If you level up at the table, say during an extended rest, you can't update your characters if you don't have web access.
So I guess you have to prepare a character one level above your current and take it with you too? That could be a problem if you acquire certain magic items or gear during the session. But oh well, I guess you could always use the pen and paper method, but then I wouldn't need DDi.
See my conundrum? I just got back into D&D, have researched DDi, was about to subscribe, then this happens. Good thing I waited I suppose.