Setting this feedback thread in advance for Randy's Digital Insider #4, due to go live tomorrow AM.
(We will be posting this article on the website as soon as we are able. However, in order to keep people from having to wait we have decided to post it here as well. We apologize for any inconvience!)
Again thanks for getting something ready for the article to link to in advance so things match up.
I have already said my piece about Tiny Adventures, and the "redeploying" sounds fishy to me.
*Thanks Solice for the injection of the article into the thread in your post quoted above.
(follow the
in the quote above to the article below.)Hi folks,
Setting this feedback thread in advance for Randy's Digital Insider #4, due to go live tomorrow AM.
And I was already to post that it was midnight in the Pacific now, far past midnight in Washington State. I do guess plans are indeed subject to change often quickly. *sighs*
WOTC is coming accross as misleading. I know what they are trying to do but it looks bad.
This is one thing that bugs me. Please don't put a thread up abut the latest report WOTC is doing before the report is up. This happened with #3 and now with #4. Makes you think its up when its not.
WOTC is coming accross as misleading. I know what they are trying to do but it looks bad.
Making the post in advance is the easiest way for them to have a post to link back to for the "Discuss this article" link that will appear at the bottom of the post when it's made.
We've asked for more communication, and we're getting it in the form of weekly reports, with a corresponding discussion thread.
I fail to see how having a discussion thread go up in advance is in ANY way misleading - especially when the first post announces that the post isn't up yet.
Now, if only the article would show up in the AM as scheduled...
Edit: Oops... someone give me a crowbar to pull my foot out of my mouth.... It is still the AM out on the west coast.
Hi folks,
Setting this feedback thread in advance for Randy's Digital Insider #4, due to go live tomorrow AM.
2:00 EST now, 11:00 PST if my math is right, you're running out of AM.
This is one thing that bugs me. Please don't put a thread up abut the latest report WOTC is doing before the report is up. This happened with #3 and now with #4. Makes you think its up when its not.
WOTC is coming accross as misleading. I know what they are trying to do but it looks bad.
Check many of the other 4th edition related articles that lead to the Previous Editions forum.
They should have a thread ready so they can finally figure out how to get the discus links in the article to work and go to the right place since no one pays attention to what link they put in the article to the forums.
Granted the article still doesn't exist yet and it isn't long left in the AM....but If/WHEN the article does come out, at least someone will know the EXACT link to send the discussion rather than having more things sent to the Previous Editions forums because nobody pays attention or cares where the links send you on the article pages or if they even work....
They should have the thread in a prep forum that is hidden and move it TO the proper forum when the time comes for the article to go live though.
I just checked on the status, it seems that we are running late due to technical issues. I will update you as soon as I hear more.
Danke.
Well I suffered my first character death of 4th Edition last week. Probably not exactly the update you came to this column looking for, but it’s my column and I’m telling the story anyway: Vashni was a Dragonborn Fighter in a campaign that Ken Troop put together to play on Friday afternoons at work (which most of the company takes off because most folks work four 9-hour days and then a 4-hour Friday).
We decided to actually roll for characters: 4d6, drop the lowest, and rearrange the order so you can play whatever class you want. What we did not do, however, was to put any limits on how good or how bad your rolls could be. Ken didn’t like the suggestion in the PHB that you should disallow characters with bonuses over +8, and who was I to argue with him? I rolled (in public, with a cheering crowd around me): 16, 13, 11, 15, 14, and with my last roll three glorious 6’s = 18. That’s a total of +12 (before racial mod’s) so whatever I built was going to be good.
I decided I just wanted to play a bruiser. I often game with Andrew Finch and he pretty much always plays a front-line fighter spec’ed for max damage. With Andrew not in this campaign I figured I would try my hand at that. 20 Strength thanks to the dragonborn racial mod and a greataxe made for a nice start. When I build characters, though, I try to give them some flavor. I don’t usually min-max them for optimal power, but instead I make decisions that set me up to roleplay. For that reason, I went with a 17 Charisma and multiclassed into warlock so I could train in Bluff and get eyebite as an Encounter power.
Here’s the backstory that I wrote up for my character sheet to make sense of this all:
Short, squat, husky dragonborn with blood lust in his eyes. Vashni is hyper-competitive and approaches battle as an opportunity to prove himself worthy of Kord's attention. Influenced also by Corellon's commandment to cultivate beauty in all things (including combat), Vashni has an almost Klingon approach to combat as a sacred occasion. At first glance, Vashni often appears to be a just street thug. Up close, however, Vashni can be much more intimidating or much more charming depending on his mood, and he's got the charisma to flip that switch at will. Typically, Vashni prefers to bluff his way out of a situation, but when he senses that it won't work he rapidly switches to intimidation mode.
Several years ago, Vashni believes he was visited in a dream by Corellon. As a result, Vashni swore enmity to Lolth and her priestesses despite never actually having met a drow. In addition, Vashni began studying the ways of the warlock, made a pact with the fey, and learned eyebite, which he delights in using to taunt enemies who are marked by his Combat Challenge ability. While exploiting this combination, Vashni feels not just clever, but as close to divine as he ever gets. Vashni shares his reverence for Kord with his cousin and the pair of young dragonborn set out to adventure together fairly recently as a way to bring glory and renown to the lord of battle, ideally (for Vashni) versus agents of Lolth.
So we’re three sessions into things on Friday and we’ve followed some goblin tracks from town back to their lair where a combination of goblin skullcleavers and some other kind of javelin-flinging goblin are fighting us. I’m down a couple of hit points, but thanks to my 16 Con I start with 31 and my surge value is 10. The other fighter has a (bloodied) skullcleaver marked, so I decide it’s worth it to risk an opportunity attack in order to set up both a flank and a cleave. The skullcleaver does indeed try to take a swipe at me, which triggers a free attack from my buddy—which hits, but does not yet drop the skullcleaver. The skullcleaver’s opportunity attack connects with my face and I discover how much damage those things can do when they’re bloodied… as I take 18. Ouch. 2d10+5, it turns out, is what they deal when bloodied. Suddenly down to single-digit hit points, I decide to go for my daily ability of comeback strike (which gives the opportunity to use a healing surge when it connects) instead of the cleave I had initially planned. I’ve got a flank, and I’m +1 to hit for being bloodied, and I’m proficient, and I’m +5 from Strength … and none of that seems to matter as I whiff.
On its turn, the skullcleaver decides it enjoyed watching chunks of my flesh fly and it takes another swing at me despite being marked. The free attack (which could have dropped the thing before the attack on me even resolved) misses, and Ken rolls the attack on me publicly. 20. Ken celebrates the critical hit on behalf of his monster, not realizing what he’d actually done. I don’t even need to do the math to know … max damage is 23 and that sends me below negative my bloodied value. There won’t be any stabilization roles for Vashni … just me ripping his character sheet into quarters and reaching for dice instead.
And the dice were not nearly as kind this time: 11, 16, 7, 13, 13, 15 for a decidedly normal +6 total. (I think it was Mike Donais who made the cynical remark that balance had now been brought to the force.) The good news is that I’ve gotten my hands onto a playtest copy of Player’s Handbook II, so I’ll probably be using one of the new classes from there. The bad news is that none of that content has been coded into the Character Builder yet and building characters is so much easier using our D&DI tool. It’s so much easier that I really am tempted to stick with PH content just to get to use it. I found a class I really want to try, though, and R&D wants feedback since that book is still in development… I guess I’ll just have to build my own character sheet like everyone else for now.
You’re probably expecting to hear more about this, but I don’t really have much to add to what has already been announced. The company is committed to D&D and Magic, and our digital efforts are now specifically focused on D&DI and Magic Online. In order to make sure our resources were aligned with these goals some people were redeployed, some positions were eliminated, and other positions were created. We are actively recruiting for a number of open positions, and the total number of positions eliminated was actually smaller than the number of open positions we are looking to fill during the rest of this year.
Our newest Facebook application has proven even more successful than we were expecting. We’ve done very little other than mention it here and invite our own friends on Facebook, but viral marketing is working as positive reviews pop up scattered around the web and our server was brought to its knees by the traffic. Since Thursday, we have switched hosting facilities completely and then been subjected to a freakish hardware failure at our new digs which cost us Sunday connectivity plus two days of data. We’re still working out some of the kinks, and we’re not willing to distract the D&DI team in order to help, so we appreciate your patience.
I’m really excited by all the new blood that seems to be attracted to Tiny Adventures, and I’m optimistic that we really are going to be able to recruit some new gamers into our hobby thanks to this marketing effort. It’ll be very interesting to see how big this actually gets.
Don’t forget to check out the Wizards booth at PAX if you can get to Seattle this weekend. We’ll be showing off D&DI in its current state of awesomeness, including Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, the D&D Compendium, and the Bonus Tools, as well as some things still in development such as the Character Builder and the other client-based applications. Hopefully I’ll see you there. If not, feel free to comment in the thread for this article on what things you’d like me to talk about in upcoming weeks.
most non-commercial websites manage to set up a system where their newsposts are automatically also available in a forum, for discussion. they use exactly the same forums-software (vbulletin), so this could not be an issue. wizards has definitely access to their own databases, so this should also not be an issue...
why don't you guys give such an idea a try? it's really, really easy, basically all you have to do is insert one line into the threads table... even those asp-guys over at wizards should be able to take a glance at the php code of vbb, and make it work.
We could not post using the database this week for technical reasons, hence the reason for posting on the forums first.
We were waiting for that?
/sigh
We were waiting for that?
I thought this was supost to be about the staus of DDi and more WOTC computer stuff. Not a report on the death of a character in a game.
Where is the info on the status of the different parts of DDi?
/sigh
We were waiting for that?
Better to get a "nothing to report" update than for the updates to stop completely.
That basically was a "nothing to report" report. 75% of it was about a RPG session. Do these new admins from WOTC know what this report is suposted to be about?
Or, are they willing to tell the visitors of the website what these purpose of them is, so people do not think it is for one thing, when it is actually for another.
I just skimmed Solice's post, but didn't see anything that said "no new DDI news this week as there have been no changes that we can discuss/release".
I guess Tiny Adventure's is a part of the "digital D&D gaming", and THAT is what the reports are supposed to be about rather than just DDI and MTGO which the refocusing purpose was for...
Anyhow, chill out, people.
The game I play in has a pali multiclassed into a warlock, and he loves eyebite too. I was really hoping for some news on the character builder though. Even bad news. Only because I'm really excited to get my DM hands on those tools.I actually created a facebook account just to check out Tiny Adventures. Not a bad app at all. It's pretty buggy & the FAQ says it will work on my iPhone, but I can't figure this last part out. It's still pretty cool though. Overloading the server just goes to show how much people want new D&D content.
While the story was pretty good, what I think most of us want is to know when we can start using DDI to its fullest. I really want the gaming table to get going as I have friends overseas that would be fun to play with live instead of play-by-post.
Thanks
Character Builder - I read that it was used to build characters oh-so-easily. Cool, I thought, it must be done and I hadn't heard about it. So I go to look for it, and it's still not up. Why did you have to go and tease me? :D
Tiny Adventures - I didn't really know what this was, so I googled it. Um, quick tip, you might want to throw a link in there to a WotC/Facebook official page for the app. Because the top Google result for 'tiny adventures' (without quotes) leads to a commercial porn site. Yeah.
OK, I liked this #4 article about as much as possible.
Some of you perhaps missed the relevant points because he wrote the article in an very informal style, so I will summarize the article and highlight only the "Real" information like you would all like to see (some of which Randy included unconsciously, or possibly I read too much into):
1. Paragraph 1: He plays D&D like the rest of us. Most people at the office work 10 hour days for 4 days a week, and have at least one 4 hour "play session" which sort of is work.
2. Paragraph 2: Ken Troop plays D&D too. In fact he DMs. He also makes some strange decisions as a DM, but what can Randy do about that as he has to play in his game? (In general not really a positive paragraph).
3. Paragraph 3: He's a real person and plays D&D with real people.
4. Paragraphs 4-8: Yes, he really plays D&D. He is not just "That Magic Guy," he makes real characters and plays real D&D.
5. Paragraph 9: Transition from previous paragraphs. The PHB2 is circulating around the office and is being playtested by staff. The PHB2 has fun and interesting content. The character generator software is basically ready to go live, and Randy personally uses it for his own characters and thinks it's a great program we won't want to be without.
6. Paragraph 10: Yes, there is restructuring as we have read about, but it isn't all a bunch of people being fired for poor performance like you might be led to believe from the message boards. The company is doing it for the quality of the products.
7. Paragraph 11: Tiny Adventures is popular. Its unexpected popularity is partly why many of us were unable to get to try it. There have also been problems with the server, which account for some of the crashing/unavailability issues. He subtly reiterates that the DDI team is NOT involved with Tiny Adventures.
8. Paragraph 12: Tiny Adventures is a good thing, not a bad thing.
9. Paragraph 13: There is another convention they are attending, to again show off their current products. He has not forgotten that the products exist, as he is mentioning them here in the article. Unfortunately, he has nothing more to say about them at this time.
I would like to see more of the "technical difficulties" aspect of things, to show that it sort of isn't the fault of the staff. Also, actual explanations other than "There've been problems" seems to go much further for making people less angry.
I am concerned about Dungeon having not been updated for a long time. There are currently 3 adventures that are scheduled for August in the table of contents but have not been uploaded (at the time of this post).
In order to make the monthly deadline, all three would have to be uploaded within 2 business days, or there will not be a complete issue and thus no compiled Dungeon issue ready on time. I would like to hear about what the problem is specifically with Dungeon, as Dragon got updated just a day or so ago.
If the problem is "There are too many conventions this month" then I think you should pass on to the management team that you can't meet deadlines properly when forced to ship your workers far away for weeks at a time, and they should reconsider how many people they send as representatives to conventions.
I am concerned about Dungeon having not been updated for a long time. There are currently 3 adventures that are scheduled for August in the table of contents but have not been uploaded (at the time of this post).
In order to make the monthly deadline, all three would have to be uploaded within 2 business days, or there will not be a complete issue and thus no compiled Dungeon issue ready on time. I would like to hear about what the problem is specifically with Dungeon, as Dragon got updated just a day or so ago.
I may have missed something somewhere, but I wasn't aware that all of the issues articles (for either magazine) were/had to be posted prior to the issue coming out ...
Edit: I just checked the dungeon page and there is a new article up ...
I may have missed something somewhere, but I wasn't aware that all of the issues articles (for either magazine) were/had to be posted prior to the issue coming out ...
Edit: I just checked the dungeon page and there is a new article up ...
Yes, I also noticed a new one put up about 5 minutes after I posted that one. I was about to make my way back here to edit that information in, but you've already beat me to it :P.
EDIT: You're right that they don't have to put individual links up, it just seems quite likely that would be the normal course of things, and they would upload each article as they had them.
I think there was plenty on topic in that article. There was so little done on DDI last week that Randy had time to play and get a PC killed rather than work.
Unless you mean it sarcastically, the article even says how they don't really work on Fridays, but instead get together to play the game they work on (using their own products and such to test it and know how it works).
As I understand it from the various podcasts, articles and blogs, it is pretty much mandatory for WotC employees in the D&D department to play the game frequently.
Unless you mean it sarcastically, the article even says how they don't really work on Fridays, but instead get together to play the game they work on (using their own products and such to test it and know how it works).
As I understand it from the various podcasts, articles and blogs, it is pretty much mandatory for WotC employees in the D&D department to play the game frequently.
That's what I mean.
I would think they stop for a while and turn Friday into a forums day, where WotC employees must visit their respective forum and read threads and answer questions.
Maybe every other week, that way there would be a LOT more communication going on with the various persons and still give them a chance to
PHB II seems to be a convenient way of stalling release of the product.
Sorry guys not had time to read the whole thread as I've got to shoot to work but has anyone asked why, if character builder is ready/being used, are we not being given a beta of the product for testing? I'm sure we could all get by without the PHB II content for now and Wizards could patch it later?
PHB II seems to be a convenient way of stalling release of the product.
I read someplace the the main reason the character builder is not out yet is it still has stablity issues. Its subject to crashing and they need to make it more stable.
I was very dissapointed with this report. It told the public NOTHING on the status of DDi. It was mostly about one of his personel game sessions.
If my boss came to me and said "Do a report to be given out to the public on the status of this project we are working on that alot of our customers are looking forward to" And the report has info on what I did last weekend and nothing on the status of the project, i'd get fired.
I read someplace the the main reason the character builder is not out yet is it still has stablity issues. Its subject to crashing and they need to make it more stable.
The demo at GenCon didn't crash that I'm aware of - there were, however some issues with data not populating correctly, as well as some UI changes they wanted to make.
However, if those changes are coming along at the pace we're hearing about, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find the software in beta before the end of Setpember (yup, that's right, I'm speculating, but I feel REALLY good about this one).
They haven't needed a beta thus far because they've been aware of what they need to change. This data is wrong, that button doesn't work, etc. If they get those bugs squished, it'll be time to unleash the Gerator on we the slavering public, to let us find what's broken - by letting us run the software through a few hundred thousand different combinations of choices and see what doesn't add up right.
Such is my prediciton, at least.
I was very dissapointed with this report. It told the public NOTHING on the status of DDi. It was mostly about one of his personel game sessions.
If my boss came to me and said "Do a report to be given out to the public on the status of this project we are working on that alot of our customers are looking forward to" And the report has info on what I did last weekend and nothing on the status of the project, i'd get fired.
It may simply be that there's little to report this week. If the status is simply "Yep, we're still working on it" well, that'll take two lines and now - why bother with a report.
Instead he took the time to do a little grandstanding, a peek inside his mind, if only to keep in the practice of writing a weekly report.
I, for one, much prefer the weekly report to a "M'eh - nothing to report this week, maybe next week" attitude.
Oh, and as for getting fired, you must have a harsh boss. If I pulled the same stunt, I'd get reprimanded, and likely a few odd looks from anyone else reading the report, but I'd hardly get fired for one poor report.
...
If not, feel free to comment in the thread for this article on what things you’d like me to talk about in upcoming weeks.
I saw the builder at GenCon, and I'm looking forward to using it, hopefully soon. It worked well enough for me to make my RPGA character and level him up, just a couple of minor bugs in the printout. You mentioned the PHB II and how the data wasn't integrated yet, and it doesn't need to be for a few more months yet, how easy will it be for you to integrate the new data? Have you built in-house tools to allow easy editing and importing of new game info into the database? How soon after the release of PHB II is the Builder likey to have the new toys?
Also, with the Dragon and Dungeon Mags slated to move to subscription only, maybe you can address some of the concerns and sugguestions folks have, such as updated articles, higher res / larger scale maps.
Also, with the Dragon and Dungeon Mags slated to move to subscription only, maybe you can address some of the concerns and sugguestions folks have, such as updated articles, higher res / larger scale maps.
Or even timely updates instead of leaving many of the articles to the last days of the month.
It may simply be that there's little to report this week. If the status is simply "Yep, we're still working on it" well, that'll take two lines and now - why bother with a report.
Instead he took the time to do a little grandstanding, a peek inside his mind, if only to keep in the practice of writing a weekly report.
I, for one, much prefer the weekly report to a "M'eh - nothing to report this week, maybe next week" attitude.
This is more or less my own attitude.
My husband says "thank you", Randy, for Tiny Adventures. I however regret mentioning it to him since the heartfelt moan on losing four levels on Monday. :P
It may simply be that there's little to report this week. If the status is simply "Yep, we're still working on it" well, that'll take two lines and now - why bother with a report.
I would like them to say in the report "Nothing new or exciting this week. But things are still moving along." In the report. It at least shows the staff at WOTC are still communcating with us on the matter. We got nothing from them on DDi for 2 months when 4th ed launched. They need to keep the public up to date on the status of the different DDi.
I would have liked that in the report instead of a recap of one of his personel game sessions. I expected something about DDi, not a recap of a game session.
The existence of the DDI #4 is an indication that they are still working on it.
That's what I mean.
I would think they stop for a while and turn Friday into a forums day, where WotC employees must visit their respective forum and read threads and answer questions.
Maybe every other week, that way there would be a LOT more communication going on with the various persons and still give them a chance togoof offplaytest new things for their respective games.
Actually, Hellmute, what you REALLY missed was that they play the game on their time off. This is actually an afterwork experience they are sharing with us. WOTC would have a hard time paying all the fines to the labor board if they told their employees what activities they had to do on their time off. Quit being angry and read things, silly. When your angry you miss things through all the squinting.
Actually, Hellmute, what you REALLY missed was that they play the game on their time off. This is actually an afterwork experience they are sharing with us. WOTC would have a hard time paying all the fines to the labor board if they told their employees what activities they had to do on their time off. Quit being angry and read things, silly. When your angry you miss things through all the squinting.
They make games. Time spent playing on payroll could easily be written off as "R&D" or "Testing"
They make games. Time spent playing on payroll could easily be written off as "R&D" or "Testing"
I also would hope they DO get paid for playtesting as this puts the added pressure to make sure it is a quality product, than doing so on their time off where they don't risk losing pay for not doing a quality job.
So I hope it is NOT just on their time off, but during actual expected working hours for their salary.
Either way, they could have time dedicated to the forums once a week/whatever where the actual developers not only read the forums but reply to some things.
This both helps them know what the people are looking for from here, and get an idea of what they want or what to errata next.
Plus the forums become more than just chatting grounds for random users and become a stronger communication point.
90% of the anger about things such as DDI is because the refussal to give any information on it or communicate.
The damage has been done, and it will be hard for ANY new staffer to come to the forums without getting their head chewed off for a bit because of what has transpired over the past year.
You aren't just going to hand wave away the customer dissatisfaction the past year caused, so your best option is to get to resolving it as fast as possible.
Best way is ACTUAL presence on the forums rather than anonymous Q&A's that a VCL could make up the answers for and nobody know the difference.
Those WotC employees just need to get their hands dirty and jump into the forums, as the longer you wait the worse it will be. Kind of like pulling a bandaid off slowly rather than just ripping it off. Get it done and over with so things will get better quicker.
They make games. Time spent playing on payroll could easily be written off as "R&D" or "Testing"
Clearly some playtest occurred during work based on some WotC employees' comments. After all it tends to be easier to have a full party when they need to be on site in order to earn a living. This last game however appeared to off hours and not required duty. People that work for WotC or at least D&D department clearly can having a personal interest in playing the game on their own time.
I also would hope they DO get paid for playtesting as this puts the added pressure to make sure it is a quality product, than doing so on their time off where they don't risk losing pay for not doing a quality job.
As a forumite, I'm all for getting more WotC employees to spend a little time in the forums, however, I dunno that I want them to do it because they "have to".
Don't misunderstand - there are a number of key people who should have it as part of their job duties to be here on a regular basis. Project leaders and decision makers are chief among this list.
However, even then, I'd prefer they come to the forums because they *want* to be here. That tells me they're going to be a lot more open and receptive to what's being said (and perhaps taking the time to find the shred of constructive criticism in otherwise scathing hate-rants).
If they're only coming here because they "have to" they're likely going to read a few posts, find some of the more vitriolic bits, turn up their noses, and go back to doing another project instead. If they post at all it'll be a quick one-line reply to one or two posts and then "job done".
I'd also like it to be more than once every other week, if there were some mandatory forum use. Two weeks is a long time on these boards. I know it can take me quite a while to catch up if I have a busy weekend. Going two weeks will likely cause a lot of "Mark Forum Read" abuse.
Of course, as long as we're wishing, I also want a pony. ;)
It may be discouraging for them to read some of the things said, but think of the users/customers that have been discouraged for a year because of lack of information.
Some times you just have to grit your teeth and do what needs to be done.
That's the job of the Customer Service department.
I also doubt they would be legally allowed to tell us much useful, and if they slipped out info that they weren't supposed to, or wasn't finalized, or ends up being changed, then they just get flamed more for making mistakes or "lying."
Best thing to do for this would be to have someone inside go around and get answers from the developers, and then assemble that into something usable.
I'm not really sure what peoples' issues were with GamerZero, but he actually got answers in the form of his YouTube things (though a bit later than would be hoped sometimes). I hope they have someone to replace that aspect.
If you want to know something about a story change coming up or about an adventure that you don't understand the plot of, you probably need to seek James Wyatt for the answer. Assuming he worked on that adventure....
Customer Service is just guessing like everyone else most of the time, and you can see that from the responses to rules questions. Ask 3 different CSRs get 3 different answers. That is not helpful, and especially detrimental in regards to DDI. There has been enough misconfusion caused be people that really don't know what they are talking about, the people that DO know need to come in and clear things up.
Example: WotC_DM at 1am PST was on the forums answering questions last night. Coaxed by GZ or Solice to do so at ANY point, does not mean that his efforts go unnoticed, and why MANY people like his presence on the forums.
There is actual communication and answers to concerns and questions coming form him.
There is little bitterness towards him after the time he HAS spent already on the forums, and this proves my point.
In the beginning there was some that saw him as a random name and WotC coming out of nowhere, but when the answers started flowing form him he EARNED respect from the community for if nothing else, the effort to answer peoples questions.
I think the same would happen to ALL WotC staffers, if they would put forth the effort to visit the forums and become a part of the community THEY are trying to create through the product they make as part of their jobs, rather than appearing to be outsiders just in it for money form the job.
So the sooner others appear and actually participate in discussions about ANYTHING, then the more quickly those other staff members will earn the respect of the community and a better response from both sides would be had.
Also the mannerisms of how things are posted as several staffers that do appear often have done damage from how they speak TO the customers.
YouTube is useless, and if that is where everything is done, then the forums should close down. Let YouTube foot the bills. GZ was starting to work witht he community, but it may have been a case of too little too late, as many feel about DDI in general.
Peple want to have WotC staffers in here answering their questions...
as long as the answers that they are being given are the answers that they want to hear. As soon as information is given that people don't like, the attack mode starts up again.
Note that I am not saying that people should not express displeasure at plans of WotC that they don't like. However, there is a clear difference between expressing dislike of a plan, and attacking them.
You've got a good premise. Customers want answers, and the Company should do something to answer them (usually).
However, your methods are flawed. Say we get a developer here on the forums. Someone who spends his day coding the Character Builder. He's told he has to spend 1 hour each week on the forums. He comes to the forums. He spends 25 minutes reading through crap-posts (insults, flame wars, non-constructive critisism, non-constructive cheerleading, complaints about something that was fixed last week) that doesn't matter to him, trying to find something relevant to his job to reply to. He spends 25 minutes looking at questions that are good posts, but don't relate to him (feature request for compendium(not his project), requests for data changes, playtest feedback on rules), which he tries to forward to the appropriate person, but can't do anything about himself. He then spends 10 minutes replying to the posts that are actually directed to him.
He's wasted 50 minutes that he could've spent working on his actual project. Clearly, this is not a very effective solution.
Lets try option B. Have the project manager for the Character Builder spend an hour a week on the forums. He still spends 25 minutes on crap-posts. He still spends 25 minutes on questions that are good posts but don't relate to him. And he still spends 10 minutes on posts that are relevant to his position. But now, the 50 minutes that he's wasted are coming at the rate of $40/hr for a project manager salary instead of the $30/hr for a developer salary. (i grossly estimate those figures).
Again, this is not a very good solution.
Customer Support people are usually the answer turned to at this point. They are low-wage workers, who aren't paid enough to matter if they waste 30 minutes on crap posts. They can filter the crap posts, and reply to any good post that they can answer with a pre-written script (i.e. How many HP does a fighter get at first level?). Any good posts they can't answer, they relay up to a level 2 CSR (thats Customer Service Representative). This level 2 CSR will get paid more, answer anything he can, or repetitive questions that were asked before('What are the System Requirements for DDI?'), and forwards the ones he can't to the appropriate developer('I'm getting an Access Violation at Address #FFCD54. What do I do?') or project manager('What was the reason that you decided not to support Macs?'). We now have a CSR1 making $10/hr, and a CSR2 making $15/hr. Much cheaper than earlier solutions, but now, we have a large amount of delay time, between CSR1 evaluating the question, CSR2 evaluating it, and finally, a dev or proj mgr evaluating it and answering. For most businesses, this system makes sense. Here's the down-side. Communication between CSR1, 2 and the devs or proj mgr can easily break down, causing even more delays, and sometimes, and even different answers to the same question. In a worst-case scenario, we even get mis-information. Not a perfect solution, but possibly the most cost effective.
So whats the optimal solution? Unfortunately, I don't know. The closest I've come is really close to what we have now. The idea is to have someone(community manager? Solice?) who serves the function of a CSR1 and a CSR2 all at once. They filter out the crap, and they directly take good questions to the appropriate person, and directly bring responses back. Ideally, they are much more active, and much more knowledgeable than a typical CSR1 or 2. With a community this large though, one person can't do it all, so the VCLs take on the role of volunteer CSR1s. They do what they can to bring important posts to the attention of the higher ups. Its still not a perfect system, but given how complex the whole thing is, it seems to be the best we've got.
The trolls answered questions there, but when criticisms about the game changes came about the trolls were not very helpful, and had no real answers as they do not make the rules for the game. So the community was not very pleased with this attitude and it devolved with the trolls fighting the users.
*Trolls are the GW CSRs, and that is what GW calls them even to this day when you call to speak to one. That is their "title" as it were. No matter if it is a rules question, or a question about an online order. You speak to the GW trolls.
Funny when you think about it form the forums perspective...
Anyway, want to run some forum like a business, then better be paying me my 6 cents per word that I post just like any other submission to WotC.
hellmute, I agree with you up to a point.
Peple want to have WotC staffers in here answering their questions...
as long as the answers that they are being given are the answers that they want to hear. As soon as information is given that people don't like, the attack mode starts up again.
Note that I am not saying that people should not express displeasure at plans of WotC that they don't like. However, there is a clear difference between expressing dislike of a plan, and attacking them.
Different people want to hear different answers, that is to be expected, for example I could not care one bit about VOIP. I run my box silent, except for the fan. That does not mean I will be upset about an answer about sound bugs and fixes, I can understand other users want those features.
Oh yes plan changes certainly can become an issue, has been concerning release date, however most of the complaints I have seen is either not telling anything or telling something that was promised and has not occurred yet.
The forums that users are a part of is NOT a business. CS does nothing here but moderate. Therefore the forums are NOT and should not be treated as a business.
Anyway, want to run some forum like a business, then better be paying me my 6 cents per word that I post just like any other submission to WotC.
I'll respectfully disagree. Every time WotC_Cort gives an update about the compendium... every time WotC_DM answers a question from a user... every time a moderator stops a flamewar and helps constructive discussion continue, thats Customer Service in action. Customer Service is a very important part in business, and if you ignore it, your business is going to have a very difficult time being successful.
Also, why would WotC pay you to answer your questions and respond to your feedback? They are not re-selling your posts for a profit, like they would with an article or adventure. If anything, you are costing them money every time you post, in terms of bandwidth, storage space on servers, and time spent by paid moderators, or employees who respond to you.
Fortunately, my sub-standard ramblings are free of charge! :D
He can't figure out how to do things with his own software and claims because he cannot, that "it" cannot be done.
Too many times in the past have IT tried pulling this in various places, and the people doing it only caused damage to the company.
DO NOT act like your consumers are a bunch of computer illiterate retards!
I'd think you'd be a fan of his because of his presence here.
I find that hard to believe. Cort has been nothing but respectful. In fact, he's one of the developers who have been coming around, and taking feedback, giving information.
I'd think you'd be a fan of his because of his presence here.
Except that a programmer that doesn't even know the errors in the environment they are using, then comes out and claims things cannot be done because they don't know how and won't RTFM to even find out where the errors come form in the first place when they have documented errors to check even though they cannot duplicate them because they failed to noticed something like a patch to some browser.
First RTFM, and go look for an error when you are given documentation on it rather than say you don't know why the error was given.
Know your programming environment, and what it can do without trying to tell people it cannot be done because you failed to RTFM and don't know how.
WotC_DM doesn't go into details or handle tech questions per say, but Cort did in a wrong manner, that ruffled more than just MY feathers.
Presence is one thing as long as you don't come form the company and treat your customers like Cort "LW" Odekirk did in regards to some things.
When you are talking technical aspects be ready that some people may be able to call your bluffs.
And even if he did screw up, That is no excuse to say that every time he opens his mouth, he insults people and treats them like they're stupid. Thats just disrespectful, insulting, and borderline inflamatory to someone who is, from everything I've seen, trying very hard to keep us informed about the areas of DDI that he knows about.
Ok, so he made a mistake. Everyone does.
Thats no excuse to say he insults people and treats them like they're stupid.
His mistake did just that, insult the intelligence of the users of this forum that may also know a little something about computers. Myself a hobby webpage maker was able to do a Google search to find out what the reason for the error was, and why it was given. From there it is probably a simple looking at the code to tell where that error was being generated, or check the server logs and find out the line that returned the error and fix the problem.
This lead to another mistake, which in a few minds leads to wondering if he is even competent for the job.
If the person talking down to the community is going to make such critical errors in thinking and THIS is the person making the software, then you have to question if that software will be of any value.
I get it that they may have been busy and all that, but when in doubt and you have a documented error even if you can't reproduce it, that is when one of the few major rules of computers kicks in: KISS, GIGO, and RTFM.
Discuss Digital Insider #4, not a developer who has been answering questions ont he board.
Bring the discussion back on topic please.
Discuss Digital Insider #4, not a developer who has been answering questions ont he board.
Gladly, how about some content in the update?
Probably not exactly the update you came to this column looking for, but it’s my column and I’m telling the story anyway
Wow. A bit of a change from your original plans:
Every week I’ll be posting an update here about the ongoing progress of D&DI.
Are you saying that you guys have had yet another change in plans? I think I'm seeing a pattern here.
Again, stick a fork in the D&D product line. You guys (WotC) rocked the gaming world with 3rd edition, but everything since has been either a tease, a marketing ploy, an over-priced piece o' crap, or a nauseating combination of the three.
Thank you, Randy, for your "it's my column" comment. That speaks volumes. I would never say that to my customers, it's a slap in the face. Not cool, Buehler.
I have an idea for a new wondrous item:
Buehler's Big Bag O' Nuthin
Description:
Think of it as a Bag of Holding, only it's always empty, or like a Bag of Devouring, only it won't accept input.
Challenge Rating: Impossible
Uses: The sale of this wondrous item transfers assets from the buyer to the seller, thereby feeding him/her for another day. No other known uses or applications.
Thank you, Randy, for your "it's my column" comment. That speaks volumes. I would never say that to my customers, it's a slap in the face. Not cool, Buehler.
I didn't mind that comment. I took it like it certainly was meant; a light joke.
This goes back off topic a bit, but as I was saying before the best people to deal with the public are CSRs, as they are somewhat trained in placating everyone and not causing misunderstandings in communication. Unfortunately CSRs don't tend to know much "actual" information.
Randy is an employee who "volunteered" (perhaps not in the strictest sense) to share information with us. He is just a guy who knows some more things about the inside workings than we do, and is writing an article to share some info.
Don't look into his words anymore than you would with a coworker from another department sending you an email -- there's no sense searching for hidden vitriol because you should know anything you found would likely be unintentional.
Also keep in mind that you can't easily pick up social cues like hints of sarcasm via the printed word (without heavy use of emoticons) -- that's a phenomenon all of us who use forums should be clearly aware of. It's best to assume no ill intentions were present.
There was so little done on DDI last week that Randy had time to play and get a PC killed rather than work.
Clearly implying that playing the game is not work (which it is and isn't, I'm sure a great deal of playtesting never happens "on the clock", anyways, as they probably take the game to play with friends and test as well.)
Then:
I would think they stop for a while and turn Friday into a forums day, where WotC employees must visit their respective forum and read threads and answer questions.
I also would hope they DO get paid for playtesting as this puts the added pressure to make sure it is a quality product, than doing so on their time off where they don't risk losing pay for not doing a quality job.
And remember this is in response to an article in which Randy mentioned playing on Fridays after he was off work.
All I'm saying is, you blasted the article for telling you that they played the game, which you interpreted as during work hours and got angry for not accomplishing anything, and then you insist that they play the game and read the forums during work hours?
I do think that they should do "some" forum reading to understand what is being asked out there, even if this is through a CSR who filters the information (much more efficient method), and I think they should playtest at work as it's measured to fit into their schedule by the management, as well as get to take things home and play with friends for a fresh perspective.
All I'm wondering is should we take a minute to injest the thoughts we have while reading the articles and forums before getting all fired up about things. Especially if we want them to read our thoughts and take them seriously.
NDA: don't speak about this....
Payment: product X from product line Y that is laying around the office.
If they are the only ones playing the games with no outside influence for testing new material, then the opinions and ideas can quickly get stagnant.
This is why many companies get people from the outside to test things like, tastes, smells, shape, etc.
I would hope for its placement there are gamers aroudn that area that would help to make the games not stagnate by only being tested by WotC's 400 employees.
Since there is other options for testing the games, and getting to know them and how consumers play them (the forums...), then coming to the forums part of the time to answer questions or respond to things could easily be a part of that playtime.
I mean the REAL forums, not some closed blog where people are hiding away from the real discussions.
as for the forums: well, not everyone likes hanging out with people insulting or yelling at them. there should be someone to report and do community business, as we have it now - but maybe they should have a bit more of information. e.g. a newsguide is only as good as the background information he has.
"What luck for rulers, that men do not think."
Well the one in charge SHOULD have knowledge of the programs and such they are in charge of.
Ya think?!
Well the one in charge SHOULD have knowledge of the programs and such they are in charge of. How else can they tell if the job is being done?
having knowledge of the results required, and the schedule, does nothing to judge the progress, unfortunately. developing software is not like building a car, you can't just say from the outside: ok, the tires are missing and the curbs, just build them into the car and tomorrow it will go live. the larger the company/project the worse this gets.
example:
say, you have 10 developers working on each product. makes around 40 for what ddi will deliver. add 2 project managers per project and 10-20 testers to the mix, and you can see: the one in charge of all this, will never have a complete insight as he can't talk to them all. all he can do is meet up with the managers, and ask them what the status of the project is. even if this was just 2 hours per week, it's already a whole workday just talking about product status (and he has other fish to fry, like schedules). If these managers talk to their programmers about one hour per week, they'll have a bit of insight about what is happening on this concrete workers schedule. so, they'll be working another workday just to update their status so they can tell randy what's up. and that's only the current work of the programmers. they'll likely have to coordinate the testers, programmers and all other schedules as well.
While i agree, that it's frustrating to hear nothing, i see it as nothing unusual. Software development simply does not work like construction. Many times, you just need to trust your developers, and hope they'll deliver on time. Intermediate products are hard to judge, like telling the top speed of said prototype car without testing it.
IF they spend time on Friday to play the games for whatever reason, and are NOT working on DDI, then they should have time to come ot the forums and respond to people on them but cutting the time they spend playing. If they aren't working on DDI anyway and just doing something else, the more productive for the community seems to be a better one, as they could "hire" people to playtest new things for them.
Wow, just wow. You do know that because you're never happy hellmute that WotC probably doesn't even think of you as a prospective customer, because no matter what they do their ability to provide a service is never going to fall in line with your desires, right?
These people are putting in 40 hour work weeks. 9 hours on Monday-Thursday and 4 hours on Friday. This is not an unusual scheduling practice, especially during the summer. They decided to play D&D afterwork on Friday. Why? Maybe because they like D&D? Maybe they got jobs there because they like these kinds of games and like playing them? You honestly want them to not play D&D on their weekend and instead come onto these forums so you can tell them everything they do is wrong? What kind of monster are you man? Would you like me to come to you on your weekend and tell you that you need to can your weekly D&D game and go do a four hour stint as community liason each week? I think not.
As for playtesting. Yeah, of course that happens. They work at WotC, the in progress versions of new content is sitting right there at the office. Of course some if not all of them use it. It's there. If you had the test version of PHB2 in your hands wouldn't you use it? Would you really think of that as work? It's more of a benefit of working there.
Also people on salary are not bound to 40 hours and may even get Chinese overtime or none at all.
As a former radio jock, I had to go and do some improvisation activities occassionally (whihc wasa lot of fun) as a part of my job. Same thing with doing research to keep up with Pop culture events and political events as well.
Playing the game is a part of their job. I understand that.
9 hours days = 1 hour lunches.... care to try again with your math?
Also people on salary are not bound to 40 hours and may even get Chinese overtime or none at all.
usually, one doesn't count his lunch break to his working hours.
that aside, a 40 hour week is not that big a deal. i'm guessing most of the software department over there is more likely doing 60-80 hour weeks so ddi can get ready. just because the designers and dnd developers have 40h/week, does not mean everyone does.
as for playing dnd: they are playing dnd in the workhours for testing purposes as well, but this friday stuff seems to be their hobby-game, with nothing else in mind than fun.
usually, one doesn't count his lunch break to his working hours.
that aside, a 40 hour week is not that big a deal. i'm guessing most of the software department over there is more likely doing 60-80 hour weeks so ddi can get ready. just because the designers and dnd developers have 40h/week, does not mean everyone does.
as for playing dnd: they are playing dnd in the workhours for testing purposes as well, but this friday stuff seems to be their hobby-game, with nothing else in mind than fun.
During working hours you should be working, not goofing off, so it still stands. Some time on Friday could be devoted to communicating WITH and as a PART OF the community which is the WotC forums.
randyb has made a few posts.
IF they acted more like part of the community and less like outsiders, again, it would go a long way to improve community relations.
you're the weirdest person i've ever encountered.
-wb does not consider playtesting "goofing off"
If the problem is "There are too many conventions this month" then I think you should pass on to the management team that you can't meet deadlines properly when forced to ship your workers far away for weeks at a time, and they should reconsider how many people they send as representatives to conventions.
As a semi-retired programmer, let me add that going to trade shows was always part business and part entertainment and that it was often a special perk for top-performing employees. Thus, if some of the systems development staff are showing off their new toys at Gen Con and elsewhere, then let them be: they are the best sales people that Wizards has in this field.
The Gen Con 2008 YouTube videos suggested that Character Builder and Character Visualizer would probably go "live" sometime before the end of calendar year 2008, with the seldom mentioned Character Vault appearing also within that time frame. The Game Table and, presumably, the Dungeon Builder (along with a Dungeon Vault?) will not go "live" until 2009 or later. Are these still the best estimates for when the various parts of D&DI will go "live"?
I have also noticed a mention that Power Card sets for the various books will be on sale sometime in 2009. Is there any preliminary information as to what the purchase price for a card set will be?
huh? so you'd rather have dnd-related comments in a forum than playtesting?
you're the weirdest person i've ever encountered.
-wb does not consider playtesting "goofing off"
Since DDI and its Game table will not adjudicate the rules, I would rather that those people not spend 4 hours EVERY Friday playing the latest D&D material, but maybe spend osme time visiting the forums and letting people know what is going on with the current DDI project if even the smallest details.
Example: WotC_DM spends time taking actual screenshots of the Game Table, and presenting them as attachments to his posts so people can see what things look like.
So far I have barely seen a screenshot of the Character Builder, and it is supposed to be the next tool out of the gate.
There have been quite a few looks at the visualizer, but it won't do much except let people paly with it, and form the crippleware state they want to make it in the free version will mean even LESS that it will provide, where those screenshots of the things NOT included give people a taste of what to look forward to from the full version versus the crippleware demo version.
Surely there must be a few people that have actual acces to the tools, and can be posting results and things to let people know where they are.
"We got the dragonborn completed today and here are some sample screenshots of the process for using the Character builder to produce one......"
That would be a great thing to promote DDI rather than the whole everything is secret and hush-=hush attitude that is ******* a lot of people off that want to know SOMETHING is being done.
WotC_DM shouldn't be the ONLY one providing this information, nor should TomO about the encounter builder or other bonus tools.
Screenshots and tidbits of CORRECT information goes a long way in regards to giving vital information to prospective customers of a digital product.
During working hours you should be working, not goofing off, so it still stands. Some time on Friday could be devoted to communicating WITH and as a PART OF the community which is the WotC forums.
When you are a programmer, you are working on the project 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year; your mind is always focused on wringing the last nanosecond of wasted processor time out of the application, of buffering and safeguarding the application against every possible, as well as a few impossible, data entry error. Even when the application is done, your mind will still wander back to it. The systems staff is not, repeat NOT, goofing off.
When you are a programmer, you are working on the project 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year; your mind is always focused on wringing the last nanosecond of wasted processor time out of the application, of buffering and safeguarding the application against every possible, as well as a few impossible, data entry error. Even when the application is done, your mind will still wander back to it. The systems staff is not, repeat NOT, goofing off.
Yes, I am a complete retard and know nothing of this Cort.
If you are away from your desk and playing around a conference table a session or encounter of 4th when an idea or answer comes up, then you are screwed. Unless you get up and run to a computer real quick and start typing things in so you don't forget, or have a laptop their to disrupt the session so you really can't be playtesting the new material for product X.
If you are in a new window/tab/whatever in your browser on the computer and an answer or idea pops up, you just switch applications and dig into the DDI development.
ERGO: goofing off when away form the computer that is NOt a restroom break. You may substitue goofing off with screwing around, wasting time, whatever.
The fact you are NOT near a machine capable of doing the work when something hits you, is the point I am making.
I doubt WotC_DM is still in the office at 1 am when he replies sometimes on the forums.
This either means he has outside access to his work form home, or is working on a copy of it in some form, or has purposefully prepared some things for that midnight trip to the bathroom or midnight snack that he could jump online and provide for us before passing back out to sleep to wake up at 4 am to go into work and start the day all over again.
1) Adding extra programmers to a project that is already late simply makes that project even more late.
2) Some activities take a set amount of time, no matter how many people you assign to the activity.
Since DDI and its Game table will not adjudicate the rules, I would rather that those people not spend 4 hours EVERY Friday playing the latest D&D material, but maybe spend osme time visiting the forums and letting people know what is going on with the current DDI project if even the smallest details.
you still don't get it, do you? they work for 4 hours. after work, they go to their private play session, which only happens to be in the same building.(wotc seems really friendly in that regard) - forcing them to do anything else IN THEIR FREETIME, is like telling al bundy he cannot go bowling but should instead polish shoes in his freetime. you can only guess what he'd tell you then. i know for a fact, the wotc people are a bit more polite.
Or do you know it and are posting WotC private information on the forums that is a violation of probably not only the CoC, but TOA for the forums as well?
You don't know their hourly schedule, so stop guessing.
Or do you know it and are posting WotC private information on the forums that is a violation of probably not only the CoC, but TOA for the forums as well?
randy wrote as much in his blog. you could start reading the things they give out, instead of just ripping them apart, you know...
but for the sake of it, here it is extracted for you:
Ken Troop put together to play on Friday afternoons at work (which most of the company takes off because most folks work four 9-hour days and then a 4-hour Friday).
so, it's friday afternoon, where everyone takes off, and its at work since all the people playing in it are from wotc. => it is not their working time. q.e.d
"Got that error preventing the Elf from displaying battleaxes correctly while we were looking through the code for half-elves. It turns out one of the components was incorrectly flagged, it was really bothering us a long time. Also, we added 3 more icons to the dropdown menus for selecting a nose."
I think any amount of info like that being posted nearly every single day until launch (months) would make us all write in to have them shut up.
Giving up-to-the-minute progress reports is a colossal waste of time for them to write up as well as for us to read.
And also, any time they seem to make no progress or have to restart a piece from scratch, certain posters would lambaste them for their "incompetence" and "not getting it right the first time." Not worth doing.
1] Master Tools for 3E never came to pass. We got E-Tools instead, which was, well, uh, not worth it, hence its poor sales.
2] 4E has been in the works since 2003; they admitted that when discussing its advent last year.
3] They've had at least half that time to work on this e-stuff, assuming the lightning bolt of inventing DDI didn't strike until, oh, January 2006.
4] The delays continue, facts/excuses/snarky comments by Mr. Buehler notwithstanding.
5] 4E isn't as good as 3E, despite 3E's flaws. Drink all the tainted "Newer automatically means better, because the people selling me this tripe say so" Kool-Aid you want.
6] $14.95 per month for what is currently free -- but with a lofty promise that "more is coming" -- is going to sucker a few people, but if won't carry the product line/ company. Most gamers, by nature are unreliable and often broke, so a $100 annual purchase probably doesn't happen too often.
7] What's been FREE hasn't been that good, and to see a person tasked with putting out this alleged computer-type stuff say "it's my column" is a rather poor comment to make from a PR standpoint.
7B] As a poker player, I've heard enough bad-beat stories to last 10 lifetimes. I don't really give a rat's red rump how your lizard got killed. Dragonborn are one of three races in the 4E Player's Handbook which should be in the Monster Manual anyway.
8] There is no 8.
9] No matter what WotC does, they won't please everyone. However, they need to shoot for, oh, 60 percent, and when I go into my FLGS and see 3.5 game here, 3.5 game there, Magic over there and Battletech over there -- and the half-off price reduction for 3.5 stuff being DISCONTINUED due to brisk sales -- then I'm not buying the "4E is the future" thing.
10] Yeah, it's a business. But that's not supposed to be the catch-22 excuse when the public (i.e., the schmoes paying your salary) want to know when they can buy your product. How many people want to know when the next piece of junk Hummer is coming out? Do you think Microsoft gets bombarded with queries about the arrival date of their next operating system? Consider that for a moment. People -- like hellmute, despite your maligning him as a supposed malcontent -- are not only asking, they're asking repeatedly about this stuff. Not because they want something to kvetch about, but because they want a REASON TO BUY WotC's STUFF!
I personally haven't spent a penny of my income on 4E; I have used gift certs earned by doing surveys online and bought the stuff at deep discounts on Amazon. In retrospect, I'm glad I decided that 12 1/2 months ago when the "4DVENTURE" screen appeared on the WotC site the night of Gen Con 2007's big announcement.
Defend it or not, the fact that WotC has done a lot of promising and not much in the way of delivery, much less timely delivery, of its electronic products over the years is pretty obvious. And I for one will not pay for something that wasn't that great free.
Randy, if you can still read this forum without getting dizzy, let me say that I enjoyed hearing about your game with Ken, both because it showed me you all play the game, which I would've guessed but it's comforting to read, and because I enjoyed that you don't all necessarily follow the rules when playing with each other, but have "house rules". I've always thought that Role-playing games have to be adapted by the individual to suit their own group's taste. I know it talks extensively about that in the DMG, but it would suck to know that all of you are a bunch of "rules lawyers". The game needs the growth that everyone bending the rules a bit can provide.
Randy, if you can still read this forum without getting dizzy, let me say that I enjoyed hearing about your game with Ken, both because it showed me you all play the game, which I would've guessed but it's comforting to read, and because I enjoyed that you don't all necessarily follow the rules when playing with each other, but have "house rules". I've always thought that Role-playing games have to be adapted by the individual to suit their own group's taste. I know it talks extensively about that in the DMG, but it would suck to know that all of you are a bunch of "rules lawyers". The game needs the growth that everyone bending the rules a bit can provide.
Again, my issue with the DDi report was the fact he used the report as his personel blog for a game session. I enjoy hearing about a good game session as much as the next guy, but that was not the place for it. It was suposted to be a place to tell the public about the status of DDi. That report had nothing about DDi.
We know he likes to play DnD or he would not be working at WOTC.
When I heared that they didn't even have the effect texts in at Gen Con, I assumed we will probably will have to wait at least until November to get the Character Builder.
Fact:
5] 4E isn't as good as 3E, despite 3E's flaws. Drink all the tainted "Newer automatically means better, because the people selling me this tripe say so" Kool-Aid you want.
This is not a fact but an opinion.
$14.95 per month for what is currently free
This is wrong. Subscription price is about $5 per month for what is currently free. It's $15 for current content plus the client apps.
Thanks,
Hdier
I think that the digital content is probably worth $30/year not $120. However, since v 4 was announced, I've been waiting to see how well the digital tools work. It remains to be seen when WotC can get their proposed features online. As of now, we're just waiting, hoping that there won't be a charge until a month or two after the features are available so we can play with them and see how they work. I'd be thrilled if I could game online with other players, but I'm not sure that WotC can pull it off successfully.
Keep up the good work guys, just realize that some of us can't so easily part with $120/year for online services when books like the Forgotten Realms v4 guide cost $40. I've already spend a few $$$ on stuff this year so we can transition from 3.5 to 4., but I'm about at the end of what I'm willing to spend on what is supposed to be a fun and rewarding hobby, not just a costly expense.
You are free to disagree with each other. But avoid the personal stuff. Thanks.