Encounter Builder Improvements! - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Encounter Builder Improvements!

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
EldradWolfsbane
Apr 30, 2009 5:32:26 Wow an encounter builder that builds encounters but has no STAT BLOCKS for the encounter.

How great this feature would be for me to build an encounter and it have the monsters listed WITH the stat blocks of the Monsters.

DDI please work on it.
#2
lomerell_dawnbringer
Apr 30, 2009 6:15:00 It's a "bonus" tool. WOTC doesn't want you to seriously analyze its flaws or shortcomings, it exists solely to pacify us that they haven't kept their word on other projects, and to make the barebones DnD "INSIDER" look less like 1 database + character builder, and more like a Suite of useful software tools.

It's obvious to any DM who tries the DnDI Encounter Builder that it falls far short of other tools already designed by others to do the same and more, even using interfaces as simple as Microsoft Excel. If WOTC didn't have the foresight -- and knowledge of how the game is played and what info DMs need -- when they first created the Encounter builder, I doubt they will acquire that knowledge and foresight anytime soon.
#3
Dane_McArdy
Apr 30, 2009 6:31:23
Wow an encounter builder that builds encounters but has no STAT BLOCKS for the encounter.

How great this feature would be for me to build an encounter and it have the monsters listed WITH the stat blocks of the Monsters.

DDI please work on it.

If you click on the eye icon to the left of the monster, a pop up window with all the stats comes up, and you can cut and paste those.
#4
mudbunny
Apr 30, 2009 8:05:04
It's a "bonus" tool. WOTC doesn't want you to seriously analyze its flaws or shortcomings, it exists solely to pacify us that they haven't kept their word on other projects, and to make the barebones DnD "INSIDER" look less like 1 database + character builder, and more like a Suite of useful software tools.

It's obvious to any DM who tries the DnDI Encounter Builder that it falls far short of other tools already designed by others to do the same and more, even using interfaces as simple as Microsoft Excel. If WOTC didn't have the foresight -- and knowledge of how the game is played and what info DMs need -- when they first created the Encounter builder, I doubt they will acquire that knowledge and foresight anytime soon.

The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium.
#5
Dane_McArdy
Apr 30, 2009 8:15:17
The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium.

But wouldn't it be neat if they took that base and made it more so?''

Oh wait, I bet they are, as part of the campaign manager. I answered my own question.
#6
klausgreen
Apr 30, 2009 8:23:29
The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium.

Can't help laugh at the fact that one who actually got something done and delivered above and beyond what was expected is now an "ex-employee".
#7
Kentinal
Apr 30, 2009 17:37:46
Can't help laugh at the fact that one who actually got something done and delivered above and beyond what was expected is now an "ex-employee".

*sighs* I would cry.
#8
Kilsek_of_Sheverash
Apr 30, 2009 17:50:06 Yes, it's a half-way solution right now to an actual Combat Tracker/Encounter Manager.

This gives you step 1: building encounters, which is helpful.

Ultimately, the best solution is to export all that encounter information automatically right into an Encounter Manager template.

Right now, I do all this manually, and it is the #1 most time-consuming "work" for me as DM in the entire game. I do it because, well, encounters are the heart of D&D, and I need a tool to run and organize combat information (initiative, hit points, all those conditions, etc.) quickly and clearly. The right technology can clearly make this repetitive but critical "busy work" task literally take seconds.

What DM doesn't want that?

Hopefully, the Campaign Manager they're focusing on now addresses this glaring digital gap in encounter construction and management.
#9
Dane_McArdy
Apr 30, 2009 18:59:55
Can't help laugh at the fact that one who actually got something done and delivered above and beyond what was expected is now an "ex-employee".

Course, you don't know if they moved onto a different job because it was a move up.

It's like when Dave Eckleberry at DDO left. All these rumors and specutaltions. Until it was found out he left because he got a job at Lucasarts, which worked with his desire to move to California. No office to Turbine that makes DDO, but Turbine over Lucasarts?

If the person left for a better job, and was so amazing, it's really hard to replace a person like that.
#10
Paulon
Apr 30, 2009 20:55:11 He got sacked in the last round of layoffs - the one which also got rid of the people who were managing to turn around some of the ill-feeling about how badly WotC was mismanaging their PR. I hope he did get a better job and quickly, but from the timing it wasn't voluntary termination.
#11
Dane_McArdy
May 01, 2009 8:37:24
He got sacked in the last round of layoffs - the one which also got rid of the people who were managing to turn around some of the ill-feeling about how badly WotC was mismanaging their PR. I hope he did get a better job and quickly, but from the timing it wasn't voluntary termination.

Did he come here and say that? Did WoTC say that?

I ask because any company that anounces who got laid off/fired is quickly going to have lawsuit. The most a company can say is, they no longer work here.

Most likely it wasn't voluntary, I'm not saying it couldn't have been. Just that we don't know, and certainly WoTC hasn't said anything of the sort.

He could have left on his own, if he felt the writting was on the wall. I knew I was going to get laid off, because they were letting ALL project status workers go, because all projects were coming to an end, and new ones were being put on hold.

Since I wanted unemployment, rather then start looking for a new job, I waited. Me and the other half can get by on one person working. So unemployment is still extra money to us. I'm using this time off to learn new things in my field, and build up my art talent.

Just saying...you really don't know. And there is no saying that because he made those bonus tools and let WoTC use them, that he was some awesome employee. Maybe he was very good at what he did, but fought with everyone in the company when he didn't get his way.

Very common in the creative field. Brilliant sometimes equals hard to get along with.
#12
Mock
May 01, 2009 10:48:21
Did he come here and say that?

IIRC, he did say that he was being terminated (WotC did not name anybody). However, again, that's only what I recall. I could be wrong.

Yeah, if I was right, it was "WotC_JoT" (Johnathan Tweet, I guess?), and he posted it here:

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1160685
#13
whitebaron
May 01, 2009 12:21:12 yes, it was tweet who did them, and yes, wotc is off for the worse without him.

what he currently is doing seems to be along the lines of
2009. January. A comfy severance package has me looking forward to taking some time off.

but i'm sure we'll see him return to the rpg industry soon. he's been down that route for far to long.

btw, for those of you ignorant of this: open up your 3e books and look at who was the dnd3e lead designer. you'll find his name there.

its hard to understand why wotc always fires the old, senior staff. but they do.
#14
burntgerbil
May 01, 2009 21:41:05 BTW - I am getting no ability to click on the eye icon of monsters lvl 4 or higher. It asks me to log in when I do, and I enter what I am sure is the right info, and it acts like it is not the right info. I am puzzled.

Same thing goes in the compendium. I can scroll through things quickly - and high level entries are fully absent. a few low level entries were there - like kobold wyrmpriest (cold) - think its from the site being down yesterday ?
#15
Dane_McArdy
May 01, 2009 21:49:35
BTW - I am getting no ability to click on the eye icon of monsters lvl 4 or higher. It asks me to log in when I do, and I enter what I am sure is the right info, and it acts like it is not the right info. I am puzzled.

I just tired it and it worked fine.
#16
burntgerbil
May 01, 2009 23:01:09 wow, this really frustrates me. I am logged in and it prompts me to re-log in when I try to view the stats. I enter the correct info and *poof !* nothing happens...It just asks me to enter the info again.
#17
Nyarlathotep
May 02, 2009 0:23:01 There are several improvements I would like to see in the Encounter Builder. One is stat blocks, though as others have pointed out, that little eye thingy will bring up stats. I don't actually bother to cut and paste them though, I just print them directly from the browser window and then print the encounter page and staple the whole mes together. One packet per encounter. It's like having a little mini-monster manual for just that encounter and it works great for me.

Other things I would like to see (They come just before the pony on my wish list) would be traps and the ability to add/subtract levels from a monster on the fly (right now if I want to do that, that's when I cut and paste the stats and do it manually). I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope that the Campaign Tools will have some similar functionality along those lines.
#18
jwalker
May 02, 2009 2:50:46
The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium.

I've heard this argument before. No offense, but if these are just little tools that shouldn't be taken seriously, then maybe they should be free for everyone?

Since they are part of the pay-for DDi package, people have a legit right to critique them.
#19
whitebaron
May 02, 2009 3:08:12
I've heard this argument before. No offense, but if these are just little tools that shouldn't be taken seriously, then maybe they should be free for everyone?

Since they are part of the pay-for DDi package, people have a legit right to critique them.

yeah, well, they are "bonus", anyway. at least that's the argument you'll see here anytime soon. while i was always arguing that you pay for them as they _are_ part of the contract, most people would stick this word into your face and tell you, that you have no reason whatever to be upset just because of that little word.
#20
Dane_McArdy
May 02, 2009 6:22:27
I've heard this argument before. No offense, but if these are just little tools that shouldn't be taken seriously, then maybe they should be free for everyone?

Since they are part of the pay-for DDi package, people have a legit right to critique them.

If they were free for everyone, they wouldn't be bonus tools for paying people.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EldradWolfsbane Apr 30, 2009 5:32:26	Wow an encounter builder that builds encounters but has no STAT BLOCKS for the encounter. How great this feature would be for me to build an encounter and it have the monsters listed WITH the stat blocks of the Monsters. DDI please work on it.
#2 lomerell_dawnbringer Apr 30, 2009 6:15:00	It's a "bonus" tool. WOTC doesn't want you to seriously analyze its flaws or shortcomings, it exists solely to pacify us that they haven't kept their word on other projects, and to make the barebones DnD "INSIDER" look less like 1 database + character builder, and more like a Suite of useful software tools. It's obvious to any DM who tries the DnDI Encounter Builder that it falls far short of other tools already designed by others to do the same and more, even using interfaces as simple as Microsoft Excel. If WOTC didn't have the foresight -- and knowledge of how the game is played and what info DMs need -- when they first created the Encounter builder, I doubt they will acquire that knowledge and foresight anytime soon.
#3 Dane_McArdy Apr 30, 2009 6:31:23	Wow an encounter builder that builds encounters but has no STAT BLOCKS for the encounter. How great this feature would be for me to build an encounter and it have the monsters listed WITH the stat blocks of the Monsters. DDI please work on it. If you click on the eye icon to the left of the monster, a pop up window with all the stats comes up, and you can cut and paste those.
#4 mudbunny Apr 30, 2009 8:05:04	It's a "bonus" tool. WOTC doesn't want you to seriously analyze its flaws or shortcomings, it exists solely to pacify us that they haven't kept their word on other projects, and to make the barebones DnD "INSIDER" look less like 1 database + character builder, and more like a Suite of useful software tools. It's obvious to any DM who tries the DnDI Encounter Builder that it falls far short of other tools already designed by others to do the same and more, even using interfaces as simple as Microsoft Excel. If WOTC didn't have the foresight -- and knowledge of how the game is played and what info DMs need -- when they first created the Encounter builder, I doubt they will acquire that knowledge and foresight anytime soon. The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium.
#5 Dane_McArdy Apr 30, 2009 8:15:17	The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium. But wouldn't it be neat if they took that base and made it more so?'' Oh wait, I bet they are, as part of the campaign manager. I answered my own question.
#6 klausgreen Apr 30, 2009 8:23:29	The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium. Can't help laugh at the fact that one who actually got something done and delivered above and beyond what was expected is now an "ex-employee".
#7 Kentinal Apr 30, 2009 17:37:46	Can't help laugh at the fact that one who actually got something done and delivered above and beyond what was expected is now an "ex-employee". sighs I would cry.
#8 Kilsek_of_Sheverash Apr 30, 2009 17:50:06	Yes, it's a half-way solution right now to an actual Combat Tracker/Encounter Manager. This gives you step 1: building encounters, which is helpful. Ultimately, the best solution is to export all that encounter information automatically right into an Encounter Manager template. Right now, I do all this manually, and it is the #1 most time-consuming "work" for me as DM in the entire game. I do it because, well, encounters are the heart of D&D, and I need a tool to run and organize combat information (initiative, hit points, all those conditions, etc.) quickly and clearly. The right technology can clearly make this repetitive but critical "busy work" task literally take seconds. What DM doesn't want that? Hopefully, the Campaign Manager they're focusing on now addresses this glaring digital gap in encounter construction and management.
#9 Dane_McArdy Apr 30, 2009 18:59:55	Can't help laugh at the fact that one who actually got something done and delivered above and beyond what was expected is now an "ex-employee". Course, you don't know if they moved onto a different job because it was a move up. It's like when Dave Eckleberry at DDO left. All these rumors and specutaltions. Until it was found out he left because he got a job at Lucasarts, which worked with his desire to move to California. No office to Turbine that makes DDO, but Turbine over Lucasarts? If the person left for a better job, and was so amazing, it's really hard to replace a person like that.
#10 Paulon Apr 30, 2009 20:55:11	He got sacked in the last round of layoffs - the one which also got rid of the people who were managing to turn around some of the ill-feeling about how badly WotC was mismanaging their PR. I hope he did get a better job and quickly, but from the timing it wasn't voluntary termination.
#11 Dane_McArdy May 01, 2009 8:37:24	He got sacked in the last round of layoffs - the one which also got rid of the people who were managing to turn around some of the ill-feeling about how badly WotC was mismanaging their PR. I hope he did get a better job and quickly, but from the timing it wasn't voluntary termination. Did he come here and say that? Did WoTC say that? I ask because any company that anounces who got laid off/fired is quickly going to have lawsuit. The most a company can say is, they no longer work here. Most likely it wasn't voluntary, I'm not saying it couldn't have been. Just that we don't know, and certainly WoTC hasn't said anything of the sort. He could have left on his own, if he felt the writting was on the wall. I knew I was going to get laid off, because they were letting ALL project status workers go, because all projects were coming to an end, and new ones were being put on hold. Since I wanted unemployment, rather then start looking for a new job, I waited. Me and the other half can get by on one person working. So unemployment is still extra money to us. I'm using this time off to learn new things in my field, and build up my art talent. Just saying...you really don't know. And there is no saying that because he made those bonus tools and let WoTC use them, that he was some awesome employee. Maybe he was very good at what he did, but fought with everyone in the company when he didn't get his way. Very common in the creative field. Brilliant sometimes equals hard to get along with.
#12 Mock May 01, 2009 10:48:21	Did he come here and say that? IIRC, he did say that he was being terminated (WotC did not name anybody). However, again, that's only what I recall. I could be wrong. Yeah, if I was right, it was "WotC_JoT" (Johnathan Tweet, I guess?), and he posted it here: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1160685
#13 whitebaron May 01, 2009 12:21:12	yes, it was tweet who did them, and yes, wotc is off for the worse without him. what he currently is doing seems to be along the lines of 2009. January. A comfy severance package has me looking forward to taking some time off. but i'm sure we'll see him return to the rpg industry soon. he's been down that route for far to long. btw, for those of you ignorant of this: open up your 3e books and look at who was the dnd3e lead designer. you'll find his name there. its hard to understand why wotc always fires the old, senior staff. but they do.
#14 burntgerbil May 01, 2009 21:41:05	BTW - I am getting no ability to click on the eye icon of monsters lvl 4 or higher. It asks me to log in when I do, and I enter what I am sure is the right info, and it acts like it is not the right info. I am puzzled. Same thing goes in the compendium. I can scroll through things quickly - and high level entries are fully absent. a few low level entries were there - like kobold wyrmpriest (cold) - think its from the site being down yesterday ?
#15 Dane_McArdy May 01, 2009 21:49:35	BTW - I am getting no ability to click on the eye icon of monsters lvl 4 or higher. It asks me to log in when I do, and I enter what I am sure is the right info, and it acts like it is not the right info. I am puzzled. I just tired it and it worked fine.
#16 burntgerbil May 01, 2009 23:01:09	wow, this really frustrates me. I am logged in and it prompts me to re-log in when I try to view the stats. I enter the correct info and poof ! nothing happens...It just asks me to enter the info again.
#17 Nyarlathotep May 02, 2009 0:23:01	There are several improvements I would like to see in the Encounter Builder. One is stat blocks, though as others have pointed out, that little eye thingy will bring up stats. I don't actually bother to cut and paste them though, I just print them directly from the browser window and then print the encounter page and staple the whole mes together. One packet per encounter. It's like having a little mini-monster manual for just that encounter and it works great for me. Other things I would like to see (They come just before the pony on my wish list) would be traps and the ability to add/subtract levels from a monster on the fly (right now if I want to do that, that's when I cut and paste the stats and do it manually). I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope that the Campaign Tools will have some similar functionality along those lines.
#18 jwalker May 02, 2009 2:50:46	The encounter builder (as well as the other bonus tools) were built in the spare time (evenings, weekends) of an ex-employee of the company. They were tools that he had built for, IIRC, himself, and he decided to clean up the code a bit and share it with the D&D community. They were in no way designed to be anywhere near the same level as the Character Builder or the Compendium. I've heard this argument before. No offense, but if these are just little tools that shouldn't be taken seriously, then maybe they should be free for everyone? Since they are part of the pay-for DDi package, people have a legit right to critique them.
#19 whitebaron May 02, 2009 3:08:12	I've heard this argument before. No offense, but if these are just little tools that shouldn't be taken seriously, then maybe they should be free for everyone? Since they are part of the pay-for DDi package, people have a legit right to critique them. yeah, well, they are "bonus", anyway. at least that's the argument you'll see here anytime soon. while i was always arguing that you pay for them as they _are_ part of the contract, most people would stick this word into your face and tell you, that you have no reason whatever to be upset just because of that little word.
#20 Dane_McArdy May 02, 2009 6:22:27	I've heard this argument before. No offense, but if these are just little tools that shouldn't be taken seriously, then maybe they should be free for everyone? Since they are part of the pay-for DDi package, people have a legit right to critique them. If they were free for everyone, they wouldn't be bonus tools for paying people.