Setting this feedback thread in advance for Randy's Digital Insider #13, due to go live tomorrow.
Beta in 1-2 weeks!! YAY!!
I also really like the idea that it prints out Power Cards for you, as well as allowing you to rearrange your character sheet however you want.
I am slightly disappointed, however, in the plan to take down the previous versions of Dungeon/Dragon a month after they are compiled.
I have a few reasons for subscribing but they are temporary except for Dragon. This program will decide for a lot of people I believe on subscribing or not.
Edit: Just looked closer at the cards and the character card was funny to me. I see Fort, Ref, Will on one side and then AC in middle of HP and Spd. I hate that look as I prefer AC to be with Fort, Ref, Will defenses as all are defenses. There a few other things could be where AC is currently located but otherwise hope I can decide not to print that card.
I just really hope it works under Mono. The DirectX stuff I know won't, sadly, but this might!
I haven't tried it under mono (a subset of .net for *nix & mac) but I would be surprised if it worked today. We've built this taking advantage of .net 3.5 (required for install), the mono project is somewhere between .net 2.0 and .net 3.5 and has scheduled releases throughout 2009. It seems likely that someday it will work. But I don't think that day is today. But I won't know for sure until I try it.
I am slightly disappointed, however, in the plan to take down the previous versions of Dungeon/Dragon a month after they are compiled.
I second this, it doesn't make alot of sense... other than the team doesn't want to code ownership rights...(and I'm an optimistic subscriber)
The competition here isn't what your subscribers might do with the content they're paying for. The competition is that we might not subscribe at all. Since you can't force someone to spend money on a hobby, all you have is the carrot approach. Make it worth our while to subscribe (I have, for the record), and make us feel like we're getting our money's worth.
So far, the content is great and I'm happy paying for it. But I'm highly skeptical of the stated plan. The game I want to play is D&D, not collector/archivist of artificially fragile PDF files.
If I subscribe for a year but don't pay attention for a month (sometimes real life pulls people away from D&D — shocking, I know), I shouldn't be screwed out of content I actually paid you money for, or have to beg through e-mail channels to justify getting a copy.
Given that by tomorrow morning (if not already) the first for-pay-only copy of the magazine will be easily available to anyone who knows how to put text into a web browser's search field, the customer-hostile approach (and making there be any artificial hoops is customer-hostile) just costs you money.
Like I said, I subscribed. But my group is far from whole-heartedly sold on 4E, and "hey guys, look at this awesome business model where your paid-for content vanishes" isn't exactly winning hearts and minds.
That is not awesome.
I haven't tried it under mono (a subset of .net for *nix & mac) but I would be surprised if it worked today. We've built this taking advantage of .net 3.5 (required for install), the mono project is somewhere between .net 2.0 and .net 3.5 and has scheduled releases throughout 2009. It seems likely that someday it will work. But I don't think that day is today. But I won't know for sure until I try it.
Looks like I need to install my Windows then (or figure out some way to get .NET 3.5 working under Wine, not that that is likely).Will you be able to output your character to XML? Besides moving boxes around a set character sheet design, I'm looking for a way to create my own character sheet. If it's in XML format, I know I'd have total control. If I'm relying on your base character sheet, I have no idea whether I'd have the control. IOW, I'm fishing for just how much customization I'll have available with this application.
BTW, I was at GenCon and played around with this thing. For those who haven't, the interface at that point was very intuitive. I'm very optimistic about the product.
Thanks.
So if, in four months, my hard drive fails and I lose all the data stored on it, I'm SOL because you've taken all of the issues I paid for offline?
That is not awesome.
You are not S.O.L. However, you will need to put in a call to Customer Service in order to get a replacement copy.
Just looked closer at the cards and the character card was funny to me. I see Fort, Ref, Will on one side and then AC in middle of HP and Spd. I hate that look as I prefer AC to be with Fort, Ref, Will defenses as all are defenses. There a few other things could be where AC is currently located but otherwise hope I can decide not to print that card.
I actually made the same comment just recently. It's good feedback that I'll bring to the team.
This brings up a good point, now that you've seen some of what the character builder does and looks like, do you have specific questions or requests?
[INDENT][/INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]18[/INDENT][/INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]14[/INDENT][/INDENT]
and so on.......
xml sheet so that some of us can upload them to different sheets and stuff.
also, any chance for plugins? I am imagining homebrew feat/race packs... if you guys would embrace this sort of stuff, it would impress a great number people.
btw, it all looks great from the screens.
This brings up a good point, now that you've seen some of what the character builder does and looks like, do you have specific questions or requests?
Putting some effort into getting it running on Linux would be valuable. D&D players are by definition geekier than average. At least have a good handle on what's missing, even if you don't have the developer resources to fix it.
Putting some effort into getting it running on Linux would be valuable. D&D players are by definition geekier than average. At least have a good handle on what's missing, even if you don't have the developer resources to fix it.
mono is the best bet, they've already said how that's going though. so the request would be to look at bugfixing with mono in mind.
How much wasted space is there to include each of the pics for melee, close, ranged, and area? A power might have two of those.
Some powers have a lot of text in the effect area, any wasted space is detrimental to font size and ultimately legibility.
It's much simpler and easier to read if they just presented the powers on the card similar to how they are in the book, with action, range, frequency, and target as necessary. Maybe throw in a large icon of the power type to speed recognition.
I'm glad this is finally coming out, it is mainly what I subscribed for. Sadly, I think that as far as betas go, this is a terrible one. The game has been out for a while now and I doubt many players are still in the level range that is available for testing. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to play with it and will report on anything I find, but it won't get anywhere near the testing it would if I could use it in my actual games (the lowest of which is 3rd level and will likely be 4th by the time this is out). And a month of closed beta, followed by more open beta leaves me wondering if we will ever get anything above 3rd level. Can we get some sort of idea on when higher levels will be available? Even if it were only the heroic tier that would be more useful than just 3 levels.
edit: nevermind, and a second his concerns... level 3? how are we supposed to test this, my players are 2 right now, will be 3 in a few weeks... then months of beta...
I imagine the levels will be slowly unlocked through the course of the betas (at least for subscribers)
Elf,
Will you be able to output your character to XML? Besides moving boxes around a set character sheet design, I'm looking for a way to create my own character sheet. If it's in XML format, I know I'd have total control. If I'm relying on your base character sheet, I have no idea whether I'd have the control. IOW, I'm fishing for just how much customization I'll have available with this application.
The character save file is an xml file, it's not intended to be read, but it certainly could be. There will also be some more options coming that we're not ready to announce yet, but in short there should be plenty of customization available inside the app, as well as the ability to make your own tools that use our save file.
BTW, I was at GenCon and played around with this thing. For those who haven't, the interface at that point was very intuitive. I'm very optimistic about the product.
The interface for PAX was many iterations ahead of the GenCon interface. Today's interface is way ahead of the interface from PAX. I'm glad you liked it. We've put a lot of work into it.
Other then that I like the information they provided, especially the fact about the way back issues will be done.
Ugh, why are they basing the powers output on a print-based form?
How much wasted space is there to include each of the pics for melee, close, ranged, and area? A power might have two of those.
Some powers have a lot of text in the effect area, any wasted space is detrimental to font size and ultimately legibility.
It's much simpler and easier to read if they just presented the powers on the card similar to how they are in the book, with action, range, frequency, and target as necessary. Maybe throw in a large icon of the power type to speed recognition.
I really like these. I'll bring it to the team. Naturally we're going to support the wotc official power cards, but it would be cool to support alternate formats as well. No promises. But we are guided by a basic motivation of "we use this tool, what would we as players want that would make it cooler".
Naturally, I'm talking about the compilation PDFs. For crying out loud, people are paying for permanent access to the content. Making it temporarily available is... lets be blunt, cheating them out of what they've paid for. If you want the people to continue to have access, keep the issues up, don't make them jump through hoops to get it back in case of an accidental loss. It's what they're supposed to be paying for after all.
Maybe the web team should ask Paizo for some advice on how to handle the download permissions involved. They don't seem to have any trouble with selling downloads and linking them to specific accounts, which is what this boils down to.
This brings up a good point, now that you've seen some of what the character builder does and looks like, do you have specific questions or requests?
I have to ask about the cards more. I am wondering if basic attacks could be made into cards. I know that I don't use much of the back of a character sheet. There is a lot of ink on the back page that I could pass on since with being able to move sections around could leave off ones that I prefer to write out anyways.
Will there be cards for any bloodied effects for such things as the example Dragonborn gets? Any chance that Crital Hit Damage could also be included in Power cards?
Will we be able to decide which cards to print off? If I make a second (3rd, 5th, 18th) character then I will likely not need another Action Point or Second Wind card.
I do try and think of ways to save printing and hope the program allows me to do that as much as possible. If I could take the color off and just add it as background to the name of the card (whether character, power, weapon or other) and just have black the rest then that would be enough for me.
Guess will be even more thoughts while waiting on the beta.
Making it temporarily available is... lets be blunt, cheating them out of what they've paid for.
I really think you're all overreacting. Have you ever heard of RSS? Do you use MS Outlook or any other program that will automatically receive RSS feeds. If you can't make a single trip to the website in a month's time, obviously the material doesn't mean much to you.
I can't explain why the policy exists, but I find it difficult to care. It doesn't place much of a burden on us at all.
from what I understood, the beta wouldn't be level limitied, except items to level 8.
edit: nevermind, and a second his concerns... level 3? how are we supposed to test this, my players are 2 right now, will be 3 in a few weeks... then months of beta...
I imagine the levels will be slowly unlocked through the course of the betas (at least for subscribers)
Geez People its a beta..It is what everyone has been *****ing about getting to do.....Try out the product..
Instead of sitting around all day watching porn like I do...simply sign on and create a bunch of Low Level NPCs. Try Different races..try different classes...Win a
for finding the first glitchFind out if you can make a Dwarven Fight who can cast Mage Spells..
try to do stuff that you know can't be done...then tell everyone you found a Mistake...
Now everyone is crying because thier Current character is gonna be too high of a level...
Well I am gonna go and and Whine....
How am I suspose to use the Beta......It doesn't create 3.5 or Pathfinder Characters
there now that is outta my system, I will return you to your regularly scheduled Whine seccession
You know, every time I think WotC can't make another PR blunder, they manage to dig themselves deeper. I think they've gone past scraping the bottom of the barrel, and are digging through the ground underneath it by now. And I don't think there's oil down there.
Naturally, I'm talking about the compilation PDFs. For crying out loud, people are paying for permanent access to the content. Making it temporarily available is... lets be blunt, cheating them out of what they've paid for. If you want the people to continue to have access, keep the issues up, don't make them jump through hoops to get it back in case of an accidental loss. It's what they're supposed to be paying for after all.
There's been a number of people talking about this. I'm not part of the magazine team so I don't have all the details (I'm at home right now). I'll ask about this tomorrow, but from what was said in the insider, customer service should have the ability to get you the files at a later date. Without having seen all the details, I imagine the intent is to have the issues available for the users that are subscribers when they are released, everyone else will be able to buy them as they see fit. We're still months away before this is relevant so it's possible details are still being decided on.
For now, give us a chance to find out what's up, and we'll have Solice or Randy follow up.
For now, give us a chance to find out what's up, and we'll have Solice or Randy follow up.
Try not to worry about it, Elf. We live in a me-first, tell-me-what-I-want-to-hear, what-I-want-to-hear-is-political-correctness society.
People, this is exactly why WotC often holds back information. When they give you information before everything's 100% figured out, even when they tell you it's not 100% figured out, you scream, "Is that all?!?!?!"
Patience, grasshoppers. I'm sure more is coming.
Cryonax, WotC Apologist
I have to ask about the cards more. I am wondering if basic attacks could be made into cards.
They already have been. This feature won't be in the closed beta, which we locked down already. But it has been done since then.
Will there be cards for any bloodied effects for such things as the example Dragonborn gets?
Conditional effects do appear on the power cards, and we have a task up for discussion about a conditional card compiling all of the conditions and their effects.
Any chance that Crital Hit Damage could also be included in Power cards?
Critical Hit damage is listed on each weapon. It's not listed on the power cards, one of the devs also made this observation in one of our sessions recently, so it's possible it will change.
Will we be able to decide which cards to print off? If I make a second (3rd, 5th, 18th) character then I will likely not need another Action Point or Second Wind card.
This won't be in beta, but we have been discussing this sort of a feature, the ability to turn off, or copy individual power cards.
I do try and think of ways to save printing and hope the program allows me to do that as much as possible. If I could take the color off and just add it as background to the name of the card (whether character, power, weapon or other) and just have black the rest then that would be enough for me.
Guess will be even more thoughts while waiting on the beta.
For saving paper, print the power cards in portrait mode (9 cards per page instead of 8). =) I actually prefer landscape mode for my character sheets, and then print the power pages as portrait mode.
As a DM, I like having PC character sheets at my fingertips both during and between sessions, and I've been limping along with a 3rd party, fan-made spreadsheet self-calculating character sheet that is pretty good, but it's already falling way behind the supplement curve, and it doesn't print cleanly. It's *slightly* disappointing that this Beta won't come out before my group reaches level 4, but ah well. It's not like this is the only D&D game I'll ever run. Once the full version is available, it looks like it'll be a nice little tool.
I'm a bit baffled at the vitriol over taking down the magazines after a certain period. I'm a data pack rat, so you can be sure I'll have an archive with both the full version and the by-article version of each issue tucked away somewhere on my hard drive, but even if my computer fails and my back-up CD is corrupted at the same time, I'm just not seeing the tyrannical and villainous apocalypse of data loss, here. The pdfs don't disappear. They're available upon customer request. It may not be as convenient as simply going to an archive directory on the site, but I'm not seeing a conspiracy. If these were paper magazines and you left a copy on the bus or dropped it into the tub, it would be a lot less convenient and more costly to replace them than simply sending an email to ORCS.
Seriously.
I would just like to make note of why they haven't added the spellscarred powers to the Compendium?
For the moment, in the compendium, all the powers that are not related to a class are not visible in the list view. There is a glitch where you can see a few non class powers at level 0 (select view all in the power tab, and then sort by level, all the powers marked as level 0 are not class powers and have erroneous class name/ This is a known issue).
So we are working on fixing this, and we want to be able to offer all the powers in the compendium from the power tab, including the ones coming from feats or races or classes. Note that these powers currently *do* show in their respective entry (feats, races, ...) but not under the power tab.
Spellscarred powers are special in that way that they are not attached to anything existing in another tab. For the character builder, they will only be available through multiclassing, and we are going to model spellscarred as a "multiclass only" type of class. For the compendium, fixing the issue of displaying all the non-class related powers will also fix the display of the spellscarred powers.
I haven't tried it under mono (a subset of .net for *nix & mac) but I would be surprised if it worked today. We've built this taking advantage of .net 3.5 (required for install), the mono project is somewhere between .net 2.0 and .net 3.5 and has scheduled releases throughout 2009. It seems likely that someday it will work. But I don't think that day is today. But I won't know for sure until I try it.
If you're using .NET 3 or 3.5 features, that would have to mean WPF (unless you're making extensive use of WCF (updates data direct from the website with mu login rather than a full application update? Or workflows. I suppose I can see the argument for workflows here). I state this because .NET 3.5 is .NET 2 with additional features rather than a rewrite (as was the change from .NET 1.1 - 2.0).
I suppose this is the hopeful side of me, but if you're using it for WPF, surely a port to Silverlight 2 would be relativley simple? And then, of course, you'd have compatability with Mac and linux (admittedley still eventually but I think MS and/or others are still invested in the Moonlight project).
I suppose this is the hopeful side of me, but if you're using it for WPF, surely a port to Silverlight 2 would be relativley simple? And then, of course, you'd have compatability with Mac and linux (admittedley still eventually but I think MS and/or others are still invested in the Moonlight project).
It's not clear what our porting opportunities will be, but there is hope, lets get this version out first though. =)
Any chance we can customise what's actually printed on the sheets and cards?
For example: let's say I want to print race/class name and powers on the character sheet but leave the ability score/AC/and HP sections blank so that when I level up I can reuse the sheet for a few levels. That way I can adjust HP and the like without printing out extra sheets.
And concerning the power cards, I can print out cards that say, "3[W]+Cha Mod" instead of longsword "3d8+4" and then when I use a magical bastard sword +2 some levels later "3d10+7" and I have to print out new power cards for something that I can either figure out in my head or just write on the card once it's printed.
Thanks
It seems all powers are using DEX instead of INT...
Why has the swordmage in the screen shots DEX as primary attribute?
It seems all powers are using DEX instead of INT...
If you are looking at his at will powers they are both int based. They are giving a +4 attack bonus, 3 from longsword proficiency, 1 from +1 magic longsword, 1 from level 3 and -1 from 8 int.
If you are looking at his basic attacks, his longsword is using strength because he doesn't have a feat to use his int for basic attacks. His crossbow is using dex for basic attacks.
The problem I see with the character is that he has 8 int and he is a swordmage, whoever made this character clearly didn't use the auto pick button for his stats or he would have had a much higher int.
--
Mike Donais.
Product Owner for DDI Character Builder.
I have one gripe about insider #13. It would have been nice if we could click on the pics of the character builder and character sheets to get larger views. I had to strain my eyes to get the details. I'm not getting any younger, LOL.
A great point, I will ask them about it tomorrow morning when I get to work.
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Mike.
Why has the swordmage in the screen shots DEX as primary attribute?
It seems all powers are using DEX instead of INT...
Whoever took the screenshots probably dragged the scores around to swap them. I just double checked, the character builder uses int, str and con, or int con and str depending on your build if you auto pick. If you roll, it puts the score where it rolled it, and then you can drag and drop. If you choose an array it starts at the top, and then you can drag and drop, or use the point buy system to adjust them.
A great point, I will ask them about it tomorrow morning when I get to work.
--
Mike.
Go to bed Mike!
If you are looking at his at will powers they are both int based. They are giving a +4 attack bonus, 3 from longsword proficiency, 1 from +1 magic longsword, 1 from level 3 and -1 from 8 int...
Ah thx for the explanation, it was indeed difficult to see this from the screenshots - and I got confused since I asked myself "who would create such a gim... weird character" :D
Then get your character sheet printed… It will come with the power cards for your character, with the math for your currently equipped items, and a powerful tool to personalize your character sheet as you see fit by moving the boxes around, re-organizing the columns, and saving the templates for future re-use…
WooHoo
I wasn't all that excited about the builder until I read this. It will be a great addition that will let you make quick custom sheets, that's great because official sheets by WotC are, well, crappy compared to custom ones you can find online (Mad Irishman) and if the builder just printed out the official sheet I wouldn't be as useful, but if it will be easy to use and quick to reorganize it will be a great addition and a real incentive for people to subscribe together with the magazines (Compendium is solid although the advanced search options are not really advanced, but it's very promising):DReclaiming lost issue of Dragon/Dungeon sounds a lot like dealing with the folks at Apple if you suffer an iTunes crash. Problematic but not the end of the world *and one more reason why you should back up your data off line*.
On the upside, the changes to the Character Builder seem to have been worth the wait. I've got a game getting ready to kick off soon and the timing couldn't be *much* better for the beta launch.
really: consider making an archive later, a special application part unlike the current listing - where you have access to all those pdf issues that appeared within your subscription time (s), and all back issues you purchased.
This is what i'd expect from someone trading with solely with PDFs. (everything else you'll have to redownload anyway for new versions, so there is not many problems that could arise from losing the builder from your hdd)
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about the builder: nice eye-candy. i'll probably stick with pcgen or sheets of paper, though. i've never been a person to like such superficial and graphically overloaded interfaces. i'll beta-test, but unless it offers a speed up as well, i don't see me as cb user.
and, since some of the developers are here and reading, some questions:
a) is an internet connection required for lvl 3+, all levels, never?
b) are there any possibilities to develop custom powers/feats, and to export them to send to another friend? if not, are there any plans to do so?
c) sometime in the past, i heard something like there'll be an online character vault. whats the status on this?
d) release schedules: this might be above the authority of anyone but randy, but can you give any milestone dates? seasons would be enough, possibly. like spring 09 - cb, summer 09 - ???
My requests:
- please don't delay the release of the beta by adding more features requested here. Just release it as soon as possible please, whatever you have
- I would love to add homebrew races and classes, at least in the final version. I'd suggest some kind of template, which adds the choice to the general selection. Race and Class creation made easy, haha.
- I personally don't like power cards anymore. I just want the powers all printed out on a sheet, taking up space as needed.
- please use this database, the application, & the compendium for any new developments, like the release of 5.0 at one point. Since you will have all the rules in one compact system, finding and tweaking changes is much easier for developers. What I don't want to see is your developers sitting down for 5.0 and then you have to bugfix and recreate the character builder from scratch. In other words, please think about future system developments when finalizing the character builder. Make it open (at least internally) for rules changes, that can eventually turn into becoming the system that creates the "ultimate", perfect D&D
This way, you'll also have the electronic tools ready for publishing once there is a revision of the rules, and we don't have to wait 6 months like this time.I'm a bit baffled at the vitriol over taking down the magazines after a certain period. I'm a data pack rat, so you can be sure I'll have an archive with both the full version and the by-article version of each issue tucked away somewhere on my hard drive, but even if my computer fails and my back-up CD is corrupted at the same time, I'm just not seeing the tyrannical and villainous apocalypse of data loss, here. The pdfs don't disappear. They're available upon customer request. It may not be as convenient as simply going to an archive directory on the site, but I'm not seeing a conspiracy. If these were paper magazines and you left a copy on the bus or dropped it into the tub, it would be a lot less convenient and more costly to replace them than simply sending an email to ORCS.
Seriously.
This
When is the last time any of these complainers were able to walk into their game store or send a letter to a publisher and say "Hey, my issue of xxxxxx fell thru a sewer grate, you have to provide me a new one!!" and actually gotten a new copy?
Thats what I thought.
As for the character builder, kudos on the progress. I got my hands on it at Gen Con and it was looking good then, this looks even better. I appreciate you folks keeping your ears open to our concerns as well. Alternative power cards would be great.
Another suggestion, I am currently torn between power cards and a power sheet. I go back and forth in the game I play in. Can there be an option to print a power sheet, instead of power cards?
This
When is the last time any of these complainers were able to walk into their game store or send a letter to a publisher and say "Hey, my issue of xxxxxx fell thru a sewer grate, you have to provide me a new one!!" and actually gotten a new copy?
Thats what I thought.
Yeah, the digital age just makes us lazy and demanding :D
For the moment, in the compendium, all the powers that are not related to a class are not visible in the list view. There is a glitch where you can see a few non class powers at level 0 (select view all in the power tab, and then sort by level, all the powers marked as level 0 are not class powers and have erroneous class name/ This is a known issue).
So we are working on fixing this, and we want to be able to offer all the powers in the compendium from the power tab, including the ones coming from feats or races or classes. Note that these powers currently *do* show in their respective entry (feats, races, ...) but not under the power tab.
Spellscarred powers are special in that way that they are not attached to anything existing in another tab. For the character builder, they will only be available through multiclassing, and we are going to model spellscarred as a "multiclass only" type of class. For the compendium, fixing the issue of displaying all the non-class related powers will also fix the display of the spellscarred powers.
The message behind this post isn't 100% clear to me because it wanders through three different points (0-level powers, powers from feats, then spellscarred powers).
Regarding "all the powers that are not related to a class are not visible in the list view," I am curious: will other class powers become available when you select a multi-class feat, or will they also be stuck in the feats tab?
The message behind this post isn't 100% clear to me because it wanders through three different points (0-level powers, powers from feats, then spellscarred powers).
Regarding "all the powers that are not related to a class are not visible in the list view," I am curious: will other class powers become available when you select a multi-class feat, or will they also be stuck in the feats tab?
He's just talking about the compendium in that post and why the spellscarred powers aren't visible(they aren't attached to a class and they are working on fixing that). I don't believe that any of that is neccesarily relevent to the Character Creator.
I really like these. I'll bring it to the team. Naturally we're going to support the wotc official power cards, but it would be cool to support alternate formats as well. No promises. But we are guided by a basic motivation of "we use this tool, what would we as players want that would make it cooler".
Colour me confused, but trying to sell people power cards while at the same time selling them a product that produces them seems a little daft.
Also colour me confused on the graphic design of the power cards - frankly if the ones shown in the preview are what the official cards are going to look like take your test groups out and dispose of them, the shown cards are terrible. (Which isn't surprising I guess WotC doesn't seem to be able to design forms.)
Oh to the people asking for a sheet - just don't cut up the "power cards" part of the print out and viola.
He's just talking about the compendium in that post and why the spellscarred powers aren't visible(they aren't attached to a class and they are working on fixing that). I don't believe that any of that is neccesarily relevent to the Character Creator.
Thanks.
I'm a little mixed about the PDF's going away... couldn't whatever customer support is doing to verify that I deserve the issues be automated?
thanks for the update!
We're still months away before this is relevant so it's possible details are still being decided on.
Maybe WOTC should start making decisions in advance instead of at the last minute..
There's been plenty of time to talk about it...time is running out quickly. Someone needs to step up to the plate and make some decisions.
The Good:
I will not be continuing my DDI subscription once the pay per mag is live. Yeah for me!!!
The character builder looks very pretty. I really appreciate the formatting being similar to the books, it makes it easy to follow.
The cards look well done though I don't care for the black border. It will be very nice to have a quasi 'official' power card deck for my players. Along those lines, any way to make it easy for a DM to just get at an item or power card without having to "make a character"?
The Bad:
It looks like getting a hold of back issues will be as manual a process as canceling auto-rebilling was. That's a bad idea, I suspect you'll be getting more of those then you think.
The character sheet is still based on the standard back of the book sheet. Something a little more customizable would be nice. Though the export of XML will solve a lot of that it isn't an ideal solution because I do not want to use several different programs just to build a character.
I suspect I know the answer to this so that is why this question is under "the Bad" but will the power/item cards be exportable via XML as well?
Does not look like there is any DM support. So I ca not log in and view my player's character or check to make sure they haven't "tweaks" it between sessions. Along those lines it would be nice to have a more "online friendly" version that isn't laid out like it is on paper for PbP use.
Just like the monster builder there is no BACK BUTTON. Seriously?! Don't even give me that BS about being able to navigate backwards, if there is a NEXT button there MUST be a BACK button. Simple software usability here.
The Ugly:
Months late and not close to what was promised. This does not seem to integrate-able with the fabled digital gaming table and if it does it will be hacked on somehow (call it a hunch).
If it is only the .pdfs, while the individual articles are still available, then it seems a little odd that you can control which issues a subscriber can browse, but not which compiled issues can be downloaded?
If you mean that all the ways to access an issue will vanish (the individual articles organized by category), then I cry foul. I don't think this is the case, but wouldn't mind some clarification to put my mind at ease.
Otherwise, the character builder looks great, and I'm very pleased to see it coming sooner then (really) later.
I'd also like to say 'thanks' for the issue map and art galleries. They aren't mentioned in #13, but these additions to the DDI are in response to fans' requests, and kudos have to be given! Here is a cookie.
Cleave Fighter Attack 1
You hit one enemy, then cleave into another.
At-Will ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: one creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC = 13
Hit: damage, and an enemy adjacent to you takes damage equal to your Strength modifier.
Damage 1d12 + 7
Critical 19 + 2d8
High Crit Weapon + 1d12
Damage to Adjacent Enemy 4
POWER ATTACK
Cleave Fighter Attack 1
You hit one enemy, then cleave into another.
At-Will ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: one creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC = 11
Hit: damage, and an enemy adjacent to you takes damage equal to your Strength modifier.
Damage 1d12 + 10
Critical 22 + 2d8
High Crit Weapon + 1d12
Damage to Adjacent Enemy 4
the above is copied from excel. (In excel it looks much better) The powers come from a level 9 fighter. All damage criticals and to hits are calculated based on level, magic items, and feats. This is what would make the caracter generator worth the subscription price. To be able to print out the damage it does with your choosen weapon with and without power attack and include the calculated critical damage would be ausome. Without it I will just use my own Excel character sheet. The down side is I have to set up with new powers and for every new class but the time I spend doint that makes gameplay so much faster that it is worth it.
PLEASE incorperate to hit and damage in the powers of the character builder. don't make us calculate the damage every time. when you have a game that is ment for six people speeding up everyones turn = more fights and shorter wait for your turn.
This is what I want in the powers print outs for characters:
Cleave Fighter Attack 1
You hit one enemy, then cleave into another.
At-Will ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: one creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC = 13
Hit: damage, and an enemy adjacent to you takes damage equal to your Strength modifier.
Damage 1d12 + 7
Critical 19 + 2d8
High Crit Weapon + 1d12
Damage to Adjacent Enemy 4
POWER ATTACK
Cleave Fighter Attack 1
You hit one enemy, then cleave into another.
At-Will ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: one creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC = 11
Hit: damage, and an enemy adjacent to you takes damage equal to your Strength modifier.
Damage 1d12 + 10
Critical 22 + 2d8
High Crit Weapon + 1d12
Damage to Adjacent Enemy 4
the above is copied from excel. (In excel it looks much better) The powers come from a level 9 fighter. All damage criticals and to hits are calculated based on level, magic items, and feats. This is what would make the caracter generator worth the subscription price. To be able to print out the damage it does with your choosen weapon with and without power attack and include the calculated critical damage would be ausome. Without it I will just use my own Excel character sheet. The down side is I have to set up with new powers and for every new class but the time I spend doint that makes gameplay so much faster that it is worth it.
PLEASE incorperate to hit and damage in the powers of the character builder. don't make us calculate the damage every time. when you have a game that is ment for six people speeding up everyones turn = more fights and shorter wait for your turn.
PLEASE DO NOT do it this way!! I dont want to have to reprint out all my power cards every other freaking level. I can do simple math, put the cards in card sleeves and use a marker to keep the real numbers up to date during and before a session. Dont give in to the people that can afford to buy new ink cartridges once a week.
Geez People its a beta..It is what everyone has been *****ing about getting to do.....Try out the product..
Instead of sitting around all day watching porn like I do...simply sign on and create a bunch of Low Level NPCs. Try Different races..try different classes...Win a
Find out if you can make a Dwarven Fight who can cast Mage Spells..
try to do stuff that you know can't be done...then tell everyone you found a Mistake...
Now everyone is crying because thier Current character is gonna be too high of a level...
Well I am gonna go and and Whine....
How am I suspose to use the Beta......It doesn't create 3.5 or Pathfinder Characters
there now that is outta my system, I will return you to your regularly scheduled Whine seccession
... I think you misunderstood my comment. I am a little dissapointed that they make it sound like the whole beta will be level locked. Then I followed up with a comment on how I would imagine that over time they would unlock more stuff for the beta (for us to test of course)
-----
anyways....
everything I am hearing about the Char gen is great!
- XML char sheets
- re arrangeable char sheets
- the ability to do homebrew
- hints at the ability to do homebrew packs
- the hints of more to come in terms of app customization
and as long as getting our issues back from the orcs is a simple thing, i'm ok with it.
go DDI team!!!
(also there has been alot of complaining that a single team was doing all of DDI [thereby being stretched to thin], but this discussion seems to disprove that)
PLEASE incorperate to hit and damage in the powers of the character builder. don't make us calculate the damage every time. when you have a game that is ment for six people speeding up everyones turn = more fights and shorter wait for your turn.
the screenshots are crappy and small, but the powercards definitely have a +X vs. Y section in it for your attack, which is filled out (+7 for dragon breath)
i can't say much about damage, as my eyes are not THAT good at decrypting tiny pictures
@eleran: i like it better with all stats filled out, simply for some of my fellow players who seem to be unable to count 4+3 = 7. but i agree that not everyone would have to like it like that, it would be best to turn it on or off as an option.
The issue compilations disappearing doesn't sit well with me. Since the online magazines went live, I've accessed certain articles from my laptop, my home computer, my work PC, my parents PC, internet cafes, college, etc. While I could ensure I can access the issues everywhere myself, it would be nice that when I'm paying for a service I could access it anywhere.
The character builder really does look first class, and I can’t wait to start playing around with it. To have an app that (ultimately) will compile powers, equipment, classes, feats, and everything else from all the published products and magazines, putting it all at my fingertips in seconds, will be stunning! Far, far easier than having to scrabble through two dozen books and magazines for all the character options every time my players go up a level. I’m certain this will make character creation fast and fun.
I have a couple of questions (that can be applied to the finished version as well as the beta) about the builder:
Is the character builder going to be included with current D&Di subscriptions, at no extra cost?
At the end of the day, it’s just a character builder. I’ve managed just fine creating characters, character sheets and cards with nothing more than pencil and paper for the past 26 years of roleplaying, and have managed just fine running my 4E campaign for the past 6 months (scrabbling through all the books and magazines for all the options, anyway!). I don’t see that I need to start paying for the privilege now. I think I’ve paid enough just buying the print products, and this is just the same information repeated.
Will users be able to store characters to update in the future when they level up?
The article does say “When necessary, level up your character…”, but does this only refer to levelling up at the time of character creation, or does it include future character advancement. If I can only use the builder for character creation, and given how long it takes to progress from level 1 to 30, I’d be surprised if it got used more than two or three times in a couple of years (another reason I wouldn’t pay extra for this). My players would get pretty sick of me if I went for a TPK every game just so I could get my money’s worth out of the builder!
Will users be able to add their own content to the finished version?
The article mentions that you can “…add you own ‘house rule’ feat names to display on your character sheet.” Does this mean you can add names only, or will there be a facility to add all of your home-grown content e.g. classes, races, feats, items, etc.? I do believe that the character builder would become less and less useful to me if I were unable to adapt it to my own campaign. I would feel railroaded by WotC, and would feel they were taking away the freedom of design that they so actively encourage. I used to use a tool called The DMs Familiar, which was fully customizable. If a third party can do this – I would expect no less from WotC.
Some suggestions I have (some of them echoing other ideas already posted) are:
Could templates be added to the builder?
Perhaps the builder could come with a variety of character sheet and power card templates that users can select a style from, rather than being stuck with a single style that isn’t to everybody’s taste.
Could auto-filled fields on character sheets and power cards be optional/removed?
I really don’t want to have to be printing out multiple copies of these to reflect changes in character level and equipment. It really would be a waste in paper, ink etc.
That’s all for now. I’m still looking forward to giving the builder a spin, and will probably comment further when I’ve played around with it.
Keep up the good work.
Ah thx for the explanation, it was indeed difficult to see this from the screenshots - and I got confused since I asked myself "who would create such a gim... weird character" :D
I can :embarrass
Regarding "all the powers that are not related to a class are not visible in the list view," I am curious: will other class powers become available when you select a multi-class feat, or will they also be stuck in the feats tab?
In the compendium, you will see the multi class feat detail, but not all the powers related to this multi-class. You can see those in the power's tab by doing a search with the class name for example. For feats that are linked to one power, like Moradin's Resolve for example you will see the power detail in that feat's detailed record.
I second this, it doesn't make alot of sense... other than the team doesn't want to code ownership rights...(and I'm an optimistic subscriber)
I agree, it is completely contrary to any online pdf store I've ever used. Paizo (former licenser of Dragon) keeps the pdf's available indefinitely once you purchase them. Several online magazines I subscribe to do the same thing. Taking them down is a big deal and is making me consider cancelling my subscription. They are offering less and less value with this online offering.
Another big problem with taking down the compilation, is that the compilation has the CORRECTED information. So if the compilation is gone, NOBODY has access to the proper content.
I really hope this gets resolved. I assume it was a decision based on poor planning and IT hurdles. Please figure it out.
DDI is $4-7 for a month of using the compendium, access to the monster and encounter generator, AND the magazines.
If they charge any more than a buck or two an issue it'll be price gouging.
Although, they should have separate prices for subscribers and non-subscribers. If a player wants to download issue 379 next October for the monk playtest article they should be charged more than the newly signed-up subscriber who wants to read some back issues.
If the editorial calendar is released announcing what date the issues are compiled, won't someone be able to sign-up the day before, download the previous month's issue, then snatch-up that month's?
Heck, since subscriptions last for 30 days, they could sign-up on late January, get December and January's issue then get February's issue as well...
(checks calendar, 30th is a Fri so you could sign-up on the 29th and it would last past the 27th or last Fri in Feb).
[/devil's advocate]
[devil's advocate]
If the editorial calendar is released announcing what date the issues are compiled, won't someone be able to sign-up the day before, download the previous month's issue, then snatch-up that month's?
Heck, since subscriptions last for 30 days, they could sign-up on late January, get December and January's issue then get February's issue as well...
(checks calendar, 30th is a Fri so you could sign-up on the 29th and it would last past the 27th or last Fri in Feb).
[/devil's advocate]
Didn't somebody already suggest this in a different topic? Seems like an awful lot of work to subscribe for 1 month every 2nd or 3rd month to get the compilations, and it wouldn't save you that much money over subscribing for a year at a time. But if that's your thing, go for it.
Count me as one current subscriber who can't wait for the beta announcement!
I'd also like to add my heartfelt thanks to the designers who are participating with this forum, and providing solid answers where possible. This, combined with Randy's excellent updates, go a long way towards improving your customer relations.
[devil's advocate]
If the editorial calendar is released announcing what date the issues are compiled, won't someone be able to sign-up the day before, download the previous month's issue, then snatch-up that month's?
Heck, since subscriptions last for 30 days, they could sign-up on late January, get December and January's issue then get February's issue as well...
(checks calendar, 30th is a Fri so you could sign-up on the 29th and it would last past the 27th or last Fri in Feb).
[/devil's advocate]
Man, the Devil always seems to pick poeple with no lives and WAY too much time on their hands as advocates.
Will we be able to add custom character backgrounds as well?
I also second the recommendation to be able to pick and choose which power cards to print. When I level up the character I don't necessarily want to reprint all the cards, just the new and/or changed ones.
Re: pdf files
The time frame for the disappearance of the pdf files seems a bit short. I recognize the need to put some kind of restrictions on the content so that new subscribers can't just immediately glom all the old content. I don't think it would be too difficult to set up a simple database table that lists who had access to what issues (or during what time frame) that could be used as a filter on accessing an archive area.
We've lost the convenience of having a hard copy to carry around (unless I want to spend a lot of money printing my own copy from the pdf) so having the convenience to redownload it whenever and whereever I want would be a nice compromise. Say I don't have my computer with me at a friends house or when I'm at a convention but I want to look up an article.
I like the landscape character sheet demo-ed there. Will blank versions of that be available for download (I hate how much valuable table real estate regular character sheets take up).
This is one of the default character sheet options in the character builder.
You can use the character builder to print blank character sheets. (Not sure if this feature is in the beta version)
You can also fully customize the character sheet, set it as default, or print it blank, or save it to one specific character.
So you will have lots of options. Perhaps if players agree on a new layout for the character sheet we will put that in as one of the default choices.
--
Mike Donais.
RPG R&D, Product Owner for the Character Builder
This is one of the default character sheet options in the character builder.
You can use the character builder to print blank character sheets. (Not sure if this feature is in the beta version)
You can also fully customize the character sheet, set it as default, or print it blank, or save it to one specific character.
So you will have lots of options. Perhaps if players agree on a new layout for the character sheet we will put that in as one of the default choices.
--
Mike Donais.
RPG R&D, Product Owner for the Character Builder
Excellent. I was a little disappointed that they have a regular character sheet available for download on the website but not a landscape.
Man, the Devil always seems to pick poeple with no lives and WAY too much time on their hands as advocates.
6 minutes to think of the problem, write it down, and check a calendar is "too much time"?
Killing time before class and work is "no life"?
Re: features
Will we be able to add custom character backgrounds as well?
Right now you can add custom names to race, class, background, powers, feats, etc. But they are in name only. It doesn't support having custom rules for each new element.
So when I play my drow , I don't have power cards with calculated and described powers (since it is a class I made up). I just have stats and skills and feats. Then I have the names of my powers but I have to keep what the powers do handy in a separate print out.
You can make sure you have the right number of feats and skills and HPs and surges though using the customizing buttons. You can also give yourself the right weapon and armor proficiencies using the custom buttons.
We need this for internal playtesting so I suspect the interface for this will just keep getting better.
--
Mike.
Right now you can add custom names to race, class, background, powers, feats, etc. But they are in name only. It doesn't support having custom rules for each new element.
So when I play my drow , I don't have power cards with calculated and described powers (since it is a class I made up). I just have stats and skills and feats. Then I have the names of my powers but I have to keep what the powers do handy in a separate print out.
You can make sure you have the right number of feats and skills and HPs and surges though using the customizing buttons. You can also give yourself the right weapon and armor proficiencies using the custom buttons.
We need this for internal playtesting so I suspect the interface for this will just keep getting better.
--
Mike.
can we expect the program to eventually support "custom rules for each new element" ? I can understand why this would be a non-beta non-trial function of the application. But this functionality will add tot he value of the program by opening up to 3rd parties a little, which almost always increases the value/lifetime of an application (see HL1,HL2,quake3, etc, etc)
I was really surprised to hear this and it weighs heavily on me as I consider whether or not to continue my subscription.
I'm glad this is finally coming out, it is mainly what I subscribed for. Sadly, I think that as far as betas go, this is a terrible one. The game has been out for a while now and I doubt many players are still in the level range that is available for testing. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to play with it and will report on anything I find, but it won't get anywhere near the testing it would if I could use it in my actual games (the lowest of which is 3rd level and will likely be 4th by the time this is out). And a month of closed beta, followed by more open beta leaves me wondering if we will ever get anything above 3rd level. Can we get some sort of idea on when higher levels will be available? Even if it were only the heroic tier that would be more useful than just 3 levels.
And finally i find a second good thing about brazilian books being late to publish. The first one is the
I really think you're all overreacting. Have you ever heard of RSS? Do you use MS Outlook or any other program that will automatically receive RSS feeds. If you can't make a single trip to the website in a month's time, obviously the material doesn't mean much to you.
I can't explain why the policy exists, but I find it difficult to care. It doesn't place much of a burden on us at all.
The problem of this method is that we are basically forced to archive our copies. Now, that is what I am doing anyway, just as I file all RPGA LFR adventures, but it is a rather bizarre idea. It also had the disadvantage that it means the magazine is not actually available online - so if I wish to check magazine content at a different place than I have my PDFs archived, I can't. And yes, this is a situation that props up: I edit adventures for LFR, and will occasionally use magazine material in them. Since the workplace where I edit my adventures occasionally changes, access to the magazines though the internet is a valuable asset.
Also, it cannot be too hard to give a person access to files based on his account (i.e. on the date of his subscription and/or whether he paid for back-issues).
I'm a programmer, I am not guessing - I KNOW it isn't hard if you put even a moment's thought into it.
Gomez
The problem of this method is that we are basically forced to archive our copies.
Err... and paper magazines didn't?
It also had the disadvantage that it means the magazine is not actually available online - so if I wish to check magazine content at a different place than I have my PDFs archived, I can't. (...) Since the workplace where I edit my adventures occasionally changes, access to the magazines though the internet is a valuable asset.
How much cost a pendrive this days?
Bart Carroll
I just wanted to jump in to let you know that we agree that the current system regarding access to back issues could be greatly improved. In fact, we have already been investigating many of the improvements listed here.
Please be aware, however, that we do not currently have a time line for these improvements, when we do have a better idea of when they can happen we will let you know.
Thank you for the feedback, we are listening!
I'm a programmer, I am not guessing - I KNOW it isn't hard if you put even a moment's thought into it.
Oooooooo, you're a programmer.
Of course it's easy, but if you haven't noticed, they have other things going on right now. It's a matter of resources, not difficulty, and a good programmer would know that. As I said, it's just not a big enough deal to justify this whining.As for 100% access, just about everyone has webspace where they can put their materials for reference regardless of where they are at the moment. Should they also be producing the magazines in text format instead of PDF in case -- when accessing the material remotely -- you don't have access to Adobe products? Of course not. It's up to you to provide yourself with the means to access the materials you've bought. If you can't, tough luck. You're not owed anything else.
WotC's doing nothing wrong here.
Will users be able to store characters to update in the future when they level up?
Yes, I go in when I level up and click the level up button then I choose new feats and powers and items as appropriate.
I can also go back and change any decision I made previously.
It is a dynamic character tracker as you would expect.
--
Mike.
can we expect the program to eventually support "custom rules for each new element" ? I can understand why this would be a non-beta non-trial function of the application. But this functionality will add tot he value of the program by opening up to 3rd parties a little, which almost always increases the value/lifetime of an application (see HL1,HL2,quake3, etc, etc)
I haven't decided this yet. Certainly seeing what our fans want the most will help us prioritize things like this. Something like this is a lot of work, so we will probably go after low hanging fruit first. Once we have all the easy things that people ask for done we will talk about this again.
--
Mike.
I haven't decided this yet. Certainly seeing what our fans want the most will help us prioritize things like this. Something like this is a lot of work, so we will probably go after low hanging fruit first. Once we have all the easy things that people ask for done we will talk about this again.
--
Mike.
good to hear! Can't wait to play with the beta :D and can't wait to see how good this is going to turn out!
Admittedly most of the rules options are the same between RPGA and "normal" play, however there are a few "extra" options depending on the campaign being played.
For example, in LFR, there are alignment and deity restrictions, as well as a "found items" list of treasures.
It would be nice if there were a "LFR" button/checkbox to help RPGA players track these kinds of options officially.
a) is an internet connection required for lvl 3+, all levels, never?
Internet connection will not be necessary to use the Beta, other than for downloading it obviously. For the full version, you will need an internet connection to update and get your full data set, but once you have it, you will be able to use your application offline. We will get into more details about the full version in a few weeks. Keep checking Randy's column.
b) are there any possibilities to develop custom powers/feats, and to export them to send to another friend? if not, are there any plans to do so?
You can add new feats name to your character sheet, and save this character, then send it to your friend and he can see the same information you have put in. There is no mechanical element implementation of that new feat in the application though at the moment, and no plans to have this for the full version launch.
c) sometime in the past, i heard something like there'll be an online character vault. whats the status on this?
The Character Vault was a project we had that was tied to the Gleemax project. With Gleemax gone, there are no short term plans to have a Character Vault where people can store their saved characters online. Users will be able to save their character on their local hardrive, naturally.
d) release schedules: this might be above the authority of anyone but randy, but can you give any milestone dates? seasons would be enough, possibly. like spring 09 - cb, summer 09 - ???
Schedules and milestones are communicated by Randy when the time is appropriate through his weekly news message.
The full issue compilation of Dungeon 159 was posted today. On Friday Dragon 368 goes up. I’ve seen a number of questions about how back issues will interact with D&DI subscriptions so I’d like to clarify things here: These full-issue PDFs will be posted for one month. At the end of November when Dragon 369 and Dungeon 160 are posted, we’ll be taking the October issues down.
This is inane.
The coding to know when somebody was a member should be in your database, after all your database required more information just to use forums recently.
The last 20 hours I lost connectivity and could not download anything. Already has been set inplace any that subscribe Nov. 1st can not get Oct. , now you are saying if somebody subscribes Oct. 30 they also no longer get any Oct. issues, because Nov. was released (if they do not login in soon enough). The only logic in doing this is to save bandwidth or some minor coding costs.
It is also disappointing that backissues, which has been discussed on forums for about 6 months clearly has not been resolved. This appears a simple issue similar to what was done with the digital core rules books. Instead of locking then away from people that paid for them, at least you could provide the back issues though that vendor, with perhaps a credit to subscribed members (though that does require a verification process that can add to cost).
Well, if I wasn't stoked to see the beta go live before this DnDI update, I sure as heck am NOW! Those screenshots were just what I wanted to see. I don't really care what any naysayers may have said in the previous 4 pages of posts - I think the product is really taking good shape and I cannot WAIT to get my hot little hands on it! GO DEVS GO!!! I want to personally thank you for your efforts thus far! :D
*Blink* I see little that I want to printout. There again I have little use for images that provide nothing except space.
I clearly can not say I am impressed with the display I have seen. That said I do join in support of the Devs. moving the project forward.
The last 20 hours I lost connectivity and could not download anything. Already has been set inplace any that subscribe Nov. 1st can not get Oct. , now you are saying if somebody subscribes Oct. 30 they also no longer get any Oct. issues, because Nov. was released (if they do not login in soon enough). The only logic in doing this is to save bandwidth or some minor coding costs.
I believe what you mean to say here is if someone subscribes Nov. 30th, they won't have access to the October issue.....since you know Nov 30th is over a month after the compiled issue is released and the compiled issue is up for a month.
I believe what you mean to say here is if someone subscribes Nov. 30th, they won't have access to the October issue.....since you know Nov 30th is over a month after the compiled issue is released and the compiled issue is up for a month.
No, that is another issue that I do not like, no access to back issues at all. As it stood anyone that subscribed in Nov. had not right to Oct. material.
What I am saying I could pay this month and possible lose connectivity for a month, once I get back online I am told I have no access to the Oct. material I paid for because I did not login soon enough. If somebody is going to tell me it should not be that much an issue because I can contact custserve, they mostly appear to work with email and lost of connectivity clearly prevents that option from being effective..
Schedules and milestones are communicated by Randy when the time is appropriate through his weekly news message.
this is a joke, right? randy is not communicating any schedules or milestones in his column, he just keeps saying "its weeks not months" and other hollow phrases.
No, that is another issue that I do not like, no access to back issues at all. As it stood anyone that subscribed in Nov. had not right to Oct. material.
What I am saying I could pay this month and possible lose connectivity for a month, once I get back online I am told I have no access to the Oct. material I paid for because I did not login soon enough. If somebody is going to tell me it should not be that much an issue because I can contact custserve, they mostly appear to work with email and lost of connectivity clearly prevents that option from being effective..
Wow that sounds absolutely nothing like what I got from your first post. Either you changed arguments or my social skills have managed to get even worse in the past 24 hours then they normally are(I really hope it is not the latter because my social skills stink as is).Okay so, let me get this straight, you are complaining that if you lose your internet connection for good you can never get the magazine you paid for? Seeing as how after the month, when you connection is restored, you can email customer service to get the issue you missed during the month.
thanks,
Is it an extremely weak excuse to save data storage space, or is it simply that WotC can't figure out how to work a paid model and they plan to take down the older ones so new subscribers can't access them?
-- I think it's called keeping a customer database with "flags" for access...
Anyway, not happy about the vanishing issue compilations. If I paid for it for a year, the entire archive of issues I paid for should be available to me. Surprise surprise, sites like Paizo's keep your download library nigh forever tied to your login info, and each of those things is paid for individually.
Okay so, let me get this straight, you are complaining that if you lose your internet connection for good you can never get the magazine you paid for? Seeing as how after the month, when you connection is restored, you can email customer service to get the issue you missed during the month.
I have not changed my concern at all, though sometime I have been reported as hard to read.
I was not talking about losing connection for good, just a long period of time.
If I pay for a year of content but do not pick it up within 30 days, I am told I can not get (at least) the compiled pdf or maybe the material (all prior months articles) I paid for.
As for custserve, so far reports on them resolving issues clearly does not inspire confidence.
In this specific case Randy says the compiled would be taken off line so it clearly is uncertain that custserve could even offer replacement after verification I paid for the right to have a copy.
I have not changed my concern at all, though sometime I have been reported as hard to read.
I was not talking about losing connection for good, just a long period of time.
If I pay for a year of content but do not pick it up within 30 days, I am told I can not get (at least) the compiled pdf or maybe the material (all prior months articles) I paid for.
As for custserve, so far reports on them resolving issues clearly does not inspire confidence.
In this specific case Randy says the compiled would be taken off line so it clearly is uncertain that custserve could even offer replacement after verification I paid for the right to have a copy.
I admit that the model is a crappy model, but it was stated earlier in the thread that WotC isn't happy with it either and is going to try to make a better one in the future(how long that will take them is anyone's guess).
Anyways, if you pay for an issue and lose it(or never get it) then accoring to the column you will be able to get it from customer service. Now I admit that customer service is hardly the best solution, but it does mean that there is a way. Although I really think that you might have worse things to worry about if you lose complete net access for a month(personally, insanity would set in by week 2).
You all did such a beautiful job with the character sheets in H1 Keep on the Shadowfell, that I was sincerely hoping that the Character builder would be able to create something that looked similar.
Vastenio
Now, my only gripe. What happens when I get deployed out to the desert and can't download the issues for a few months? (Really, it's going to happen, just a matter of when, and of course I'm only worrying if I can't download
. So I guess I'll have to wait and see.)Awesome! The reason I signed up for DnDI.
Now, my only gripe. What happens when I get deployed out to the desert and can't download the issues for a few months? (Really, it's going to happen, just a matter of when, and of course I'm only worrying if I can't download
when it is actually easier to get back issues illegally than it is legally that's a problem please don't punish the customers that paid for your service because you can't figure out how to keep it safe.
I wanted to say these screens look really good, and it looks like the character builder will exceed my expectations. I'm quite pleased and wanted to offer support, so yay, support.
An earlier poster mentioned having a power card option that matched the way the powers appear in the PHB. I think that would be excellent. I also wanted to echo the thoughts some posters have had about having generic cards that didn't contain information that would have to change every other level. I could see myself using both kinds in practice.
Thanks for listening to our input!
Awesome! The reason I signed up for DnDI.
Now, my only gripe. What happens when I get deployed out to the desert and can't download the issues for a few months? (Really, it's going to happen, just a matter of when, and of course I'm only worrying if I can't download
Indeed an interesting question, one to add to the pile.
The official answer right now is you away more then a month you can not get access to completed issue.
The link randy points to for what remain free editions appears to offer articles and not a complied issue (A promise not kept BTW), though this might indicate that you might have access to articles, just not a completed issue.
Indeed it is wait and see, at times I wonder why I stay posting here as long as I have. I do not like wrecks of any kind, this just is looking so bizarre that I am waiting to see the issues resolved.
No, that is another issue that I do not like, no access to back issues at all. As it stood anyone that subscribed in Nov. had not right to Oct. material.
What I am saying I could pay this month and possible lose connectivity for a month, once I get back online I am told I have no access to the Oct. material I paid for because I did not login soon enough. If somebody is going to tell me it should not be that much an issue because I can contact custserve, they mostly appear to work with email and lost of connectivity clearly prevents that option from being effective..
Just a reminder, here is a copy and paste from Randy's post:
Note that at some point in the future if your computer crashes and you lose all access to your archived files, our customer service team can provide you with replacement files.
I asked for clarification and I am told you can email or call them and they will send you all the Dragons you want.
Regarding the look and feel of the character sheets generated by the Character Builder, do you really have to support the fugly black-and-white character sheet format? (I'm sure that your design staff would love to have a chance to get rid of that clunky old thing and make something that looks good...) Seriously guys, with all the changes in the design of the new game, the days of the old style of character sheets are gone.
You all did such a beautiful job with the character sheets in H1 Keep on the Shadowfell, that I was sincerely hoping that the Character builder would be able to create something that looked similar.
This is something we are discussing for the long term, but as with everything we mention here, no promises.
PLEASE DO NOT do it this way!! I dont want to have to reprint out all my power cards every other freaking level. I can do simple math, put the cards in card sleeves and use a marker to keep the real numbers up to date during and before a session. Dont give in to the people that can afford to buy new ink cartridges once a week.
As you can see from Randy's post, the cards have both. The generic values and lower on the card the specifics for you personally with your weapon equipped.
Will there be any RPGA-Specific support in the Character Builder?
Admittedly most of the rules options are the same between RPGA and "normal" play, however there are a few "extra" options depending on the campaign being played.
For example, in LFR, there are alignment and deity restrictions, as well as a "found items" list of treasures.
It would be nice if there were a "LFR" button/checkbox to help RPGA players track these kinds of options officially.
Yes. Although the filtering system is not implemented for beta, we have a system that lets you select just things that are RPGA legal. You can also make your own filters and save them. RPGA is saved by default, as is RPGA-LFR.
I have worked closely with Chris Tulach to make it support RPGA whenever possible.
--
Mike.
Regarding the availability of past Dungeon/Dragon magazines, it's not a good long-term solution, but it's workable. I don't like older PDFs going offline for a subscription-based service. If it were a one-time payment I'd understand (such as back issues), but if I subscribe for a year, ignore D&DI for three months, and hop back on, I'd really like to have instant access to everything I missed.
I'm very excited about the character builder, it looks very spiffy. I like the ability to print power cards, customized for my particular stats. If this turns out to be as good as it looks, then it will definitely be something I'll value and will heavily sway me on whether I subscribe or not.
Like rutherfordr's concern, I too was hoping to have the ability to print character sheets in the style similar to KotS. They look very friendly and simplified, while the official character sheet format looks comparatively busy and complicated and intimidating. Having a "simplified" layout that looks similar to the KotS sheets (minus the powers) would be super appreciated.
I've got tons of other questions on how the character builder will work, but rather than waste space here, I'll wait until it's released. Then I can just test it out for myself and probably answer all my questions.
Nice Lockwood Lineup art of the Dragonborn. Can we expect to see more of most of the PHB Races, at least?
In regards to the Builder SShots:
Nice Lockwood Lineup art of the Dragonborn. Can we expect to see more of most of the PHB Races, at least?
Over time more art will be added. We have some in there now, but its not what I want yet. Ask again at release though!
So if, in four months, my hard drive fails and I lose all the data stored on it, I'm SOL because you've taken all of the issues I paid for offline?
That is not awesome.
not awesome at all. Infact TOTALLY LAME!!
If they think people are going to cheat and sign up only for one month to get all the back issues, then they should ask themselves..... is having customers signing up only for one month better having them steal it for free on a torrent server?
if they are really worried about loss of profit, make 6 months or a year the minimum subscription. or HECK, just go back to ACTUAL PHYSICAL PRINT!! i guess that cuts to much into the 'profit'.
i plan on getting a subscription, but only cause i've always supported DnD, i always buy the books when i can, rather than download them (and they are all available). Also the character builder looks cool. I don't understand what is possibly taking so long though, it should be fairly simple to make, i would think, since the character sheet is basically putting basic math into boxes.
PLEASE DO NOT do it this way!! I dont want to have to reprint out all my power cards every other freaking level. I can do simple math, put the cards in card sleeves and use a marker to keep the real numbers up to date during and before a session. Dont give in to the people that can afford to buy new ink cartridges once a week.
Uh... usually you play once a week. Printing out your character each time you play would be one page per week. You can print hundreds of pages with one set of cartrides - usually enough for the entire life time of your character...
And about simple math: Memorizing all the bonuses and penalties for your powers can be difficult, also the stacking is sometimes tricky.
Too often I have seen characters who missed a modifier in their attack power calculations.
not awesome at all. Infact TOTALLY LAME!!
If they think people are going to cheat and sign up only for one month to get all the back issues, then they should ask themselves..... is having customers signing up only for one month better having them steal it for free on a torrent server?
if they are really worried about loss of profit, make 6 months or a year the minimum subscription. or HECK, just go back to ACTUAL PHYSICAL PRINT!! i guess that cuts to much into the 'profit'.
i plan on getting a subscription, but only cause i've always supported DnD, i always buy the books when i can, rather than download them (and they are all available). Also the character builder looks cool. I don't understand what is possibly taking so long though, it should be fairly simple to make, i would think, since the character sheet is basically putting basic math into boxes.
Not so lame as you make it sound. You email/call ORCS, and you soon get any issues that got lost in the data apocalypse. WotC has already acknowledged this is a suboptimal solution and that they are considering more palatable options. An answer isn't going to appear overnight, however. Have a little patience.
Sorry. This isn't really about you specifically. I've been working front line corporate customer service for 5+ years, now, so I tend not to assume there's some global conspiracy at work whenever everything I want isn't immediately available. These folks are just trying to make the best game they can with the resources they have at their disposal. They're listening to our suggestions. Some of them they can implement right away (like the Dungeon maps and the enlarged Character Builder pictures), and others they just have to add to the wish list and hopefully include in the final version.
Any Dilbert fans out there? Know all the jokes about how the engineers are expected to meet the impossible specifications of the customers who spent too much time talking to the sales team? Yeah. Now imagine a few hundred people are your most vocal customers and send you contradictory specifications for the same product while demanding that you meet their individual desires or else they will refuse to consider your product acceptable. That's pretty much where we are, here.
For the first time in D&D's history, we're getting a solid, no-kidding attempt to harness all the advantages of the internet in order to make a more dynamic, searchable, and usable game product. The company's trying to actually make this content economically sustainable by turning it into a revenue stream, which means they have a much greater ability to (and interest in) making it worth the money we're paying for it. I'm glad to see it. I don't expect miracles, but so far I'm already seeing a steady improvement and noticeable growth of the DDI product.
Is it what we expected in June? Sadly no. But whatever. I'm still waiting for Starcraft 2 to come out, but I'm not whining on Blizzard's forums and telling them that X Zerg unit must be included or I won't buy the game. Seriously, if you don't feel like it's worth the price of admission in its current form, no one is forcing you to pay for the pay-only content. I've chosen to do so, and maybe that makes me some kind of apologist, but I've been playing various editions of this game (and others) for 20 years, and I'm really having a great time running 4E, so I'm not going to stone the devs daily because they didn't pull Gaming Table out of their hats in June. Let's focus on the present and future instead of on the past. Neither you nor they can turn back time. Cut them a bit of slack.
As far as I'm concerned, I didn't start paying for this service until October. Dragon content has been excellent. I'm actually planning to steal one of the Dungeon adventures with minimal modification for my campaign (which is almost unheard of for me). Character Builder looks like it will be a good tool for my players, though not for some time. I use the Compendium and Encounter Builder regularly, and I have high hopes that Monster Builder and the other Bonus Tools can eventually make my job as DM a whole lot easier without encroaching on my obsession with making my own adventures and monsters. So far, it's been worth $5. I spend more than that getting a sandwich at Subway and receive less long-term satisfaction out of the experience than I've gotten out of DDI this month.
Is it perfect in every way? No. I'm building a little bug list of my own and have a fairly demanding wish list for things I know aren't high priority (the Bonus Tools), and it's completely cool that others are bringing up their suggestions and concerns here. It just irritates me when people get upset about issues that don't actually exist or waste time creating useless drama so they can be the center of attention ("Goodbye Until 5th Edition" thread, anyone?). That may indeed be the result of my long exposure to customer service. Anyone who cares a lick about the goods or services they are providing is perfectly okay with having to solve problems as long as those problems are articulated in such a way that it is actually possible to solve them. Absurd accusations and assumptions of bad faith are enormous turn-offs for me personally and professionally.
In short, if you want to be taken seriously, don't be a jerk. There are perfectly acceptable ways to express criticism without mistreating those whose job it is to listen and respond to it. How inclined would you be to read a thread that was 90% "I hate you and despise everything you have done with this game" and 10% legitimate criticism, much less respond to it? If we want a productive dialogue between devs and customers, divisive, hostile language isn't the right way to go.
Keep it friendly and professional, folks. They'll be much better able to implement our ideas if they feel like we appreciate them for the job they do.
Regarding the look and feel of the character sheets generated by the Character Builder, do you really have to support the fugly black-and-white character sheet format? (I'm sure that your design staff would love to have a chance to get rid of that clunky old thing and make something that looks good...) Seriously guys, with all the changes in the design of the new game, the days of the old style of character sheets are gone.
You all did such a beautiful job with the character sheets in H1 Keep on the Shadowfell, that I was sincerely hoping that the Character builder would be able to create something that looked similar.
+1 on this.
The character sheets (including power descriptions) in Keep on the Shadowfell are ideal. That's what I'd be looking for in a character generator.
Not particularly impressed with the cluttered format as shown in D&DI-13
The other thing that's perplexing is the inability to specify, say... both melee and ranged weapons on a character sheet. I have plenty of PC's with a Sword, Shield, Dagger and a Crossbow, but I don't see that in the generator. In fact, I'd love to see what you get if you just put a Dagger in... does it give you both Melee and Ranged stats for it in power cards?
If I'm using the Compendium, and I want to read the relevant article referenced for a power (and I paid for it), I should be able to access it online without having to dig through my own archives.
Not so lame as you make it sound. You email/call ORCS, and you soon get any issues that got lost in the data apocalypse. WotC has already acknowledged this is a suboptimal solution and that they are considering more palatable options. An answer isn't going to appear overnight, however. Have a little patience.
The point is is it's incredibly stupid and unnecessary why should anyone go through all the hassle and most likely days of waiting when there's a simpler solution. This isn't rocket science it isn't even really anything new its a flag system they use something similar for the forums. With what they are doing it will make it easier and less time consuming to steal the material than to go through the proper channels that's just inane. You should not have to put in any real effort to access digital content that you have paid for. There is absolutely no reason to do it this way except for to make paying customers jump through hoops.
Yes. Although the filtering system is not implemented for beta, we have a system that lets you select just things that are RPGA legal. You can also make your own filters and save them. RPGA is saved by default, as is RPGA-LFR.
I have worked closely with Chris Tulach to make it support RPGA whenever possible.
--
Mike.
That is SO incredibly awesome.
I have one suggestion and one question.
Suggestion: on the power cards, in the box for "Attack", it would look nice if you prepended a "+" onto the number. (Or a "-" as appropriate.)
For example, on the Frigid Blade power card, it should say "+4" instead of just "4" in the Attack box.
Question: is there any way to make the power cards smart enough to substitute the appropriate secondary ability modifier in the appropriate places?
For example, the Greenflame Blade power card currently reads "... you deal fire damage equal to your Strength modifier to all enemies ...."
It would be totally awesome if, instead, this read " ... you deal 3 fire damage to all enemies ..."
If that's too hard, even something like " ... you deal fire damage equal to 3 to all enemies ..." would be a major time saver. The player wouldn't have to look elsewhere for his Strength modifier because it would be right there on the power card.
Or perhaps a hybrid approach: " ... you deal fire damage equal to your Strength modifier (3) to all enemies ..." ? That way you don't forget which ability is providing the 3.
I'm sure this is not as easy as it sounds, but I thought I would ask.
Keep up the good work.
i.e. as an example, it would tell me that my Paladin 3 with Radiant Delirium and a +1 Holy Symbol had a +6 to attack, 3d8+5 damage(half on a miss), and does 29+1d6 on a crit, and the various effects that happen?
It might tell me that I have a +12 Diplomacy, but not tell me how I got there, etc...
I've found that capability a lot more useful than power cards - the power cards seem nice at first, but you level quickly enough that it isn't worth the effort(to me) to make them durable. At which point, the nice clean single sheet is easier to use.
At the beginning of my membership, I hoarded files. I archived the hell out of that site. Then, one day, I realized that my $9.95 / month was buying me access to the library and I could readily download something ANY TIME I WANT.
Everyone needs to understand this fundamental principle: The Internet, as a medium, is fundamentally different from print or any primarily physical media (such as CDs). With Internet sites, it just doesn't make much sense to buy access to a file. To be honest, if I want a particular file, I can readily find it as a bit torrent more often than not.
WotC: Your strategy begins and ends with building community. I'm not a member yet, but I will be as soon as I can play a game using your tools.
That's regardless of how you price the PDFs. Hell, if you deny them to me I'll just get them on bit torrent. >:}
What you need is not just the tools, but an ever-expanding library of maps and dungeons and forests and monsters and NPCs and story fragments and empires and worlds and universes.
I'd readily pay $14.95 / month for access to that. Many other people would too. The people who download PDFs on bit torrent would be jealous.
The point is is it's incredibly stupid and unnecessary why should anyone go through all the hassle and most likely days of waiting when there's a simpler solution. This isn't rocket science it isn't even really anything new its a flag system they use something similar for the forums. With what they are doing it will make it easier and less time consuming to steal the material than to go through the proper channels that's just inane. You should not have to put in any real effort to access digital content that you have paid for. There is absolutely no reason to do it this way except for to make paying customers jump through hoops.
And they responded to your (and others') concern with this process a couple pages back, saying they're looking at alternatives. Any change isn't going to happen within 48 hours, and they have a month to implement a change before this even becomes relevant. Patience, Grasshopper.
And they responded to your (and others') concern with this process a couple pages back, saying they're looking at alternatives. Any change isn't going to happen within 48 hours, and they have a month to implement a change before this even becomes relevant. Patience, Grasshopper.
Yes they responded but I don't think that matters much being that there's a perfect alternative already in don't do it. This is one of those Ideas that never should have even been put on the table. Seriously this is as if not more dumb than the Idea of having to go through CS to cancel auto renew. The fact is people are paying for this service now it should be ready and running properly now, and I doubt seriously this will be taken care of before it actually becomes an issue. People will continue to voice their opinion on it otherwise it will just be another thing wizards puts on the back burner. I mean they still have a crappy auto cancel function, they have yet to be able to get the page you subscribe to to show up secure, and there's still no option for pay pal. What gives you the Idea this will be fixed in a month they've had a month to fix the rest and I'd dare say those things are of a much higher priority since at least the pay pal and security are losing them subscribers.
If you want your ideas to be taken seriously, don't be a jerk. There are perfectly acceptable ways to express criticism without mistreating those whose job it is to listen and respond to it. Keep your comments friendly and professional, because hostility only creates resentment (folks representing an employer aren't allowed to respond with hostility).
Let me reiterate the main thrust of my point, and then I'll stop bumping this thread:
If you want your ideas to be taken seriously, don't be a jerk. There are perfectly acceptable ways to express criticism without mistreating those whose job it is to listen and respond to it. Keep your comments friendly and professional, because hostility only creates resentment (folks representing an employer aren't allowed to respond with hostility).
WTH are you talking about I've been awful tame here Ive found that when dealing with people that provide you service playing nice just doesn't work they don't take the problem seriously because they don't feel there's any real danger of losing your money. Your experiences may vary but every time I have ever called customer service they don't take the problem seriously until you actually get ****** off at them and they realize I can spend my money elsewhere. So in closing if you want your arguments to be taken seriously don't put on the kid gloves they won't listen until you slap them with reality.
Oooooooo, you're a programmer.
And a really good programmer would know that if you put a moments thought of it BEFORE you set up a system, it doesn't cost extra time or money at all.
We have the right - even the duty - to make issues known. Just because something has a work-around doesn't mean it does not need improvement, or that we shouldn't push for such improvement.
That is not whining - I feel that assaulting posters for voicing their concerns is very poor behavior, and I expect wizards doesn't appreciate it either.
Gomez
How will the print out be scaled for non letter-sized paper? We use A4 over here exclusively (much more logical paper format, anyway
).The optimum version would be having margins large enough to print out unscaled sheets.
Oh, and I assume that the power cards fit into standard card sleeves, won't they?
Huldvoll
Baron von Bomberg
I understand the decision to remove archived content after a certain point in time and I can except this in the short term, but in the long term I think you should plan to make a mechanism that would allow subscribers access to the "archive vault" based on the dates of their subscription. This really doesn't seem that technically difficult and it is really not too much to ask. I would consider the "contact Customer Service" to be a bandaid until a better sub-scriber friendly service is available.
Hello all!
I just wanted to jump in to let you know that we agree that the current system regarding access to back issues could be greatly improved. In fact, we have already been investigating many of the improvements listed here.
Please be aware, however, that we do not currently have a time line for these improvements, when we do have a better idea of when they can happen we will let you know.
Thank you for the feedback, we are listening!
this is for those to lazy to scroll back a few pages.
so: keep those voices up.
Is there going to be any way to output a "Here is everything you need to know to play the game easily, but nothing else" single page character sheet?
i.e. as an example, it would tell me that my Paladin 3 with Radiant Delirium and a +1 Holy Symbol had a +6 to attack, 3d8+5 damage(half on a miss), and does 29+1d6 on a crit, and the various effects that happen?
It might tell me that I have a +12 Diplomacy, but not tell me how I got there, etc...
I've found that capability a lot more useful than power cards - the power cards seem nice at first, but you level quickly enough that it isn't worth the effort(to me) to make them durable. At which point, the nice clean single sheet is easier to use.
I'm becoming more enamored of writing up characters with monster-style statsheets. It's not difficult, and all the info you need is there, and it's compact.
And attractive, especially with mixed blues instead of greens.
I'm really looking forward to the Character Builder and liking the possibility to print out power cards, but:
How will the print out be scaled for non letter-sized paper? We use A4 over here exclusively (much more logical paper format, anyway
The optimum version would be having margins large enough to print out unscaled sheets.
Oh, and I assume that the power cards fit into standard card sleeves, won't they?
Huldvoll
Baron von Bomberg
Yes they are designed for card sleeves.
A4 shouldn't be a problem but I will add it to the QA list to be tested just to be sure.
The RSS feed does not update when the compiled issues are posted.
Thus I have to check manually if the compiled issue is up or not. It would be very very nice if the RSS feed would update with that little bit of info too.
I'd like to point out this little piece of info too:
The RSS feed does not update when the compiled issues are posted.
Thus I have to check manually if the compiled issue is up or not. It would be very very nice if the RSS feed would update with that little bit of info too.
Where can one find the link to this RSS feed?
http://www.wizards.com/rss.asp?x=dnd
Where can one find the link to this RSS feed?
You can find them here:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rssfeeds
I used the builder at PAX and I can tell expectant users out there that this is NOT a master tools or 3.0 character generator boondoggle. The interface was slick, responsive and easy. My experience at PAX was so good in my perspective that changes scare me! heh.
Some requests on the builder, some of which are echoes of others:
1. XML. You've got it. XML is by nature friendly, but please create the format with crafty home devs in mind. ESPECIALLY make sure that it is easy for plug-ins or home brew content to be found in the XML. If you do this, home brew devs will customize your app for you - saving you dev costs and keeping us customers happy.
2. Options. Some folks want power cards with data, some want them without. A check box is what we need. People crying for one or the other are shortsighted (my opinion.)
3. Huzzah for RPGA/LFR compatibility.
4. Gleemax is dead, long live gleemax. It would still be awesome for subscribers to designate another subscriber as their DM. When the DM logs in, their insider (forum?) account could have a private message of the XML of their player's characters. At least, you could make it easy for non-technophiles to email the xml file of their character to their DM.
5. Related to DM/player and XML: allow XML extensions to be saved and imported. DMs could create a custom feat, backgrounds, races, items, etc., and save the "MyCampaignOptions.XML" file to be imported by their players.
Better: even after the content is imported, allow it to be turned off/on (default on of course) just as the RPGA/LFR content is.
Now, on to the removal of Dragon/Dungeon content:
Experience in other online content has shown that the more expensive and difficult it is to access content the more likely that content will show up on filesharing networks. I'm not advocating stealing content from Wizards - I'm just stating known facts. By making online music easier to access and cheaper, Itunes made paid online music a reality despite ubiquitous file sharing. Take this lesson to heart and you will have happier players and an income stream to support the development of the content we all love.
thanks for all the work,
redbeard
I'll be subscribing as soon as the beta is live. The character builder is THE most important tool to me, with the Compendium coming in a good second.
I used the builder at PAX and I can tell expectant users out there that this is NOT a master tools or 3.0 character generator boondoggle. The interface was slick, responsive and easy. My experience at PAX was so good in my perspective that changes scare me! heh.
Some requests on the builder, some of which are echoes of others:
1. XML. You've got it. XML is by nature friendly, but please create the format with crafty home devs in mind. ESPECIALLY make sure that it is easy for plug-ins or home brew content to be found in the XML. If you do this, home brew devs will customize your app for you - saving you dev costs and keeping us customers happy.
2. Options. Some folks want power cards with data, some want them without. A check box is what we need. People crying for one or the other are shortsighted (my opinion.)
3. Huzzah for RPGA/LFR compatibility.
4. Gleemax is dead, long live gleemax. It would still be awesome for subscribers to designate another subscriber as their DM. When the DM logs in, their insider (forum?) account could have a private message of the XML of their player's characters. At least, you could make it easy for non-technophiles to email the xml file of their character to their DM.
5. Related to DM/player and XML: allow XML extensions to be saved and imported. DMs could create a custom feat, backgrounds, races, items, etc., and save the "MyCampaignOptions.XML" file to be imported by their players.
Better: even after the content is imported, allow it to be turned off/on (default on of course) just as the RPGA/LFR content is.
Now, on to the removal of Dragon/Dungeon content:
Experience in other online content has shown that the more expensive and difficult it is to access content the more likely that content will show up on filesharing networks. I'm not advocating stealing content from Wizards - I'm just stating known facts. By making online music easier to access and cheaper, Itunes made paid online music a reality despite ubiquitous file sharing. Take this lesson to heart and you will have happier players and an income stream to support the development of the content we all love.
thanks for all the work,
redbeard
A very well organized and insightful post, thanks redbeard.
On a personal note it scares me!
Devs: redbeard is making some very good points here, I hope these are carefully considered by your team.
-Tom
I'll be subscribing as soon as the beta is live. The character builder is THE most important tool to me, with the Compendium coming in a good second.
I used the builder at PAX and I can tell expectant users out there that this is NOT a master tools or 3.0 character generator boondoggle. The interface was slick, responsive and easy. My experience at PAX was so good in my perspective that changes scare me! heh.
Some requests on the builder, some of which are echoes of others:
1. XML. You've got it. XML is by nature friendly, but please create the format with crafty home devs in mind. ESPECIALLY make sure that it is easy for plug-ins or home brew content to be found in the XML. If you do this, home brew devs will customize your app for you - saving you dev costs and keeping us customers happy.
1. Done. The saved format is XML, I am not technical enough to say more than that about it.
2. Options. Some folks want power cards with data, some want them without. A check box is what we need. People crying for one or the other are shortsighted (my opinion.)
2. Done. The program does both.
3. Huzzah for RPGA/LFR compatibility.
3. Huzzah! I am a big RPGA player too!
4. Gleemax is dead, long live gleemax. It would still be awesome for subscribers to designate another subscriber as their DM. When the DM logs in, their insider (forum?) account could have a private message of the XML of their player's characters. At least, you could make it easy for non-technophiles to email the xml file of their character to their DM.
4. This feature isn't in the beta we released. The full version does have a text version of your character which I am currently tuning to meet our players needs. It is a copy and paste field built right in, to make it very fast to use. Here is one of my RPGA character pasted as an example:
QUARREL, level 5
Elf, Ranger
Background: Dalelands
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 11, Dex 21, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 8.
Starting Ability Scores
Str 10, Con 11, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.
AC: 20 Fort: 15 Reflex: 20 Will: 17
HP: 48 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 12
TRAINED SKILLS
Nature, Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception, Stealth, Thievery.
FEATS
1 Sneak of Shadows
2 Weapon Proficiency (Greatbow)
4 Weapon Focus (Bow)
POWERS
1, At-Will: Twin Strike
1, At-Will: Nimble Strike
1, Encounter: Two-Fanged Strike
1, Daily: Split the Tree
2, Utility: Crucial Advice
3, Encounter: Thundertusk Boar Strike
5, Daily: Excruciating Shot
ITEMS
Hide armor, Adventurer's Kit, Flameburst Greatbow +1, Catstep Boots (heroic tier), Potion of Healing (heroic tier), Amulet of Protection +2, Silver Arrows, Climber's Kit, Thieves' Tools, Arrows (90), Journeybread, Waterskin
5. Related to DM/player and XML: allow XML extensions to be saved and imported. DMs could create a custom feat, backgrounds, races, items, etc., and save the "MyCampaignOptions.XML" file to be imported by their players.
Better: even after the content is imported, allow it to be turned off/on (default on of course) just as the RPGA/LFR content is.
This seems pretty advanced. We have some features built in for custom feats and powers and races and classes but they are in name only and have no mechanics associated with them at all.
You can save what things are legal in any given campaign. Other people can then use that filter if you send it to them.
Now, on to the removal of Dragon/Dungeon content:
Experience in other online content has shown that the more expensive and difficult it is to access content the more likely that content will show up on filesharing networks. I'm not advocating stealing content from Wizards - I'm just stating known facts. By making online music easier to access and cheaper, Itunes made paid online music a reality despite ubiquitous file sharing. Take this lesson to heart and you will have happier players and an income stream to support the development of the content we all love.
Well, I am the product owner for the character builder and have nothing to do with this so I can't address it. I did read in Randy's article that you can always send an email and get your magazines. Also that they are still working on this.
thanks for all the work,
redbeard
Our pleasure!
--
Mike Donais
Product Owner for DDI Character Builder
These full-issue PDFs will be posted for one month. At the end of November when Dragon 369 and Dungeon 160 are posted, we’ll be taking the October issues down.
I don't understand this. What made you guys want to take the compiled articles offline?
You are going to be keeping the files somewhere. Why not keep them available for download?
This seems like it would actually cost you more, because you have to pay for the man-hours to handle the calls when people want to download the issues.
Also, could you clarify if only the compiled issues are being taken down, or if the compiled issues and the individual articles are being taken down?
As the DM of my game I created a Status Background and a Regional Background for my players to make them more different from each other. My question would be whether in the character creator I could make it so that the additional homebrew options (in this case the bonuses I gave based on social status and region of birth) that I gave could be implemented.
Hi all,
I want to briefly say that this weeks preview and soon to be released beta looks VERRRY good! I like how it gives you printable power cards! This is so useful for ALL players. D&D4 has trimmed the fat in the rules BUT it is a more intense game to PLAY now. The power cards speed things up. Good idea.
I just think CB looks like what a company like Hasbro/WOTC can do. I am excited and I am filled with new interest in D&DI.
Nice job WOTC! ....Now make it happen and give us this beta in 2 weeks or less.
If Character Builder performs as good as the gallery pics make it look...
PLUS access to all data from all books, this will be one D&D-licious product!
You can quote me on that...
GMB (Bob)
On the Character Builder.
As the DM of my game I created a Status Background and a Regional Background for my players to make them more different from each other. My question would be whether in the character creator I could make it so that the additional homebrew options (in this case the bonuses I gave based on social status and region of birth) that I gave could be implemented.
For things like this you can just go to the character sheet and give bonuses to skills by modifying the miscellaneous bonus field. It then remembers those bonuses and keeps adding them when you level up or change things around on your character.
Without knowing exactly what bonuses you have given I can't guarantee anything but you can do a fair amount of stuff to customize. As players request more specific things I will add them to my list and prioritize them depending on how many people want them and how hard they are to do.
--
Mike.
Hi all,
I want to briefly say that this weeks preview and soon to be released beta looks VERRRY good! I like how it gives you printable power cards! This is so useful for ALL players. D&D4 has trimmed the fat in the rules BUT it is a more intense game to PLAY now. The power cards speed things up. Good idea.
I just think CB looks like what a company like Hasbro/WOTC can do. I am excited and I am filled with new interest in D&DI.
Nice job WOTC! ....Now make it happen and give us this beta in 2 weeks or less.
If Character Builder performs as good as the gallery pics make it look...
PLUS access to all data from all books, this will be one D&D-licious product!
You can quote me on that...
GMB (Bob)
Thanks!
Check out Randy's NEXT weekly article for a release date, it is real soon now! ;)
--
Mike.
I go back and forth between using power cards and using a nice, tidy powers sheet. I like both formats and I am honestly having trouble deciding which to use.
Is there anyway you could set it up to print a Powers Sheet, as opposed to Power Cards?
I mentioned before but it got lost in the flood.
I go back and forth between using power cards and using a nice, tidy powers sheet. I like both formats and I am honestly having trouble deciding which to use.
Is there anyway you could set it up to print a Powers Sheet, as opposed to Power Cards?
Bad news is that it doesn't currently do this. Good news is that my DM also likes the idea of a powers sheet so it could happen. As Mike said above, we'll track and prioritize new features based on how useful, popular, and hard they are to do.
I'll probably end up making sheets on the computer for every character for my own records and also do figure out all the calculation errors we missed.
Clerics especially are guilty of this, they assume they have armor and shield proficiencies that they don't. A very reasonable mistake since it changed in this edition.
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Mike.
Yes they are designed for card sleeves.
A4 shouldn't be a problem but I will add it to the QA list to be tested just to be sure.
Thanks a lot!
It's those little things which can turn a good product into a well of last minute horrors: Players are arriving at my place, I just need to print out the new power cards, quickly cut them into single cardss and ... oh no! this [rest of the sentence deleted due to illustrative expletives]!!!Huldvoll
Baron von Bomberg
I have seen a lot of the people in my play groups come up with bonuses they forgot or equipment they were using that they weren't proficient in!
Clerics especially are guilty of this, they assume they have armor and shield proficiencies that they don't. A very reasonable mistake since it changed in this edition.
Clerics also have the problem that they use Implement and Weapon powers. Some of them forget to add their proficiency bonus to ther Weapon powers, some add their proficiency bonus to their Implement ones. Further possibilities to mess around are abundant :D
--
Mike.
I think of effects like a Warlord's bonus to initiative or the Half-Elf's bonus to Diplomacy.
This things are
a) triggered not by the character himself but one ally
b) applied (nearly) every time
c) easily forgotten.
As a DM I'd rather apply such a bonus once to often than having my players constantly forget about them.
Huldvoll
Baron von Bomberg
Oh, actually, you know what would be cool? If there were little check boxes-if you had a Warlord, you could check the Warlord box and you'd get the +2 added in, if you had a Half-Elf you'd check the Half-Elf box and you'd automatically get +1 to insight, or whatever. Oooh, and then your could have a sub-layer of boxes, so when you check Half-Elf the 'Group Insight' box would pop up (under and to the left, like normal), and then if you checked that you'd get the extra +1 to initiative added. And so on, and so forth.
Thanks,
Hdier
--
Miike.
Do you mean on all of the character sheets? That would require linking the sheets together, does the character builder do that?
Oh, actually, you know what would be cool? If there were little check boxes-if you had a Warlord, you could check the Warlord box and you'd get the +2 added in, if you had a Half-Elf you'd check the Half-Elf box and you'd automatically get +1 to insight, or whatever. Oooh, and then your could have a sub-layer of boxes, so when you check Half-Elf the 'Group Insight' box would pop up (under and to the left, like normal), and then if you checked that you'd get the extra +1 to initiative added. And so on, and so forth.
Yep. that's exactly what I'm envisioning. The automatism you described in your first paragraph makes sense when talking Virtual Game Table; the Warlkarod's character sheet might broadcast its bonus to the other sheets in the group. For table top gaming, I just want to make sure these bonuses are considered without the warlord's player needing to prompt everyone.
Always keep it as simple as possible. :D
Another possibility might be prompting the player of the bonus-generating character when he selects something which has to be given to other players.
A simple message box (not so nice) or the ablity to generate a text file with this information. You can send this file to the other affected players.
Or you save this stuff in s separate XML file which the others can import into their character sheet.
Lots of possibilities! And I'd be satisfied with the most simple one. ;)
Huldvoll
Baron von Bomberg
Thanks,
Hdier
Thanks,
Tapelib
I'm really looking forward to the Character Builder and liking the possibility to print out power cards, but:
How will the print out be scaled for non letter-sized paper? We use A4 over here exclusively (much more logical paper format, anyway
The optimum version would be having margins large enough to print out unscaled sheets.
Oh, and I assume that the power cards fit into standard card sleeves, won't they?
Huldvoll
Baron von Bomberg
Actually, I hope you can set up the cards to print a bigger font, so they're 4/page and postcard size. This really helps those with poor eyesight play the game. I found some Ultra-Pro postcard-sized sleeves that would love them. So please consider a 2x2 portrait layout for power cards, as well as your smaller 4x2 landscape version.
Thanks,
Tapelib
+1 to this!
I'm really tired of squinting at the teensy type on the D&D minis cards... please make these cards easier to read!
personally i would like to see less negativity on the part of users on thes forums... why cant we wait patiently while these folks do their jobs and not add to their already stresfull lives.
things are very nice now, compared to 3-4 months ago we're in heaven.
Don't let the negativity get to you, and you do your part to make the forums a friendly and welcoming place.
+1 to this!
I'm really tired of squinting at the teensy type on the D&D minis cards... please make these cards easier to read!
As someone with severe eyesight problems, I would welcome this.
Not too impressed yet,
Amber
Well this all looks great, except that people have already created an excel version of the same thing for free. I'm also worried about printing, which will waste a crap-load of ink that's expensive in itself. PDF is the same way. Price is an issue, since I can get the same thing for free.
Not too impressed yet,
Amber
This thing can do much more than the EXCEL char gens which are available.
I actually prefer landscape mode for my character sheets, and then print the power pages as portrait mode.
Getting back to "on subject here" I have a couple of bug reports.
I read this post and thought, "What they do landscape? Sweet!"
I then printed one out and started comparing it to my portrait version to see where things got moved around to. At that point I saw two bugs. The bottom of the sheets are missing or cut off.
In portrait the skills end at religion cutting out Stealth, Streetwise, and Thievery. In landscape you get Stealth and Streetwise but Thievery is still (just barely and this is what made me notice it) cut off.
Bug two: In landscape the section, 'Languages Spoken,' is missing.
That said I love it and my conversion to 4th Edition starts in a month. Hopefully you get these major bugs fixed so I can officially start using the character sheet.
P.S. For those of you who are interested, what I do is print off the cards and then using double-sided poster tape (purchased at Wal-mart for 1.79 for 1000 feet) and a deck of cards (again purchased for 1.99) and tape the power cards to the playing cards. This makes them much studier and gives them a nice design on the back for when I flip them during play to show they have been used.
P.S. For those of you who are interested, what I do is print off the cards and then using double-sided poster tape (purchased at Wal-mart for 1.79 for 1000 feet) and a deck of cards (again purchased for 1.99) and tape the power cards to the playing cards. This makes them much studier and gives them a nice design on the back for when I flip them during play to show they have been used.
use old magic cards(or foil lands), in nearly as old magic card sleeves. put the printed paper in front, et voila: nearly indistructible powercards.
use old magic cards(or foil lands), in nearly as old magic card sleeves. put the printed paper in front, et voila: nearly indistructible powercards.
Well, except there's the obvious problem - every 3 weeks or so if you're playing LFR(as an example), you can expect to change the numbers on those cards. Which makes it a pain to use those sleeves.
Well, except there's the obvious problem - every 3 weeks or so if you're playing LFR(as an example), you can expect to change the numbers on those cards. Which makes it a pain to use those sleeves.
why would it be a problem? pull out the sheet of paper, correct the number in it (you can have placeholders for the values instead of the values printed out), and put it back into that sleeve.
i prefer a format like the following printed for custom made power cards:
1[W]+STR [ ...D...+... ]
why would it be a problem? pull out the sheet of paper, correct the number in it (you can have placeholders for the values instead of the values printed out), and put it back into that sleeve.
i prefer a format like the following printed for custom made power cards:
1[W]+STR [ ...D...+... ]
Because I'm used to a power sheet where I can just print a page each time something changes(and it all ends up on one page, nice and neatly formatted)
This may have already been posted, sorry I don't have the time to read all 150+ posts on the subject, but background attributes from Forgotten Realms are not included in the power cards. I.E. My character is from Chessenta a nd should receive a +1 on the action gaiend from using an Action Point. However the power card only shows the +3 I receive from Action surge, when it should in fact be a +4. Again sorry if this is a repost.
BUG: Character Builder does not add in Background Bonuses
This may have already been posted, sorry I don't have the time to read all 150+ posts on the subject, but background attributes from Forgotten Realms are not included in the power cards. I.E. My character is from Chessenta a nd should receive a +1 on the action gaiend from using an Action Point. However the power card only shows the +3 I receive from Action surge, when it should in fact be a +4. Again sorry if this is a repost.
This should be posted in the Character Builder Beta Technical forum.
This should be posted in the Character Builder Beta Technical forum.
I think there needs to be a set of rules stickies that dictate what kind of posts go in which forums. It's kind of ambiguous ATM, that last post sounded like feedback to me, but it could be technical as well.
Yeah my bug post a few comments before this one were before I noticed the huge thread dedicated to feedback and bugs reports. Stupid old threads confusing me.
it's ok, there's not really a wrong (or right) way to report stuff, other than the CB's built in bug report system yet.
((other than going OT in an existing thread)