Former subscriber: Did WotC ever ... - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Former subscriber: Did WotC ever ...

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
daddicus
Dec 26, 2011 17:24:15
I was a subscriber until June. I left then because of several issues. Have any of these been corrected and/or dealt with? If so, please include links if appropriate.

Did they ever apologize or even acknowledge directly lying to the customers in the matter of the old CB not being updated when they said it would, but was instead disabled?

Did they ever remove the 20-character limit?

Did they ever allow a useful offline version?

Did they ever produce a reasonable content-ownership license? (or, are they still claiming full ownership over all player-created content hosted on their servers?)
#2
salla
Dec 26, 2011 17:25:42 1. Crap happens. Sometimes you can't update on schedule. Get over it. Or, I suppose to your perspective, 'no'.

2. No.

3. No

4. No.
#3
doug_lampert
Dec 26, 2011 20:09:37
Did they ever remove the 20-character limit?

They did add an ability to download your characters, in practice this largely removes the 20-character limit and largely resolves the ownership issue. But officially they still own the characters and there is still a limit.

They are supposed to be up to where the online tools are about as good as the off-line ones were at their best (and the online ones are updated). I wouldn't know, like you I let my subscription lapse. I was happy to pay the full subscription for regular updates and to also buy the books, and a couple of my players were buying the books.

On a simple value for money basis I could probably justify resubscribing now, the compendium alone was ALMOST enough to keep me as a customer. But they annoyed me. I expect I'll buy the subscription for one month to do a math check on my player's PCs sometime arround level 28, but otherwise I think they've seen the last of my money for awhile. There are other roleplaying systems, after the current campaign I'll do something else for a few years.
#4
mudbunny
Dec 26, 2011 21:52:27
Did they ever remove the 20-character limit?

The limit has not been removed. However, the VT (which is currently in Open Beta *and* now has passes available for non-subscribers) has a 50-character storage that you can also use if you are running a campaign.

Did they ever allow a useful offline version?

Nope. In order to use the CB, you need to be online and be running an OS that allows you to install Silverlight.

#5
Mand12
Dec 27, 2011 9:48:00
Did they ever produce a reasonable content-ownership license? (or, are they still claiming full ownership over all player-created content hosted on their (servers?)

Characters created in the Builder are not player-created content.
#6
mudbunny
Dec 27, 2011 10:07:03
Did they ever produce a reasonable content-ownership license? (or, are they still claiming full ownership over all player-created content hosted on their (servers?)

Characters created in the Builder are not player-created content.

Mand12 has the right of it. To get a little bit deeper into the nuts and bolts, what is being copyrighted when you create a character in the CB is the expression of that character on the form created by the CB. That is, the images, graphics and layout of the character sheet. The character itself is not copyrighted.

(Note, I am not a lawyer, although I do work in the IP field, albeit on the patent side of things.)
#7
Marandahir
Dec 27, 2011 12:55:02 So what happens when you upload someone else's copyrighted image? Does that mean WotC "owns" that picture, even though the person who uploaded the picture for their character sheet "stole" the image from DeviantArt or some such place?
#8
Kalex_the_Omen
Dec 27, 2011 13:29:03
So what happens when you upload someone else's copyrighted image? Does that mean WotC "owns" that picture, even though the person who uploaded the picture for their character sheet "stole" the image from DeviantArt or some such place?

You don't upload images. Custom images must reside elsewhere on the web and are referenced via URL in the Character Builder.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 daddicus Dec 26, 2011 17:24:15	I was a subscriber until June. I left then because of several issues. Have any of these been corrected and/or dealt with? If so, please include links if appropriate. Did they ever apologize or even acknowledge directly lying to the customers in the matter of the old CB not being updated when they said it would, but was instead disabled? Did they ever remove the 20-character limit? Did they ever allow a useful offline version? Did they ever produce a reasonable content-ownership license? (or, are they still claiming full ownership over all player-created content hosted on their servers?)
#2 salla Dec 26, 2011 17:25:42	1. Crap happens. Sometimes you can't update on schedule. Get over it. Or, I suppose to your perspective, 'no'. 2. No. 3. No 4. No.
#3 doug_lampert Dec 26, 2011 20:09:37	Did they ever remove the 20-character limit? They did add an ability to download your characters, in practice this largely removes the 20-character limit and largely resolves the ownership issue. But officially they still own the characters and there is still a limit. They are supposed to be up to where the online tools are about as good as the off-line ones were at their best (and the online ones are updated). I wouldn't know, like you I let my subscription lapse. I was happy to pay the full subscription for regular updates and to also buy the books, and a couple of my players were buying the books. On a simple value for money basis I could probably justify resubscribing now, the compendium alone was ALMOST enough to keep me as a customer. But they annoyed me. I expect I'll buy the subscription for one month to do a math check on my player's PCs sometime arround level 28, but otherwise I think they've seen the last of my money for awhile. There are other roleplaying systems, after the current campaign I'll do something else for a few years.
#4 mudbunny Dec 26, 2011 21:52:27	Did they ever remove the 20-character limit? The limit has not been removed. However, the VT (which is currently in Open Beta and now has passes available for non-subscribers) has a 50-character storage that you can also use if you are running a campaign. Did they ever allow a useful offline version? Nope. In order to use the CB, you need to be online and be running an OS that allows you to install Silverlight.
#5 Mand12 Dec 27, 2011 9:48:00	Did they ever produce a reasonable content-ownership license? (or, are they still claiming full ownership over all player-created content hosted on their (servers?) Characters created in the Builder are not player-created content.
#6 mudbunny Dec 27, 2011 10:07:03	Did they ever produce a reasonable content-ownership license? (or, are they still claiming full ownership over all player-created content hosted on their (servers?) Characters created in the Builder are not player-created content. Mand12 has the right of it. To get a little bit deeper into the nuts and bolts, what is being copyrighted when you create a character in the CB is the expression of that character on the form created by the CB. That is, the images, graphics and layout of the character sheet. The character itself is not copyrighted. (Note, I am not a lawyer, although I do work in the IP field, albeit on the patent side of things.)
#7 Marandahir Dec 27, 2011 12:55:02	So what happens when you upload someone else's copyrighted image? Does that mean WotC "owns" that picture, even though the person who uploaded the picture for their character sheet "stole" the image from DeviantArt or some such place?
#8 Kalex_the_Omen Dec 27, 2011 13:29:03	So what happens when you upload someone else's copyrighted image? Does that mean WotC "owns" that picture, even though the person who uploaded the picture for their character sheet "stole" the image from DeviantArt or some such place? You don't upload images. Custom images must reside elsewhere on the web and are referenced via URL in the Character Builder.