Some Early D&DI information

[WotC_Trevor]

Hey guys. I posted this over on our forums, but I wanted to make sure you guys had it here for you own discussions/perusal. Just an early look at things that should be showing up in the next update for Character Builder and Compendium and a bit about some possible future developer support:

• Character Builder/Compendium Update - Starting on Tuesday, June 2nd, we will release new updates for the D&D Character Builder and the D&D Compendium on the first Tuesday of every month instead of the fourth Tuesday. The scheduled May 26th update will be moved to June 2nd, and updates will fall on the first Tuesday of every month going forward.
• Hybrid Classes – Originally we held off on including the Hybrid Class rules in the Character Builder because of the heavy playtest nature of the rules. You guys have given us a lot of feedback and R&D is behind it too, so it looks like we’ll be seeing Hybrid Class rules in the June update to Character Builder.
• Monk Playtest – With the way information is compiled and added to the Character Builder and Compendium, it generally takes four to eight weeks to get Dragon content into the tools. We all want to get our hands on the monk, and the devs must love us because it looks like we’ll be getting the Monk in the Character Builder and Compendium on the June 2nd update.

The info I glanced over had some more stuff about the basic data updates we get every month and some neat things such as resizing windows on your character sheet, but you’ll have to wait for the official announcement to read more on those and the things I already mentioned above. That official announcement goes up the week before the update hits and we’ll make sure to link it for you. Of course, we’re still a few weeks out and things could change, but I wanted to give you guys a peek at what’s on the docket.

In related sneak peek news, we are working on another project in the same vein as the XML output version for Character Builder, with the intention of getting more information into the hands of people who want to make tools that interact with the Character Builder and Compendium. You can check out Don's blog to get an idea of the type of information you might see included in this project. I have no clue when we’ll have something like this compiled and ready for people, but I knew some of you would be interested to hear about it

Comments

It's always cool when WotC folk communicate with us! :)

[mach1.9pants]

# Hybrid Classes – ... so it looks like we’ll be seeing Hybrid Class rules in the June update to Character Builder.
# Monk Playtest – ... Monk in the Character Builder and Compendium on the June 2nd update.

Awesome news, thanks for popping in!
You probably won't be able to answer this but since the Hybrid class set up (apart from the features bit) looks like it is based on a formula HP etc, when will we see the new classes appear PHB?
It is good to see you including hybrid in the CB, yes it is open for abuse but hybrid classes really really open up options for those of us willing to take a balance risk

And do WotC have any plans (even thoughts?) to open up the CB to #pp in some way, i.e pay an extra to WotC to include 'x' 3PP material, WotC pays a portion onto 3PP....

Monk monk, monkety MONK

[Ktulu]

So two weeks for an update after a book is released, rather than one? Well, though it makes Ktulu sad, it does make a lot more sense.

As for the updates coming, sweeeeeeeeeet!

[doctorhook]

Cool stuff, and thanks for stopping by!

[Remathilis]

NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Waiting another week for my Char Update is torture!

[Fallen Seraph]

Hmm... While we may wait a week longer for books. It will shorten (if reading it right) the wait for Dragon and Dungeon content on Builder/Compendium.

[Riley]

Hybrid rules: they rock,* and - for including them in the Builder - so do you.
Thanks!

*: As an idea, although tinkering may be required here and there.

[Rechan]

Thanks for coming over and telling us!

I am glad that WotC is very invested in increasing support for the Compendium/Char Builder.

[Piratecat]

Thanks a ton for keeping us in the loop. Very, very cool to know.

[DarwinofMind]

I sure hope the next big thing is improved house rule support

[VictorC]

Originally Posted by DarwinofMind

I sure hope the next big thing is improved house rule support

This is also what I'm hoping for. I would be grateful enough to be able to add my own races.

[Soel]

Add easily customizable house rules with broad allowance of changes, and I'm a long term subscriber...

[fissionessence]

Exciting news. I'm happy to see the DDI stuff getting constant improvements/support . . . so did you see the thread "WotC: Character Builder's effect on Third Party Publishers"?

~

[nerfherder]

Thanks for the update Trevor.

I was very disappointed with the state of DDI when it first went live, and decided against subscribing. Recently, however, I've been impressed with the improvements made, and the professionalism of the release strategy, schedule and communication.

My group is just about to switch to another game for about 6 months, but when we return to 4E after that, I will definitely be getting a DDI subscription.

[avin]

Ok, you are extending one week after books to get CB updated, but are you going to include previous month's Dragons info on this?