WotC's D&D Virtual Table Cancelled

Shemeska · Jul 10, 2012

Jhaelen said:
This!
It's what I thought immediately after WotC's first announcement: Why don't they just license one of the existing, proven VTT solutions?

That's pretty much what they did with the VTT that they just canned. It was developed by Gametableonline, who WotC had worked with before, and adapted and tweaked to fit WotC's needs. It didn't as far as I know, have any connection to the earlier and much more costly 3d VTT they originally had in mind.

Agamon · Jul 10, 2012

mudbunny said:
(see the Tableforge Google + hangout tool that just got Kick Startered to the tune of $400k+ for example)

You have an extra 0 in there; $44k, actually, but considering they were hoping for 5k, that's pretty good.

Honestly, I forgot this even existed. Between Roll20 and Tabletop Forge, everything else is behind the 8-ball and better have something pretty special to even get the foot in the door, even if it is officially WotC. I think it's smart that they realize that.

mudbunny · Jul 10, 2012

Agamon said:
You have an extra 0 in there; $44k, actually, but considering they were hoping for 5k, that's pretty good.

Stupid lack of caffeine.

Honestly, I forgot this even existed. Between Roll20 and Tabletop Forge, everything else is behind the 8-ball and better have something pretty special to even get the foot in the door, even if it is officially WotC. I think it's smart that they realize that.

Don't forget to include Maptool and Fantasy Grounds II in there as well.

Stoat · Jul 10, 2012

TerraDave said:
I get all the mocking and decrying..."not again wotc!"

But, except for the apparently small numbers actually using this, is it a big deal? As noted, there lots of options, including simple things like google docs.

I don't think the cancellation of the VTT is itself a big deal. I'm pretty sure the VTT market is fairly small, and there are plenty of (superior) alternatives to what WotC had on offer.

On the other hand, the cancellation speaks to WotC's continuing inability to handle it's electronic business.

WotC hasn't made any announcements about what type of electronic support it plans to give 5E, but the cancellation is one reason (among many) to take any such plans with a grain of salt. Hell, take those plans with a whole box of salt.

Finally, to some extent the cancellation may be a hint about the ultimate fate of the other DDI tools. If nothing else, it's a reminder that the Compendium, the Character Builder and the Monster Builder could go away anytime that WotC wants them to.

delericho · Jul 10, 2012

mudbunny said:
They had this. It was freely available to *everyone* with a DDI account, and you could import your characters from the CB and, if you are the DM, import monsters from the Monster Builder.

That's a good start. But what they needed was a "Summon Party!" button on the VTT, that a player could press at any time, whereupon they'd be instantly connected to the other 50 or so other DDI subscribers who were also online and also looking for a party.

Because here's the thing: there are better VTTs out there, but if I want to play a game on Google+, or using Maptools, or Fantasy Grounds, or whatever, then I need to be in touch with the individuals running the game and we need to coordinate a specific start time, then all log on at once. If I find myself with a Wednesday evening unexpectedly free, chances are that I can't game. Provide that "Summon Party!" button, and you close that gap, and potentially provide people with a service that they didn't know they always wanted.

I believe that there will be DDI tools for Next

I hope you're right, really I do.

Hussar · Jul 10, 2012

TerraDave said:
I get all the mocking and decrying..."not again wotc!"

But, except for the apparently small numbers actually using this, is it a big deal? As noted, there lots of options, including simple things like google docs.

But, the question has to be asked, why are the numbers small? There are thousands and thousands of people using Virtual Tabletops right now. There IS an audience for VTT's and WOTC has the advantage of being able to drop a VTT that is tailor made for it's flagship game, something no other VTT can do.

And what did we get? A glorified chat client, die roller with virtually no macro ability, and a whiteboard that you cannot actually import images to.

Why in the hell would it succeed? Good grief, OPENRPG has more functionality than the WOTC VTT.

If they were really serious about getting the VTT to work, every single Dungeon Magazine adventure should have been up and ready to go, with fully completed tokens and maps, the day after every module went live. Instead, we got two or three adventures and then had to build everything else ourselves. But, we couldn't ACTUALLY build what we wanted because the VTT mapping functions were so lacking that you couldn't actually reproduce the maps in the Dungeon modules.

Never mind that you had what, 50 token icons. WTF? Who decided that bonehead maneuver? I want custom tokens for every module. I get that right now with the VTT I use, so, why would I switch to something with less functionality?

This was a complete balls up from the get go and someone should be losing their job for this crap. This was just incompetence and lazy.

Hey, I'm usually a pretty big WOTC booster and I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. But, gimme a break. THIS is what we get after two plus years of development? Good grief. :rant:

BriarMonkey · Jul 10, 2012

Not surprised really. It's sad that I continue to not expect anything (of real value) from them in the eletronic support tools arena...

TerraDave · Jul 10, 2012

[MENTION=16786]Stoat[/MENTION] [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION] Yes, there is big demand for online face to face play, which has great, great potential, and no the wotc VTT didn't meet it. But given how weak it appeared to be, maybe its better they cancelled it.

The other DDI tools do add quite a bit of value...it would hard to imagine wotc walking away from those for 5E, hopefully they won't.

Agamon · Jul 10, 2012

I don't see it as a big deal. Car manufacturers don't create and sell us the road to drive on. Let someone else who specializes in VTTs do it instead, and let WotC just make the game.

Zaran · Jul 10, 2012

I maintained my DDI subscription because I wanted them to put out a DnD specific online gaming table. Now I have only one reason to keep it going and that's to access the Compendium. I do not think that alone is worth the quarterly fee WotC charges me.

Did I ever use their Virtual Table? No. I checked it out. Found it wanting and decided not to use it until it was useful. I think it's the dumbest thing in the world to not adjust it so it works with 5e.