DDI - What's happening to the Virtual Game Table and Character Visualiser?

[Lord Xtheth]

I sleep during the day, and work graveyard shift... this schedule makes it incredible difficult for me to wake up in time to make it to the LGS to go play DnD with anyone.
I hold my own weekendly gaming session with the same guys I've been playing with for almost 3 years now, but I've only been a DM for 4E and wouldn't mind seeing the new game from the players perspective!
The only way I see myself posibly doing this is by playing over VTT... and it looks like that won't happen for a very long time.
Now they're raising their prices, and they still have yet to deliver everything they promiced would be there out-of-the-box... Sure its only a little loose change per month, but still the whole "This is what you'll get with DDI" bait and swich thing kinda makes it not so promicing.

 

[wedgeski]

I just like to know if anyone out there are in the same somewhat boat or have we all been forgotten by a majority group that have decided that the Dungeons & Dragons have become a "Closed Community".

I'm sorry I don't quite get what you mean here. You think D&D is a "closed", "exclusive" community because there's no Virtual Gametable for you?

 

[Iron Dog]

I hold my own weekendly gaming session with the same guys I've been playing with for almost 3 years now, but I've only been a DM for 4E and wouldn't mind seeing the new game from the players perspective!
The only way I see myself posibly doing this is by playing over VTT... and it looks like that won't happen for a very long time.

I feel you man, I had the same guys now for a long time too, and I've allways been the one lumbered with the DM job (not that I don't love it). The only game of 4th Ed that I played as a player is the RPGA game at GENCON OZ I mention in an erlier post. Loved every minute of it and wished to do it again some day *sigh*.

 

[ppaladin123]

I am aware of what I currently get out of my subscription; my point is that what so good of having all that martial for a game that I have difficulty even getting to play.

Please do not take my remarks as a rant on "am I getting my moneys worth from WOTC", I'm sure that's been done to death elsewhere on this forum.

My point is that it seems that WOTC are not supporting the "GROWTH" of the hobby anymore by making it easier for players out there to play, which I'm sure was their reasoning’s behind attempting the VTT and such was in the first place.

So this isn't a bagging of WoTC's business practices, I for one would just so like the VTT to go ahead, it is the major reason that I sign up for DDI, and it would make it easier for me to play the hobby that I've come to love, and mayhap get to use the aforementioned material.

I just like to know if anyone out there are in the same somewhat boat or have we all been forgotten by a majority group that have decided that the Dungeons & Dragons have become a "Closed Community".


… one thing that I recon that WoTC could do, would be to make the VTT open source, with the proviso that no rule martial is to be posted within the engine (for copywrite purposes) but with links to the DDI compendium be allowed. Now I’m sure there is a large development community out there that would love that. Properly get a better product out of it than from a paid professional developer, increased player base, free advertising forum, and all for free.

Have you considered using a different online game program like Map Tools? There are already ways to game over the internet. You don't have to sit around waiting for the VTT.

 

[guivre]

I sleep during the day, and work graveyard shift... this schedule makes it incredible difficult for me to wake up in time to make it to the LGS to go play DnD with anyone.
I hold my own weekendly gaming session with the same guys I've been playing with for almost 3 years now, but I've only been a DM for 4E and wouldn't mind seeing the new game from the players perspective!
The only way I see myself posibly doing this is by playing over VTT... and it looks like that won't happen for a very long time.
Now they're raising their prices, and they still have yet to deliver everything they promiced would be there out-of-the-box... Sure its only a little loose change per month, but still the whole "This is what you'll get with DDI" bait and swich thing kinda makes it not so promicing.

What WotC was going to deliver was really only virtual dungeon tiles with a few bells and whistles thrown in. There are several VTTs out already that will enable you to do far more than WotC was likely to provide.

So while WotCs online presence continues to be a bit of a comedy that shouldn't be preventing you from playing online.

 

[guivre]

It's on hold. It is on hold at least in part because the majority of people would prefer other tools first.

The majority of self selected people that responded to the poll preferred other tools first.

Accuracy is fun!

 

[Iron Dog]

I'm sorry I don't quite get what you mean here. You think D&D is a "closed", "exclusive" community because there's no Virtual Gametable for you?

No, I mean it seems that WoTC will now only cater to the majority, and dang with the minority. And the majority seem to be fine with this and/or not care, as long as they’re getting what they want.

Share the love people

 

[Iron Dog]

Have you considered using a different online game program like Map Tools? There are already ways to game over the internet. You don't have to sit around waiting for the VTT.

... (tho I admit that I'm am currently setting up an play-over-internet game with RPtools, but it still requires a lot of setup and implemetation of frameworks and macros to make it eaiser to use, and then there's the thing about using copywrited material on a 3rd party program etc.)

Maptool is one of the RPTools

VTT in its promised format would make life a little easier.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I am aware of what I currently get out of my subscription; my point is that what so good of having all that martial for a game that I have difficulty even getting to play.

Please do not take my remarks as a rant on "am I getting my moneys worth from WOTC", I'm sure that's been done to death elsewhere on this forum.

My point is that it seems that WOTC are not supporting the "GROWTH" of the hobby anymore by making it easier for players out there to play, which I'm sure was their reasoning’s behind attempting the VTT and such was in the first place.

So this isn't a bagging of WoTC's business practices, I for one would just so like the VTT to go ahead, it is the major reason that I sign up for DDI, and it would make it easier for me to play the hobby that I've come to love, and mayhap get to use the aforementioned material.

I just like to know if anyone out there are in the same somewhat boat or have we all been forgotten by a majority group that have decided that the Dungeons & Dragons have become a "Closed Community".


… one thing that I recon that WoTC could do, would be to make the VTT open source, with the proviso that no rule martial is to be posted within the engine (for copywrite purposes) but with links to the DDI compendium be allowed. Now I’m sure there is a large development community out there that would love that. Properly get a better product out of it than from a paid professional developer, increased player base, free advertising forum, and all for free.

I personally would prefer the VTT, too. The screenshots looked very neat, and everything that is currently on the market can't compete.

But: There is already stuff on the market. And as long as the VTT doesn't become reality, they are good choices. Try them out.
If WotC wasn't planning on the VTT, I'd think hoping for an article on such programs would be reasonable. (WotC, if you are listening, consider to do it anyway! Who knows when you get it done, there is nothing wrong in getting people to play D&D with possibble competitors now!)

My "But": A Campaign Management tool doesn't exist yet, as far as I am aware. If it can bring stuff like monster building, encounter building, organizing adventure texts and material, and all such things, it would be awesome. And it could be used to facilitate offline and online games very well, even if an online game table is still missing in the DDI package.
It's not as if WotC is selling you a physical game table, either. They sell you dungeon tiles and minis. And you get maps via DDI these days, too, so you could use that for online games. And their artwork galleries might also be usable to create computer representations (of course with more effort than just buying pre-painted minis.) But it's doable, I have done a little of that for my online campaign using GameTable and the pogdesigner tool for it.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

NOBODY wanted the Gametable the way it would have come out.

Hasbro sold the rights to do an interactive D&D to Infrogames/Atar/Whoever and has renewed that agreement several times.

It would not have done any stat work like almost every VTT fan wants. Bill slavicsek and others said several times that it would be doing calculations. You are better off with maptool.