Do we want a Character Generator?

[Styracosaurus]

I enjoyed the little character generator that came with my original 3e PHB. eTools was awful. DDI seems to be struggling.

Soliciting opinions:

1) Is there a character generator coming for 4e?

2) Would you buy it anyway?

3) What do you want out of it?

 

[Argyuile]

E-Tools was horrid. Delays aren't a bad thing Blizzard delays and delays and then comes out with fantastic products. We will see if WOTC is delaying for quality or because they don't know what their doing.

 

[Vanuslux]

1. I hope so.

2. Yes. PCGen was a godsend for 3.x for me and I sank a fair bit of money into those official data packs. If DDI can give me a decent character generator, it's got my money right there.

3. I don't need much...I'll be satisfied if it just lets me create and manage characters across all levels. I would like for it to bring in material from future WotC releases as well as it comes out. The ability to add custom material would also be nice.

 

[Asmor]

Blizzard delays because the game isn't up to their excruciating standards of perfection.

Wizards delays because they don't even have a turd to polish yet. As soon as the turd is ready, they'll slap some polish on it and shove it out the door.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

We know WotC plans to release a character generator of some kind. I'd think it was kind of an imposition to expect us to pay money for the basic generator, which is essentially a promotional tool for their game, but my impression is that the tool will be free, and the subscription to the DDI will let you use it in DDI games directly.

I just want it to be bug-free and provide correct information.

 

[Mercule]

I very, very much want a character creator.

I want it to have access to all the stuff in the rulebooks I own/use. I want to be able to use house rules and have the math incorporated. I want to be able to pass on my house rules and inclusion/exclusion of official material to my players.

I want an attractive character sheet. I also want full-color (red, green, gray) power cards.

I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Styracosaurus]

... I want to be able to use house rules and have the math incorporated. I want to be able to pass on my house rules and inclusion/exclusion of official material to my players.....
.........

I think this should be possible. 4e gets rid of a lot of the convoluted logic built into 3e character generation. Feats in 3e could affect too many things and so allowing house rules would mean that you had to define everything that a feat was or could be. That gets ugly since some feats required things that they could also modify. And that is just feats, consider that HP, AC, BAB and Saving throws were all involved as well. The list goes on........


Anyway, I think that 4e has more transparency and that is good for electronic support.

 

[useridunavailable]

Blizzard delays because the game isn't up to their excruciating standards of perfection.

Wizards delays because they don't even have a turd to polish yet. As soon as the turd is ready, they'll slap some polish on it and shove it out the door.

QFT. E-Tools, MTGOv2, MTGOv3 = complete crap. WotC has a terrible track record.

Personally, I demand a character generator, especially with all the powers. I refuse to enter powers into a power card generator every time someone gets a new one. I expect a generator that allows me to choose them from a list, and then proceeds to display them along with their descriptions. Just about anybody could make such a program in a week or 2. I find it pathetic and infuriating that they're behind on this. That's why I made an Excel generator for personal use - too bad they won't let me share it. If I didn't have the ability to create such a thing, I'd boycott the product completely. IMO, 4e virtually requires it to be more fun than tedium.

 

[Umbran]

I want to be able to use house rules and have the math incorporated. I want to be able to pass on my house rules and inclusion/exclusion of official material to my players.

I think that, given that house rules can have any form you like, that this is not a reasonable request. You cannot design a thing with infinite flexibility, and expect it to be usable.

Which is not to say that they can't create a character generator with a lot of flexibility, but they have to have some base assumptions.

As a basic example - you may have a house rule for a race that has a type of movement that is neither walking, swimmming, or flight. It could have some crazy limitations (can only move on square diagonals, or something). As a game house rule, you can make it. But I don't feel it reasonable to expect WotC to allow for it.

 

[Merkuri]

Honestly, I'd be happy to type up my own power cards and put in all of my own information, but I do NOT want to pay a monthly fee to have access to the thing. Sadly, I feel like what's going to happen is that WotC is going to want to control all character generator software of any sort, so things like PCGen and DMGenie will have to close up shop, and the only alternative I'll have is to code up my own character generator and use it privately, or pay a monthly fee.

I hope either other generators are able to remain available by becoming generic (though that'll probably make them less useful) or that WotC decides to sell their character generator with a one-time fee instead of a monthly subscription.