No Character Builder Update

[Holy Bovine]

Here`s the email I just sent to Customer Service over at WotC;


Like many D&DI subscribers I was deeply disappointed with the announcement yesterday that there would be no update to the Character Builder or Adventure Tools programs this month. My groups and I get a lot of use out of these programs and were even starting a Dark Sun game this month which is now on hold until October. I was hoping that there would be some kind of compensation to subscribers for the inconvenience of this missed update. Thank you for your time and consideration.


I really encourage everyone to do something similar. Companies like WotC do respond to this kind of thing.

 

[P1NBACK]

I really encourage everyone to do something similar. Companies like WotC do respond to this kind of thing.

I emailed them as soon as I heard about the lack of update this month.

I'm a D&D Insider and have been since the get-go. It's recently come to my attention that the monthly scheduled update for the character builder and adventure tools isn't going to happen this month. Well, considering that I'm a yearly subscriber, I can't _not_ pay for this month, so I'd like to request a partial reimbursement for September (I'm still getting the magazines, so I believe that is worth something).

If this isn't the correct channels to go through, please point me in the right direction.

 

[Bagpuss]

I guess I'm the odd man out then. I'd rather that they held off so that I get the new content 2 weeks earlier than I would otherwise receive it. Sure, I'd like to have it now, but that wasn't going to happen anyway.

Except I'm not getting the Dark Sun or Psionic Power two weeks early. I was planning on running a Dark Sun Campaign, instead I'm going to run Dark Heresy, it's only one word difference I'm pretty sure my players won't notice.

 

[mudbunny]

FWIW, a poster on the WotC forums has indicated that CS will be refunding him/her for september.

I don't know what type of subscription plan he is on (monthly, 3-monthly or yearly), so YMMV.

 

[ourchair]

This is from the EULA for DDI. It's not hard to find, it took me 5 minutes.
So, no, we're not entitled to a monthly update.
Don't get me wrong, I'm also pissed off that we don't get a monthly update, and I think that if WotC extended active subscriptions by 1 month it would be a class act, but they're under no obligation to do so: if people don't read the EULA before signing it it's not WotC's fault, after all.

Almost every Software EULA is written to be at cross purposes to what is written on software packaging, the print advertising and the marketing statement.

Not that I'm disagreeing, I'm just saying that since the 20th century, EULAs have consistently been written to say, "We promise nothing!"

 

[catsclaw227]

The CB/AT update delays suck, but I really don't think it's that big of a deal.

I am a project manager and software developer and I understand the kinds of delays they are likely experiencing, especially considering the amount of staff they have allocated to the electronic tools. So I can sympathize.

For me, though, DDI is more than just the monthly data updates. The access to the compendium and the online articles are just as valuable, and the current datasets for CB and AT are still pretty damn full of information and are far from unusable.

There have been, what.... maybe 2 or 3 delays in data updates in 2 years? That's pretty damn impressive for ANY software development company who's product has a steady schedule of updates, especially monthly updates.

When our medical imaging software updates didn't come as frequently as we liked, Siemens and GE Medical both told us to just deal with it. And we paid a million dollars for those software packages.

WOTC has been pretty damn efficient with this software package and the required updates. Because they have some seemingly major architectural changes and additions to the software, we really should have expected a hiccup or delay. I would rather they get it right than early.

And, aren't the Essentials updates not due until October anyway? So all the fracas is about DS and Psionic Power, mostly, right?

I just can't get all that upset about it. It's easy to make 1st level characters in 4e, even with just paper and pencil! Why should campaigns be delayed? Are we really that dependent upon the CB and Monster tools?

 

[P1NBACK]

WOTC has been pretty damn efficient with this software package and the required updates. Because they have some seemingly major architectural changes and additions to the software, we really should have expected a hiccup or delay. I would rather they get it right than early.

A month or two ago there was a month where there was literally a tiny update with a few feats from Dragon. No book updates, nothing. They could have used this time to go ahead and start getting prepared for Essentials/Dark Sun. Instead, no.

My subscription is for the updates. That's what I'm paying for. Granted, I get the magazines on top of that, but I'm not subscribing for those...

So. No update, no subscription. It just so happens I'm on an annual subscription package. If this becomes the norm (some months skipped with no update even though there are books/content released in print), then I'll just cancel my subscription.

I don't care about the EULA. In fact, here's my EULA (it's pretty simple): give me the content I want when I pay for it, or you lose me as a customer.

 

[Neonchameleon]

A month or two ago there was a month where there was literally a tiny update with a few feats from Dragon. No book updates, nothing. They could have used this time to go ahead and start getting prepared for Essentials/Dark Sun. Instead, no.

My subscription is for the updates. That's what I'm paying for. Granted, I get the magazines on top of that, but I'm not subscribing for those...

So. No update, no subscription. It just so happens I'm on an annual subscription package. If this becomes the norm (some months skipped with no update even though there are books/content released in print), then I'll just cancel my subscription.

I don't care about the EULA. In fact, here's my EULA (it's pretty simple): give me the content I want when I pay for it, or you lose me as a customer.

How do you know they didn't use it to start getting ready? The forthcoming two character builder updates are probably the biggest two since the character builder has been released.

Themes, if the character builder is as clunky as it sometimes looks, are huge. It's an entire new set of powers that break the structure of the existing power/class combinations and can be added to any class. This isn't just adding new content, it's rewiring a large part of the character builder and adding modules that cut across the modular design. (It's bigger than PHB3 psionics because themes can be applied to every character class and mustn't break with any of them; psionic multiclass powers work as normal encounter powers).

And then we come to Essentials. Which is actually probably smaller than themes. But that doesn't mean that you can just plug extra numbers into the database to get the new Martial classes. And they should be easy to separate out from non-essentials.

Frankly I'd have been amazed if this month's update was released even to the revised time of mid-month.

Edit: and if I know managers, they will have allocated more time to be ready for Essentials than Dark Sun.

 

[P1NBACK]

How do you know they didn't use it to start getting ready? The forthcoming two character builder updates are probably the biggest two since the character builder has been released.

Because it's not done. That's how I know.

If they've been working on this update for months, and they're pushing it back another month, how will we have any assurance it'll ever be done?

Anyways, honestly, I don't CARE why it isn't done. I know it isn't done. I know I got charged for this month. I know I don't want to pay for something that didn't happen. End of story.

It's fine if WotC doesn't reimburse me. They are legally backed. But, guess what? They lose me as a customer. So, it's a simple matter of customer service. If I go into a restaurant, and order a meal, and it takes an hour to get to the table, they aren't legally obliged to refund my ticket or give me some compensation. But, it certainly is a matter of customer service. If they don't want to do that, fine. I just won't go back to that restaurant.

 

[Ryujin]

I'm as pissed off as anyone else, but let's face it: we're the ones claiming that someone else didn't keep their end of the bargain when the fact that the CB might not be updated every month was made clear from the start.

You seem to be lumping me in with the group that is calling for refunds, etc.. I'm not in that group. As I said previously I'm now annoyed that the update won't be coming at all, whereas the delay didn't bother me at all.