No Macs? Holy crap did WotC do the math wrong!

[Stormtalon]

Certainly, and I fully agree with you that Mac should be supported.

But, that's not what this thread is about. CharlesRyan is claiming that because many groups will contain at least one Mac, the DDI is doomed to failure. This assumes that the DDI will primarily be made up of existing groups. I feel that this assumption is badly flawed.

The assumption may very well be -- but there's honestly no real way to tell. However, in at least my own case, I'm the primary DM of a group where I have to drive 80 miles on the weekend just to get down to them, and DDI would significanly simplify things (and save gas, heh). Still, bein' a Machead, not exactly gonna be an option.

Still, I was primarily responding to the more general point made by Dr. Awkward. Yeah, I've looked at the VTT stuff out there, but it's all got flaws that (at least from the initial videos) DDI seems to be addressing. I like the tile-based mapmaking. I like the character design system that lets you drop a virtual mini of exactly your character on the map. The 3rd party stuff doesn't have any of that, and it's not as tightly integrated into the e-book versions of the PHB/MM/DMG as DDI will be. So, at least from this Machead's perspective, the 3rd party stuff just isn't at all attractive.

Still I do try to be proactive and suggest solutions to the WOTC folks that would at least be an acceptable amount of "porting." I've mentioned TransGaming's "Cider" on the WOTC boards a few times so far -- but never seen even a hint that they're even interested in constructive suggestions.

 

[akaddk]

Yet, people are only now starting to talk about getting the old group together? Must not have been much of a priority. I'm thinking that it will remain a pretty low priority after the DDI as well.

Not everyone is a computer guru.

In fact, many people choose the Mac because you don't HAVE to be a a computer whiz to get the most out of a tool.

Unless OpenRPG has changed a LOT since I last tried it, then it is a MAJOR PITA to get working and requires extensive reading and understanding of complex programs like Python. And if you don't think such things are complex, then you're among the minority who I'd call a computer whiz.

Then there's the expense of things like Kloogewerks which, again unless it has changed significantly since last I checked it out, was prohibitively expensive.

The DDI solution, however, is FREE and seems to have been made simple enough that any computer noob can click a few buttons and get it working satisfactorily.

So you say that there are VTT options all over the place for us Mac-users. Umm... no, there's not. I don't consider difficult, expensive and cumbersome choices to be options.

 

[Nifft]

The DDI solution, however, is FREE*

*) ADDITIONAL ONLINE FEES APPLY.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Not everyone is a computer guru.

In fact, many people choose the Mac because you don't HAVE to be a a computer whiz to get the most out of a tool.

Hey, I guess that makes my mother a computer whiz. She has no problem operating the software on her PC.

Seriously, that sounds more like an insult to the intelligence of the people who buy macs than any kind of slight against Windows-based systems.

Unless OpenRPG has changed a LOT since I last tried it, then it is a MAJOR PITA to get working and requires extensive reading and understanding of complex programs like Python. And if you don't think such things are complex, then you're among the minority who I'd call a computer whiz.

I don't know Python from my butt, but I found OpenRPG to be an easy system to use. Perhaps if I wanted to heavily modify it, I would have to learn to get under the hood, but I could say that about Firefox too.

The DDI solution, however, is FREE and seems to have been made simple enough that any computer noob can click a few buttons and get it working satisfactorily.

Um...what? Who said it was free?

 

[akaddk]

Hey, I guess that makes my mother a computer whiz. She has no problem operating the software on her PC.

The above makes you either one of two types of people: a) you don't realize that a sentence taken out of the context of the entire post can be taken to mean something entirely different from what the poster intended, or b) you do realize this and you're manipulating the argument to be divisive.

So either you just don't get it or you just don't care.

Um...what? Who said it was free?

It has been stated that what you are paying for with a DDI subscription is the additional content of Dragon & Dungeon and that the VTT is a free component.

 

[Nifft]

It has been stated that what you are paying for with a DDI subscription is the additional content of Dragon & Dungeon and that the VTT is a free component.

That's called "bundled", not free.

Cheers, -- N

 

[akaddk]

/facepalm

Well they used the term free. YMMV ffs.

 

[Nifft]

Well they used the term free.

Lies? In my marketing literature?

Shocked, -- N

PS: If you're honestly confused about this, consider the following. You walk into a grocery store and see a sign saying, "Buy two lemons, get one lemon FREE!" Do you really think they will let you simply take one free lemon? You do not, and they will not. What they're really doing is saying, "three lemons for the price of two" -- but that's not sexy. So they lie a little. It's really basic marketing. Clearly, it works.

 

[akaddk]

The only thing I'm confused about is your need to pick apart a very simple sentence and correct it to the nth degree when all it really is, is a matter of semantics.

Wait. I forgot. This is teh intarweb. My bad.

 

[Griogre]

Not everyone is a computer guru.

In fact, many people choose the Mac because you don't HAVE to be a a computer whiz to get the most out of a tool.

Unless OpenRPG has changed a LOT since I last tried it, then it is a MAJOR PITA to get working and requires extensive reading and understanding of complex programs like Python. And if you don't think such things are complex, then you're among the minority who I'd call a computer whiz.

Then there's the expense of things like Kloogewerks which, again unless it has changed significantly since last I checked it out, was prohibitively expensive.

So you say that there are VTT options all over the place for us Mac-users. Umm... no, there's not. I don't consider difficult, expensive and cumbersome choices to be options.

You might look into MapTool for a VTT: http://rptools.net/doku.php?id=home
It's a Java app and while I do dislike most java apps the developer knows what he is doing and it runs well.