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Review of the New Online Version of Monster Builder by WotC
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<blockquote data-quote="Neuroglyph" data-source="post: 5504722" data-attributes="member: 85633"><p><span style="font-size: 12px">If you are a <strong>D&D Insider</strong> subscriber like I am, then yesterday you received an email from <strong>Wizards of the Coast</strong> announcing the release of the new online version of <strong><em>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</em></strong>. If you have never used the previous version of <strong><em>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</em></strong>, it was a down-loadable program which operated from your home PC or laptop, and allowed you to access existing monsters, or to modify them with new or altered powers, and copy them in a variety of formats (Text, RTF, or IMG) into your document writer, such as WORD, ADOBE, or Publisher.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">For 4E Dungeon Masters, the <strong><em>AT: Monster Builder</em></strong> was a wonderful resource to use when creating your D&D encounters, making the task of organizing your adventures quicker and easier than in previous editions. So how does this new online version of <em><strong>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</strong></em> stack up to its original version?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Publisher: Wizards of the Coast</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Year: 2011</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Media: Online (using Silverlight)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Retail Cost: FREE (with DDI subscription)</span></li> </ul><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">When I received my email notification, I was really excited to see how the new online version of <strong><em>Monster Builder</em></strong> would run. After a rocky bug-laden launch, I have grown to like the new <strong><em>Character Builder</em></strong>, which also uses <em>Silverlight</em>, and was looking forward to seeing how the new <strong><em>Adventure Tools</em></strong> would operate online. And considering that the new version of Monster Builder was described as “completely redesigned” and would “debut with 3,700 monsters - including Dark Sun Creature Catalog and Monster Vault entries”, it sounded as though the new version would have some distinct advantages over the older version.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">Sadly, this turned out to be far from the reality!</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>What’s New with Monster Builder?</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">Well, besides the addition of loads of monsters from the <strong><em>Dark Sun Creature Catalogue</em></strong> and the <strong><em>Monster Vault</em></strong> – which is undeniably some exciting new content over the previous version – there were also a couple of other features worth mentioning about the new online version of <strong><em>AT: Monster Builder</em></strong>. </span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">First, there are illustrations of creatures for some of the monsters taken from the illustrations found in the <strong><em>Monster Manuals</em></strong>, <strong><em>Monster Vault</em></strong>, and other sources. Clicking on a monster name and seeing an illustration pop up of that critter is a pretty nifty addition to the application – I just wish that they had supplied art for all the monsters instead of just a few. For those monsters lacking an illustration entered into the database, the image of the zany gnome from the D&D cartoons (“I’m a monster! Rawrrr!”) shows up instead.</span></p><p>[align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/atmb-balor.jpg[/align]</p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">It is also possible for Dungeon Masters to import their monster creations from the previous version of <strong><em>Monster Builder</em></strong> into this new version, and to save your creations – but honestly, the program could not find all my saved monsters anywhere… and I have made up nearly a couple hundred or more customized beasties for my two D&D campaigns!</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">Beyond that, there are no new features this online version of <strong><em>AT: Monster Builder</em></strong>, other than its layout and appearance… and of course, what it seems to be lacking compared to the old version!</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>What’s Wrong with Monster Builder?</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">I’m disappointed to have to report that there are a lot of features missing from the new online version of <strong><em>Monster Builder</em></strong> that so many Dungeon Masters (myself included) had come to use and enjoy in the previous version. There is already a fairly long list of known issues, and sadly, there are even more being added all the time:</span></p><p> </p><p> <u><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Adventure Tools known issues list</strong></span></u></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">(3/22/2011)</span></p><p> </p><p></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Users at this time are not able to add, edit, or remove powers, traits, stat blocks, saving throws, action points, skills, languages, alignment, equipment, or perception.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Compendium Links are not in.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Some custom monsters upon import may be missing (in part or in entirety) non standardized customized powers.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Double clicking monsters does not enter editing mode.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">There is no warning dialog when importing the exact same monster.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Text boxes do not accept overtyping of highlighted text.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">The text box for Name in the filter section is cut off on the lower portion.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Level field accepts alpha characters.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">There is no warning dialog should the user make changes to a monster, and then click return.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">Decreasing the browser size can hide buttons.</span></li> </ul><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">Obviously, the very first item on the list – which is itself quite a list of missing features – is a major problem with a program self-proclaimed as a <strong><em>Monster Builder</em></strong>! At this point, monsters are almost completely unmodifiable, with only the name of the monster, the names of its powers, and its level being alterable in the new version! And one cannot build a new monster, but only “re-skin” existing monsters, by altering a few names on its stat block. How a monster’s traits and powers work is completely fixed and cannot be edited in the current version, which makes the application fairly useless as a monster “builder”.</span></p><p> [align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/atmb-balor-mod-screen.jpg[/align]</p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">Thankfully, the formats of the creatures in <strong><em>AT: Monster Builder</em></strong> do comply with the new <strong><em>Monster Manual 3</em></strong> stat block conventions. However, there are still some monsters which have still not been updated been updated in the database to reflect the changes to damage expressions as introduced in <strong><em>Monster Manual 3</em></strong>. For instance, the <em>dracolich</em> is still listed with all powers and damage expressions that it originally had in the <strong><em>Monster Manual</em></strong>. But other <strong><em>MM1</em></strong> monsters, such as the <em>Balor</em> and the <em>Dire Wolf</em> have been updated to do considerably more damage, as recommeneded in <strong><em>MM3</em></strong>. I thought at first that this disparity represented monsters which had been updated for release with <strong><em>Monster Vault</em></strong>, which had updated versions of many iconic monsters. But there was a <em>dracolich</em> in <strong><em>MV</em></strong>, called the <em>dracolich doomlord</em>, which was a whirlwind of devastation compared to his <strong><em>MM1</em></strong> predecessor - but sadly, this new undead dragon from <strong><em>Monster Vault</em></strong> never made it into the database – although its underpowered <strong><em>Monster Manual</em></strong> cousins did!</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">And another important - yet missing - feature in this new online Adventure Tools is the ability to export or copy a stat block to a document. The ability to create a RTF, text, or IMG of a monster’s stat block for pasting into one’s adventure document is not available – although it is possible to print out a monster’s stat block by itself, which uses up a whole page per block. You can only print one block at a time, and there is no way to select multiple monsters to print out for an adventure.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">Added to all the other missing features and data, the lack of any way to print out monsters makes this new online version of Monster Builder is a nearly worthless application for D&D 4E Dungeon Masters to use in preparing their game.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>What are Gamers saying about the new Monster Builder?</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">As one might imagine, the hue-and-cry that went up around the web’s D&D forums quickly reached a fever pitch in response to the inadequacies of this re-vamped version of <strong><em>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</em></strong>. On the Wizards Community forum site there were numerous threads started in response to problems found in the new <strong><em>AT: MB</em></strong> with titles like “<em>Online monster builder problems</em>”, “<em>Copy as Rich Text gone?</em>”, and “<em>New ‘monster builder’ just a poor interface for the Compendium?</em>” – but the largest and most responded to thread remains the <a href="http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/27292517/Online_monster_builder:_what_the_hell_is_this" target="_blank">“<em>Online monster ‘builder’: what the hell is this?</em>”</a> thread.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">With so few features to praise about this new <strong><em>Monster Builder</em></strong>, it was not surprising to find D&D gamers lashing out in their shock and disappointment over the release:</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><u>Comments from Wizards Community Forums:</u></span></p><p> </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><em>Jagraham</em>: “A Monster Builder that does not build monster is an Existing Monster Printer, which works our of the compendium already. Consider announcing a delay when something simply isn't ready and folks will understand.”</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><em>XunValDorl_of_HouseKilsek</em>: “Why is everyone so surprised with the level of quality that WoTc has brought to the table? So far most everything they have done is crap and I don't know why you would expect it to stop any time soon.”</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><em>TonyPa</em> : “This version is Bad with a side dish of Badness covered in Bad sauce with some Bad for dessert. I can't even use it to put a non-"customized" monster in my homebrew adventure Word doc without a screen capture. Badness.”</span></li> </ul><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">And the responses on social networking sites, like Twitter, were no less vehement in their frustration over the DDI Subscriber content following the new Adventure Tools release. In reply to a tweet from Mike Mearls regarding the upcoming GenCon:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"></span><p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px"><em>mikemearls</em> tweeted: “Planning #dnd panels for #gencon. Any thoughts on what you'd like to see?”</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px"><em>MerricB</em> tweeted: “[MENTION=32417]MikeM[/MENTION]earls Like to see at GenCon: Apologies and resignations from the DDi team.”</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">And even <em>Trevor Kidd’s</em> attempt at damage control, trying to put a different spin on the release of <strong><em>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</em></strong>, did little to stem the tide of complaints, concerns, and outrage flooding the web:</span><p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">Hey all. The fix is up now and you should be able to save monsters that you've leveled and import and save custom monsters from the classic Monster Builder. It looks like some of you bumped into some issues while we were pushing the fix, but hopefully all those are over.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">Now on to the topic of "why did you release something that wasn't feature complete?" questions/complaints. Main reasons, short and sweet - we wanted to give all the DDI members a chance to check out what we're working on, and we wanted to make sure that all DDI members had the chance to use the MB to import monsters into their VT games during the next step of the VT beta.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">You still have access to the classic MB (you can download it right now). We won't be doing any more updates to it, but it's still there and still usable. Yes it has issues, but I'm hopefully most people understand that we won't be working on the old tools while adding features to the new tool. With the web-based MB, we have something that gives very basic functionality and is usable with the VT that we wanted to get into everybody hands, not just the small group of testers that we had before.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">The VT point is a bit more tangible - Having the web-based MB out, even in this limited form, makes imputing monsters into the VT 1000% (statistic completely made up) better for DMs. So getting this out to DDI subscribers who will very soon be testing out the VT seemed a pretty important thing.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">I am definitely sorry that I haven't given you more news on what to expect with this AT release these last few weeks. I'm also sorry if I led you to believe that the AT would be more robust than what the closed beta testers had access to. We did add a couple features, but the biggest changes are on their way. I will be back in the coming days with more information on the features we'll be implementing, focusing on whatever the next big thing is.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">Regretfully, the expectations were set high by the release email for a much more polished and complete application than what actually was offered to DDI subscribers. The email makes no mention of this version of <strong><em>AT:MB</em></strong> being a beta, or about the fact that most of the features from the previous version were not included in the online version yet, or even that it was being released to assist in the testing of the D&D Virtual Tabletop, so it is hardly a shock that D&D 4E gamers would respond so negatively.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>Conclusions</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">I can honestly say that I have every hope that <strong>Wizards of the Coast</strong> will do right by its customers and eventually make this new online version of <strong><em>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</em></strong> as complete and user-friendly as its offline predecessor. However, that said, I must express my complete disappointment at how the application was released to the D&D 4E Community, and regret seeing the consternation of my fellow gamers over this latest gaff by WotC and the DDI content team. This little public relations disaster could have been easily averted simply by informing DDI Subscribers of the truth from the start – that this new online version was a beta and was being used to assist in the VT beta – rather than sending out a public release announcement which raised gamer expectations, then dashed them in the same afternoon, by presenting an application which is far from complete.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">It is embarrassing and sad to see this sort of thing happen to a company that writes and produces one’s favorite hobby, and I sincerely hope that this trend does not continue. Gamers who have become fans this new version of D&D continue to pay into their D&D Insider Subscriptions hoping for new and exciting content, and to see their favorite pastime continue to grow and evolve in new and exciting ways. Disappointing moments like this new <strong><em>Adventure Tools: Monster Builder</em></strong> does no one any good – it only frustrates the fan base, perpetuates the edition wars, and weakens consumer confidence in the publisher.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><em>So until next review – I wish you Happy Gaming!</em></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neuroglyph, post: 5504722, member: 85633"] [SIZE=3]If you are a [B]D&D Insider[/B] subscriber like I am, then yesterday you received an email from [B]Wizards of the Coast[/B] announcing the release of the new online version of [B][I]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/I][/B]. If you have never used the previous version of [B][I]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/I][/B], it was a down-loadable program which operated from your home PC or laptop, and allowed you to access existing monsters, or to modify them with new or altered powers, and copy them in a variety of formats (Text, RTF, or IMG) into your document writer, such as WORD, ADOBE, or Publisher.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3] [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]For 4E Dungeon Masters, the [B][I]AT: Monster Builder[/I][/B] was a wonderful resource to use when creating your D&D encounters, making the task of organizing your adventures quicker and easier than in previous editions. So how does this new online version of [I][B]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/B][/I] stack up to its original version?[/SIZE] [SIZE=3] [/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/U][/B][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=3]Publisher: Wizards of the Coast[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Year: 2011[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Media: Online (using Silverlight)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Retail Cost: FREE (with DDI subscription)[/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=3]When I received my email notification, I was really excited to see how the new online version of [B][I]Monster Builder[/I][/B] would run. After a rocky bug-laden launch, I have grown to like the new [B][I]Character Builder[/I][/B], which also uses [I]Silverlight[/I], and was looking forward to seeing how the new [B][I]Adventure Tools[/I][/B] would operate online. And considering that the new version of Monster Builder was described as “completely redesigned” and would “debut with 3,700 monsters - including Dark Sun Creature Catalog and Monster Vault entries”, it sounded as though the new version would have some distinct advantages over the older version.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Sadly, this turned out to be far from the reality![/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]What’s New with Monster Builder?[/U][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Well, besides the addition of loads of monsters from the [B][I]Dark Sun Creature Catalogue[/I][/B] and the [B][I]Monster Vault[/I][/B] – which is undeniably some exciting new content over the previous version – there were also a couple of other features worth mentioning about the new online version of [B][I]AT: Monster Builder[/I][/B]. [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]First, there are illustrations of creatures for some of the monsters taken from the illustrations found in the [B][I]Monster Manuals[/I][/B], [B][I]Monster Vault[/I][/B], and other sources. Clicking on a monster name and seeing an illustration pop up of that critter is a pretty nifty addition to the application – I just wish that they had supplied art for all the monsters instead of just a few. For those monsters lacking an illustration entered into the database, the image of the zany gnome from the D&D cartoons (“I’m a monster! Rawrrr!”) shows up instead.[/SIZE] [align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/atmb-balor.jpg[/align] [SIZE=3]It is also possible for Dungeon Masters to import their monster creations from the previous version of [B][I]Monster Builder[/I][/B] into this new version, and to save your creations – but honestly, the program could not find all my saved monsters anywhere… and I have made up nearly a couple hundred or more customized beasties for my two D&D campaigns![/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Beyond that, there are no new features this online version of [B][I]AT: Monster Builder[/I][/B], other than its layout and appearance… and of course, what it seems to be lacking compared to the old version![/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]What’s Wrong with Monster Builder?[/U][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=3]I’m disappointed to have to report that there are a lot of features missing from the new online version of [B][I]Monster Builder[/I][/B] that so many Dungeon Masters (myself included) had come to use and enjoy in the previous version. There is already a fairly long list of known issues, and sadly, there are even more being added all the time:[/SIZE] [U][SIZE=3][B]Adventure Tools known issues list[/B][/SIZE][/U] [SIZE=3](3/22/2011)[/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=3]Users at this time are not able to add, edit, or remove powers, traits, stat blocks, saving throws, action points, skills, languages, alignment, equipment, or perception.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Compendium Links are not in.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Some custom monsters upon import may be missing (in part or in entirety) non standardized customized powers.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Double clicking monsters does not enter editing mode.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]There is no warning dialog when importing the exact same monster.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Text boxes do not accept overtyping of highlighted text.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]The text box for Name in the filter section is cut off on the lower portion.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Level field accepts alpha characters.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]There is no warning dialog should the user make changes to a monster, and then click return.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]Decreasing the browser size can hide buttons.[/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=3]Obviously, the very first item on the list – which is itself quite a list of missing features – is a major problem with a program self-proclaimed as a [B][I]Monster Builder[/I][/B]! At this point, monsters are almost completely unmodifiable, with only the name of the monster, the names of its powers, and its level being alterable in the new version! And one cannot build a new monster, but only “re-skin” existing monsters, by altering a few names on its stat block. How a monster’s traits and powers work is completely fixed and cannot be edited in the current version, which makes the application fairly useless as a monster “builder”.[/SIZE] [align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/atmb-balor-mod-screen.jpg[/align] [SIZE=3]Thankfully, the formats of the creatures in [B][I]AT: Monster Builder[/I][/B] do comply with the new [B][I]Monster Manual 3[/I][/B] stat block conventions. However, there are still some monsters which have still not been updated been updated in the database to reflect the changes to damage expressions as introduced in [B][I]Monster Manual 3[/I][/B]. For instance, the [I]dracolich[/I] is still listed with all powers and damage expressions that it originally had in the [B][I]Monster Manual[/I][/B]. But other [B][I]MM1[/I][/B] monsters, such as the [I]Balor[/I] and the [I]Dire Wolf[/I] have been updated to do considerably more damage, as recommeneded in [B][I]MM3[/I][/B]. I thought at first that this disparity represented monsters which had been updated for release with [B][I]Monster Vault[/I][/B], which had updated versions of many iconic monsters. But there was a [I]dracolich[/I] in [B][I]MV[/I][/B], called the [I]dracolich doomlord[/I], which was a whirlwind of devastation compared to his [B][I]MM1[/I][/B] predecessor - but sadly, this new undead dragon from [B][I]Monster Vault[/I][/B] never made it into the database – although its underpowered [B][I]Monster Manual[/I][/B] cousins did![/SIZE] [SIZE=3]And another important - yet missing - feature in this new online Adventure Tools is the ability to export or copy a stat block to a document. The ability to create a RTF, text, or IMG of a monster’s stat block for pasting into one’s adventure document is not available – although it is possible to print out a monster’s stat block by itself, which uses up a whole page per block. You can only print one block at a time, and there is no way to select multiple monsters to print out for an adventure.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Added to all the other missing features and data, the lack of any way to print out monsters makes this new online version of Monster Builder is a nearly worthless application for D&D 4E Dungeon Masters to use in preparing their game.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]What are Gamers saying about the new Monster Builder?[/U][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=3]As one might imagine, the hue-and-cry that went up around the web’s D&D forums quickly reached a fever pitch in response to the inadequacies of this re-vamped version of [B][I]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/I][/B]. On the Wizards Community forum site there were numerous threads started in response to problems found in the new [B][I]AT: MB[/I][/B] with titles like “[I]Online monster builder problems[/I]”, “[I]Copy as Rich Text gone?[/I]”, and “[I]New ‘monster builder’ just a poor interface for the Compendium?[/I]” – but the largest and most responded to thread remains the [URL="http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/27292517/Online_monster_builder:_what_the_hell_is_this"]“[I]Online monster ‘builder’: what the hell is this?[/I]”[/URL] thread.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]With so few features to praise about this new [B][I]Monster Builder[/I][/B], it was not surprising to find D&D gamers lashing out in their shock and disappointment over the release:[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][U]Comments from Wizards Community Forums:[/U][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=3][I]Jagraham[/I]: “A Monster Builder that does not build monster is an Existing Monster Printer, which works our of the compendium already. Consider announcing a delay when something simply isn't ready and folks will understand.”[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][I]XunValDorl_of_HouseKilsek[/I]: “Why is everyone so surprised with the level of quality that WoTc has brought to the table? So far most everything they have done is crap and I don't know why you would expect it to stop any time soon.”[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][I]TonyPa[/I] : “This version is Bad with a side dish of Badness covered in Bad sauce with some Bad for dessert. I can't even use it to put a non-"customized" monster in my homebrew adventure Word doc without a screen capture. Badness.”[/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=3]And the responses on social networking sites, like Twitter, were no less vehement in their frustration over the DDI Subscriber content following the new Adventure Tools release. In reply to a tweet from Mike Mearls regarding the upcoming GenCon:[/SIZE] [SIZE=3] [/SIZE][INDENT][SIZE=3][I]mikemearls[/I] tweeted: “Planning #dnd panels for #gencon. Any thoughts on what you'd like to see?”[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][I]MerricB[/I] tweeted: “[MENTION=32417]MikeM[/MENTION]earls Like to see at GenCon: Apologies and resignations from the DDi team.”[/SIZE] [/INDENT][SIZE=3]And even [I]Trevor Kidd’s[/I] attempt at damage control, trying to put a different spin on the release of [B][I]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/I][/B], did little to stem the tide of complaints, concerns, and outrage flooding the web:[/SIZE][INDENT][SIZE=3]Hey all. The fix is up now and you should be able to save monsters that you've leveled and import and save custom monsters from the classic Monster Builder. It looks like some of you bumped into some issues while we were pushing the fix, but hopefully all those are over.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Now on to the topic of "why did you release something that wasn't feature complete?" questions/complaints. Main reasons, short and sweet - we wanted to give all the DDI members a chance to check out what we're working on, and we wanted to make sure that all DDI members had the chance to use the MB to import monsters into their VT games during the next step of the VT beta.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]You still have access to the classic MB (you can download it right now). We won't be doing any more updates to it, but it's still there and still usable. Yes it has issues, but I'm hopefully most people understand that we won't be working on the old tools while adding features to the new tool. With the web-based MB, we have something that gives very basic functionality and is usable with the VT that we wanted to get into everybody hands, not just the small group of testers that we had before.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]The VT point is a bit more tangible - Having the web-based MB out, even in this limited form, makes imputing monsters into the VT 1000% (statistic completely made up) better for DMs. So getting this out to DDI subscribers who will very soon be testing out the VT seemed a pretty important thing.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]I am definitely sorry that I haven't given you more news on what to expect with this AT release these last few weeks. I'm also sorry if I led you to believe that the AT would be more robust than what the closed beta testers had access to. We did add a couple features, but the biggest changes are on their way. I will be back in the coming days with more information on the features we'll be implementing, focusing on whatever the next big thing is.[/SIZE] [/INDENT][SIZE=3]Regretfully, the expectations were set high by the release email for a much more polished and complete application than what actually was offered to DDI subscribers. The email makes no mention of this version of [B][I]AT:MB[/I][/B] being a beta, or about the fact that most of the features from the previous version were not included in the online version yet, or even that it was being released to assist in the testing of the D&D Virtual Tabletop, so it is hardly a shock that D&D 4E gamers would respond so negatively.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]Conclusions[/U][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=3]I can honestly say that I have every hope that [B]Wizards of the Coast[/B] will do right by its customers and eventually make this new online version of [B][I]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/I][/B] as complete and user-friendly as its offline predecessor. However, that said, I must express my complete disappointment at how the application was released to the D&D 4E Community, and regret seeing the consternation of my fellow gamers over this latest gaff by WotC and the DDI content team. This little public relations disaster could have been easily averted simply by informing DDI Subscribers of the truth from the start – that this new online version was a beta and was being used to assist in the VT beta – rather than sending out a public release announcement which raised gamer expectations, then dashed them in the same afternoon, by presenting an application which is far from complete.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3] [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]It is embarrassing and sad to see this sort of thing happen to a company that writes and produces one’s favorite hobby, and I sincerely hope that this trend does not continue. Gamers who have become fans this new version of D&D continue to pay into their D&D Insider Subscriptions hoping for new and exciting content, and to see their favorite pastime continue to grow and evolve in new and exciting ways. Disappointing moments like this new [B][I]Adventure Tools: Monster Builder[/I][/B] does no one any good – it only frustrates the fan base, perpetuates the edition wars, and weakens consumer confidence in the publisher.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3] [/SIZE] [SIZE=3][I]So until next review – I wish you Happy Gaming![/I][/SIZE] [/QUOTE]
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