The CB is still crappy

[IanB]

Really? I rather like the feat sorting. I can see why the categorical method they use might be off to some though as not all the weapon expertise feats, for example, are all together.

Yes, that in particular is annoying, and the first thing that leaps to mind. Rod Expertise is under armor training for example, and while I understand that the mechanics of the feat support that, sort of, it is not the place a warlock or invoker is going to think of to go find their expertise feat.

Style feats being mixed into the categories instead of in their own style section is another thing I don't think works very well, since they have 3 different benefits and they don't always fit the same category. Except not all of them, because lesser style feats DO get their own category.

I could go dig up more examples of things that don't seem to go where they're slotted (or not slotted) but I think you get the idea.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In part because there's no particular evidence that the CB specifically is actually to blame for the problems you're having, given the essentially flawless performance other people are reporting.

The combination of browsers (and patch levels of those browsers), OSes, drivers, hardware, etc., that can affect how a program like this is actually fairly staggering, and even the biggest developers can't test and ensure that their stuff works with every weird combination people have.

This is not a weird, tricked-out computer.

Given that this is a new, unmodified virus free computer, running the browser it shipped with, with no changed settings or added software between the first flawless use and the second, trouble-plagued one, the evidence would lead one to believe the misbehaving program is the one with the problem.

And again, it screwed up the text on it's own power card- calling something Augmentable that was not- and THAT can't be anything but an issue with the program itself.

 

[Ryujin]

To be fair, issues with things like power cards existed in CBC also. None of the items that my Warlock had, that added to the distance of teleports, ever reported the additional distance for example.

The problem with having the online CB run reliably, on even a brand new computer, is that there's a mode of data transfer involved that is out of the control of both parties; provider and user. Internet routing can get pretty funky, at times, with the occasional hop from Seattle to Omaha arriving by way of Istanbul.

And there's server loading, as I've said before, which is not within the control of the user. No matter how clean and fast your computer is, you can only run as fast as the data comes in.

With an offline programme, you are in relative control of the user experience. You can troubleshoot why things behave the way that they do. You can rule out reasons for inconsistent behaviour, as they generally involve interaction with other software. We no longer have this ability.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Fair enough.

 

[Talok]

WotC's epic failure continues. The thing locks up on me all the time.

 

[Jhaelen]

One work-around would be to tell your PDF printing programme that you want to print to 8.5"x11" (Letter) paper, then tell Acrobat to scale the print onto A4 paper, when actually printing.

Okay, that worked, thanks!

Don't have your PDF printing programme "optimize for web" as this will use higher compression, losing detail. As you're likely only using the resulting document on your own computer, you can increase the DPI, to something more reasonable; say between 600 and 1200 DPI.

This required some experimentation. Here's my findings:
- changing dpi has zero effect
- oddly, switching from colour to black/white improves quality a lot
- changing the mode from 'web' to 'print' results in a vast improvement for the colour version
- changing image compression from 'jpg' to 'flate' seems to slighly improve it further

I've attached images of the results from 'web' and 'print' modes for comparison.

So the print quality is now okay for me.

Regarding my other issue of lacking source filters / campaign settings:
Changing sort order to 'source' is not a good solution. It's about as convenient as flipping through the books.
Maybe I'm just spoiled by the old builder, but this was sooo much better previously!

So, I'll modify my verdict from 'crappy' to 'workable'.

 

[CAFRedblade]

Speaking of the new versus old character builder. Has anyone seen, or tried themselves to figure out a way to pass the dnd4e file to the older builders standalone character sheet viewer program. The Classic/Original character builder called the viewer, and passed the file to it somehow, just wondering if there were a way to do so just using an exported Online CB file.

There is enough that is similar in the dnd4e file between versions, that it might be possible, depending on how the viewer program receives the information.

Or I may just be dreaming about perfect worlds..
I really liked the options to move, and re-jigger the character sheets in the older version's viewer program.

 

[Mummolus]

Speaking of the new versus old character builder. Has anyone seen, or tried themselves to figure out a way to pass the dnd4e file to the older builders standalone character sheet viewer program. The Classic/Original character builder called the viewer, and passed the file to it somehow, just wondering if there were a way to do so just using an exported Online CB file.

There is enough that is similar in the dnd4e file between versions, that it might be possible, depending on how the viewer program receives the information.

Or I may just be dreaming about perfect worlds..
I really liked the options to move, and re-jigger the character sheets in the older version's viewer program.

You can export from the new builder, then open the exported file in the old CB and use the viewer from there. Unfortunately not everything displays properly, since theme powers for example aren't present in the old CB.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here it is a few days later, and the identical problem as before has cropped up: I cannot make a new character because the "Continue" button is simply not present.

However, this time, I figured out how to get around it. Originally, I had been going directly to the login page via my browser history. When I do that, it lets me log in and do everything except create new characters.

However, if I do a Google search for the CB, then follow that link, THEN login, it worked fully. That is asinine.

 

[Canor Morum]

Tried the new CB, hated it. It's slow, buggy, crashes all the time and I have to be online to use it.

Fortunately there is a way to update the old CB with Essentials and Dark Sun but I don't think I'm allowed to post details here.