The Holy Grail of Online Tools (Listen up, WotC!)

[delericho]

Ah, I was more strictly thinking about online tools and such...

I guess I wasn't clear in my previous post. Sorry.

After they have let go the software team they would have to hire new guys...

Have they let that team go? Or was that an "if they do this at some point..."?

When they announced the magazine's hiatus last year would havbe been the point to get our collective mouths watering for the 5e version of the service.

I was certainly dismayed to see the mags go on hiatus, and don't hold out too much hope they'll be back, or at least that they'll be back in anything other than name.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Have they let that team go? Or was that an "if they do this at some point..."?

Sorry, no in-depth research right now as I am at work. But the lead developer with the Italian sounding name, who came aboard 2009 or 2010 left WotC a few years ago. There was no replacement announced and, contrary to the time when this guy was hired, no job offer was published.

I *think* I also read abbout the rest of team leaving WotC.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Step 1 buy master plan
Step 2 take old off line builder from4e
Step 3 take old off line monster builder from 4e
Step 4 take rules compendium like 4e
Step 5 update to next/5e and intergrate
Step 6 build a basic online table that supports above...

I expect that "update" is probably more like, "rewrite from scratch", unfortunately.

hey Umbran, you may be right, I have no idea how easy or hard it would be, weaither you could replug or not... but it's a dream

I would also give the character builder away for free... with PHB1 stuff in it at realize, and maybe after a year add a few other things... then have 2 levels of subscpirtion to the rest...

level 1 just downloads everything to the character builder and gives compendium access...
level 2 gives all + online content (Dungeon and Dragon)

If possible I would make level 1 something like $11 a month $18 for 3 months or $55 a year
then level 2 $20 a month, $40 for three months, and $85 for a year...

 

[delericho]

Sorry, no in-depth research right now as I am at work. But the lead developer with the Italian sounding name, who came aboard 2009 or 2010 left WotC a few years ago. There was no replacement announced and, contrary to the time when this guy was hired, no job offer was published.

I *think* I also read abbout the rest of team leaving WotC.

Thanks. I must have missed that. Obviously, it doesn't bode well for the future of DDI.

 

[Mercurius]

Are you A PROFESSIONAL GAME DEVELOPER who makes SIX FIGURES A YEAR? Because if not your opinion is irrelevant!

Wait, game designers make six figures? Hard to believe that, at least in the RPG world. Maybe some of the higher-ups at Paizo and WotC, but I'm guessing that your average full-time game designer makes less. Who knows. But I hear your humor.

Just out of curiosity, what sort of features would be in such a program? Off the top of my head I'm guessing

• Monsters
• Map-making
• NPCs
• Encounter Builder

I've kind of littered my ideas throughout this thread, but I see it as having an "X-axis" and "Y-axis." The X-axis would be "from monster/NPC to campaign," with all of the steps in-between: encounters, short scenarios, modules, adventure paths, mega-campaigs. The Y-axis would be "from general guidelines to we'll generate it for you."

So the point being, you can make both any scale of DM creation, from building NPCs and customizing monsters to entire campaigns and settings, and also do it with as much or as little guidance from the program - from a place to organize your notes, like MasterPlan, to them generating it for you, with some input of course.

But, even there, I suspect they'd do better to offer a single all-inclusive subscription. The hope is that WotC recognise that DMs are disproportionately good for the game, so it is right to support them with tools even if they're a less immediately lucrative source of revenue. Which, based on recent moves by WotC, is no longer something I despair about entirely.

I think you're right and that four or five tiers is too many, but I could still see two or three tiers working fine. One, a Player's Option, two a DM's expanded suite (players shouldn't be asked to purchase Adventure Design Tools and Monster Builder), and three some kind of special tier that offers exclusive content and a lmiited edition item of some kind - a mini or hardcopy annual, or a choice. Hey, maybe they can call them Heroic, Paragon, and Epic, and cost something like $10, $25, and $40 a month.

 

[Dungeoneer]

Wait, game designers make six figures? Hard to believe that, at least in the RPG world. Maybe some of the higher-ups at Paizo and WotC, but I'm guessing that your average full-time game designer makes less. Who knows. But I hear your humor.

I doubt any of them make six figures unless their first name rhymes with 'jaunty' and their last name rhymes with 'book'.

The funny thing is, the guy in the other thread then claimed he meant VIDEO GAME developer. Well, news flash, very few of them make six figures either. The video game industry pays its programmers far less than programmers in other fields because there are so many wannabe game developers. There were crazy stories in the 90's about programmers for id software driving around in Ferraris but those days are long gone. Unless you are in the top tier of programmers at a major game studio I doubt you make +100k.

ANYway.

I've kind of littered my ideas throughout this thread, but I see it as having an "X-axis" and "Y-axis." The X-axis would be "from monster/NPC to campaign," with all of the steps in-between: encounters, short scenarios, modules, adventure paths, mega-campaigs. The Y-axis would be "from general guidelines to we'll generate it for you."

So the point being, you can make both any scale of DM creation, from building NPCs and customizing monsters to entire campaigns and settings, and also do it with as much or as little guidance from the program - from a place to organize your notes, like MasterPlan, to them generating it for you, with some input of course.

Don't forget to PUT IT IN THE CLOUD!!!

Okay, cloud-based computing is a little oversold, but it would probably be nice for something like this. That way you could access your notes and stuff from wherever.

 

[Mercurius]

So what kind of guidance would you be looking for? I could see a program that comes with several templates like several variations on the 5 room dungeon. But other than that, I can't seem to think of anything else that something like masterplan could do to provide guidance.

I just wanted to let you know that I tried to reply to your PM but your box is full.

 

[herrozerro]

I just wanted to let you know that I tried to reply to your PM but your box is full.

Yeah. I didn't realize that sent pus counted against your total. If you want to send it again go ahead!

 

[xazil]

Another program like this is Wolflair's Realmworks. http://www.wolflair.com/realmworks

Which is billed at campaign management, but my puttering around the beta of it shows good promise on the adventure side too.