Dundjinni Anyone?

. . . not that I would buy anything from Fluid after I bought and experienced that car wreck they called eTools, however, I wass wondering if anyone had or was going to buy their latest software.

Speak, and remove all doubt, fellow adventurers!

Yup

Bought it... like it!

I'm still learning the interface but it's a pretty good app. Easier to use then CC2 but it still lacks the sheer volume of symbols available with CC2. Assuming Fluid keeps pumping out Art Packs... it's worth buying for sure.

HiLiphNY said:

. . . not that I would buy anything from Fluid after I bought and experienced that car wreck they called eTools, however, I wass wondering if anyone had or was going to buy their latest software.

Speak, and remove all doubt, fellow adventurers!

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Having seen the demo, I don't think I'm gonna get it.

It's very good looking and really easy to use. The only problem is: I'm not gonna print off maps every session when I can just draw on a battlemat without using up ink and paper.

However, what it does, it does really well.

The person who is going to absolutely get the most out of this program right out of the box is going to be the one hosting a PbEM or other type of online game. Like Grot said, the amount of ink this thing requires would drain your budget faster than anything you can imagine. It does make some fantastic maps though. If you're a would be publisher though be prepared to create all of your own art. The EULA presently does not allow you to use Fluid's art in anything commercial.

DSC-EricPrice said:

Like Grot said, the amount of ink this thing requires would drain your budget faster than anything you can imagine. It does make some fantastic maps though. .

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here-here.

Beautiful but impractical for the average gamer. I don't plan on getting it.

I wouldn't mind using it to map out places just for my reference as a DM. I could then send the map to the players afterwards so they could get a better idea of where they had been. Better yet, I might setup a monitor specifically for displaying maps to the party.

I have two big concerns. The first is time. CC2 took WAY too long to make maps and the learning curve was immense. I hope Dunjinni isn't the same.

My second concern is cost. Right now, it seems to be a ripoff to have to keep buying different art packs. For the prices they're charging, they should be including everything they have so far into one product and then put out artpacks when they have a substantial amount of new material. Right now, it just looks like a cash grab rake in as much as possible.

And the company's past with Etools is disconcerting...

It makes great looking maps from what I've seen, but I've found great looking maps are just neat, not useful. As the DM I'm the only one who gets to see them. Even if you were to print them and use them as battlemats, you would have to find some way to keep the hidden areas covered. (and take an extra job to pay off the paper/ink)

I've tried the 2nd monitor approach for a while and decided that it didn't work. The players seemed to like it, but their role playing disappeared. The display was the only thing they focused on, and they would search the image for clues. Like if I scanned in a map and hid the secret doors and room numbers using photoshop, the players would sometimes spot the slight inconsistancy in the image and go to check it out. So it really sucked that way. Also, it was a lot of work removing DM stuff from maps. Now I just use a whiteboard on the wall behind me and I sketch what they see giving rough estimates of distances. I still have the 2nd monitor there, so I can display images (like the monster they are currently fighting), but haven't had time to get images together for each session.

I think my DM style is moving towards less work for the DM by focusing on ways to improve the game, and my experience with displaying nice maps didn't work for me.

I have to agree with DSC-EricPrice, online DM's who use map revealing software will get the most out of this.

Now had the entire package with art cost $30 or less I would buy it just for the occasional use. But at it's current price I'll pass.

. . . not that I would buy anything from Fluid after I bought and experienced that car wreck they called eTools

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As an aside, eTools was indeed spectacularly broken when it was released, but the most recent patch by CodeMonkeyPublishing (version 1.5) turns it back into the decent product it should have been in the first place. If you bought eTools way back when, and discarded it because it was poor, it's worth dusting it off and installing the patch.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

Dunjiini, combined with Kloogewerks, makes a great all-around package for online gaming IMO.

I was another who was so put off by the coffee mat that was eTools that I practically swore that I wouldn't buy Dundjinni.

I bought it. It is really, really good. Check out the fan-created maps at the Dundjinni forums for some ideas of how good it is.

I'm now convinced that it must have been WotC's interference in the development process (something that was quietly, yet widely, reported at the time) must have corrupted the eTools process because Dundjinni shows that these guys do indeed know what they are doing.