TSR, WotC and Electronic Support: a loveless marriage

[Herschel]

I'll begin with my question: Why has WotC generally dropped the ball on electronic support for D&D?
WotC has tried again in the 4e era with DDi, but again has shown a vision too big and a lack of commitment.

Yet the rest of the DDi tools are DOA. Online Table? Portrait Generator? Campaign Builder? Map-making tool? All silent. Chances are, we won't see a single one. Again, WotC has shown lack of commitment to electronic tools.

I think you miss the mark here while showing that WotC has done a good job of providing "electronic support".

For one, video games are not support, they're just a marketing gimmick. They don't do anything for the game itself directly, just indirectly by trying to create interest.

For another, the Character Builder and Monster Builder are the epitome of needed electronic support. There were already virtual tabletops out there and Gen Con unveiled a push with a new one. WotC shouldn't have it as a priority. Partrait maker is pure fluff and not a necessity either. For campaign building, there's always notepad and word.

 

[eyebeams]

1) It's not unfair to comment on a history of not following through with promises. It is *irksome* that in both 3e and 4e, electronic support marketing was heavily focused on things they had not have built and did not deliver. Honestly, that sucks.

2) At this stage in the game, DDI has to be web tools. At no point is WotC even trying for anything that could not be done under HTML, even if it would be the HTML5 canvas. Among other things, they need this to enter the tablet space. The fact that the UI is crude doesn't diminish this. It just means they need a better UI.

3) Right now DDI faces the issue where the tools are always going to be overshadowed by free alternatives. Basically, I can support myself with free or cheap third party tools, and their development, while less ready out of the box, proceeds at a faster, more agile pace due to multiple sources and hobby enthusiasm. The only place where it can't be beat is content . . .

4) . . . but of course, WotC is weak on compelling content and has been ever since the company decided that it was the spearhead of the Revenge of the Nerds Against Arts Majors and would not invest any significant effort in developing things outside of game systems, lest that be seen as the bad old days of TSR and 1001 settings. Wake me up the next time they change skill challenges!

 

[S'mon]

I prefer hard copies...but why do you say the pdfs are unreadable?

The multi-column format is fine for printed material, online it makes them impossible to scroll through painlessly. Especially on my 10" netbook screen.

 

[Umbran]

3) Right now DDI faces the issue where the tools are always going to be overshadowed by free alternatives. Basically, I can support myself with free or cheap third party tools, and their development, while less ready out of the box, proceeds at a faster, more agile pace due to multiple sources and hobby enthusiasm.

That's certainly true for rules-agnostic support (say, mapping tools). I don't know how well it holds for things that really call for rules-integration (say, monster builders).

 

[Saracenus]

Contrary to what I had assumed, people seem to think it's a good value for what they've paid. I guess wizards is really F-ing themselves by not having the virtual game board thingy going. That would be a reason to pay every month consistently.

Actually, having access to the compendium (updated on a monthly basis) online is awesome. There are now tools that interface with said compendium in real time (iPlay4e for example, an eCharacter sheet, for smartphones and computers, that tracks your expended powers, hp, temp hp, conditions, action points, etc. with direct links to the compendium).

While Masterplan, one of the best adventure planners out there, no longer can download the compendium database wholesale you can still import monsters from the Monster Builder and cut and paste in stuff from the compendium as needed.

Add to the fact that you can download the Character Builder and Adventure Tools on to 5 separate computers each month (I have only 2 right now, but I was running them on 4 for a while).

Dragon and Dungeon content is constantly being doled out every weekday.

But your mileage may vary.

 

[Herschel]

Contrary to what I had assumed, people seem to think it's a good value for what they've paid. I guess wizards is really F-ing themselves by not having the virtual game board thingy going. That would be a reason to pay every month consistently.

How? Seriously, virtual game boards are nigh pointless for Wizards. Most gaming still takes place face-to-face, and that that doesn't has cheap (or even free) alternatives easily available. It's not a winning product for them to devote much attention to.

The Character Builder and Monster Builder (those specific to their product AND covered by licenses) are where their attention is rightfully focused.

 

[eyebeams]

How? Seriously, virtual game boards are nigh pointless for Wizards. Most gaming still takes place face-to-face, and that that doesn't has cheap (or even free) alternatives easily available. It's not a winning product for them to devote much attention to.

The Character Builder and Monster Builder (those specific to their product AND covered by licenses) are where their attention is rightfully focused.

Sub-$300 capacitive tablets are pretty much going to murder this excuse by Q1-2 2011 at the latest.

 

[nedjer]

Sub-$300 capacitive tablets are pretty much going to murder this excuse by Q1-2 2011 at the latest.

Unfortunately the tablet/ virtual table may be short lived, as the cocktail of bacteria and viruses passed round with every tablet should quickly kill most tablet owners. Sure looked likely when I was in an iStore last week - the tablets were minging

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

Sub-$300 capacitive tablets are pretty much going to murder this excuse by Q1-2 2011 at the latest.

So, where did you get your crystal ball? And what does it say about the 4e campaign setting(s) for 2012? ^^

 

[LeStryfe79]

If I remember correctly, the online tabletop was one of the biggest selling points for 4th edition during pre-release. The encounter-based game mechanics centering around tiles, power cards, and whatnot seemed groomed from the ground up to be compatable with such functionality. In fact, I purchased 4.0 to specifically take advantage of these broken promises.

Am I jaded?

Sure, but I should have seen this coming. In the end, I blame myself more than WotC. Never again though shall I make such a mistake. Fool me once, ect...ect...