DDI Monster Builder

[Nemesis Destiny]

XML .monster files, the same ones that you get when you use the export function from the old Monster Builder. So yep, you can import from the old AT.

Keen. I didn't know the old MB was even capable of exporting your creations in XML.

I didn't use it much because it too was bloated and buggy, and most creatures I could just modify on the fly. The only time I put it to much use was in creating important NPCs and villains. Then it ate a bunch of my data, so I started just doing it by hand.

We'll see if this one does any better when (if) they actually get it functional.

I'm revising my judgement in this category to a Conditional Pass.

Not bad. Of my 4 arbitrary categories, 1 pass, 2 fails, and an as-yet-unknown. Par for the course for a WotC digital initiative.

 

[the Jester]

What a thread full of crankiness! The original MB is still available for now, and this tool is obviously now in open beta (notice the "beta" tag on the opening splash page).

You do realize people are paying the same (or more) per month that they were when they had working tools that were vastly superior to these ones, right?

It's pretty sad.

WotC released new software?
[insanitywolf.jpg]
They killed your dog!

How about:

"WotC released an update that crippled the working versions of their tools, then took months and months to release a barely-working beta version of those same tools and then announced a target date of about a year after they crippled the originals to get the new ones back to where they were... but you can pay the same the whole time. P.S. We'll be sure to deliver about 1 adventure and 1 delve per month, most of them with two or three encounters each, and maybe an article or two as well! YOU'RE WELCOME!"

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

snip

I tried to give you the little green dot for your last post, but I must spread it around more first.

Stop making so much sense, and this won't be a problem!!!

 

[the Jester]

And BTW I am eager for a reason to resubscribe- I've almost done it already in the hopes that the new MB would be decent, but fortunately held off.

Seriously, Wizards of the Coast, I am your perfect target audience. I want to buy your products. You don't have to pitch them hard or aim them directly at my preferences- but you have to give me something!

 

[eriktheguy]

Someone in this thread said that Wizards broke the monster builder.
Was the math for leveling monsters actually working at some point? Did they break it with an update?

Because they did the same thing with offline CB. They messed it up (made items impossible to buy) to the point of being damn inconvenient. Then they refused to release further updates and offered us the online builder.

I could see it as a coincidence if it happened to only one builder, but if they broke both builders permanently before putting the online builders for sale it seems intentional.

In any case, this is good news for me. When Wizards mucked up the character builder it catalyzed a community reaction to use 3rd party mods to fix it. They removed many bugs and even let you add house-rules beyond custom feats or items. Hopefully this recent development will spur a similar reaction in terms of 3rd party mods for the monster builder.

I think it's too optimistic to expect this program to improve much. I was patient with the CB when it came out, but it still doesn't have the functionality to match the offline version. I simply think Wizards isn't going to give us this one.

 

[Aegeri]

The monster builder deletes triggers, resets maths to incorrect values and doesn't calculate the correct damage expressions to the new errata (then again, in fairness neither does the new one). It is very frustrating to work with, to the point I don't even use it anymore.

 

[Obryn]

Someone in this thread said that Wizards broke the monster builder.
Was the math for leveling monsters actually working at some point? Did they break it with an update?

Nope. One update fixed a bunch of bugs that never affected me, while leaving the big ones that did affect me intact. In the process, it also removed RPGA monsters from the catalog. Which also didn't affect me, because they're all the pre-MM3 variety that I muck around with anyways.

The old Monster Builder has been borked in the ways Aegeri mentions above forever; it wasn't broken anew by any update.

Because they did the same thing with offline CB. They messed it up (made items impossible to buy) to the point of being damn inconvenient. Then they refused to release further updates and offered us the online builder.

I could see it as a coincidence if it happened to only one builder, but if they broke both builders permanently before putting the online builders for sale it seems intentional.

It's not. Anyone who says the last update "broke" monster builder is being overdramatic, so I wouldn't give this theory much credence.

I think it's too optimistic to expect this program to improve much. I was patient with the CB when it came out, but it still doesn't have the functionality to match the offline version. I simply think Wizards isn't going to give us this one.

I resubscribed recently after being initially disgusted with the online builder. IMO, it's pretty good now. The main problem for me is that I hate the inventory screen, and I hate the bitmap printing of character sheets. Otherwise, it's faster than it was and works better nowadays.

I love my modded offline builder, don't get me wrong. It's still the better system. But it's not miles ahead anymore, and the online version actually has some stuff going for it. (I like having those characters available at every PC I use, for example.) If WotC actually lives up to their promise and does a zero-day update for Heroes of Shadow... well, it will have yet more points in its favor.

EDIT: And how was the offline builder messed up exactly? It never stopped working for me.

-O

 

[Dannager]

Seriously, Wizards of the Coast, I am your perfect target audience.

I would argue that if you don't think the Compendium, Character Builder, magazine content, and beta access are worth $6 a month, you're probably not the perfect target audience.

Not to say that holding out for more is wrong - everyone has their own idea of what something is worth - but I think WotC is probably banking on the idea that most people subscribing are getting their money's worth even without a killer Monster Builder.

For instance, for me, access to the Compendium alone is worth the price of admission. Everything else is just gravy (and I get a ton of use out of the online Character Builder).

 

[Matt James]

For instance, for me, access to the Compendium alone is worth the price of admission. Everything else is just gravy (and I get a ton of use out of the online Character Builder).

Same for me.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Look 4e and the DDi owns and all, but this is kinda terrible.

You're allowed to like DDi and 4e and think this is kinda terrible, because it is.