D&D Game Table not Mac-Compatible at launch

[bento]

I don't see what the problem is. Mac users can buy a brand new PC for the cost of a PS3. Lots of gamers have two or three systems they play on. By having the PC devoted to DDI only, they don't have to deal with all the bloat problems the rest of us PC users after we loaded Real Player, Norton Utilities, etc.

It's not like WoTC is asking them to convert from one religion to another.

Maybe another Seattle company invested in WoTC's DDI with the stipulation it requires Vista OS to run properly.

 

[Maggan]

Mac users can buy a brand new PC for the cost of a PS3.

Nah, I'll just use my Mac and boot into Windows. Some machines in this world can do both.

/M

 

[Shawn_Kehoe]

Nah, I'll just use my Mac and boot into Windows. Some machines in this world can do both.

/M

Yeah, Boot Camp is a godsend. And by the time the D&D Insider Service hits full stride, you'll be able to switch OSes without closing applications.

Still, all of my word processing / image manipulation programs are on the Mac side of the equation, so it would be nice if I had full access to those while DMing.

 

[Delta]

Well, I think that it is a polite way of saying "no native Mac support, ever".

Agreed. That's pretty much standard boilerplate language for any company making a Windows-only application.

 

[azhrei_fje]

Why not use Java?

And it's a pretty sad attitude given what can be done with Java nowadays. Look at what the RPTools crew has achieved with Java (particularly MapTool and the coding android who goes by the alias "Trevor"). That group has produced some fraggin' amazing stuff in the last year or so. It runs fine on my four-year old Dell Inspiron 8000 with only 512MB of memory and it runs very fine on my new dual-core MacBook Pro. (The MBP has a much larger and higher resolution display, so there's a world of difference between the two.)

It doesn't really matter to me. My group is in the middle of a module (see signature) and I won't move to 4E sooner than the end of this module. And even then, maybe not.

 

[SPoD]

DnD Insider* (*Not available on Macintosh)

So, according to the news on the front page regarding the 4E Q&A seminar, when asked point blank about what platforms would be able to access the DnD Insider content, the panel members responded, "Starting with PC, because there are more."

Sadly, this has turned my opinion of DnD Insider from, "cautiously optimistic" to "angry and annoyed" because it means that I won't get to use it. I only own a Mac. At work, I use only a Mac. I've never used a PC in my life, in fact, and I'm not about to start now for a D&D subscription. (Please don't turn this thread into an argument convincing me to use a PC, that's not the point.)

So I'm going to be left out of the "glorious new vision" of online D&D for who-knows-how-long. A year? Two years? Or will it be two years, followed by, "Our research indicates that not enough Mac users are interested in our service to warrant the cost." Or will it show up, only for me to find that I can only play D&D online with other Mac players, because they couldn't be bothered to make cross-platform play an option?

I know I will still be able to access Dragon and Dungeon digital magazines--actually, I don't KNOW that, I just assume it, so there's still room for disappointment there. But all of the online tools that will make Insider worth $120 a year are certain to be unavailable to me, which means I'm stuck either paying $10 a month for a severely truncated set of content compared to the rest of you, or I don't pay the subscription and miss out on Dragon and Dungeon anyway.

What I would like to see is this:
1.) Obviously, my first choice would be for Mac content to be ready at launch, but since that's already been shot down, I would like to see a hard-and-fast date for launching Mac content. I need to know when I can expect to be playing online, because it WILL influence my 4th Edition purchasing decisions.
2.) Guarantees on whether a Mac version would be able to play online with PC users.
3.) (Least likely, but most needed) A partial subscription option that allows me to subscribe to the parts of DnD Insider that will be Mac-compatible without paying for the parts that won't be. If I could pay $5 a month just for digital Dragon/Dungeon and the website itself, I would do it in without blinking. (Assuming, again, that even Dragon/Dungeon will be in a cross-platform format. They might not be.)

Anyone else in the same boat? Any other ideas on how they could keep Mac gamers from abanoning them?

 

[EricNoah]

Similar conversation here:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=204368

 

[Mr. Patient]

Yep, another Mac user here. A "limited" subscription to Dungeon/Dragon/other web content would interest me, but there is no way I will pay $10/mo. to get a client I can't use.

Here's more detail on the PC-only-ness of DI:

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=908201


Oh, and I finally reach 100 posts after more than 5 years. Watch out, Crothian!

 

[EricNoah]

I guess they call you Mr. Patient for a reason!

 

[Mr. Patient]

I guess they call you Mr. Patient for a reason!

I have the patience of a 4-year-old. I am, however, excellent at lurking.