D&D Insider Character Builder Open Beta live

[firesnakearies]

As a rule, companies don't have open beta tests of their software. They have closed, in-house beta testing. MMORPGs are an exception, because they're intended to be used by massive numbers of players at the same time, connected online to shared servers. So they have to open that up to be tested by the masses, in order to test the massive multiplayer functionality.

Stand-alone, single-user applications don't have open beta tests. Or was there a secret open beta for Windows XP, or Microsoft Office, or Adobe Photoshop, or QuickBooks that I wasn't aware of? Did I just miss the invite to the open beta test of Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Crysis?

No, because companies don't need to have a large group of random members of the public "test" their software, unless it's a massively multi-user program hosted online. The builder is downloaded and then run by one person, without an internet connection even required. Why would they need to have an open beta test for that?

That would be, essentially, giving away their entire product for free. No other commercial software publishers do that. You're acting like WotC is falling short of some "proper industry standard" by not having a free giveaway (ie, full open beta test) of their stand-alone application. That's ridiculous.

It isn't an MMO, and it has practically nothing in common with an MMO. It has much MORE in common with Excel and Acrobat than with a MMORPG.

 

[justanobody]

Funny how people take one statement and run with it forever taking it out of context.

Yes most companies don't do open beta testing for regular software, but CB is more like an MMO because you need players to test it and tell you what they need or want out of it.

This is where the fault comes in because they are only beta testing a demo version rather than the full thing like MMOs would have people testing the full core thing with add-ons coming later after the core system is working.

Look at all the people raising the same types of questions on the WotC forums and other various forums around the net.

Will it work after 3rd elvel? Has it been properly tested? Why haven't changes been made to fix existing problems prior to the open beat instead of just adding new expansions to it and leaving the bugs in it?

The whole testing bit is flawed, so the product can only be flawed when finished because too many things went untested.

So that is the big part of MMO reference, and let it end there as Phaezen did.

The thing isn't being properly tested, and the errors for the paid for version will show because of it.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

World of Warcraft.

(To be fair you first choose Race, then Class, then customize appearance)

... you so can't customize your appearance

 

[filthgrinder]

How much visuals and animation does the CB really do that requires Direct X?

Requiring the .Net 3.0 framework and Direct X is more of a product of product that: looks good, is built well, and can be developed by multiple teams of developers. You can advantage of these tools to make flexible, modular software, that can be handed off to different development teams and not require a massive learning curve/clean-up process. In bringing in new developers, the skill-set you are looking for is plentiful. The game table/visualizer will differently use DirectX since it will be rendering everything in 3D, you want all the components of your software package be developed in a uniform manner. You want to shuffle your developers around and not have them do mental gymnastics to remember what everything uses and what libraries they can or can not access.

Anyway the CB could me much better if it wasn't built to be interdependent on the other tools and just allowed for saving to a database and let the other tools, if used, pull from that database rather than what will probably be close to OLE data that is passed directly form one to another.

Right now your character is saved to an XML file. The default location is ddi\Saved Characters\
in your "My Documents" folder.

I'm also curious as to how many MMOs that you have played where you can click a little "House Rule" icon and then change anything you want. How many MMO's actually produce your character sheet for you. How many MMO's then let you print out your character sheet on a page where you can move around the elements on the page.

If this was an MMO character generator, why is it saving it to an XML file on your machine. Why can you house rule anything you want? Why let you print out a character sheet?

I really don't follow the complaint. Do you just object to using a computer to assist a pen and paper game? That seems to be the issue. I'm not sure how one would design a tool to help build a character for D&D that wouldn't resemeble an MMO to you.

I'd just like to say, "We get it, you don't like this, WE GET IT." Now let's just move along.

 

[Phaezen]

For what it is worth, looking at the following thread, there does seem to have been a closed beta test of the full product. The public beta demo is nothing more than a demo for people to have a look at the first three levels, and let WOTC know of any errors they pick up.

Unlock the POWER of your character sheet! - Wizards Community

Phaezen

 

[justanobody]

For what it is worth, looking at the following thread, there does seem to have been a closed beta test of the full product. The public beta demo is nothing more than a demo for people to have a look at the first three levels, and let WOTC know of any errors they pick up.

Unlock the POWER of your character sheet! - Wizards Community

Phaezen

That was the beta test of the demo for subscriber prior to adding the martial powers data set.

Dylan "ExoByte" Mayo
Producer D&DI

The thread was started by someone on the inside, and seems to have lost his staff icon, so maybe was a hidden layoff or something....

So far they have only ever released levels 1-3 to the public, unless you can direct me to a post stating otherwise.

Of course the devs would have access to the full product to write it.....

@filthgrinder:

What does the houserule icon have to do with anything? It is a valid option from within the software. You cannot add your own items or anything else, just like you cannot do so in video games. You are bound by only what exists in the system.

 

[Rel]

The one thing I'd most like fixed in the short term is some kind of filter for making characters that are "PHB Only" and so forth.

 

[Phaezen]

The one thing I'd most like fixed in the short term is some kind of filter for making characters that are "PHB Only" and so forth.

I am fairly sure there is an option for that kind of thing, but I have the generator installed on my home pc, not at work. I will check when I get home and report back.

Phaezen

 

[Rel]

I am fairly sure there is an option for that kind of thing, but I have the generator installed on my home pc, not at work. I will check when I get home and report back.

Phaezen

Perhaps I'm just missing it or else I haven't got the latest version. I downloaded it a week ago today.

 

[justanobody]

There is only one version for open beta, and the only difference in it and closed was the added Martial Power book and stuff like that. No actual updates to the system, and there is nothing that filters which books to use at this time.

You are offered material from everywhere and every book that exists in the system so that it is RPGA compliant, since everything is allowed in the RPGA.

I think the WotC forums have a thread or two about the RPGA material problems and needing a Minotaur changed because the Dragon overrides the MM entry or some such....

Yes filters would be great!