DDI, 6 months later: changing my mind

[TerraDave]

This lovefest is great.

The virtual game table would be better.

 

[maddman75]

Does the encounter builder have the stats for the new monsters from Dragon/Dungeon?

Yes. It seems to pull them from the Compendium, and even if not the encounter builder basically calculates the XP budget. So if you've got a 300 XP monster you want to use, just pick a different 300XP monster.

I will second the suggestions for printable area maps and a monster modifier. If I was a DM I would pay for that stuff in a heartbeat.

I love the DDI, find it a great value. I was very skeptical of 4e and DDI, but a recent demo has brought me over. Love the game, lots of fun. The DDI is everything you need. Adventures, ideas, the compendium. Someone at WotC might be reading this, so here's my wishlist

- Visualizer. I know some people are pushing for game table, but to be honest if I wanted to play games with other people online I have WoW. Give me something to build not only PCs but NPCs with. I could see myself using this tool a lot.

- Mapping Tool. Just a simple, tile-based mapping tool. Something flash based that I can quickly create simple maps. The aforementioned printing out maps from Dungeon to scale would be nifty too. Heck, why not get them from all the published sources? Add a Maps tab to the Compendium!

- Statblocks in the Encounter Generator. Yeah, there's a quick link and you can copy/paste, but how much easier would it be to print/print to pdf from a single screen?

- Skill Challenge generator. Something simple, but helps figure out the DCs, etc in setting up a skill challenge.

- Adventure Generator. Combine all of the above into a complete adventure making tool. Build your maps, encounters, skill challenges. Add notes/plot synopsis, maybe even artwork for handouts. Print the whole thing like a finished product.

- DM Sharing. The monster creator is handy, but why can't I save my monsters to get later? And why can't I see them in the compendium. Let me do that, and better yet let me share them with others. For that matter, let me share the adventures I create with others. Imagine the potential resources they could use to sell DDI subscriptions - not only do you get the professional adventures in dungeon, but dozens if not hundreds of adventures made up by DMs.

That's my dream list anyway. I appreciate their current attitude of "We're going to do one part, and do it right, then move on" I'd rather have a functional character generator than a half-dozen half-assed products.

 

[Nebulous]

I like DDI, even if a most aprpeciated issue would be the functionality to click on each encounter map in Dungeon and see it magically printed in perfect game tile scale.

With electonic version this simply screams to be done.

Unless there's another hidden button or option I didn't notice

By the Gaming Gods, that would be perfect. I mean, just perfect. If they completely canceled the Dungeon tiles and raised the price of DDI to incorporate this, i would still gladly pay. Or even better, make it additional just for the DMs who want it.

 

[Festivus]

I was dead set against DDI until a friend of mine pointed out one major thing: You can get stat blocks for EVERY monster they created. RPGA LFR Module, check. Dun/Dra article, check. Book I never bought (MotP), Check.

So it's more than just the core rulebooks, which was what I thought initially. This made it worthwhile for me since I am the DM and I am creating adventures. Cut and paste into Word and whammo, half my work is done for encounter creation. Tied with the encounter builder and it makes very short work of the monster part of things, freeing me up to focus on the story part.

$5 a month... worth every penny.

 

[Fabio Andrea Rossi]

Someone at WotC might be reading this, so here's my wishlist

My wishlist is that WOTC hires you, because I second all of your points. These are really the improvements that could make life easier and more intriguing for a lot of DMs out there, just think at the success the NWN Autrora engine had, and this is simpler.

Great ideas, fully seconded!

Now if I only found out the button to give pxs...I have to get better with buttons.

 

[maddman75]

My wishlist is that WOTC hires you, because I second all of your points. These are really the improvements that could make life easier and more intriguing for a lot of DMs out there, just think at the success the NWN Autrora engine had, and this is simpler.

Great ideas, fully seconded!

Thanks!

I was thinking of NWN when I wrote this. I probably spent more time futzing with the toolkit than I ever did playing the game. I was seized by a mad urge to convert RttToEE. Got the moathouse done anyway...

Also did Orc and Pie, which clocked in at 19kb

But yes, that became a big selling point of NWN - there were *thousands* of adventures you could download and play. Quality was sometimes iffy, but you still had some real gems.

 

[Scribble]

The encounter builder is like a calculator for me now...

I CAN do all that stuff without it, just like I can do math without a calculator- Would I EVER want to now that I have the encounter builder? Not really!

I do wish it had a way to scale monsters easily, but I guess you can do it with a little work using the monster builder. Not as easy as just clicking buttons, but still not bad.

I think some craft 3pp should put together their own compendium that other 3pp can populate with their own stuff. Maybe have a subscription they all share?

 

[catsclaw227]

Where's this "hidden button" you speak of? I feel like the moron in the room who doesn't get the joke...

 

[OchreJelly]

If the encounter builder printed out monster stat blocks for each encounter, then it would be a great product made even better. I would use it to stat up all my encounters.

Now, if the encounter builder let you dial monster level up or down, turn normal monsters into elites and solos, and handled all monster costumization needs ... that would send it into the stratosphere.

But I feel quite please with DDI so far, it has definitely been worth the money.

QFT. A million times this. The encounter builder was actually what tipped the scales for me to give DDI a try. When I read about the encounter builder, the first thing I thought was, "Oh this will automatically produce those nice statted encounters like in their printed adventures. This is useful to me!". Well I was disappointed to see it go halfway there. I can try this "hidden button", but if they are going to the effort to link to the monster entry, how much more difficult would it be to program it to print out full encounter stats automatically? It's a usability no-brainer to me.

As a side gripe, my reluctance to try DDI was mostly grounded in the idea of paying for something that I didn't pay for under third edition. My old process for adventure prep involved me mining the monster entries in the SRD to put into a Word doc. I was already used to getting it for free. I have since come around, mostly because the price point isn't bad, and they have added value since third edition: namely the stat blocks are just better at the table, and the fact that the monsters come from everything officially printed, not just the MM.

 

[Mercule]

My group is doing a single 4e module before venturing into nWoD. I'm very much considering a 3 month subscription. It'd be the most efficient use of $20, even if we really do only go through a single module.