DDI, are you ready to game on the Net?

[Aeolius]

When the DDI Virtual Tabletop supports the Macintosh platform, z-axis movement (aerial, underwater, etc), and a healthy assortment of PC "monster" races via the Character Generator - then I'll take a look. Until then the applications do not feature more than their competitors offer for free.

 

[TerraDave]

To supplement my infrequently meeting face to face group.

Assuming that they actually release it. And it works.

 

[Jhaelen]

I voted no. I'd only give it a try if I wasn't able to play D&D any other way. I'd also have to find a German-speaking game group. I doubt there'll be many.

Reading/Writing English stuff is no problem but I would find it difficult to play in English in realtime. I've played MMORPGs via voice chat without problems but that's a completely different beast - it doesn't really require an extensive vocabulary ^^

 

[Sphyre]

There are 3 main factors I see that go into making a D&D group actually meet up to game.

• Time. We're all available different times. Only a certain amount of people who play D&D will have a compatible schedule with yours. This limits who you can play with.
• Location. People who play D&D aren't all in one place. There's people who have moved away, people who you would like to play with that live too far. The ones that are within feasible range further narrow who is eligible for being in your group.
• Style. We all have different things we want out of a game. Some people just don't like other people. Some groups break up over stylistic or even personal issues. This further limits who you'd enjoy playing with.

All three of which need to be in concurrence for you to have a game that's enjoyable.

The D&D Table Top program from DDI removes the second problem, Location, from the list, expanding your possible groups. This lets you focus more on those who are available when you are and for what style game you're looking for than before. Overall, you may have more enjoyable experiences online because you may have the opportunity to play with people who want the same thing from the game as you that you may never have even considered playing with before.

Therefor, I am not only ready, but eager to find people that have a similar play style as I do. and who want the same things out of the game as I do, that I would have to be extremely lucky to have found where I live.

 

[Ghaerdon Fain]

I was a playtester for e-Tools. That in itself makes me very skeptical. From what we've seen, the art is crap and history says that the programing will be as well. I fear a dud, but I want it to work the way they say but with great graphics and a stable system, that works on ALL F'n OS'!!!!!

In a few years I see Blizzard coming in a buying up the rights to Wizards from Hasbro, as Hasbro will drive it, and sadly the game we love, into the ground. DnD will never die but DDI WILL, yet it will come back because even though I think those at Wizards see the need and they just don't know how to execute it, someone will run with online DnD and make it work... not this time though.

On the fence yet I'll give it a try. I pray I'm proven wrong by my above assumptions.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

DnD will never die but DDI WILL, yet it will come back because even though I think those at Wizards see the need and they just don't know how to execute it, someone will run with online DnD and make it work... not this time though.

While the VTT may not be running the smoothest, or still need work done on it. There is probably a high majority of people who are looking towards getting DDI for things besides that, so that will if nothing else keep DDI afloat till the VTT becomes properly run.

 

[Andur]

Nope. Not going to touch it. There are more than enough ways to play with friends all over the world that don't involve having to pay for it.

Pinotage

Perhaps you'd like to rephrase to "paying anything extra for it." Either you are all meeting up in person, are conference calling, snail mailing, or using the internet, all of which cost money. Everything has a price associated with it, aka, nothing is free.

I doubt I'll use it though. Means I'd have to get food myself every gaming session instead of once every 6 sessions.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

I already play and DM the majority of my games online, and haven't needed to pay a dime for it so far beyond the ISP. Why should you pay a subscription for what you can already do with freeware?

 

[MrGrenadine]

Nope.

If I had my druthers, I'd only play face to face. However, with home and work responsibilities, and a lack of fellow players in the area...well, looks like we're fresh out of druthers.

Thats why I currently play a weekly OpenRPG game on Thursdays, and a Monday-Wednesday game with Maptools, as well as a couple times a month in a campaign using Klooge.werks. I've also used BattlegroundsRPG, and love it.

So, with all that software, and all that community at my fingertips, I can't see any reason in the world to pay WotC 10 bucks a month to use the table, (and thats not even factoring in the heinous random v-mini issue).

I'm going to miss the magazines, though, and hope I can buy the occasional issue or article as I go. As for the game table--maybe in a couple years, if there's a great game on it that I'd like to be part of, (and assuming WotC comes to their senses and makes it Mac/ Linux compatible).

 

[Mistwell]

We already play D&D on the net using Klooge. I'm looking forward to a system that is built specifically for 4e.