DDI Monster Builder

[Dannager]

This model would have stopped the content jailbreak, provided the DDi user with ownership of purchased material, and would provide a stead source of revenue for WotC (though not as reliable as the subscription model).

This model would have also removed the standardized content across accounts that we've come to appreciate. When I reference a monster in my conversions, I don't want to have to tell whoever is using my conversion that they have to go grab the Monster Vault dataset for this monster, the Monster Manual 3 data set for this one, and the Demonomicon data set for the third. Being able to say "If you have a DDI account, you have access to what I'm using," is wonderful.

 

[Zaukrie]

I was one of the people in the thread where we talked about the announcement saying that we shouldn't assume it will be bad.

Ugh. It's worse than I imagined it could be. It basically doesn't do anything at all that one would need from a monster builder. It is awful.

I'm pretty close to done as a subscriber. Content is almost non-existent in the "magazines" from a number of articles/page count perspective. The monster builder, the number 1 tool I use, is useless to me. I'm not sure what I need, as a DM right now, that they offer anymore.

Brutal.

 

[eriktheguy]

... as a DM right now, that they offer anymore.

Brutal.

Access to the compendium so you can use this.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/301508-critique-my-d-d-tool.html

 

[Otterscrubber]

WotC is one of the few companies that manages to go backwards when they design "improvement" to their online tools. For a few years now they have failed to deliver on the online tools that were hinted at; and now they have taken one of my favorite tools, put it in a time machine and sent it back to the year 2007.

Dear lord, do they actually have someone whose job it is to make sure things aren't working too well? Rather than build and improve and add to the tools they have they are literally not releasing any new tools and instead focusing on reducing the functionality in the tools they do have. SUPER FAIL. It's like they are telling me to cancel my DDI after I have waited patiently for so long for more and better tools, in the naive hopes of supporting a company and product I have loved for 2 decades. Rather than improve, they show me my faith and $$ were misplaced. This is not a good marketing or long term business plan.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I do not DDI, but I do wonder what in the world is going on over there,

 

[UngeheuerLich]

People who actually believe they are hitting good will when they allow access to beta tools. People who believe that beta testers know they are just beta testers. (Adventure tools always have been in beta)

Did you see sc2 beta, where blizzard was attacked, because they dared to put on a broken build that a competition could not take place... how dare they take away a free game?

Ok, we are actually paying them money, but if there were no tools better than those we have now, dragon magazine content as it is now, but not free... would you pay?

I guess I would. Although the new monster builder is really lame. At least a slider that goes down to 0 would be great. And a possibility to copy a statblock and delete some powers... this would be nice...

 

[catsclaw227]

Yes and No. There are features that a WotC VTT could offer that I'm not getting with d20 Pro, in particular the integrated MB and CB. One of the hassles of using a VTT is data entry, especially inputting monster stats. This process is very fast with d20 Pro -- I can create a monster in less than 10 minutes. WotC could make it as quick as pushing a button. Likewise, my group lost almost an hour of game time last week because everybody had leveled and needed to upload their new characters to the VTT. Again, in theory, WotC could have greatly simplify that process. Moreover, WotC could offer pre-packed adventures ready to just drop into the VTT. That might be cool.

This. I like Maptools, but if the WOTC VTT can make character and monster integration simple, I can focus on adventure and encounter design.

On the other hand, I'm not excited about a VTT that limits the maps I can make to WotC's library of adventure tiles. If I can't import CC3 maps into a VTT, I'm not very interested in it.

Yup. I don't have any WotC map tiles, but I do have maps I have made from Skeleton Key tiles, and I have a lot of jpg/png/cc3/dundjinni/ maps from the various boards. If the WotBS (and presumably ZeitGeist and Santiago) battle maps are useless for the VTT, then the VTT is useless to me.

 

[catsclaw227]

[*]No Monthly Fee: Do away with the monthly fee, you have a one time purchase of DDi.
[*]DDi Toolset: When you make your one time purchase, the user gets the following tools: Compendium, Character Builder, Monster Builder. These tools have only a limited amount of data - PHB1, DMG1, and MM1.
[*]Content Updates: Each book has a data set for the DDi Toolset (feats, classes, powers, races, themes, backgrounds, items, monsters, artwork, etc). These data sets are microtransactions that a user purchases. When you purchase the Martial Power Content Update, your DDi Toolset now has the data set from that book.
[*]Dungeon/Dragon: Each month, you can purchase Dungeon and Dragon on-line magizines. Doing so provides you a content update for that month's magazines for your toolset along with the various articles and artwork.
[/LIST]

I see where you are going with the microtransactions, but that is much better suited to a single-player, or single-user type game. What I mean is... buying $.99 mp3s or $1.99 android games for my Droid X is a business model that works mostly because I am usually enjoying these things by myself, in a vacuum of sorts.

If I have a player in a game that wants access to a single feat from MP2, why should he have to buy a full books worth of content? Buy AV2 for that one consumable item? No thanks, not sure if that would work for me. Of course YMMV.

 

[Aegeri]

Yeah if Wizards VTT cannot:

1) Import a map and set a grid to it

2) Let me import and produce my own tokens

Then it is absolutely useless to me and I won't move either of my VTT games to it.