DDI Online Gametable - Reality or Myth?

[Mercutio01]

You're missing out on the opportunity to take advantage of the Character Builder, Monster Builder, Compendium, and magazines. Unless money is prohibitively tight, I can't see a solid reason why a regular 4e player or DM wouldn't want to have access to a subscription.

That's the point, I'm not a regular player or DM (unless you count play-by-posts, which are far from regular). Those items hold no appeal without access to the VTT.

I've looked at other VTT's, but the one system that was bandied about with respect to Wizards VTT was a common waiting room, of sorts, with the ability to play in "pick-up" games. So, rather than having to find a group first to play, the idea was you could play with a group in a PUG (PUG as in MMO term for pick-up group) and evaluate the different DMs out there to decide if it is worth it or not.

For what it's worth, I've tried MapTools, but the same problems I had with getting face-to-face groups abounded there--people who can't make the day or time, unexpected events cropping up necessitating a change in plans, etc.

 

[Hussar]

Oh, dude, totally with you Mercutio, about the flakiness of online players. Gack.

My first campaign, using OpenRPG, back in about 2002, 2003, went through FIFTY players in the course of two years. That's right FIVE ZERO. OMG. IT was insane.

I've become an absolute tyrant about things now. Players get three strikes and they're out. Three unexplained absences (and explanations have to come BEFORE the absence) and they get the heave. I can always get new players. I've actually had to toss a few players over the years after that first aborted campaign.

Fortunately, I stuck with it, and my current group is sweetness and light. Great rp'ers, really get into the thick of things, loads of fun.

[sblock]Except for that Kamikaze Midget guy. Man, what a ... oh, wait... [/sblock]

It takes time, but, if you put in the effort and be a complete and total Nazi about your game for the first little while, it really pays off.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Call me foolish then. I won't be subscribing until there's a VTT. The VTT was what would allow me to actually play 4E other than as a play-by-post and was the specific product that was previewed that made me excited to play. Without a VTT, my time constraints simply don't allow me to play (I work overnights 10PM to 6:30AM). Hence, I won't subscribe until there's a VTT. I hardly call that foolish.

Oops . What I wanted to express was rather: If one subscribes to DDI because of the VTT, that'd be rather foolish. Must've been a LNTE.

Sorry for that.

 

[Dire Bare]

I can't believe people are saying this site update is a good thing. It's barely even a slight improvement over the original and has brought many new problems with it.

I think the new site is loads better than the previous one. Nicer looking, easier to navigate, new social networking features . . . YMMV I guess.

I don't spend much time on the WotC forums, before or after the upgrade, I spend my time on ENWorld!!! So if the forums are hosed, I might not notice. The few times I have visited the forums, however, they seemed fine to me!

The new site isn't perfect, it isn't "done" (not that anything really, is "done"), and I've actually heard a few random complaints that feel real, as opposed to the normal cranky nature of gamers . . . . but I'm still impressed!

 

[Dire Bare]

They totally hashed things originally. They've done -much- better since moving everything in house, but please be realistic here on the resources they have.

Realistic? Neither you nor I truly know how much work can be saved from the previous VTT that was demoed over a year ago, or exactly how much work has been done since or is being done now. Yes, WotC wisely revised their plans regarding their suite of online tools, and the gametable has taken a backseat to other apps . . . but that doesn't mean it isn't a priority or somehow impossible to deliver within a reasonable amount of time.

Will it be released in 2010 or 2011? You and I won't know until it happens. I won't feel the need to eat crow if it is released later than that or even not at all . . . but I'm still confident we'll see it inside of two years from now, if not more like one year.

I guess it just boils down to glass-half-full types vs glass-half-empty types, not so much to being "realistic".

 

[Dire Bare]

I'd love to have a WOTC maptool, but, then again, if they ever do produce it, they'll likely shut down every 4e map program out there. C&D's all the way around, the same way they did with that site that built character sheets.

How many 4e-specific maptool programs are out there? One? Map tools usually are, and should be, somewhat independent of rules.

You are correct though, if and when WotC releases their own maptools, they will most likely start shutting down anyone who is infringing on their IP. But will we notice?

I certainly won't really care . . . if you program your maptool app as 4e-specific, you got to know you're gonna get shut down at some point. Shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Chris Youngs was over here in the UK for WWDDGD last month, and he talked a bit about upcoming features and applications for DDI. (Chris is the Editor-in-Chief for DDI.)

He confirmed what others have already said in this thread: They have moved to a policy of not announcing anything major until it's ready to launch. Like they did with the Monster Builder, their general strategy is to not talk about it beforehand, then soft-launch a beta with little fanfare, then actually start talking about it a month or two later, when they're happy with its initial performance.

In keeping with that, Chris neither confirmed nor denied anything regarding the game table. But he did address DDI's future features more generally. His exact words were something along the lines of: "We're all pretty hardcore gamers. If there's something that you think is a good feature for DDI, odds are we think it's a good idea too. So it's probably on our to-do list."

Does that mean we'll see a game table next month, or even next year? Who knows? (Outside of the DDI team at WotC, that is.) There may be other things in the queue ahead of it--in fact, I think they've talked a bit about adventure and encounter-building tools a bit more robust than what's currently available. But I bet it's still in the cards for some point in the future.

 

[Kzach]

He confirmed what others have already said in this thread: They have moved to a policy of not announcing anything major until it's ready to launch. Like they did with the Monster Builder, their general strategy is to not talk about it beforehand, then soft-launch a beta with little fanfare, then actually start talking about it a month or two later, when they're happy with its initial performance.

A very wise approach.

I must say, though, that after a private conversation with someone here in regards to the quality of the Character Builder and Monster Builder, and after some time to digest the information, I think I shall be less critical about it in the future.

Having recently had to delete fifteen registry files as recommended by WotC, and then finding I had to edit twenty-two more, just to get the Character Builder to update, I do feel somewhat justified in my previous criticisms

 

[Hussar]

How many 4e-specific maptool programs are out there? One? Map tools usually are, and should be, somewhat independent of rules.

You are correct though, if and when WotC releases their own maptools, they will most likely start shutting down anyone who is infringing on their IP. But will we notice?

I certainly won't really care . . . if you program your maptool app as 4e-specific, you got to know you're gonna get shut down at some point. Shouldn't come as a surprise.

Just to clarify a bit here.

The Maptool program is system agnostic. It's simply a chat client with a built in map feature (plus some other goodies). However, users can add on a framework overtop that will specify functions for various games. Automated die rolls, autotargetting, whatever.

There are three or four frameworks that I know of for Maptools. Maptools is not dependent on these frameworks, and you certainly don't need them to run 4e. It just makes life a lot easier if you do.

But, yeah, I pretty much agree with you. If and when the WOTC VTT app comes out, I can see some heavy handedness coming around.

It might not, considering this is all fan based initiative, open source mostly and no money has been changing hands. But, yeah, when the 4e VTT hits, I'll certainly make sure I have the latest Maptool frameworks.