D&D 5E DnD Beyond - Why is it still so bad?

[Waterbizkit]

It's not so bad that someone posting here might not know that; what's really ridiculous are those that post in the D&D Beyond forums stating the same thing, literally a post or two below someone asking the same question and someone answering it, with mods and admins having the information in their signatures...

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I'd be more willing to take the question seriously if two things were true:

Firstly, that it actually be asked as a simple question, like the OP was implying it was meant to be, rather than the needlessly antagonistic "why is this so bad?" If it was supposed to be a simple question, no need to crap on the product, just ask your question like a civil adult.

Secondly, the OP mentions that "WotC has been talking about [the product] for months." This, to me, implies the OP has been following the development at least to some degree. If that's the case, knowing the basics of the DDBs business model seems like it ought to be a given to me considering it has to be the most hotly debated topic regarding DDB. Hell, I barely followed what was going on with it other than scanning the threads here about it and I feel like I could cough up a complete price listing. I don't know, maybe I'm being too cynical about this one...

Either way, the OP is very... poorly worded. Ask a simple question, get a simple answer. Ask an antagonistic question... well... there you have it.

 

[guachi]

I'm surprised the OP didn't mention the worst thing about the DDB character creation: It's horribly space inefficient and looks horrible on a PC screen. The larger the screen, the more awful it looks.

The same is true of the monster creator. It's a horrible mess of white space on a PC screen. I have no desire to pay for a clunky, terrible PC interface. The program doesn't appear to do anything for me that I actually want to do that I can't already do for free with Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, and Google Drive. (at least, it's free in the sense I've already paid for MS Office).

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

I'm surprised the OP didn't mention the worst thing about the DDB character creation: It's horribly space inefficient and looks horrible on a PC screen. The larger the screen, the more awful it looks.

http://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d...sed-feedback-character-builder?page=127#c2593

The program doesn't appear to do anything for me that I actually want to do that I can't already do for free with Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, and Google Drive. (at least, it's free in the sense I've already paid for MS Office).

In other words, you're using illegal PDF copies.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I'm surprised the OP didn't mention the worst thing about the DDB character creation: It's horribly space inefficient and looks horrible on a PC screen. The larger the screen, the more awful it looks.

The same is true of the monster creator. It's a horrible mess of white space on a PC screen. I have no desire to pay for a clunky, terrible PC interface. The program doesn't appear to do anything for me that I actually want to do that I can't already do for free with Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, and Google Drive. (at least, it's free in the sense I've already paid for MS Office).

Huh. I love the monster creator. Quick, easy, and efficient. I've already had five monsters uploaded and accepted for the homebrew monster section, and when I get some time, I'll do quite a few more (I want to get all of my homebrew giant elites posted there at some point).

 

[guachi]

In other words, you're using illegal PDF copies.

Liar. I can stand disagreement, but not outright slander and lying. Would that you could be banned for slandering and lying about other posters.

1. I use Word and Excel to create campaign documents that I convert to pdfs and then upload to Google Drive for us to use (and we can use whatever pdf reader we have on our phone or home pc, etc. PDFs are great for their universal nature). Acrobat is also useful to read pdfs (that you can legally buy, you liar) of modules and supplements purchased from DMsGuild (formerly dndclassics).

If you haven't taken a look at the huger array of products (some go on mega-sale!) available online, you really should. And if you have versions of Word or Excel that let you convert to PDF, give it a look. It's so easy to share stuff.

2. In other words, you are a pathetic liar. I don't really want an apology, but being banned for slander would make me happy.

 

[guachi]

Huh. I love the monster creator. Quick, easy, and efficient.

I fiddled with it a few weeks ago. It was very quick, easy, and intuitive, though there are probably some things I'm missing. It was efficient in the sense I didn't waste time fiddling with things. It took about as long for me to create a creature on DDB, once I got to the page, as it does in Excel and I'm good at that now. That's awesome!

But the biggest issue for me was I didn't see a way to compress the amount of information on the screen to take up less screen space. I just have too many creatures I've converted from older modules and I need to be able to see more in less space. It's like owning a great car that won't fit in my garage!

I can see how people would love it, though. Offloading some of the things I might have printed out to a digital medium means a cleaner game space and/or a DM who can have more stuff available to him.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[FrogReaver]

It isn't missing. You only get access to the Basic Rules if you're using the free version. You have to purchase their digital PHB or the class if you want to unlock the College of Valor.

I haven't followed this product closely. But I do know one thing. I really dislike paying again for stuff I've already bought. In fact, I'd rather have had PDF versions of the books originally but they weren't being sold. So it's kinda like a double slap in the face.

 

[Remathilis]

I haven't followed this product closely. But I do know one thing. I really dislike paying again for stuff I've already bought. In fact, I'd rather have had PDF versions of the books originally but they weren't being sold. So it's kinda like a double slap in the face.

Quick question: if WotC had sold PDFs of their books, but at $30 per book and $25 per AP, would you still feel the same way about buying things twice?

 

[LordEntrails]

I haven't followed this product closely. But I do know one thing. I really dislike paying again for stuff I've already bought. In fact, I'd rather have had PDF versions of the books originally but they weren't being sold. So it's kinda like a double slap in the face.

If you wanted a digital product then why did you buy the printed version?
I wanted all my 5E stuff digital, so that's the only way I bought it. Never have bought a single printed copy, but have them all (legally) as digital products and have had them that way for years.

Besides, you're not paying for the same thing again. Though the content might be the same, the format and capabilities are vastly different. They are different products, different capabilities, different ways of delivering and using the same information. If you don't want to use the content in a different manner, if the price isn't worth it, then don't buy it.

But isn't everyone tired of people making this same complaint every time anything related even comes up?