D&D General DnDbeyond AMA tomorrow (Tues, Dec 9)

[LaTia J]

Hmm, I generally like D&D Beyond, but a broader D&D AMA would be a lot more useful.

-quietly puts this feedback into my pocket-

 

[Zaukrie]

Anyone read this yet? I forgot

 

[plecostomus]

Here's a few answers I noticed from this:

1. Will mechanics from the 14/24 rulesets that don't currently work in Beyond (2024 Warlock Eldritch Invocations, 2024 Ritual Caster, Sorcerer Clockwork Soul, etc) ever be fixed?
   The core underlying issue here is a backend for game data and game rules we have started to rebuild. Getting through that work will take time. But its what will unlock the ability to support many more D&D rules* not currently supported on D&D Beyond.
   ---
   We have begun work on rebuilding D&D Beyond’s backend. Basically, its brains for game data and game rules. That is what is holding us back from supporting more class and mechanical functionality.
   ---
   ...our biggest work effort that has begun behind-the-scenes is rebuilding the entire game data and game rules architecture of D&D Beyond. The main reason for this is to expand the coverage of rules supported on D&D Beyond. I can say our support for rules will grow once we are through this critical rebuild.
   ---
   I wish I could say ASAP. But the reality is we have started the process of rebuilding our backend architecture to support more rules and playstyles like this. That is going to take time. Once we are through it, we’ll be able to better support rules like eldritch invocations.
   
   my note: I interpret "many more D&D rules" in the first response as rules that currently exist in 14/24 that are not supported, rather than previous rulesets such as 3.5. I think he would have specified if it meant something like that.
   
   
2. Will we be able to use the Maps Encounter Builder outside Maps?
   This work is planned. No ETA.
   ---
   We currently have, and sorry I know this is confusing, two encounter builders. There’s the one that has been in beta for years that you are referring to. There’s a new one currently within the Maps VTT. This new one we will continue to add functionality to and make it more accessible across the site to suit your needs. How we merge the streams in the future is still under discussion.
   
   
3. Will we be able to add DM notes to Maps?
   Also yes! This is part of our work to improve the DM experience.
   
   
4. What aspect of the homebrewing system is being improved first?
   Our first priority is easing the player and DM experience (tech is all about tradeoffs). We’re not happy with the current homebrewing experience on the site and we’ll make progress towards improving that over time. Right now, the team is talking about starting with Monsters, which is where homebrewing is used most often day-to-day.
   ---
   We do plan to make improvements to the Homebrew tools, likely starting with Monsters. But honestly, homebrewing your own class is probably one the last homebrew features we’d tackle.
   
   
5. Why did a la carte purchases disappear?
   First, we know that a la carte disappeared without much notice, and we apologize for the way it was handled. Things like this AMA help create the level of transparency the community deserves. We are going to be working on ways to give players access to smaller packages of content based on what character they want to build. A la carte exactly like before is unlikely. What was starting to happen with tens of thousands of items needed to be individually checked for entitlements by our services. This was impacting site speed and stability.
   
   
6. Can we expect new character sheet features such as better spell management (specifically, "When can we expect all spell lists on a character sheet to show what we already have on our character while choosing new ones so I don't have to jump back and forth?") and a better text editor for notes?
   This is on our list as we work on rebuilds of the Character Builder and Character Sheets.
   ---
   We plan to rebuild our character sheet experience. [Also asked for follow-up with more details on what people would like for formatting and text editor.]
   
   
7. When will the next roadmap for Beyond be shown?
   My next post in the new year will share a roadmap.
   
   
8. Can we have more filter controls for the character options and spells available in campaigns?
   I love [this idea] and this is something we are indeed looking at. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how simple or advanced you would like the filtering feature to be?
   
   
   
9. Is AI going to be used on Beyond?
   I stand by and am totally aligned with our statement that you can find here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1642-updated-statement-on-ai

 

[darjr]

@plecostomus
thank you!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That certainly reads like there's been some turnover on the team, especially at the top.

It's also nice to get an actual answer about a la carte purchases, rather than the dismissive "no, it's impossible to have that," which was clearly untrue. Why we couldn't have it in its previous form makes sense, and it's nice to just be told that, rather than treated like a wallet with legs.