GSL & software support for 3rd party publications

[Scott_Rouse]

Video footage of D&Di plus other tidbits here

 

[Lizard]

I honestly don't remember any of this, all I remember was the CD in the back cover of PHB.
Anyway, I have high hopes for DDI.

Hope in one hand, BLEEP in the other, see which fills up first...

Ryan Dancey, in particular, was very vocal about how the CD was just the first step -- there was going to be massive online support, including DM tools, virtual maps, and so on. His main shtick was arguing that there had to always be a way to get together and play, to avoid the breakup of gaming groups due to marriage, jobs, moving, and so on, and that WOTC would accomplish this with a suite of online and downloadable tools. It sounded a LOT like the DDI plans. What happened was twofold:
a)The programs were a lot harder to write than WOTC originally thought.
b)Hasbro wanted all electronic rights to D&D outsourced, and didn't want online tools for the P&P game cannabilizing sales of third party computer games, devaluing the license.

Based on what I know of software development cycles, DDI will not be feature-complete on June 6. I suspect there will be, at best, an open beta of part of the program by then. This is problematic because I suspect a large part of the project revenue stream is DDI subscription content, not profits from book sales. If I have any faith Dragon and Dungeon will be updated regularly, I'll subscribe for those alone -- 10/month is about what I'd pay anyway -- but I am a man of weak faith.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Those of us who remember 3e's launch will remember WOTC was supposed to have...well...just about everything DDI currently promises, including the virtual game table.

You have this all messed up, dude. There was supposed to be a Character Generator.

Jim butler(bishop?), mad with power, and the Fluid people, egged on by This board, began making plans for a rapidly expanding scope creep project. The "Interactive" part was denied and not publicized and violated various software agreements Hasbro has made. The outright failure of that product is no where near the likely failure mode of the DDI.

Ryan was the one who came in and started the process of gutting E-Tools from the increasingly ridiculous Master tools. The guy who was waxing about the do-anything program was jim B.

Byrt Martinez was the guy left holding the bag when JB was laid off.

 

[Lizard]

You have this all messed up, dude. There was supposed to be a Character Generator.

Jim butler(bishop?), mad with power, and the Fluid people, egged on by This board, began making plans for a rapidly expanding scope creep project. The "Interactive" part was denied and not publicized and violated various software agreements Hasbro has made. The outright failure of that product is no where near the likely failure mode of the DDI.

Ryan was the one who came in and started the process of gutting E-Tools from the increasingly ridiculous Master tools. The guy who was waxing about the do-anything program was jim B.

Byrt Martinez was the guy left holding the bag when JB was laid off.

You may well be right; it was 8 years ago and I may be conflating/mixing things. Consider my version retracted unless someone else remembers it the way I do.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

You may well be right; it was 8 years ago and I may be conflating/mixing things. Consider my version retracted unless someone else remembers it the way I do.

Hey, remembering their was a crazy WotC guy trying to do something DDI like is the key here. It just had even LESS of a chance than DDI does. I'm only about one step above you on the hope meter.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

Is it possible the sun rises in the East?

Those of us who remember 3e's launch will remember WOTC was supposed to have...well...just about everything DDI currently promises, including the virtual game table. We also remember they failed badly at it. With six weeks to launch and the product still in an alpha state, I don't have high hopes.

From what I have seen we are way ahead of what was ever done for 3e.

We have a functioning Character Generator (both visual and char sheet), a map tool to build dungeons, and Game Table you can import your character & dungeon into and play D&D on with integrated VOIP.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

We have a functioning Character Generator (both visual and char sheet), a map tool to build dungeons, and Game Table you can import your character & dungeon into and play D&D on with integrated VOIP.

Functioning RIGHT NOW? Meaning, people have played at least an encounters worth?

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Functioning RIGHT NOW? Meaning, people have played at least an encounters worth?

*Points to the video Rouse posted above* That looks like a functioning Game Table to me.

 

[Lizard]

From what I have seen we are way ahead of what was ever done for 3e.

We have a functioning Character Generator (both visual and char sheet), a map tool to build dungeons, and Game Table you can import your character & dungeon into and play D&D on with integrated VOIP.

Functional as in "Release candidate"? Because about a month or two ago, everything I heard was "This is still an alpha, please don't judge it too harshly". But, hey, if you can go from alpha to release that fast, more power to you.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

Functioning RIGHT NOW? Meaning, people have played at least an encounters worth?

Multiple encounters worth