I seem to be missing the point on the online CB

[malraux]

IIRC the virtual table-top, the character visualizer, all those really cool things in your PHB/DMG that had everyone so jazzed up for the new tools. The company couldn't deliver and so hopes were dashed and people still bring up the failed VTT as a sore spot. Most people have moved on, but c'est la vie.

It wasn't just that they didn't deliver as it was that first, WotC spent a lot of money on the project (I think the numbers are around multiple millions of dollars) and second the code that was received was so poor that WotC's in house team had to trash the whole thing and start over.

 

[Ryujin]

IIRC the virtual table-top, the character visualizer, all those really cool things in your PHB/DMG that had everyone so jazzed up for the new tools. The company couldn't deliver and so hopes were dashed and people still bring up the failed VTT as a sore spot. Most people have moved on, but c'est la vie.

I see. I was aware of those apps never panning out, but wasn't aware that they had been farmed to outside companies.

Apt use of le Francais, in response to a question to Mr. le Pope, Jean Malraux

 

[Scribble]

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and realize you don't have the right people in-house, to get the job done. Anyway, based on the delays we've been seeing it would appear that those people they're already employing don't have the necessary ability to meet deadlines. Once you recognize that point the decision to use outside contractors, or even to go to another technology, is an easier one to consider.

And equally sometimes you have to bite the bullet and realize you have to work within a budget, within a team structure, etc...

I mean part of it appears to be cleaning up the mess the other company left behind, and getting things into a proper state that they can work with going forward.

Maybe you think I'm trying to argue that Silverlight is the best medium to work with or something?

I'm not... I'm saying I think it was probably the best way to go to solve the issues they were having within (mostly) the budget/timeline they had to work with.

Like if I go to a friends house to help him build a new wall, and all he has is a hand saw. It would be better to buy or rent a chop saw, but he doesn't have the money, nor do we have the time to go to home depot right now.

So we use the hand saw.

They have the database. It could be ported to damned-near anything that they needed. It's just data. The presentation is the issue.

Sure- that's what I'm saying. At this point it probably made the most sense to use Silverlight.

When the time comes to open it up to things like iphones and android devices they'll pick whatever is most appropriate for those devices.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

As a consumer I don't give a darn whose fault it is; I want from WotC a product that will work on my iphone and ipad. I don't care in the least what Apple's policy is, I care that WotC can and should create a product that works on these near-ubiquitous mobile devices.

Piratecat, I love you, but this is a little ridiculous. You bought devices from a company that PRIDES ITSELF on being incompatible with as many industry standards as it can get away with. If you're upset that third-party software doesn't work on those devices, then you were either misinformed regarding their capabilities or seriously misjudged whatever information you had.

Much as the world may try to convince us otherwise, smartphones are not "near-ubiquitous" -- a quick glance at Wikipedia pegs them at merely 20% of the American cell phone market. (Also, Apple isn't the market leader as far as OSes go: that goes to Android). And the iPad market is an order of magnitude smaller than that. You can't just buy fancy toys and expect the world to bend over backwards to accommodate them. (Well you can, I guess, but we're seeing that doesn't always get you far. )

 

[renau1g]

Look forward, smart phones are growing very quickly , so companies should look to plan ahead.
Smartphone IC market to double 2010-14; basic phone IC market to halve. - 11/3/2010 - Electronics Weekly

Many people make software/apps that work with Apple stuff, so that's not an excuse. (personally I own nothing of Apple, as I find it over-priced and over-hyped so I'm certainly no fanboy).

Also, 7.5 million Ipads isn't a small amount, especially as many gamers are also techies and therefore have a higher rate of adopting new technologies. Me? I'm waiting for the Playbook to come out from RIM.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscent..._top_20_billion_in_fiscal_fourth_quarter.html

 

[Scribble]

Also, 7.5 million Ipads isn't a small amount, especially as many gamers are also techies and therefore have a higher rate of adopting new technologies. Me? I'm waiting for the Playbook to come out from RIM.
Apple Sales Top $20 Billion in Fiscal Fourth Quarter - PCWorld Business Center

I think we don't really have enough info right now. PaoloM talked about a number of tools in various stages of design.

I think this might be a case of while many people were using the CB as an at the table character referencing device, that wasn't it's intended purpose, so they chose to focus on its intended purpose first, then possibly move on to other things appropriate to the task later.

I mean they could very well be working on an IPAD app that ties into the CB or is for use as an at the table multimedia character sheet.

We don't know one way or the other.

It would be smart for them to get into app support, but who knows.

 

[Zaran]

So, I am basically going to be getting the same product I already had. I was paying for the service every month so I will not be one of those that is forced to keep up a subscription. So this really doesn't effect me except for the fact that I haven't had access to Darksun and Essentials content on the character builder for 2 months. The always internet thing doesn't bother me. I have cutepdf maker. I don't need to make characters when I'm in the middle of the desert so that's ok.

So I would like to ask those of you who have been cancelling your subscriptions. Would you have cancelled knowing that the delays are because of this tools system? If they had come forth 2 months ago and said, "we aren't updating the offline CB because we are working on a new online format" would you have cancelled? I wouldn't have. How many of you are cancelling because of this new feature?

I still would like to know if we will get anything more than what they offer us now. It seems to me that if this is the only thing being worked on for months then they should hire more people to work on new product while they upgrade the old.

 

[Scribble]

I still would like to know if we will get anything more than what they offer us now. It seems to me that if this is the only thing being worked on for months then they should hire more people to work on new product while they upgrade the old.

One of the Devs said this is only one of the various new tools they are planning to release that are in various stages of delivery. He could not talk about what they were, or when they would be released though- so take that with whatever sized grain of salt you feel appropriate.

 

[Umbran]

Using a notoriously fiddly environment that Microsoft is not updating/is distancing itself from, and one that doesn't come pre-installed, doesn't seem like a great choice for long-term viability.

The secret of web-apps - you don't need to build your display technology with much long-term viability in mind. Your database, storage, and server architectures? Yes. But the end display tech? Not so much. You can swap it out at any time. That's a large part of the point of delivering software services through a browser!

I want from WotC a product that will work on my iphone and ipad. I don't care in the least what Apple's policy is, I care that WotC can and should create a product that works on these near-ubiquitous mobile devices.

In the first half of 2010, smartphones were only 20% of the cell phones shipped, and Apple's OS was only about 14% of the smartphone market in Q2. That makes iPhones about 3% of the total phone market? I'd not call that ubiquitous.

Even if you imagine that they're two or three times more popular among gamers than on average, that's like 10% of the market. You don't usually go too far out of your way for 10%.

 

[renau1g]

You don't usually go too far out of your way for 10%.

Except when you re-design the CB allegedly for Mac users

I wish they'd just be honest and say they weren't making enough from occasional users and hope that this curbs piracy.