Latest E-Tools Patch

[EricNoah]

Here's the thread with the July release date for the first data sets:

http://www.codemonkeypublishing.com...name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=787&highlight=

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Bad news - The release _date_ (and I mean single here) is pushed back to july 1st (yes, this year. ).

Good news - Reason for this is to make sure that our quality is top notch AND that everything works well together AND correctly (which is the most important aspect).

We started hitting walls when trying to mix & match stuff, so decided it was better to release them all at once and have everything good to go from the outset.

Like the other dates, this isn't set in stone, mainly because they will still need to go through WotC's QA.. but I would say a +/- week... we're set on our target date to turn into WotC for their approval, so it should be a smooth transition.

 

[EricNoah]

www.gamingreport.com has posted a full-fledged review. They gave eTools 1.2 three stars. They cite somewhat inadequate help files as a problem.

edit: there were actually 2 more reviews there that I didn't see earlier. Scores ranged from 2-1/2 to 3 stars.

 

[theoremtank]

I'm glad to hear eTools will be at working quality.

It is odd that so many of us will finally reinstall this program again to use it, but then edition 3.5 comes out! By the way, Codemonkey is working on a 3.5 data set, but you will have to pay for it. It might be a good move for Wizard's to pay CodeMonkey a little more to insure that this particular data set be made free to eTools owners. I think this is the least Wizards could do for our purchase and patience with this substandard software.

If you want to know how much Wizards of the Coast cares about this product. Just try finding mention of it on their website. There is next to nothing.

 

[EricNoah]

Well the whole thing has been a bit of an embarrassing fiasco from WotC's point of view, I'm sure. Things they could have prevented as well as things beyond their control.

I believe the phrase I used regarding the timing of eTools for 3.0 vs. the arrival of D&D 3.5 was "sadly ironic."

Still, life's looking up. And even if I do switch to 3.5, I don't mind paying a bit for the 3.5 data.

 

[MojoGM]

The prices for the 3.5 data set is very low (I think somewhere around $5 per book), so it is not a big deal to me.

CodeMonkey deserves to make money on it, they've done a great job making it workable

 

[DaveMage]

I'm one of those folks who usually buys everything.

However, I will not be going anywhere near this product until it's updated to 3.5, and has *all* D&D data sets available, with the program, for under $60.

In addition, I think it would be nice if Wizards would include future data sets - for free - to those that purchase the physical copy of a book (either via website or include a CD like they did with the 3.0 Player's Handbook).

Does this sound reasonable? Or am I being unrealistic?

 

[Ghostwind]

I think folks may be getting the wrong perception about the data sets and the folks responsible for them.

Code Monkey Publishing has only licensed the rights to manufacture these data sets and sell them to the public. They do not (as of yet) own the source code to e-Tools. Nor is Wizards of the Coast responsible for any of the data sets except to approve their use and sale.

Throughout the whole e-Tools and 3.5 debate, I've seen numerous demands/complaints/etc. that the 3.5 rules (or in this case, data set) should be included at no charge. When you look at the man hours and effort that has been put into making these data sets, the low price being charged for them is more than fair. Especially when you consider that the data sets will be complete and not just snippets of open game content like the files you can get for free for PCGen. As far as I am concerned, this alone makes it very attractive for my personal gaming use.

 

[Vrylakos]

Hello...

I'm out of the loop a bit, but does anyone know the following:

1. Will e-Tools be reworked to do templates at some point in the near future? It's one of the main things I'd rather have automated. I've got the original etools and was somewhat disappointed that templates were missing.

2. Does PC-Gen do templates?

Thanks!

Vrylakos

 

[Ghostwind]

e-Tools will NOT do templates until a complete re-write of the source code has been completed (which CMP is negotiating with Wotc over).

PCGen will do templates. However, if you want a template that is not programmed in, you will have to manually do it by coding it yourself (not the easiests of tasks).

Either way, it's a no-win scenario.

 

[Chaz]

All things considered im just hoping that the patch will be good enough to make reinstalling ET on my computer a thing I want to do. I havent had ET installed for a long time now. I do have high hopes for the work CMP has done. So maybe I will finaly get to use ET and be happy with it.
As far as the whole 3.5 thing, well what can you do. Its taken so long for ET to come out in the first place, then to be finaly fixed, that you have to expect that the game will have morphed beyond the programs original basic functionality.
So the fact that CMP is going to make data sets available for 3.5 when its out is a good thing IMO. And I dont think its unreasonable that they get a samll fee for the time required to code/test/distribute the updates.

Anyway thats my 2 cents.