More Infos About DDI / Campaign Tools

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I wonder about the requirements they determined for the campaign tool. What do they want to implement with it?

A character builder has relatively clear-cut requirements, I think. But it seems harder for a campaign tool, there seems to be no or at least little precedence for such tools. What should it do? How could what it should do be implemented?

A technical question I have: Will the campaign tools be working online or offline? (more like the Compendium or more like the Builder?) I think I'd prefer a mix of both. I want love to be able to store my material online so I could reuse it everywhere, without installing software and carrying a flash drive with me with my material. But if I am forced to run offline (maybe no net access at the gaming table), I would want to be able to run it there, too. (And I think that's more important than having to carry a drive around)

 

[Pseudopsyche]

I'm a relatively new DM who got into D&D largely because of one marvelous gaming group now scattered across the country. I miss that group dearly and would love to build upon the good times we shared.

But I still would rather WotC work on these campaign tools, even as yet nebulously defined, than a virtual table. As much as 4E streamlined DM prep work, the current digital offerings leave a clear void. The Character Builder is a wonderful tool allowing players to assemble characters from certain atomic elements in the Compendium: races, classes, powers, and feats. DMs need analogous tools to assemble encounters (and perhaps adventures and campaigns) from the other major elements, most of all monsters.

 

[Hawke]

I wanted the visualizer...as someone who isn't artistically inclined, I always enjoy putting something cool looking together for games. Sometimes you can find a neat image to use, but with the newer races and classes it gets tough to find an image of a Deva, Tiefling, Eladrin, Dragonborn, Goliath, etc. that fits the bill... and then combine with armor and stuff. It also seemed like it was basically done.

For those of you interested in a Campaign Tool - what exactly do you want it to do? I'm having trouble grokking what exactly people are wanting or expecting it to do... not saying necessarily you're wrong for wanting it, I just think I'm missing something that maybe wotc could provide.

 

[tmatk]

Someone on the other DDI thread mentioned using the updated Char Builder XML to import characte data into Maptool. He sounded excited.

I haven't used Maptool, but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't already a lot of 4E user-written stuff for it.

OMG, that would be awesome! I would love to post "who wants to play a level X delve?", and then 10 minutes later we're playing.

Maptool rocks. I was disappointed about the gametable, but maptool has made it so I really couldn't care less anymore.

 

[yesnomu]

Yeah, I think this is the right choice, as well. Maptools is already perfect for 4e--macros for powers are super-easy to write, and it even has settings for one-one-one movement and counting by squares. Whereas an "adventure builder" is something I've never seen anything like before, and it seems like it could be very useful.

 

[catsclaw227]

Someone on the other DDI thread mentioned using the updated Char Builder XML to import characte data into Maptool. He sounded excited.

I haven't used Maptool, but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't already a lot of 4E user-written stuff for it.

Yep. If the XML is relatively deep enough, a parser should be able to pull the right elements and hslp you create a token for your MapTools game.

There are a few 4e frameworks that fans have written for 4e Maptools, each serving different goals, but they get the job done 80-90% down the trail, and they all seem workable for a F2F or full VTT game.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Campaign tools. There's plenty of decent VTT tools out there that the gametable isn't really necessary right now.

 

[sunmaster]

Do you know what is funny?

In the forum posting of Trevor Kidd is not specified what these Campaign Tools really are

There is so much what could go into such a "suite" of computer tools.
You have the adventure data manager for the GM, you have a player group manager for the GM, you have a character manager for the players - this is more than what you get with the character builder today as this would include a "versioning tool" for the characters and much, much more.
You can even imagine that you just get a labeled Microsoft Excel as "WOTC Char Sheets Tool" or something like that.

WOTC had only these four modules to develop as they were advertised a year ago.
They could not archive these development.

What does guarantee that a complex tool suite as Campaign Tools is something that they accomplish to develop? These Campaign Tools have to work together as one unit.

I don't know. I don't trust these new plans much.

 

[Harlekin]

I personally think this is absolutely the correct decision. I don't think the remote game table is dead, though. They've figured out that splitting effort between many projects results in everything sucking, but massive focus on one or two things provides great software like the character builder. I will be delighted if that's what comes from this decision -- especially if they return to the remote table afterwards.

The visualizer was something I always saw as useless, though. Good riddance.

Furthermore, given that wotc have gained a reputation for producing vaporware, it is in their best interest to only announce things they are sure to finish in a reasonable amount of time. Here DM tools are particularily useful as there are many milestones that they can sell as successes.

 

[Festivus]

Someone on the other DDI thread mentioned using the updated Char Builder XML to import characte data into Maptool. He sounded excited.

I haven't used Maptool, but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't already a lot of 4E user-written stuff for it.

Certainly this won't take long to implement into Maptool or FG2, but in the grander scope it's not as helpful as something like xml export of monsters would be. Creating monsters in Maptool takes most of my time, it would be great if I could export XML for them directly, allowing me to work on the story.

What I think this will do is drive people who perhaps were on the fence about subscribing to the DDI (because they play online and didn't feel the need fo rthe charsheets) as now they could import the characters (and powers) directly into Maptool and similar.

 

[AnthonyRoberson]

For me at least, this REALLY sucks. As a busy working adult, I was really looking forward to the game table as a way to continue playing on at least a semi-regular basis. Anticipation of it was the only reason that I had not COMPLETELY abandoned 4E and also the only reason that I continued my DDI subscription. Now that dream is dead...