New Character Builder from WotC!

[Dausuul]

WotC has just announced that on November 16th, they will be rolling out a new web-based character builder, which will replace the existing CB. Characters from the old CB can be imported; characters will be stored on WotC's servers; and Essentials and Dark Sun content will be included in the new release.

Some thoughts...

• This could be a great opportunity to overhaul some of the CB's flaws. Hope they take it.
• Since this one is web-based, Mac users just got access to the CB.
• The old "buy a one-month subscription, download six months of updates, cancel subscription" trick won't work any more. And having your character stored on WotC servers is a strong incentive to keep paying. I wonder if there will be a way to export character files? Probably not.
• What about custom character pics? Will those also be stored on the WotC server? Could end up taking a lot of space...
• Any time the service goes down during gaming hours, there will be hell to pay.

Mod Edit: Absolutely nothing wrong with your post. I just hoped you'd view it as a favor that I put a link to the announcement here. ~ Umbran

http://community.wizards.com/go/thr..._16th_Release_for_Web-based_Character_Builder

 

[TerraDave]

As I read this on my Mac, I see it as good news.

Not everyone will agree.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

Finally! Congrats to Mac Users! I think this will open up lots of new directions for playing online together, and for integrating future DDI tools into a complete set. I foresee all tools to be online only, and tightly integrated into each other.

Aaah, the brain squirms with possibilities.

 

[Almacov]

This is as I feared.

I do not want the content I pay for to be tethered to and caged in WotC servers.

I'm out.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

So they just went from getting a little bit of money from me a few times a year to getting no money from me at all. No way am I paying a monthly sub for access to new material I'm likely not using, and holding my characters hostage in the meantime.

I'm not surprised -- they should have done it this way from the beginning -- but this is just another way of gouging the customer. If the monthly content were worthwhile, people wouldn't subscribe and drop just to get the character builder updates.

 

[avin]

Grats on Mac users.

Grats on Wizards, for killing CB use when we are playing away from wireless.

Kill piracy and piss your paying customers... fantastic...

 

[Umbran]

Hm. I may be joining a 4e game soon, but I don't know if I want a permanent subscription at this time.

So, tonight, I go get myself a 1-month subscription (if they still allow such) and do the download, just in case.

(Actually, yes, they do still offer it. No problem picking it up now if you feel the need.)

Of course, it occurs to me that this is exactly the behavior they are hoping for. If DDI has largely saturated, this would be a way to eke a few extra bucks out of it before the holiday season.

During the holiday season, they hope to pick up new players with Essentials - all those new players will only ever see the web-based builder, so to them the change is not an issue.

By the way, the announcement can be found here: http://community.wizards.com/go/thr..._16th_Release_for_Web-based_Character_Builder

A major point - the old builder will still function. They will simply no longer be offering it for download, nor updating it with data from new releases.

 

[Shazman]

So you used to have to pay only if you wanted to get current updates for your character builder. Now you have to pay every month to use it at all and have your character held hostage by WotC servers as well. That's about the worst deal I can think of. No thanks. I'm out.

 

[tuxgeo]

WotC has just announced that on November 16th, they will be rolling out a new web-based character builder, which will replace the existing CB. Characters from the old CB can be imported; characters will be stored on WotC's servers; and Essentials and Dark Sun content will be included in the new release.

Could you please provide a link to the announcement? I didn't see it readily on the D&D front page.

Is there the slightest snowball's chance in H-E-double-Toothpicks that they are going to make the Web version free to use?

Terms of Service are what, exactly? If I store my PC online, does it thereby become WotC's intellectual property, in the same way in which all postings to their Forums do? I'm beginning to dislike this prospect as I imagine it more fully.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Hm. I may be joining a 4e game soon, but I don't know if I want a permanent subscription at this time.

So, tonight, I go get myself a 1-month subscription (if they still allow such) and do the download, just n case.

So long as it's not a Dark Sun game.