No Macs? Holy crap did WotC do the math wrong!

[Moon-Lancer]

its possible. out of our group counting the dm, we have 2 mac users, and 3 pc users.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

I just took a look at the operating systems poll that was linked to earlier. By my calculation, Mac/Linux/Unix/Other account for 42% of Enworld users (Enworld's poll feature seems to have a math bug - their percentages add up to more than 100%). This jives with my casual observation over the years that gamers tend to be much less Windows centric than the general population.

Thus WOTC may be locking out a very large chunk of their potential customer base. However, that's only for their VTT, right? I can't think of any reason that they would have to design secure online magazine access in such a way that Mac and Linux users can't access it with any up to date browser.

I would suggest that the poll results are a little biased. Non-Windows users are much more sensitive to cross-browser issues and are more likely to vote in a poll of this nature than Windows users.

 

[Glyfair]

I just took a look at the operating systems poll that was linked to earlier.

As stated earlier, a poll of this nature has little relevance. It's a pretty self-selecting sample. Most accurately it's a poll of those ENWorld members who visit the computer forum, who were attracted by the thread title, who vote in polls, who visiting the forum during that time period. The most biased point are people who felt they wanted to open the thread to see what it was about.

(Enworld's poll feature seems to have a math bug - their percentages add up to more than 100%). .

In that poll could answer multiple times. To give an extreme example, if only one person voted and had both Windows and Linux, each system would show 100% of the voters voting for it. Even just counting those who answered the poll, it was certainly less than 42% since some of those with Macs have Linux or something else as well.

 

[CharlesRyan]

However, that's only for their VTT, right?

As I understand it, it's also the character generator, which to me is the most enticing part of the package.

But it's a single-user function, so locking out macs means locking out only mac users. So yes, the broader point--that locking out macs locks out entire groups that include any mac users--applies only to the VTT.

 

[Nifft]

As I understand it, it's also the character generator, which to me is the most enticing part of the package.

Isn't it also the part of the package you'd most want to use when away from home? Like, to print out your character?

DM with a Mac, -- N

 

[Mercule]

Isn't it also the part of the package you'd most want to use when away from home? Like, to print out your character?

Eh, we shunt around data files, currently, for PCGen or HeroForge. As long as the DDI chargen has a "print to PDF", it's no worse to send your GM that. I agree, though, that I've had many players forget to print/update their sheet before a game and it'd be nice to have remote access.

I definitely hope there is a Mac version. I don't have anyone in my circle of influence who uses one, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see all gamers have a common tool available to them. I just don't think WotC is alienating quite the number of gamers that has been argued.

 

[Dinkeldog]

So we all know that the mac is a minority OS. WotC says that their market research indicates that only a small minority of their gamers use macs. If their data matches other data sources, the size of that minority is less than 10% of home computer users.

Great. DDI can be a success with only 90% of the market.

But for DDI to work (or, at least, for the online tabletop to work), and entire group needs to access DDI. WotC is now building the game around the typical group of 6.

That means that somewhere around 50% of D&D game groups include at least one mac user.

Can DDI be a success with only 50% of the market? Or is WotC expecting these groups to say sayonara to their mac-using buddies?

Either way, for a company that's normally very good at recognizing the gaming group--not the gaming individual--as the key unit, I think they've made a fairly serious miscalculation.

You're not accounting for clustering.

 

[Hussar]

As I understand it, it's also the character generator, which to me is the most enticing part of the package.

But it's a single-user function, so locking out macs means locking out only mac users. So yes, the broader point--that locking out macs locks out entire groups that include any mac users--applies only to the VTT.

But, you're still assuming something that's not true. The VTT isn't for existing groups. Why would I target existing groups? That doesn't make any sense. The VTT will be a place where everyone who pays for the DI will be able to find a group. It's for the creation of new groups.

Now, that still leaves Mac's out in the cold and that sucks. But, your idea that the concept is doomed to failure because existing groups won't be able to use it is faulty. They don't care about existing groups.

I suspect, and this is only a suspicion, that the VTT will be used as a vehicle to really push RPGA games. If the RPGA gets behind the VTT, then you can have a RPGA sanctioned game running 24/7. All you have to do is load up, look through the list, pick a table that's starting soon and poof, instant 4 or 5 hours of gaming. The online Character program will store your RPGA sheet nicely (so no cheating) and you can move on to the next RPGA sanctioned game on your own time.

With so many RPGA members, if they can grab even a fraction of them and co-opt them into the DI, then they are golden.

 

[Glyfair]

The VTT isn't for existing groups. Why would I target existing groups? That doesn't make any sense. The VTT will be a place where everyone who pays for the DI will be able to find a group. It's for the creation of new groups.

One of the group types that have specifically been mentioned are disbanded groups. For example, my 6 year gaming group from the 80s is now in Seattle, DC, San Francisco, Utah, LA and here in Delaware. I'm confident we could arrange a reunion of most of us with a good VTT and tools.

However, that isn't strictly an "existing" group, and isn't their only target.

 

[cthulhu_duck]

You're not accounting for clustering.

Sure. But of the groups I've been a member of, I'm the only Mac user that I'm aware of.

In my primary group, I'm the DM more often than not. Of all the group, I'm the one most interested in 4E (because my 3.5 cleric/wizard doesn't really work). Not being able to run the DDI applications at home on my Mac? Not an enticement to subscribe to the DDI.