November 16th release for Web-based Character Builder

[JoeGKushner]

Except that then a different set of people then complain that Wizard's ins't communicating with them.

Is it better to be a proven liar or to keep quite on the subject?

 

[fanboy2000]

I suspect that the end results are equivalent: loss of customers.

 

[Scribble]

I was willing to give WoTC the benefit of the doubt when they said they were working on getting the data from Dark Sun and essentials into the CB months ago and they were essentially saying, months ago, that your current CB build is dead and we're not going to support it anymore.

Say one thing and do another, well, that crap only goes along so far.

Yeah... I think unfortunately WoTC is kind of put in a spot where they have to respond like politicians... With answers that are "technically" true, but not always specifically when applied to what WE know.

IE the CB. Technically they WERE working to get that stuff into the CB... They just didn't mention the change in the CB.

I mean I don't know WHAT the heck I'd do in their shoes... If you had thousands of people dissecting everything you did or said every day all day on websites... What would you do?

I mean, does anyone remember when 'the Rouse' was talking about buying a book and having a code that lets you download the PDF of it for a couple dollars more?

Yeah... I think at that point they were in a state where they thought they could just talk to us like "friends" and tell us potential "thoughts" about things, or ideas they had, and if it didn't pan out, we'd say "that sucks man..." and move on... they learned differently.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

They're too busy forgetting anything they said before to now defend WotC by explaining why it's suddenly a good thing that they did it.

Apologist on Monday: WotC would never do such a thing.
Apologist on Tuesady: Wow, about time that WotC finally did this. It was totally necessary and is so great for us customers ...

Stable at ~ 40k subscribers unsustainable?

Premature, unfounded worrying about that a company might do something bad is not some type of genius prophecy or professing great insights into a company. I can do it all the time, and only remind you of what I did on the few times I was right. Selective Perception. A broken clock is right twice a day. Ein blindes Huhn trinkt auch mal ein Korn.

I am pretty meh about an online builder. I like having offline software. I like being able to use the app everywhere, even when I didn't have wireless. I liked the fact that other players could subscribe only occasionally to get an update - all they needed was the character builder, not the entire other stuff DDI contains.

 

[rjdafoe]

Unfortunately too many people are saying reduced options as in permanently not going to be there. But I do get your point.

As for "soon", if Blizzard can get away with "when it is ready" why not WotC? After all, they have been burned in the past by giving deadlines and missing them.

WotC has a track record going all the way back to D&D 3.0 of not delivering on promises and they still have not. We wanted more tools, not a re-invent of the tools we already had.

If they wanted this, they should have come out with a new tool first, tell everyone what the plan was, and leverage the current tools into the new backend. If that meant replacing the CB and MB in 6 months while keeping the current tools updated, then that is what a real company does to keep their customers happy.

 

[rjdafoe]

Well- I think to be fair "soon" in this case meant about a month, possibly two? That's really not that long in the grand scheme of things is it?

The problem is, at this point we do not know what soon means. Soon meant getting Dark Sun into the current CB and it turns out we are NEVER going to get that.

 

[rjdafoe]

They haven't taken your ability to use the old CB away, so if you consider your subscription having gone towards that, they haven't removed something you paid for. They just no longer support updating that system.

I don't remember but doesn't the installation of the CB need to contact the WotC servers?

 

[Jack99]

I find it amusing - or curious if you prefer - that a lot of people seem to complain that they will no longer be able to use the CB ... at work...

Anyway..

Ein blindes Huhn trinkt auch mal ein Korn.

Yep, blind høne kan også finde korn

But it sure is fun to re-write reality to conform with your perceptions.

 

[abyssaldeath]

I find it amusing - or curious if you prefer - that a lot of people seem to complain that they will no longer be able to use the CB ... at work...

Anyway..

Me too. Maybe it's just because I work in IT security, but installing unapproved software on a work computer just seems like asking for trouble.

 

[dnoonan]

I'm typing this on my 12th consecutive Apple computer. I should be overjoyed, right? Yet this feels like a huge, huge takeaway for me.

For me, it's all about the export to iplay4e.

Suffice it to say that I've played a _lot_ of D&D over the years. But iplay4e was a game-changer for me. (Heck, it's one of the few times I can say "game-changer" and mean it literally.) I spent less time doing arithmetic and recordkeeping--and I used that extra time for more ridiculous accents, scenery-chewing, and roleplay moments. Life was good!

Shortly after the 16th, I won't be able to do that anymore.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I played with paper character sheets for 25 years. I can always go back to that, right? But you can't tell me that the paper sheets are going to improve my experience at the game table. I ain't buying it.

--Dave.