Okay, online stuff

[pawsplay]

So you get added content online if you subscribe. What measures will be in place to prevent piracy? Won't news, tidbits, even game mechanics leak out at a fairly brisk pace? While I certainly understand their interest in generating revenue, this seems to me almost like another attempt to sell air.

 

[pawsplay]

Not an interesting topic?

 

[wedgeski]

Dungeon and Dragon articles will no doubt be screen-grabbed and file-shared before anyone at Wizards can blink... I doubt anyone there is under any illusions about that. The rest of the stuff value-adds to the DnDI experience without being much good in itself. For example, unlocking an electronic version of the sourcebook you just bought will allow you to incorporate those options into your characters and dungeons and thusly into the virtual tabletop (I'm not sure whether anyone has confirmed that you will also be able to download a PDF, but if it turns out you can it will be DRM-laced no doubt).

 

[Branduil]

Yeah I think WotC realizes the articles won't sell it by themselves. That's why they're pushing the virtual tabletop and the ability to play online. It's hard to pirate that.

 

[Li Shenron]

So you get added content online if you subscribe. What measures will be in place to prevent piracy? Won't news, tidbits, even game mechanics leak out at a fairly brisk pace? While I certainly understand their interest in generating revenue, this seems to me almost like another attempt to sell air.

I don't think that the subscription will focus on information... it's just impossible to keep information hidden! No one is going to stop someone who has read the website to talk about it with friends or in other websites (although I guess that normal laws about copying content verbatim still apply).

I think the really good online stuff will be in forms of online tools (character generators, adventure creation tools, mapping, like those shown in the preview) which won't work offline, and of course online gaming itself. That's pretty safe IMO, it cannot be taken advantage of from someone without the subscription.