Online Monster Builder questions

[NewJeffCT]

OK, after the hue & cry following the release of the online Character Builder, I tried to avoid the CB as much as possible until it became more workable. Since I'm almost always the DM, I don't really need to use the CB that often.

But, I've finally gotten around to looking at the online Monster Builder in Adventure Tools this past week and have a few questions.

1) In the offline Monster Builder, you could easily upgrade a monster to an Elite or a Solo by changing "Standard" to "Elite" or "Solo" in the drop down menu. I did not see that option to customize in the online version. Did I miss something? (I see a slider where I can increase/decrease the level of a monster, but not to change its type)

2) The offline MB also made it easy to cut & paste monsters to RTF format for putting into a Word doc. That way, I could cut and paste an entire encounter into one document & print it off. Now, it seems I'd have to print off each monster one per page - seems wasteful, especially if you have minions. Am I missing something again? I could often reformat the pasted RTF monster and get 2-3 per page.

3) I see that I can edit a monster's individual powers within Customize, but what if I wanted to add a new power? I don't see how, unless I missed something. (again, in the offline MB, I would upgrade an Elite to a Solo and then add another power entirely to the monster)

Thanks for any help.

 

[Mort]

I've had the same issues as you so far, and am quite frustrated at the loss to functionality (the offline version just seems simply better for now).

The only one off your issues I've had any success with is copying to a word document. I use Onenote as the designated printer and then paste it to the word document from there. It works, but it's extremely clunky and the functionality is not remotely the same (for most monsters it's just easier to use the offline builder).

 

[Mapache]

Your answers are:

1. No
2. No
3. No

The online "Monster Builder" is no such thing, and should properly be called an online "Incorrect Monster Re-Leveler". It is a complete joke of a program with no functionality whatsoever. Don't even bother looking at it again until they announce that it actually does anything at all. Just use the compendium and a text editor.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Your answers are:

1. No
2. No
3. No

The online "Monster Builder" is no such thing, and should properly be called an online "Incorrect Monster Re-Leveler". It is a complete joke of a program with no functionality whatsoever. Don't even bother looking at it again until they announce that it actually does anything at all. Just use the compendium and a text editor.

thanks - kind of depressing. My group is big, so I often have to level monsters up or toss more monsters at them to give an adequate challenge. Sometimes, extra monsters aren't practical, so I have to level them up...

 

[Aegeri]

I might have - one some level - comprehended their gigantic screw up on this issue if the maths for leveling/deleveling monsters actually worked correctly. As it doesn't use the correct maths, the one thing it could have been useful for it actually isn't.

 

[NewJeffCT]

I might have - one some level - comprehended their gigantic screw up on this issue if the maths for leveling/deleveling monsters actually worked correctly. As it doesn't use the correct maths, the one thing it could have been useful for it actually isn't.

don't hold back now - why don't you tell us how you really feel?

but, disappointing to know that the one thing that looked like it could be useful doesn't work. That said, I'd be hesitant to increase or decrease a monster's level by more than 1 or 2 no matter how easy it is.

 

[samursus]

The reason the OMB was released in its current incomplete state was, I believe, to facilitate its use into the Virtual Table Beta. Unfortunately, this was a bad choice for them to make.

 

[IanB]

The reason the OMB was released in its current incomplete state was, I believe, to facilitate its use into the Virtual Table Beta. Unfortunately, this was a bad choice for them to make.

The bad choice was really the marketing text surrounding its release. I don't think anyone would be upset if they had just said up front "yeah we know this is incomplete, this is just going up so the beta works properly". Instead we got an email announcement saying it would have all sorts of features that it doesn't.

Once they update it to actually be a builder (it won't be in the May update, we already know) I suspect it will be just fine, but that original announcement should never have been made without those updates already in.

(Well maybe a few people in the "nothing will ever please them ever" category would be mad still, but you can't base decisions on those people.)

 

[NewJeffCT]

The bad choice was really the marketing text surrounding its release. I don't think anyone would be upset if they had just said up front "yeah we know this is incomplete, this is just going up so the beta works properly". Instead we got an email announcement saying it would have all sorts of features that it doesn't.

Once they update it to actually be a builder (it won't be in the May update, we already know) I suspect it will be just fine, but that original announcement should never have been made without those updates already in.

(Well maybe a few people in the "nothing will ever please them ever" category would be mad still, but you can't base decisions on those people.)

I'm guessing you're correct - if they had just marketed it properly and said it was a beta version, the ire would have been far less.

 

[OnlineDM]

For what it's worth, my reaction to the Online Monster Builder was:

1. New Monster Builder - I'll have to go check that out.
2. Oh, I'm reading that it doesn't really do anything yet... what?
3. Ah, I see - the one thing it DOES do is allow import to the Virtual Table.
4. Since I'm not using the Virtual Table right now, I'm ignoring its existence because it's of no use to me.

I agree that the marketing was very poorly handled here. There should have been next to no announcement about this online Monster Builder - just a footnote accompanying some discussion about the expanded Virtual Table beta saying, "By the way, we've added a bare-bones version of the Monster Builder to DDI so that people can import monsters to the Virtual Table. It's not ready for general use yet, but we wanted the people in the beta to know about it, because it can make their lives easier in testing that program."

THAT announcement would have been fine. The community would have seen the Online Monster Builder as a preview of things to come, but mostly ignored it (except for those using the Virtual Table, who probably would have been thrilled). That's how I've chosen to see it in the end, but I agree that the communication on this one was a total mess.