Rant on Errata and what Wizards need to do to move forward.

[Ninja-to]

Come back when you have a rant that isn't old and dated.

If the rant is still valid then it needs to be re-addressed. Thanks.

 

[Fifth Element]

If the rant is still valid then it needs to be re-addressed. Thanks.

As you say, there's an IF in there.

 

[Ninja-to]

As you say, there's an IF in there.

Your absolutely right. My mistake.

The rant is still valid. It needs to be addressed.

The threads will continue--and should--until there's a change.

 

[Dannager]

Yeah it's a sweet deal for you, but not for Wizards.

That's not necessarily true. WotC wasn't making $300/year off of every D&D player, but they are making $72+ per year off of every DDI subscriber. Is every D&D player a subscriber? No. Are there tons of D&D players who wouldn't have bought most of those books anyway who are currently subscribers? Yes.

And, most importantly, if someone buys $300 worth of D&D books over a year, WotC only sees some small percentage of that $300 by the time printing/packaging/distribution costs are accounted for. WotC sees almost all of that $72 per year from DDI subscribers, with a small chunk taken out for overhead. Everything else can go directly back into development or corporate profits. DDI is a great deal for WotC.

 

[delericho]

This is my point exactly. People will stop buying rushed, unfinished work in print form especially when they had the option of the CB which gets updated constantly. CB was like a lifeline, more for us than for them, which got cut when the new CB rolled out unexpectedly.

It's maybe worth noting here also that the same people who stopped buying due to rushed, unfinished work in print form are now being offered rushed, unfinished work in software form.

The tools are getting better, and rapidly. I've been particularly impressed with the progress on the Character Builder. But even so, it still has major issues, months after being released.

And, most importantly, if someone buys $300 worth of D&D books over a year, WotC only sees some small percentage of that $300 by the time printing/packaging/distribution costs are accounted for. WotC sees almost all of that $72 per year from DDI subscribers, with a small chunk taken out for overhead. Everything else can go directly back into development or corporate profits. DDI is a great deal for WotC.

I would strongly dispute your "small chunk for overheads". Merely running the servers required to support the DDI must be expensive. Then there are the maintenance costs (which are all the more significant when they rush out poor tools and have to pay a premium to get them fixed urgently), the costs to develop new tools, the sunk costs in having had to develop almost all of these tools at least twice, and the costs involved in adding all the latest material to the DDI as it gets published in printed form.

There are a lot of DDI subscribers. (The evidence we have suggests about 45k; I would guess that the actual number may be anywhere between 30k and 100k.) However, there is absolutely no guarantee that there are enough for the DDI to be making a profit at all, never mind paying for the development work that is still ongoing.

Developing and maintaining software is not cheap.

 

[Nullzone]

I love comics. What the hell are you talking about?

When I mentioned children's books, I was talking about just that: children's books. I never mentioned comics being only for children.

Comic books is the only thing I can think of that you'd be referring to, as you can't possibly be talking about the novels (which you've entirely overlooked anyway). My mistake for misunderstanding.

 

[MrMyth]

For those who keep asking about 'recent threads' about CB and DDI in general. The original post is 2 days old.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/303305-can-wizards-turn-around-their-d-d-support.html

Yes, it is a recent thread. And doesn't support your point at all.

Your original post complained about the Online Character Builder. Dannager, who is a current subscriber and actually uses it (which I presume you do not) pointed out that it is now actually a useful tool, since WotC has addressed the major bugs that plagued it at launch.

Your response was to claim that it is terrible, referring to various threads complaining about it. Which, as most people have noted, are threads from months ago, mostly regarding problems that have since been addressed.

There is still plenty of room for improvement, of course, but it is probably on par if not an improvement over the offline character builder.

The link you provide above? Yes, it involves complaints about WotC. But... primarily about Essentials and Errata and other, largely unrelated topics. Not about the Character Builder.

His one complaint about the character builder? It still doesn't let you print to A4 paper. Hardly representive of the program being crippled as a whole. It is also accompanied by exaggerated complaints about the online magazines (mainly bizarre because more legitimate complaints could have been made), as well as complaints about the VT and MB because he specifically doesn't have a need for them.

Nothing in the thread provides any real support for your claims. Is there room for the online CB to be improved? Certainly. Does it still have some features that many people want, such as A4 printing, alternate versions of character sheets, and support for house-rule material? Sure. But is it the nearly non-functional and bug-riddled program that merited so many complaints at launch? Not so much.

 

[Erudite Frog]

I think Ninja-To is trolling us, just to troll.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

Comic books is the only thing I can think of that you'd be referring to, as you can't possibly be talking about the novels (which you've entirely overlooked anyway). My mistake for misunderstanding.

He's referring to recent books they'd put out as a gateway to get the younger set interested in fantasy as a genre, with some not-so-subtle lead-ins to D&D. There's one for Faeries and one for Dragons, probably more on the horizon.

If I didn't know this, I'd have assumed he was talking about the novel line. They're typically not all that highbrow, but I'd hesitate to call them "children's books"

 

[Nullzone]

He's referring to recent books they'd put out as a gateway to get the younger set interested in fantasy as a genre, with some not-so-subtle lead-ins to D&D. There's one for Faeries and one for Dragons, probably more on the horizon.

If I didn't know this, I'd have assumed he was talking about the novel line. They're typically not all that highbrow, but I'd hesitate to call them "children's books"

Ah, I didn't even realize they'd put out young readers material, but I do see it on the product page now. Interesting! (Although it still leaves me wondering how it supports his point )