Sooo, that's my players certain not to be subscribing to DDI...

[Dragonblade]

For me its a fantastic value. I did subscribe to both Dungeon and Dragon in the past. Now I get not only that, but I also get access to the content for every book they publish even if I don't own the physical book.

To me that makes it worth it right there.

The character generator and online game table is just icing on the cake. The game table I'll probably hook up to my big screen via laptop and use it to run games in my living room. No more need for a battle mat and pens. Players can roll dice on my coffe table, or on screen.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I've been leery of 4e, and the DDI actually makes me a bit more sympathetic to it.

...and it is.

The huge selling point for me is the Rules Database.

The other stuff is good. I'm going to enjoy playing a pickup game on a lazy Saturday afternoon. If this can be paired with a voicechat system, all the better (PLEASE!). The character modeler is so-so, it's not a big thing for me. The Dungeon Builder is likewise. My campaigns are ecclectic enough that both are only useful about half the time anyway (you tell me how you'd design the combat on a wall made of writhing human bodies where the PC's, which include a man in bandages, a hideously obese cannibal, a man wrapped completely in chains, and a nudist, are attacked by skeletal bats from hell with that system, and I'll bake you some brownies).

But I see that the Rules Database will have all the rules....for the books you don't own....

....and I think....wait a minute....I won't need to buy the books!

I spent probably about $30/month on D&D3e, because I'm a hideous collector of things. Every month, almost, had a new book that I'd want to buy. Even if I wasn't buying a WotC product, I'd be buying SOMETHING.

I mean, I might choose to buy the books. If they're awesome, if the artwork is stellar, if I'm being Little Mister Obsessive about it, sure, I'll buy the books.

But the fact that I could still make a character with the newest feat from the newest splatbook, the fact that I could still use the monster from MMV...

....and that I'd be paying only $10 for it that month...

.....that's persuasive. That's telling me I'll actually be saving money with DDI. That's basically Wizards saying "Look, man, we know you don't always want to shell out full price for a book that might not be worth it, so here, have the rules at a discount. $10. If you like 'em, you can get the full thing.

That's totally fetch. That's AWESOME.

T-Rex With Lazer Eyes Awesome.

 

[Zaruthustran]

The comments in this thread suggest that there is no correct group pricing. It's either worth the $10-$14 a month, or it's not worth anything.

Take Ruin, for example. He values the character builder, Dungeon, and Dragon at $0.00. All he wants is the online rules database.

Maybe WotC should allow piecemeal pricing? Say, $2/month for each single component?

There is a certain minimum threshold for single-transaction pricing (taking into account CC fees and other fixed costs), so if they went with something as low as $2/month they'd have to sell it in at least 3-month chunks... Hmm. Might be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Cadfan]

This is a great value.

It also isn't something I will probably buy.

These are not incompatible points of view. I am capable of acknowledging that this is a good price for the content provided, and yet also knowing that I don't personally want the content at this price. Its like a pimento loaf sandwich from a world class gourmet chef- it might be an absolute steal at $5, but I don't like pimento loaf. And I'm capable of acknowledging this without TOTAL RAGE.

Again, I must be interwebbing wrong.

 

[Eldragon]

I live about 120 miles from my core group of D&D playing friends. So I was pretty excited about the prospect of being able to play online with D&DI. Character Generator/Game Table/Rules Database is good stuff. However with their current scheme I don't think its worth the money, and I wont be able to get everyone in my group on board.

WotC is charging MMO like prices, but does not offer MMO like content. I would prefer to buy the core software package for $50, Yearly updates cost another $50 kind of model. I want to buy SOFTWARE, not a SERVICE.

And the final insult...

$120/year and I still have to pay extra for Virtual Minis? Are you kidding me? How cheap is that?

However, I will still try it for a bit. It all depends on if I can enjoy 4e online with strangers in a pick-up group. A certain MMO has soured my taste of pick of groups.....

 

[Wolfspider]

The real question: Will all of this stuff actually work?

 

[amethal]

Never mind the price, is it going to work?

 

[Transit]

Yeah, if the online tools are bug-free, easy to use, and helpful for my game, and if the online database is always kept up-to-date with the latest errata, and if the online versions of Dragon and Dungeon have the same quantity and quality of content that the print magazines had, then this will surely be well worth the money.

On the other hand, if the online tools are clunky and nearly useless, don't really help my game, and crash all the time, and if the online database is always a year out of date, and if Dragon and Dungeon are going to contain the kind of online content that we've seen in them so far, then I think a lot of people will find better ways to spend their money.

 

[Tusz]

This is a bit much for me to pay, given that I'm a penniless college student. I'd mainly be buying it for the Dragon (and maybe Dungeon) content anyway, and apparently those are being released in annual compendiums. Provided those don't cost $120 each, I'm probably going that route.

My purchasing plan, as it stands now, is the core books, plus one supplement every month or two, and possibly activating the PDFs.

 

[Festivus]

And the final insult...

$120/year and I still have to pay extra for Virtual Minis? Are you kidding me? How cheap is that?

Ok, so this orc here, he's really a hellhound. And this halfling, he's a goblin.

I do it all the time on the tabletop. But I agree... the cost for v-minis is nothing but a tax on potential DMs. That will be one of the first things they change once they figure out nobody is going to buy them if they are too much money. If it's a couple bucks for the entire set and can use as many of each fig as I want, I don't mind that. If it's a buck or two per mini I intend to use I won't use it at all.