The Compendium is Live

[gill_smoke]

My frustrations

Reporting it would have been the right thing to do (although I didn't, bad user).
On the other hand, we're not talking about some fancy AJAX-based, layered DHTML yadda yadda yadda. What I had an issue with was the signup page, which best practices should dictate is clean and standards compliant. This is what made it smell bad for me.
A less savvy user may have just thrown up his hands, proclaimed the site as non-functional (probably in a more colorful manner) and given up.
I submit that it is entirely possible to create a registration process that will work in every major browser (we can even throw Opera, Safari, etc in there) unless the user's done something really bizarre/stupid on his end.
So my concern isn't so much that something "glitched" when I tried to register, but the lack of professionalism that is implied.

OK, that horse is dead. I don't want to give the impression that I think the whole thing just sucks.

Paraphrased the preceding post:
[rant]
I reported my displeasure and difficulty using the Wizards website a week ago. If you go poking a little bit, there are lots of things that are just inconsistent and poorly maintained. I mentioned that and cried about the search functionality. I couldn't find how the RPGA handles ordering adventures.
It is not a complex user experience. But if you look at the web address it is ASP site, that means the layout and content is Database driven.
I throw my hands up everytime I use the Wizards.com website. in fact these days I only go there from here to read the linked articles.
There are certain things that leads to good website design. Wizards website has none of them.
That total lack of consistency and impossibility of finding the data I'm looking for, makes me throw my hands up every time I go there. I think they need to revamp the entire site. If EN World can upgrade the entire site why can't they?

After all that I have another complaint.

The Compendium is not one. I remember being told that if I were a subscriber then I would see full text rules. if I were not I'd get page number reference. OK Second wind, how does that work? You get results for everything that affects second wind but not what it does.
Sure, at that point I throw my hands in the air and say whatever. and the search results form it is obvious that it is not going to be added (no rules tab). Try cover too. Combat advantage? If it is a player reference cal it that not a rules compendium.
[\rant]

 

[Sashi]

Why didn't they just hire the guy who made d20srd.org? Best online rules compendium I've ever seen.

 

[Drakhar]

Just a quick note, they've changed the boon entries. they now simply have Personal.

 

[Boarstorm]

Just a quick note, they've changed the boon entries. they now simply have Personal.

Cool deal

 

[Zaruthustran]

This compendium is still useful for character prototyping. If you're working on an OA-focused build, you can search for Opportunity Attack and quickly get a glance at everything relevant, including powers. That's pretty dang useful.

 

[megasycophant]

Why didn't they just hire the guy who made d20srd.org? Best online rules compendium I've ever seen.

Because it's probably being done by the lowest bidder.

 

[Mercutio01]

This compendium is still useful for character prototyping. ... That's pretty dang useful.

Sure, but then don't call it a Rules Compendium and market it as such for months and months. Market it as a character creation assistant or something to that effect.

Better, since they're charging, would be to add in the other rules text so that the whole thing is really helpful. Especially considering how much they're hyping the Game Table, you would think they would be looking at ways to help those games run without requiring having a book open on the computer table. As it is now, the DM will be required to have his PHB, DMG, and MM open and ready to go while running anything on the Game Table. I don't know about you, but I don't have that big a computer desk.

That was one of the best things about using d20srd.org - I could quickly look up a rule without it slowing down the game as much. Even for face to face games. Rather than go to the index and hope it references the rule you want, then page through the book to find what you need, you could simply open the webpage and a quick click or two later, you'd have everything you need.

I thought, and I think most people did too, that the Rules Compendium was going to be like that. That's clearly what they intended when 4E was announced last year, including, at the time, the possibility of purchasing digital versions of the books for a nominal fee if you already had the hardcover versions. Obviously that when in the toilet too.

The digital world is obviously not the place for WotC to try to work within. It's one failure after another. And this one might have been more successful if it had been marketed correctly and the right information was posted out there. Instead, we had to wait until the day it was released to find out that they changed the purpose of the Rules Compendium. The least they could do is change the name for advertising accuracy.

EDIT - Okay - so it's not a Rules Compendium. It's D&D Compendium. And others in other places are saying that it was always intended to be only a player reference. I'd like to see some links to that effect. Ever since the announcement at GenCon last year, I've been under the distinct impression that it was going to be a total digital reference to the rules en masse. I'd also like to add a link that supports my thoughts. Ampersand from May 2007 It says

D&D Insider’s free beta period coincides with the launch of 4th Edition. You get to try out the first digital components without paying the subscription fees, and you can provide feedback to help us improve your experience. The initial rollout includes Dragon and Dungeon online magazines, and the D&D Rules Compendium. This powerful online resource for players and Dungeon Masters alike will be updated with each new D&D release (whether it’s an analog game product or a digital magazine), making it the place to go in order to find what you need, when you need it.

Oh, and this one too. Ampersand from June 9th

The D&D Character Builder application lets you create a D&D character, manage that character, print a character sheet, and save different versions of that character as you experiment with the various options and build concepts. Once you use this program to create a character, you'll never want to use any other method. Plus, it works directly with the D&D Rules Compendium, so you know you're always pulling from the latest rules material available.

 

[Destil]

Nothing to see here

 

[dragon_eater]

I think you get the benefits no matter how the cursed enemies die. You don't have to be the one to kill them.

You are right, I didn't notice that.

 

[Zaruthustran]

EDIT - Okay - so it's not a Rules Compendium. It's D&D Compendium. And others in other places are saying that it was always intended to be only a player reference. I'd like to see some links to that effect. Ever since the announcement at GenCon last year, I've been under the distinct impression that it was going to be a total digital reference to the rules en masse.

Right; it's not "the complete PHB in digital form."

But it *is* handy. It's even being used to settle message board rules discussions, which is great. For example, look at Vayden's post in this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=232850&page=3