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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 5531801" data-attributes="member: 59082">We all know that Wizards of the Coast no longer offers an offline Character Builder or Monster Builder, and the general consensus is that both range from somewhat worse to drastically worse than their older brethren. Now it may be that both will improve - Character Builder has, from most accounts, and one would assume that the bugs will continue to be worked out. But regardless of how much they improve, there will always be the problem of the requirement of not only an internet connection but an ongoing subscription.So I have an idea. My knowledge of computer programming begins and ends with the most rudimentary HTML coding, so I don't have any idea as to the feasibility and cost of this idea. But let me know what you think.How about WotC offers an offline, downloadable "D&D Insider Suite," that includes Character Builder, Monster Builder, and whatever-other-Builders they plan for, perhaps even Virtual Tabletop and other goodies - all for a one-time fee to download (say, $30-40, or approximately the cost of a hardcover book), and then optional updates, either quarterly ($5 for a quarter's worth of stuff) as a kind of subscription, or cumulative (maybe $10).Now you could argue that this doesn't make them nearly as much money as the current scheme. But I would say that it offers the best of both worlds. It does include the whole DDI package - Dragon, Dungeon, and perhaps one or two "online exclusives," perhaps including the VTT. But it does open the door again to the many folks that have left DDI since it went to online only, and thereby makes money that it wouldn't have otherwise and fosters goodwill.All of the above is just one possible way that it could be done - how it is done is less important than that it is done, in some form or fashion. "It" being offering the Builders tools in an offline format again. Just the other day I was waiting in my car for someone and pulled out my laptop and fiddled with my old version of Character Builder. I am not saying that WotC should find a way for weirdos like me to use Character Builder in parking lots, but that there are numerous instances like this that have been lost. Not to mention numerous former-customers who don't want to pay $10 a month for the infrequent and seemingly increasingly rare update and erratic Dragon and Dungeon articles.Make it so, Mearlslaviscek.</blockquote>

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