Web-Based CB is Live (Official Announcement)

[mudbunny]

Server update

WotC has pinpointed the source of the server problems that have been plaguing the web CB, and is currently working on a fix.

(note that to avoid spamming, I will be posting status updates only in this thread.)

 

[Scribble]

You must be. I can't even make a 1st level character without getting a white box in the center of the screen with red leters. The content of that box has been posted all over the place.

Plus - very slow sometimes. This does not seem to work for most of their customers.

Since yesterday I have amended my statement... I got it to crash twice, but only by messing around with the zooming function... Not through normal use. I hope they do get this server thing worked out for you guys.

 

[mudbunny]

A couple more posts from Trevor:

Post the first

I've been trying to keep people up to date in the sticky threads but I'm not sure if those are being seen.

While server load hasn't been a problem, we have identified an issue with the servers that can cause crashes. We're actively working to fix that issue now and when I have another update, I'll post it in the sticky above.

We've also seen some crashes/issues cropping up when a CB account is logged in more than once in any given time. This could be logging into the CB from two different browsers on one computer at the same time, or logging into the CB from two different machines or IPs. A CB account isn't intended to be accessed this way and doing so can cause crashes or other weird errors. We are working to make this interaction clearer (aka, some kind of message letting you know that you're already logged in or possibly forcing the current account out, or some similar solution) but it's likely that won't be seen until a future update. In the mean time, this can be avoided by making sure you're the only one logging into your account, and you're only doing so from one browser at a time.

Post the second

Thanks much for all this guys! Asmo and all of you have really done a great job of getting everything together - it's awesome to have this as a reference. Currently we're working on the server issue that cropped up yesterday, and once that gets finished we'll divert more energy to looking at these individual issues and feature needs.

I want to remind people that if they run into bugs, please please please report them using the "report a bug" link in the FAQ. It's just the best way to make sure your bug has been recorded.

Once things settle down (read, once we fix this server issue) I want to sit down and go through the bugs and feature requests, prioritize them, and get a road map of what we can expect to see in the coming weeks/months. That's the plan anyway. I think fixing this server issue will help eliminate many of the problems we're seeing, but I won't know until we get there. Anyway, I'll be back when I have more info. Keep checking the stickies for updates.

(Note that the compiled bug thread beingtalked about is here.

 

[SabreCat]

I got a crash early on, but I followed somebody's suggestion and added Silverlight as an allowed application in Windows Firewall, and haven't seen any explosions since.

 

[pjrake]

Can you see a selection of Player's Handbook magic items if you're creating an Essentials character? I'm trying to add a Flaming Weapon +2 but it's not showing up in the inventory list.

-PJ

 

[Scribble]

Can you see a selection of Player's Handbook magic items if you're creating an Essentials character? I'm trying to add a Flaming Weapon +2 but it's not showing up in the inventory list.

-PJ

Are you making an Essentials character through the custom build process or the quick essentials process?

If the later, then it will only show stuff that appears in the Essentials book(s.)

If the former, it will show up.

 

[mudbunny]

From WotC_Trevor:

We have some fixes for a handful of issues that could be causing crashes for people and are currently testing them internally. If they look good I'll let you know when they're pushed out live.

 

[mudbunny]

From Trevor:

When digging into the server issues that were causing crashes we found a few different things that could be causing issues. We developed a fix to address these, tested it in house, and have just pushed a fix live, so hopefully we'll see a lot of these crash problems disappear.

We will continue to focus on stability and any crash issues we can - in the mean time, continue saving often. Once we've squashed all the server issues/crash bugs we can we'll turn our attention more towards the feature bugs. I'll keep you updated as to what's going on.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I can't get the FAQ page to open, so I apologize if this question is answered there.

What will happen if I "update" my old Character Builder? Will I no longer be able to use it offline?

 

[mudbunny]

I can't get the FAQ page to open, so I apologize if this question is answered there.

What happens when you try to get at the FAQ?? Stuck in looping heck??

What will happen if I "update" my old Character Builder? Will I no longer be able to use it offline?

It is no longer possible to update the old character builder. I am not sure what will happen if you click on the "update" button, but the update servers have been taken offline and the program is no longer supported.

 

[mudbunny]

The latest server patch appears to have borked the CB completely for some people, and completely cleared up crashing problems for others. It was broken for me, and then I restarted my browser, and it all got better.

There are people at WotC working on resolving this as we speak.

 

[Abraxas]

I guess I'm one of the people they borked it up for. I haven't been able to get past the opening screen for a couple hours now.

 

[Obryn]

Alright, so after tonight's session, I went ahead and re-upped. Why? Well, the new builder is still crap, but I like the knowledge that all the PCs' information is stored somewhere, and the drastic loss of a character sheet or whatnot won't be catastrophic.

I'm still not a happy customer, but that's worth the $23 to me for 3 months right now. I don't really trust them enough for a year at this point.

-O

 

[MerricB]

Yep, Character Building freezing for me now. Oh, goody.

 

[Obryn]

Yep, Character Building freezing for me now. Oh, goody.

Good to know I'm not alone on that. I think it's a system-wide problem.

Kinda the cherry on top of my regretful resubscription, though, ain't it? I grudgingly gave them more money, and now it's hosed.

-O

 

[darjr]

Good to know I'm not alone on that. I think it's a system-wide problem.

Kinda the cherry on top of my regretful resubscription, though, ain't it? I grudgingly gave them more money, and now it's hosed.

-O

And now your characters are locked up.

 

[Jack99]

I got a crash early on, but I followed somebody's suggestion and added Silverlight as an allowed application in Windows Firewall, and haven't seen any explosions since.

I use Zonealarm, but for some reason, it (Silverlight) doesn't show up on the list of programs accessing the Internet. Any tech-savy guys knows why?

 

[Obryn]

And now your characters are locked up.

Indeed. Not for good, but at at least one point when I wanted them. Which is another downside.

On the upside, I no longer need to transfer characters between my laptop and main pc...

-O

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

I use Zonealarm, but for some reason, it (Silverlight) doesn't show up on the list of programs accessing the Internet. Any tech-savy guys knows why?

I guess Silverlight accesses the internet indirectly through your browser. Have you tried adding it manually to the list of allowed programs?

 

[Scribble]

Whoa... this morning it's like blazing along for me... Like I click something and it literally opens with no delay.

Anyone else?