Why does WotC hate Macs?

[GoodKingJayIII]

I'll just give another mention to Boot Camp + XP (is Vista compatible with BC? I doubt it, but I don't know). Seems like the way to go for cross compatibility.

 

[Kzach]

Just reminds me that I couldn't get Safari to load up the configuration site of my router.[/tangent]

Try deleting the / after the router's IP address in your browser window, ie. instead of http://192.222.333.44/ change it to http://192.222.333.44

Seems like such a small and innocuous thing, but for me it meant the difference between being able to access my router's config menu and not. Safari likes to add that little /

 

[Kzach]

What I don't understand is why WotC didn't just buy up one of the existing companies out there that already do this. Why design something from scratch? Something like Fantasy Battlegrounds (I think that's the name) is already built, stable and supports everything.

Actually... Fantasy Grounds really isn't that polished. It provides a very minimal level of what you need to play at a virtual tabletop. The level of interoperability with the system rules is virtually non-existent.

About the only thing going for it above Maptool is the fact that it looks much prettier.

The DDI VTT however is a whole level of complexity above any other VTT currently out.

 

[Zil]

It is common knowledge that D&DI will not support Mac OSX, much to the chagrin of us Mac users. Automatically cutting off 10% of your customer base is bad business. I'm using the general Apple market share here, though there are strong arguments for a higher % of Mac users in the RPG community.

While I completely agree with you on the issue of multiple platform support, it's possible that they simply don't have sufficient depth or experience to deal with multiple platforms properly. In a perfect world, they would think of these things up front, but I suspect their web/internet development team is either inexperienced or very entrenched in a windows only world.

My preferred platforms are Solaris or Linux, so I'm even worse off than all the Mac Users.

What I've found is that—like Hotmail—Gleemax simply doesn't work with Safari anymore. I have made the transition to Safari a while ago, switching from Firefox, because I can't stand IE. At first when I've attempted to log onto Gleemax with Safari I got the "we own your brain message," but in the last few days, it has utterly failed to open. My Gleemax forum bookmarks don't work (fail to open), opening fresh links from the main D&D site fail to open, nothing. Gleemax simply doesn't work with Safari. Now, just on a lark, I tried getting onto Gleemax with Firefox—lo and behold—it worked just fine.

This doesn't sound like a Mac issue ; it sounds more like a Safari issue.

Woo-hoo! Just like Microsoft, WotC seems to be actively preventing the Mac community from accessing their sites. Now, this is not a "I'll boycott" thread, so don't get into that. I'm just pissed that after a few months of Gleemax working on a spotty basis—or not working at all—they have simply ceased to exist for Safari users.

Did you try mailing the maintainers and let them know about the Safari problems? Did you try another browser to see if it also works? Opera? It might be a bug in Safari.

 

[Aeolius]

The DDI VTT however is a whole level of complexity above any other VTT currently out.

Personally I would have liked to have seen something along the lines of klooge.werks coupled with Dundjinni , perhaps with a bit of Bryce and Poser thrown in for good measure.

 

[mmaranda]

WotC is a .NET shop so it likes Windows

.NET isn't platform independent and when doing anything with graphics processing it relies on DirectX (Windows only) graphics tools and libraries. Since they started in a Windows environment their code only runs in a Windows environment.

If they were doing something platform independent it would take longer be more expensive and require more time to get the "polish" they have already achieved. It isn't impossible just harder and with the already spotty track record of WotC web initiatives failing I can understand why they made the decision they made. I don't agree with it but management can be blind to the advantages of taking the slightly harder route.

 

[nnanji]

Eh, it's not a Mac-only thing. The main WotC site is horribly borken when I browse it from work in IE6.

Just wanted to agree with this. I stopped visiting the site long ago because it won't work with IE6, and for various reasons that's the browser I use most. Large areas of the main page just appear as black areas so it feels like I'm playing Russian Roulette when I navigate their site.

 

[Zil]

The problem for WotC is that they have a more or less fixed time table. Blizzard puts out its software "when it's done". They might have internal milestones, but to the outside, they never have a fixed data.

I don't see how it is all that different. If Blizzard slips a deadline, how is that any worse than Wizards slipping a deadline?

The difference in my mind is that Blizzard has a large cadre of software designers and programmers whereas this is not WotC's area of expertise so they simply don't have the resources or experience. Perhaps they should have made more of an effort in making it an area of expertise if they really were serious about all this DDI online stuff, but that is another topic.

 

[hong]

I don't see how it is all that different. If Blizzard slips a deadline, how is that any worse than Wizards slipping a deadline?

Blizzard is big enough and rich enough that it can tell its corporate masters to wait.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I don't see how it is all that different. If Blizzard slips a deadline, how is that any worse than Wizards slipping a deadline?

The difference in my mind is that Blizzard has a large cadre of software designers and programmers whereas this is not WotC's area of expertise so they simply don't have the resources or experience. Perhaps they should have made more of an effort in making it an area of expertise if they really were serious about all this DDI online stuff, but that is another topic.

I really don't know how Blizzard pulls it off with their timeline internally. Externally it's simple - if you don't give a release date until you're safe to make it, you will never disappoint people for missing your date.
But what definitely is certain is that WotC is not a software company, and will probably never be. They need others to do the planning and execute the job. I think many businesses shy away from extending their area of expertise above their original core business. I don't know if there is a rational explanation for it, and whether it might actually be the best. And maybe WotC is doing it right now - but that was probably not soon enough...

But I suppose WotC just can't do it the same way as Blizzard. Maybe it's also a general timing issue - The 4E rules will be available in June. Gleemax and DDI better be ready by then, too! Maybe that was generally the wrong approach - they should have decoupled both aspects more. But maybe that also is impossible.