WOTC! Give us an update!

[LightPhoenix]

Some good, reasonable ideas here. However, they are mostly irrelevant.

I try. Sometimes.

As a customer, I don't much care why the "product" is poor. I just see that the product is falling short of my minimum expectations and make my decisions based on that.

It's for WotC to convince me that the product is good. Based on what they have done so far, and their track record, I am becoming pessimistic about that. I can see that many others who were optimistic are becoming pessimistic as well. That can't be good for WotC.

If they want the DI to be a success, they are going to have to find a way to put out a good product. They need to do it before they expect us to start paying for it. Explaining why they can't is not a substitute for that.

I totally agree - and that's why at best I'll be waiting to see how it plays out. I'm just suggesting that it may not be under WotC's control right now - and that is relevant.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

As a customer, I don't much care why the "product" is poor. I just see that the product is falling short of my minimum expectations and make my decisions based on that....It's for WotC to convince me that the product is good.

If they want the DI to be a success, they are going to have to find a way to put out a good product. They need to do it before they expect us to start paying for it. Explaining why they can't is not a substitute for that.

Well said, ultimately customers do not care why the product is substandard nor do they tolerate excuses for long before losing confidence in the company that produces it. They only really care that it works, and attempts to explain backfire on the company more often than not because of this. If the company is not willing to make it work (whatever the it is) customers will move on.

 

[Stogoe]

Yeah, I've been pretty willing to cut WotC some slack with online updates, but this is starting to get a little ridiculous. I can't see paying them to not update their website every month.

I think the biggest problem with the DI so far is they're trying to write D&D books and also write Dragon and Dungeon with the same small group of employees. Which brings up a solution:

WotC, you need to hire a dedicated Digital Initiative team of writers and developers. This double-dipping chicanery is bush-league at best.

 

[vulcan_idic]

Website Manager
Full-time
Requisition ID 2643
Location Renton WA

I actually did apply to this back on the 11th, I hope I have a snowballs chance in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes... I'd love to have a job that I enjoy doing, which I think I would enjoy this one immensely.

 

[the Jester]

I for one love the fact that so far the DI is a miserable failure. I hope it continues to be. They deserve it.

I'm honestly puzzled by this. Why? If the DI fails, it will probably be a huge blow to the game, given how strongly WotC is pushing it. I don't think we're likely to see another buyout that saves dnd like we did when WotC bought TSR, either.

Granted that, with the OGL, some level of support would continue; and I suppose that in theory it is even possible that the name "dungeons & dragons" could eventually come into popular use like Xerox, Kleenex or Escalator (or, increasingly, FedEx)- words that are brands but have come to mean the generic product or action. But still, if (f'rexample) Hasbro decided to cut all support for dnd, that would really hurt the game I love. I just don't see the upside.

I want the DI to succeed, because I want dnd to succeed.

Shrug. YMMV. And apparently it does.

 

[danbuter1]

Because they killed the two best magazines in the industry, for a website that gets updated every 2 or 3 months?

 

[JoeGKushner]

And this is where I am.

4e is coming and we can't provide updates timely.

Not my problem as a consumer.

This is just a preview that you're not paying for.

And based on this preview, it seems unlikely most will pay.

We're completely understaffed due to 4e's coming publication.

Uh... see reply to #1.

Dungeon has had some good stuff. Dragon's had maybe three article's I've found some use for and the whole Gleemax site is quite atroicious.

Some good, reasonable ideas here. However, they are mostly irrelevant.

As a customer, I don't much care why the "product" is poor. I just see that the product is falling short of my minimum expectations and make my decisions based on that.

It's for WotC to convince me that the product is good. Based on what they have done so far, and their track record, I am becoming pessimistic about that. I can see that many others who were optimistic are becoming pessimistic as well. That can't be good for WotC.

If they want the DI to be a success, they are going to have to find a way to put out a good product. They need to do it before they expect us to start paying for it. Explaining why they can't is not a substitute for that.

 

[Rechan]

Because they killed the two best magazines in the industry, for a website that gets updated every 2 or 3 months?

And?

Seriously, Paizo themselves have admitted that they do adventures better than anything. By WotC not renewing the magazines' contract, that has allowed Paizo to put their resources to Pathfinder and GameMastery, thus put out excellent products.

I was never really jazzed about the two magazines in the first place. They were real hit and miss. But Pathfinder? Oh GOD yes.

 

[Henry]

I have a feeling that, given the explanation why there's not more content right now, it would behoove WotC to give one or two months free AFTER the advent of 4th Edition, to show people what the regular content will really look like. If there's not much effort being put out now because of the impending edition change, then seeing what kinds of supplementary content will be worth paying for would be a good change.

As we have it now, there really aren't very many crunchy or flavor-inspiring articles for me worth the same kind of content that I've seen in the past. I've put Dragon mag and Dungeon mag stuff into play immediately before, and if I go heavily with 4E, I'll need to see the kind of content that I'm going to consistently be turning to the way I used to in the early and late days of 3E. It's not like I'm starved for gaming material or something right now; it's that when the time DOES come, I myself will be interested in what kinds of cool extras they're going to offer to expand a game that at its beginning will be nascently tiny.

 

[kennew142]

Because they killed the two best magazines in the industry, for a website that gets updated every 2 or 3 months?

"Two best magazines in the industry" isn't saying much. What was the competition?

IMO Dungeon was pretty good. I like reading adventures, even though I usually write my own. I have every issue of Dungeon and have probably ran fewer than a dozen adventures from it.

IMO Dragon was mostly useless. I've purchased every issue since #49, but have seldom found anything that I could actually use. I enjoyed reading it, but didn't really use it. I've always been more interested in articles that contain no crunch. We used to get more of them, but 3e seemed to be mostly about new rules in every article.

I kept my subscriptions going for years just because they didn't cost me that much money and I enjoyed reading them. I've probably had greater interest in the paltry few articles that have appeared on DDI than I've had in Dragon for a few years. Even the cool ( ) articles on religions by Sean Reynolds were based on Greyhawk deities (or core deities, if you will). Even great writing couldn't make these gods interesting to me.

I converted my remaining Dragon/Dungeon subscription to Pathfinder because I thought they seemed interesting. But Eric Mona's attitude on these forums regarding the new edition have convinced me that this is a waste of my money. I will likely be dropping that subscription this week.

DDI will likely get my money for a few months before I decide whether to drop it or not. If the number of articles remains this low, and the updates are this slow, I will definitely be dropping DDI shortly after it goes subscription only. I am only interested in the Dragon and Dungeon articles. I have zero interest in online game tables and other such newfangled e-gizmos.