WotC's D&D Virtual Table Cancelled

[Morrus]

WotC has just sent out the following "DDI Broadcast", informing users of the impending cancellation of the D&D Virtual Table, which will cease operation on July 30th 2012. This comes from Wotc_Josh from the group D&D Insider Beta, and closely follows Paizo's own announcement about their new VTT, "Paizo Game Space".

"I wanted to inform you all about an important decision that Wizards has made regarding the D&D Virtual Table and Virtual Table Beta. While we appreciate the enthusiasm and participation in the Beta phase, we were unable to generate enough support for the tool to launch a full version to the public. Effective July 30, 2012 the D&D Virtual Table Beta will be coming to an end and the VT will be closed.

Over the next three weeks, we encourage you to wrap up your existing campaigns and make sure to gather contact information from your online group members so that you can stay in touch if you like. We realize that because all data generated in the tool is in a proprietary format usable only by the Virtual Table, it is not possible to export your campaigns for use in another tool. You can, however, take screenshots of any notes, maps or adventures that you would like to hang on to or use in your home games.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the VT Beta and look forward to continuing to support D&D game play through our D&D Insider digital tools and D&D Next."

 

[fanboy2000]

Well, that's it for the VT

I just got this email from WotC:

I wanted to inform you all about an important decision that Wizards has made regarding the D&D Virtual Table and Virtual Table Beta. While we appreciate the enthusiasm and participation in the Beta phase, we were unable to generate enough support for the tool to launch a full version to the public. Effective July 30, 2012 the D&D Virtual Table Beta will be coming to an end and the VT will be closed.

I am very disappointed in them.

 

[MadJoe]

Well this happened sooner than I expected.

Just got an e-mail from wizards.

"You have a new broadcast on your site at The Wizards Community!

Wotc_Joshfrom the groupD&D Insider Beta has sent you a broadcast.
Subject: D&D VT Community Announcement
I wanted to inform you all about an important decision that Wizards has made regarding the D&D Virtual Table and Virtual Table Beta. While we appreciate the enthusiasm and participation in the Beta phase, we were unable to generate enough support for the tool to launch a full version to the public. Effective July 30, 2012 the D&D Virtual Table Beta will be coming to an end and the VT will be closed.


Over the next three weeks, we encourage you to wrap up your existing campaigns and make sure to gather contact information from your online group members so that you can stay in touch if you like. We realize that because all data generated in the tool is in a proprietary format usable only by the Virtual Table, it is not possible to export your campaigns for use in another tool. You can, however, take screenshots of any notes, maps or adventures that you would like to hang on to or use in your home games.


We would like to thank everyone who participated in the VT Beta and look forward to continuing to support D&D game play through our D&D Insider digital tools and D&D Next."


Sad to see this go.

 

[techno]

It is ironic that this announcement occurs around the same time as Paizo announcing new tools that support online play. Yet another broken DDI-related promise. Sad.

 

[MadJoe]

I'm sure Paizo's free play on their VTT didn't help WotC to "generate enough support"

 

[DaveMage]

Wow!

5 years after it was demonstrated as a major part of D&D insider, they pull the plug.

What a colossal, embarrassing failure.

 

[Pour]

Admittedly, I wasn't going to use the VTT having become fairly adept at Maptool, but sad to hear it's going. I guess they don't need a robust VTT for 'theatre of the mind'. I'll be MUCH more upset if they announce the end of the online tools, which were supposed to blend seamlessly with the VTT.

 

[amerigoV]

Wow!

5 years after it was demonstrated as a major part of D&D insider, they pull the plug.

What a colossal, embarrassing failure.

You sound as this was unexpected. I'm shocked it got to Beta.

 

[Neuroglyph]

WotC has just sent out the following "DDI Broadcast", informing users of the impending cancellation of the D&D Virtual Table, which will cease operation on July 30th 2012. This comes from Wotc_Josh from the group D&D Insider Beta.

"I wanted to inform you all about an important decision that Wizards has made regarding the D&D Virtual Table and Virtual Table Beta. While we appreciate the enthusiasm and participation in the Beta phase, we were unable to generate enough support for the tool to launch a full version to the public. Effective July 30, 2012 the D&D Virtual Table Beta will be coming to an end and the VT will be closed.

I'm sorry, but I guess I'm confused. Wasn't VTT something promised to be a part of everyone's DDI accounts - something that WotC said would be available for all 4E DDI users? So all of us who have been paying for DDI all this time, waiting for VTT, were really just buying a Character Builder and a Monster generator? Nice burn WotC... nice burn.

 

[Stormonu]

Over the next three weeks, we encourage you to wrap up your existing campaigns and make sure to gather contact information from your online group members so that you can stay in touch if you like. We realize that because all data generated in the tool is in a proprietary format usable only by the Virtual Table, it is not possible to export your campaigns for use in another tool. You can, however, take screenshots of any notes, maps or adventures that you would like to hang on to or use in your home games.

What data does the VTT store? Especially that couldn't be exported as some sort of text file?

I'm greatly disappointed that this didn't survive to become a release candidate. Seems like it could have had a lot of use in the coming 5E.

 

[Remathilis]

And with that, DDi goes belly up.

No VTT
No character visualizer
Halfway decent char-gen program turned into a buggy piece of webcoding
Quarter decent monster builder decimated into useless webcode.
Dragon and Dungeon reduced to half-baked web articles.

Kinda fitting that D&D 4e and DDi both die together, since they were literally made for each other.

 

[Zaukrie]

That puts me over the edge of ever trusting them again. Burned too many times. Frankly, I'm close to cancelling DDI, even though I need it to DM. We'll see, but I'm close.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

I'm sure Paizo's free play on their VTT didn't help WotC to "generate enough support"

Paizo just announced their VTT solution on Saturday. I'm probably guessing here but I'm thinking that the decision to cancel the DDI VTT must have been in the works for a while now. WOTC is big boat. I dont really think that it can stop or turn on a dime.

 

[Hussar]

This blows. But, then again, if they actually got off their collective ass and presented a VTT tool that was at least as useful as what you can get already, then perhaps it wouldn't have tanked. A year of Beta testing and they haven't added any tokens, you still cannot use your own maps and, AFAIK, no extra bits have been added since the beginning. Yeah, shock that it failed.

Oh, and no standardization on time announcements (apparently scheduling was based on Pacific time, maybe, but, it's not mentioned anywhere. Good luck finding a game if you don't know when the bloody times are). I found the whole thing a complete disappointment.

Can't use my own maps, can't make more tokens, less functionality than you get in something like Maptool. Yeah, total shock that this tanked.

 

[aventhar]

And with that, DDi goes belly up.

No VTT
No character visualizer
Halfway decent char-gen program turned into a buggy piece of webcoding
Quarter decent monster builder decimated into useless webcode.
Dragon and Dungeon reduced to half-baked web articles.

Kinda fitting that D&D 4e and DDi both die together, since they were literally made for each other.

I am forced to agree.

This is sad but unfortunately not at all unexpected. WOTC (the corporate side) just doesn't get it. Thank all that is holy that the OGL happened.
I feel for all the talented game designers over there.

To continue the big boat analogy:

...and the band played on

 

[Frylock]

I was excited when I saw the 3D interface. It was the only thing that stood out from the other tools, and it was so cool I was actually considering online play (which otherwise I hate). When the 2D interface came out, it was disappointing. I tried it once just to help WotC but was so uninterested that I never went back.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I love the dismissive, "Oh, you take can screenshots".

You sound as this was unexpected. I'm shocked it got to Beta.

Me too.

I wonder how long before the 4E tools are also cancelled?

 

[Votan]

I love the dismissive, "Oh, you take can screenshots".

I understand the want to not throw good money after bad, but people could potentially have a lot of information (adventure notes aka Journal and character sheets) in the tool. Three weeks is not a huge amount of time to extract that information without a way to download it.

Yes, you can do it if you are disciplined but it is a bad precedent for product support.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Is it weird that I was kind of thinking that they would have kept working on it and had something actually fully ready in time for the D&D Next Launch?

I mean theyve been working on it since 2008 (and lets face it probably before). I really and truly wonder how all of this went horribly wrong.

 

[Ampolitor]

Really

wow, some of you act surprised, that's why I never signed up for anything online that wizards does. They never fully support anything that they do, feels like they all have ADD over there.