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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 7:33AM
#31
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Date Joined:
Oct 19, 2007
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I don't think anyone is very surprised that this article has come to an end as a weekly installment. I am a bit surprised that WoTC wasn't even willing to keep it around as a regular monthly feature, at least. It sounds like it is now going to be a "when we have some juicy news, this is where it will pop up" article.
It seems to me that the danger here, at least from the forum community's perspective, is that with no regular "official" communication about the status of DDI, speculation will run rampant. People will grab onto snipets of info from any source they can find and then make some wild extrapolations from that info. I don't think this is the best way to go.
Personally, I despise surveys and I am very unlikely to participate in many of them.
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 8:13AM
#32
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Date Joined:
Sep 16, 2005
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Oh noes DDI is vaporware!!!!111one11
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 8:18AM
#33
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Digital Insider stopping? And how do the majority of paying customers read this?
* No virtual gaming table
* No Character Visualizer
* No Dungeon Builder
I guess I'm glad that I only paid the $5/month price for DDI. Hey listen, I'm happy with the tools that have been provided. It makes my life as a DM, and the life of my players, much easier, and I appreciate that.
But at the same time, I got excited about 4th edition because of the virtual gaming table and the ability to make customized v-mins, and having the functionality to build an entire adventure on my desktop. And now, it seems like I've got to go back to 3rd party tools to make that happen.
I understand that the priority right now is to pump out a bunch of material, to help buff out the 4th edition resources and keep people interested, but I still feel like there were expectations made on the state of the "full" suite of online tools. And now, instead of even saying "hey guys, it's gonna be a couple of years" on the outstanding online stuff, they just decide to pull a government trick and not mention it at all. WTF?
Hey, I've done my party... I've got every 4th edition book published so far. I've bought mins, and tiles, and adventures and resources, and I play almost every week. I'm committed, but I want to at least know when, if ever, we can expect the rest of the suite of online tools.
Can't a guy even get that much?
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 8:28AM
#34
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Date Joined:
Jun 13, 2008
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Its very sad that D&DI is still so very far from the initial promises last summer/early summer. I've been happy to build up my pre-bought adventures to date, buying the printed adventures in my local gaming store and paying for, and downloading, the character generator (eventually) and the pdf magazines.
However, like so many others, I struggle to find a local gaming group, and therefore the main attraction of D&DI to me has been the promise of the virtual gaming table. If this is no longer forthcoming then I plan to just go with the 4th ed. resources I've gathered so far, and run with those (plus adventures of my own creation).
Finally, as much as I do enjoy 4th edition, and as much as the system does what it does very well, I do find its reliance on maps awkward. Yes, I know it can be run without maps and minis (or coins, tokens or whatever), but it does remove me & my gaming group from picturing scenes in our imaginations. I know this is a personal preference thing, but in this regard I now much prefer World of Darkness.
In 3rd ed., I used maps to a degree, to show my gaming group where things were at, but at least there wasn't the heavy reliance on being 5 or 6 squares away from the big beastie, it was more flexible than that.
Those are some of my thoughts on these matters, some might agree with me, others will disagree.
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 9:05AM
#35
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2005
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I agree with many here that I'm glad he's not going to do this weekly - it was becoming a completely wasted effort.
As a subscriber, I just don't understand why there can be no mention of the next product they're are actually developing. Like many here, I work in the IT world, sometimes guiding largish projects. I do understand not wanting to over-commit again, but it makes no sense not to tell us which projects are seeing actual development. From the accumulated recent material, there's no way subscribers can't feel a sense of doom.
I have the distinct feeling the base decisions have already been made about which projects will see near term development, and which are placed in limbo depending on sales/subscriptions/resources. Not sharing any of this information cannot be good for sales or marketing.
In spite of the coolness of the CB, the overall progress is still very disappointing.
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 9:14AM
#36
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Date Joined:
Sep 28, 2006
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As a subscriber, I just don't understand why there can be no mention of the next product they're are actually developing. Like many here, I work in the IT world, sometimes guiding largish projects. I do understand not wanting to over-commit again, but it makes no sense not to tell us which projects are seeing actual development. From the accumulated recent material, there's no way subscribers can't feel a sense of doom.
Here is why I think they are not disclosing anything until they are closer to a beta.
[hypothetical]
They say that they are working on tool X, and that it is in closed alpha at WotC.
3 weeks go by, and no mention of it moving to beta.
There will then be a flurry of posts of the type:
[indent]...It is obvious that the programmers they have are crap and should be fired...I could put something out like this in a weekend...They are lying to us...[/indent]
[/hypothetical]
That is what the character builder experience has taught them. They are also wary of over committing and then being forced to change plans, which has already happened once.
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 9:44AM
#37
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Date Joined:
Aug 13, 2007
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thank you bill, for canceling - well, nothing, really.
someone, somehow, should have noticed over at WOTC that there are many people frustrated by the way wotc handles its online affairs. instead of making things better, and actually starting and trying to communicate, they cancel it altogether.
while mudbunny is right, that there will always be those assumptions and speculations, i have to say that this type of effect can only grow when a company does not properly plan or communicate. WOTC software department is completely unable to plan anything - that has been proven over and over again. OK, so they'd need someone to keep communicating. A person most people could live with, has been laid off, replaced by automatic ads, and a month later, replaced by nothing.
THATS THE DIGITAL INITIATIVE WE WANT; DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 9:45AM
#38
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Date Joined:
Dec 22, 2008
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[hypothetical]
They say that they are working on tool X, and that it is in closed alpha at WotC.
3 weeks go by, and no mention of it moving to beta.
There will then be a flurry of posts of the type:
...It is obvious that the programmers they have are crap and should be fired...I could put something out like this in a weekend...They are lying to us...
[/hypothetical]
Do you really think that?
As far as I know the most of games in development have a forum where people can discuss about little things that the developing people are releasing, even before than an alpha or a beta of the game, and the people don't complain about that, because they already know when will the game be realised more or less, and the most important thing they know for sure that they are really doing the game, I think the situation is quite different here.
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 9:57AM
#39
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Date Joined:
Sep 28, 2006
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[hypothetical]
They say that they are working on tool X, and that it is in closed alpha at WotC.
3 weeks go by, and no mention of it moving to beta.
There will then be a flurry of posts of the type:
...It is obvious that the programmers they have are crap and should be fired...I could put something out like this in a weekend...They are lying to us...
[/hypothetical]
Do you really think that?
I *know* that it will happen. It happened with the Character Builder, and pretty much every tool that they have put out.
Now it won't be the majority of the posts, but it will be enough that it will discourage WotC from announcing anything until they have stuff to show. Take this thread for example.
No (or next to no) comments on the upcoming goodies he did mention :The Assassin, Familiars, and the Monk (as playtest, not preview).
As far as I know the most of games in development have a forum where people can discuss about little things that the developing people are releasing, even before than an alpha or a beta of the game, and the people don't complain about that, because they already know when will the game be realised more or less, and the most important thing they know for sure that they are really doing the game, I think the situation is quite different here.
And this forum *is* here. People can discuss things, there will be information continue to be released (despite what some people would have you believe), and there will still be communication between WotC and forum users.
Bill is very much caught between a rock and a hard place. They are at a point where there is simply not any information to share.
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4 years ago ::
Feb 11, 2009 - 10:04AM
#40
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Date Joined:
Aug 13, 2007
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And this forum *is* here. People can discuss things, there will be information continue to be released (despite what some people would have you believe), and there will still be communication between WotC and forum users.
yeah it's here, and it has been over 2 months since any serious information has come down from wotc to the community via the means of this forum. it would be only logical to scrap this forum as the next step, since there's not really any information to be gained here anymore. i have not seen any post here except by chuck, and his work duty seems to be only "chill emotions" and not "spill facts"
---
and yes, some of those things will happen. but the majority of users works differently than you want them to be. if wotc would give them even the tiniest reason to believe, they'd do so. without communication or any proof of what they are doing, it does not matter whether they put out information or not - people will never trust those who only SAY what they are LIKELY doing, and never put up any confirmational facts as well. simple screenshots every now and then would have been enough to satisfy most of the critics. a blog of DM containing his work week, could be as simple as "fixed bugs #117 and #118, but that damn display bug is still killing me" - would be very very great, easy to do, and over all: give people a feeling that those people really work on what they tell you they'd supposedly do.
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