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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 1:48AM
#1
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Dear Wizards DDI staff,
The new online Monster Builder is a wonderful creation. However, it is a couple steps shy of a masterpiece.
Please recognize the following:
1. RTF export and/or copy to clipboard is a must. It is truly the only thing that is tying us to the old monster builder. Once you provide us with that functionality, the old monster builder can be completely purged from our systems. Please recognize the importance of an RTF format export and hear the pleas and grant us this functionality.
2. Please fix the monster math to adhere to the MM3 so our monsters are statistically accurate. I am certain that you see the importance of this, as the monster builder is a tool for us DM's to expedite creating and adding monsters to our encounters. Having to fine tune the math both lengthens the time significantly and is prone to error.
These are the items that I would need to see addressed before I can put my final stamp of approval on it. Without those items, which I feel are critical, the Monster Builder will fall short of being something that I use exclusively. And if I cannot use something exclusively, I most assuredly look for alternative solutions.
Thank you.
If others have items to add to this list, please feel free to add to it. This thread is to add our thoughts on necessary items that make the Monster Builder the be-all end-all of monster needs.
This thread is not for people to come in and offer alternative solutions to people's ideas. Most of us know the alternatives and we don't want alternatives; we want the Monster Builder to live up to all of our expectations.
Reflavoring: the change of flavor without changing any mechanical part of the game, no matter how small, in order to fit the mechanics to an otherwise unsupported concept.
Retexturing: the change of flavor (with at most minor mechanical adaptations) in order to effortlessly create support for a concept without inventing anything new.
Houseruling: the change, either minor or major, of the mechanics in order to better reflect a certain aspect of the game, including adapting the rules to fit an otherwise unsupported concept.
Homebrewing: the complete invention of something new that fits within the system in order to reflect an unsupported concept.
Default module =/= Core mechanic.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 5:14AM
#2
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Date Joined:
May 29, 2008
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I would add more storage or access to local storage. In addition to RTF add a one step copy to image as well for those that prefer that output.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 8:13AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Sep 11, 2006
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I want to second Jharii's points, but strengthen the language a bit. The new MB interface is gorgeous. Kudos and all that. But the MB is functionally useless at present as anything more than a fancy formatting program. The suggested/default stats for attacks and damage for custom monsters are based on numbers that were updated and retooled over a year ago (in June of 2010). The offline MB was still in use at the time and was not phased out until six months later. I am actually stunned that these numbers found their way into this software.
As it currently stands, my only option for getting information out of the MB and to my table is to print one stat block per page with nothing else on that page, or go through the process of taking screen shots, cropping them, saving them, and importing them into another document. There is, as it stands, no way built into the program to incorporate stat blocks into encounter and adventure notes. The lack of any easy export or copy/paste feature to facilitate adding stat blocks to adventure/encounter notes shows a complete lack of understanding of how people would be using this product. And this is something that people have been clamoring for. Its not a new request. I don't care what format the output is: rich-text, images, save-to-file, grab-to-clipboard. But I need something.
The end result is a very shiny looking product that most DMs can't use without adjusting math and working around the lack of functionality and spending as much time on image manipulation and page layout as they spend on planning encounters and designing monsters. If I had bought this program outright, on a disc or download, from a store, I would feel ripped off. But, I continue to pay a subscription month after month on the hope that this will all get sorted out. I am paying, on an ongoing, for a work in progress. I understand that. And I've been happy to. But I am becoming increasingly convinced that the needs of the end user are being misunderstood (or ignored) on a fundemental level. Its like paying a contractor, a little at a time, to remodel your bathroom. But then, one day, you notice the contractor is putting in a stove. And he hasn't ordered a bathtub yet. And you start to wonder if he understands what a bathroom is supposed to be. There comes a point when you need to stop writing checks and fire the contractor instead of hoping he's suddenly going to "get it."
The Angry DM: D&D 4th Edition Advice with Attitude
http://angrydm.com
Follow me on Twitter @TheAngryDM
"D&D is a world where you are a great champion, and the creator of the universe is frequently disorganized, highly distractable, and alarmingly vague on the rules of the universe he’s trying to run." -Shamus Young, Twenty Sided Tale (DM of the Rings)
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 8:52AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Feb 21, 2009
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Something that can go farther down the list, but would eventually be useful: I would greatly appreciate the ability to sort powers in custom monsters. I've got a custom monster I've built that has its powers out of what the preferred order would be, as I added them as they occurred to me. Now that I'm more-or-less finished with it, I'd like to be able to reorder them into a more logical sequence without building the whole thing over again.
Otherwise, the points Jharii has made here and that Alphastream has made in the general September Update discussion thread are exactly on target.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 9:53AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Dec 21, 2003
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1. RTF export and/or copy to clipboard is a must. It is truly the only thing that is tying us to the old monster builder. Once you provide us with that functionality, the old monster builder can be completely purged from our systems. Please recognize the importance of an RTF format export and hear the pleas and grant us this functionality.
This.
I can handle having to re-do numbers, as I re-do them mainly anyways for my group. But not being able to copy/paste images of the stat blocks to Word for my adventure is preventing me from using this thing at all. Can't even export from the online version to the old version, as it gets majorily screwed up.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 10:26AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2009
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Something that can go farther down the list, but would eventually be useful: I would greatly appreciate the ability to sort powers in custom monsters. I've got a custom monster I've built that has its powers out of what the preferred order would be, as I added them as they occurred to me. Now that I'm more-or-less finished with it, I'd like to be able to reorder them into a more logical sequence without building the whole thing over again.
This is something I would really like to see. The old builder had the ability to reorder powers within their type. I like to order my standard action from most used at the top (ie- basic attacks and at-wills)to least used (recharges, encounters, dailies). This makes it a LOT easier to run the monsters in a complex fast paced battle.
Want to know more about the history of D&D, especially how to play older editions of the game? Check out Crazy Monkey's "Tour through the editions":
http://community.wizards.com/crazymonkey/go/forum/view/133793/225799/Asylum_Play-by-Post
The current edition is BECMI, the most popular form of Basic D&D and the adventure is the classic Red Box quest to kill Bargle the evil magic user. Check it out, learn about the games roots, and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 2:18PM
#7
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Great idea for a thread! Thanks Jharii!
I agree wholeheartedly with all the suggestions in this thread thus far!
Since the most important issues have already been addressed I'll post something of a pipe dream type of feature. I would love to have sharing between accounts "in the cloud." This goes for all DDi applications, but I think it is pretty important. DMs like very much to steal ideas wherever they can find them, and the DDi community is a fantastic resource that is currently being under utilized. Sharing ideas in this way, fully formed and ready to go will vastly increase the options available to the DDi subscriber.
Kalex the Omen Dungeonmaster Extraordinaire Concerning Player Rules Bias
Show
Gaining victory through rules bias is a hollow victory and they know it.
The argument goes, that some idiot at the table might claim that because there is a "default" that is the only true way to play D&D. An idiotic misconception that should be quite easy to disprove just by reading the rules, coming to these forums, or sending a quick note off to Customer Support and sharing the inevitable response with the group. BTW, I'm not just talking about Next when I say this. Of course, D&D has always been this way since at least the late 70's when I began playing.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 6:06PM
#8
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Dear Wizards DDI staff,
The new online Monster Builder is a wonderful creation. However, it is a couple steps shy of a masterpiece.
Please recognize the following:
1. RTF export and/or copy to clipboard is a must. It is truly the only thing that is tying us to the old monster builder. Once you provide us with that functionality, the old monster builder can be completely purged from our systems. Please recognize the importance of an RTF format export and hear the pleas and grant us this functionality.
2. Please fix the monster math to adhere to the MM3 so our monsters are statistically accurate. I am certain that you see the importance of this, as the monster builder is a tool for us DM's to expedite creating and adding monsters to our encounters. Having to fine tune the math both lengthens the time significantly and is prone to error.
These are the items that I would need to see addressed before I can put my final stamp of approval on it. Without those items, which I feel are critical, the Monster Builder will fall short of being something that I use exclusively. And if I cannot use something exclusively, I most assuredly look for alternative solutions.
Thank you.
If others have items to add to this list, please feel free to add to it. This thread is to add our thoughts on necessary items that make the Monster Builder the be-all end-all of monster needs.
This thread is not for people to come in and offer alternative solutions to people's ideas. Most of us know the alternatives and we don't want alternatives; we want the Monster Builder to live up to all of our expectations.
I second this wholeheartedly, as well as the suggestion for re-ordering powers. This went from being completely useless to almost completely right in one update--maybe October can get us that last 5%?
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 6:09PM
#9
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Thanks all for your additions and thoughts.
I do have another to add...
Please allow us to designate a local directory on our hard drive that is included in the monster list for search capabilities. Thus, our 50 monster cap is virtually unlimited as far as our search and filter capabilities are concerned.
Reflavoring: the change of flavor without changing any mechanical part of the game, no matter how small, in order to fit the mechanics to an otherwise unsupported concept.
Retexturing: the change of flavor (with at most minor mechanical adaptations) in order to effortlessly create support for a concept without inventing anything new.
Houseruling: the change, either minor or major, of the mechanics in order to better reflect a certain aspect of the game, including adapting the rules to fit an otherwise unsupported concept.
Homebrewing: the complete invention of something new that fits within the system in order to reflect an unsupported concept.
Default module =/= Core mechanic.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 21, 2011 - 8:36PM
#10
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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I'd like to plus-one all of Jharii's points 
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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