OMG .... WOTC does it again

[RPMiller]

Actually Vista 64 isn't as compatible with 32 bit apps as was first thought. I think I posted some links elsewhere regarding that. Basically there are some serious compatibility issues with it even with M$'s own products such as Office. The gist is that Vista 64 recursively updates the registry with keys and and values and ends up heavily bloated with millions of duplicate entries. Note that it isn't a complete incompatibility with all apps, but it is serious enough that some of the big voices in the IT world are staying away from V64 like it is the plague.

[NeonKnight]

And now for the Good news, WotC released it's Character Builder to Beta today. In other news, it does not work on Mac, Linux, oh yea and Vista 64 bit!

Yeah, so far it it is....well, a little non intuitive the first time I fired it up, but I got the hang of it really quick.

[jfrazierjr]

Why not Vista 64 ? I mean it will run 32 bit apps quite happily right ? Even if you dont build a 64bit app it should still run a 'normal' 32bit one. It would take considerable effort not to support Vista64 because it would mean that they are writing a device driver. There is only one possibility that I can think of that would require that and that is that they would load a kernel based filter driver on the machine and there is only one reason to do this and that is to bork your machine and run a DRM encryption system on it like Sony's infamous root kit which was installed via inserting some CD's. They would be in big trouble if that was the case. So basically - I don't believe it.

Well... I don't know the "reason", but it is true. I downloaded it myself and got an error, check the message boards and there were litterly 10's of people who all use Vista 64 and are getting the problem. The error when trying to start up seems to revolve around a .Net call to getFont(it goes away after 2 seconds and I did not screenshot it). One of the WotC staffers said they have reproduced the issue and are working on a fix.

[nolgroth]

I got curious and went to look. And then I laughed. Wizards wants me to pay $5 a month to install incomplete development code on my computer. Where in the Nine Hecks does this make sense?

Not that there was any question, but I'll stick to the OpenRPG/MapTool cocktail that I currently use.

[Robbie]

It also didn't work on xp x64...so I also had to wait for the fix, which came two days after initial beta release. I must say, I think the character builder is quite nicely done! I can't wait to see the rest of its capabilities...its really going to shine when you get to do your homebrew stuff. I hope they make that useful.

I especially like the way you can customize the layout and placement of sections on your character sheet...to include making it landscape.

[torstan]

Hmmm, I might actually have to have a look at that. The $5 a month I'd pay for the magazines - but I haven't had time to read the free ones yet, so it's not really worth it for me right now.

[Robbie]

the magazines are chocked full of great content...I definitely think they're worth the sub fee personally. At least just for the magazines. I wish they'd fix their website login issues though...I cannot login under firefox at all, and I'm hard pressed to get in undere IE sometimes. They definitely need to work on making the subscription content easier and more intuitive to access.

[NeonKnight]

Yes, that is INCORRECT information.

For your $5 per month you currently get:

A years Subscription to DRAGON magaizine
A years Subscription to DUNGEON magazine
Access to the full version of the D&D Compendium
Access to the Encounter Builder
Access to the Monsterbuilder
Access to the ability generator (this is a BIG WHOOP to me )

AND access to the FULL character generator which should be available within at the least a month. The Level 1-3 BETA is to ensure the software coding is working BEFORE the release a full generator, and not providing something for free to the masses they want to sell.

[redbeard]

the magazines are chocked full of great content...I definitely think they're worth the sub fee personally. At least just for the magazines. I wish they'd fix their website login issues though...I cannot login under firefox at all, and I'm hard pressed to get in undere IE sometimes. They definitely need to work on making the subscription content easier and more intuitive to access.

Huh. I did have to set wizards.com to permanently allow in the NoScript firefox add-on, but I don't have any login issues besides the 30minute time out.

I was digging the free dragon content, but didn't subscribe until the character builder beta was released. I did the year since it was the most affordable. I play in Living Forgotten Realms so altogether it seemed like a good deal by the dozen if not by the month.

The character builder looks like it really is GOOD. And I say that after having been a real critic of previous WoTC software. While 4e is not the headache that 3.x was for character generation, the Character Builder does make creating a character a breeze. The data files are in XML and I'm hoping that some folks get their heads together to do something creative with character sheets or importing into maptool
Now if WotC can finish the CB and get all the data in it correct.....

I also got a shot at the Character Visualizer and... I wasn't impressed. But it isn't something I was really interested in. If I want a pic to show an npc, I usually login to Deviant Art and do a few searches. Often that's inspiring actually.

I agree with others that the WoTC game table has really steep competition from Map Tool. Now, if all of us throw a few bucks to put our money where our mouth is....

[Robbie]

This past sunday I sealed the deal in my own mind about 4E's niceness...I really like the system. I ran a "court trial" for treason. The trial was treason for the lord high chancellor who was being accused of some stuff...the accuser was his assistant who was in cohorts with the bad guys.

The PCs had evidence that not only relieved the chancellor, but incriminated the accuser. I ran this is a complexity 5 skill challenge and it REALLY got the PC's to thinking about what their characters could do WHILE promoting role-playing.

One of the hardest things I've found to get players to do is to roleplay their characters not themselves. Its really hard to separate what you would do in a situation versus what your character would do. When running a skill challenge of a high complexity level for complicated roleplaying scenarios, forcing them to think of creative ways to use their trained skills (and help other players use their skills through group skill checks and aid another) REALLY got them playing their characters. i was most impressed, and with a little tweaking of the way I ran the skill challenge, I think the players really will become MUCH more attached to their characters as characters not just vessels for their own decision-making.

So DMs, if you have players that always seem to play themselves as opposed to their characters, check out 4E skill challenges in the DMG, and read the "Running Skill Challenges" articles. From Dragon 369 and the followup in Dungeon 161 (dunno why they mixed em up)...VERY helpful