There’s no way to write a post like this without sounding like, or coming across as, a troll looking for cheap traffic. And those are two things I’ve tried never to do in the 2.5 years I’ve been running my blog. Having said that, I feel that it is a topic worth exploring and writing about, and if I’ve already shared every experience I’ve had with 4e up to now, why not share this one? The only thing I ask is that comments stay nice and civilized. I don’t want my site to be used as an edition war outpost. Stay away if that’s your thing.
So, the simple reason I didn’t renew my DDI this year (it just expired last week) is because my 4e home game died and I have no use for it. We were sharing an account between 6 of us, but since we have moved on from 4e gaming as a group, they don’t want to share the cost. Basically they were paying for the character builder, as none of them got anything out of the magazines or other content. For them, the main draw was strictly the builder. So that should be it, right? Well, for me it goes a bit beyond that.
I got quite a few things out of my DDI subscription, and even after my home game went kaput, I got juice out of my subscription. But now, upon further thought and after a few months, I just have to say goodbye to DDI.
Content amount
There has been so much material published during the last almost three years, that if I were to play a regular (regular according to my schedule) 4e game again, the material that is currently sitting in my hard drive will be enough to last me years. I just don’t need any more than what I have, it’s that simple. The proverbial DDI firehose is churning out content faster, and faster, and faster than I’ll ever be able to use. It’s time to turn it off. Adventures, maps, artwork, npc’s, organizations, hooks, it’s just much more than I’ll ever need or probably use given the amount of time I actually have to game. Lately though, it just feels like content is coming in short spurts, or none at all. The website is posting interviews and new columns to fill the gaps, but it feels like something’s missing. Either way, I have tons of stuff that I’ll never get to, like I said, so that’s that.
Online Tools
You know, I want the online tools to do well, I really do. I’m of the firm belief that if D&D doesn’t adapt itself to a digital model, it will die. And I don’t want D&D to die, I love D&D. I really believe the people working on these tools are trying real hard to both please both their corporate needs and the community. It’s a hard balance, and they are fighting the good fight, but ultimately, those tools alone aren’t enough to keep me around. The character builder moving to an online model didn’t really bother me so much, but the clunkiness of the monster builder did. Its interface really never impressed me too much, and I found myself using the compendium a lot more than the monster builder for grabbing stat blocks and such. I never really used the thing to build too many custom monsters, but when I did the thing just felt slow and clunky. And now that everything is online it feels like it’s all a big beta test, and I don’t want to pay to be a beta tester.
And the much talked about gaming table? Well, that’s kind of cool and all, and yeah, it’s neat that you’ll be able to import monsters and pc’s from both builders, sure. But ultimately, do I want to pay for something that I can basically get from Gametable, or Maptools and Skype for free? I don’t know, it’s a tough sell. Right now, the answer is no.
The one tools I could have used was never implemented. I wanted a campaign organizational tool, with encounter planning and stuff like that. That might have been interesting, but unfortunately it never came to fruition.
Magazines
Yes, small gripe, but a gripe nonetheless. I have an archive of Dungeon and Dragon magazine pdf’s I’ve acquired through the years, and I enjoy reading them tremendously. When I found out that DDI would stop compiling them as a monthly magazine, I was disappointed to say the least. I don’t care what they say about market research showing nobody downloaded the compiled magazines, I did. And now I can’t.
Exclusives
This is a tricky one, but I’m going to bring it up anyway. The Assassin and the Revenant race were supposed to be exclusive to DDI paying costumers. Offering an exclusive is a way of enticing people to pay for your product. Even Bill Slaviscec said it in an Ampersand column in issue 376:
“This month, we kick off a new rollout of exclusive material for the Dungeons & Dragons game that you can only get as a D&D Insider subscriber. This exclusive material won’t appear in any core rulebooks or supplements, but it will be totally official and ready to use if you’re a D&D Insider subscriber. We start out with the revenant, a new player character race that I predict is going to be all the rage…”
Was it all the rage? I don’t know, that’s debatable, and not important. What’s important is that an offer was made, “here’s exclusive content for you guys” and then without another word, everything he said wouldn’t happen, happened. And that leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Not because I play and Assassin or a Revenant, or really care that much about exclusives via DDI, but because I care about not being told one thing and then be given something else when I spend my money.
So before I get accused of trolling, or being anti-4e or whatever, let me talk about what I’ll miss. Because there are tons of things I’ll miss about DDI, stuff I still use in my games today.
I’ll miss the adventures. Sure, a lot of DDI stuff is typical 3 encounter delve stuff, but there are some really good writers working on D&D right now. Guys like Robert Schwalb and Logan Bonner, for example, have really nailed what 4e can bring to the table mechanically and they crank out quality stuff fairly consistently. And I’m talking both crunch-wise and fluff.
I’ll miss the maps, as I use those quite a bit, no matter the game I’m playing. Dragon Age can use D&D maps just fine, and I do. I’ll still use the stuff in my hard drive for sure, but not having a regular access to maps will be a bummer. Just like the art galleries. I love the DDI art galleries. I print stuff out as handouts quite a bit, to show off NPC’s or locations, weapons, or whatever else I find.
I’ll miss being in the loop as far as what the D&D community is talking about regarding latest releases and such. I love being a part of the community, and being out of the loop a bit will bother me, but it’s not worth me dropping dough on either.
I’ve already decided that my next 4e home game (if it happens) will be limited to Essentials. I have all the boxed sets and books. Characters are fairly simple if you limit it to those sources, which I will. So you know what, I’ll go back to old school D&D style via Essentials. You know, the kind where you make a character by hand?
That type, yeah. I think I’ll manage. It can be done, you know.
www. Newbie DM .com 
mbeacom
April 11, 2011
I find myself in a similar situation. The difference being I’m not particularly DIS-satisfied with any aspects of DDI.
I just found a new game.
Castles and Crusades.
It’s simpler, faster and feels really good. (hopefully this stands up to actual play which I hope to be doing soon!)
Sure, the truth is, I think like you, I”m a little burned out on 4E. Like you, I think we can agree that 4E is an amazing game. I’ve loved every minute of it.
Unlike you however, I’m pretty thrilled to be “breaking up” with the DDi community. Not the D&D community, but specifically the DDI community. Reading the DDI forums literally makes me want to burn my books. It’s just super depressing.
But yeah, we all go through cycles. I’ll continue to play 4E but for me, I’m burning for Castles and Crusades. You don’t need 20 hard back books or a $70 annual sub to play. Truth is, you don’t to play 4E either, but its hard not to. Right?
Ok, I”m rambling….
@Sean_Mc
April 11, 2011
I recently left DDI for similar reasons as well. There wasn’t hatred or venom involved, just a feeling of “it’s not worth it to me any more”. You mention the Virtual Gaming Table, and there is one thing that would elevate it above my current combination of MapTool/Skype. And that is pre-made campaigns. If I could just load up the official version of Keep On The Shadowfell on my virtual gaming table, and not have to worry about finding or creating maps, tokens, line-of-sight, etc, then I’d be a subscriber for as long as I played D&D. Unlikely, perhaps, but a man can dream, can’t he?
@TheSheDM
April 11, 2011
I felt hurt and disappointed to see the Revenant published, betrayed even. When the Revenant came out for DDi I was very intrigued by the race and showed it to a friend while bragging about my brand new DDI account. I explained how it would only be available to DDi subscribers and how happy I was that I had DDi to enjoy exclusive content like this. My friend scoffed at me and told me it wouldn’t be exclusive forever and that eventually WotC would publish it. I defended WotC then and now I’m eating crow. Of course I’ve also come a long way since my first month of DDI, and I’ve even let my subscription lapse a few times in protest to certain events.
I never downloaded the compiled pdfs but I empathized with those that lost the option to do so. I fail to understand why this option was taken away, regardless of what the market says. I work with pdfs all day at work. It takes me all of two minutes to compile two dozen or so documents into a single pdf. This is not a huge task.
JesterOC
April 11, 2011
Sometimes you just need a change of pace, and paying monthly for a game you don’t play does not make sense.
JesterOC
The Weem
April 11, 2011
Thanks for sharing this! I was going to say (via Twitter) you should post it anyway (despite your concerns) but you went ahead and did it before I could say anything 😉
Alton
April 11, 2011
I currently am a DDI subscriber and love having access to the content and all the tools. I do agree that the content has become odd lately, but I think this is only a transition period for them. I will not be giving it up anytime soon, but I do symathize with newbiedm and sean_mc for having left. I PLAY 4TH edition 3 times a week so it is very relevant for me. I use a lot of the content and such. If I was not playing 4th, I would be in the same mentality as you all.
JoJa
April 11, 2011
My problem with DDI has always been a failure to deliver on promises. Not to be pedantic, but I remember flipping to the back of my PHB in June 2008 and seeing an ad depicting a stack of DnD books with a laptop on top displaying a screen shot from the Virtual Table Top “Coming Soon!”(tm).
The longer I stuck with DDI, the longer it felt like my subscription was subsidizing the development work they were doing in order to deliver on the promises they had already made to get me to subscribe in the first place. It’s one thing to say “Hey, pay $6 a month and you’ll help make this product a reality,” because then your customers at least know what they’re getting into. That’s not what we were told. We were told, “Hey pay $6 a month and you’ll get access to product X,” which then never materialized, or when it did appeared in a buggy, poorly developed format. (Monster Builder)
The final straw was the no Dark Sun character builder update fiasco of last fall, and then the switch to an online only character builder with no prior warning. I just had enough.
I think my greatest complaint, though, is the loss of Dungeon and Dragon magazine as free-standing products, .pdf or otherwise. Talk about iconic. I remember saving my allowance for weeks so I could get my parents to drive me an hour and a half to the nearest Waldenbooks every month to buy the latest issue when I was a kid. I think Newbie wrote a post a while back simply eulogizing the loss of the magazines and the mini’s line, and it’s a post I very much agree with.
Bottom line is WotC has squandered a lot of the goodwill I gave them simply for producing DnD, which I still love today, and likely always will. For now, my group is playing an Essentials POL setting campaign, and Dragon Age, neither of which require a DDI subscription.
Would I ever subscribe again? They would have to make huge, huge strides first.
WolfSamurai
April 11, 2011
I’m in a similar boat. I let my DDI sub lapse last month. I just don’t feel that I’m getting my money’s worth.
I was not happy about moving the tools online and I’m still not. As you say, it’s felt like a beta-test for the better part of half a year and in many ways the online versions of the tools still haven’t caught up to the old downloadable ones. The online versions may be up to date and have all the latest stuff but they lack a lot of customization options that I grew to enjoy. I’m sure some of that will be reimplemented later, but I already ~had~ it and the fact that they took it away to move the tool suites online leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I’m in agreement the VT is quite nice, but for free I can use Gametable/Skype and have very nearly the same experience for free. Since I have scans of all the dungeon tiles I own, I can get even closer to what the VT has to offer. Further, with Maptools/Gametable, I can have a more versatile experience since they’re not limited to D&D.
And you’re right that the full magazine thing is a small gripe, but it’s one that I share. I’ve been told that it’s a petty thing to complain about, but that’s kind of my point. It was a very small thing that WotC had to do every month and the fact that they gave the finger to the people who liked full issue downloads despite the minimal effort or time needed on their part for them again kind of made me feel like WotC didn’t care about me as a customer.
I’m not bothered about the former exclusives except as a sign that WotC is having a problem sticking with what it says it’s going to do. Which is admittedly a big problem given how they’ve absolutely dropped the ball with communication and marketing since Essentials was announced, leading to the alienation and fracturing of their 4e fanbase. Nobody knows if they can trust what comes out of WotC, whether it be product annoucements, statements of intent, or anything else.
benensky
April 11, 2011
I had six related thoughts after reading the article
1. I pay for 3 months at a time and I switched credit cards. I let my DDi subscription lapse for 3 months and survived. You could try getting one month at a time every three or four months.
2. I do not know if The D&D people at Wizards strait out lie (70% chance) or they continually change their minds (30% chance) but I don’t put stock in much they say about future product or policy.
3. The reason I believe they are not compiling Dungeon or Dragon is that you would notice how thin it is. I consider those magazines dead.
4. It could be that gamers are too incompetent to run a business and therefore Wizards D&D business is in such a state of disrepair.
5. It could be the business men running the D&D brand are not in touch with the gamers and keep making ignorant decisions and that is why the business is in such a state of disrepair.
6. Maybe they know they are sticking it to us and that is why they spring these things on us with spin control at the ready. Why else would they force on us unfinished monster builder and character builder? Heck, they were not promising to deliver to us so why the urgent need to get it out the door? Is it because they were over budget and past deadline and then instead of delivering a good product they developed spin? Then, pushed it on us assuming we would buy their cock-and-bull story and not notice it was a flawed product?
Yea I am unhappy with Wizards direction also. I prefer original 4E and not essentials. I was hoping to get more 4E content but that seems to be dead and the new stuff is not getting me excited. It is too bad. I have not bought any of the new essentials material except for the rules compendium. I am running an Eberron home campaign and would have bought a second campaign thread (my group played through Ashen Crown & now I am developing my own stuff) and update 4E Eberron books but none are offered. I know they need to sell books to keep 4E going, but as I said before they need to sell me something, I want to buy. It is all too bad. I liked 4E and wish it would keep going but with essentials killing it and people like me not buying the books, it will not be long until that is discontinued.
However, like you I have enough material to keep me going a long time.
Corey Ehmke
April 11, 2011
I agree with you regarding the tools available through DDI. The ones that are there are clunky, require me to install Silverlight, and are inaccessible from my iPad– the primary computer I use while running a game. These factors (and my own desire to build stuff) led me to create my own online encounter manager, called ApprenticeRPG . It’s useful for me, and hopefully useful to others as well.
I think that there is a lot of opportunity for 3rd party developers to step in and make good, cross-platform tools to supplement the D&D experience. I really don’t see these sorts of tools emerging from WotC any time soon. I just wish that the company was more forthcoming in terms of what’s allowed and not allowed from 3rd party software… many of us in the dev community feel like we’re walking a legal tightrope.
The Id DM
April 11, 2011
Thanks for posting the article; I know you had some misgivings about getting into this issue, but I appreciate and respect your opinion.
As I’ve become more aware of the online D&D/RPG community, I’ve realized that there are a host of applications out there that can meet similiar needs as the DDI subscription. At the moment, I’m using a combination of the following to either run or play in 4e campaign:
Character Builder
Monster Builder
Masterplan
PyMapper
Power2ools
A host of downloadable delves from various sites
I haven’t even touched the DDI material that is available for encounters, and I have plenty of stuff to keep me going for a while in the campaing I DM.
Your reasons make sense, especially if you are not playing 4e. I think the Character Builder is the most essential feature of my DDI subscription. If that was free, then I’m not sure I would pay for the other stuff since I never seem to use it.
I will say that I’m going to start playing in a Virtual Table game this week. I’m curious to see how that goes. I messed around with the system yesterday and it seems worthwhile. Hopefully it works well during a live game.
j0nny_5
April 11, 2011
I have to say I agree with all you’re saying, yet disagree with your decision.
I look at it as, “I do not want D&D to fail. So I support them.” The cost, even for one, isn’t that much per year, and allows you to possibly introduce newbs with your extra accounts.
The content, though not great, gives me something to look at while I poop at work. Who doesn’t need something to read during that time? I’d pay $100 bucks for that every day of the year. Just joking, but seriously.
Rhetorical Gamer
April 11, 2011
I agree. When my subscription is due again, I’m going to be dropping it. I stopped playing 4E after starting with release and playing for two straight years… and I kept my DDI sub because of the magazines. The last straw for me is the fact that they’ll no longer be compiled… what? I also downloaded every issue, in fact, I didn’t even read the content until I had the compiled version every month so I could see it in its final form and actually have the experience of reading an issue of Dragon. Maybe that’s just me though.
As someone else mentioned above, I think Dungeon and Dragon are just about dead…
I don’t like the Character Builder being online only, but that alone wouldn’t be a deal breaker… I didn’t like the Monster Builder, but that alone… I liked the idea that I would get exclusive content but… well, it all just adds up eventually.
I’m currently playing Dragon Age, will probably run 4E Gamma World this summer, and if I ever run 4E again will probably be going Essentials-only PoL, so I don’t really need the online tools.
Others have said it, but thanks for posting this — in a respectful, authentic way you’ve said what a lot of us seem to be feeling.
David Flor
April 11, 2011
I’m in somewhat of an odd situation.
If I sit and think about it, in the same manner you did above, I know the cost of DDI is probably not worth it. But I do continue to pay it, month by month, for a few basic reasons:
1) This might sound odd, but I pay my subscription fee in somewhat the same manner that others donate to a Kickstarter project: because I would much rather fund Wizards of the Coast than watch it cut back or disappear completely while trying to stay alive in a difficult economy. I consider it doing my part to keep D&D alive.
2) I use the Character Builder a lot. Going through the mechanics of putting a character together – especially when a lot of the games I’m involved with don’t start at level one – is a difficult process for me because of the multitude of available sources. I like that everything to make a character is in one place, and there’s no doubt about the math.
As for the Monster Builder, I’ve never used it at all, not even the standalone one. In fact, I’m writing my own just because I don’t want to use WotC’s… ever.
3) I pay it, quite honestly, because I can. I know that a lot of people out there cannot afford it for fiscal reasons. Since I can spare the fee, it’s not as painful to me to think about how much I’m paying for what I may not be getting.
Tobias Wichtrey
April 12, 2011
I guess, I will renew my DDi subscription as long as I play D&D. The compendium is such a valuable tool for me, especially when looking for monsters or magical items to use in my campaign. The character builder – despite its clunkiness and being online only – also is really helpful.
I don’t know, how usable the monster builder is at the moment. Haven’t used it the last year or so.
What I’d really like to see is a way to search for Dungeon and Dragon articles, with a filter to find adventures within a certain level range.
Even though DDi probably isn’t worth the money, and the Wizards people lying/changing their minds/not keeping their promises, I don’t want to miss what DDi provides…
argyle
April 12, 2011
sad to say, but i have recently cancelled as well.
mrallie
April 12, 2011
I’m two months into my DDI subscription. Owning just the bare minimum Essentials books (DM Kit, MV), I pretty much have to subscribe just for the Character Builder. I don’t want to have to buy all the books with player options just to level up characters once every two or three weeks. The character builder is fiddly, but I can’t imagine how I could do it otherwise. That may change as I get experience, but for now I consider it indispensable.
I am frustrated with the Monster Builder. When scaling a monster up or down in level, it looks like some attacks scale, and other’s don’t. I’m thinking in particular of the Eye of Frost beholder. The bite attack scales fine, but the eye rays do not. That’s extremely frustrating for me, since I am new to balancing monsters myself. I don’t know if this is an issue for all monsters, to be fair.
I do like reading through the adventures for DDI. Even if I cannot use them outright, I can still learn how encounters should look, and steal map designs I can make with my Dungeon Tiles.
Thanks for your thoughts; perhaps I will get to the point where I no longer need DDI myself, but that seems far off right now!
greywulf
April 12, 2011
I’ve described 4e D&D before as a brilliant game, mismanaged, and I feel that D&DI is right at the core of the mismanagement of the D&D brand.
Our own group, like yours (and most others, I’m sure) share a D&DI account between us. We each get something different from it, and collectively it offers great value for money even if it wouldn’t be such good value if we didn’t share it. The Monster Builder (the offline one, not the awful online version) is only really of value to the GM in the group, and the adventures are a whole chunk of the D&DI sub that players just aren’t likely to download, let alone read.
GMs want one thing from D&DI and players want something else, & each player is going to want content that is applicable to their style of play. If each player (and GM) is expected to pay for a subscription account even though only a small percentage of the content is useful to them, it is a business model destined to fail from the start.
D&DI should be available as a per-group subscription rate – say $15/month, which works out at $3/month for a group of 5 players. This gives the entire group individual logins to the same account (with one as the principle account holder who has his credit card details stored and on file). They can generate unlimited characters, view the sheets of each of their party members, etc. GMs could have space to store and share adventure notes and run scenarios online for their party (plus guests, optionally) using the fabled Virtual Table Top (or whatever it will be called). Articles could be flagged and highlighted as worth reading for certain members of your group – if you spot a good post about Druids, for example, you could star it for your Druid-playing group member to read.
Then I’d go further, and open D&DI to be of interest to players of all editions of D&D, and other games, all for the same price rate.
Open up the entire D&D back archive of RPGA adventures as downloadable watermarked PDFs for free, and offer discounted PDFs of prior editions exclusively for D&DI members. Would gamers join D&DI if they could download legal versions of classic D&D scenarios and rules for a couple of dollars a time? You bet they would!
Finally, offer a D&D Essentials-only version of the wonderful Gamma World Character Sheet which can be used by Insider and non-member alike, but only Insiders can save their characters for later use.
Then make a version for 3e D&D, AD&D and Classic D&D. Show the love for all versions of D&D, and respect and liking for 4e will rise. As it is, it’s isolated itself with a paywalled ring-fence. That’s not a good place to be.
D&D Insider is a failure, not because of what it is, but because of what it should have been.
Rev. Lazaro
April 12, 2011
“And now that everything is online it feels like it’s all a big beta test, and I don’t want to pay to be a beta tester.”
This. Two years ago when I bought my first DDI yearly sub, it was a tool that helped my game. I had external applications that I was able to take and use, and at the time they worked with my current books.
Two years later, all of my favorite features were either downgraded or removed over concerns of piracy (there’s no denying it; it’s been discussed by WoTC guys on a couple podcasts now that “protecting their I.P. was one of the reasons for the overhaul.) Now we have a bunch of web-0nly tools that even they admit aren’t up to par with the features of the old downloaded software. As far as I’m concerned, they took a step backwards and made a great product worst for me. So, I voted with my wallet, got my refund on the rest of my sub, and wiped my hands of it.
newbiedm
April 12, 2011
Thanks for the good comments guys! It seems wotc has some work to do if it intends to capture some of it’s lost paying audience. You know what’s interesting? Some of you guys are bloggers too, and that’s telling because we were the loudest 4e cheerleaders at one point. Somewhere along the way, something went wrong, and I’m sure they are trying to find what in order to fix it… Or so I hope.
1958Fury
April 12, 2011
I feel the same way. I let mine lapse back in November. No anger here (okay, I did rant and rave a bit when the character builder first changed to online), for the most part I just didn’t feel I was getting my money’s worth. If I find myself with some extra money sometime, I might renew for the heck of it. But these days I only have so much money budgeted for entertainment, so I have to make sure I spend it on things that are worth it.
shimmertook
April 12, 2011
I’m not leaving D&D, but I’ll probably leave DDI at the end of my subscription. For many of the same reasons, the main one being the dropping of Dragon and Dungeon magazines in compiled format. I don’t care if they thin it out (maybe it could have actually used some thinning in my opinion)—but how hard is it to put it all together in a single pdf. I’ll flip through one of those on my tablet on the train, or before a game, or while preparing for my next session…now I have to go to the site? Find something there that I may have missed? Download it separately? Why does Wizards make things so complicated?
And that brings me to one other thing, I think it is a major mistake rolling out Essentials and I don’t think you should go back to D&D to play that “version.” I’m not a fan. I guess there are people out there who like it, but it’s not the version they gave me, and now that they’re done with it, I feel rejected. Sure, Essentials is playable, but mostly for kids. It’s clearly a target for new players, but what have they done for me lately? I know this isn’t a post about Essentials, but I can’t help but feel like it is when Essentials came out that the changes began that have lead to my overall disappointment and subsequent cancellation of my account.
Thanks for mustarding up Newbie and voicing your opinion. Wotc needs to hear everyone.
symatt
April 12, 2011
I play very little D&D 4e, this is not through choice, just getting a group together is a nightmare. That said i will not give up my DDi. I want access, whenever and wherever. I want to read something now but not in three weeks i know it will be there for me. I only print things to read later, at work maybe, i have yet to use an adventure and or map. I just love to read what is placed for me. I do feel like I’m paying twice for my hobby. Books and content. I know this is crazy but its like buying something new every time i login.
I feel a part of something bigger and that is enough for me at the moment. So I’ll pay my money and stay.
MJ Harnish
April 12, 2011
I dropped DDI last fall after the online CB debacle – when I looked at how terrible the magazines were (Dragon devolved in to little more than a dumping ground for non-playtested shit & Dungeon for poorly written, mini-adventures), how I had been lied to repeatedly, and how the new online model of tools was a backdoor way of forcing monthly subscriptions for very poorly written, incomplete software, I couldn’t justify rewarding WotC. The cost is inconsequential to me, but I’d rathef give the money to a company that actually delivers real value for it. I haven’t missed DDI at all and I have several brand new books from other companies that I actually own and can use whenever I want.
BTW – anyone sharing an account is violating the DDI ToS – I say more power to you, but I would also predict that WotC is already working on ways to eliminate that problem (the limited cloud storage is already one, albeit minor, way).
JoJa
April 12, 2011
I’m having a hard time understanding people who say that they don’t think their DDI scrip is worth the money, but they’ll keep paying because they want to support WotC. It’s not a charity, folks, it’s a for-profit corporation, owned by an even larger for-profit corporation. I mean, I’m not going to tell you how to spend your money, but if you keep paying for shoddy, half-complete products, WotC will keep delivering shoddy, half-complete products.
I mean, I have a strong emotional attachment and relationship with the Dungeons and Dragon brand built from more than 25 years of playing. I have no such attachment to WotC’s business decisions. I feel like they know there’s this huge group of players who will buy their stuff no matter what it is “Because it’s DnD!” and that has to stop. I feel like WotC has squandered my goodwill in this regard. Despite my love for this game (and even for the 4E system) WotC has to work hard for my money just like everyone else. Until then, I will support companies such as Green Ronin and Open Design that really are working hard for my money (And with much more limited resources).
I also agree with Greywulf that they should open up their entire AD&D catalog online. That might get me to resubscribe.
Gerald
April 12, 2011
If your only reason for paying the DDI subscription is the Character Builder, then the offline builder and the excellent work done by the CBLoader (allowing for custom mods and updates to the offline builder) community make paying for the sub completely unnecessary. By any measure, it’s a superior product to what WotC offers in the Silverlight online-only version. It’s free, available offline, infinitely expandable, and supports third-party and homebrew. Win-win-win.
One of my players pays for a DDI subscription (he thinks of it as “chump change”) and everyone in our 8-player group shares it. I use it to pull stat blocks from the compendium, because the new online-only Monster Builder is worthless — a huge downgrade from the previous offline version. That version allowed for true modification to the monster stat blocks, the new version just provides a level-adjustment slider. Much like with the Character Builder, the transition to an online Silverlight-based app results in a loss of functionality and an increase in the inconvenience factor.
While I freely admit that the compendium has its uses: I refer to it on my iPad and it’s been useful for quickly looking up level-appropriate magic items for when I’m creating treasure parcels, if my player ever decides to stop paying for a subscription, we’ll do just fine.
I think it just comes down to already having more 4E D&D material available to me than I’ll ever use in my life. I don’t need anything else to run the games I want to play.
This is about more than just providing lackluster digital support,though. WotC’s complete failure to follow through on its promises, the killing off of Dragon and Dungeon, and pulling the miniatures line (this one in particular wounds me to the core), has left me with little love for the company I once revered. It’s clear that the caretakers for my beloved game and brand aren’t doing it justice.
Thankfully, we live in a time when the community has the wherewithal and ability to pick up WotC’s slack and provide the players with the sorts of tools and support we’re clamoring for. In previous years this sort of community-based movement may have never taken off because of the lack of distribution method, but thanks to the Internet, anyone that plays D&D has ready, 100% free access to wonderful digital tools that are far and away an improvement over the disappointing efforts we’ve received from WotC.
Richgreen01
April 12, 2011
Hi,
I can understand everyone’s frustration – WotC haven’t really communicated very well with their fan base in the last year or so and I am disappointed with some of their decisions – not compiling Dragon and Dungeon into PDFs and removing the 1e & 2e PDFs from sale are two examples. Having said that I still think the DDI is good value – I find the Compendium invaluable, there are a decent amount of good Dragon & Dungeon articles each month and the online CB is much better for me as a Mac user.
Perhaps WotC should listen to their customers a bit more though, and make more of an effort to reply to issues raised.
Richard
darjr
April 13, 2011
I left during the online CB debacle. I remember the rumors going around about what was happening and I defended WotC and said that they wouldn’t do something so dumb as to abandon one of their greatest to date digital tools. I’ve had to eat crow.
Then is when my players started to let it be known that they weren’t happy with 4e. The other debacles and the worsening quality and quantity of the ‘magazines’ nailed it. I don’t play 4e anymore, if I ever do I’ll not resubscribe.
Disemvowel
April 14, 2011
I was part of DDI from just before launch until a year out; I just did not (and do not) play 4e. I do not like it, and I played mostly to be around my friends who refuse to play anything that is not mushroom-stamped D&D. I like the concept of the CB being web-based now, as I only use Macs and I was screwed for that year (no Windows on my machine). I dunno, they seriously need to either:
1. Sell all the chump books at 30 bones a month (basically a subscription to D&D) and let the DDI stuff be free; or
2. Make DDI 15-20 a month and forgo hardbound/paperback products altogether. They must realize that you cannot halt piracy. Take a look at the RIAA and MPAA, plus many of the draconian DRMs for music and games…and learn.
Mike
April 15, 2011
Certainly, if one isn’t playing 4e, I don’t know what they would get out of DDI.
Personally, our group has three or four subscriptions and I think all of us are happy with what we get. I don’t use the articles that much but I use the compendium and the character builder all the time. That’s good enough for me.
Mossy
April 18, 2011
Greywulf’s post hits the mark. Open up a whole lot more WoTC… You’ll be happy you did because your fan base and profits for DDI will increase.
Mandis13
April 27, 2011
Honestly, DDi has disappointed me in many of the same ways you mentioned. It seems that the content has moved away from concrete stuff to use (although I love the maps, for sure) like classes, feats, races, and the like, and more into a “How to run/play D&D.”
I have been playing for 26 years. While I can understand the need to expand and get new players, I just feel increasingly alienated by the new content on DDi. Add in that my gaming group plays in a scratch-built world in any game we play, and it shrinks even more.
My one consolation, as a player, WAS the Character Builder. When the new one was announced, I immediately was worried, but willing to give it a shot, especially if it was being done to better sync with the Game Table. But the product, as NewbieDM said, seems like a beta test that I have to pay for.
And I can SEE the possible genius of it; really I can! Have at launch the ability to homerule stuff like in the old one, and 90% of my beef never shows up. But it just felt like a huge step backwards to me. If you are going to have something NEW, try to have it at LEAST equal to the old product, if not IMPROVED. And while it may be pretty, it isn’t as intuitive or functional as the old one, at least to me.
I dunno, I still see a lot of use for GMs, especially if they can fix the ‘paid beta’ feel of so many of their online tools. But, as a player, I just felt like the entire DDi experience is moving away from what I identify with as a D&D player and online subscriber.
Nevulus
December 5, 2012
I feel similar, but most important the final straw for me is when they dropped all production for the virtual table. I would gladly pay a monthly sub for a virtual table where i can import characters and monsters with a simple click. Throw some modules, new tile sets every month, and it would be totally worth it. But no, they couldnt. So I put my money where my mouth is, I have developed a virtual table client that runs on Pc, Mac osx, iOS, and Android 4.0+. You know what WoTC told me when I sent them my fully working prototype? They threatened to sue if I used anything remotely related to their D&D IP.
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June 21, 2013
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Nevulus-fan
August 13, 2014
Played D&D since 83 – that’s 21 years. 4e was a hard learn for me but I was blessed with a great group and had a lot of fun playing it thanks to them. Back in the early days of the DDI site, I got a sinking feeling when WotC stopped production for the virtual table. More concerned as I saw Dragon & Dungeon go digital then partials/compilations then just partials – all with ever dwindling content and quality. When your favorite part of the magazine are the comics, you know you’re in trouble. I’ve hung in there past the point of sanity and hope and have just canceled my DDI subscription today.
Nevulus – Regarding your virtual table client: Would you share or sell a copy ?