| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kuje |
Posted - 06 Jan 2009 : 00:12:37
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drtoc/371
Note: I manged to call it the right issue # this time. :) |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Jan 2009 : 19:00:10
At this point, it is perhaps best if we return to the actual topic.  |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 08 Jan 2009 : 18:34:53
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
<snip> I'm so tluining tired of this "WotC's evil!" crap... 
Ahhhh, they're not evil!
Chaotic neutral, maybe, but not evil! 
No, no, no! That's now Unaligned. Get it right!  
Misaligned? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Jan 2009 : 17:02:26
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
<snip> I'm so tluining tired of this "WotC's evil!" crap...
Ahhhh, they're not evil!
Chaotic neutral, maybe, but not evil!
No, no, no! That's now Unaligned. Get it right! |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 08 Jan 2009 : 15:15:14
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
<snip> I'm so tluining tired of this "WotC's evil!" crap...
Ahhhh, they're not evil!
Chaotic neutral, maybe, but not evil! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Jan 2009 : 14:57:26
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
Well, the honesty comes 8 months late, after advertising the importance of DDi to the 4th Edition, and encouraging people to sign up, while well aware that much of what they were promising was going to be vaporware.
I'm seriously doubting they knew it was going to be vaporware. It's bad mojo for them to knowingly promise something they know they can't deliver.
First, let me amend my statement slightly to be clearer: 8 months ago, when WOTC marketing was promoting DDi as integral to the publication of the 4th Ed., someone (and probably more like some persons) had to know that most of the features their company was promising as available in the near future not only did not exist then, but weren't likely to exist any time soon.
That belief comes from the fact that these features, like character visualizer and the game table (which, if you'll recall, was the really big one that was supposed to forever alter the way D&D is played) have now been outright cancelled (as opposed to postponed), even if Bill Slavicsek doesn't use those words precisely.
Nearly a year after the initial promotion of the product, and they don't even have enough to offer a beta? Or even a suggestion of when a beta might become available (like 4Q 2009, for example)? Nope. They're just cancelled.
Wikipedia defines:
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
Announcing software for use with a shipping product that is not available nearly a year after that product ships is promoting vaporware. Heck, we're nearly halfway through to an expected 4.5 Ed., according to the anticipated WOTC timeline.
And if no one knew that what they were promising was going to be vaporware, then that reflects nothing less than mind-numbing incompetence at the managerial level.
In the time since they first started promising us this stuff, they've had the death of a project head and a round of layoffs. These are undoubtedly factors in the continued delay. I've also heard something about them having used someone else's code for the gaming table. If that's true, that means they had to go back to square one and start over -- and unless you increase your staff, that causes a delay.
While I am quite familiar with the definition of vaporware, I'm not so cynical as to believe that they knew that was what was going to happen. They planned on rolling this stuff out a while ago, and I see no indication that they knew there were going to be any problems.
I think they were overly optimistic about how long it would take to develop stuff. And there may have been some incompetence going on somewhere, or at least some serious blowing of smoke up the backsides of those at the top. At the same time, it's also likely (moreso, I think) that WotC may not have had people with the skill sufficient for what they were asked to do, and/or they may have been asking way too much from too small a group.
Unless a WotC staffer comes out and says exactly what happened, we don't know -- and we won't know until that happens. We can speculate all day long, but your theory doesn't reflect any kind of good business practice. Admittedly, my theory doesn't reflect good practices, either, but there's a hell of a difference between honestly failing to meet an anticipated goal and never trying while saying you were.
And I know it's easy to hate WotC for what they've done, but why does that mean that everything they do has to be translated as deliberately screwing people? Do people honestly believe that the folks at WotC are sitting around and scheming about how to put themselves out of work by driving away all their customers? Come on, let's get the anger out of here and use even just a tiny bit of reason and common sense! I'm so tluining tired of this "WotC's evil!" crap... |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 07 Jan 2009 : 16:36:42
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
Well, the honesty comes 8 months late, after advertising the importance of DDi to the 4th Edition, and encouraging people to sign up, while well aware that much of what they were promising was going to be vaporware.
Arguably, what's more disturbing is that they're making this statement in a subscription service. Have they released this information to the public at large?
They've made the announcement available to the general public on the latest Digital Insider #20. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 Jan 2009 : 16:32:23
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
Well, the honesty comes 8 months late, after advertising the importance of DDi to the 4th Edition, and encouraging people to sign up, while well aware that much of what they were promising was going to be vaporware.
I'm seriously doubting they knew it was going to be vaporware. It's bad mojo for them to knowingly promise something they know they can't deliver. |
| scererar |
Posted - 06 Jan 2009 : 01:44:55
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Can you confirm some of the stuff in the Ampersand article? It sounds like they are no longer planning on having the DM Table or Character Visualizer ready in the coming year from the snippets I've read.
here is a very small snip of the ampersand article
"After that… well, we’re working on that. We had grand plans and we were overly ambitious in what could actually be accomplished in the time we had. We don’t want to overextend or overpromise anymore. We’re going to finish the D&D Character Builder, then take stock of where we are and what we can and should concentrate on next. Things are in the works, and I look forward to the day when the whole grand plan comes together. But we’ll be more realistic in our goals and timelines moving forward. I’ll talk more about this in the weeks and months ahead, both here and in Digital Insider".
I for one appreciate the honesty on their part to admit to past issues with DDI and to give an honest answer that they plan to reflect more before doing in the future.
mods - if this quotation is against any new or pending policy WOTC may have, please delete |
| Brian R. James |
Posted - 06 Jan 2009 : 00:56:31
'Ecology of the Sharn' was supposed to be in Dragon this month as well. Hmmm. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Jan 2009 : 00:25:35
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drtoc/371
Note: I manged to call it the right issue # this time. :)
Indeed, you did. *smirk*
The "Bright City" article sounds kinda interesting. Though, what I'm really curious about, is Brian's "Playing Dhampyr" article. I wouldn't mind reading that.  |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 06 Jan 2009 : 00:24:34
Can you confirm some of the stuff in the Ampersand article? It sounds like they are no longer planning on having the DM Table or Character Visualizer ready in the coming year from the snippets I've read. |
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