Director of Sales
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Yesterday, Cosmo was about to mock me for being a Mac user. Yes, yes, Cosmo, I acknowledge your superior ability to use this kind of software in your D&D game.
Now now... Point of order: I was mocking Vic.
And given that this entire office runs on Macintosh (which I am typing on right now), it's something I like to razz him about at every given opportunity.
:)
-cos
PC guy
How dare WW hack WotC's server and replace them with pictures so subpar that it would drive customers away from 4E rather then attract them. I mean WotC's PR campaign has been flawless so far and hordes of people are clamoring for the new edition. This is so divergent from anything we have seen so far from WotC that I cannot believe they would have anything to do with these pictures.
[/sarcasm]
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Chief Technical Officer
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*cough*UseMapTool*cough*
*cough*Itsmuchbetter*cough*
Need a lozenge there, buddy?
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Chief Technical Officer
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Bigger images here:
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/02/25/exclusive-gallery-du.html
MapTools doesn't support 3D, but it's just a virtual battlemat. It's hard to do 3d on a battlemat too.
....
that's because my battlemat is 2 dimensional grid not a 3 dimensional virtual representation of dungeon. I sure hope the virtual game table can support 3 dimensional battles: because my gaming group likes to fly arround (A lot of headaches with that).
The character renderings are scarry. I am not impressed.
The virtual game table screen shot was cool though.
I guess the 2-D vs. 3-D discussion or can of worms that I opened up was mostly based off my...obviously mistaken impression that the Digital Dungeon was supposed to allow play as interesting, or at least nearly as interesting as person to person play.
Now obviously the human imagination is far off from being fully and easily replicated in computer games. But I was not led to understand that this would simply be a digital mapper, but instead a way to all sit around your computers in one room or a dozen spread out over the world, and play D&D.
D&D to my knowledge has never been a solely 2-D game, or at least not since I developed my spacial thinking skills in the 4th grade or so.
I just thought that since it is a big company building this software, and since they have all the time in the world to do it, (I mean does it really have to be released right with the new edition? Sure would be nice, but why not put it off, or better start building it years ahead of the new edition to be ready then) that the end result should be impressive, not strongly restrictive, crappy graphics quality, and frankly banal imagery.
This was one of the few parts of 4E that was really giving me a possible exciting feeling, and not just a languid level of bare interest. If correctly done this could have vast potential for not only expanding the gamer market but also allowing people like me to game with my friends without burning Gaia's precious bodily fluids in vast quantities (I or my players on average drive 106 miles round trip to game 1 time every 2 weeks).
Anyhow, I guess 2-D it is. Like the D&D miniatures game. Which I do enjoy for a simple and easy diversion while awaiting the main event of a real pen and paper rpg experience.
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I know that this is redundant given my prior post, but it is pretty obvious by the comments made about the interface that no one (other than me that is) who has posted on this topic actually uses Wizards' DUNGEON TILES series of products.
That's what the Dungeon Tiles look like folks, with the exception of the cool 3D urns and 3D effects on the statue's base.
For those who think that D&D is "moving to video game status," this should eliminate those worries. Instead, the video screen simulates products that you can buy for your home table. That way, if you learned to play using DDI and can find a group who is close to you, you can buy the TILES and Minis and feel at home.
Then if you feel like it, you can abandon minis/tiles all together (if that's your style of play) or upgrade to FlipMats, Dundjinni, or World Works for your terrain.
The characters renderings appear to be getting better. Here are some new screenshots from the alpha version of the character generator: