I spent some time last week making up a few PCs and NPCs for a one-off game where my players would be facing off against a NPC party in some mystical hoo-ha games in the feywild.
I used the first 'real' release of the DDI character builder and it was pretty slick. They were all 6th level so not terribly complicated to roll up but it was significantly faster than by hand.
Pros:
1. Auto generated everything. The characters sheets and power cards it built included all the bonuses for each weapon/power/feat combo which made it a lot simpler for the less number-crunchy players to handle the new characters on the fly. In several instances I thought a number was incorrectly calculated but found out that I was the one who was wrong.
2. Quick changes. Easy to try out different builds. really made me wish I was a player!
3. Cheap. 5 bucks seems like a steal for all the powers, items, feats, classes, races from all the books published and Dragon and previews etc. Did I mention that 2 of the PCs were PHBII classes and one a FR class? And chose powers and items from dragon articles I have not gotten around to reading yet? I almost feel guilty, almost.
4. Item shopping. This made choosing gear for higher level PCs much, much faster (and I think more balanced). The window even included the guidelines for item selection by level so I did not have to look it up.
Cons:
1. Should have been out when the PHB was released. Nuff said. Software dev sucks like that.
2. I noticed some minor bugs. One feat did not seem to be added into a stat, a power seemed to have filler text instead of the real text etc. Nothing that seemed like a big problem to me.
3. No mac support. I did work around this by printing the characters to PDF files so I could send them out but it would be nicer for my players if they could all use the tools and I could run it native on my laptop.
4. Item/power/character info generated is not in a pretty format. There seems to be the possibility for people to take the output and pull it into their templates so hopefully soon the enworld boffins will have some sweet looking character sheets with the nice auto-generated info on them.
Overall I am very impressed. I have not used any of the 3rd party 3E character builders so I can't compare that. I work in software and playing with this I was struck by the number of points of possible failure with this many race/class/power/item/feat combinations. That it works this well is impressive, even if it is late.
Cons:3. No mac support.
This. I really, really liked the Beta character builder and love that the program does all the math for my less-than-gifted players. However, I can't get the full version to run on my 5-year-old PC and can't download it to either of my Macs. I am baffled that WotC has decided to ignore such a huge percentage of the potential buyers out there by neglecting to build a Mac version.
I'm sure they'll get around to it, and I can afford to wait, since I DM and don't really need to make characters, but it's still annoying as heck.
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Cons: 3. No mac support.This. I really, really liked the Beta character builder and love that the program does all the math for my less-than-gifted players. However, I can't get the full version to run on my 5-year-old PC and can't download it to either of my Macs. I am baffled that WotC has decided to ignore such a huge percentage of the potential buyers out there by neglecting to build a Mac version.
I'm sure they'll get around to it, and I can afford to wait, since I DM and don't really need to make characters, but it's still annoying as heck.
<tech talk>
As for MacOS support, I'm reasonably certain .NET is a Microsoft-native proprietary platform. IIRC, there was a big hue-and-cry that MS should make cross-platform versions of it, but I don't know if anybody (esp. MS) is actually working on that. 'Til then, unless they want to rebuild the Char. Bldr. from the ground up on *nix/OSX, I think it'll stay Win-only. You might be able to run it through a Windows emulator/virtual machine though. (Not sure how legal that is, but if your OS is never going to be supported...)
I tried out the Char. Bldr. at NY Comic Con, and my s.o. & I were very impressed with it, both as a gaming tool, and as a pretty intuitive piece of software. I've been tooling around with it for a few days since, and it really handles well and the interface elements (buttons, menus, etc.) do what you expect them to do. And nearly every step offers the ability to go through char. creation/modification/transfer at your own pace (slow to fast) and in the method you prefer, with some room for customization/houseruling (see below).
For instance, I have some 4e chars that I spec'd out on paper previously, that incorporate Pathfinder AP fluff & a couple PF-specific weapons/items/feats. The fluff stitched in pretty seamlessly, and I can add new items/weapons/etc. and save them for repeat-usage (as part of a "campaign file" - which is distributable). Unfortunately, you still can't have custom crunch elements interface properly with the Bldr-crunch. It would be nice to be able to simply rename an existing element (like cg. Divinity feats to custom deities) or "start-from-storebought" and tweak the numbers on existing weapons/rituals/etc. However, folks have been asking for more tweakability and Wizards is listening.
Oh yeah, and for comparison, my group uses HeroForge, one of the better 3e character creation/modification homebrew software pkgs. I think HF has a better handle on customization of weapons than Wizards' Char. Bldr., but it does suffer from a similar inability/difficulty to add custom crunch (unless you crack it open in Excel/Visual Basic and muck around inside).
Interface-wise, the Char. Bldr. operates very similarly to HeroForge, but has a slicker look (obviously), incorporates full-text descriptions (prohibited to others due to copyright), and the multiple levels of export/distribution functionality just blow the homebrew software out of the water.
I also really dig the customizability of the finished char. sheet that's built-in, but that needs some work (printing to PDF is wonky, and some stat/text "blocks" are more customizable than others). It might be nice if they eventually release a template for transforming the XML output of the Bldr. into homebrew char. sheets. But as-is, it's pretty damn sweet.
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My biggest complaint was not being able to "turn off" the Forgotten Realms deities and backgrounds. Since I'm not using that material in my campaign it was a drag to have to wade through the stuff to get what I wanted. I did like the fact that you can get the stats formated in bbc style for on-line games though.
My biggest complaint was not being able to "turn off" the Forgotten Realms deities and backgrounds. Since I'm not using that material in my campaign it was a drag to have to wade through the stuff to get what I wanted.
You can turn off any element from any source individually (or by category/source book/etc.). On the menu, go to Manage -> Campaign Setting(s). On the Restrictions tab, there's a nested tree of game elements, organized by book source & type (background, race, class, etc.).
Just unclick the Realms stuff you don't want (deities/regions), and leave-clicked the stuff you want to keep (like races/classes). Save the modded list as "Dave's Campaign" or whatever, and there you go.
Once Wizards sorts out the custom-crunch stuff, I plan to build Pathfinder AP source elements into a convenient campaign file. Heck, if the logistics could be worked out, there could well become an interesting market for 3PP to release their 4E game material in campaign file format...
Hmm, if you check out the Char. Builder FAQ, they advise you to install Microsoft's .NET v3.5sp1 first. It doesn't automatically update like other stuff in Windows, so perhaps that's why it's not working on your PC. The hardware reqs are late-'90s standard, so a 5yo machine should be able to easily handle them.
Yeah ... I installed the .NET program and even called a WotC tech guy to help walk me through it, but when it is installed and tries to complete the first update, it stalls. So, I have essentially the Beta program (only runs through the first three levels) but all of the data, including Dragon mags, new books, etc.
Maybe I'll call up the WotC tech guys one more time.
Yeah ... I installed the .NET program and even called a WotC tech guy to help walk me through it, but when it is installed and tries to complete the first update, it stalls. So, I have essentially the Beta program (only runs through the first three levels) but all of the data, including Dragon mags, new books, etc.
Maybe I'll call up the WotC tech guys one more time.
Perhaps your antivirus software or firewall is blocking it? On my system, the installer wanted access to lots of system files/internet servers that kept choking on my security software (Kaspersky). Might need to temporarily disable the software for a few minutes while the install chugs away.
Also, (a) did the .NET upgrade successfully show up in your Add/Remove Progs list as the correct version (3.5 SP1); and (b) did they walk you through completely removing all the beta/previously aborted installs? Windows uninstall is lousy for removing all traces of an old program, and that could easily screw up a new install. The Char. Bldr. FAQ says that you need to work with a completely clean install for the thing to work properly. (Except they don't say how to get a clean slate... *sigh*)
Hmm, if you check out the Char. Builder FAQ, they advise you to install Microsoft's .NET v3.5sp1 first. It doesn't automatically update like other stuff in Windows, so perhaps that's why it's not working on your PC. The hardware reqs are late-'90s standard, so a 5yo machine should be able to easily handle them.Yeah ... I installed the .NET program and even called a WotC tech guy to help walk me through it, but when it is installed and tries to complete the first update, it stalls. So, I have essentially the Beta program (only runs through the first three levels) but all of the data, including Dragon mags, new books, etc.
Maybe I'll call up the WotC tech guys one more time.
If you want to upgrade to the full version and still have the Beta on your machine, you need to go to Add/Remove programs and remove the Beta.
Yeah ... I installed the .NET program and even called a WotC tech guy to help walk me through it, but when it is installed and tries to complete the first update, it stalls. So, I have essentially the Beta program (only runs through the first three levels) but all of the data, including Dragon mags, new books, etc.
Maybe I'll call up the WotC tech guys one more time.
Perhaps your antivirus software or firewall is blocking it? On my system, the installer wanted access to lots of system files/internet servers that kept choking on my security software (Kaspersky). Might need to temporarily disable the software for a few minutes while the install chugs away.
Also, (a) did the .NET upgrade successfully show up in your Add/Remove Progs list as the correct version (3.5 SP1); and (b) did they walk you through completely removing all the beta/previously aborted installs? Windows uninstall is lousy for removing all traces of an old program, and that could easily screw up a new install. The Char. Bldr. FAQ says that you need to work with a completely clean install for the thing to work properly. (Except they don't say how to get a clean slate... *sigh*)
It might be the antivirus software, which is reliably wonky.
At this point, though, I have to, as you mention, go through so many steps to actually get rid of all the Beta stuff (the WotC guy walked me through about 4 different "hidden" areas where Beta files has been stored), that each subsequent attempt is a bigger and bigger pain in the ass, and I have no idea in which of several issues the problem actually lies. This, by the way, is why I hate computers.
At this point, though, I have to, as you mention, go through so many steps to actually get rid of all the Beta stuff (the WotC guy walked me through about 4 different "hidden" areas where Beta files has been stored), that each subsequent attempt is a bigger and bigger pain in the ass, and I have no idea in which of several issues the problem actually lies. This, by the way, is why I hate computers.
Computers aren't the problem, the problem is shoddy programming style. There ought to be a standard etiquette when it comes to professional programs - here's your sandbox, so long as your app plays nicely in it, there won't be a problem. But of course, companies big & small hire a bunch of code monkeys in closets to churn out reams of code, with little regard for maintenance by the end user (or even by later programmers).
It's a shame that the bldr. leaves so many haphazard remnants, but sadly that's std. operating procedure at lots of software companies these days. Perhaps the WotC tech folks can just email you a true "clean uninstall" program. I'm sure the development team has one, somewhere...
The full, shiny version of the Char. Bldr. is definitely worth (some of) the trouble though. Maybe you can try it out from someone else's computer. Good luck...