Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Problem with Wizards of the Coast (Part 3)

Nothing is wrong with Wizards of the Coast!!

I have a little beef to pick with all the players out there who have nothing to do but complain and gripe about Wizards of the Coast.  This is not a hate post to all those people, but an post on how to go about venting their frustrations without sounding like babies while doing it.

I will showcase 3 parts on the following topics: 1. The bad, 2. The Good, and 3. My thoughts.

In the first installment I pointed out some of the extreme negativity towards DDI and Wizards of the Coast. The second article showcased the benefits of being a member of DDI and how there is nothing wrong with how the company is going about its business.

This last installment are my personal thoughts on WotC about the points talked about in the previous articles.
I think WotC has given us the best support it has ever given their players.  I personally love the product that is out there.  Without all these tools at my diposal, gaming would take a lot longer.  I know that there are kinks in the items they put out, but in this day and age which company does not have kinks.  Windows is the perfect example of kinks in the system, yet most people still use it despite other OSs out there that are maybe not as user friendly but functional nonetheless. 
I understand that people will get frustrated from time to time with the product, or have certain issues with the functionality of the product itself.  I don't have a problem with people addressing the problems, heck I have addressed a few myself.  It is the way some people address the situation.  Threats, swearing, insults do not jive in my book.  These obscenities gets us nowhere.  Those people who threaten to cancel or sho do cancel miss out on a lot of great content and functionality in their gaming.  For the prices I've listed in the previous article, it is well worth it to remain a member.
Pirating is a reality in this day and age, and right or wrong it does affect how the information is presented to us.  I would assume that Wizards went online with their tools partly to combat pirating of their items.  To pput out a great product the company needs money to pay all the people involved int the fabrication of these tools.  Yet those that seem throw the biggest insults are the ones who pirate the most.  The previous CB was downloadable, and therefore piratable.  No more pirating. That is what they seem to be pissed about.
I reiterate that I do not think that everyone is like the above, but quite a few like to start fires and things escalate and then everyone is unhappy.
As a DM the tools are great for me.  I make the characters, build the monsters, use the published adventures and hone my skills with the plethora of article available to me as a player and a DM.  The money I pay is peanuts compared to individual prices you would pay for each item. 
Think about it; 3.5 was the most cumbersome system of all the editions so far.  By the time you got through any of the sourcebooks to create your character, you could have played many sessions of the supported 4th Edition genre.  Rules, powers, feats, items, anything is available at your fingertips for your gaming session with the Compendium.
The online CB did have a rough start, but has since improved and incorporated a lot of the features that you all wanted.  Slowly but surely, they are honing the tool and it is now an excellent functioning machine.  There are still issues to tackle, but if you now go to the know issues list for the CB, the list has shrunk considerably.  All it took was time!  Three months after its release and the major bugs are out of it.  They now only have to work on the remainder of the minor functionality issues.  The new Adventure Tools is going to follow the same path and guess what?  Within a few months all the bugs will be worked out and this too will become an invaluable tool.
So to WotC and the current Insider subscribers, thumbs up to you for being patient and understanding that these tools are an ongoing process.  Things are getting better all the time.  For the ones who rant...well you are all missing out.
These are my thoughts and my beliefs and I am sticking by them! 
Do you think I am giving WotC too much praise?  Do you think WotC are or are not doing their jobs?  Drop us a comment and tell us what you think!! Thanks for dropping by.