MT delayed?

[gariig]

That's no too bad - my preferred generator* won't, either.

* Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word, huh?

 

[CRGreathouse]

Microsoft Word, huh?

It's the fastest generator I've ever seen. I just click "New Document" and start typing very quickly. Since I know the relevant rules by heart, it only takes a few minutes to complete a reasonably complex character. Simple characters are easier - an orc warband of 10 + leader would only take about 7 minutes.

 

[Thaytor]

To those who are wary on what they will pay for master tools
how much did you pay for CR...? 50 ...CR update...?30 ..CR2?80 CR2 expansion?50 250 dragon mags ? 65 FR atlas? 45... rough prices but no more than 10 over for a total of 320 ... plus $30 per core book plus $20 for supplements with phb dm and mm and the 10 supps that is another $390 for a rough total of $710 in 2nd ed stuff
how much is invested so far in 3rd $20 for phb $25 for dmg $25 mm $20 per supp times 6 total $190 ... lets face it we are trying to make wizards rich but don't skimp on what you will pay we will all pay around $60-$70 on mwt. grumble about how it does not do what we want it to do and buy the expansion set ...

What I would like to see is $50 or so initial release w/ phb dmg and mm info. supps at $10-15 a shot preferably 2 supps per disk... and a monthly update from dragon.

 

[EricNoah]

IT WONT EVEN GENERATE A BAND OF ORCS!!!!!! Sounding pretty crappy to me. Thank god for PCGen and RPM.

Let me clarify.

If you want your run-of-the-mill orc from the MM, the steps are:

Start MT
Click Open, browse to Monster folder
Click Orc
Click Stat Block
voila, you get an orc just as from the MM, including gear, skill points spent, feats spent.

If you want to tweak him, you can -- add different equipment, spend skill points differently. That's more clicks.

What you don't get randomly is a 5th level barbarian orc with a flaming double axe. You'll need to craft that guy by hand. And... I've already said too much but just needed to make sure you understood that standard monsters are very few clicks away, while classed monsters (or "advanced" monsters) take a little more time because you have more choices to make.

 

[poilbrun]

My main complaint about MT is simple : as it is done by WotC, you will only ever see products by WotC supported, whereas in program as PC Gen, you have materials from a variety of sources... MT may be better than PC Gen or not, but as I use a lot of third party products, I won't pay for MT, since I know that when it is released, it will only have the 3 core rulebooks, and afterwards will only support the WotC stuffs. Does it mean MT sucks? Certainly not, but unfortunately, people who like 3rd party products as me will be very disappointed IMO...

 

[noretoc]

I also have to say that MT is IMO a complete waste of money that any programmer could haev had done by now, with the little content in it. I'm sorry, but it is all frills, bells and whistles I think. The Character generator is pretty good, but it is mosty interface. The data is small. I know people want a nice clean interface, but I would really rather have something that will do just what I need. As a DM, we need Something to quickly get stats for monsters, npc, with the ability to go in and take more time if we want to. I really like core rules. It was pretty perfect for what I wanted. If I wanted a fast encounter, I could say five npc 2 thiefs, 2 fighters, 1 cleric, at level 5-6. Bang, all there with equipment. If master tools can't handle this, it has no use for me. I can fill out a character sheet just faster than I could go through the intercace, and if I just wanted stock monsters, I would just go to the book. There is a nice stat block there with hit points and everything.

 

[thalmin]

*I also have to say that MT is IMO a complete waste of money that any programmer could haev had done by now, with the little content in it.*
That's fine for you programmers who had the time and ability to make one on your own. But for us with lesser computer skills we kinda need a program like MT that can be easily purchased and installed and then used.

 

[Hatchling Dragon]

And... I've already said too much but just needed to make sure you understood that standard monsters are very few clicks away, while classed monsters (or "advanced" monsters) take a little more time because you have more choices to make.

No, acutally what you said was 'just right', or nearly so. Now, if you wouldn't get into too much (more) trouble, could you mention if you can Copy a character/monster you've created? This of course would speed creation of 'packs', as not every single individual will vary all that much once you've established the 'core' creature.

Let me just point out that the little bit you 'let slip' has stopped my enthusiasm for the MT project from totaly derailing. I rarely ever bother to even look at 'official' release information, as of course it's totally biased and self-serving tripe, understandably so of course.

Maybe they would re-consider the 'Web Enhancement' of a book to being the plug-in for MT instead of just stuff you'd have to print out. Or they could add whatever 'goodies' into the plug-in module, no need to print anything then.

Hatchling Dragon

 

[machine]

Me, I'd easily spend as much as I'd spend on a typical computer game -- somewhere in the $40-50 range -- for the base MT as it currently stands (character generator, monster generator, race customizer, and the "no frills" customizers built in). I would hope that "small" add-ons would be somewhere in the $10-20 range, and large add-ons would be somewhere in the $30 range, and that I could have a pretty complete collection of goodies overall (class books, FR stuff, and psionics plus the core stuff and maybe an upgraded suite of customizers) for under $100. As much as I use the computer for doing my D&D stuff it would certainly be worth it.

Count me in on Eric's opinion on MT. Hell, I bought a laptop to do my DMing for. I currently use scanned maps, excel spreadsheets, and Word for my tasks. It doesn't have the nice artwork of a DM screen, put it is good. MT can only help my game and prep time.

machine.

 

[CRGreathouse]

MT can only help my game and prep time.

I wonder about that for myself. If I was to buy Master Tools, would it save me *any* time at all?

I don't know.