Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 121
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I had the opportunity to play with WotC's new program and I wanted to cry. Why they didn't just make an agreement with Lone Wolf. The new program is super clunky, stupid in execution, and no where near as user friendly as Hero Lab.
Thank You for making a program worth using. I rolled another 1? |
#1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Twin Cities Area, MN, USA
Posts: 1,325
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Hero Lab with the Community-Created content is still better for 5e, but they do have the backing of Twitch and lots of developers to work out the kinks. One thing to keep in mind is that DnD Beyond's beta is currently being developed with a "mobile first" philosophy. Why you are seeing is the mobile verison, expanded to the computer. It is not the final PC view.
They are also going to integrate DnD Beyond into Twitch for streaming and online games. At-table support is coming but is not their first priority. For now, I find a hero lab printed sheet to be the best at table character sheet. RW Project: Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition homebrew world Other Tools: CampaignCartographer, Cityographer, Dungeonographer, Evernote |
#2 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Finger Lakes Region, New York
Posts: 59
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I do agree that Hero Lab is a solid product. I have quite a bit of money tied up in it. However, given that there is no formal licensing agreement with Wizards of the Coast, I think that Hero Lab is a substandard product for D&D 5th edition; it is a compromise. That is no fault of the talented HL developers and the many dedicated community volunteers. It's just an artifact of being forced to jam a square product peg into a round licensing hole.
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#3 |
Senior Member
Volunteer Data File Contributor
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Chicago, IL (USA)
Posts: 10,729
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Quote:
Hero Lab Resources: Pathfinder - d20pfsrd and Pathfinder Pack Setup 3.5 D&D (d20) - Community Server Setup 5E D&D - Community Server Setup Hero Lab Help - Hero Lab FAQ, Editor Tutorials and Videos, Editor & Scripting Resources. Created by the community for the community - Realm Works kickstarter backer (Alpha Wolf) and Beta tester.- d20 HL package volunteer editor. |
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Finger Lakes Region, New York
Posts: 59
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I definitely don't mind the UI in D&D Beyond, and as has already been said, it is particularly well suited for mobile devices. But there is a pause while data is accessed when you make a choice during character creation, which causes the screen to gray out and a little spinning working symbol to appear. It is only for a second, but it gets old. I wonder if they will optimize the communication between the server and front end to get rid of that.
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#5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 453
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#6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Twin Cities Area, MN, USA
Posts: 1,325
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Quote:
But I don't want to dump on Twitch or WoTC, I actually very bullish on DnD Beyond. This is a very different situation than the Morningstar debacle. I would hope that the license with DnD Beyond and the various VTTs would mean that there is hope for an official license for Hero Lab. Even if I subscribe to DnD Beyond, I would still use Hero Lab for my homebrew campaign world because of its integration with RealmWorks. I see DnD Beyond being useful for a quick one-off adventure, where you can use it to quickly build a character, including giving a few preferences and having it randomize the rest. DnD Beyond will be nice for players, especially those new to the game that need a lot of handholding. But as a DM, I don't find the character builder that compelling without a tactical console and other in-game DM tools. If I subscribe to DnD Beyond, it would be mostly for the universal search of all licensed content. RW Project: Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition homebrew world Other Tools: CampaignCartographer, Cityographer, Dungeonographer, Evernote |
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#7 |
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