Word of Wizards - Digital Insider #17: Beta and Playtests

Digital Insider #17: Beta and Playtests

Just when I thought that Randy Buehler won't be able to make his final address, here it is and he sounds very optimistic given the circumstances.

There are no mentions of his dismissal from the job but he has offered many good news and previews of what to expect from December for subscribers and non-subscribers.

The public beta of the Character Builder will be launched sometime around next month (January 2009) as mentioned before. It will allows users to build characters from level 1 up to level 3 including data from October's magazines and large parts of Martial Power. Beta testers from the closed playtest would still like to download this version of the beta because it also fixes some bugs and User Interface issues.

The response from the playtest documents from DDI has been well received. So well received that Randy mentions that subscribers can expect to see more playtesting documents than they had initially planned and that certain book content will be released earlier and usable, exclusively for subscribers as previews.

For Planescape fans, Randy confirms that the Mercykillers that will appear in this month's Dragon is one of the factions in Sigil and will give advice on how to incorporate them into your campaign.

This is most likely Randy's last Digital Insider and I would have to say that it was one of the best efforts that WoTC did to pick up their bittersweet launch of 4E. When doubt and confusion was cast upon the fate of the DDI, his weekly attempt had given a clear comprehension of the situation that would have made matters worse otherwise.

I'm sad to see this being the last time that I will hear from Randy as I have been trying my best to catch up with him, so Randy if you're reading this, this ones for you.

You have my best wishes.