Is there a way to know or tell that my character sheets are using the new framework?
Yes! If you go to the Character Sheet and click the arrow next to it, then choose Preferences, the sidebar will pop up. Scroll to the bottom of the sidebar. If you see a version number, you are on the new version.
They're a set of optional rules release as playtest material for each class that adds variant features. This ranges from things like being to swap out spells on a long rest for a bard, to additional fighting styles for paladins or fighters.
I just want to say thank you for having Dave on for a more technically detailed update this week. Most of it was just mumbo-jumbo to me, but still pretty cool to hear more detail on how things are progressing int eh background. It helps people understand why adding new feature X is as simple as merely clicking a few buttons and it having it go live. Programming all this functionality is complex, labor intensive, and takes time. Despite what the armchair "programmers" on the forums would have us believe.
UA class feature variants- Did you guys finish the class variants yet? Looking to change my current Ranger over with the Class Variant UA
No. It's being worked on, but is part of a much larger revamp of things behind the scenes. DDB does not give out dates, so it will be available once it's ready.
My speculation based on the update (and previous ones):
1) Digital dice going alpha is probably waiting on getting all subscribers onto the new character sheet. They seem to have run into trouble with bringing a subset of subscribers onto the new sheet (which maybe was the cause of the 'sheet outages' this week?). Hopefully this means they'll be able to turn it on by next week. Fingers crossed. <-- wild and optimistic speculation, just remember
2) Class feature variants will require everyone being on the new sheet. They may or may not have these features ready to implement on the new framework. But they were only 5% through getting all accounts onto the new sheet. I assume that the speed of conversion will ramp up as they get the bugs worked out. But there are a lot of folks to convert. After that, if they haven't yet started working on the feature variants, we may have awhile to go.
AD
P.S. I suspect dice in the mobile app might be awhile.
Do you mean that I have to delete my old character sheets and make new ones?
No! Not at all. In the background, they are changing how the code works for how the character sheet is generated on the website. It should be completely invisible to you. You don't have to do a thing.
When I said 'new sheet', I should more properly have said 'new sheet backend coding'
So then what do you mean when you say "switch over" to the new sheets?
Disclaimer: I am using the word 'code' very loosely. I recognize that this is actually about database structure as well and all kinds of technical stuff I know very little about
One of the things they have discussed on the dev updates lately is that the original code used to generate the character sheet (and other things on the site) has limitations that make it difficult to add certain types of new features. So over the past couple of years they have been reworking that code in the background to make it more flexible. However, when they change things, they don't just automatically switch everyone over to the new code base. They need to test it and make sure it won't break anything when it goes 'live' on the site. Apparently, they have the ability to shift small blocks of users over to the new codebase at a time. They have apparently been doing that with the new code that is used to run the character sheet. So currently, some users are still getting a character sheet using the old code and some users are getting a character sheet using the new code. They look EXACTLY the same to you as the user. But the new code has the ability to handle things like dice rolling. So until they have moved everyone over to the new code, they can't turn on dice rolling for everybody.
Is that a better explanation? Probably not. I'm sure someone else can do better.
How about this even more awful analogy-- There is a robot in the background who is serving up all the stuff you see on the website. In the background, they are building a fancy new robot that can do all kinds of other stuff. Some of us are still getting served by the old robot. Some of us are now getting served by the fancy robot (i.e., the 'new sheet')
BadEye teased another announcement he was excited about but had to avoid saying it because it hadn't been officially announced by some other party (I'm guessing WotC) -- did we ever find out what this secret exciting thing was?
BadEye teased another announcement he was excited about but had to avoid saying it because it hadn't been officially announced by some other party (I'm guessing WotC) -- did we ever find out what this secret exciting thing was?
I'm sure that was the 50% discount code for the Theros book on DDB if you buy the physical book from a local gaming store in the WPN program.
Well, for the first 20 people who preorder from that store.
Loved the tech talk! I'm a senior developer working toward architect and I found it fascinating.
As a subscriber still not on the new character sheet, I wonder if it's because I'm doing weird homebrew things that are essentially edge cases not yet covered by the new sheet. ;P
Loved the tech talk! I'm a senior developer working toward architect and I found it fascinating.
As a subscriber still not on the new character sheet, I wonder if it's because I'm doing weird homebrew things that are essentially edge cases not yet covered by the new sheet. ;P
BadEye mentioned that they were briefly at 100% for subscribers but had to back off due to technical issues. I seem to recall some folks having trouble loading character sheets, and I suspect that might have been due to the 'failed transfer'. No idea if it's tied to homebrew or other weirdness. I'd be surprised if they hadn't accounted for that. But yes, as you say I wouldn't be surprised if there were small glitches for edge cases that only come up when the sheet is 'in the wild'. Hence the slow transfer to avoid massive breakdowns.
AD
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A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
With this update, are we able to use the updated versions of the psionic subclasses?
Edit: Or is it not live just yet?
Is digital dice going to function in mobile browsers? I'm really looking forward to this feature. Thanks DnD Beyond Team!
Is there a way to know or tell that my character sheets are using the new framework?
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InsidersYes! If you go to the Character Sheet and click the arrow next to it, then choose Preferences, the sidebar will pop up. Scroll to the bottom of the sidebar. If you see a version number, you are on the new version.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
What are UA class variants?
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ModeratorThey're a set of optional rules release as playtest material for each class that adds variant features. This ranges from things like being to swap out spells on a long rest for a bard, to additional fighting styles for paladins or fighters.
You can find the rules here
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I just want to say thank you for having Dave on for a more technically detailed update this week. Most of it was just mumbo-jumbo to me, but still pretty cool to hear more detail on how things are progressing int eh background. It helps people understand why adding new feature X is as simple as merely clicking a few buttons and it having it go live. Programming all this functionality is complex, labor intensive, and takes time. Despite what the armchair "programmers" on the forums would have us believe.
UA class feature variants- Did you guys finish the class variants yet? Looking to change my current Ranger over with the Class Variant UA
No. It's being worked on, but is part of a much larger revamp of things behind the scenes. DDB does not give out dates, so it will be available once it's ready.
My speculation based on the update (and previous ones):
1) Digital dice going alpha is probably waiting on getting all subscribers onto the new character sheet. They seem to have run into trouble with bringing a subset of subscribers onto the new sheet (which maybe was the cause of the 'sheet outages' this week?). Hopefully this means they'll be able to turn it on by next week. Fingers crossed. <-- wild and optimistic speculation, just remember
2) Class feature variants will require everyone being on the new sheet. They may or may not have these features ready to implement on the new framework. But they were only 5% through getting all accounts onto the new sheet. I assume that the speed of conversion will ramp up as they get the bugs worked out. But there are a lot of folks to convert. After that, if they haven't yet started working on the feature variants, we may have awhile to go.
AD
P.S. I suspect dice in the mobile app might be awhile.
Do you mean that I have to delete my old character sheets and make new ones?
No! Not at all. In the background, they are changing how the code works for how the character sheet is generated on the website. It should be completely invisible to you. You don't have to do a thing.
When I said 'new sheet', I should more properly have said 'new sheet backend coding'
AD
So then what do you mean when you say "switch over" to the new sheets?
Disclaimer: I am using the word 'code' very loosely. I recognize that this is actually about database structure as well and all kinds of technical stuff I know very little about
One of the things they have discussed on the dev updates lately is that the original code used to generate the character sheet (and other things on the site) has limitations that make it difficult to add certain types of new features. So over the past couple of years they have been reworking that code in the background to make it more flexible. However, when they change things, they don't just automatically switch everyone over to the new code base. They need to test it and make sure it won't break anything when it goes 'live' on the site. Apparently, they have the ability to shift small blocks of users over to the new codebase at a time. They have apparently been doing that with the new code that is used to run the character sheet. So currently, some users are still getting a character sheet using the old code and some users are getting a character sheet using the new code. They look EXACTLY the same to you as the user. But the new code has the ability to handle things like dice rolling. So until they have moved everyone over to the new code, they can't turn on dice rolling for everybody.
Is that a better explanation? Probably not. I'm sure someone else can do better.
How about this even more awful analogy-- There is a robot in the background who is serving up all the stuff you see on the website. In the background, they are building a fancy new robot that can do all kinds of other stuff. Some of us are still getting served by the old robot. Some of us are now getting served by the fancy robot (i.e., the 'new sheet')
AD
The first bit made perfect sense, thanks.
BadEye teased another announcement he was excited about but had to avoid saying it because it hadn't been officially announced by some other party (I'm guessing WotC) -- did we ever find out what this secret exciting thing was?
I'm sure that was the 50% discount code for the Theros book on DDB if you buy the physical book from a local gaming store in the WPN program.
Well, for the first 20 people who preorder from that store.
https://twitter.com/Wizards_DnD/status/1250834051914559488
Loved the tech talk! I'm a senior developer working toward architect and I found it fascinating.
As a subscriber still not on the new character sheet, I wonder if it's because I'm doing weird homebrew things that are essentially edge cases not yet covered by the new sheet. ;P
BadEye mentioned that they were briefly at 100% for subscribers but had to back off due to technical issues. I seem to recall some folks having trouble loading character sheets, and I suspect that might have been due to the 'failed transfer'. No idea if it's tied to homebrew or other weirdness. I'd be surprised if they hadn't accounted for that. But yes, as you say I wouldn't be surprised if there were small glitches for edge cases that only come up when the sheet is 'in the wild'. Hence the slow transfer to avoid massive breakdowns.
AD