It'll have all the information there, but in case of high traffic blocking nonregistered users: First off, download the and let WotC patch it up as far as they will. Alas, it is not supported anymore.
Then download CBLoader Just follow the readme in the zip and you're good to go. If you're worried about security you can check out but I've installed it on three systems myself and it's never triggered Norton or HouseCall. Finally, is a package containing the up-to-date.part files for errata changes, Dragon Magazine stuff, and even Essentials stuff. Again, same as above, it's as clean as Norton and HouseCall can tell. A former member.
Posted 4/1/11 4:27 PM. this is a pay-to-use forum.it should be disclosed as such, and non-members cannot read material. It'll have all the information there, but in case of high traffic blocking nonregistered users: First off, download the and let WotC patch it up as far as they will. Alas, it is not supported anymore. Then download CBLoader Just follow the readme in the zip and you're good to go. If you're worried about security you can check out but I've installed it on three systems myself and it's never triggered Norton or HouseCall. Just a note for users, the download is the (current) version 1.1.6 according to the CB website the read me does not describe how to use the loader: extract into your character builder directory (for me c: games D&D character).
To use the CB hack click the CBLoader application (first it will install itself to the main system.after that it will load the character builder) Finally, is a package containing the up-to-date.part files for errata changes, Dragon Magazine stuff, and even Essentials stuff. Again, same as above, it's as clean as Norton and HouseCall can tell. This link does not work: It takes you to the drop box site (again, create an account, it's free this time) but this link give s a error 404: We can't find the page you're looking for. Check out our FAQ or forums for help.
Or maybe you should try heading home. Thank you for posting this. A former member. Posted 4/7/11 2:37 PM.
Download Current version: OR Visit the CBLoader releases folder to download the most current version. Click the newest version. Click the RAW button to download the zip Installation Unzip CBLoader.exe and NativeDebugWrappers.dll, default.cbconfig and Custom into your Character Builder folder. This is C: Program Files (x86) Wizards of the Coast Character Builder CharBuilderFullp on my machine. Be careful to place it in the CharBuilderFullp, however if this does not exist, or if you have updated only the Character Builder folder, you may choose to place it there.
Create a shortcut to CBLoader.exe and place it in the start menu/desktop. You should use this shortcut to launch the Character Builder from now on. Usage Simply run the CBLoader.exe. The first time it is created you will notice 4 new files in the%appdata% cbloader directory. ( C: Users username AppData Roaming CBLoader on my machine):. combined.dnd40.main: Contains the unencrypted XML that contains all of the data used by Character Builder. This file will be automatically replaced every time the character builder data file is updated.
You should not modify this directly, but might reference it often when building custom behavior. combined.dnd40.part: This is the location where you should place your house rules, it will never be overwritten. Any new rules elements added to this file will be shown in the character builder, in addition, if you create a rules element with the same 'internal-id' element as an element in the combined.dnd40.main file you will replace the default version with your custom version. combined.dnd40: Contains the final data that is loaded by character builder when it is loaded. You should not modify this file directly.
cbloader.merged: Contains information necessary for tracking.part file changes. This should never be modified. In addition, you can use as many custom.part files as you like, from multiple sources, by placing them in the Custom folder included in this package. For example, if you create a file full of custom rules named jhammcampaigncustomrules.part you could distribute that file to your friends and have them place that file in the Custom directory and cbloader should pick it up and merge it in the next time you load it.part files in the 'custom' folder follow the same rules as the combined.dnd40.part file. Note that the custom directory is, by default, included in your Character Builder directory, not in%appdata% cbloader. Hard Patch Mode (not recommended) Alternatively you can run navigate to your character builder folder in cmd.exe and type cbloader.exe -p this will create a 'hard' patch of your character builder, causing it to always use your custom file no matter how it is launched. This can be useful if you are having trouble having your changes show up in regular mode, specifically if the command prompt does not disappear when character builder loads, and you receive an error about a pipeline after you close character builder.
However, please note that you will still need to rerun cbloader.exe each time you make a change to a.part file to get those changes merged in. In general, I do not recommend this mode unless it is absolutely necessary. Note, also, that you may need to re-run Hard Patch mode with the original D20RulesEngine.dll in place for each new version of CBloader. Examples the following combined.dnd40.part file would replace magic missile with an identical spell named 'Not Magic Missile'. Note that the internal-id attribute is identical to the internal-id attribute used by magic missile in the.main file. IDINTERNALCATEGORYATTACK,IDINTERNALCATEGORYAT-WILL,IDINTERNALCATEGORYAT-WILLUSAGE,IDFMPCLASS9,IDFMPCLASSFEATURE845,IDFMPCATEGORY31,IDFMPCATEGORY69,IDFMPCATEGORY8,IDFMPCATEGORY25,IDINTERNALCATEGORYSTANDARDACTION,1 A glowing blue bolt of magical energy hurtles from your finger and unerringly strikes your target.
At-Will Wizard Attack 1 Arcane, Evocation, Force, Implement Standard action Ranged 20 One creature 2 + Intelligence modifier force damage. Level 11: 3 + Intelligence modifier force damage.
Level 21: 5 + Intelligence modifier force damage. If the implement used with this power has an enhancement bonus, add that bonus to the damage.
In addition, you can use this power as a ranged basic attack. IDFMPCLASS9 1 Attack Ranged Every mage learns this spell as part of his or her arcane studies. What magic missile lacks in strength, it compensates for with unparalleled accuracy.
Neither the heaviest armor nor the toughest hide offers any defense against this spell. The following would create a new at will for wizards named 'Overpowered Magic Missile' which does too much damage. Note that I have changed the value of the 'internal-id' attribute. IDINTERNALCATEGORYATTACK,IDINTERNALCATEGORYAT-WILL,IDINTERNALCATEGORYAT-WILLUSAGE,IDFMPCLASS9,IDFMPCLASSFEATURE845,IDFMPCATEGORY31,IDFMPCATEGORY69,IDFMPCATEGORY8,IDFMPCATEGORY25,IDINTERNALCATEGORYSTANDARDACTION,1 A glowing blue bolt of magical energy hurtles from your finger and unerringly strikes your target.
At-Will Wizard Attack 1 Arcane, Evocation, Force, Implement Standard action Ranged 20 One creature 20 + Intelligence modifier force damage. Level 11: 30 + Intelligence modifier force damage. Level 21: 50 + Intelligence modifier force damage. If the implement used with this power has an enhancement bonus, add that bonus to the damage. In addition, you can use this power as a ranged basic attack. IDFMPCLASS9 1 Attack Ranged Every mage learns this spell as part of his or her arcane studies.
What magic missile lacks in strength, it compensates for with unparalleled accuracy. Neither the heaviest armor nor the toughest hide offers any defense against this spell.
Note that both of these could be placed in the same file. And that they must be wrapped in a root ' element which should be generated by default when the.part file is created. Tools If you would like to create some customized content, there is a new little program to help. Is a program that will create the structure for your content and code most of the xml for you. It makes it simple to create new powers/items/etc.
![]() Cyber Buddy Character Builder Download
Some of the buttons and other things don't work (it is pre-alpha) but give it a try and see if it will help. I do suggest you read the readme in the zip file before you do anything.
Wizards launched the new online character builder this week, amidst much speculation of whether this would actually cause the nerd rage that was the Wizards forums for the past two weeks to subside or not. Technology The new version is written in Silverlight, a Microsoft technology with some limited cross-platform support. Officially, the only supported platform besides Windows is OS X desktop. Silverlight does not currently run on portable devices, and the unofficial Linux port, Moonlight, does not handle the the character builder application. According to one episode of the official podcast, one important reason they decided to make this change was to prevent piracy. My own feeling? It's far more likely that they found the previous download version scheme was not producing the revenue stream they wanted.
I know of stories of a huge number of people that signed up for 1 month - downloaded the package and stopped subscribing. The character builder was fully functional off-line though no new updates would be delivered. Then, when a major product was released (say, Player's Handbook 2 or 3), they would re-subscribe for 1 month - get the updates and remove their subscription again.
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The extra content (articles and such) were not enough incentive to remain subscribed throughout the year. This new version forces you to be an active subscriber to use it - you own nothing (except perhaps the actual file containing the characters you built). Your impression of the new CB mirror mine although I had a huge number of crashes - it took 10 attempts to make a single character and that one was a very slow, laborious, frustrating process. I also do not see how the new CB is even viable on mobile devices when it's sending a large amount of data back and forth with each click - people with limited bandwidth are going to run in to problems quickly. The old CB was truly mobile because once you installed it on a laptop you could use it anywhere you wanted.
Those are the breaks. I've canceled my DDI subscription and based on recent feedback from my three play groups doubt this time next year I'll even be playing 4E any longer so it's not a big deal. I thought about going into that aspect of it. It's true that some people would sign up quarterly and then update their builders and run it locally for a while without fresh data, because they didn't need that data. Those people could probably (with a little foresight) still do this: Build your character and export your character sheet (via print to PDF) for the next few levels. Take up to a month to examine the options and figure it out. Now if you were doing the above (quarterly updates) and messing around building dozens of different characters trying to find one you liked, you probably already hate the new builder and its 20-character limit, so the fact that they want your money every month is really just one more reason for you not to subscribe.
Personally, my usage of the builder was to build the one PC I play (leveling maybe once every 2 months, which is usually the only time I would play with the builder), review the 5 PCs in the party I DM for. I carried an annual sub because Dragon and Dungeon were good and the character builder was really good when I started the sub (probably a different thread). I also renewed just before the price increase so I was paying $5 / month for everything. At that price, it was worth it for me. Now that I'm forced to renew for $6 / month and getting less while paying more, well, it's not a very hard decision.
I don't know how long the offline builder will continue to work for us, but we're going to give it a shot. Your impression of the new CB mirror mine although I had a huge number of crashes - it took 10 attempts to make a single character and that one was a very slow, laborious, frustrating process.
I also do not see how the new CB is even viable on mobile devices when it's sending a large amount of data back and forth with each click - people with limited bandwidth are going to run in to problems quickly. The old CB was truly mobile because once you installed it on a laptop you could use it anywhere you wanted. I've heard (but not confirmed) that it's transmitting every datum back to the server on every form field submission. That would be pretty crazy, but could probably be addressed in a patch.
More astounding, perhaps, is that the new VTT is built in Java, while this was built in Silverlight, and that they don't talk to each other at all yet. I imagine they'll get them talking before the VTT goes out of beta, but it's almost like they have two different development groups not even talking to each other over there.
Now that I'm forced to renew for $6 / month and getting less while paying more, well, it's not a very hard decision. I don't know how long the offline builder will continue to work for us, but we're going to give it a shot. Unless you want to play Essentials, it ought to work fine for a long, long time b/c I'm willing to bet you will never see another 'non-Essentials' version of anything again. They may not call it that but it's clear that there's been a very clear shift in focus (some would say editions) and that there's no going back. So I doubt you're going to see a lot of updates to existing rules, feats, powers, etc. Except to bring them in line with the Essentials version of the rules and those probably aren't going to matter unless you want to play in LFR. I was one of those who cancelled their subscriptions following the announcement of the change to the online version.
I still have a few days remaining on subscription so I thought I would check out the online version before it finished. To be honest I thought it was ok, nothing special, running a bit slow and no apparent improvement on the offline version I still have. I am not surprised that there are a few bugs remaining, the original version had loads of them in the first few months, I would have thought there would have been more actually. I agree that the main reason for the change wasn't privacy it was to make people always have a subscription, which is fair enough but they won't come out and say it, instead blaming those evil pirates, arrrrr!
According to one episode of the official podcast, one important reason they decided to make this change was to prevent piracy. My own feeling? It's far more likely that they found the previous download version scheme was not producing the revenue stream they wanted.
I know of stories of a huge number of people that signed up for 1 month - downloaded the package and stopped subscribing. The character builder was fully functional off-line though no new updates would be delivered. Then, when a major product was released (say, Player's Handbook 2 or 3), they would re-subscribe for 1 month - get the updates and remove their subscription again. The extra content (articles and such) were not enough incentive to remain subscribed throughout the year. This new version forces you to be an active subscriber to use it - you own nothing (except perhaps the actual file containing the characters you built).Dave Based on what the Digital initiative manager said on the last podcast, it wasn't actually this type of piracy that was the problem.
The type of piracy he specifically called out were things like torrent downloads of the cb with all current updates. Having said that, I agree with you that the 'pay for one month and get all current content then cancel subscription' is a huge break in the cashflow they projected coming from DDi subscriptions. As far as my thoughts on it. Well, I feel like they should have called this an open beta test of the online CB.
Then the list of known issues would feel more like the users were helping them make the final release a product that is closer to what the players want. One of the reasons I say this is that, releasing a product without all the functionality of the old one is a bad way to go. For example, the ability to export and the ability to upload a custom portrait are two functions that should have been in the initial release of the online CB, along with the ability to apply house-rules. Since they say these things are going to be implemented in the future, it makes me wonder why they didn't release this as the incomplete beta and say that the final will have that functionality - it would have been much better than releasing it as a 'done' product that will get updates and upgrades in the future. If a product upgrade is returning functionality that you once had and lost because of a platform change, that is not an up-grade, it is a catch-up.
Saying the phrase 'open beta test' would have lightened the backlash a whole lot, IMHO. I can hardly be bothered to listen to the podcasts that are nothing more than 30-minute advertisements for their latest book, with one mailbag question tacked on at the end. My sub ran out on the 17th. I still got into the builder this morning. That's not actually surprising, but it is a little sad. I'm a web application developer (professional even, I actually have a full-time job doing this, not just freelance, like so many of the armchair programmers on the WotC forums), and I appreciate how much work something like this is, but I'm pretty sure that security is one of those things I get right BEFORE I launch. Load issues and users doing crazy things you never anticipated happen, and the best thing you can really do for it beyond having a huge budget for testing is to be prepared to rapidly respond to found bugs and patch quickly.
To their credit, they have done that, but only for actual bugs, not for the enormous (and glaring) lack of features. What I would have done if I were WotC (since this thread is not staying very true to purpose, why not): 6 months ago (alleged start date for online CB development): Announce Online CB being worked on, will release 'when it's ready', promise continued support for offline CB until online CB is fully ready Meanwhile Screenshots, discussion, feedback, feature requests. Find out what your customers really want. No later than 2 months prior to launch, which might not even be where we are today: Status update, hopefully ready to launch beta (even a closed beta like the current VTT beta would be good). Beta testers NOT subject to NDA.
If not ready for beta, say it's taking longer than anticipated. Continue releasing updates for offline CB.
At launch: New CB has every feature old CB had. Every known bug in old CB is fixed in new CB. Offline CB continues to be supported (if not updated) for at least 1-2 more months. 1-2 months post-launch: All major bugs in new CB fixed and product works smoothly for 99% of customers. Offline CB discontinued. What I would have done if I were WotC (since this thread is not staying very true to purpose, why not): 6 months ago (alleged start date for online CB development): Announce Online CB being worked on, will release 'when it's ready', promise continued support for offline CB until online CB is fully ready Meanwhile Screenshots, discussion, feedback, feature requests.
Find out what your customers really want. No later than 2 months prior to launch, which might not even be where we are today: Status update, hopefully ready to launch beta (even a closed beta like the current VTT beta would be good). Beta testers NOT subject to NDA. If not ready for beta, say it's taking longer than anticipated. Continue releasing updates for offline CB. At launch: New CB has every feature old CB had.
Every known bug in old CB is fixed in new CB. Offline CB continues to be supported (if not updated) for at least 1-2 more months.
1-2 months post-launch: All major bugs in new CB fixed and product works smoothly for 99% of customers. Offline CB discontinued. The fact that they don't do this is why people are calling their handling of this stuff horrible and poorly planned.
I have no idea how big their software team is or how much control that group has over the way information is released from WotC. My guess to those would be 1) small, and 2) they have no control over it. What they need is a Digital team manager that insists on doing things as you have described above.
I think there are about 6 developers working on character builder, from what I recall reading. The head developer was posting on the forums for a brief period before WotC (or Hasborg) laid down the law and said all information would go through approved channelsTrevor. For a while that team was split into offline/online development, which could have theoretically been good, but as we can see. I wonder how many of the developers will get the axe during the holiday layoff party.
(And it will not be so much as a +1 axe.). What I would have done if I were WotC (since this thread is not staying very true to purpose, why not): 6 months ago (alleged start date for online CB development): Announce Online CB being worked on, will release 'when it's ready', promise continued support for offline CB until online CB is fully ready Meanwhile Screenshots, discussion, feedback, feature requests. Find out what your customers really want. No later than 2 months prior to launch, which might not even be where we are today: Status update, hopefully ready to launch beta (even a closed beta like the current VTT beta would be good). Beta testers NOT subject to NDA.
Character Builder Download Update Pack
If not ready for beta, say it's taking longer than anticipated. Continue releasing updates for offline CB. At launch: New CB has every feature old CB had. Every known bug in old CB is fixed in new CB. Offline CB continues to be supported (if not updated) for at least 1-2 more months.
1-2 months post-launch: All major bugs in new CB fixed and product works smoothly for 99% of customers. Offline CB discontinued. The fact that they don't do this is why people are calling their handling of this stuff horrible and poorly planned. I have no idea how big their software team is or how much control that group has over the way information is released from WotC. My guess to those would be 1) small, and 2) they have no control over it. What they need is a Digital team manager that insists on doing things as you have described above. The thing is, if your business isn't in the business of software, there's not a chance in hell of being able to do software the right way.
It doesn't matter how much the software team manager may have insisted on doing things smartly and in a reasonable time-frame, if those above have the view that it works through magic and elves, no amount of shouting at them will change that. I'm surprised that it actually launched. With the seeming lack of computer and internet savvy at that company I expected it to die the way their pdf business did. You know, the real reason people have such an easy time subscribing for a month, grabbing what they want, and then canceling wasn't because you could get a fully up to date Character Builder that you could use perfectly fine offline - it was because WotC NEVER delivered on all the programs/web features/web content that they talked about having. There's like six or seven program buttons in the DM tool kit and the only one setup was the monster ref/builder one. If there was a constant flow of content updates (say one to one of the full spectrum of promised products every two weeks) they would have had a massive amount more full time subscribers. Instead what we got that was supposed to keep us paying every single month was a couple of e-zines and the hope that the two bits of software would actually be updated that month.
That's a pretty pathetic offering if you're trying to build your revenue stream around long term subscription customers. For a comparison - look at Paizo. How many new products do they release each month for their subscription junkies? And it's not just some dinky update to something, it's meaty, flavorful steak. True, we're talking physical vs. Digital, but it's the same business plan.
Free Character Builder
You hook subscribers by always having significant content coming down the pipe. Here's something I don't think they even thought of. Classically, the way you get new people playing the game is at conventions. I run D&D 4E at conventions, but my playing habits cover a gamut of other games, so a subscription isn't something cost-effective for me. Why should I pay $100+ for a subscription to something I only run for other people twice a year? Even putting that aside (let's say somebody lets me use their subscription to do my thing, even though that's against their Ts & Cs as I understand them), how am I supposed to use the online Character Builder at a Con?
The last time I asked about wifi support on the Con floor, the organizer informed me the hotel wanted $500 to open their wifi access to the floor I was running on. This is just not in the cards for a small regional Con that can barely afford to run it as a labor of love. Since I live local, I don't get a hotel room and won't get one just to have wifi access that way. So, I am being hampered in my efforts to attract more players to their game by the people that own the IP.
How does that make even the slightest bit of sense? Classically, the way you get new people playing the game is at conventions. To me, the classical way to get someone new to play the game is to invite them over to your house to join your group. This, perhaps, doesn't happen until after they show a bit of interest and you talk about it, but it still happens.
I have never been to a convention and I play, own, and have been exposed to a huge amount of games through avenues other than conventions. Also, I don't think WotC agrees that they get most of their new players via conventions. If they did, they would spend a heck of a lot more time and care planning for large events at every convention they could attend. Instead, they created the D&D Encounters program to get new players into the game store for an evening of D&D. I didn't mean to imply that everyone who plays a game is first introduced at conventions.
However, I see hundreds of people at the local small Con, and many of them go to try games they've heard of but never seen played. What do you do if you know nobody who plays D&D 4E and want to try it?
You can go to a hobby shop and try one game there. You can go to a Con and try a whole bunch over the course of a day. There's several ways. However, when Gary Gygax and his buddies made the original D&D, how did they get people outside of their circle to try it? They brought it to the local wargame convention and got tons of people interested. In the dawn of D&D, the hobby got off the ground with geeks at the hobby Cons giving it a try there. I'd say that's 'classical.'
WotC used to have excellent Con support, for reasonable prices. I don't know if they still do, and I know they've had poor support of the RPGA (another classical method to draw in players).
I think they've had trouble distinguishing between support, control, and invest. At some times the amount that has been done with RPGA and Cons has been significant and obviously involved some cost, at others it seems to run completely counter to allowing any fan based participation at all. At the moment the DDI effort is swing back towards Control. They started out with Invest, in an effort that never really delivered during the launch of 4E, partly because they promised so much more than they had invested. They are reluctant to simply Support the fans to make these tools for them, because they see them as a revenue stream. I appreciate the games and the effort with the tools, but I wish that if they wanted to make a product and sell it they would simply do so, rather than all this multiple announcements, roll-out, change, back-off baloney. From what I hear of the initial Virtual Table Top reviews it is similarly a product that is 9 months from being something I'd want to pay for, but I'll bet we see it sooner and they then never quite finish it.
I think the worst mistake the online edition took was not operating with HTML. If you're moving from a Windows application to an online subscription (and let's be clear, this was all about the money), then take the opportunity to make it a UNIVERSAL application, instead of one that only works on Windows & Mac platforms (though I am glad it works on the Mac now). I like the character builder, and hope they can improve on it, but my hopes of ever using it on an iPad (or any other tablet) are likely destroyed unless they release an API.
Features. Is FREE and works on all major operating systems (Windows, Linux, UNIX, Mac OS). Data and character files are operating system independent. Allows you to Create and Maintain multiple Characters. Supports d20 based Game Systems including D&D (3E, 3.5E, 4E), d20 Modern and Pathfinder. Supports Tons of Publishers and their products. Is highly configurable, allowing the user to add or remove races, classes, feats, and house rules such as unusual class or race restrictions.
Supports level advancement, with configurable progressions of feats, skills and ability score bonuses. Produces numerous customized character and party sheets in HTML, TEXT and PDF formats. Honestly, this program has helped a tabletop RPG noob like myself get off the ground with a running start. Whenever my DM says 'Make a new character!'
I'm there, I know what I have to do and when to do it thanks to the summary screen. However, now that I have been playing regularly for a while now (great way to get in some much needed face to face social interaction for the week) I really need Deity and Demigod information. When I create my character(s) there's a place to input deity but it's a drop-down menu that just says 'None' even when I want Olidamara for my new rogue or Pelor for my new Paladin. Instead of seeing that deity's name on my character sheet, there's 'None' there instead. This makes keeping my various character's religion straight, they're faithless instead.
How does a Paladin go on living when they're faithless? How does a monk theologize? These questions are best answered by having a more accessible deities list at character creation. Thanks for reading! Oh, and as for the 'Support' category in my rating, it's simply a 3 because I don't know how awesome or devious your support rating actually is.
Published on Apr 23, 2017. I got the file there.
Then I followed the instructions. Made this video help others. The file link came from Reddit as follows: 'Destructorlio 7 points 1 year ago I bugged Wizards about it and they have responded that because my subscription lapsed (momentarily) in 2015 I was shifted to the 'new system' which doesn't provide access to the archive material (I'm cancelling my sub immediately as that was the whole reason I had it). Some kind redditors directed me to an offline build of the Character Builder. It doesn't solve the 'lost character sheet' problem, but at least my current players can rebuild their sheets (from the last ones we printed) and we can use the system going forward.'
For another spot Category Gaming.
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