D&D 5E D&D Next Approximate Release Date?

[ValeLywoud]

Actually, that's wholly dependent upon when they decide to stop tweaking things. Which, if the summer-ish guess that everyone seems to be hoping for, would be before November ends or around the beginning of the new year. At the same time, they've already got several artists working on things and they're being guided into as close of a place as possible to what WotC are wanting at the moment.

As for the type-setting and manuscripts, I honestly, I've never done it so I don't know how long that would take. At least for the typesetting. I'm working on a manuscript right now for something and it's a bit of a different beast than I was expecting. However, I'm just one guy, WotC however is not and will have a few teams on it, so not as long as one might think. So, where they to stop stop around November for actually getting things ready, it's actually rather plausible to get it done in that time.

Likely however, is another beast entirely.

 

[iwarrior-poet]

Thanks for the responses. I will hope for Gen Con 2014--though that is a long way off. Do they really expect folks to buy any more 4e material in the mean time? Though I have noticed they are putting out more Edition Neutral material, as well as .pdf's of former versions. I just think the lag time might be killing their market a bit. Also--as my sig indicates, if they don't launch with good digital aides---it will be a HUGE problem imho.

 

[HardcoreDandDGirl]

I would guess next Gen Con, inless they really don't want a .5 and wait until the NEXT gen con...

eaither way I have a group of 4 people already saving to go that year...

 

[Texicles]

...if they don't launch with good digital aides---it will be a HUGE problem imho.

Since it's your thread, I'll add my support for this sentiment without fear of derailing it

DDI was a start but I think most will agree that it didn't live up to its potential or promise. 5 or 6 years hence, it's going to take more than an online suite of tools (that truly deliver). As you mentioned, the market has a real opening for apps, specifically IMO, officially supported apps (both android and iOS, phone and tablet compatible, and richly integrated with the online tools). Fortunately, I think it would be considerably easier to deliver such things for 5e than for 4e.

 

[HardcoreDandDGirl]

Since it's your thread, I'll add my support for this sentiment without fear of derailing it

DDI was a start but I think most will agree that it didn't live up to its potential or promise. 5 or 6 years hence, it's going to take more than an online suite of tools (that truly deliver). As you mentioned, the market has a real opening for apps, specifically IMO, officially supported apps (both android and iOS, phone and tablet compatible, and richly integrated with the online tools). Fortunately, I think it would be considerably easier to deliver such things for 5e than for 4e.

I would love ipad/iphone apps for a builder of both PCs and Monsters, alongside a compandium like app...

 

[ValeLywoud]

I would love ipad/iphone apps for a builder of both PCs and Monsters, alongside a compandium like app...

Wouldn't mind any of those or how about something like a backround/specialty builder for those having a hard time making them.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It's actually because of the online and app component that I wouldn't be surprised if the game doesn't in fact get released at GenCon 2014, but rather later on.

It begs the question, what is more important? Releasing the game as soon as it is ready... or releasing the game concurrent with its online and app components? With 4E... there was quite a bit of time after the game was released before we started getting the character builder, the monster builder, the compendium, the online tabletop et. al. That made the collective impact of each component much, much less than it would have been had it been released as one giant package. The opt-in to the new edition would have been much greater had the RPG and its full online suite been available together upon release, I think.

So *if* online, app, and DDI subscriptions are to be considered an important part of 5E's game structure... they will need to lock down most of the mechanical elements early enough so that they have the time to get the online components working and solid (if they hope to release the whole suite at once). And if they aren't already getting the software architecture built behind-the-scenes right now... the actual RPG will have to be held back for quite a while from the bookshelves as programming fnally commences. The game might not thus get released until 2015.

Personally... I think that *if* the online component of the game is just as important a feature of the new edition as the actual rulebook... WotC cannot afford to release the books prior to having most of the online suite ready to go. Sure... those of us on the messageboards will decry the fact we're waiting an extra year with just the playtest materials to tide us over... but us messageboard people are but a small handful of the large group of players they want playing the game... so they need to make sure they have a complete 5E package ready to go to make everyone else outside of us messageboard die-hards say "Holy crap, that's a lot of game stuff! I gotta try it!"

 

[Jester David]

Gen Con 2014 seems absurdly optimistic. The rules are nowhere near finished, the art is quite a ways off, and the story elements aren't in place. How long does it take to typeset and lay out a book? How about three books and a boxed game? How long does it take to order the art and get it all back? How long does it take to write the manuscript(s)? How long does it take to print all the copies and distribute them?

Each piece of art can take 3-4 months. But they've likely been ordering pieces for months, we just haven't see any.
Typesetting and layout out a book is relatively quick, likely done while editing. Quicker now with computers. Since they have dedicated staff, they have people who know what they're doing and can work swiftly.
Books printed overseas take about six months to get from proofs to store shelves. Boxed sets take something like eight months.

If they want the core books out for June 2014 (so they can release an accessory or expansion at GenCon) they need to finish the rules by the end of December.

They can do things to expand this. For example, they could release something akin to the Rules Cyclopedia that has all the rules in one book reducing the content. Then follow that a couple months later with expansions giving them more time to playtest and revise that.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Each piece of art can take 3-4 months. But they've likely been ordering pieces for months, we just haven't see any.

I dunno. Have you been reading the Dragon's Eye View columns? It seems like they're just finishing up concepts for creatures like goblins--how does that bode for other creatures? On the other hand, they do seem to have working models for the new ogres and orcs, which they've used in Dungeon Command.

If they want the core books out for June 2014 (so they can release an accessory or expansion at GenCon) they need to finish the rules by the end of December.

That just seems unrealistic to me. Large portions of core content are unstable (fighter, rogue), unfinished (monsters), or outdated (exploration, feats, skills). They have to implement the changes they've decided on, then test them and iterate on them, then polish everything.

They can do things to expand this. For example, they could release something akin to the Rules Cyclopedia that has all the rules in one book reducing the content. Then follow that a couple months later with expansions giving them more time to playtest and revise that.

I'd rather have it be complete when it comes out, rather than releasing it unfinished just to hit an arbitrary date.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

That just seems unrealistic to me. Large portions of core content are unstable (fighter, rogue), unfinished (monsters), or outdated (exploration, feats, skills). They have to implement the changes they've decided on, then test them and iterate on them, then polish everything.

I suspect there are a couple of reasons that it isn't (TOO) unrealistic.

They have an internal playtest group that gets updates and tests things nearly daily and a closed beta team who gets updates way more often than the public playtests. The last public playtest version is horribly out of date compared to the "current" version of the rules. From what I hear, the public playtest version of the rules is already out of date when they release it. In fact, most of the time, the public playtest version of the rules are a hodge podge of ideas that are controversial within the closed beta group so they release them to see what the public at large thinks about them.

I believe they use the public playtests mostly as a poll on whether they are heading in the right direction. I suspect that the data they've gathered so far has told them basically what gamers' likes and dislikes are. They don't need to know much anymore, so they don't release any playtests publicly.

I suspect that we will see one more playtest at GenCon this year and MAYBE one more, but that'll be the end of playtests.

Also, the other reason it isn't unrealistic is that I suspect they will keep iterating their game well past when the book comes out. They've realized that with the internet being so common and the ease of issuing errata on their website that they don't have to be 100% perfect to release the game.

Also, I don't think the game is going too be all that complex. I think people are hoping that there is 300 to 600 pages worth of rules that we just haven't seen yet and that there will be some grand version of the game that's super complicated. I don't think that'll happen.

I think that they nearly have the final version of all the classes figured out at this point. And they want the rules to stay vague on purpose. We'll see a little more iteration, but I think it's close to done.