Malibu Stacey has a new hat!

[broghammerj]

My concern is with WOTC more so than the actual 4E. I think this is where a lot of negativity is coming from. Some of my concerns:

1. Wizards PR and handling of the fans: Were not working on 4E.......Let's introduce 4E.

2. Wizards handling of supplements: TSRs downfall was too many worlds and more importantly too many splatbooks: Let me introduce Complete Book of Splat, the Revised Complete Book of Splatt, More Splat, Just When You Thought You Had Enough Splat. 3.5 is the edition with about as much publishing gluttony as 2nd ed. I'll bet 4e has all the recycled splat already in development.

3. 3.5 timing.....Need I say more. Yeah it fixed alot of broken rules but people weren't ready for it.

4. Ending of Dragon and Dungeon......Why not just tell us the print format is ending and new online format is starting. People would still be upset but at least they would have known the titles live on.

As for a few things. I wish the digital initiative got pushed after the release of 4E. May be have advertisements or free vouchers when you bought the core books. So far it seems that the two go hand in hand from a marketing standpoint. I realize that the books can function independently.

I also don't like how they are pushing the 4th ed. I do think there could be some good refinements to the game and I am interested in a new edition, but I am tired of hearing how good the koolaid is. You don't need to tell me how wonderful Wonderbread is.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I think it will be different enough that no one will consider it just a repackaging of the same old product. I think the reason that it will be different enough is so you can't covert material between settings and have to buy all new stuff.

THIS is what rather annoyed me.
(Even more than the "No Plans for 4E"/"Been in development for 2 years" fracas.)

As someone who is rather apathetic about 4E (I don't hate it, but I'm not looking forward to it, either), TPTB saying "Don't bother converting; start a new 4E campaign!" really rubs me the wrong way.

(And yes, I know that's not an EXACT quote, but it's close enough.)

 

[Dire Bare]

1. Wizards PR and handling of the fans: Were not working on 4E.......Let's introduce 4E.

A lot of people are saying this, and maybe I missed something, but I don't remember any Wizards folks categorically stating, "we are not working on 4e."

I do remember a lot of vague misdirection on the subject, but what do you expect? They had to pick a date to announce the new edition, and before that date they couldn't reveal the mystic secrets. It's what I expected them to do.

2. Wizards handling of supplements: TSRs downfall was too many worlds and more importantly too many splatbooks: Let me introduce Complete Book of Splat, the Revised Complete Book of Splatt, More Splat, Just When You Thought You Had Enough Splat. 3.5 is the edition with about as much publishing gluttony as 2nd ed. I'll bet 4e has all the recycled splat already in development.

I think you are misremembering and/or misunderstanding the early pre-3e research Wizards did that Ryan Dancey talked about publicly. It was pretty clear that "splat" books, like the "Complete" line in 2e, were BIG sellers and quite successful. Multiple settings supported at once and tons of monthly output did create a situation where D&D was competing against itself.

They have stated already that the Realms and Eberron will get the 4e treatment, and it also seems clear they plan on releasing at least one "setting" book a year with revisions for ALL the classic D&D settings in the works. Doesn't mean that each setting will receive simultaneous support with an increased monthly output like we saw in the late TSR days.

4. Ending of Dragon and Dungeon......Why not just tell us the print format is ending and new online format is starting. People would still be upset but at least they would have known the titles live on.

Um, they actuall DID tell us that Dragon and Dungeon were moving to online formats pretty much right away. They just didn't give us the details until this weekend.

As for a few things. I wish the digital initiative got pushed after the release of 4E. May be have advertisements or free vouchers when you bought the core books. So far it seems that the two go hand in hand from a marketing standpoint. I realize that the books can function independently.

Why is marketing the D&D Insider hand-in-hand with D&D 4e a bad thing? If you don't care for the online component, you can ignore it regardless of when it is released. Their stated reason for 4e being released now is that their work on D&D Insider prompted the decision to role out 4e at the same time. They actually had very similar plans for the release of 3e (remember the "Character Generator" CD included with the 3.0 PHB?), but all sorts of crazy disaster struck and it never materialized.

 

[delericho]

3.5 has gone from a system with lots of warts to the perfect infallible system no one would ever want to revise remarkably quickly.

QFT. However...

the "No Plans for 4E"/"Been in development for 2 years" fracas...

This does bother me somewhat.

Other than that, I have no objection to the notion of 4e. I'm not convinced of the direction they're taking, though...

 

[Lurks-no-More]

3.5 has gone from a system with lots of warts to the perfect infallible system no one would ever want to revise remarkably quickly.

Practically overnight, when WotC announced the 4th edition, in fact...

A good number of gamers are unsatisfied with the 4th edition because it's new and unfamiliar and new and strange, and did I mention it's new? They'd be equally unsatisfied, no matter when, how or what kind of a new edition appeared. For a hobby that ostensibly thrives on imagination, fantasy, and exploring and experiencing new and wondrous things, we gamers are remarkably neophobic.

 

[amethal]

Um, they actuall DID tell us that Dragon and Dungeon were moving to online formats pretty much right away. They just didn't give us the details until this weekend.

Those details being there will be an online Dragon #? and an online Dungeon #151 as part of the DI, followed by contents details which gives me, for one, the impression that they will basically be the same magazines, just no longer in print format.

So why, in the name of Pelor, couldn't they have said that at the start?

 

[F4NBOY]

Concearning playing D&D through a computer, I'm pretty happy all of you, or most of you guys, have a local friendly group to play with.
I had one all my gaming life, but now I had to move to another town, with no friends to play with, yet.
So when people starts whinning "oh they want us to play through a computer" or "ohh D&D is a face to face game" "oh they want to kill the social interaction" "ohhh no they are turning D&D into a mmorpg", I feel very pissed off and pity you guys.
I'm very happy to be able to play the game with my old buddies through the internet. I know there are tons of software out there to do it, but now i got the real deal.
So all I can say to all of you people that irresponsibly whines about that particular issue: WAKE UP and get out of your little world just for a moment, thank you very much!

 

[danzig138]

none of your stated reasons seem terribly solid.

Dude, don't poop on the pity party. If the gamer angst isn't vented, the world will EXPLODE!!!!

 

[Waldorf]

Just wait for 4.5

It'll be here in three years.


Their publishing schedule guarantees it.

 

[Knightfall]

That would be a problem if it was just "a new hat". It looks like the changes will be more dramatic than that. If it wasn't I might have converted. Because it is, I'll just stick with 3.5E.

QFT!