D&D 3E/3.5 3e/4e as Operating Systems: An Argument for Grognardism

[elijah snow]

Here's one thing to think about as a possible metaphor for the coming 4e revolution:

Most people who have a home PC, and use it a lot, whether Windows or Mac, don't automatically upgrade to the latest version of the OS upon release- despite great hype- because they:

1) Don't see the need to upgrade
2) Have invested great time, money, and resources in their current PC- including software and peripherals
3) May be adopting a wait and see attitude towards whether the upgrade is worth it in terms of new features and bug problems

My prediction is that 4e will be zealously adopted by many of the "early adopters", you know, people like us who care enough about this to expend mental energy discussing 4e on community message boards and casually allude to the thousands of dollars we've spent on gaming material, *but* I don't think everyone feels this way. My gamers, for example, will likely not be aware nor care about the release of 4e because they are casual gamers. Furthermore, if I say we're running 3e forever, they'll play 3e forever.

3e, like any OS, might not be perfect, but as a power user I know how to manipulate the system to get it to do what I want. Furthermore, I have so much invested in "software"- and I mean cool adventures, rule expansions, and add ons, that I haven't fully utilized, that the cost benefit ratio is too high for me to switch to 4e.

So, even assuming 4e really has the cool factor, is affordable (they're already piling on the add on costs with D&D Insider and annual core book upgrades), and that the rules actually work (anyone's guess, especially with such bold changes), I still might not upgrade because of my own investment in 3e.

To summarize the point of this ramble, I think there will be plenty of gamers out there to play 3e forever because they either: 1) love 3e, 2) have too much invested in it to switch or 3) don't care what "OS" they're using, they just want to play Dungeons and Dragons.

It's just a pity, IMHO, that they didn't make 4e backwards compatible. Because if I *could* run my 3e software on the 4e OS, I'd make the leap in a heartbeat.

 

[rgard]

1) love 3e, 2) have too much invested in it to switch

It's just a pity, IMHO, that they didn't make 4e backwards compatible. Because if I *could* run my 3e software on the 4e OS, I'd make the leap in a heartbeat.

My sentiments too.

 

[DoctorRomulus]

Here Here!!

 

[Fifth Element]

To summarize the point of this ramble, I think there will be plenty of gamers out there to play 3e forever because they either: 1) love 3e, 2) have too much invested in it to switch or 3) don't care what "OS" they're using, they just want to play Dungeons and Dragons.

I agree. Of course, the same holds true for any edition change.

On the other hand, if you want to argue that the proportion of 3E players who don't switch to 4E will be higher than the proportion of 2E players who didn't switch to 3E, I would be inclined to agree with that as well.

 

[paradox42]

Being a man with a Computer Science degree and former programmer myself, I too must agree with the analogy on general principle. I'm actually in between the "upgrade" and "don't upgrade" extremes myself on 4th Edition, however; normally I'm an early adopter, but my present campaign setting is heavily dependent on psionics and a few other rules that apparently won't be part of core 4E and aren't expected to be introduced for several months to a year after it is released. So while I most likely will be "upgrading," it's going to take me a long time to do it after May 2008 even if I decide to come up with my own psionics system to replace 3.5. Not to mention my own versions of Gnomes and any other races that go missing.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Backwards compatibility? That's Windows ME. Or 2e Skills and Powers.

NO.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

1) Don't see the need to upgrade
2) Have invested great time, money, and resources in their current PC- including software and peripherals
3) May be adopting a wait and see attitude towards whether the upgrade is worth it in terms of new features and bug problems

. . .

It's just a pity, IMHO, that they didn't make 4e backwards compatible. Because if I *could* run my 3e software on the 4e OS, I'd make the leap in a heartbeat.

Backwards compatibility would sacrifice #3 for #2. It would make it easier to convert, but it would also make the upgrade less significant, with less new features and less fixed problems.

I suspect that #3 will be the most important factor in most people's decisions. #2 is fixed, there's nothing that anyone can do to change their investment. #3 is what lets people decide whether the upgrade is worth it, whether the new system is so much better than the old one that they want to spend the money to upgrade. They're not going to improve gameplay significantly by just patching the game and keeping it (almost) fully backward compatible. The same concerns about over-complexity, magic items, huge DM prep time, etc. would still drive people away from the game. In addition a "4.75" upgrade would anger a lot of people, creating a backlash and confirming the worries of the naysayers.

 

[elijah snow]

Backwards compatibility would sacrifice #3 for #2. It would make it easier to convert, but it would also make the upgrade less significant, with less new features and less fixed problems.

I suspect that #3 will be the most important factor in most people's decisions. #2 is fixed, there's nothing that anyone can do to change their investment. #3 is what lets people decide whether the upgrade is worth it, whether the new system is so much better than the old one that they want to spend the money to upgrade. They're not going to improve gameplay significantly by just patching the game and keeping it (almost) fully backward compatible. The same concerns about over-complexity, magic items, huge DM prep time, etc. would still drive people away from the game. In addition a "4.75" upgrade would anger a lot of people, creating a backlash and confirming the worries of the naysayers.

I agree with you. Again, I think for early adopters, new players, and those who find the proposed 4e revisions seductive, the new system promises great things.

However, I also think there will be a large contingent of gamers who will continue to play 3e, enough to keep the system active and thriving for years.

 

[Christian]

There's one big difference between something like an OS upgrade and an RPG edition change; most of us only have one computer, which can only run one OS. I fully expect my current 3.5 game to continue on for at least a year past the D&D 4 release, probably longer; and I wouldn't be shocked to play in other 3.5 games in the future. But I also expect that I'll buy the 4th Edition PHB at the very least, and will run at least a few one-shots with it; and I wouldn't be shocked to find myself running or playing in a 4th Edition campaign as early as June. This isn't an EOR proposition.

 

[Li Shenron]

The comparison between D&D and Windows makes me depressed

There is also one thing you forgot: without a computer and its operating system, you're cutting yourself off from a lot of things. It's hard to say "no" to owning a computer nowadays. And if you want a computer, you must have the latest Windows (I know, there's Linux, but that's not so common among people that aren't very much into personalizing their computers) or most of the software won't work properly. That is not the case with D&D... you don't need the latest to be able to play. Plus, you don't even need D&D to play a RPG, there are hundreds to choose from!