D&D 3.x A message to the 3.5ers

[Psion]

You sir, take a laugh point if you collect 'em.

RPGnet native, I see.

 

[Mistwell]

I'm considering an Ignore function for my family.

Yeah, seriously!

That the poster even had to ask the question "would you tell your family to shut up" is stunning to me. Yes. Of course I would tell my family to shut up. I feel confident the phrase "shut up" was invented when one family member said it to another family member. Maybe his family doesn't say that to each other, but it's a fundamental concept behind my relations with my family members sometimes!

If one of my family members kept complaining over and over and over again about the same thing every time I saw them, I'd certainly tell them to shut up or get out of my house. And this idea that negativity is just as valuable as positivity is a load of bunk as well. Most human beings prefer to be around people who are positive rather than negative all the time (or at least neutral). Very few people appreciate the company of others who are negative all the time. Negativity is not "just as valuable" to be around when talking about company one keeps.

So while I too have no problem with constructive criticism (and I am tired of the strawman put up by some folks that the theme of this thread was "all dissent will be crushed"), put me down as another person sick of coming into this forum and seeing the same negative post over and over again from the same people across most threads. If you guys were members of my family I would tell you to shut up or get out. If you are here to say something constructive, more power to you. But if you are here to bitch and whine and moan and complain and rant for the 10th time already about the same kinds of things, I'd prefer you not do it here.

 

[Son_of_Thunder]

RPGnet native, I see.

Ayup!

 

[megamania]

The causes for the 3evs4e is bigger than just how things are named or phrased.

Except for cancelling Dungeon and Dragon Magazines I have tried to be open minded to 4e. I know I am on a tight budget and have spent a lot (2000+ on books alone) in the past 7 years and now face the somewhat forced reality of that system being killed off.

What this is about is fear and the sense of having no say. Who is at fault? No one and everyone. It is just the way it is. Some change occurs easily and some doesn't.

Will I switch to 4e? Maybe. Not in 2008 but maybe in 2009 or 2010.

I agree there are a lot of people sounding off and not making a reasonable or supported arguement for it. I was that way with the cancellation of the magazines. Then I explained why (I have an extremely poor internet that I can not afford to upgrade) and feel cheated and robbed.

and since I am beginning to babble and go on tangents I will just repeat myself once more- this is not 3e vs 4e.... its about the fear of something new with no sence of control or direction.


PS I hope I didn't make it on any one's ignore list. If I did I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a PITA when all of this hit the fan during the summer.

 

[Raven Crowking]

The same post by the same people over many threads (pro or con 4e) is really, really easy to deal with, as Piratecat already pointed out. That's what the Ignore feature is for.

(Cue crickets in response to my post.... )

I think that even the most ardent con-4e poster, though, wants something that wows them and makes them want to play that version of the game. Every time a new product comes out, every game I know wants it to be wonderful. The game that you must play because it is too cool not to play is the Holy Grail of gaming.

I have some serious reservations about what is being presented re: 4e, and some things that I think are seriously cool. Count me among those who are glad to see D&D reach toward its roots with static XP, Monster Levels, points of light, and monsters not needing to be treated like PCs stat-block-wise. Quicker prep? All for it. Whether or not I move to 4e, I think that those are worthwhile memes to be circulating among the gaming population.

I would like to see WotC say, "Yes, we have considered that X isn't going to solve Y, if Z is still true" even if they don't/can't tell us what solution they came up for with Z. I have played far too many games to believe that designers always realize the ramifications of their design before it's been released. You have only to examine the design blogs for 4e to see that the designers didn't understand all the ramifications of changes made between 2e and 3e....some which had major effects on game play (ex: long combats, long prep time).

Frankly, I'd like to see the same level and type of info coming out for 4e as came out for 3e. I know that some have claimed that the level of info is the same, but reading through my pre-3e release Dragons has made me feel decidedly that there was far more to examine re: 3e than 4e. Of course, this has gotten better since the first time I brought it up.

I also hate the conflicting messages of "We're listening to what you have to say" and "Nothing you can say will change things" as well as "4e is almost in the can" but "We can't tell you about X, Y, Z, or Q yet". It seems to me that there is a bit of chaos around 4e yet, and that the PHB might have been pushed back a month because it had to be (instead of just to release three books at once).

Anyway, my bit of constructive criticism is this: Get a real PR team going on this.


RC

 

[Cadfan]

Anyway, my bit of constructive criticism is this: Get a real PR team going on this.

I think most real PR teams, faced with the realities of doing PR to a fandom, would collectively leap from the window of their New York penthouse office.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I think most real PR teams, faced with the realities of doing PR to a fandom, would collectively leap from the window of their New York penthouse office.

I personally think that Wizards did a great job with 3e, though. If they followed the 3e model, I'd probably have been hooked already.

RC

 

[Mistwell]

The same post by the same people over many threads (pro or con 4e) is really, really easy to deal with, as Piratecat already pointed out. That's what the Ignore feature is for.

(Cue crickets in response to my post.... )

It's really not.

Ignore covers all posts from that user...for all forums. That means if you want to read the majority of those users posts (from the other forums), and just don't like their ranting 4e posts, you have to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Asking that person (via this thread) to cut it out seems a lot more productive than cutting out ALL of their posts across the entire board.

Ignore is at best a very flawed solution of last resort.

 

[Zamkaizer]

I think most real PR teams, faced with the realities of doing PR to a fandom, would collectively leap from the window of their New York penthouse office.

"Arthur Adams was a successful New York advertising executive who's only vice was a longstanding cocaine habit. His firm had recently obtained a lucrative contract with Hasbro, and their outlooks had never looked better. That was, until a New Jersey farmer found the executive's disfigured body in his field, the word's 'SUCCUBI ARE WHAT?' crudely carved into his forehead."

"Investigators are still trying to determine a motive. Several local cults have been brought under investigation."

 

[Wolfspider]

I'm considering an Ignore function for my family.

Since my family disowned me a few years ago, I guess they already have that function. :\