Confessions of a 4E Detractor

[Dungeoneer]

Nice post, and good points.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

01-08-14: I was about to post a long and exhausting rant over in the D&D Next forum about the upcoming release, and then I realized it was all starting to sound familiar. Then I remembered this post that I wrote back in 2008, and decided to follow my own advice.

Kudos to you for recognizing the forum nerd rage phenomenon! A second time.

Is 4E "teh best version evar!!!!!111"? Nope.
Does that make it the worst? Nope.
Is there anything else to say on the matter? Nope.

This exactly mirrors my attitude about 5e. Great minds think alike, eh?

 

[Hussar]

This looks like a good place to put this.

Wotc this time around has managed and massaged the fanbase to a much much greater degree than the last time around.

I mean, they've yet again manged to create an edition that is not backwards compatible (or barely in any case) but instead of everyone taking it as a slam against what came before people are treating it as a pretty big step forward.

Much better this time around.

 

[Jhaelen]

I mean, they've yet again manged to create an edition that is not backwards compatible (or barely in any case) but instead of everyone taking it as a slam against what came before people are treating it as a pretty big step forward.

Much better this time around.

Well, speak for yourself. As a 4e fan, I consider D&D Next as a pretty big step backwards. I'm really not interested this time around. Maybe I'll return to D&D with 6e. We'll see.

 

[billd91]

This looks like a good place to put this.

Wotc this time around has managed and massaged the fanbase to a much much greater degree than the last time around.

I mean, they've yet again manged to create an edition that is not backwards compatible (or barely in any case) but instead of everyone taking it as a slam against what came before people are treating it as a pretty big step forward.

Much better this time around.

I agree. The engagement with the market has been much better this time around. That may or may not translate into better levels of success, but I've got rising hopes starting from a low point with Next like I had with 3e and that contrasts with a high point trending downward the more I learned about it for 4e.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This looks like a good place to put this.

Wotc this time around has managed and massaged the fanbase to a much much greater degree than the last time around.

I mean, they've yet again manged to create an edition that is not backwards compatible (or barely in any case) but instead of everyone taking it as a slam against what came before people are treating it as a pretty big step forward.

Much better this time around.

I have to agree with this at least halfway: WotC HAS done a much better job of managing perception this time around. I haven't really seen the same degree of hardened opinions against the new edition.

I don't know what direction 5th's design is a step in, though.

 

[Incenjucar]

I've gotten the impression that the dissent for 5E is just a lot quieter than it was for 4E, perhaps due to 4E attracting a different set of players than previous editions did. When 4E upset 3E fans, you got "Curse you!" but when 5E upset 4E fans you got "Well, darn." This at least suggests that 5E fans won't have to deal with the vitriol that 4E fans have, which is likely good for the edition's success.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I have to agree with this at least halfway: WotC HAS done a much better job of managing perception this time around. I haven't really seen the same degree of hardened opinions against the new edition. (snip)

BY contrast, my perception (as a completely subjective opinion) is completely different.

I see a lot of hardened opinions, to borrow your phrase, against the new edition but, for me at least, the primary difference is that people aren't indulging in edition wars as happened with the change to 4E. Also, this time there don't seem to be WotC employees actively denigrating the previous edition which, based on my reading of a couple of issues of KQ the other night, did happen last time around.

Maybe we're slowly learning that edition wars are pointless?

 

[billd91]

I've gotten the impression that the dissent for 5E is just a lot quieter than it was for 4E, perhaps due to 4E attracting a different set of players than previous editions did. When 4E upset 3E fans, you got "Curse you!" but when 5E upset 4E fans you got "Well, darn." This at least suggests that 5E fans won't have to deal with the vitriol that 4E fans have, which is likely good for the edition's success.

Oh, the vitriol I've seen about Next from some people I would describe as 4e fans has been just as bitter. But the people who post like that don't seem to be as common, which could reflect the relative size of the fan bases coming into the new edition timeframe.

 

[CleverNickName]

Oh, the vitriol I've seen about Next from some people I would describe as 4e fans has been just as bitter. But the people who post like that don't seem to be as common, which could reflect the relative size of the fan bases coming into the new edition timeframe.

There seems to be fewer people commenting on 5th Edition overall: fewer rants against it, fewer rallies around it, and not just here at ENWorld. It could be that we are experiencing a type of "edition war fatigue," or it could be that the playtesting model has given everyone a new place to direct their commentaries (or vent their spleens), or maybe it is just a general lack of public interest as a whole. Time will tell, I guess.