D&D 5E D&D 5e is fantastic. Just a topic of appreciation and some forum analysis.

[DEFCON 1]

But, let's use your example Mercurious. They announce that they are working on a license. Ok, fine. They actually have done that. So, people start speculating on the license and how great it will be when 3pp can finally start adding material. Ok, fantastic. Then, a few months later, they state that the license talks have fallen through and no license is forthcoming.

The fandom goes nuts. Heck, look at something as relatively minor as the Morningstar program. Six months later and people are still bitching about it. As soon as WOTC says they are even trying to do something, people automatically spin that into they will do that thing and sooner rather than later.

They simply cannot win here.

Hell... people are still bitching about GLEEMAX, and that was what, eight years ago? It's insane.

WotC has a poor reputation in communication.

And we the audience have a much worse reputation for interpretation, comprehension and understanding.

No... we do not deserve any communication. We should count ourselves lucky if we get ANYTHING.

 

[Mercurius]

But, let's use your example Mercurious. They announce that they are working on a license. Ok, fine. They actually have done that. So, people start speculating on the license and how great it will be when 3pp can finally start adding material. Ok, fantastic. Then, a few months later, they state that the license talks have fallen through and no license is forthcoming.

The fandom goes nuts. Heck, look at something as relatively minor as the Morningstar program. Six months later and people are still bitching about it. As soon as WOTC says they are even trying to do something, people automatically spin that into they will do that thing and sooner rather than later.

They simply cannot win here.

I agree, they can't "win." But as you said, no matter what they do or say (or don't do or say), someone is going to get pissed off. The question, then, is how to communicate in such a way that POedness is minimized and goodwill is maximized? I'm not sure "mum's the word" is the best approach, but who knows.

And we the audience have a much worse reputation for interpretation, comprehension and understanding.

No... we do not deserve any communication. We should count ourselves lucky if we get ANYTHING.

Hmm...that's a bit harsh.

 

[jayoungr]

Wow, I'm sad to see that what was meant to be a happy, positive thread has turned sour so quickly.

But that said, I'm curious...

Hell... people are still bitching about GLEEMAX, and that was what, eight years ago? It's insane.

I wasn't playing D&D at the time--can somebody fill me in on just what the Gleemax problem was?

P.S. I'm having a blast with D&D 5E myself, and I haven't even had a chance to play Tyranny of Dragons yet, so there's plenty of material to keep me occupied at the pace I'm going.

 

[Von Ether]

(applauds WotC)

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

I missed the whole gleemax thing, too. I imagine a short lived TV series about a bunch of high school misfits who form a gaming group and play D&D by singing their actions to the tune of musical numbers...
"Let it roll, let it roll, make your death saving throw...let it roll, let it roll...(rolls 1)...I never liked this character anyway" etc. No?

 

[Staffan]

It's possible that Gleemax was at least somewhat better received by the Magic community, because it used to be a long-running inside joke in the Magic articles that Wizards of the Coast was secretly run by a brain in a jar, named Gleemax. They even made a card for it in the joke expansion Unhinged. So the concept was probably at least somewhat familiar to many Magic players. Meanwhile, I don't think I ever saw it mentioned in the D&D articles, and I don't think I've ever seen a D&D player who didn't go "Gleemax? What the eff?"

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

I enjoy 5e immensely. It has brought me back to RPGs after a 15 year break.

 

[wedgeski]

Gleemax had potential as far as I was concerned. It was just the green colour-scheme that put me off.

In all seriousness, it was an attempt to cultivate a gaming community around Wizards's products, with forums, groups, calendars, and so-on. It could easily have worked, but didn't. Nowadays, you've got 1001 other ways to organize your gaming network.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

Gleemax had potential as far as I was concerned. It was just the green colour-scheme that put me off.


Ha, that's all I remember: "Agh, my eyes!" Though, I had a similar, but watered down reaction to cracking open the 4th Ed PHB.

 

[jayoungr]

So Gleemax was a ... what, like a gaming-oriented Facebook? I'm still fuzzy on what it was and why it made people so angry.