D&D's Future ?

[tylerthehobo]

Engage with your players on the platforms they are using. I don't think that's such a ridiculous idea. It's part of what helped launch D&D in the late 70s and 80s (anyone remember the terrible atari console game that probably caused a lot of folks to go get the boxed sets anyways?).

 

[Hereticus]

D&D's Future?

Hopefully to create two parallel gaming products.

Continue with fourth edition for those that like the WoW game feel.

Bring back 3.5E as a separate game line, as D&D Classic.

WotC is a corporation that is in gaming for the money, why not expand the product line and make more people happy?

 

[Henry]

The combat system of 4E is very hard, if not impossible, to convert to real time (or semi real time like in NWN) and the current D&D video game brands are based on this real time combat.

In my opinion, World of Warcraft has already done it - encounter powers recharge anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds of real time, and daily powers recharge anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes of real time. Voila! Encounter and daily spells - remember all those "4E is a video game!" threads? That was the basis of several arguments.

 

[The Little Raven]

WotC is a corporation that is in gaming for the money, why not expand the product line and make more people happy?

Multiple competing product lines is what helped bury TSR. There is limited consumer dollars and limited shelf space, and the two would be in direct competition with eachother for both.

 

[Hereticus]

Multiple competing product lines is what helped bury TSR. There is limited consumer dollars and limited shelf space, and the two would be in direct competition with each other for both.

3.5E has already been developed, there is little cost in maintaining it as a product line. 4.0E is where most of the development money will continue to go.

Most store will continue to split shelf space between 3.5E and 4.0E.

Regarding consumer dollars, it is incorrect to assume that money spent on 3.5E would've been spent on 4.0E if it was no longer available.

 

[Derren]

Ack. Please say there are no "dragonborn", "eladrin" or "warlords" in there, I was considering buying this one.

Not yet. Maybe in NWN3 (They did something similar with Baldurs Gate 2, importing the Sorcerer, Monk and Barbarian into 2nd Edition)

In my opinion, World of Warcraft has already done it - encounter powers recharge anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds of real time, and daily powers recharge anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes of real time. Voila! Encounter and daily spells - remember all those "4E is a video game!" threads? That was the basis of several arguments.

Long cooldowns in a single player game? Not a good idea.

 

[JoeGKushner]

3.5E has already been developed, there is little cost in maintaining it as a product line. 4.0E is where most of the development money will continue to go.

Most store will continue to split shelf space between 3.5E and 4.0E.

Regarding consumer dollars, it is incorrect to assume that money spent on 3.5E would've been spent on 4.0E if it was no longer available.

But dosn't that line of thinking work for ALL previous editions of D&D?

 

[Derren]

But dosn't that line of thinking work for ALL previous editions of D&D?

Problam is that Atari currently has no engine developer for a 4E game. Both the Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights engine was developed by Bioware, not Obsidian.

You would need to heavily modify the NWN2 Engine to be able to do a 4E game as that engine can't handle feats affecting powers, just basic attacks.

 

[Hereticus]

But dosn't that line of thinking work for ALL previous editions of D&D?

To some degree yes, but to a larger extent no.

AD&D through 3.5E were basically the same game with some minor rules and features changes. Most everything was still recognizable as what it once was.

Fourth edition is a completely new game that is incompatible with earlier editions.

That is why I suggested that both editions be supported as separate game system lines.