David Noonan on playtesting experience

[Glyfair]

This might quell some fears for most (and engender some in others). In this thread David Noonan describes, in general terms, his experience with the rules in their current rough form.

One thing I can tell you, right now, tonight, is how the game is functioning at my Thursday night table. We're getting around the table faster than we did when this was a 3.5 game. We're hitting rules hitches at more or less the same rate as in 3.5--but this is playtesting, where the only alternative to finding problems is, well, not finding problems. I gotta believe those will fade away as we polish things up. And as the DM, the "information processing" load (bookkeeping, lookups, resource management) on me is way, way down. This does wonders for my ability to DM because I can focus more brainpower on making the encounter come to life.

My players--a mix of other game designers and friends from outside the game industry--are having a good time. (But the point is that we're friends, so the rules can't really take credit for that.) My players have some issues with the game still, and I'm madly taking playtest notes as we play.

So that's where we're at right now. If I were in your shoes, I'd sure want to know as much as possible, right away, proverbial elephants be damned. But May 2008 is a ways off. Just check in with us, volunteer to playtest, and eventually you'll see for yourself, long before the book is on the shelves.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

That does sound promising. Anything that reduces the amount of information the DM has to keep track of or come up with is a good thing IMO.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

I never did buy the whole "too much prep time" argument. Ive run 8 hour games without having to open a book once to check a rule and have had generic foes stockpiled so if i need a drow in a hurry I have like 10 pages ready to go to fit whatever my need may be.
I guess i over prepared in the past so that I would have to in the future.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I never did buy the whole "too much prep time" argument. Ive run 8 hour games without having to open a book once to check a rule and have had generic foes stockpiled so if i need a drow in a hurry I have like 10 pages ready to go to fit whatever my need may be.
I guess i over prepared in the past so that I would have to in the future.

Well, it was certainly an issue for me - especially when I ran a campaign for the first time.

Especially selecting the appropriate spells for high-level casters was a major hassle...

 

[Shades of Green]

This sounds very promising, especially the reduced DM workload.

 

[Aloïsius]

So, the playtest is only starting on the beta version ? And the PHB will be there in May ? Let's say that the expanded playtest (they are recruiting volonteers NOW) last 6 months (they need to cover those damn 30 level !). Compiling, editing, last minute modifications... 2 months. Then, the books will need to be print (I think they will target hundred of thousands), distributed... and we are in May.
This is short. Short playtest, short editing. There will be countless bugs, typo and errata.

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Hopefully, they will make 4E have some major improvements in the prep-time. That's always welcome, even for a well-prepared DM.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Midknightsun]

I agree that the prep time for 3.5 is a major hassle, especially at higher levels. Anything that can make my job easier (and not feel like a job) has got my interest.

 

[Tharen the Damned]

So, the playtest is only starting on the beta version ? And the PHB will be there in May ? Let's say that the expanded playtest (they are recruiting volonteers NOW) last 6 months (they need to cover those damn 30 level !). Compiling, editing, last minute modifications... 2 months. Then, the books will need to be print (I think they will target hundred of thousands), distributed... and we are in May.
This is short. Short playtest, short editing. There will be countless bugs, typo and errata.

That is an integral part of the marketing strategy. 4.5 will clear up the bugs, typos and errata.

 

[Templeton580]

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