It will be interesting to see how many 3E players jump to 4E and leave 3E behind as an old memory.
So what? This is the attitude that I don’t understand.
You know, most people don’t stake out their preferred edition of the game as some territory to defend and expand. They don’t stand at attention under a banner that says “X Edition: convert or be flamed”. Most people like and play “D&D”. The edition is secondary, if a thought at all.
If and when a 4th edition is published, I fully expect all/most current players to move to it. I expect the next edition to be better – better game mechanics – because it will be designed with another ~10 years worth of game design/play experience. I will examine it and determine if it is indeed better. If I think it is, I will start using it. I will not shed a tear for D&D3, I will not feel a pang of sadness. I will not miss it. I will not go on message boards and start edition wars in honor of it.
I do not pick up a new edition of D&D just because it new. Usually, though, the new thing is better; few things regress. I will pick up a new edition (or game) because I think it is better mechanically.
I started out with Basic/Expert D&D. We played for a year or two with those rules. When we learned of Advanced D&D, we considered it better (mechanically), and so moved to playing with it. When Second Edition came out, I considered it “not better enough” (mechanically), and so continued mostly playing the first edition. (I did play some AD&D2, but under other DMs – I DMed AD&D1.) I eventually fell out of D&D gaming. When D&D3 was released, I checked it out and considered it very good/better (mechanically), and so got back into the hobby. When D&D3 was revised to 3.5, I considered it an improvement (mechanically) and moved to it.
This whole feeling that some have of “us versus them” – you either like the latest version and hate the older versions, or you like the older versions and hate the latest version – is ridiculous. I play D&D. I am currently playing with the latest edition of the rule set, but that doesn’t mean I’ve taken to disliking the older versions.
Newer cars are generally better than older cars. I buy new cars for this betterness. Do I miss my old cars? I may miss the times/experiences I had in/with those old cars, but I don’t miss the car itself. I can have more of the same experiences in my new car as I did with my old. Sure, some of the experiences will be different, because *I’m* different (older, husband, father, job, etc.), but the car does not create the experiences – it is just a vehicle to take me through the experiences. I like that I don’t have to manually roll up my windows, I like that there are airbags in the steering wheel and doors, I like that my car has a bigger interior – I find nothing inherently more pure or fun because of the older technology.
I had some great times in my younger days through the earlier editions of D&D, but not *because* of those editions. I’m having great times now through the current edition of D&D, not because of this edition. I will have great times in my future years through the next edition of D&D, not because of that edition. I move with editions that I feel are better mechanically – the feelings and fun of the game comes directly and only through me and my group.
Quasqueton
When did this happen? I've been around here since before there were boards and Eric Noah just had his 3E rumor site (one of several, at the time), and I don't recall anything like this. Without going into excruciating detail, I'd be curious to know the time frame involved, so as to do some looking around of my own.
