Dislike 4E? You can write off 5E

[ggroy]

BTW, as cruel as this may sound, it is highly unlikely that the current batch of WotC designers/developers will survive the Great WotC Employee Purges of 2010 and 2011, so once WotC gets around to planning 5E, there will be a bunch of new designers with relatively fresh perspectives involved. Sure, they will have more experience with 4E than 3.x (and some of them will likely never have played 3.x to begin with), but who's to say how far they will want to go to prove their mettle?

Any names of interest of upcoming star rpg designers?

 

[Piratecat]

Wow. Even for the Internet, this topic is really... Internetty.

Well said!

I've been told point blank from Greg Leeds, WotC's president, that they're not even going to start thinking about 5e for years. They're invested in the current rule set. As sexy as scurrilous rumor is, this may be a little extreme.

 

[Fifth Element]

Look, it's straight from the horse's mouth, if this isn't just rumour, and I was hoping for a departure from the 4E design philosophy, not an evolution or refinement, and that's what he's effectively saying it won't be (a departure).

You've neatly dodged the point that this was a response to a hypothetical question posed to him. It was not a statement of fact in any way. You've written off an entire edition of the game based on something said by someone who may not even be involved in the 5E design process when it comes along, in response to a hypothetical question.

Besides that, considering the amount of messageboard flak for 4E's lack of backwards compatibility, you'd think making it more compatible with the most recent previous edition would be a good thing.

 

[ggroy]

I've been told point blank from Greg Leeds, WotC's president, that they're not even going to start thinking about 5e for years. They're invested in the current rule set.

Is this the truth or just corporate "doublespeak"?

On the other hand if Leeds ever gets fired or quits in the meantime, any and all bets are off.

 

[rounser]

You've neatly dodged the point that this was a response to a hypothetical question posed to him. It was not a statement of fact in any way. You've written off an entire edition of the game based on something said by someone who may not even be involved in the 5E design process when it comes along, in response to a hypothetical question.

Okay, you've got me there, but the rumour I was responding to wasn't presented that way. I'll be checking the 5E design credits at least, then.

I admit to panicking as hope I had for the next edition snuffed out when I saw that statement.

Is this the truth or just corporate "doublespeak"?

Were the denials of work on 4e accurate in retrospect? I don't think a business can afford to be truthful in this area, given that 3e sales plummeted when 4e was announced IIRC. Resultingly, perhaps it's not fair to expect a straight answer.

 

[Rechan]

Woo, rituals, magical items and ability scores! The bugaboos I have issue with.

 

[Treebore]

That is awesome. You already hate 5E. I mean, that is just adorable! Shine on you crazy diamond. Shine on.

You know, a lot of people are really tired of this kind of drama. Hate? Come on! Its not hate, its a preference to spend time playing a different game!

I am so sick and tired of the "hate" label just because someone doesn't like to spend their time playing a specific game.

Lets look at the facts, there are a lot of people who play 4E. There are a lot of people who play 3E or Pathfinder. There are a lot of people who play a lot of other games.

Now if "hate" was the right word there would have been a lot of bloodshed at every Convention I have been to. Guess what? There was very little, and none of it that I was aware of had anything to do with any kind of "hate". It had to do with tripping over chairs, peoples feet, or getting a door shut on fingers.

I do not hate 4E. I do not hate 3E. I just prefer to spend my time gaming using other systems, and I am sure the vast majority of people who do not play a given system feel the same way. It does not involve "hate", most people, even around here, realize there are far better things to direct "hate" towards.

It is preference. I prefer not to play 3E, 4E, and in all liklihood 5E whenever it comes out. Guess what? The RPG world is still intact. Just like my world is doing just fine because there are a lot of people who do not like playing the games I do like. My games of Castles and Crusades, L5R, Shadowrun 4E, Twilight 2013, Hackmaster Basic, Aces and Eights, Traveller, Mutants and Masterminds, True 20, Dragon Age, etc... will continue on just fine no matter how many people don't like spending time playing them.

So we are all doing fine. Take deep breathes. Let the hate go. Your preferred game is still there, and your safe. No hate anywhere to be found. Just fun.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I've been told point blank from Greg Leeds, WotC's president, that they're not even going to start thinking about 5e for years. They're invested in the current rule set.

Not to pick it out, but it's totally possible that WotC's president has a different idea of "thinking about 5e" than R&D. R&D, as Wyatt's interview noted, needs to think about things so far down the road that they might not even be feasible. Wyatt points out that it's sort of his job in R&D to think ahead of everyone else in the company.

The President of WotC, meanwhile, might mean that they're not even going to start thinking about 5e on a "real development and preparation" level for years. Which is fair. Wyatt should be thinking about things that haven't pinged Leed's radar yet. That's his job.

IIRC, weren't we told maybe a year before the 4e announcement that 4e wansn't on the horizon? Maybe I'm miss-remembering, but regardless, even if Leeds isn't thinking about 5e on any sort of level, Wyatt clearly is, though maybe on a purely hypothetical level only in response to specific questions, having nothing whatsoever to do with the things that are actually in active development.

 

[Rechan]

I wonder if 5e will have dragonboobs.

 

[Lanefan]

5e will come, there is no doubt. The only questions are a) when, and b) what will it look/play like.

My main hope is that when they release it they don't throw all you 4e players and fans under the bus. This community does not need yet *another* divide.

Lan-"how many editions does this game need, anyway"-efan