D&D 5E Has 5E Restored or Diminished Your Faith in WotC?

[Feeroper]

Then a lot of more tidbits follow about an OPEN PLAYTEST which will be WONDERFUL!

Then, nearly two weeks later, a con goes up where three dozen people get to actually play this thing. But they can't tell anyone. Because as WotC has just announced, it's an open playtest for everyone!

Sorry, but this cements that once again, WotC botched a nice roll-out of a new edition. The press release was premature, their own announcements don't synch up with what they actually have, everything is pretty hazy, and a lot is inconsistent. To make it worse, people who've been exposed to the material are under an NDA, so they can't clarify the situation either.

I suppose you missed this part on their official website:

"We have begun obtaining feedback from a limited Friends & Family playtest consisting of internal employees and their gaming groups and soon we will be expanding that group to consist of members from our existing body of playtesters. Then at the D&D Experience convention in late January, Wizards of the Coast will conduct a special playtest of ideas currently in development. The D&D Experience will be moving to Gen Con in 2013, so as a convention special this year, we will be offering show attendees a first-look at a draft of the new set of rules. Then beginning sometime in the spring, we will begin open playtesting. Through our web site, we will release a growing set of rules, classes, monsters and other materials for your study and feedback."

This was in their initial article announcing D&D Next. It quite clearly states that there will be a special playtest at DDXP, a first look at a draft of the new rules, not an open playtest. Then in the spring, they will commence with the open playtest.

This was the article they kept bombarding you with. I think alot of confusion could have been cleared up if it was read all the way through. If you still think that starting a new edition off by soliciting feedback from fans during the development process is a bad way to roll out a new edition, what would you suggest be done to improve it?

Edit: Just want to add that when I read this back it seemed like I may sound snarky, but I didnt mean it to sound like that. I just wanted to point out that they have already spelled out what they plan on doing, and so far have stuck to it. I figured you probobly didnt fully read the article they posted about it when it was initially announced. I know the NYT article wasn't as thorough in that way.

 

[marleykat]

It's far too early to give an informed answer to this question. Until I have FAR more information I'm in "wait and see " mode. So far though it looks like "all systems are a go Houston ". I like what I see far and fail see use in getting more than curious at this time. If they screw it up I have Pathfinder and FantasyCraft, no problems here in my little corner of the universe.

 

[Dausuul]

Ah, yes. The "WIZARDS LIED TO US!" complaints with nothing to substantiate them. How well I remember them from the transition to 4E.

 

[Windjammer]

Edit: Just want to add that when I read this back it seemed like I may sound snarky, but I didnt mean it to sound like that. I just wanted to point out that they have already spelled out what they plan on doing, and so far have stuck to it. I figured you probobly didnt fully read the article they posted about it when it was initially announced. I know the NYT article wasn't as thorough in that way.

Thanks for this. In part this was my point though. The real announcement was the first one with the presses. As you point out, that announcement made it seem that a new edition is not just on the horizon - but that it's playtest is imminent.

And to answer the other poster: my point wasn't so much that they are 'lying' but that WotC have lost the initial momentum. That makes the roll-out look a bit confused, just as their announcements surrounding Essentials weren't so much insincere as confusing.

 

[Consonant Dude]

And to answer the other poster: my point wasn't so much that they are 'lying' but that WotC have lost the initial momentum. That makes the roll-out look a bit confused, just as their announcements surrounding Essentials weren't so much insincere as confusing.

That is the price you pay for getting feedback. WotC is in a tough spot. It's easier for a company to operate internally, work on the edition and then carefully announce it.

However, the company totally screwed up last time and it seems they are dedicated to making sure 5th edition gets lots of feedback and playtest this time around. I do believe this is as much for PR purpose as for practicality.

Unfortunately, these "waves" of playtests, the various polls, etc... mean that it will be frustrating for fans. I'm really happy that they kept the initial playtest to DDXP. I hope they refine things before the next playtest wave. I wish I could know everything right now but hey, I'll survive

 

[tlantl]

Listen. I know most of you don't share this opinion but as a 4E fan I'm feeling particularly rubbed raw by WotC. Not only have they ripped off the tablecloth from underneath me by shelving 4E but they have also made me and players like me the butt of many snide jokes and comparisons since the announcement. On top of that they released a horrible MTG set in the same timeline.

So no they haven't exactly restored my faith in them. I'm feeling pretty hurt and betrayed both as a fan of D&D and a fan of MTG.

I'm sure a lot of current edition fans are feeling the same way. I know I did when they did it to us when 4e was released. I also happen to be a 1e/2e fan so I've been here a couple of times.

My faith in the company never really existed. All I see is a corporation looking to grab all the cash they can from us fans of the game then doing it all over again when the well runs dry. the last time they did it they tried to reinvent the wheel as well as put out new core material and a whole lot of their customers refused to buy their game.

To me and a lot of other people regardless of whether the new rules were more balanced and the game worked like a finely tuned automobile it wasn't what we knew as D&D. For me it was something entirely different with the D&D brand plastered on it.

On top of that I had several hundred dollars invested in a system, that to me was reasonably new and certainly hadn't been played out. Being told to go buy their new game kind of sucked in the most insulting kind of way.

If there's a silver lining it is that in five or six years if they survive this edition they will do it all over again. If you are young enough you'll likely live through five more editions of D&D.

 

[SensoryThought]

As a 4e player I am concerned about ongoing DDI support but this is unlikely to be an issue until 2014 at the earliest.

I only hope that 5e will allow me to transition to similarly developed online tools (that I am happy to pay for). This may be challenging for a modular game with a plethora of game options.

 

[Banshee16]

Ah I see, I must have misunderstood your previous post.

However, in regards to this part: "I just feel that if they state they're doing open playtests etc. they're not truly open if they're dependent upon flying to a convention across the country" -they did state the open playtest is going to start in the spring, and that before that they would do a sneak peek at DDXP, so they were up front about it from the get go.

As for whether or not or not WoTC has restored faith in the customers they lost, I absoloutly agree, its way too early for someone to make up their mind about that yet. I just hope people give it a fair shake regardless if the end up liking it or not. As a fan of both 4e and PF, Im tired of all the edition warring that goes on. I hope with this new edition they can repair at least some of that fracture in the community.

I remember reading about the open playtest for the spring. Admittedly, when announcements came out about people trying it at the con, that's what I thought they were referring to.

In this day of instant information availability, it's easy to forget the "soon" doesn't always mean "tomorrow"

I look forward to seeing whether they actually come out with playtest material in the spring. If they do something like Paizo did, I think it'll go a long way to alleviate concerns.....even if the answer is "wait until April/May".

I also hope the new edition can repair the rift. But I'm of a mixed mind.....I hope it doesn't take all the wind out of Pathfinder's sails, as I happen to like what Paizo is doing.

Banshee

 

[TarionzCousin]

I am optimistic, but still hesitant. WotC has disappointed me too often in the past. I'm afraid of being too enthusiastic and having 5E blast me in the face with stuff I don't like.

 

[wingsandsword]

It has made me cautiously optimistic about 5e.

I don't know if I'll switch to it or stick with 3.5e, in fact I'll probably still stick with 3.5e because by this point I have over a decade of experience with 3.x and have really got a system I like.

However, from the sound of things I'll probably at least buy the Core Rules for 5e and be a lot more willing to play a 5e game than a 4e game.

4e was an Epic-level botch from WotC on a few levels. The notorious early marketing of it came across as "3e isn't fun, and you aren't having fun right if you play it, we know what fun is and we'll tell you what is fun! Soon everybody will play 4e!" Not literally what was said, but that was the attitude that bled through.

It looks like WotC is trying to be conciliatory and officially acknowledge the broken fanbase. I remember when here on ENWorld, early in the Edition Wars, when 4e proponents would claim there was no broken fanbase and only a "vocal minority" online still played pre-4e games and the overwhelming majority of players had switched.

The idea that WotC knows it's competing against its own products, it can't arbitrarily create a new game and "force" everybody to play it because they can stick with prior products. If WotC wants 5e to succeed, they need to be inclusive of a variety of play styles and respectful of the entire heritage of D&D, not scrapping it all for Johnny-come-lately new cosmologies, lore and terminology.