Have you noticed something? Wizards is listening!

[ColonelHardisson]

I miss the Spikey look early 3e had. We poked fun when we saw it at first and we kept poking fun, wotc ditched it, but now i miss it.

i also wish armor spikes were more useful. Something [ex]Constricting you should take the spikes+its STR bonus in damage.

I never really had a problem with the spikey look. In a genre in which giants and the like can grab a character, spikes make sense for armor. As you note, though, implementing the concept in game play needs some work.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I never really had a problem with the spikey look. In a genre in which giants and the like can grab a character, spikes make sense for armor. As you note, though, implementing the concept in game play needs some work.

Spikes are fine as far as fantasy-game defense goes. It's the overabundance of buckles, and spikes as fashion--that was tiresome.

I mean, Hennet's pants were composed entirely of belts. Dozens of tiny-circumferance belts.

[sky is falling mode]

I'm guessing that 4e's art style will reflect the increasingly popular anime art style. Smooth lines, exaggerated shoulder armor and gauntlets, pre-pubescent bodies, improbably enormous weaponry.

Look what Warner is doing with Bugs Bunny (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6989380/). Hasbro is just as big a company and just as stupid. That's the future look of D&D.

:cries:

[/sky is falling]

-z

 

[Wraith Form]

I'm guessing that 4e's art style will reflect the increasingly popular anime art style. Smooth lines, exaggerated shoulder armor and gauntlets, pre-pubescent bodies, improbably enormous weaponry.

:cries:

[/sky is falling]

Oh for *Fbomb*'s sake, I hope to hell you're wrong. Please, please, in the name of all that is holy, please let you be wrong. Otherwise I'll be crying too.

 

[Mark]

Spikes are fine as far as fantasy-game defense goes. It's the overabundance of buckles, and spikes as fashion--that was tiresome.

I mean, Hennet's pants were composed entirely of belts. Dozens of tiny-circumferance belts.

[sky is falling mode]

I'm guessing that 4e's art style will reflect the increasingly popular anime art style. Smooth lines, exaggerated shoulder armor and gauntlets, pre-pubescent bodies, improbably enormous weaponry.

Look what Warner is doing with Bugs Bunny (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6989380/). Hasbro is just as big a company and just as stupid. That's the future look of D&D.

:cries:

[/sky is falling]

-z

Euphemism Alert! Euphemism Alert!

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I'm guessing that 4e's art style will reflect the increasingly popular anime art style. Smooth lines, exaggerated shoulder armor and gauntlets, pre-pubescent bodies, improbably enormous weaponry.

Look what Warner is doing with Bugs Bunny. Hasbro is just as big a company and just as stupid. That's the future look of D&D.

Unlike Bugs Bunny, D&D has a fanbase that is quite large and quite active. I doubt that they could start using that ridiculous anime style without the whole fanbase going berserk (on other forums, mind you, since wizards doesn't allow petition's on their boards...)

Besides, they see the good feedback people like Todd Lockwood receive for their art. I don't think they'd want to let those artists go to try something they know won't work with their target group.

 

[WizarDru]

Look what Warner is doing with Bugs Bunny (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6989380/). Hasbro is just as big a company and just as stupid. That's the future look of D&D.

That's a good example, because a single 11-year-old boy made them back down and change it.

I've been very happy with all of the WotC books I've picked up in the last 6 months. Lords of Madness, Races of Eberron and Sandstorm are all uniformly excellent and useful. WotC may plan the books a long time in advance, but the manuscripts are not necessarily held in limbo the way they were just prior to 3.5. WotC is listening and in a good way, IMHO. MMIII is rife with minor errors, it's true...but it's a good book, otherwise, and it sees use in my game.

Yes, they're a company...but so was TSR. That isn't a guarantee that they'll actually listen to their customers or provide the best-possible product. They probably could make almost the same profit without doing as good of a job. So I say "Kudos!", Wotc. Well done and good on you.

 

[Ranger REG]

Yes, they're a company...but so was TSR. That isn't a guarantee that they'll actually listen to their customers or provide the best-possible product. They probably could make almost the same profit without doing as good of a job. So I say "Kudos!", Wotc. Well done and good on you.

Correct, they are a company, which means it is a business. A business that thrive on selling products to customers, and if the customers are satisfied with the product, they may continue to buy from the business.

If the business failed to make producst that are appealing toward customers, they will not buy them and the business will fail because of debts they have (printing company bills, distributors bills, artists paychecks, designers paychecks, editors paychecks, etc.). If they're too stupid to make unsellable products, then such a business should deserve to fail.

Mind you, the products that are released today have been in development for about a year. So not only they have to be in touch with their customers, but also predict a year ahead what are they willing to buy.

For that, sometimes it's a hit, sometimes it's a miss, and in the case of Star Wars Roleplaying Game line, they have absolutely no clue at all (the management, not the designers).