D&D 5E I think the era of 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons had it right. (not talking about the rules).

[Parmandur]

Let's back up here just a moment. You get access to "tons" of stuff. So would you not prefer it if Netflix only provided you with just a few TV shows and movies? I mean you can't possibly watch all that in a reasonable amount of time.

You missed the main part of that clause, tons of stuff "that I use.". Paying a little for a lot is a good cost-benefit; under DDI, paying a premium for material I would not use is iffy.

Compare to the core books model, where I pay once, and can use the book for decades, no matter what WotC does with their platform. Netflix is a month to month, cheap and high usage service, nit at all like DDI, which was pricey, low usage and a long term commitment.

 

[Corwin]

Let's back up here just a moment. You get access to "tons" of stuff. <snip> I mean you can't possibly watch all that in a reasonable amount of time.

I agree. Let's back up here just a moment.There is "tons" of stuff for 5e. I mean you can't possibly play it all in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Mistwell]

This makes absolutely no sense. I hear this a lot but I don't see any sort of explanation that ever makes sense. The game has always had a place to start where you can add material as slowly or as quickly as you want. I could understand if you need 10 parts in order to actually play the full game but you don't. If WoTc actually used the media properly and presented the game for new people in a way that will show them where to begin and the steps need to take when they are ready to go to the next level then everyone could get what they want. This stuff about a slow release is easier for beginners is just nonsense. What do you do when you decide you want to read an already on going series of novels? You Google it. You can find a list of books you need to read and in the order you need to read them.

If I am a beginner and I want to learn about D&D I should be able to go online and see that I can start with the beginner boxset and go from there. Meanwhile, while it's going to take me a while to learn the game, the veteran players and DM's can have the material they want to run the games they want. What happens years down the road and there is a lot of content and you look at the beginner players coming in then? Does the game need to restart after a few years to let the next batch of new people "catch up"?

Your analysis doesn't hold up I'm afraid.

Dozens of people have tried to tell you this same thing over the last couple of years and you keep saying it doesn't make sense to you. I am not sure why you have not asked yourself why you're having trouble making sense of it rather than telling people they must be wrong. But I will try again - seeing a wall of books in a game store for a game is a deterrent to entry.

Since you raised the topic of Netflix earlier, a show with 100 episodes which are all inter-connected and build on each other is a deterrent for many to start that show. All production companies and distribution companies understand this. They adjust for this fact when agreeing to fund/distribute episodic versus non-episodic content. It's a major, HUGE factor for show balance, because the effect is so well known and studied and tested in that industry.

It's similar with RPGs. And it's OK if that wall of books does not have a negative impact for you, it's just important that you try and understand (because it has in fact been years of people making this argument ot you and you saying you don't understand or don't see it) that it has a very significant negative impact for many people who think differently than you.

You don't have to agree based on your personal preferences, but it is time you at least tried to consider the possibility of acknowledging that for many other people it does have this negative impact for them.

What's weird is we've had this exact same discussion several times now. People have given you literally dozens of reasons why they prefer a slower release schedule - and then a few months go by and you act like they have not done that with you before. Why? Why won't YOU build on the discussions of the past like you want WOTC to build on releases of the past? Why do you keep re-starting this discussion rather than allowing it to grow and actually be a real discussion where you acknowledge how others might think on it and express some interest in genuinely understanding why they think differently?

 

[Parmandur]

LOL!!!!!

Of course we get a few of the extreme ones here to try and make it seem they are the majority.

All we have here is some anecdotal opinions, that contrast. Nobody here has solid data, or reason to believe your anecdotal opinion is objective unlike ours.

 

[Corpsetaker]

You missed the main part of that clause, tons of stuff "that I use.". Paying a little for a lot is a good cost-benefit; under DDI, paying a premium for material I would not use is iffy.

Compare to the core books model, where I pay once, and can use the book for decades, no matter what WotC does with their platform. Netflix is a month to month, cheap and high usage service, nit at all like DDI, which was pricey, low usage and a long term commitment.

*sighs*

Do you like multiple genres of movies and TV shows?

 

[Corwin]

I am an analytical person which means I weigh all the factors when someone says something like this. You are clearly trying to take something and use it for your own argument when you clearly don't take all the factors into account.

I know what you are trying to do with your claim and I'm just flat out telling you that it doesn't prove what you are trying to claim.

You are what's called anecdotal evidence.

 

[Parmandur]

I don't buy that it's "intimidating". Are people intimidated when they walk into a video game store? I mean there are walls and walls of video games? Most people who go to play a game would see the word "Starter" and be intelligent enough to guess that is where you start. If you can't figure that part out then you don't need to play. Also, if you go to eat at McDonald's/Burger King etc, would it be great to only have a whopper/big mac and chicken nuggets to choose from?

Yes, see also In-N-Out, which is better than McDa or the King with exactly three menu options.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Yes, see also In-N-Out, which is better than McDa or the King with exactly three menu options.

So do you like multiple genres?

 

[Creamsteak]

Walking into a Gaming Store can be intimidating as well. So now we are stuck with not only having to walk into a strange place but also a wall of books once inside. Double intimidation.

Another thing I didn't mention is curating the experience. Quality control is one part of that, but there's also just something to be said for constructing an experience. All these analogies about food just keep reminding me of trusting a chef or a server at a restaurant. Sometimes you go for a four course meal and maybe have at most two options for each course and it's all designed to be fit together rather than a buffet. I mean, they both have their uses, but if I didn't know Pathfinder at a certain level I might be overwhelmed if I showed up at some random game store to play with some people using every rule ever.

 

[Corwin]

So do you like multiple genres?

There's lots of available genre options for 5e out there as well. Is that what you are getting at?