D&D 5E Is 2014 official?

[MatthewJHanson]

Looking at where the playtest is now, there's pretty much no way that I can see it released this year, which again makes 2014 look like the likely target. I suspect the earliest we'll see an official announcement of the release date is Gencon, but maybe not until later.

 

[Mercurius]

I suppose 2014 makes sense, especially considering it is now less than one year away. I have a hard time imagining that they can pull it all together in time for the holiday season, and after the fallout from 4E's (too early?) release, I can't imagine them wanting to rush it this time around.

What we might see, however, is some kind of beta Player's Handbook or rulebook - maybe even for GenCon this year. Right now we're not even in an alpha phase, as in a consolidated rules document, so we're a bit far away yet. But I could see something more complete this year, even enough to play an ongoing campaign with minimal changes when the official rules come out.

In other words, there's a period between when the rules are 90% finished and the final tweaking takes place; that could take six months or a year or so and requires at least a beta book for people to pore over.

So while I'm looking forward to a finished product, it may be that we'll get something close enough to play sometime later this year...or maybe that's just wishful thinking?

 

[Stormonu]

From other articles I've read, it normally takes 6 months to get a RPG book together for print - assuming the basic text has already been written (covering editting, mocking up galleys, re-editing, sending the final files off for printing and getting the books ready for shipping).

If that timing is anywhere close, that would mean they'd have to wrap up playtesting round March-April to have a release at/near Gencon this year. From the sound of the playtest, I don't think they'd make it, so I think we're either looking at a eary 2014 release (Pax/DDXP is round then, right?) or summer 2014 in time for folks to be ready to do games for Gencon.

Just my guess.

 

[Mercurius]

That makes sense to me, Stormonu. I think they'd want the game out - at least the introductory set, if they're doing that before the Big Three - before GenCon. So I'd guess we're looking at 13-18 months from now, so February to July, 2014.

 

[delericho]

From the sound of the playtest, I don't think they'd make it, so I think we're either looking at a eary 2014 release (Pax/DDXP is round then, right?)

Didn't they say they were moving DDXP from next year? IIRC, it was on that discussion that Piratecat moderated.

(I may be wrong, of course - the perils of working from a half-working memory .)

 

[tekhammer]

2014 is D&D's 40th anniversary.

 

[Mark CMG]

I say it'll be June 2014. They'll want folks to be coming to Gencon to play and they'll likely have the first few supplements on hand to sell to them at the convention.

 

[VinylTap]

More time the better imo. Make a solid game that will last years. Why rush a game that's suppose to last for over a decade just to get it out a year early? You'll have 10+ years playing an inferior game.

 

[Zulithe]

I would like to see a pre-release softcover rulebook at this year's gencon similar to what Pathfinder did with its open Beta. DND Next has a long way to go, but this long beta period must be having an impact on 4th Ed's sales. Should embrace next's in-flux status and put some books out there for us!

 

[Obryn]

So another year and a half of this? Jeez.

I suppose the last half year will be all hype and lead-up, maybe with a beta version document to have fun with about a year from now, but still...

I'm probably alone in this, but I find this playtest exhausting. I'd rather the designers sat down, got stuff ironed out better, playtested when it was nearly done, and let me make the decision to buy/not-buy then.

Instead, I feel a good deal of pressure (yes, I know, my problem) to make sure to follow it in the hopes it will turn into something I want to play. My hunch is that a long public playtest like this will lead toward a much more conservative system than I'm interested in.

If anything, my excitement diminishes with every new week of fresh edition-war-by-proxy.

-O