I've made up my mind...for now.

[Thornir Alekeg]

I am another one whose experience is almost word for word with the Lorax, up until 3.5. Our group had the same grumblings, but when half the players moved out of state the group broke up and we never played 3.5.

Since then I played 3.5 in a few different short lived groups that I found through postings in my FLGS or Border's.

Since I am working full-time while doing part-time Graduate school I really cannot afford to try and gather a group and run a game for them right now. I don't have a regular group to play in right now, either. I expect I will pick up and read 4e for the main reason that I can then join a group playing 4th edition if I get lucky enough to find one that meets on a schedule I can handle.

Once I finish Grad school, 4e will have been out for about a year I and should really be able to gauge from the discussions here on EN World whether it is the right game for me to DM. I will then decide whether I want to run a 4e game or use some of that practically untouched 3.5 material I have from my old group.

 

[KingCrab]

Not sure if anyone else got to this but:

Considering the man-power WOTC has behind a new edition, I really don't think there is a lack of play-testing going on. They have in-house designers (and other staff members, too) playtesting pretty much every dat at work, and then most nights after work, and then on the weekends. These people are living and breathing the new rules.

The new rules aren't done yet. Rich Baker just mentioned that "the core rulebooks are in constant flux at the moment." So some of the rules they are playtesting may end up in the game, and some of them won't, and others will likely be included.

If WOTC spent more time playtesting, everyone would cry about waiting. If they spent less time, you'd know they couldn't get all the bugs out (frankly, they probably won't no matter how long they take, as many "bugs" are opinion anyway).

I think they are taking exactly as long as they think they need to do a great job.

I agree with you that there is an optimal (non-infinite) amount of time for playtesting. I just think that they are nowhere near that amount. I wouldn't worry so much about people crying about waiting, since it would be a much worse scenario to have everyone crying about the rules being grossly imbalanced (which is what I think is likely to happen.) In that case many gamers would not want to play or buy the game. It would be much better to just have people be restless for a few more months.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I agree with you that there is an optimal (non-infinite) amount of time for playtesting. I just think that they are nowhere near that amount. I wouldn't worry so much about people crying about waiting, since it would be a much worse scenario to have everyone crying about the rules being grossly imbalanced (which is what I think is likely to happen.) In that case many gamers would not want to play or buy the game. It would be much better to just have people be restless for a few more months.

Worst case scenario would be that due to lack of playtesting resulting in a game with wide customer approval they produce an edition that actually TANKS, thus requiring ANOTHER new edition immediately following or reverting to older editions. The results of that would be a HOPELESSLY fractured customer base either using a wide variety of new and old editions as well as having driven off too many to other RPGS or out of the hobby entirely. I already see the customer base fracturing and I myself am at the moment divided in my interests between THREE different editions - 1, 3 and 4.

This is not an insignificant endeavor.

 

[catsclaw227]

My experience is very similar, but we have tried to embrace all editions. During 2e, my gaming group ventured out into other RPGs because it didn't rub us right, but came back excited for 3e. I liked the 3.5 changes and in truth it didn't take long for us to instictively adjust to the changes.

I am looking forward to 4e for many reasons, but mostly because of the DMing experience, the per encounter abilities (we all liked Bo9S), and the simplification of the monsters. I like most of the fluff changes because it doesn't break any game worlds I homebrew. I have been too busy in my adult life to homebrew, so I use published settings and adventures.

I look forward to seeing what Necro/Paizo do with 4e. These guys are awesome.

I am curious about your gaming experience. Is it difficult DMing for the trees? I mean, they haven,'t got any tongues, so you have to say all their dialog for them. I imagine it makes for a strange gaming table atmosphere.

Is this some inside joke or something? I am not sure what you mean, could you qualify this?

 

[Wormwood]

Is this some inside joke or something? I am not sure what you mean, could you qualify this?

ahem.

 

[catsclaw227]

ahem.

I see. I haven't read Seuss in almost 40 years.

 

[ThirdWizard]

For everyone else out there, I wanna know, why do you (or don't you) want to do 4e?

One really good reason for me is that I've already had a bunch of people come up to me and ask to be in my 4e game, from out of the blue, after not having gamed with them for years. Pretty neat.

 

[GeorgeFields]

For everyone else out there, I wanna know, why do you (or don't you) want to do 4e?

I'm passing on it altogether. It's gotten to the point that I don't like anything they've been telling us about 4e.
I was excited about DDI. It's fallen short IMO. The articles don't hold my attention like they used to do.

I can only think of two items I've liked.
They new cosmology.
Racial abilities as you gain levels.
That's nowhere near enough.

One really good reason for me is that I've already had a bunch of people come up to me and ask to be in my 4e game, from out of the blue, after not having gamed with them for years. Pretty neat.

That rocks, dude!

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

I'll get it, but I'm not more attached to it than Iron Heroes, or my ongoing best of d20 E6, or any other FRPG system. Then again, I feel the same about 3.5, FWIW.

I like more interesting weapon-tuned fighters, the death of the permanent body item Christmas Tree, per-encounter balance, the new cosmology, racial abilities as you level, more dynamic combat, fixed math, more flexible monster building, better multiclassing, and the monster changes. I'm okay with the new races. The whole package as we're getting, though, is somehow 'eh'.

I'll find/build the perfect Heartbreaker yet.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

For everyone else out there, I wanna know, why do you (or don't you) want to do 4e?

Nothing I've seen has struck any interest for me. The new races don't impress me, the new rules I've seen don't impress me, the new classes don't impress me. That's NOT to say the finished project won't be good or even great, but going on the info that's been offered, I think I can safely say my group (who've already declared they're not spending money on new editions because we've sunk so much cash into 3.5) won't be playing it.