D&D 4E Mearls on 4E being computer game: "It's more like online poker."

[Piratecat]

Wow, this thread is full of passive-aggressive snark. Tone it down, folks. you don't have to agree with one another, but you need to be respectful if you're going to post here.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

But right there, on the front page here at ENWorld, the words of the WotC crew demonstrate, repeatedly, that if you want the complete tools needed to play 4th Edition, you must be online. If you want to be privy to the latest news and information, you must be online. That if you want to be able to get thorough and complete use out of your books, you must be online.

Nope. It seems to me like you're willfully misinterpreting what you read, to be honest.

If you want to use the virtual game table, you must be online. (Obviously.)

If you want a character creator automatically populated with options from the books you own, you must be online.

If you want extra material that didn't make it into the book, you must be online.

If you want a PDF copy of your purchases, you must be online.

The fact that they are offering a range of online supplements to enhance your D&D game does not mean that you won't get full enjoyment out of the game if you never browse to www.wizards.com/dnd ever again in your life.

Their analogy of a DVD with special features is a really good one. You buy the DVD to watch the movie - and you can do that without ever looking at the "Making Of" features, checking out the stills galleries, or listening to the audio commentaries. Is the movie lessened by the existence of extra, optional material and information you never use? No.

In fact, Fourth Edition is better than a DVD in this respect, because you pay for the cost of adding a second disc with all those special features when you buy the disc whether you want them or not. When was the last time you bought a major film on a bare-bones release, you know? I don't see them on the shelves here in Australia and I sure didn't see them on my frequent trips to America over the last few years.

But with Fourth Edition, you are buying "just the movie on a single disc" - they're not making you pay for the commentaries and "Making Of" features unless you really want them.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

. . . and, likewise, Dragon was always an optional part of the game. Nothing about that fact has changed - only the format of the content has changed. You're free to dislike that change, but it's just plain silly to paint it as some great tragedy which is going to ruin your game - if your friends are so stubborn about staying offline, it ain't going to hurt your game one bit.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Don't worry Piratecat, I'm sure this is all part of the bluffing and bluster that many poker...er...D&D players do trying to get their opponents to give away something.

Back to silly poker references...

I hope there never becomes an Online Strip D&D game [shudder].

 

[Cadfan]

People are trying to have it both ways.

Yes, if you want to get everything out of 4th Edition that there is to get, you have to be online. That's the whole freaking selling point of DDI. If this weren't true, there'd be nothing there to buy.

No, this isn't a big deal. If you wanted everything you could get out of 3.5, you needed a Dungeon and a Dragon magazine subscription. So this isn't anything new. The only new part is putting web enhancements behind a pay-wall. I'm not sure what I think of that. They used to be free. I know that its hard to complain about losing something that was free, but it still kind of sucks.

 

[Glyfair]

The only new part is putting web enhancements behind a pay-wall. I'm not sure what I think of that. They used to be free. I know that its hard to complain about losing something that was free, but it still kind of sucks.

They have stated there still will be free content. How much and of what type remains to be seen.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I think a better "DVD Analogy" is buying the initial release DVD versus the "Special Edition" release. You can watch the movie on either one, but if you pay extra for the special edition, you get extra features you cannot get otherwise.

Another analogy would be when the show Lost started giving extra behind-the-scenes peeks online available only to American Express cardholders.

I don't have references to back this up, I'm going from memory but, I recall them saying there would still be free material available online to non-subscribers, just more limited than what subscribers get. Also, didn't someone from WotC mention they would probably compile much of the online content. Not sure if they meant as a later print release or not, but it could mean that non-subscibers can get the material, but only once a year and of course they would have to pay for the print compilation.

 

[Insight]

When Gen Con moves to Las Vegas, I hope it doesn't go to the Excalibur! It was a comfortable hotel but jeez, the tackiest place in the Tackiest Place on Earth.

DONE AND DONE!

 

[solkan_uk]

Errr, Isn't D&D Online a MMoRPG?
It was when I played it, though I only subscribed for about 3 months, then went back to City of Heroes.

 

[Piratecat]

They're referring to playing D&D online with friends, as opposed to D&D Online. That confused me, too.