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<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 4307815" data-attributes="member: 19675">My experience upon reading the 4Ed books the first time through is remarkably similar to Pramas'.&nbsp; So have my subsequent reads.I mean, I figured out [w] without cross-referencing, but it took me some time (and I've been playing 30+ years, so that probably helped)- at the very least, an asterisk or parenthetical &quot;see pg X&quot; would have alleviated this confusion in seconds.&nbsp; I mean, a book on algebra or calculus wouldn't have left an undefined term just hanging there for a couple of hundred pages.The index is woefully inadequate for books of this size- compare it to the ones found in previous editions of the game.&nbsp; Some of the things I wanted to look up there were simply absent, leaving me to slog through the books until I stumbled upon them.&nbsp; This isn't just a problem because I'm new to the particular book, its a harbinger of ease of use down the road.As a whole, I have issues with the arrangement of this book (issues of my like or dislike of the game aside)- I don't even feel like I'd want to help a bunch of noobs slog through it to run a game.&nbsp; A fellow long-time gamer said the editing made him seasick.Its not so much that you read the sections through...its that your eyes bounce off of it until you find yourself looking at the next class...or chapter.&nbsp; It kind of jolts you out of your immersion into the ruleset.&nbsp; Setting them aside into a &quot;Powers&quot; chapter- with lists subdivided by class (as per 1Ed/2Ed) or possibly simply alphabetically arranged (as per 3.X)- would probably have flowed much better.&nbsp; If nothing else, it would be more along the lines of what you'd see in most RPGs.Its a maxim of marketing that the status of being first mover is the best indicator of success in a given market.&nbsp; Of course, when one of the later movers is the dominant force in the industry as a whole, the equation becomes more a matter of time than anything else.(Still, though, McDonalds of South Africa held off the McDonalds of the &quot;Golden Arches&quot; for many many years...)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 4307815, member: 19675"] My experience upon reading the 4Ed books the first time through is remarkably similar to Pramas'. So have my subsequent reads. I mean, I figured out [w] without cross-referencing, but it took me some time (and I've been playing 30+ years, so that probably helped)- at the very least, an asterisk or parenthetical "see pg X" would have alleviated this confusion in seconds. I mean, a book on algebra or calculus wouldn't have left an undefined term just hanging there for a [i]couple of hundred pages.[/i] The index is woefully inadequate for books of this size- compare it to the ones found in previous editions of the game. Some of the things I wanted to look up there were simply absent, leaving me to slog through the books until I stumbled upon them. This isn't just a problem because I'm new to the particular book, its a harbinger of ease of use down the road. As a whole, I have issues with the arrangement of this book (issues of my like or dislike of the game aside)- I don't even feel like I'd want to help a bunch of noobs slog through it to run a game. A fellow long-time gamer said the editing made him seasick. Its not so much that you read the sections through...its that your eyes bounce off of it until you find yourself looking at the next class...or chapter. It kind of jolts you out of your immersion into the ruleset. Setting them aside into a "Powers" chapter- with lists subdivided by class (as per 1Ed/2Ed) or possibly simply alphabetically arranged (as per 3.X)- would probably have flowed much better. If nothing else, it would be more along the lines of what you'd see in most RPGs. Its a maxim of marketing that the status of being first mover is the best indicator of success in a given market. Of course, when one of the later movers is the dominant force in the industry as a whole, the equation becomes more a matter of time than anything else. (Still, though, McDonalds of South Africa held off the McDonalds of the "Golden Arches" for many many years...) [/QUOTE]

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