D&D (2024) Predictions for Playtest packet 7's arrival

[Vael]

Well ... guess I will have to bet that it'll squeak in on Thursday then. 'Cause we generally get a "packet dropping tomorrow" notice, iirc.

 

[Parmandur]

Is there any confirmation that this is still on after Spelljammer? Since they decided to not support Dark Sun from now for problematic content reasons in old Dark Sun, they were going to originally feature a destroyed Athas as the world you visit in the Spelljammer adventure to tie a bow on it.. That changed at the last minute because they didn't want to face the fan blowback of destroying a popular setting in the service of a Spelljammer adventure and avoid attracting the ire of post-Gamergate content creators in what had been a product a lot of people had been looking forward. I was always wondeedr if that was the "glimpse" of a setting that Ray had referred to, but I am hoping that your notion of a sample world in the DMG is still on the table.

Yeah, the 2022 "cameo" would have meant something else, and probably meant Dark Sun in the Spelljammer set. The 2024 "returning Setting" would be something else, and we don't know what Winninger meant, or if that is relevant anymore. Clearly a lot of stuff still coming out was conceived when he was still around (like Planescape, like Bigby, like the new Core books), but what he was teasing is a big question mark. Could mean there is a Setting product next year (probavly FR?), or it could be referring to the DMG sample Setting (#GreyhawkConfirmed). Winninger isn't in a position to hint anymore, and nobody who is, is hinting.

 

[Parmandur]

Well ... guess I will have to bet that it'll squeak in on Thursday then. 'Cause we generally get a "packet dropping tomorrow" notice, iirc.

Yeah, usually a video drop on Wednesday to set expectations and preview the contents, then the packet on the last Thursof the month.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The three books releases are explicitly going to be staggered I could see PHB Q2, MM Late Q2 and DMG Q3 or something like that.

I feel like the odds of them getting stuff printed for even late Q2 if they are, as they recently claimed, planning on continuing the UA for another 4-6 months or longer are extremely low. Whether that means they'll go for late Q3 or Q4 or even later I don't know.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

(Before I fixed the typo, I had written Vecna-thong! Yikes! )

You know that someone, somewhere, out there has statted up the legendary Thong of Vecna.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The three books releases are explicitly going to be staggered I could see PHB Q2, MM Late Q2 and DMG Q3 or something like that.

It's already impossible for the PHB to be out in Q2, I expect. Especially if we're not going to be finished playtesting it before the end of the year.

It's possible that the PHB will actually be LAST and the other books are closer to finished than we think, based on the playtest order. (There's definitely a LOT less to playtest when it comes to the other two books). But I can't imagine ANY of them making it out earlier than August.

In 2014, the PHB dropped in August, the MM in September, and the DMG in December right before Christmas. Probavly something like that.

Yeah, they could repeat that, but they'd be better off Sept/Oct/Nov. Either way, though, it's going to be a tight fit.

 

[Parmandur]

It's already impossible for the PHB to be out in Q2, I expect. Especially if we're not going to be finished playtesting it before the end of the year.

It's possible that the PHB will actually be LAST and the other books are closer to finished than we think, based on the playtest order. (There's definitely a LOT less to playtest when it comes to the other two books). But I can't imagine ANY of them making it out earlier than August.



Yeah, they could repeat that, but they'd be better off Sept/Oct/Nov. Either way, though, it's going to be a tight fit.

Yeah, I would bet that all three books are "feature complete" by now, goikg through editing and layout: what's still up in the air for the PHB is pretty small, and the public UA for that will be wrapped here about the end of the year: plenty of time to out the final touches and off to the printer for August/September release. And I don't think the MM/DMG playtests are going to be all that extensive, nor do they need to be. Just given the printing world these days, I'm sure theybhabe quite a logistical delivery struggle ahead of them, but finalizing the books in plenty of time doesn't seem to be part of that this time around.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Yeah, I would bet that all three books are "feature complete" by now, goikg through editing and layout: what's still up in the air for the PHB is pretty small, and the public UA for that will be wrapped here about the end of the year: plenty of time to out the final touches and off to the printer for August/September release. And I don't think the MM/DMG playtests are going to be all that extensive, nor do they need to be. Just given the printing world these days, I'm sure theybhabe quite a logistical delivery struggle ahead of them, but finalizing the books in plenty of time doesn't seem to be part of that this time around.

I hope you're right! What you say seems like it ought to be true, but I've been surprised before by WotC shenanigans!

It's definitely true that the exact text of a class and its features shouldn't change the layout and art features by any important extent, so they could be pretty close to ready for press while still doing some last-minute playtesting/surveying.

I mean, I assume that they know what they're doing (until proven otherwise).

 

[Charlaquin]

In 2014, the PHB dropped in August, the MM in September, and the DMG in December right before Christmas. Probavly something like that.

I keep seeing this and assuming it’s a typo, but it’s happening so often and so consistently… you know it’s probably, right?

 

[overgeeked]

It's already impossible for the PHB to be out in Q2, I expect. Especially if we're not going to be finished playtesting it before the end of the year.

It's possible that the PHB will actually be LAST and the other books are closer to finished than we think, based on the playtest order. (There's definitely a LOT less to playtest when it comes to the other two books). But I can't imagine ANY of them making it out earlier than August.

Yeah, they could repeat that, but they'd be better off Sept/Oct/Nov. Either way, though, it's going to be a tight fit.

That‘s making a few assumptions that are not necessary.

They have something like 90% of the PHB text done. They’re not reworking things from the ground up at this point, only tweaking and iterating on what’s been released in the UAs. And there’s no reason to assume they’re not months ahead of what they’re showing us. There’s a good chance the art is underway and/or more than half done at this point…depending on how much is new. They’ll already be working on mockups of the book’s layout and design…assuming they’re not keeping the current design. Dropping in the finalized text and making sure it flows around the design takes time, but it doesn’t take that long. Unless they’re printing in China or Europe they won’t have to worry about printing and distribution delays. Checking the credits page suggests they’re printing the majority of their books in the US.

Same with the MM. It all depends on how much they change things. But we haven’t seen any of that yet. From what they’ve said about the DMG, that will definitely be the last to print. They’re basically rewriting the thing. At least I hope they are.