D&D 4E Rant on the 4E "Presentation"

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"You'll get nothing and like it!"

I know more about 4E than I do about next summer's blockbuster movie releases and I don't know that anyone's upset at the film companies about that.

 

[Wolfspider]

I know more about 4E than I do about next summer's blockbuster movie releases and I don't know that anyone's upset at the film companies about that.

So? Obviously some D&D gamers are upset about the lack of info. Coming up with a snazzy metaphor doesn't change that fact. It doesn't really matter that you understand why they're upset or that you can't relate their anger. It exists.

 

[Grog]

So? Obviously some D&D gamers are upset about the lack of info.

This is the internet. Some people will get upset about anything here.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It exists.

So what?

 

[Wolfspider]

This is the internet. Some people will get upset about anything here.

That's so true! Unfortunately, that fact does not automatically negate the gripes that some D&D gamers have.

I understand why pro-4e people would get annoyed at what they call threadcrapping and such by people who are...ahem...less than enthusiastic about changes they've heard about. There have been some pretty obnoxious anti-4e posters that's for sure.

But there have been some pretty bad pro-4e people as well. These folks seem to want to argue that any kind of complaint whatsoever is overreaction.

The bottom line is that none of us have copies of the completed 4e PHB, DMG, or MM yet, and we won't have them for a while. No matter how promising--or how dreadful--the previews seem, we won't really KNOW if the game is as good--or as bad--as it sounds until we actually read these books.

Any extreme reaction, whether it's joy or dread, is misplaced.

 

[Wolfspider]

So what?

Exactly.

Why do you care so much about whether some people are upset or not?

If you're not upset, then enjoy that and leave others to react as they will.

It seems silly to get upset that some people are upset....

 

[Odhanan]

This is the internet. Some people will get upset about anything here.

That's not an excuse to discard anybody's particular discontent. If you do that in the contact center industry, you're in for real trouble, let me tell you!

 

[Grog]

That's so true! Unfortunately, that fact does not automatically negate the gripes that some D&D gamers have.

Oh, I know. I'm not saying that there's no such thing as legitimate complaint. But really, how much information could you reasonably expect to have by this point? They're still playtesting. If they give us the details of some new mechanic they've created, only to have the playtesting reveal that it's horribly unbalanced and it needs to be drastically reworked or scrapped, then when the rules come out and that mechanic isn't there, the net will be filled with cries of "OMG WOTC LIED to us!!!!eleventy-one!!"

And, for all that, they have told us quite a bit, even if there's been little in the way of specific mechanics. We've gotten a fair bit of information about the wizard class, and the way monsters work, for example.

 

[Wolfspider]

Oh, I know. I'm not saying that there's no such thing as legitimate complaint. But really, how much information could you reasonably expect to have by this point? They're still playtesting. If they give us the details of some new mechanic they've created, only to have the playtesting reveal that it's horribly unbalanced and it needs to be drastically reworked or scrapped, then when the rules come out and that mechanic isn't there, the net will be filled with cries of "OMG WOTC LIED to us!!!!eleventy-one!!"

And, for all that, they have told us quite a bit, even if there's been little in the way of specific mechanics. We've gotten a fair bit of information about the wizard class, and the way monsters work, for example.

I would guess that people are comparing the experience they had with 3rd edition, remembering all the info that was available then (and probably forgetting how quickly all that became available).

Add a healthy dose of impatience. Remember, we're all gamers here...we all love D&D, and I'm sure the ones who are complaining love it too. They just want to find out what's going on.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Exactly.

Why do you care so much about whether some people are upset or not?

If you're not upset, then enjoy that and leave others to react as they will.

It seems silly to get upset that some people are upset....

Please re-read my posts. I'm not upset. Please do not put words in my mouth.

I don't agree that WotC, or anyone else, needs to be particularly concerned that a few dozen people out of the millions that play D&D are screaming about 4E on the Internet.