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*Dungeons & Dragons
So... what happened during the playtests?
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<blockquote data-quote="Gnarl45" data-source="post: 6886027" data-attributes="member: 6787695"><p>You confused yourself.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And you're wrong. You misinterpreted what I was saying.</p><p></p><p>Here are the posts with the explanations. I haven't change my stance, I only explained my position in my last posts because you and some other posters misinterpreted the first ones.</p><p></p><p><strong>Post #7:</strong> "There was a lot of online discussion during the playtest that Wizards of the Coast pretty much ignored. <span style="color: #0000FF">I think they collected everybody's opinion in the surveys. I don't think they read what we said in the online discussions. If they didn't read the online discussions, then they ignored the online discussions. That's why I wrote this in my first post. Maybe I'm wrong and they actually bothered to read what we were writing but I don't see anything to support that claim.</span></p><p></p><p>They started with a lightweight version of D&D with streamlined rules, few character options, no tactical combat, and average math and the polls told them that was good enough to make petty much every happy except a few vocal minorities on the Internet. They decided to ignore the edition warriors and refined the original system. <span style="color: #0000FF">In this sentence, I'm not saying the edition warriors didn't get to give their opinion. They ignored the edition warriors because the surveys showed that the majority of D&D fans had a different opinion. They weren't a large enough group to make a difference.</span></p><p></p><p>What really changed was Wizards of the Coast's official statements."</p><p></p><p><strong>Post #20:</strong> "I can see why it doesn't make sense to you . I wasn't exactly clear and I made a few assumptions.</p><p></p><p>Mr Mearls justified every one of his decisions with the survey results. I assumed it was clear that this was the only data he was interested in. In other words, he ignored what people were saying online and ignored the edition warriors. <span style="color: #0000FF">Here, I'm saying that Mr Mearls used the survey data to decide what to change and what to keep. Nothing more. And as I explained before, I have no evidence that they bothered to read what we were saying online and that's why I <u>think</u> they ignored the online discussions.</span></p><p></p><p>Morrus compiled every single piece of information on D&D Next he could find. I assumed he agreed that the official statements changed.</p><p></p><p>I assumed he disagreed that each iteration was only a refinement of the first one. In my opinion, major design choices are things like simple combat, few character options, streamlined rules, and not to worry too much about the math. There was quite a bit of tinkering throughout the iterations but none of them changed these fundamentals or the overall experience so that's why I call them refinements.</p><p></p><p>For example, we never had a playtest version with slower but more tactical combats. Most of us liked how it was in the first playtest (according to the survey) and they kept it. They could have tried something different to see if they couldn't get a higher approval rating. I don't think Mr Mearls is stupid. When the 4e fans were asking for more tactical options in the forums, Mr Mearls knew they wanted more than flanking! They didn't challenge their fundamentals nor did they listen to what people were saying online. <span style="color: #0000FF">This is one of the reasons I think the game designers didn't read the online discussions. The tactical module isn't what the 4e crowd was asking for online.</span></p><p></p><p>Anyways, that's just my perception of the playtest."</p><p></p><p><strong>Post #45: </strong>"You're absolutely right. I clearly remember he said he preferred skill dice but he had to ditch them (and that they would be an optional module in the DMG).</p><p></p><p>I'm not saying Mr Mearls got what he wanted! I'm just saying that he only used the surveys to make his decisions and that the online discussions ended up not mattering. <span style="color: #0000FF">You thought I was accusing Mr. Mearls of ignoring what the fans were saying when I was saying the exact contrary. You misunderstood. I think Mr Mearls read the feedback they collected in the surveys but I don't think he read the online discussions.</span>"</p><p></p><p><strong>Post #61:</strong> "I don't really understand what gave you the impression that I was saying that the internet voices were ignored or that some peoples' opinions should matter more.</p><p></p><p>In my opinion, the only thing that influenced the game designers' decisions were the survey results. I don't think any of the discussions we had online ever made them change their minds, and to the best of my knowledge, none of the ideas posted in their forums ever made it to the playtest. <span style="color: #0000FF">The same explanation as always. Mr Mearls used the surveys to make his decisions. I still don't think he read what we said online.</span>"</p><p></p><p></p><p>Are there any posts you want me to explain or is this enough?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't have insider access, I'm giving my <u>opinion</u>. I was a very active forum member during the playtest and none of the ideas I read ever made it to the playtests. If you have an example of an idea they borrowed from the forums, I'll change my mind.</p><p></p><p>I don't think they read their own forums. I don't understand why it's such a big issue for you that I believe this.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Obviously <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. I was actually asking you if you thought that the online discussions influenced the game designers' decisions.</p><p></p><p>Since you seem to disagree that they didn't read the online discussions, I was hoping you could give me a few examples to support that they did.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which is exactly my point.</p><p></p><p>They didn't read the online discussions because they read peoples' opinions in the surveys. That was my opinion in post 7, 20, 45, 61, and every other one of my posts. I'm sorry but you put words in my mouth and you were wrong to do so.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Gnarl45, post: 6886027, member: 6787695"] You confused yourself. And you're wrong. You misinterpreted what I was saying. Here are the posts with the explanations. I haven't change my stance, I only explained my position in my last posts because you and some other posters misinterpreted the first ones. [B]Post #7:[/B] "There was a lot of online discussion during the playtest that Wizards of the Coast pretty much ignored. [COLOR="#0000FF"]I think they collected everybody's opinion in the surveys. I don't think they read what we said in the online discussions. If they didn't read the online discussions, then they ignored the online discussions. That's why I wrote this in my first post. Maybe I'm wrong and they actually bothered to read what we were writing but I don't see anything to support that claim.[/COLOR] They started with a lightweight version of D&D with streamlined rules, few character options, no tactical combat, and average math and the polls told them that was good enough to make petty much every happy except a few vocal minorities on the Internet. They decided to ignore the edition warriors and refined the original system. [COLOR="#0000FF"]In this sentence, I'm not saying the edition warriors didn't get to give their opinion. They ignored the edition warriors because the surveys showed that the majority of D&D fans had a different opinion. They weren't a large enough group to make a difference.[/COLOR] What really changed was Wizards of the Coast's official statements." [B]Post #20:[/B] "I can see why it doesn't make sense to you . I wasn't exactly clear and I made a few assumptions. Mr Mearls justified every one of his decisions with the survey results. I assumed it was clear that this was the only data he was interested in. In other words, he ignored what people were saying online and ignored the edition warriors. [COLOR="#0000FF"]Here, I'm saying that Mr Mearls used the survey data to decide what to change and what to keep. Nothing more. And as I explained before, I have no evidence that they bothered to read what we were saying online and that's why I [U]think[/U] they ignored the online discussions.[/COLOR] Morrus compiled every single piece of information on D&D Next he could find. I assumed he agreed that the official statements changed. I assumed he disagreed that each iteration was only a refinement of the first one. In my opinion, major design choices are things like simple combat, few character options, streamlined rules, and not to worry too much about the math. There was quite a bit of tinkering throughout the iterations but none of them changed these fundamentals or the overall experience so that's why I call them refinements. For example, we never had a playtest version with slower but more tactical combats. Most of us liked how it was in the first playtest (according to the survey) and they kept it. They could have tried something different to see if they couldn't get a higher approval rating. I don't think Mr Mearls is stupid. When the 4e fans were asking for more tactical options in the forums, Mr Mearls knew they wanted more than flanking! They didn't challenge their fundamentals nor did they listen to what people were saying online. [COLOR="#0000FF"]This is one of the reasons I think the game designers didn't read the online discussions. The tactical module isn't what the 4e crowd was asking for online.[/COLOR] Anyways, that's just my perception of the playtest." [B]Post #45: [/B]"You're absolutely right. I clearly remember he said he preferred skill dice but he had to ditch them (and that they would be an optional module in the DMG). I'm not saying Mr Mearls got what he wanted! I'm just saying that he only used the surveys to make his decisions and that the online discussions ended up not mattering. [COLOR="#0000FF"]You thought I was accusing Mr. Mearls of ignoring what the fans were saying when I was saying the exact contrary. You misunderstood. I think Mr Mearls read the feedback they collected in the surveys but I don't think he read the online discussions.[/COLOR]" [B]Post #61:[/B] "I don't really understand what gave you the impression that I was saying that the internet voices were ignored or that some peoples' opinions should matter more. In my opinion, the only thing that influenced the game designers' decisions were the survey results. I don't think any of the discussions we had online ever made them change their minds, and to the best of my knowledge, none of the ideas posted in their forums ever made it to the playtest. [COLOR="#0000FF"]The same explanation as always. Mr Mearls used the surveys to make his decisions. I still don't think he read what we said online.[/COLOR]" Are there any posts you want me to explain or is this enough? I don't have insider access, I'm giving my [U]opinion[/U]. I was a very active forum member during the playtest and none of the ideas I read ever made it to the playtests. If you have an example of an idea they borrowed from the forums, I'll change my mind. I don't think they read their own forums. I don't understand why it's such a big issue for you that I believe this. Obviously :). I was actually asking you if you thought that the online discussions influenced the game designers' decisions. Since you seem to disagree that they didn't read the online discussions, I was hoping you could give me a few examples to support that they did. Which is exactly my point. They didn't read the online discussions because they read peoples' opinions in the surveys. That was my opinion in post 7, 20, 45, 61, and every other one of my posts. I'm sorry but you put words in my mouth and you were wrong to do so. [/QUOTE]
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