Stephen Schubert's Latest Post-- anybody buy it?

[BASHMAN]

I just read the post by Stephen Schubert on the news page here, and it made me want to laugh. "we're not showing details yet because their not ready and we may change things, blah , blah, excuse, justification, blah"

The truth of the matter is this. Back when 3e was coming, we had these great "black pages" of Eric Noahs, detailing classes, racial abilities, feats, skill lists, etc that was good. It was not the "final" version by any means. a lot of that stuff DID change in fact before the actual release. But at least it was information.

Now, the truth of what WotC is doing, is that NOW they want to CHARGE US money to get these neat little previews-- the Wizards Presents products coming in time for Christmas. Previews, that no doubt, will themselves be changed & different from the real release of 4E.

So they are not trying to protect you the consumer, they are trying to create a profit margin on information that had previously been free, and much more in the spirit of Open Source than I think 4e will be-- despite Wizards claims otherwise.

 

[Reaper Steve]

Just because info was free 8 years ago doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

It costs money to make games...I'd venture to say that 4E will be the most expensive to produce RPG ever...what's wrong with them recouping some of their investment?

There will be free previews.
There will be more preview info available for purchase. If you don't want to purchase it...you'll still get all the info you need to play when the game is published.

But I am inclined to agree that WotC is intentionally avoiding coming out and saying 'we want to charge for previews this time.'

 

[MerricB]

Actually, if you want the counterexample, you just have to look at the recent example of Black Industry publishing and the 4th edition of Talisman.

Before it was released, they were telling everyone about the "fixes" they'd made to Talisman, and how things were changing.

I picked up my copy last weekend, and I was astonished to find that half of what they'd previewed wasn't actually in the set. I've been exchanging posts with one of the guys who was demoing the game, playing it as if the changes were going to be made, and he's astounded that they're not there.

There are a few people who have decided not to get the new set because of that.

It is really, really hard previewing something that is still in a state of flux.

Cheers!

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Back when 3e was coming, we had these great "black pages" of Eric Noahs, detailing classes, racial abilities, feats, skill lists, etc that was good. It was not the "final" version by any means. a lot of that stuff DID change in fact before the actual release. But at least it was information.

Yeah. Cuz we're getting nothing now, no information. No one is telling us a damn thing. [/sarcasm]

After 3e was announced, how much info was available a few weeks later? How clear was everything? Because that's where we are now. A few weeks.

 

[Guild Goodknife]

I just read the post by Stephen Schubert on the news page here, and it made me want to laugh. "we're not showing details yet because their not ready and we may change things, blah , blah, excuse, justification, blah"

The truth of the matter is this. Back when 3e was coming, we had these great "black pages" of Eric Noahs, detailing classes, racial abilities, feats, skill lists, etc that was good. It was not the "final" version by any means. a lot of that stuff DID change in fact before the actual release. But at least it was information.

Now, the truth of what WotC is doing, is that NOW they want to CHARGE US money to get these neat little previews-- the Wizards Presents products coming in time for Christmas. Previews, that no doubt, will themselves be changed & different from the real release of 4E.

So they are not trying to protect you the consumer, they are trying to create a profit margin on information that had previously been free, and much more in the spirit of Open Source than I think 4e will be-- despite Wizards claims otherwise.

I just read your post and it made me want to cry. "OMG, WotC wants money for the products they spend money to develop! bla, bla, bla, insert whiney statement about evil corporate politics bla, bla, bla I want 4th Ed. for free now, because otherwise i'm forced to buy their advertisement in december!"

 

[Reaper Steve]

I'd also like to add that, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best, I score the rate and quantity of 4E preview info as a 4.

I like the designer's blogs.
I like new stuff on the website 2-3 times a week.
And while 'paying for a preview' is a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow, at the same time I'm looking forward to buying the preview books.

 

[RPG_Tweaker]

Bah... beyond saying when it's coming out, they don't owe you... or I... squat.

George Martin isn't giving up plot elements to A Dance With Dragons.

Jack isn't spilling the beans on his next ciabatta sandwich.

WotC isn't giving away details of 4E.


They are giving away enough tidbits to entice. If you want the good stuff you gotta pay.

 

[Abstraction]

All the information that will be available, will be able to be found here. Leaked playtest info will make its way here. The basic contents of the Races & Classes books this December will be known by us within a week of release. Every little comment by every designer will be written down and analyzed. Crying that you want all that NOW will not get you the information sooner.

Do movies show you previews of everything you can expect when it comes out in 9 months, then stop showing any previews? No, because you would be tired of the concept of the movie by then. Instead, they give you more and more snippets to look over to get you excited early and keep you excited (until you get there and hate it). So just roll with it. Accept that you are an internet geek with no life, just like the rest of us, and hit 'refresh' every twenty minutes. Something will show up to talk about just when we've finished talking the last thing to death.

 

[Guild Goodknife]

I'd also like to add that, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best, I score the rate and quantity of 4E preview info as a 4.

I like the designer's blogs.
I like new stuff on the website 2-3 times a week.
And while 'paying for a preview' is a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow, at the same time I'm looking forward to buying the preview books.

I'll second that. Although i'm waiting eagerly for may to come, i wont buy the preview books in december (mainly because i dont know what kind of content they wil hold and how usefull it will be for actual play). The previews we get now are great and i hope they keep that pace till may.

 

[Cabled]

I just read the post by Stephen Schubert on the news page here, and it made me want to laugh. "we're not showing details yet because their not ready and we may change things, blah , blah, excuse, justification, blah"

The truth of the matter is this. Back when 3e was coming, we had these great "black pages" of Eric Noahs, detailing classes, racial abilities, feats, skill lists, etc that was good. It was not the "final" version by any means. a lot of that stuff DID change in fact before the actual release. But at least it was information.

Now, the truth of what WotC is doing, is that NOW they want to CHARGE US money to get these neat little previews-- the Wizards Presents products coming in time for Christmas. Previews, that no doubt, will themselves be changed & different from the real release of 4E.

So they are not trying to protect you the consumer, they are trying to create a profit margin on information that had previously been free, and much more in the spirit of Open Source than I think 4e will be-- despite Wizards claims otherwise.

The world, WOTC included, doesn't owe you a darn thing. Don't think your "oh noes!" entitlement rhetoric is going to find much traction here.