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<blockquote data-quote="Prestidigitalis" data-source="post: 5338472" data-attributes="member: 74496">The problem with many of the comments above is the failure to understand that WotC is not the name of a person, but the name of a company.&nbsp; Making a product like 4e is a cooperative effort, and there are many things that can go wrong as a result.You can plan, you can schedule, you can direct, and you can order.But if the key person in an update gets another job, gets sick, loses a spouse to cancer, has anti-depression meds that suddenly seem to stop working, etc., everything goes haywire.&nbsp; You build in a margin of error, but more than a little and the executives higher up get fussy.Then there are the miscommunication issues.&nbsp; One of the developers makes an assumption that turns out to be mistaken, and an entire software module has to be rewritten.&nbsp; One of the managers asks how long it will take to implement X feature, but uses the wrong term for it and gets an answer that only accounts for a small fraction of the feature.&nbsp; Etc.&nbsp; I'm already getting bored coming up with scenarios that could explain the delays, but I've just barely started.&nbsp; Development of good products is hard.&nbsp; Throw in a schedule and customers who get irate when the schedule blows up and it gets worse.These people are building something that we (those who post here at any rate) value and love.&nbsp; We have a right to ask for high quality, and we have a right to value for our money.&nbsp; But we also need to remember that mistakes happen and plans go awry.&nbsp; If you are one of those people who has never screwed up, go ahead and throw that stone.&nbsp; Otherwise, live with it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Prestidigitalis, post: 5338472, member: 74496"] The problem with many of the comments above is the failure to understand that WotC is not the name of a person, but the name of a company. Making a product like 4e is a cooperative effort, and there are many things that can go wrong as a result. You can plan, you can schedule, you can direct, and you can order. But if the key person in an update gets another job, gets sick, loses a spouse to cancer, has anti-depression meds that suddenly seem to stop working, etc., everything goes haywire. You build in a margin of error, but more than a little and the executives higher up get fussy. Then there are the miscommunication issues. One of the developers makes an assumption that turns out to be mistaken, and an entire software module has to be rewritten. One of the managers asks how long it will take to implement X feature, but uses the wrong term for it and gets an answer that only accounts for a small fraction of the feature. Etc. I'm [I]already[/I] getting bored coming up with scenarios that could explain the delays, but I've just barely started. Development of good products is hard. Throw in a schedule and customers who get irate when the schedule blows up and it gets worse. These people are building something that we (those who post here at any rate) value and love. We have a right to ask for high quality, and we have a right to value for our money. But we also need to remember that mistakes happen and plans go awry. If you are one of those people who has never screwed up, go ahead and throw that stone. Otherwise, live with it. [/QUOTE]

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