The end of all edition wars?

[diaglo]

Bah. We Greyhawk fanatics have been squabbling amongst ourselves for decades.

"that's not canon"

 

[Mournblade94]

I very recently sold every physical D&D rule book that I own because of the incessant sniping going on over which edition of said game is superior to all others. I have started ordering books for other games and game systems whose player bases aren't so deeply and bitterly divided over something as petty as edition preference.

Keep in mind however, that no other game company has shifted their game so drastically.

Gamers can not be categorized into the particular GAME they play. The same scism would happen to any popular game that changed its paradigm.

You see this amongst D&D players because
1) more people play D&D

2) D&D actually went through a RADICAL edition change. Most changes to other games are not as drastic as 3rd edition D&D to the new game called Dungeons and Dragons.

I play many games and systems.

To my knowledge no other game has gone through as radical a paradigm change as D&D.

The angst is not isolated to D&D players. Look at the episode wars that happened with STAR WARS. There was a scism there too.

Any game that goes through a radical paradigm change will experience the same phenomenon albeit at a different level, since no other game sells like D&D.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in conventions,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the web, we shall defend our Edition, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender!

Ooops, sorry.

 

[Festivus]

you could always join my side.

there is plenty of room for OD&D love.

Anytime Diaglo posts I think about my first D&D game ever. Oh how I long for that sense of mystery again.

RE: Selling all your books, I guess if that's what you want to do to feel better great, but I don't get that. I have a group of friends that loves 3.5... and when they come over we play 3.5. I have another group of friends that likes 4E, and when they come over we play 4E. No fighting, no arguements... just confusion on my part when I sometimes call a five foot step a shift or whatnot.

 

[Gimby]

To my knowledge no other game has gone through as radical a paradigm change as D&D.

I give you oWoD to nWoD. Or even just Mage to rMage. I do agree that the larger the shift, the bigger the arguements though - some of the Mage flamewars still rumble on today.

That said, there does seem to be some disagreement over how large the shift was. Someone using the ToB, ToM and houserules scrounged from SWS would probably not see a big shift in going to 4e. Someone who focussed more on Core would probably see a bigger one <shrug>

 

[Keefe the Thief]

Keep in mind however, that no other game company has shifted their game so drastically.

Gamers can not be categorized into the particular GAME they play. The same scism would happen to any popular game that changed its paradigm.

You see this amongst D&D players because
1) more people play D&D

2) D&D actually went through a RADICAL edition change. Most changes to other games are not as drastic as 3rd edition D&D to the new game called Dungeons and Dragons.

I play many games and systems.

To my knowledge no other game has gone through as radical a paradigm change as D&D.

The angst is not isolated to D&D players. Look at the episode wars that happened with STAR WARS. There was a scism there too.

Any game that goes through a radical paradigm change will experience the same phenomenon albeit at a different level, since no other game sells like D&D.

No. Sorry. Calling this normalcy is just wrong. Other systems have reinvented themselves. Other popular magazines have been shut down. The flames here were not inevitable, not normal, and not to be expected. This whole phase was way out of proportion, and the ovens of hate are being stoked by people.

 

[Elodan]

One of the things that I'm starting to see more of isn't 3e vs 4e edition wars, but intra-4e wars. Some people have decided that there is 'one true way' of playing 4e and are intolerant of other ways of playing 4e - this is similar to intra-3e problems of years gone by

Damn sneeches.

 

[El Mahdi]

It's all D&D to me.

This.

Hopefully, the polarization is beginning to decrease and the edition wars die out. I think I'm starting to see a third side form (or a return to a common love); I think that third side is just a community of roleplayers who love gaming, regardless of edition or system.

Everyone has their preferred rules system or edition, but a lot of the people on here that I respect, and I specifically go out of my way to read their posts, don't have the same preferences that I do. Those very differences are what helps shine a contrasting light on ideas, making this place (ENWorld) a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration.

Jack99: I think your ideas are good advice for all of us, along with a lot of good advice from others in this thread. I'm going to take that advice to heart and try to be much better about this myself. Thankfully, I haven't become disillusioned to the point where my love of the hobby has been affected. And, before anyone else goes and trashcans their books and materials over this, I'd hope that they can take a break from all of this. Get away from the hate for a while until they can remember what they loved about all of this. The game will still be waiting when you return.

 

[TerraDave]

 

[jdrakeh]

You see this amongst D&D players because
1) more people play D&D

2) D&D actually went through a RADICAL edition change. Most changes to other games are not as drastic as 3rd edition D&D to the new game called Dungeons and Dragons.

You might have a point if this same kind of thing didn't happen every time that there was a D&D edition change. This is by no means isolated to the D&D 3x to 4e change. At any rate, like I said earlier, I'm no longer interested in why it happens or in people making excuses for it.