[UPDATED AGAIN!] PRINCES OF THE APOCALYPSE - First Review!

The first comments on Princes of the Apcalypse are in. Fildrigar is the first to rate and comment on the adventure in EN World's ratings system, and gives it a score of 5/5. The adventure doesn't technically hit the shelves until April 7th (or March 27th - next Friday - in preferred stores), so I'm not sure how Fildrigar got hold of one, but there it is!

[UPDATE -- the author has deleted his review.]

UPDATE 2 -- he has kindly reposted it!

Click on the image below, read the comment, and as soon as you get your copy be sure to rate and comment on it yourself!

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[Desh-Rae-Halra]

Some folks prefer to review (or recommend) stuff they like. Unless they're a professional reviewer, spending time reading and writing about stuff they don't like it probably not high on their list of priorities.

Its funny, I tend to review things I dont like/am unhappy with,really for the purpose of making other buyers more informed (in hopes they won't feel burned by the purchase).
An example:

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Character-Record-Sheets/dp/0786948531

 

[Kramodlog]

All right, that's enough man.

Not really, actually.

So, how did you get your hands on the AP and read it before it was sold anywhere?

From your comment about the levels of the Princes (the "If I Reckon Correctly" or IIRC comment), it would seem you skimmed it once. Maybe you work in a warehouse or for some distributor and had it briefly in your hands?

I wonder if skimming an AP once and not actually have ran the thing, lets someone give it a five star review?

Just asking.

 

[Fildrigar]

Not really, actually.

So, how did you get your hands on the AP and read it before it was sold anywhere?

From your comment about the levels of the Princes (the "If I Reckon Correctly" or IIRC comment), it would seem you skimmed it once. Maybe you work in a warehouse or for some distributor and had it briefly in your hands?

I wonder if skimming an AP once and not actually have ran the thing, lets someone give it a five star review?

Just asking.

Yep. That's what always comes next. Prove it. Thanks, buddy.

 

[delericho]

Can you really give 5 stars to an adventure you never run?

I wondered about that. But the problem is that the only people who have run it are under NDA. And making that a requirement makes it almost impossible to produce relevant reviews - we need them as the item is 'hot', but the weeks needed to run it would more or less prevent that.

Besides, even a run-through is of only limited use, since your impression is inevitably going to be heavily coloured by your individual experience - if one of your players decides to be awkward he could ruin an otherwise good adventure for you.

 

[Desh-Rae-Halra]

There's not much (any?) point in giving Fildrigar grief over this. It is just one person's review/preview.
It's not like now I HAVE to go out and buy it immediately because it got a good review....
I'm not picking this up, but even if I was, I would certainly flip through it at the store before throwing down my money.
If anything, allow his review to make you more skeptical so you figure out if this is up to your standards, and then please come back and let us know.
No good deed goes unpunished I guess....

 

[delericho]

Yep. If I don't like something ( HotDQ ) I'm just not going to review it. I'm not a professional reviewer, just someone who loves games.

Thanks for clarifying. And, indeed, thanks for your review.

And if it felt like I was questioning your integrity, I apologise - that was not my intent, but I can certainly see how it could have been read that way. Morrus was, of course, absolutely right about some people choosing to only review things they love.

 

[delericho]

I have doubts about those (speculated) number of subscribers. That would mean revenues of 2,880,000 dollars a year.

The ~40k figure is actually considerably lower than the "known" values from this thread. I was never 100% sure those values were accurate, but had no specific evidence to suggest they weren't, so...

In an industry that generates 15 million dollars of revenue a year, DDI would be almost one fifth of the industry. It is something I would support and develop, heck, I would make it a priority.

I suspect the $15m for the industry never included DDI at all.

And, yes, it's something I would make a priority, especially if they want to provide support for hardcore gamers without causing the "Wall of Books" problem or bloating the game for 'casual' players. But WotC appear to have chosen a different route, which is their prerogative I guess.

 

[Kramodlog]

Yep. That's what always comes next. Prove it. Thanks, buddy.

You reviewed the AP before it was made public and I must prove how you got it?

You make very little sense.

 

[Kramodlog]

I wondered about that. But the problem is that the only people who have run it are under NDA. And making that a requirement makes it almost impossible to produce relevant reviews - we need them as the item is 'hot', but the weeks needed to run it would more or less prevent that.

Besides, even a run-through is of only limited use, since your impression is inevitably going to be heavily coloured by your individual experience - if one of your players decides to be awkward he could ruin an otherwise good adventure for you.

Every review will be subjective. But if you say ran the AP, your review is based on more than superficial impressions. I would qualify that as more informative and having more value.

 

[Morrus]

You reviewed the AP before it was made public and I must prove how you got it?

You make very little sense.

Stop being a jerk. If you're not interested in his comments on the book for whatever reason, feel free to move on and read something else.