Very disappointed in DU5: Sinister Woods

[Adso]

Sorry about that, SRM!

Oh, it's all good. I like that you speak your mind while being friendly. Don't ever change.

What did that poor tree ever do to you!

You know we treat trees as target practice. If it stands upright, blast it. That's what D&D has taught me. Not you?

As we get the wilderness sets so rarely, I think they (unfortunately) have a greater need to have generic pieces.

I understand the point. We all do. And that is something that we hope to address with the line in general. This set was not that fix. Not by a long shot.

I have to say, I am more than a little surprised that folks on ENWorld have piped up with their disappointment with the set (though I've gotten a lot of postive feedback on the set as well). I designed it because as a Dungeon Tile user (almost exclusively these days) these were pieces that I didn't have and have really, really wanted for a long time.

 

[hvg3akaek]

I like the set - large scale grasslands would be nice, but better used for a poster map or the like. We have a large sheet of thick plastic with an inch grid drawn on it, and with the lighting, it is actually a little hard workign out the squares on wilderness tiles - so for large areas, the plain sheet works well. i just use the tiles for the set dressings.

My only disappointment with the set is that my copy wasn't cut too well - they still seem to be missing the mark, and leaving me with lopsided tiles too often!

 

[MerricB]

s as target practice. If it stands upright, blast it. That's what D&D has taught me. Not you?

I also argue with them. Fizban taught me that.

I have to say, I am more than a little surprised that folks on ENWorld have piped up with their disappointment with the set (though I've gotten a lot of postive feedback on the set as well). I designed it because as a Dungeon Tile user (almost exclusively these days) these were pieces that I didn't have and have really, really wanted for a long time.

Yes, it is a bit odd. In my case, I know it's because of the preconceptions I had before I got the set. As we talk about it, my opinion of the set is rising. I plan to use a bunch of the tiles for my next Greyhawk session, so - with any luck - there'll be some photos of them in use in just over a week's time.

(Ooh... are there enough pieces in my sets to make a ruin in a forest clearing?)

The biggest problem I have with the Dungeon Tiles is one of organisation and transport. Not running games at my place does mean that I can't just grab the tiles and minis I want on the fly. Pity. I haven't been preparing as well as I might because of all the time I've spent boardgaming lately!

Cheers!

 

[Perram]

I have to say, I am more than a little surprised that folks on ENWorld have piped up with their disappointment with the set (though I've gotten a lot of postive feedback on the set as well). I designed it because as a Dungeon Tile user (almost exclusively these days) these were pieces that I didn't have and have really, really wanted for a long time.

Its a good set, in my opinion, I bought two copies and may buy a third. But I think the negative opinions expressed here probably have more to do with the general frustration of the scarcity of the 'Basic' dungeon tile sets.

In fact, the speed in which these sets sell out and go out of print and in turn are price jacked on eBay is an extreme frustration to many of the gamers in my area, and I know this is not unique to my area alone. Streets of Shadows, for instance, took hardly any time for this to happen.

DT4 was an extremely popular set. It doesn't go for $60 on eBay because people hate it. A lot of people expected this to be the 'new' DT4, which is what built up expectations.

Don't get discouraged too much, the product is a victim of its own success.

 

[fba827]

Not having seen the set, I am just curious --
If you wanted a large open field, couldn't you just use your regular battlemat or otherwise open game space? Shouldn't the tiles be more for visual to show what areas aren't passable or have unusual features?

Having said that though, I can see the desire for consistency that if you use some tiles for unique features, you still continue the feel by having other tiles on the table for the open areas as well.

 

[TirionAnthion]

I just thought I would put in my 2 cents worth. I own 3-4 of every set of tiles. I own 4 copies of DT4 so I had a different expectation for this set. I wanted alot of tree tiles and for the most part I am happy with the new set. I bought 3 and I will probably buy at least 1 more. My complaint up till now was that I did not have enough tree tiles. With 4 copies of DT4 I have plenty of grasslands.

I do agree that we need a base set for new users who do not have as many tiles as I do (working at a game store has its perks). I look forward to some of the things coming in the future from the dungeon tiles line. One of the things I would like is a set of river tiles (4x8) as well as some water tiles (the ship tiles were awesome, btw).

I noticed that the tiles are slightly different in size than my old chessex mat. The tiles do not line up with the mat exactly which is kind of a disappointment but my mat is 15 years old so that could be part of the problem.

As for transportation and storage, I use 5000 ct card boxes (I use the same thing for the minis). I remove some of the inserts to make bigger spaces for large tiles and leave other inserts in for smaller tiles. I also use clear plastic card boxes inside the 5000 ct boxes for the 1x1 and 1x2 tiles. When I actually go to the game I sort out the tiles I need for the night's encounters and put them in a seperate container to take for the game. I use one container for minis and one for tiles.

Anyway, that is just my thoughts on the matter. Ultimately I enjoy the tiles and appreciate the hard work the designers put in on them. I hope the quality continues for a long time to come.

 

[Sammael]

Incidentally, since there is a lot of demand for older tile sets, and they're not collectible or anything, why not reprint them? I know I'd probably buy at least one of each older set that I don't have. With the current secondary market prices, I doubt they'd warm the shelves for long...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

You know, when I designed this set, I knew that this would be a complaint.

What I didn’t imagine is that MerricB (a fan whose opinion I respect) would be very disappointed buy it.

We (and more specifically I) didn't want to retread the old ground of DT4 Ruins of the Wild for a number of reason. I wanted a set that would present new terrain types (forest, forest clearings, and wilderness ruins) and create interesting transitional pieces between the wilds and the "dungeon" that would enhance DT4 and other sets. That was the method to my particular madness. Also, we wanted at least one tile (with two sides) that supported some of the immurements in AV2 (see immurement of baleful gossamer page 89 and immurement of the strident statuary page 91).

I have a philosophy (that you may not agree with) that transitional pieces are more interesting and useful than large plain area pieces, especially in outdoor tile sets. It is easier to hand wave large regions of a singular type of terrain (or to own a flip map or similar product with that terrain already printed on it) than it is to do so with transition. DM time and brainpower is taken up is in the transitions of areas and terrain (“this is where the woods end”, “there is a fallen tree here and it is difficult terrain and provides cover”, “the stonework of the ruins starts here” “there is a clearing in the woods here”, etc. and then asking the pesky questions of which square is which when hand drawn lines aren’t quite clear). It’s this philosophy that guided my design decisions for DU5 Sinister Woods.

I also made sure to put forest and clearing tiles on one side and ruins tiles on another side, so to limit some hard choices and guess work when using the set. I’ll freely admit that you may have to buy least two sets if you want flexibility with each type of terrain. Given the price point, the relative ease of storage, I don’t think this is entirely unreasonable. Honestly, I really don’t mind if you buy more.

Hope this helps in understanding why I made the choice I did on this set. I’m sorry if any of you are disappointed by it…that was not my intent.

Thanks for explaining your design rationale. It makes sense to me from that perspective. The actual utility, though, has still to be determined.

Feel free to talk more about the upcoming design ideas and plans for dungeon tiles.

 

[Emryys]

I really like this set and bought multiple copies (3 in fact!). My LFGS let me open one to see if I'd like it and it made me buy more, which he liked...

It certainly does help that I have DT4 and I can't wait for more outdoor and the base tile set...

 

[avin]

You know we treat trees as target practice. If it stands upright, blast it. That's what D&D has taught me. Not you?

About the trees, they really look a bit like Zelda's. I think a bit more realistic approach would be welcome...

So... about Dark Sun... please tell me that this is going to be a wilderness desert setting... and not dungeons with yellow tiles...