When will the time be for a 3.5 retro-clone?

[Betote]

I know that it's still quite easy to get the 3.5 core books, and that sites as The Hypertext d20 SRD (v3.5 d20 System Reference Document) :: d20srd.org make this not as necessary for the industry/community as OSRIC or Labyrinth Lord, but I like the idea of having a nicely bound single book with all the rules (well, I'd accept a rulebook and a bestiary), as a 3.5 Rules Cyclopedia, which included some of the latest clarifications, additions and fixes, as swift actions or the rework of the Polymorph spell.

In theory, Pathfinder is going to be that (and that's the main reason I bought the Beta and am looking forward to the '09 book), but well, it *might* be too far stretched from D&D3.5 to be considered that, and sometimes people don't want to have fixed rules which they didn't feel broken. That's why there are people who still play 1e or even 3.0.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

One of the big appeals of 3.5E is playing with pile o' books, and the optimization that occurs from that. No retro-clone(or Pathfinder) could ever duplicate late 3.5E's character building with pile o' books.

It is also a deeply flawed system, though fun. The fun is very closely intertwined with the flaws, and the two are almost impossible to separate. Keeping what everybody loved about 3.5E while fixing the quirks(a usual goal of a retro-clone) is a fairly difficult proposition.

The best that could be hoped for IMO would be years down the road when 3E isn't competition to the current edition of D&D, be it 4E or something else, where they could release a series of best of 3.5E books to put the best character building/game building options in a managable number of books, while weeding out the duds.