D&D 4E Would 4E be Popular?

[Ranger REG]

Meh. There is such a group of people that vilifies Microsoft.

If they don't like the direction WotC is going for D&D, then they should consider buying D&D from Hasbro/WotC. Then those folks will bear the same group of people that will vilify them.

 

[drnuncheon]

I bought 3.0 because it was so different from earlier editions that it fixed a lot of the problems.

I bought 3.5 because it was still mostly compatible with 3.0 and it fixed some of the problems.

Of course, each of those had (has) problems of its own.

Really, I don't know that I'd buy 4.0. For it to be worth a new edition, it would probably have to change enough things that it wouldn't be backwards compatible with the two shelves of d20 stuff I already have.

I don't have any particular attachment to D&D as a name brand - I left it behind for ten years as I played GURPS and HERO and all sorts of other things, and if 4.0 isn't what I want, I'll do it again. Besides, the OGL means that d20 never has to be a "dead game" with no support.

J

 

[Ranger REG]

Meh. If Hasbro no longer wishes to offer royalty-free d20 System Trademark Use License, it's not the end of the world. The OGL -- any and all versions -- is here to stay.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

They put 4th edition out before 2010 and they can kiss my interest and money goodbye.

I think I might be right with you.

However, I have a feeling that the miniatures game might see a new edition before D&D will. And the next D&D Miniatures will not be made OGL or added to the SRD, at the same time WotC would keep it compatible with D&D.


Regards,
Eric Anondson

 

[Rasyr]

Well, that would still mean 2007, not 2006. (I'm also not sure why the hiring of freelancers indicates that 4e is being worked on.)

I still don't buy it. I also don't understand why some people relish vilifying WotC. Seems a strange way to get one's jollies.

Well, actually, I have said either 2006 or 2008, depending on how it gets figured, though personally I lean towards 2006.

And I am not sure who you are talking about villifying WotC. I certainly am not. WotC is a subsidiary of Hasbro, which is a large company, who is most definitely more interested in continued profit over whether or not we want a D&D 4E. That is not villifying anybody, it is making a statement. As for my predictions about 4E, that is all that they are, predictions. I have tried to explain how I came to the conclusions for my thinking (previously in other threads), but again, I was not intending ot villify WotC through such.

As for the hiring of freelancers, I can only make a guess as I was not the one who mentioned it, nor had taken such into account in drawing my conclusions. If I did have to guess, I would primarily guess that they would be working on updating material to 4E so that there are no gaps in the release schedule. In an interview Charles Ryan did, he mentioned something along the lines of WotC only doing its release schedule about 18 months ahead of time. That being the case, they would be starting about now on having authors working on updating material for a new version. A large company like WotC has a lot larger lead time between commissioning a project and its publication. Again, this is only a guess.

 

[Greatwyrm]

Wow, I wish I had a snazzy quote from Mike Mearls to use. No, really, I think he's pretyt cool. Anyhoo...

I'm not sure an increase in free-lancers would necessitate a 4e. WotC has already been keeping up a steady production schedule and doing it on decreasing staff. If you want the same output, you gotta get the labor somewhere. Also, if they're serious about continuing support for Eberron and making it the second "flagship" line, they'll need (or at least think they need) to produce material in similar volume to FR. That's a lot of catching up to do.

Heck, they may even be looking at just expanding the existing product lines. We've seen the new builder books, the race books, environment books, and whatever series they're starting with that Battlefields book. Maybe they just have some new offshoots they want to develop through '05. If I'd had as much trouble with editing as they have in the past year or so, I'd want an early start on proofreading.

 

[Ranger REG]

A large company like WotC has a lot larger lead time between commissioning a project and its publication. Again, this is only a guess.

Heh. It may be a large company, but the bulk of it is comprise of the TCG division. WotC's RPG division is a fraction of what TSR had in a pool of game designers on the company's payroll. It's a lot cheaper to contract someone without worrying about additional perks like medical benefits.

 

[MerricB]

Meh. Throughout its history, D&D material has been written by a lot of freelancers. It was the lack of oversight on those freelancers that caused some of the worst products in 2e's history, actually - the Complete Books of 2e show the lack of centralised editorial control.

These things go in cycles. Wizards is currently going through a stage of using more freelancers. What is interesting is how Wizards is doing it: a lead designer who is employed at Wizards, then one or more other designers that may be freelancers. That keeps the whole more in touch with what Wizards want D&D to be.

As I recall, Ed Greenwood has always been a freelancer. Consider the number of D&D books with his name on them...

Cheers!

 

[Zappo]

To all the people who say "if I don't like 4E, I'll move to GURPS/HERO/C&C/whatever":

Why are you not saying "if I don't like 4E, I'll keep playing 3(.5)E" ?

Me = confused. ?_?

 

[Rasyr]

I'm not sure an increase in free-lancers would necessitate a 4e.

From Mearls' comment, I got the impression that they are hiring a lot more freelencers than they normally do. More than would be justified for just their expanding product lines. So, for example, if they need 30 freelancers to work on all the products in the chute, this would be something like hiring 50, 60 or more freelancers. At least that was the impression I got.

Heh. It may be a large company, but the bulk of it is comprise of the TCG division. WotC's RPG division is a fraction of what TSR had in a pool of game designers on the company's payroll. It's a lot cheaper to contract someone without worrying about additional perks like medical benefits.

No arguments there. The point I was trying to make was that; according to the quote from Mearls, WotC is hiring a lot more freelancers than normal. At least that was the impression I got, and I was giving a guess as to why that might be so.