Holy Crap, 4th Edition???

Túrin · August 16, 2007, 08:47:01 AM

I wonder why WotC has locked down the 4E boards again. Now that it seems certain the countdown thingy on their site is about 4E (and it's not like we couldn't have guessed even without the privacy accident, assuming that's what it was), everyone will be talking about it, and as WotC themselves state in the post ElDo quoted above: "We also want to prevent the other forums from being overwhelmed with 4E posts to the point that it drowns out any of the natural discussion in those areas." which is exactly what is happening now. Locking the new boards down is only making things worse right now.

Also, am I the only one assuming there's a connection between this 4E stuff and the withdrawal of Paizo's Dragon and Dungeon licenses?

Túrin

Lmns Crn · August 16, 2007, 09:08:25 AM

Quote from: TúrinI wonder why WotC has locked down the 4E boards again. Now that it seems certain the countdown thingy on their site is about 4E (and it's not like we couldn't have guessed even without the privacy accident, assuming that's what it was), everyone will be talking about it, and as WotC themselves state in the post ElDo quoted above: "We also want to prevent the other forums from being overwhelmed with 4E posts to the point that it drowns out any of the natural discussion in those areas." which is exactly what is happening now. Locking the new boards down is only making things worse right now.

I'm really not sure why they're doing the huge countdown page, either. I'm not seeing the point. It's not as if they have to build anticipation for anything-- current players already seem to know whether they intend to switch to 4E or stick with whatever they're running currently, and I doubt the announcement of 4E is going to pull in any new blood who've been thinking about trying out this crazy "dee and dee" stuff but've been on the fence. The whole "We have information, but you have to wait for it!" thing is sort of silly.

If the 4E forums were made public by some accident, they ought to have been left that way. I mean, the cat is already out of the bag, and people are going to discuss this mess somewhere. Why wouldn't WotC want to be able to host discussion at their place, where they can try to spin it most favorably? Silly.

Stargate525 · August 16, 2007, 09:15:48 AM

I think the reason they've locked them down is so that instead of a whole forum filled with speculation, we actually have solid information to speculate ON before they give us a forum.

Lmns Crn · August 16, 2007, 09:44:35 AM

Maybe so, but now there are forums (fora?) filled with speculation all over many of the internets. They've started the crazy baseless speculation machine as soon as they put the "4dventure" (I hate that mangled mess of a word) countdown on their site, and by not giving discussion an outlet, it's just going to move away.

Raelifin · August 16, 2007, 09:51:04 AM

LC, I think you seriously underestimate the average gamer. 4E is likely to spark a lot of debate, but I think that it'll be accepted largely as 3.0 was. With 3.0 they sold more books, as even people paying 2E games would want to check out the new rules. Conversion wasn't overnight, but hype helps convince people that they want to buy books, even if they don't have a 4E game running atm.

Not providing information is a proven way of driving up hype. The idea is that the more someone thinks about a product, the more likely they are to get it. If they said "4E is coming" and that's all, then people would say "cool" and go back to thinking about other stuff. By denying info, they get people to speculate and debate, which increases the amount of time they focus on it.

Lmns Crn · August 16, 2007, 10:00:40 AM

Oh, I don't doubt that it'll be accepted. I'm just confused by their specific choices regarding how to moderate (or not) the inevitable speculation. It's the removal of the 4E discussion boards that's making me scratch my head.

Quote from: RaelLC, I think you seriously underestimate the average gamer.

But this is possible too, I'm sure.

Poseptune · August 16, 2007, 10:02:58 AM

The only problem with the lack of information is that there were some people who were already upset with the lack of information about what the D&D DI was going to be. This is just fuel on the fire, though so far the WotC boards have been surprisingly civil so far.

I thought this was funny:

Quote from: MarkHall

Ishmayl-Retired · August 16, 2007, 10:35:06 AM

I think the whole "cat out of the bag" unlocked-then-relocked forums was actually an intentional stunt. Up until yesterday at around 9:00 PM, when I first heard the news, I had not been to www.wizards.com/dnd or any of its daughter-pages in probably at least six months. Maybe longer. Now, I too and planning on rushing to (and probably, with the millions of other people doing the same thing, crashing) the page at 6:30 PM EST this evening. With that little "accident," it has basically been confirmed that the announcement is legit, and now, thousands (if not tens of thousands) of people, who would otherwise not be on their main web page, will be checking out the site.

Definitely intentional.

Ishmayl-Retired · August 16, 2007, 10:36:03 AM

On another note, I would like to make a request (and if you need to, assume request = demand) that this is the only 4E thread on this site. Thanks

Kalos Mer · August 16, 2007, 11:11:00 AM

Oh man, this gives me further impetus to break away from D&D/d20 with my own games. ;)

But seriously. AD&D 2nd Edition hung around for 11 years. We've only had 3.5 for about 4 years now, and 3.0 for 3 years before that.

Part of me wants to assume that this could be a good thing - I read the part about streamlining the complex parts of the game with Great Joy. But the increasing reliance on miniatures discourages me...

Meh. I'll no doubt buy the core books, if for no other reason, then to mine for ideas in my homebrew systems.

Hm, or maybe in 'protest' I'll start up an old-school game. I've been wanting to do a 2e Skills&Powers Planescape campaign for a while...

brainface · August 16, 2007, 11:12:16 AM

Quote from: Luminous CrayonThey've started the crazy baseless speculation machine as soon as they put the "4dventure" (I hate that mangled mess of a word) countdown on their site

calculator talk[/i]. Also, the never unsplashing splash page that you can't escape is amateur night.

(I'm actually almost excited about 4e. Though everyone in my group probably isn't going to run out and buy it on opening day like we did 3e. Unless we just want to stick it to Ishmayl.)

Lmns Crn · August 16, 2007, 11:21:18 AM

Quote from: brainface(I'm actually almost excited about 4e. Though everyone in my group probably isn't going to run out and buy it on opening day like we did 3e. Unless we just want to stick it to Ishmayl.)

That would be hilarity. :)

I guess I'm cautiously optimistic as well. It's not as if 3E/3.5 is perfect-- it's full of things that need fixing, and even people who love 3E/3.5 say so. They've had years of feedback on these issues (hope they've been listening!), and I am hoping 4E is going to be a tool for fixing a lot of things that were pretty seriously mleh.

Some of the PR hype-machine output even sounds... well, somewhat useful.

Quote from: Press release (emphasis mine)The 4th Edition rules emphasize faster game play, offer exciting new character options, and reduce the amount of "prep time" needed to run the game. D&D Insider includes a character creator that lets players design and equip their D&D characters, dungeon- and adventure-building tools for Dungeon Masters, online magazine content, and a digital game table that lets you play 24/7 on the internet '" the perfect option for anyone who can't find time to get together.

Have to wait and see if it lives up to the claims or not, and have to wait even longer to see whether or not I'll bother with 4E myself (I'm guessing not, since I barely use 3E/3.5 much anymore.)

But I don't think the sky is falling or anything.

Ishmayl-Retired · August 16, 2007, 11:32:09 AM

Hopefully the hype is more than just that. My main concern is that a lot of these "features" aren't going to be free. And suddenly, WotC is going to be making a lot more money off of people for doing things that were once free. There will always be "open" options available, and an endless number of character generators, but undoubtedly, people are going to pay a lot of money for things that they weren't paying for this time last year.

And realistically, I'll probably give everything a look-see and a try. I'm not close-minded, just bitter about being open-minded ;)

Elven Doritos · August 16, 2007, 12:48:41 PM

I've slept on it.

And I guess the most startling thing is that I don't really care. I might buy the books, I dunno. But right now, there's nothing to make me want to buy it.

Atlantis · August 16, 2007, 12:55:08 PM

[blockquote Press Release (emphasis LC)] The 4th Edition rules emphasize faster game play,offers exciting new character options......... [/blockquote]

um.. isnt that what basically what we have been doing on the cbg?

The Campaign Builder's Guild

News:

Holy Crap, 4th Edition???

Túrin

Lmns Crn

Stargate525

Lmns Crn

Raelifin

Lmns Crn

Poseptune

Ishmayl-Retired

Ishmayl-Retired

Kalos Mer

brainface

Lmns Crn

Ishmayl-Retired

Elven Doritos

Atlantis