It's coming...

http://digital50.com/news/items/BW/2001 ... n-con.html

BOOOOO...HISSSSS!!!

Nasty system...we hates it! We hates it forever!

Seriously...why is it that every couple of years they have to release a new ruleset that costs $60 to get all the basic rules? Highway robbery I tell you!

Come on it's very simple....

When you run out of inovative NEW ideas, you send a group of people to update the old ideas with the feedback you recieve from customers. And make it a new model...

Every company I've ever seen has done this.
Cars, Cell Phone, fast food... You name it.


And when you look at the garbage that Wizards was putting out this year.... it's pretty obvious that they were out of "New" ideas.
So it really is no suprise that they went back and tried to improve on their "core moneymaking" products. AFter all they have to stay in business if they wish to have any chance to put "good" new products on the market.

I don't mind a 4th edition as such, but what bugs me is the inevitable 4.5th edition and endless stream of add-on books (that contain items purposely left out of the core books).

Although I'm not doing it at any insane speed, I'm still buying 3.5 edition books that I want. I might get 4th edition toward the end of 2008, but I seriously doubt our group will be switching to it anytime soon!

Skunk

You wanna be alright you gotta walk tall
Long Beach Dub Allstars & Black Eyed Peas

Check out what games I’m working on and their status by visiting .

My only fear of the partial digitalization of the manuals and all expanded materials being only available through a subscription service on the Insider is how much is 4 going to really rely on the Internet?

I mean, it looks like fun - having a 3-D character builder with the miniatures and tile boards to use online to play 24/7 with people anywhere. It seems to focus updating the manuals through the Internet, so you don't have to like continuously search the web for updates. Plus, errata is easily resolved, people can share ideas, experiences, etc. And you get Dragon and Dungeon Magazine as part of the subscription.

The downside of having something rely on the Internet so heavily is that if the Internet portion fails, and the whole system relies on that one digital piece to remain current, then entire system becomes worthless. Say Wizards abandons 4's online content and the Insider changes when version 6 comes out. Then everyone who was in love with version 4 just had their entire investment thrown away. They are mentioning that you don't have to subscribe to the online stuff or even use the digital stuff, but at the same time, they are focusing on the online content as the hard selling point.

The funny thing that I noticed this morning was that they are talking about being the leader online with RPGs, yet they can't even compensate for the giant mass of people who all tried to log on today (and therefore, it broke their site from like 1 AM CST to 10 AM CST). LOL