Royas's page

It'd be nice to see a couple of small images of some sample pages, just to get an idea of what the product looks like. I really don't want to buy something like this, only to find it's about as useful as the old GameMastery Campaign Workbook. I like the idea, but would love to see what the implementation looks like.

I'd love to see this item with hex grids on both sides, instead of squares. While I know most people here play games that use the square grid, there are a number of games that use hexes where I find my original flip-mat indispensable (Champions, for example). It'd be nice to have a mat with two sides (therefore two pre-drawn scenes) to work with.

For those not subscribing, what changes would entice you to subscribe? Higher quality of dragon magazine? A reduction in price? Having print versions available? More payment options? (I know they are already working at adding Paypal as an option.)

I also won't subscribe to an online character generator or campaign manager. Anything like that, I want offline, on my computer, and it has to be pretty much completely adjustable for my house rules. I can't take the risk of being unable to access my material because WotC has their website down. Given that they aren't the most technically adept company on the planet, I think that's a reasonable concern.

Really, even if the DDI was geared to 3.5 (or if I played 4e), I still wouldn't be able to subscribe at this point. I don't think it's very well implemented, and WotC has never impressed me with their ability to run their website. I think they'd be better off dumping the whole plan and going back to licensing their products out to other companies. Everything they want to do could be accomplished better out of house by companies with superior track records in their fields. I think WotC is trying to do too much that they just don't have the ability to do well, and the product will suffer for some time for it. Just my opinion, but I don't see them persuading me to subscribe anytime soon.

If you think that:

a) Wizards doesn't deserve to try and make money
b) The video game criticism is valid
c) 4th Edition is over-simplified

You really need to take a step back and re-examine your position. None of these things are true, and Wizards was only making fun of the people who decide to whine about those things incessantly online instead of being mature about it and enjoying whichever game they'd like.

Second point, it's inappropriate for a so-called professional company to spend time belittling any portion of their potential customer base. It's not professional, and it's counter-productive also. While I'm not offended by anything they say at this time, that's only because I decided months ago that WotC doesn't care what I think, and I don't care what WotC thinks. Frankly, they can go to hell in the handbasket of their choice for all I care, I won't notice them one way or another.

I can say that if I had an employee even suggest making a video, even one obviously tongue in cheek like this one, that presented my company like this, I would have to examine that employee's place in my company. That kind of bad judgment is a problem. And no, I'm not stating something hypothetical, I really have fired subordinates for that level of bad judgment.

Royas wrote:

I picked up the 4E PHB, because I wanted to see what Wizards had actually done with the game. I'll admit, I went into it expecting to be disappointed, I hadn't heard a lot I liked about 4e on the net. Unfortunately, my expectations were realized. I can't even specifically tell you why I don't like 4e, except to say it "feels" completely wrong. It doesn't "feel" like D&D to me. At least when the game went from 1e to 2e and 2e to 3e, it still felt right. A couple rule changes, a few specifics altered, it was still D&D. This, to my mind, isn't D&D. I'm not sure what it is, but it's just not right. I wish I could be more specific on what's wrong with 4e, but I can't, it's just a wrong feel to the game.

Given that 3e is still being supported by multiple developers and writers, I have no great need to switch. So I'm going to stay with the system that feels like the game I started playing in 1980, and leave it at that.

Well, I also don't want to buy any more WoTC products period. I was deeply offended by the response I got to a complaint letter I sent to them over the Dragon and Dungeon cancellations. So, I'm actually relieved I don't care for 4e, it makes my decision to not buy from them easier to live with.

what did the responce letter say?

Funny thing is, as upset as I was over the cancellation of the magazines (and I was flat out livid over that), I had had time to get over my mad. I had come to accept that the magazines were gone, even though I didn't like it. The response letter just lit that anger up all over again, and it still hasn't gone down this time. I get angry pretty easily, but I forget my anger just as quickly, it takes a lot make me angry enough that I'm still pissed off half a year or more later.

I picked up the 4E PHB, because I wanted to see what Wizards had actually done with the game. I'll admit, I went into it expecting to be disappointed, I hadn't heard a lot I liked about 4e on the net. Unfortunately, my expectations were realized. I can't even specifically tell you why I don't like 4e, except to say it "feels" completely wrong. It doesn't "feel" like D&D to me. At least when the game went from 1e to 2e and 2e to 3e, it still felt right. A couple rule changes, a few specifics altered, it was still D&D. This, to my mind, isn't D&D. I'm not sure what it is, but it's just not right. I wish I could be more specific on what's wrong with 4e, but I can't, it's just a wrong feel to the game.

Given that 3e is still being supported by multiple developers and writers, I have no great need to switch. So I'm going to stay with the system that feels like the game I started playing in 1980, and leave it at that.

Well, I also don't want to buy any more WoTC products period. I was deeply offended by the response I got to a complaint letter I sent to them over the Dragon and Dungeon cancellations. So, I'm actually relieved I don't care for 4e, it makes my decision to not buy from them easier to live with.

A truly painful blow, I'm having trouble typing this for the tears in my eyes. Gary Gygax's creation has been a major part of my life since 1979, when I was but a lad of 10 years of age. This feels like losing a member of my family, even though I never had the honor of meeting the legend in person.

I feel like I should be saying something profound and deep here, but nothing comes to my mind, so I'll end this wishing comfort to Gary's family, friends and co-workers. May we all meet again on the other side of life.

I'm still waiting to hear what's up with this order. Any updates at all would be appreciated.

Thank you kindly, ma'am. I'll await their reply.

That's quite a sweet little bonus! As though getting the Pathfinder books, etc, wasn't enough. I already get most of my items that I don't buy at the FLGS here, this is just sweet, sweet icing on the cake.

I'm noticing that on order 818630, the Game Mastery Treasure chest is still listed as pending, while others have received theirs late last month. I was wondering what might be holding mine up.

Wow. You managed to take my attitude towards this whole online publication debacle, and my opinion of the lack of good communication from WotC, and distilled it into a few brief paragraphs. It's almost like you've been listening to me rant to my oh-so-patient wife lately. Well said.

Y'know ....my wife actually gave me a hug when I told her that MY magazines were getting canned....she's a sweetie..

Here's how it went:

Our license was up for renewal, as is periodically specified in our contract. Wizards let us know that they had something else in mind, and wouldn't be renewing our license. We asked for an extension to allow us to complete the Savage Tide; they generously agreed. That's pretty much it. Continuing our license just wasn't an option that we had.

I'm not going to shouting boycott, because that would suggest that I actually purchased WoTC products before. I have the core books, Etools (and doesn't this whole thing sound a lot like the Etools liscence getting taken from the Codemonkeys?) and my Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I really have no plans to buy anything more, and that isn't changing anytime soon. And I'm sure as hell not going to be laying out cash for an online version of a magazine. I have no use for a magazine I can't put on my shelf along with almost every other one of them that were ever published. Sorry, if I can't bring it along to a game session, it's useless to me.

Online resources are great, really. And I'm a big fan of the e-book concept as a whole. I buy a lot of sci-fi in ebook form from another publisher to read on my PDA. But nothing will ever replace flipping through the hardcopy. So, sure, I'll go along with a boycott, in the sense that I won't be following the magazines back to WoTC in the current form.