A few good ideas are in this file (a little more standardisation of the various combat maneuvers, the altenate xp-progression) but besides this it looks like "D&D turned up to 11". With other words: It does exactly what I hate about 4e, but does it with 3rd Edition rules.

As far as I can tell it's only saving grace is that it keeps the 3rd-Edition in print, but OTOH it dimmishes this point, by making the characters incompatible (I know comaptiblity is a goal, but if the characters are twice as powerful as their 3.5 counterparts I can't see comaptiblity). As I said above: I can't understand the hype about this.

Alpha V2 is more of the same...
More Great...
More D&D feel then what I am seeing coming out of WotC lately...
I am very excited about the fighter rules, where you are going with the various monsters (see Classic Monsters Revisited), and the feel of your modules. They are written in a way that allows me to run both for a kid group, (cutsey goblinsess...) to a group needing gritty realism (cutsey goblinsess eat small childrensess)... All with a nifty new ruleset that eliminates a LOT of my headaches as a DM...
I don't play D&D anymore... I play Pathfinder...

Elvnsword

Wizards may have the name, but paizo have the flavour.
This is the direction 4th edition should have followed.
Pathfinder remains true to the D&D spirit, 4th edition do not.

I am french. I would like to know if there is a publisher that translate it? I could do it but alone, it will be quite long.
I made rules for the grapple. Were can I post it?

I read over the Alpha release, and for the most part I like what I saw. There are some things I find really intriguing, like the skill system, and other things I can take or leave. I would definitely rather buy Pathfinder than anything 4th ed related.

These changes address every fundamental problem with the 3.x system and then some. It virtually eliminates the "one-hour workday" for adventurers, keeps rogues, mages, clerics, and druids in the game without major structural changes, and makes leveling exciting and dynamic at each and every level.

Is there potential for a case of "Muchkinitis"? Sure, as there is when any change takes place, but the lengthy playtest period gives more intensive scrutiny to that factor than any other game system before.

These are the changes that you hoped 4E would make, but isn't going to. This is the game you're going to want to play, rather than the board game that 4E is converting into.

This is a real gamer's game.

It seems while the Pathfinder game is not the steroids-boosted game 4.0 will be, it so far has done more boosting than 3.5. Too much catering to the "I want cool powers now" crowd is still ruining the game. Less race and class-based powers should be given, not more, and abilities shifted more to feats so players can create a 'cool or neat' character. Since it's still in alpha though I'll give it some hope and watch with interest.

Just listened to the Fear the Boot Podcast Interview with Erik Mona, and I had to check this out.

I love what you guys have done to the races, the 4 classes, and many of the more complex rules represented in the 65 page free product.

Anyone interested in keeping up with the 3.x products should look to this as a step and change in the right direction.

I like many of the rules but that the really bad alignment rule is still there surprises me.

Also, I'm not a fan of the setting. The goblins are too cute and there's to much high-fantasy for my taste. I want a more dark and gritty setting. (feel free to give me tips)

Off to a good start although I'm concerned with the scope of the changes that require conversions.