Crazy Clown in the room talk
 

I understand that Hasbro/WOTC are working on a "new" edition of my beloved RPG. I have not so far seen or heard how this shall effect HL and the 4E program? Would content still be available until the DDI changes and will material still be added to the content? How long will Lone Wolf dedicate time to the 4E system if it is not produced by Hasbro/WOTC any longer? Will there be a point that product that can not be included in Game License become available? What is the long term and short term goals for 4E now as it relates to HL?

I understand that there is a non-discloser act that is out here and I do not want to get any one in trouble, I would just like an understand of what Lone Wolf shall be doing over the next year+ with the 4E data.

Thank you,

At this point it is my understanding that D&D Next is still in Research & Development, and it will have to playtested by the public (Which would most likely occur at GENCON as that is where Hasbro/WotC does its playtesting). So far the only playtests that Monte Cooke mentioned were the private playtests that the developers do behind the scenes, but the actual playtesting they will be looking at will come from a major RPGA event like GENCON. Since this project is in its early stages, it is likely to undergo playtesting at this years GENCON or Next years (possibly both) because they don't want to release it too soon.

They hate admitting it, but they should have listened to the negative feedback they got for 4e at GENCON's playtests. They lost over 80% of their RPGA judges and members when it launched. I was one of the judges that walked away from it because I did not like the way it was designed.

From what I know the next "Iteration" of D&D that they are working on will not mean having to stop playing 4e or 3.5 or 2e or 1e for anyone. They are trying to create a modular edition that spans all of the editions and if successful will allow the DM to choose elements from all the editions released before. Meaning you can still do 4e. I may keep a few 4e and 3.5 elements, but there will be a lot of 2e in my games. (Weapon Speed Factors FTW).

It's *way* too premature to figure out anything, since everything is still completely in flux at Wizards. They have some ideas that they're pursuing, but they are still in their early stages and subject to substantial change. To paraphrase an old adage, "No game design survives contact with the players". As Wizards starts to narrow down on a concrete design (and timetable), then everyone else (like us) can start to figure out what the implications are and how to respond to those implications. We're not there yet.

I would be *stunned* if Wizards releases "Next" before GenCon 2013, which is 18 months from now. So let's at least wait until after GenCon 2012 for them to provide the public with some actual data that we can weigh and assess. It's pointless for us to start worrying about anything until there's something to actually worry about, so we'll assess the situation when we have something solid to assess. :)

Additionally, WotC will be careful not to jeopardize the next edition by alienating 4e players by early removal of 4e content. I think you can expect that when the next edition is close to launch, new 4e content will stop being created, but the tools will continue to be available for a period of time after that.

If WotC were smart though, and they're trying to capture players of all editions, I'd continue to support ALL editions of the games through 4e tools, new 5e tools, and reprints of previous works. After all, the aim of 5e is to unite the fragmented player base and make WotC the premier source of D&D-based content again. Their plan is to attempt to wrest control from Paizo and other companies such as those releasing product via the OSR movement, such as OSRIC etc.

Besides, once you've downloaded the data, just make sure you archive it. Even if the compendium goes away, you'll still have your downloaded data that you can use. Additionally, I'm sure that others will step in to manually update it and keep the content alive.

The reason they are working on a new edition is basically that 4e alienated much of the previous audience who was madly in love 3.5. Paizo used to make 3.5 supplements as a 3rd party developer long before pathfinder's "rope-playing" game books debuted. WotC is not happy that 4e sales have been in the tank since then.

As Rob said, it will be awhile before Hasbro / WotC make anything public.