Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 laredric May 07, 2010 13:55:34	There is no polite way to say this, but WoC needs a better system for editing copy. I know, money is tight, copy editors are an expense, the economy is in recession, etc etc. As the essentials line exists to bring new players into the game, and errata will only confuse them, I encourage you to ignore your fears of pirated pdf copies and publish your drafts to a wider community. You need the extra eyeballs to find errors. As the 'Redbox' game exists to bring new players into the game, a pirated pdf copy would be of little value to a someone without all the beginner maps, dice, etc. And as the existing community would benefit from a wider player base, the existing community could really help you toward that goal.
#2 Dragoloth May 07, 2010 20:43:46	Nothing constructive to post but I find it hillarious that your thread title starts off with"WoC" not the correct WotC. You may need an editor. (No offence this post was in all fun.)
#3 mplindustries May 07, 2010 22:34:31	(No offence this post was in all fun.) Extra lulz.  "Offense"
#4 ascottbay May 08, 2010 0:13:41	(No offence this post was in all fun.) Extra lulz.  "Offense" Depends on whether you have an American English or British English spellcheck dictionary active, actually.
#5 thescalesoffate May 08, 2010 10:53:44	(No offence this post was in all fun.) Extra lulz.  "Offense" Depends on whether you have an American English or British English spellcheck dictionary active, actually. Oh snap!
#6 GMforPowergamers May 09, 2010 9:42:26	come on it is mandatory for a post about needing better editors to in itself need a better proofreader... it is one of those laws of the universe....
#7 laredric May 09, 2010 16:50:11	The fact we are finding errors in the thread is evidence that more eyeballs editing catch more errors than fewer eyeballs.
#8 ascottbay May 09, 2010 19:37:08	But we also found an "error" that wasn't an error. Isn't that more likely to happen when non-professionals get involved, too?
#9 kletian999 May 10, 2010 8:13:31	No matter what "editors" find, the writer is still the one making the corrections.
#10 Haldrik May 10, 2010 10:14:50	I agree, WotC should market products digitally first. Then publish the hardcopies after receiving the feedback with regard to form and content. At least experiment with this digital-first approach. The Essential is as good a product as any. With regard to content (gaming balance, rules clarity, etc), they could publish all of the rules electronically thru the Character Builder and the Compendium. With regard to form (grammar, spelling, language clarity), a 'roughdraft' PDF might be a good idea. If they did this, they shouldnt publish any artwork with it, but to save the art for the hardcopy release. Can anyone else come up with other ways to make the hardcopy more appealing than the roughdraft?
#11 mellored May 10, 2010 15:33:37	Their instant updates for dragon work out pretty well.  Post an article, people read it for presentation, char-op rates it, repost the cleaner compiled version.  It doesn't stop everything, but alot of errors and balance issues get reduced doing a once over quick pass. They may be doing this with the errata.  Since they reprinted a bunch of rules in it.  I don't know if the essentals went to the printer yet, but if not, they've got some feed back from it.  Most of it is good with no one asking any questions, but a few things, like the counting blocking squares while charging, could be written a bit better.
#12 bone_naga May 11, 2010 14:54:53	So they won't release pdfs for sales, to the people that will actually pay money for them, even for previous edition material that isn't being sold in print anyway, but you think they will release them for free, even in a rough draft form with no artwork attached? Honestly, I can't say I think it's a very good idea, but even if it was, WotC is already behind the curve on digital books, there's no way they'd go for this.
#13 Haldrik May 11, 2010 17:52:47	Not for free. And not a pdf. WotC can first release the rules for each Essential book thru D&DI, thru the Character Builder and the Online Compendium. Release it to paying D&DI subscribers, while increasing the D&DI value, and expanding the D&DI customer base to include the gotta-get-it-first crowd.  In return, WotC gets feedback from compentent players who playtest it in a diversity of gaming environments. Then, publish the final form as a hardcopy that makes the traditional book customers happy with reliable and popular rules. Step 0: Developers finish strong content for new book. Step 1: Publish the rules of the book by releasing them thru Character Builder and Online Compendium: classes, races, powers, feats, items, glossary, etc. Step 2: Address feedback about these rules (concerns and suggestions about the mechanics and flavors, simplicity of play, verisimilitude, etc.). Step 3: Publish errata for the Character Builder and Online Compendium. Step 4: Address feedback about the errata (missed a problem, nerfed too harshly, etc.) Step 5: Publish hardcopy version of the book, incorporating all the feedback, with appropriate page layouts and beautiful art. Many traditional book customers will pay for D&DI to get the content early, even tho spliced and scattered thru the digital spreadsheet format of the Character Builder and Compendium. Many D&DI customers will pay for the final form of the book, for traditional reading and referencing.
#14 tavenknaughtlin May 12, 2010 0:52:42	Not for free. And not a pdf. WotC can first release the rules for each Essential book thru D&DI, thru the Character Builder and the Online Compendium. Release it to paying D&DI subscribers, while increasing the D&DI value, and expanding the D&DI customer base to include the gotta-get-it-first crowd.  In return, WotC gets feedback from compentent players who playtest it in a diversity of gaming environments. Then, publish the final form as a hardcopy that makes the traditional book customers happy with reliable and popular rules. Step 0: Developers finish strong content for new book. Step 1: Publish the rules of the book by releasing them thru Character Builder and Online Compendium: classes, races, powers, feats, items, glossary, etc. Step 2: Address feedback about these rules (concerns and suggestions about the mechanics and flavors, simplicity of play, verisimilitude, etc.). Step 3: Publish errata for the Character Builder and Online Compendium. Step 4: Address feedback about the errata (missed a problem, nerfed too harshly, etc.) Step 5: Publish hardcopy version of the book, incorporating all the feedback, with appropriate page layouts and beautiful art. Many traditional book customers will pay for D&DI to get the content early, even tho spliced and scattered thru the digital spreadsheet format of the Character Builder and Compendium. Many D&DI customers will pay for the final form of the book, for traditional reading and referencing. They already do something like this, with their Dragon and Dungeon Annuals. The articles that were in DDI the previous year have a years' worth of errata and fixes before it's compiled into a hardbound copy. NOw if they were to do something like this with their main line of books (PHB, Power Books, Essentials, etc.), it would certainly reduce this errata-craze that has overcome the company as of late, and make sure we don't pay for a pretty set of homerules instead of RPGA legal handbooks.-
#15 ah_stormbringer May 12, 2010 13:34:47	That is the best idea I have heard in a long time. Wizards gets more people to get DDI and as most players still buy hard copies of most books they want so book sales do not suffer. This is a win win, it would cut down on the need for an errata and would reward those people who play the game and pay for DDI.