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Loki5654 wrote:

I'm going to try and ask this in a non-offensive manner, if it does offend you, I apologize.

Why does this matter to you*?

I'm really having trouble understanding why this is such an issue with some people.

*General, non-specific, plural you.

I don't really have a dog in the fight. Its more of the fascination of watching a train wreck.

My wife works for a major company (not gaming of course), and when they promise things to a customer and set a date to release that to them, they meet the deadline. Period. If they have to, they work around the clock including weekends (yes the lawyers too), because its just that important for the company to deliver what they promised.

I'm willing to bet that that's just not happening here, which is fascinating to me. So I've got some popcorn, a wireless connection and a laptop, and I'm enjoying the show.

I guess my question is, if it is so important to some people, why complain about it here when there are more constructive avenues of approach?

I think the damage is already done, and the result is the realization that there are no constructive venues. Now, more than likey, the docs come when they come. But this board is public and this is a way to generate public pressure on the company to fulfill its promises. So I fully understand and support those who are complaining.

Speaking of lawyers...

Quite often release schedules can be impacted by lawsuits and injunction orders. If someone has purchased rights to certain aspects of published materials, they may have a real reason to delay things like the OGL until conflicts are resolved. Sometimes these reasons are good enough that a judge will rule on them. Other times threatened lawsuits are enough to make publishers take a second look before moving forward.

While this is purely speculative, it could be one possible reason for the delay. We know that some of the rights have obviously been sold, given, or shared with those behind the GLEEMAX initiative. Other unknown players may have a dog in the fight as well.

In any case, it's better to have all the bugs worked out ahead of a final release rather than to have to retract things or fight them out in court after the fact. Being smart about when to hold back is a good quality to have in a business. However, open honesty is another. Delays happen. People accept them when they are accompanied with honest explanations for their causes. The real issue at hand is one of poor communication with the consumer.

BlackMaul wrote:

Delays happen. People accept them when they are accompanied with honest explanations for their causes. The real issue at hand is one of poor communication with the consumer.

No kidding. The problem is that Hasbro isn't working with other companies, they're selling to a bunch of individuals. There is no major contract to lose, and very little in the way of customer relationships. The sad thing is that with few exceptions, the 4E release process has been a set of demonstrations of how little respect they have for the people who purchase their products.

I'm just curious to know when the material will be available. I've got a small-scale project, hoping to tailor it to 4th edition (what I've seen so far makes me feel positive about it). Part of my fascination lies in wanting to see the material, as my ebay purchase has yet to delivered. I hadn't planned on worrying about getting materials in hand on day 1 since I fully expected to see the SRD coming about the same time, but alas, this is what happens. Why not call or email? Simply enough, I've got a very small stake in it, and it wouldn't matter enough to make a fuss about. So I'll polish some of the fiction, and wait around until I have a better idea of what I'm working with.

Just trying to decide whether to design for 4E or to release everything under a new system under the old OGL. So the sooner I know what the GSL looks like, the sooner I can make up my mind. This is causing real-world delays for me and a couple potential partners. So that's why I'm interested.

But I understand that there are only so many hours in a day. Anyone who has ever worked on a gamer-oriented game knows what I'm talking about! You don't want to waste your productive time "waiting for the mail to arrive," as it were.