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2 years ago ::
Apr 26, 2011 - 8:55AM
#11
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Date Joined:
Sep 19, 2007
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Oh hey ki-foci that I actually like.
That said, I am surprised these didn't make it into HoS. Double-fluff and reprinted content was higher priority?
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 8:07AM
#12
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Date Joined:
Jul 20, 2004
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Oh hey ki-foci that I actually like.
That said, I am surprised these didn't make it into HoS. Double-fluff and reprinted content was higher priority?
Maybe this content just wasn't ready in time for the deadline for publishing. They have to playtest all their stuff pretty thoroughly, not to mention polishing it up in various ways (flavour, grammer, typos, physical placement of text on page, etc.). This seems likely to me given that during the same period HoS was being finalized we had layoffs, canceled products, and long delays on DDI content. Having to leave out something like this is probably not something the good folks at Wizards are proud of, so let's just cut 'em some slack and be happy that we have it now. 
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 9:42AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Oct 28, 2010
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Doubt it. It was coded for the CB on time for release, and released with the HoS CB update. It was previewed. It would have been in the book if it had been released in the digest format.
This feels like pure-and-simple moneygrabbing.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 10:10AM
#14
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Date Joined:
Oct 30, 2008
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Who cares?
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 10:13AM
#15
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Date Joined:
Oct 30, 2008
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Oh, honestly.
This isn't the first time I've said this and it won't be the last time: I don't envy Wizard's of the Coast in the slightest. It's clear that there's only enough resources for so much stuff. All given, would you rather have more stuff in the books or more (read: ANY) stuff in the mags? At this point it sounds like you guys want to have your cake and eat it too.
Humph.
EDIT: LOL, sorry for the double post. It looked like the boards ate my first post. I even refreshed the thread to be sure. Then I posted again with a longer reply and when it came up, lo! There was the prodigal post!
Sorry again!
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 1:15PM
#16
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2007
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Doubt it. It was coded for the CB on time for release, and released with the HoS CB update. It was previewed. It would have been in the book if it had been released in the digest format.
This feels like pure-and-simple moneygrabbing.
I think that plenty of what they've done of late certainly indicates strained resources at WotC and difficulty providing enough content - or the right kind of content - in the places they want it.
But what in the world do you mean by moneygrabbing? Aside from releasing the content for free - which I don't think is remotely reasonable - any way in which WotC released the content would be an attempt to encourage people to purchase that product.
I imagine that formatting reasons or other wacky behind-the-scenes elements are what resulted in the change in venue. Acting like providing this content via DDI instead of via HoS is somehow wrong, greedy, or some sort of conspiracy... nothing about that line of thinking makes any sense to me at all.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 2:10PM
#17
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In the past when there was too much material for a book, it was called a Web Enhancement, not a Dragon article. Web Enhancements were free to all.
[sarcasm] I can see where it makes perfect sense that this material does not fit in the book. It was absolutely essential to squeeze in those double flavor texts for every power along with the reprinted art and game material. [/sarcasm]
There is a lot of bloat in HoS that should have been cleared to make room for these items.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 2:26PM
#18
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Date Joined:
Oct 30, 2008
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[sarcasm] I can see where it makes perfect sense that this material does not fit in the book. It was absolutely essential to squeeze in those double flavor texts for every power along with the reprinted art and game material. [/sarcasm]
I'll say it again (more clearly, maybe?): content costs resources to produce beyond the materials required to actually print the pages. If the choices were
1) shift some content from the book to DDI or
2) No more DDI content! Hope you liked paying for nothing!
I would choose the former every time.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 2:26PM
#19
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Date Joined:
Jul 20, 2004
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In the past when there was too much material for a book, it was called a Web Enhancement, not a Dragon article. Web Enhancements were free to all.
[sarcasm] I can see where it makes perfect sense that this material does not fit in the book. It was absolutely essential to squeeze in those double flavor texts for every power along with the reprinted art and game material. [/sarcasm]
There is a lot of bloat in HoS that should have been cleared to make room for these items.
- Flavor text - Probably central to WotC's publishing strategy. Whether you agree and enjoy or skip over in disgust, they believe that succeeding hangs on entertaining within their products, which includes high amounts of flavor.
- Reprinted art - Anyone will tell you that art is essential in products like this. While there may be dimishing returns with using the same art peice more than once, I gaurantee that the return barely dimishes with a second use. Only superfans like us even notice.
- Reprinted game material - This must refer to the Executioner preview and whatnot. The inclusion of this content was no accident, but a well thought-out plan. Agree or not, it's not filler.
Regardless of the inclusion of exclusion of magic items, I thought I'd comment on those complaints because they didn't seem to hold much water.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 2:39PM
#20
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Date Joined:
Oct 28, 2010
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Doubt it. It was coded for the CB on time for release, and released with the HoS CB update. It was previewed. It would have been in the book if it had been released in the digest format.
This feels like pure-and-simple moneygrabbing.
I think that plenty of what they've done of late certainly indicates strained resources at WotC and difficulty providing enough content - or the right kind of content - in the places they want it.
But what in the world do you mean by moneygrabbing? Aside from releasing the content for free - which I don't think is remotely reasonable - any way in which WotC released the content would be an attempt to encourage people to purchase that product.
I imagine that formatting reasons or other wacky behind-the-scenes elements are what resulted in the change in venue. Acting like providing this content via DDI instead of via HoS is somehow wrong, greedy, or some sort of conspiracy... nothing about that line of thinking makes any sense to me at all.
There is a lot of bloat in HoS that should have been cleared to make room for these items.
Well, I think that says it all, really, but I'll go for it anyway.
Heroes of Shadow presents two classes designed for use with these items (Executioner and Vampire). No book has been released with a magic Ki Focus in since (AFAIK) PHB3 - and no book AT ALL has been released with a Common one, for those of us who use the rarity system. If you came to the game with Essentials, and don't have a sub, those two classes are not usable to their full effect. The Vampire isn't usable at all, since, whaddya know, no Holy Symbols have been published since well before Essentials either (not that it's specially usable if you DO have an implement, but crappy design isn't the issue here).
The issue is that when I spend £20 on a game book, I expect it to come with all the content it needs to freaking work. Full stop/period (delete as appropriate).
I couldn't give much a rat's derrierre about the GRIMDARK-AS-HELL fluff. I like the art, but I've seen much of it in other places, so it's not new to me. It would have taken one double page spread to publish what I understand to be details of THREE sodding Ki Foci. Less, actually. One single page should do it. Mechanical content > art > good flavour > LOOK HOW DARK WE ARE!!oneleven fluff
That it was cut apparently in favour of essentially filler content (presumably, in the process of cutting the book down from the digest format, during which process, I suspect it lost pages), then posted as DDI content, simply reeks of trying to get extra money out of the people who already paid extra for their book to be made into an unwieldy hardback.
It annoys me. It's crappy customer service. That doesn't annoy anyone else?
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