I don't think a reduction in complexity between editions a sign of the impending intellectual collapse of America (or geek sub culture).
After all, 3E was considerably less complex than 2E in terms of core mechanics (Thac0, Weapon speeds, Save vs. Paralyzation anyone?). Hell, the simplification of those mechanics was a big reason for us upgrading (never mind that it had four rules for everything because of its iterative rules base). Yes, complexity was added in other places, but overall, I think 3E was streamlined ... but streamlined in a way we liked.
And if they had gone the Saga Edition route, things would also have been simplified. Getting rid of the rough spots of 3E, after all, is what both Saga and 4E are about, and their approach to that was streamlining the mechanics.
But honestly, after 2+ months of playtesting I don't know that 4E really is any less complex than 3E at the table. The reduction of individual character complexity is offset by the shear amount of "stuff" flying around (e.g. marks, powers triggering maneuvers or healing surges, conditions, etc).
Out-of-combat options are greatly reduced, and there are no cool new mechanics to encourage role-playing at the table (unlike, say, Cortex and Battlestar Galactica or the various story games), but net-net, I think it's still one hell of a complicated game.
Sat, 08/30/2008 - 10:28am
I don't think a reduction in complexity between editions a sign of the impending intellectual collapse of America (or geek sub culture).
After all, 3E was considerably less complex than 2E in terms of core mechanics (Thac0, Weapon speeds, Save vs. Paralyzation anyone?). Hell, the simplification of those mechanics was a big reason for us upgrading (never mind that it had four rules for everything because of its iterative rules base). Yes, complexity was added in other places, but overall, I think 3E was streamlined ... but streamlined in a way we liked.
And if they had gone the Saga Edition route, things would also have been simplified. Getting rid of the rough spots of 3E, after all, is what both Saga and 4E are about, and their approach to that was streamlining the mechanics.
But honestly, after 2+ months of playtesting I don't know that 4E really is any less complex than 3E at the table. The reduction of individual character complexity is offset by the shear amount of "stuff" flying around (e.g. marks, powers triggering maneuvers or healing surges, conditions, etc).
Out-of-combat options are greatly reduced, and there are no cool new mechanics to encourage role-playing at the table (unlike, say, Cortex and Battlestar Galactica or the various story games), but net-net, I think it's still one hell of a complicated game.
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