see wrote:
WotC's explanation on the message boards right now is that they didn't get the web site prep done, so the only delay in the GSL and SRD is coding the new version of wizards.com/d20
You can believe that or not as you like.
I dont believe it (and I have reason to not believe it, which I wont divulge). My belief is that as of 6/6 the GSL was not yet in final form. I think it is
still getting tweaked. I think when they calmed everyone down by "clarifying" what they told me (aka, changing it) from company-by-company vs.
product-by-product to "product line" the GSL went on the back burner and they focused on the release of 4E.
d20 had its problems and issues, I'll grant you. But with Ryan and Peter and Wizards at the time, you really felt that they understood the partnership they
had with the 3rd party publishers. They understood our value. Sure, there was a camp of paranoid, egomaniacal Wizards employees who are so arrogant and foolish
that they are afraid of open gaming. And yes some of that culture remains there. But Ryan and company knew what was up. They were forward thinkers. They werent
cloistered suits and lawyer-mentality types with limited vision and arrogance, like the old TSR days. And it truly felt like a partnership with Ryan and
Wizards then. Now its a "you can have some scraps from our table when we get around to sweeping them onto the floor for you." That seems to be the
corporate thinking there. Frankly, I'm not sure how they can so quickly have forgotten that the same arrogance was the ruin of TSR. That said, there are a
few true heroes of partnership with the 3rd party companies--Scott and Linae--who have my undying gratitude and eternal praise. They "get it." I can
only imagine what it must be to be in their job in what I understand to be the corporate culture over there. Now I dont know. I dont work there. I dont have
moles or spies. But its either 1. ineptitude or 2. the return of the old arrogance; and I know for a fact that Linae and Scott arent inept--they are
extraordinarily competent. So that leaves just one answer... And here is the bottom line: in the emerging world of MMOs and electronic entertainment, there are
a limited number of valid iterations of a print roleplaying game. They dont have a lot of room to screw it up. I dont know why they wouldnt include third
parties, who clearly can help transition people to 4E. And, in particular now that I have seen the rules, they NEED our help since it is current and older
gamers who they need help transitioning. Why they wouldnt help us help them better than they have is an absolute mystery.
Clark
