After TSR lost/sold *hostile takeover:P DnD and ADnD to lizards of the coast I refused to purchase anything from them. I am enduring quite nicely with 2ndE and the Rules Compendium from the BASIC/EXPERT/Companion/EXPERT/IMMORTAL series of basic DnD.
The good ole days of DnD are far gone and have travelled to the far green country....what is left is the AGE of DnD for DUMMIES . While trying to reinvent itself to a new population/generation of gamers they have pretty much alienated any older, like myself, gamers.
See, I don't GET this. I have played since 1st (so not quite as far back as you) but I have NEVER felt alienated by new editions. Honestly, I tend to view them as separate games with similar thematic dressing. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and that is OKAY. People getting into tabletop gaming today DON'T have the same expectations as we did, so designing a version that adhered closer to something alot of new players would be familiar with (video games) was a smart move, and a good one, in my opinion. 1st and 2nd always struck me as being pretty heavy on the role-playing and seat of your pants action resolution. 3rd and 3.5 I felt were really well balanced between making it up as you go and covering common situations. 4th was intended to get a gold mine of potential players into the hobby by making the barrier to entry really low. 5th (or "Next") seems to be moving back in the 3.5 direction, while addressing the non-magic user swing sword-damage-repeat issues of previous generations in a fun and engaging way.
I think where a lot of the hate for newer editions comes from (at least from what I have seen and heard) is that they (especially 4th) rely more heavily on the system to deliver the play experience rather than the DM or players. The good thing about this is that it allows you to take a group of players who have never tabletop gamed before and still allow them to have a good time. It's consistent. The bad thing is, in a lot of cases, it starts feeling restrictive if you have a really good DM. It props up a bad DM, but also holds back a good one.
In older editions, the quality of the DM could easily make or break a game. This allowed for truly stellar campaigns, but it could also mean a long time without being able to play due to the lack of a talented DM.
I guess what I'm trying to say (TLDR) is that you shouldn't feel insulted by new editions. Appreciate them for being a gateway drug to prep the newbies for forcible integration into your preferred edition. :P
while 3.5e is my favourite for being able to mix classes to make character exactly what i want i don't think 4e is bad. It is nice simpler choice and has its points. i like the at will and encounter based powers (dailies again in pnp.. always try save them too much)
i would wish neverwinter was closer to pnp. something like extra 1% to dps isn't really as exciting as weapon that has chance to curse on hit, or poison target or something like that. same with feats, 1% this or 2% that isn't really as interesting as for example getting temporary hp when using fire or fear attacks as tiefling and so on. (CLEVER TAIL! probably not as much fun in neverwinter though, hard to think any way implement it being useful. )
and skills are over simplified sadly. can't even choose which one to take
But even with these Neverwinter is fun to play as hack and slash.
WTB MAGIC MISSILE for 50 gold..ok I will settle for Melfs acid arrow....
Today we fight the GAULS......monstrous and HAIRY beyond reason.
0
jadedjackalopeMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 6Arc User
edited May 2013
A quick clarification on a few points. Neverwinter appears to be using DnD Essentials as a starting point/inspiration for its classes. Essentials is sort of like 4E lite. It's very streamlined and more or less intended for beginners and organized event play. Personally, I hate Essentials, but it probably works better for an MMO as it narrows down power choice a lot.
That said, the only thing really DnD about Neverwinter is the setting and the names of classes and abilities. The 'feats' are more like talent or specialization points in other MMOs. Each class has a special 'skill' (thievery, arcana, religion, etc) which functions as an MMO style gathering skill, with some special options in dungeons tossed in for flavor.
It's less of an MMO adaptation of the PnP rules than it is an MMO wearing the skin of the PnP and hoping you don't notice too much.
They actually used 2nd edition AD&D rules, not 3.5ed. I think that aside from possibly Icewind Dale, all of those games initially came out before even basic 3ed was released. To be honest I was never really a huge fan of the third editions. Partly because it kind of felt like my character was a big spreadsheet with personality traits attached and partly because of the lack of official support for Dark Sun and Planescape.
Ah, my favorite thing to come out of 4e, an updated Dark Sun campaign setting!
What skill checks? If some one can point out dodge is about the only one.. As far as making it streamline 3.5 rules have been stream line in the MMO world for years and have gotten better.... Ok what about the Items though or are they gone?????
Items arent gone, its just as an MMO mindset, they have to limit items to classed based. Most MMOS have class based items because items a warrior could use are far to defensive for a mage to be using, balance wise. I mean, a mage walking around in this game with heavy armour with tons of AC and defence would be OP as hell, and so they took that into mind while making classed based items and gear.
This game has absolutely no relation whatsoever to anything you've played before if you have any familiarity with the table top game. Especially if you're coming from 2nd Edition. I suppose the setting would be familiar, but combat was replaced with an arcade game.
Actually, the Realms have changed significantly since 2nd Ed, even since 3.5e. They effectively rebooted the Realms with 4th Edition. The book The Grand History of the Realms gives a timeline of the train wreck that happened. (A little like how from 1st to 2nd Edition they had the Time of Troubles - except multiply the devastation by a hundred and you'll be close to what they did to the Realms - 100 year time leap, anyone? Say bye bye to any mortal NPCs from 3.5e and earlier that you happened to like - unless you're some author's pet *cough*Mirt*cough*. (Yes, Drizzt is still alive, but he's a drow - 100 years is nothing in their lifespan.))
So no, even the setting might not be familiar. (Neverwinter has changed quite a bit in that 100 year jump.)
(My understanding is that there's going to be another shake up to the Realms for 5th Edition (Dungeons and Dragons Next) that may undo some of the damage 4th Edition did. I wonder how that might effect this game, if at all?)
I'm thinking that hardcore D&D people are going to be vastly disappointed with this version. I mean, your first main quest giver is Nick Fury eye patch and all. This was designed for the childrens children of D&D gamers.
Anyone expecting to get a pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons experience from a computer game (and not just this one!) is going to be disappointed. There's just something about a human DM that a computer just can't make up for (that would be flexibility, initiative, imagination, and a wealth of other things - not even custom built foundry modules bridge the gap of having an active DM).
Having said that, this game is pretty darned good for what it is... I am certainly hooked.
Items arent gone, its just as an MMO mindset, they have to limit items to classed based. Most MMOS have class based items because items a warrior could use are far to defensive for a mage to be using, balance wise. I mean, a mage walking around in this game with heavy armour with tons of AC and defence would be OP as hell, and so they took that into mind while making classed based items and gear.
Only, proficiencies and spell failure. DnD4 has rules right out of the box for people who wanna do this. And... You don't.
Thing is, you really *really* don't, which is why it never comes up. And why they probably nuked that, because the spellsword is a thing of the past.
I'da love to see cryptic handle a pathfinder mmo, because it's so much more class-centric than 3.5, but with the same "we even have a class for you happy bomb-throwing mutants who murder people with their claws" mindset that made 3.5 so much more amazing.
I guess the best thing I can say is... *points vaguely in champions online's direction* we have proof that you can have a fun as hell mmo that lets you throw fireballs in full out defensive specs. Cryptic already made one, and it's a hoot.
None of this excuses the fact that my warrior can't use an axe, tho. That's just straight up wrong. Even wow did that at launch. Like 40 years ago.
In game, I am @EvilTaco. Happily killing purple gang members since May 2008. RIP Caine
Dudes! the first and most important line in most DMG books is " these rules are guidlines and it is up to the dm to alter them as they see fit for the smooth running of thier campaign' and in true dm fashion i paraphrase but i hit the meaning. No need to be a rules - monger. in a table top pnp game, if the dm chose to alter the rules, would you complain amd question them? nope. so why is this different?
So far, i am very impressed and look forward to what the community and the dev team can bring forwaRD. My only complaint, and it is not really a complaint but wishful thinking, is the lack of a dm client. in an mmo, on public servers, this is not really possible, but as someone that ran a nwn1 pw for over 6 years, where players where waiting to be one of the 40 folks a server could support, what made nwn1 the true success it was - dm client.
So i hope this mmo follows that pattern and figures a way to incorporate the dm aspect of pnp. with a dm, the greatest obsticle... the grind.. is removed from the game. perhaps, as they plan to expand the space a player that develops very popular mods with the foundry, they will consider expanding thier role, so that a player could create an area in which they are an active dm...
do dwarves live as long as elves? i forget, i think not but still longer than humans?
my point? Wheres that BRUENOR BATTLEHAMMER!
Half Orcs have the shortest lifespans of D&D, living up to an average of about 50-60 years, some getting as old as 80.
Humans have the second shortest lifespan in the D&D universe, ranging from roughly from 60-75 years. Some live a little longer, up to 100 or more.
Halflings come right after humans getting to an average span of about 100-125, but some can grow as old as 200 or more.
Half elves have a decent lifespan of 150-200, but some can get as old as 400, depending on how pure their elven blood is.
Dwarves go about 250-350 years on average, with lengthy lives up to 500 years.
Gnomes, sitting right with dwarves, live about 250-300 years, and as long as 700.
Elves have the longest life spans of the universe, on average living as long as 400 year, Drow even getting to the average lifespan of 600, and the longer lives can last upwards of 1200-1500 years at a time.
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nemesis788450Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited May 2013
while dnd4 might be a bit off the rails, the next dnd is coming and just around the corner. Besides, dnd 3.5 had its own issues with some classes, skills, spells just breaking the game (cleric).
You probably wont get it....2 of my biggest hobbies were taken over by Wizrds of the Coast...L5R and Dungeons and Dragons....they ruined both for me.
The groups I deal with in gaming all play 2ndE or less and BASIC exclusively. Our hobby shop does not even sell DnD anymore as the demand is near 0 for them..this is from the shop pwners mouth.....I remember in the 90's an active hobby store every weekend hosting RPGA tournaments and adventures..this all dropped off and became a memory of the past in the late 90's up til now.
The same is said for L5R....before they were bought out they promised no broken cards and kept their promises...they were bought out and suddenly handfuls of cards were broken and no longer used....the quality of the game dropped too and then so did tournaments and active particaption.
These of course are MY observations and therefore are My reality.
Today we fight the GAULS......monstrous and HAIRY beyond reason.
While rules are "Guide lines" and i agree that's why house rules apply, now making then apply in this sense well good luck right... The point of my post was it seems that they really catered to the casual PNP with 4th edition. Which is really sad, because DND was meant for all, and that's why they allowed quick builds ie character creator.... OR by the book select every point and action and etc... I just wish that there wasn't so much a cookie cutter approach in this game and more customization that DND in every realm was famous for. It seems to have lost the imagination part to it or dumb ed it down.
Only, proficiencies and spell failure. DnD4 has rules right out of the box for people who wanna do this. And... You don't.
Thing is, you really *really* don't, which is why it never comes up. And why they probably nuked that, because the spellsword is a thing of the past.
I'da love to see cryptic handle a pathfinder mmo, because it's so much more class-centric than 3.5, but with the same "we even have a class for you happy bomb-throwing mutants who murder people with their claws" mindset that made 3.5 so much more amazing.
I guess the best thing I can say is... *points vaguely in champions online's direction* we have proof that you can have a fun as hell mmo that lets you throw fireballs in full out defensive specs. Cryptic already made one, and it's a hoot.
None of this excuses the fact that my warrior can't use an axe, tho. That's just straight up wrong. Even wow did that at launch. Like 40 years ago.
Maybe its different for the GWF, but my guardian got an axe from an orc in the tower district.
As I told him, that is actually a complaint commonly leveled against 4th Edition.
and rightly so they butchered the game give me 2nd edition back i miss my Complete Book of Humanoids and the rest of those DDO was atleast decent at keeping the feel of old PnP days tho IMO the last really good D&D video game was Neverwinter Night 2
I did a post about how this would a problem for them, but they said "I should trash any notion of D&D before this" ... lol, when they get fired, I will feel bad still.
"Again you want 3.5 rules there is already a game for that". which game is this? im still playing nwn 1 online coz its awesome. but there just isnt many ppl online ever which can get boring
They are talking about Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO).
Whatever your thoughts on the 3e/4e edition war, there is this little empirical fact:
The outrage against 4e was strong enough that it spawned an entire product line (Pathfinder) that has outsold the D&D books fairly regularly. This has never happened before and has seriously fragmented an already (relatively) small market even further.
Even if you love 4e, from a business perspective it has been an absolute disaster for the D&D IP. Now they are trying to recoup their losses with 5e (e.g. D&D Next) by making it the "game for everyone."
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direcrowBanned Users, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited May 2013
Unfortunately, I have a feeling Cryptic's hands are tied in regards to what version of D&D WotC allows them to use. Fourth is the current official rules (though I've heard 5th is in production).
4th really seemed to shoot for a video game/mmo like feel to it. I haven't played since 3.5 edition so I have no idea how it plays.
Besides, I much prefered Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved.
Mindflayer Shard - @direcrow
The Dire Crow - Tiefling TR
Alice L'ddell - Human GF
Ludovique - Tiefling DC
Your not wrong to be confused...poor Gygax is having seizures in the astral plane as we speak. Yes, 4.0 RUINED the D&D universe as we veterans know it. They didnt fully remove skill checks in the normal table top game, but as this is a MMO, they kinda had to bend the rules a bit to allow smoother and more interesting gameplay. They took most of 4.0, married it a bit with a few minute 3.5 rules, and streamlined it into this MMO for all those D&D cretins that dont know how the system works.
As for 4.0, yes it is boring, and it wont ever be any good again. They simplified the skill check from around 40+ skills to 13, and they gave everyone powers. Remember D&D soft level cap of 20, then you reached epic status and had to walk down the path of the prestige, where you nearly became godlike? Yeah, thats standard issue in 4.0 where the normal soft cap is 50. They also gave all these classes powers, like they are some sort of crazy superheroes who trot around like a god amongst men with a higher level of stature. No more are the days of working out a story and becoming a great adventurer, you now start as a hero.
Overall, 4.0 ruined tabletop D&D, and this is just an even more simplified and streamlined version of that. But they have to bend the rules to even more shameful levels in order to fit into standard MMO mindsets. Otherwise, is a fun game if you try to forget that its a D&D game, just like AuctionHouse Simulator is fun when you not think about the fact that its a Diablo game.
Gary Gygax had DnD stolen from him. lol. he lost it all before he died. The culprits still hold the reigns, to this day. His dream has been trampled on long before this version of the game.. This version is quite simply designed for some easy translation to an mmo environment. Debating when DnD was ruined is relative.. lol
Unfortunately, I have a feeling Cryptic's hands are tied in regards to what version of D&D WotC allows them to use. Fourth is the current official rules (though I've heard 5th is in production).
4th really seemed to shoot for a video game/mmo like feel to it. I haven't played since 3.5 edition so I have no idea how it plays.
Besides, I much prefered Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved.
Any game that uses D&D made after 4.0, released is supposed to use 4.0 ruleset. so yes, neverwinter is stuck using 4.0 rules whether they like it or not. And yes, the new ruleset is in production, its calld Next. You can go to their site and download the tester kit for free and give some feedback.
I dont know if its for anybody, but you can DL it and try it out, and they send emails for feedback occasionally. I dont wanna try it myself, after 4.0 was such a trash heap.
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aldemmMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 23Arc User
edited May 2013
4th edition is basically WoW in tabletop form-- which makes it all the more appropriate for this game to use that ruleset. The basic premise is that the edition is extremely well balanced at the cost of homogenizing every class (they're all basically spell casters who share abilities depending on their role, not class).
As much as I hate the wizard circlejerk at least I had options in 3rd edition and Pathfinder is an awesome alternative that fixes many issues with 3.5E (also the alchemist class is fun as hell).
Comments
See, I don't GET this. I have played since 1st (so not quite as far back as you) but I have NEVER felt alienated by new editions. Honestly, I tend to view them as separate games with similar thematic dressing. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and that is OKAY. People getting into tabletop gaming today DON'T have the same expectations as we did, so designing a version that adhered closer to something alot of new players would be familiar with (video games) was a smart move, and a good one, in my opinion. 1st and 2nd always struck me as being pretty heavy on the role-playing and seat of your pants action resolution. 3rd and 3.5 I felt were really well balanced between making it up as you go and covering common situations. 4th was intended to get a gold mine of potential players into the hobby by making the barrier to entry really low. 5th (or "Next") seems to be moving back in the 3.5 direction, while addressing the non-magic user swing sword-damage-repeat issues of previous generations in a fun and engaging way.
I think where a lot of the hate for newer editions comes from (at least from what I have seen and heard) is that they (especially 4th) rely more heavily on the system to deliver the play experience rather than the DM or players. The good thing about this is that it allows you to take a group of players who have never tabletop gamed before and still allow them to have a good time. It's consistent. The bad thing is, in a lot of cases, it starts feeling restrictive if you have a really good DM. It props up a bad DM, but also holds back a good one.
In older editions, the quality of the DM could easily make or break a game. This allowed for truly stellar campaigns, but it could also mean a long time without being able to play due to the lack of a talented DM.
I guess what I'm trying to say (TLDR) is that you shouldn't feel insulted by new editions. Appreciate them for being a gateway drug to prep the newbies for forcible integration into your preferred edition. :P
i would wish neverwinter was closer to pnp. something like extra 1% to dps isn't really as exciting as weapon that has chance to curse on hit, or poison target or something like that. same with feats, 1% this or 2% that isn't really as interesting as for example getting temporary hp when using fire or fear attacks as tiefling and so on. (CLEVER TAIL! probably not as much fun in neverwinter though, hard to think any way implement it being useful. )
and skills are over simplified sadly. can't even choose which one to take
But even with these Neverwinter is fun to play as hack and slash.
That said, the only thing really DnD about Neverwinter is the setting and the names of classes and abilities. The 'feats' are more like talent or specialization points in other MMOs. Each class has a special 'skill' (thievery, arcana, religion, etc) which functions as an MMO style gathering skill, with some special options in dungeons tossed in for flavor.
It's less of an MMO adaptation of the PnP rules than it is an MMO wearing the skin of the PnP and hoping you don't notice too much.
Ah, my favorite thing to come out of 4e, an updated Dark Sun campaign setting!
Items arent gone, its just as an MMO mindset, they have to limit items to classed based. Most MMOS have class based items because items a warrior could use are far to defensive for a mage to be using, balance wise. I mean, a mage walking around in this game with heavy armour with tons of AC and defence would be OP as hell, and so they took that into mind while making classed based items and gear.
This is a very valid and good description. Action MMORPG with some Forgotten Realms lore and D&D race/classes.
It says Dungeons and Dragons right above the name of Neverwinter...
As I told him, that is actually a complaint commonly leveled against 4th Edition.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Actually, the Realms have changed significantly since 2nd Ed, even since 3.5e. They effectively rebooted the Realms with 4th Edition. The book The Grand History of the Realms gives a timeline of the train wreck that happened. (A little like how from 1st to 2nd Edition they had the Time of Troubles - except multiply the devastation by a hundred and you'll be close to what they did to the Realms - 100 year time leap, anyone? Say bye bye to any mortal NPCs from 3.5e and earlier that you happened to like - unless you're some author's pet *cough*Mirt*cough*. (Yes, Drizzt is still alive, but he's a drow - 100 years is nothing in their lifespan.))
So no, even the setting might not be familiar. (Neverwinter has changed quite a bit in that 100 year jump.)
(My understanding is that there's going to be another shake up to the Realms for 5th Edition (Dungeons and Dragons Next) that may undo some of the damage 4th Edition did. I wonder how that might effect this game, if at all?)
Anyone expecting to get a pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons experience from a computer game (and not just this one!) is going to be disappointed. There's just something about a human DM that a computer just can't make up for (that would be flexibility, initiative, imagination, and a wealth of other things - not even custom built foundry modules bridge the gap of having an active DM).
Having said that, this game is pretty darned good for what it is... I am certainly hooked.
I miss cleave and great cleave...
my point? Wheres that BRUENOR BATTLEHAMMER!
10 Wizard / 10 Loremaster
Tyria@nestea2015 -> Devoted Cleric (Level is changing because he's being leveled :P )
Beholder:
Razco@nestea2015 -> Control Wizard (Possible Deletion Immiment)
They typically have a lifespan of 350 years. also SPOILERS
He's dead.
Only, proficiencies and spell failure. DnD4 has rules right out of the box for people who wanna do this. And... You don't.
Thing is, you really *really* don't, which is why it never comes up. And why they probably nuked that, because the spellsword is a thing of the past.
I'da love to see cryptic handle a pathfinder mmo, because it's so much more class-centric than 3.5, but with the same "we even have a class for you happy bomb-throwing mutants who murder people with their claws" mindset that made 3.5 so much more amazing.
I guess the best thing I can say is... *points vaguely in champions online's direction* we have proof that you can have a fun as hell mmo that lets you throw fireballs in full out defensive specs. Cryptic already made one, and it's a hoot.
None of this excuses the fact that my warrior can't use an axe, tho. That's just straight up wrong. Even wow did that at launch. Like 40 years ago.
RIP Caine
So far, i am very impressed and look forward to what the community and the dev team can bring forwaRD. My only complaint, and it is not really a complaint but wishful thinking, is the lack of a dm client. in an mmo, on public servers, this is not really possible, but as someone that ran a nwn1 pw for over 6 years, where players where waiting to be one of the 40 folks a server could support, what made nwn1 the true success it was - dm client.
So i hope this mmo follows that pattern and figures a way to incorporate the dm aspect of pnp. with a dm, the greatest obsticle... the grind.. is removed from the game. perhaps, as they plan to expand the space a player that develops very popular mods with the foundry, they will consider expanding thier role, so that a player could create an area in which they are an active dm...
Half Orcs have the shortest lifespans of D&D, living up to an average of about 50-60 years, some getting as old as 80.
Humans have the second shortest lifespan in the D&D universe, ranging from roughly from 60-75 years. Some live a little longer, up to 100 or more.
Halflings come right after humans getting to an average span of about 100-125, but some can grow as old as 200 or more.
Half elves have a decent lifespan of 150-200, but some can get as old as 400, depending on how pure their elven blood is.
Dwarves go about 250-350 years on average, with lengthy lives up to 500 years.
Gnomes, sitting right with dwarves, live about 250-300 years, and as long as 700.
Elves have the longest life spans of the universe, on average living as long as 400 year, Drow even getting to the average lifespan of 600, and the longer lives can last upwards of 1200-1500 years at a time.
And im a backer of pathfinder online :-)
The groups I deal with in gaming all play 2ndE or less and BASIC exclusively. Our hobby shop does not even sell DnD anymore as the demand is near 0 for them..this is from the shop pwners mouth.....I remember in the 90's an active hobby store every weekend hosting RPGA tournaments and adventures..this all dropped off and became a memory of the past in the late 90's up til now.
The same is said for L5R....before they were bought out they promised no broken cards and kept their promises...they were bought out and suddenly handfuls of cards were broken and no longer used....the quality of the game dropped too and then so did tournaments and active particaption.
These of course are MY observations and therefore are My reality.
Maybe its different for the GWF, but my guardian got an axe from an orc in the tower district.
and rightly so they butchered the game give me 2nd edition back i miss my Complete Book of Humanoids and the rest of those DDO was atleast decent at keeping the feel of old PnP days tho IMO the last really good D&D video game was Neverwinter Night 2
What Class Are You?
The outrage against 4e was strong enough that it spawned an entire product line (Pathfinder) that has outsold the D&D books fairly regularly. This has never happened before and has seriously fragmented an already (relatively) small market even further.
Even if you love 4e, from a business perspective it has been an absolute disaster for the D&D IP. Now they are trying to recoup their losses with 5e (e.g. D&D Next) by making it the "game for everyone."
4th really seemed to shoot for a video game/mmo like feel to it. I haven't played since 3.5 edition so I have no idea how it plays.
Besides, I much prefered Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved.
The Dire Crow - Tiefling TR
Alice L'ddell - Human GF
Ludovique - Tiefling DC
Gary Gygax had DnD stolen from him. lol. he lost it all before he died. The culprits still hold the reigns, to this day. His dream has been trampled on long before this version of the game.. This version is quite simply designed for some easy translation to an mmo environment. Debating when DnD was ruined is relative.. lol
Himmelville - Are you easily frightened?
Click Here
On one side of the mountain, there were bones...
Any game that uses D&D made after 4.0, released is supposed to use 4.0 ruleset. so yes, neverwinter is stuck using 4.0 rules whether they like it or not. And yes, the new ruleset is in production, its calld Next. You can go to their site and download the tester kit for free and give some feedback.
D&D Next
I dont know if its for anybody, but you can DL it and try it out, and they send emails for feedback occasionally. I dont wanna try it myself, after 4.0 was such a trash heap.
As much as I hate the wizard circlejerk at least I had options in 3rd edition and Pathfinder is an awesome alternative that fixes many issues with 3.5E (also the alchemist class is fun as hell).