The DND:Next open playtest survey has been posted. Take a few minutes and take the survey, if you want to make your voice heard.
The first question is not terribly useful. Instead of asking how long you have played, they should be asking which editions of DnD you have played.
The next question asks which edition of DnD is your favorite. Not a terribly good question, since the survey does not delve deeper, into WHY that is your favorite edition. What game feature(s) make it your favorite? It is unclear what this question will measure: how do they intend to cross-reference this question with data WOTC collects in later questions? If i've only ever played 4E, can I provide any useful data by responding to this question?
Next, WOTC asks what kind of player you are: power-gamer, explorer, thinker, actor, and so on. You can choose more than one category. I don't see a lot of value in this question. Remember, this is a self-selecting questionnaire. WOTC is bound to get a preponderance of responses from gamers that enjoy 4E, so that play-style will be over-represented in the results.
There is a set of questions asking for your level of satisfaction with various rules in the open playtest package. Interestingly, there is a question asking if there is a sufficient amount of simulation in the ruleset. Thankfully, they provide a comment box where you can give additional feedback.
It's hard for me to evaluate the dangerousness of the monsters, since that all depends on your DM and playstyle. Make up your own mind on the amount of healing, I certainly have strong views on that subject.
This is really starting to sound like design-by-committee. Hmmm, so if you are an old-school player, how are you likely to response to the hit point question? How about the power-gamer? Just design a good game already, and stop worrying about this stuff, or do what you promised to at the outset, and make the game modular so game-groups can start characters with fewer or more hit points.
More game balance BS. And battle-grid questions. I thought DnD:Next was going to provide gridless combat options. Has that ALREADY gone out the window?
I ask because the above question is perhaps the most provocative of the survey questions. Why announce that the grid will be optional, and then drop that bomb on us?
Some good questions to determine your capacity to evaluate the new ruleset, from a DMing point of view. Hopefully the cross-reference the subsequent answers with the DM's stated experience.
The above questions posed to the DM are quite revealing, as they confirm that clarity and ease-of-use are two design goals related to DM resources.
The DnD:Next designers seem hopelessly entangled in the gamist model. The above player character questions focus on gamist concerns. It would be refreshing to see questions asking whether the character's special features adequately simulated reality, or allowed the player to get into character.
How do you answer the question about the feel of a class? Particularly if all the respondent has experience with is 4E, and maybe 3E? This is why I have a problem with this survey structure. You are asking for feedback from people, some of whom may have NO IDEA what the Cleric "feels" like, across the entire history of DnD. You need to cross-reference this, and the other character questions, against the earlier question regarding the number of years a respondent has played DnD (or better, number of editions).
The game designers seem terribly concerned about giving the Fighters "interesting things to do" in combat. They don't seem concerned that Fighers have interesting things to do outside of combat.
Having recently read Jack Of Shadows, I would love to see a more "magical" Thief class. What did they call Thieves in 4E, strikers? Annoyingly MMORPG of them. How about a Thief class that emulates the swashbuckler style of character instead?
WOTC is asking for feedback on the hit points and cantrips of the Wizard. Do the right thing here, people.
The non-human classes get special abilities (traits) and i've already read some reactions to those traits. It appears that humans get higher ability scores to compensate for their lack of special abilities.
Can you really answer the first of two questions, above, if you havn't played ODnD, ADnD or 2nd Edition? Come on, WOTC, give your heads a shake.
