Newsgroup: it.hobby.giochi.gdr.dnd
Titolo: QUARTA edizione 4th - Novità su D&D Insider

novità su DnD insider, in particolare segnalo che finchè non si esce
dalla beta sarà gratuito (mi aspetto almeno fino a settembre ma è una
mia idea)
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dramp/20080507a&pf=true
The Scoop on D&D Insider
by Bill Slavicsek
D&D Day is fast approaching, and along with the cool analog products
we’re releasing for 4th Edition (game books, miniatures, dungeon
tiles, novels, etc.) comes the initial rollout of Dungeons & Dragons
Insider. We’ve been talking about this exciting suite of digital
offerings since the announcement last August, and now the first stage
of the project is about to kick into high gear.
It all starts with the switch from preview content and 3.5 content, to
all-4th-Edition all-the-time in our online magazines, Dragon and
Dungeon. New articles, features, and adventures will roll out every
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then the entire month’s content
will be collected into a full-sized digital magazine. Between the two
online magazines, that’s the equivalent of an extra full-sized D&D
game supplement every month—and that’s just for starters! D&D Insider
will eventually also include an ever-expanding suite of player and DM
tools, a game table, and other features that make it a compelling
destination for all D&D fans.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to the initial rollout…
D&D Insider’s free beta period coincides with the launch of 4th
Edition. You get to try out the first digital components without
paying the subscription fees, and you can provide feedback to help us
improve your experience. The initial rollout includes Dragon and
Dungeon online magazines, and the D&D Rules Compendium. This powerful
online resource for players and Dungeon Masters alike will be updated
with each new D&D release (whether it’s an analog game product or a
digital magazine), making it the place to go in order to find what you
need, when you need it.
As other components become available, including client-based
applications such as the D&D Character Builder and the D&D Game Table,
they will be added to the mix. I’ll talk more about these digital
offerings in my next column.
When the initial beta period comes to an end, subscription rates will
go into effect. Initially, we’re going to roll out a special, limited-
time introductory pricing offer. Those who get in on the ground floor
will be able to take advantage of some great deals to gain access to
D&D Insider and all its great features. After this introductory
period, the regular subscription pricing that we’ve previously
announced will go into effect: $14.95 per month, with discounts for
longer subscription commitments.
So, get ready to sign up for your free D&D Insider beta account. Read
the articles, use the material, experiment with the Rules Compendium—
and provide us with the feedback we need to make these components even
better.
Online Magazines
With the launch of D&D 4th Edition, the analog products and the
digital offerings combine to make for a more intense and extensive D&D
experience. This is initially most clearly seen in Dragon and Dungeon
online magazines. If the analog book product is the first disc in the
two-disc DVD that is D&D, then the online magazines are the bonus
disc. The book (say, the Player’s Handbook) is the movie, the feature
film. Dragon and Dungeon, then, are the extras—the deleted scenes, the
documentaries, the alternate endings, the commentaries. Of course,
this is just an analogy, the reality is even better.
Each online magazine includes material written by a combination of my
in-house design and development staff, well-known freelancers, and
talented newcomers from among the D&D fan base. That material is then
subjected to the rigorous development process that all of our analog
products go through, a process headed up by Mike Mearls and the D&D
developers. When we reveal an article or an adventure, it stands side-
by-side with our analog products as official, fully developed D&D
canon.
Both magazines have been artistically redesigned to mirror the look of
the 4E analog products while maintaining a magazine feel. In their new
format, every article can be downloaded as a PDF or opened in a
browser window for immediate viewing. Then, an issue’s worth of
content is compiled into a collected PDF.
Dragon will be the place for players and DMs to find behind-the-scenes
features, design and development secrets, product expansions and
extras, and new rules mechanics. Dragon content also focuses on adding
new elements and options to your game. We’re even going to use Dragon
to show off new classes and races before they appear in a future
Player’s Handbook, basically revealing them in playtest mode so that
you can help us get them ready for wider distribution. That’s one of
the perks of being a D&D Insider—you get to help shape the future
development of the game.
Dungeon will be mostly the purview of Dungeon Masters, featuring side
treks, adventure hooks, and full-length adventures to supplement our
analog adventures and your own creativity. The goal of Dungeon is to
make the DM’s life easier. I’ve seen some of the stuff that Chris
Youngs has planned, and I can’t wait to try it out on my gaming
group.
What you’ve seen since the announcement has been just the tip of the
iceberg. The magazine content has been geared toward teasing and
previewing the upcoming edition. When the new edition arrives,
everything changes. The magazines take on all the depth and crunch
we’ve been promising, and the cycle of D&D 4th Edition really kicks
into high gear. It’s a cycle of analog products complemented by
digital offerings that, in turn, influence organized play and are
reflected in a vibrant community that provides feedback and suggestions
—that leads to the next analog product, and the ongoing cycle of 4th
Edition.
This is the vision I pitched three years ago. This is the vision that
my team and the support teams throughout Wizards have been working to
bring to fruition. This is the vision that’s about to become reality…
at least, the first stage!
I can’t wait.
Keep playing!
--Bill Slavicsek
About the Author
Bill Slavicsek is the R&D Director for Roleplaying Games, Miniatures,
and Book Publishing at Wizards of the Coast. All of the game
designers, developers, editors, book editors, and D&D Insider content
managers working on Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, and the WotC
Publishing Group report into Bill's R&D team.
©1995-2008 Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
--
Fabio

sunto notizie succose
New articles, features, and adventures will roll out every Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday, and then the entire month’s content will be
collected into a full-sized digital magazine.
D&D Insider’s free beta period coincides with the launch of 4th
Edition. You get to try out the first digital components without
paying the subscription fees.
When the initial beta period comes to an end, subscription rates will
go into effect. Initially, we’re going to roll out a special, limited-
time introductory pricing offer.
--
Fabio