Ask the Design Team thread.

[Therrian]

Originally Posted by Rÿchean

Obviously a play tester cannot just think through testings, they have to put figures on the board and pitch some dice. So each play tester has to have other players that assist them in their testing efforts. Whether that is friends or family or whatever, it is other players that are not on the official play tester forum and not privvy to all that is in the works, but they are under NDA just the same. I call that being a 2nd tier tester. I started as a 2nd teir play tester in Jan 2006 working with GB on whatever was needed at the time.

The first units I was involved with as a 2nd tier tester where Nakitas, Gladiators/Capuans, Glads/Blasts and Kato/Ashigaru. It was a pretty exciting time as the mechanics for those unit combos were a bit different than what had gone before and represented some new directions.

I was brought on as a Tier 1 play tester in September of 2008.

Interesting...perhaps this is common knowledge amoung some folks, but I take it that the Glads from Wave 5 and the Cap Glads from Wave 9 were developed at the same time? Makes sense from a balance standpoint, just curious.

[Rÿchean]

Originally Posted by Therrian

Interesting...perhaps this is common knowledge amoung some folks, but I take it that the Glads from Wave 5 and the Cap Glads from Wave 9 were developed at the same time? Makes sense from a balance standpoint, just curious.

Absolutely they were.

It was the longest gap I know of in terms of units being designed to work together and actually being released. It was brutal to watch Spartacus get dog cussed for 3 years for sucking and costing so much knowing that the Capuans were still to come.

[Therrian]

Originally Posted by Rÿchean

Absolutely they were.

It was the longest gap I know of in terms of units being designed to work together and actually being released. It was brutal to watch Spartacus get dog cussed for 3 years for sucking and costing so much knowing that the Capuans were still to come.

Ya, I started playing on a regular basis around the time that Wave 9, so I never had to deal with a Capless Sparty, but I can imagine that must have been tough...especially with the NDA not allowing you to stick up for ol'Sparty

[loborocket]

Originally Posted by Therrian

I can imagine that must have been tough...

I'll say. I kept trying and trying different combos with Spartucus. I was sure something was being missed. Of course there was but the missing piece was 4 waves away.

[spiteofthedice]

Question: Can we expect to see DnD units with Classic-Scape classifications? I don't just mean synergies (I know this has been answered). But will any DnD releases be labeled with strictly "Scape" classifications like "Venoc," "Omnicron," or "Gorillinator," e.g.?

[Scott]

Originally Posted by spiteofthedice

Question: Can we expect to see DnD units with Classic-Scape classifications? I don't just mean synergies (I know this has been answered). But will any DnD releases be labeled with strictly "Scape" classifications like "Venoc," "Omnicron," or "Gorillinator," e.g.?

Or how about classes like Soldier, Scout, and Champion? Any actual Elves (i.e. no Eladrin)?

But even if the answer is "No", it looks to me as if the current figures have been assigned cost that accurately reflect their lack of synergies in these regards.

[Takanuva]

Where there ever any figures or abilities that you really wanted to work and succeed but ended up not being relesed?

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by Takanuva

Where there ever any figures or abilities that you really wanted to work and succeed but ended up not being relesed?

Yes.

[King of the Marro]

Originally Posted by spiteofthedice

Question: Can we expect to see DnD units with Classic-Scape classifications? I don't just mean synergies (I know this has been answered). But will any DnD releases be labeled with strictly "Scape" classifications like "Venoc," "Omnicron," or "Gorillinator," e.g.?

Yea I'd like to see hear this one too.

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by King of the Marro

Yea I'd like to see hear this one too.

Be more specific. Are you talking class? Will there be some D&D guys with the same class as classic scape figures? Well there already are.

[King of the Marro]

Originally Posted by Grungebob

Be more specific. Are you talking class? Will there be some D&D guys with the same class as classic scape figures? Well there already are.

I think he meant will there be more units belonging to the races that are already established.

[Robotech Master]

I'm not a designer, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the answer to that is no. Remember, WOTC has some amount of control over which figures are included and how they are represented.

If you were take a Warforged figure and simply slap the species name "Omnicron" on it for our own benefit, I think they would see that as not being authentic to the D&D brand.

Not to mention that if you really do want D&D players to cross over to HS, you don't want to spark debate over why their Yuan-Ti's are called Venocs, etc.