Just wondering...
When SR5 will come out (not if), how will Initiative passes will be handled? Will it be removed or switched to anything else? If removed, will it hurt the fanbase? Because, yes, a battle dragging for too long really makes it dangerous, but four sets of action in 3 seconds makes it quite unrealistic.
DnD 3.5 was never played as a tabletop game by my group: we used figures once and then like we do in many other RPG because it IS simpler to picture. Not in every single encounter but when it does matter. Of course our DMs were cooperative, it didn't take much to flank and such.
In 4th Edition it is mandatory as even a fighter can make an opponent move away from an ally so he can shoot/cast. It is a tabletop strategy game when it comes to encounters... and it allows for good roleplaying too. Especially when your DM is cooperative and allows automatic successes when you're awesome in a social skill challenge.
I don't see what is wrong for a RPG to ressemble a tabletop game: that is where they come from. That would be like blaming them for ressembling novels or movies or MMORPGs. Your role is to make an entertaining evening. That is all. You've got your preferences, it's alright.
I do agree that the core mechanics of the game should NEVER change: this alleniate the fanbase and is never good for an RPG: But going from THAC0 to a 3.5 To Hit is not a major change: it is just a simplification that streamlined things.
In that way, I look forward to SR5, in a hope that a character augmented in some other way that Reflexes can really hold it up, while simplifying the game. No small task.
- Fovar