Ive been hearing a lot about this discussion lately, how many people fear the new essential lines represents more of a conversion to the system representing a "4.5" version....

Personally i would dislike this situation, but then again, i really don't think this is the case, although i haven't had the opportunity to sit down and read the latest news about this new product lines, the few i read just talked about making the game more accessible to new players simplifying some classes mechanics, then again, im yet to read all that they have said.

So i want to ask around here what you guys think about the new line? 4.5 or just overreaction on the players side?

I've been following the news on the Essentials line and I like what I've heard so far. The latest article takes us out of rumour and firmly into the realm of official information and previews, and they are clearly trying both to expand the options for 4e veterans while providing a comfortable starting point for novices. I'll probably skip the red box, but I might end up getting everything else.

I think you could make an argument that if the first three books are 4.0, there have been so many changes since then that even though you can still run a game using nothing but the original core, what the collectors are playing now is a 4.5 of sorts. The Character Builder provides such an inexpensive way to remain sufficiently up to date that it's hard to complain at how quickly new material keeps being added to the core.

From what I can tell from what's been announced so far, these books are not a 4.5 edition of any sort. Rather they are an alternate set of books for starting players with simplified character creation as the default. Those who already play 4th Edition can use them as splat books, extra powers for basic classes. Those who start with the new books can pick up the older books to expand their character creation options as they are ready to do so.

Compatibility was the primary goal. These books and the old series are intended to supplement each other. Either set can stand on it's own, or they can be combined.

There will be a lot of reprinted information (some more than others), that might make it not worth while picking up the new books. But maybe some will have enough new information to make them worth the price. That will be an individual call.

Also, I expect the new powers, feats, monsters, and magic items will show up in the compendium.

When talking about Essentials, there are now two very different things called compendiums. To be clear, there is no way the printed book "Rules Compendium: An Essential Dungeons & Dragons Compendium (4th Edition D&D)" will include powers, feats, items, and monsters. The online Compendium/Character Builder/Adventure Tools will continue to give us all the crunch of new material.

From my limited reading, I'd say we are hitting 4.1 - Not 4.5

Its a minor revision of an existing system, where the .5 is a half-step to a new version. (General errata has brought us up to 4.05 or 4.09 in my mind)
This means there will be some things in Essentials that wont work well within the normal system, this is already seen in Dragonmarks, SpellScarred and the like. They are attributes that just really don't work well in Points of Light - though they are 'compatible' I expect to see more of an "Unearthed Arcana" style than a 3.0->3.5 style jump. "These are revisions or Alternate Rules to suppliment existing" As opposed to re-writing of the initial rules.

outside of Stealth and mounted combat, have we had any major re-writing of the core rules? some powers (Infernal Wrath, Magic Missle) are notably different, but those aren't mass rule changes... Stealth got gutted and replaced

I have a few quibbles with your analysis, Botanicus, though I don't think you're wrong in any meaningful way. First, I don't believe it is helpful to imagine 3.5 as being halfway from 3.0 to 4e. Second, the Essentials are similar to 3.5 even if they are more backwards-compatible, simply by virtue of the fact that they are designed to be usable by new Players and DMs without any of the previous 4e products. This doesn't make the core obsolete, but it does make Essentials a repackaged core by design, even if the rules remain substantially the same. I am reminded of computer game "expansions" that include the original game.

I certainly see where you are coming from Emily, from my own perspective the actual 3.0 to 3.5 jump wasn't a .5 enhancement, though comparing 3.0 to Book of the Nine Swords, Complete Champion and similar would certainly be. These tail end books show Wizards flirting with Encounter Powers via Reserve feats and the like. So while I stand by my general comparison, you're right in that I mis-represented it

though it should be noted, the computer game expansions are typically an increase in the version as well, if nothing else than due to bug fixes

Tomorrow we have the Redbox release - though it is already available in some areas, then in just a few weeks we have the heros of the forgotten realm or whatnot. Between the two we'll finally get to make a fully informed assessment!

from what I've read thus far, the redbox hasn't been earth shattering - but we'll see

Your figure that the tokens in the "Redbox" will be the same ones that appeared in the Roleplaying Game Starter Set? I'd love to see more tokens for the PC's. Ridiculous, I know. but the game is a pretty visual thing.

The more I look at the essentials products being revealed, and the stuff that I've seen out of the "redbox", I do think the game is moving towards the next phase. I think we'll see new books within the next two years, and it looks like the stuff in the new box is different enough to think there are more changes coming (in the essentials). One small example: the new fighter is hardly a defender.