Re: 6th Edition Hero System
I've been playing since 3E, have most of 4E and a lot of 5E. Getting me to buy 6E is going to be a trick. I already have a ton of money in the system and I don't want it invalidated. I also don't want to spend the money unless I get enough bang for my buck. So in a perfect world, 6E has to add new stuff that's at least as backwards compatible as 4E.
First things first: That means any wholesale revamping of stats or mechanics are off the table. Changing the prices of the primary characteristics or how skills work is going to destroy backwards compatibility.
I see two ways to go from here: First option, keep the rules essentially as they are, but fold them into a vastly expanded version of Hero Designer. Essentially the note or definition on the power in HD will reflect the full text of the manuscript.
The other option is to take the current 5ER, plus the Ultimate Series and as much as possible redact them into a single volume. The end result would be a bigger book than we have now, but for everyone but the absolute completist it would bring new information.
There are my thoughts.