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Land of Promise - Rampant Speculation Please!

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Mirikon

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« Reply #30 on: <08-21-12/0124:01> »
The reason I prefer PDFs is because having a few laptops/tablets at a table is infinitely easier on space than having two suitcases full of books, which can happen easily for something like D&D 3.5.
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AceFace

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« Reply #31 on: <08-21-12/0248:35> »
I don't mind pdfs actually, but that's only since I got an iPad (as WSNOW said, it gives them a tactile element that's not there on a laptop screen). I'd still always prefer a full-fat book, because I like looking at my lovely shelf o' goodies. That being said, I'd have sworn blind three years ago that I'd only buy music on CD for roughly the same reasons, and now I'll often buy electronically over "hard" format. Maybe the pdfs will win out in the end. What sort of length do the ebook only products tend to be, out of interest? I've bought some Missions, but the only other SR ebooks I own are also available in DTF.

On the subject of Land of Promise, I do hope that the book is accessible to those without the original Tir Tairngire source book - it makes me sad when I spend money on a sourcebook and it turns out that it requires specific previous purchases to be of much use. I don't mind there being call-backs and references aimed at the people who own the old books (those hard-core guys that have been buying more-or-less everything for years are a big market I assume), but I remember buying Shadows of Europe back in 3rd, because I wanted info on the UK and surrounding countries, and all I got was a load of garbled bits and bobs that made little sense to me because I didn't own the original London sourcebook. I ended up writing my own UK history, heavily inspired by 1984 and V for Vendetta, which was fun, but wasn't what I'd set out to do.
« Last Edit: <08-21-12/0251:26> by AceFace »

Mirikon

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« Reply #32 on: <08-21-12/0322:50> »
From what I've seen, the PDF only products tend to be 40 pages or less, and cost between $3-$18.
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Bull

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« Reply #33 on: <08-21-12/1857:11> »
From what I've seen, the PDF only products tend to be 40 pages or less, and cost between $3-$18.

Actually, I believe all of our 40 page or less PDFs are under $10 (usually $4 to $8), and generally price is determined by how much art is in them.  Something like Missions, 99 Bottles, or Another Rainy Night is cheap, because it's more text than art (and sadly, text is cheap).  But something like Miltech or Gun Haven which has a piece of art on every page, that's going to be higher on the pay scale.

Crimsondude

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« Reply #34 on: <08-21-12/1938:04> »
and sadly, text is cheap

...

Black

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« Reply #35 on: <08-21-12/2129:00> »
and sadly, text is cheap

...
... But highly valued and appreciated.
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Crimsondude

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« Reply #36 on: <08-21-12/2235:02> »
I could write off my freelancing income as a Hobby Loss.  ;D
« Last Edit: <08-22-12/0147:08> by James Meiers »

Wakshaani

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« Reply #37 on: <08-22-12/0104:18> »
Well, you can always work on your pencils, good sir.

Heck, I have an art credit now. :D

Crimsondude

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« Reply #38 on: <08-22-12/0152:25> »
I'd just as soon license a reproduction of the elf drawing I use as my avatar.

But my pencils are a whole other matter.

Teknodragon

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« Reply #39 on: <08-22-12/0421:22> »
For what it's worth, I've found that I much prefer .pdf over .dtf when it comes to Shadowrun. A big chunk of that is due to having a tablet (Galaxy 10.1). I used to lug around an aluminum Attache Case of Doom stuffed with gaming references when I played something to do with dungeons. Or was it dragons? Anyway, I can now do searches and swap between books quickly without taking up lots of table space. And floor space. And chair space. When building a character or trying to decide on how to spend that hard-earned karma or nuyen at my desktop, the searchability and space-savings become even more apparent. There's also nigh-instant satisfaction as well-- as soon as a book like Land of Promise comes out electronically, I don't have to mail-order it (bad local bookstore, no $$ for you!). I simply spend ten minutes trying recall my username and password for  Battlecorps, click over to the item I want, and in less time than it takes to drive to that local bookstore (for given values of local), I'm chortling gleefully over the latest antics of our favorite (and some not-so-favorite) Jackpointers whilst one or another tries to drum useful info into the reader's head.

Seriously, Shadowrun is the first (and so far only) RPG where I buy rulebooks for the tidbits of fiction, rather than the other way around. I hope y'all at Catalyst, both full-time and freelancers, get some warm fuzzies from this praise. Oh, and thank you. As I once heard, since the best thank-yous come in the form of dollars, I'll keep on buying your stuff!
Life is short, the night is long, and we still have ammo.

AJCarrington

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« Reply #40 on: <08-22-12/0646:50> »
Seriously, Shadowrun is the first (and so far only) RPG where I buy rulebooks for the tidbits of fiction, rather than the other way around. I hope y'all at Catalyst, both full-time and freelancers, get some warm fuzzies from this praise. Oh, and thank you. As I once heard, since the best thank-yous come in the form of dollars, I'll keep on buying your stuff!
+1

Could any have said any better.

Mirikon

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« Reply #41 on: <08-22-12/0738:30> »
Seriously, Shadowrun is the first (and so far only) RPG where I buy rulebooks for the tidbits of fiction, rather than the other way around. I hope y'all at Catalyst, both full-time and freelancers, get some warm fuzzies from this praise. Oh, and thank you. As I once heard, since the best thank-yous come in the form of dollars, I'll keep on buying your stuff!
+1

Could any have said any better.
Another from me. It is the fiction that first made me fall in love with the setting. For instance, even though I started with 4th, I've gone back and read classic books like Missing Blood, Bug City, Shutdown, and System Failure multiple times, just for the sheer pleasure of reading the fiction.
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WSN0W

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« Reply #42 on: <08-22-12/1208:46> »
I'll offer a 'hear, hear!' to that as well.

Please keep it up. The only collection of unified fiction I've read more of is Star Wars and honestly, that's largely because there are no more SR being published. The RPG line is a wonderful 'fix' for that.

CanRay

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« Reply #43 on: <08-22-12/1853:51> »
(and sadly, text is cheap)
I'll remember this quote...

I'll remember it.  YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY!!!

RUE IT I TELL YOU!!!

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Bull

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« Reply #44 on: <08-23-12/1620:56> »
Err, why?  It's just a truth.  Writers get paid crap compared to artists, in general.  It sucks, I don't like it, but there's not a damn thing I can do about it.