tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post5339261015318850588..comments2024-03-27T20:09:00.283-04:00Comments on Tenkar's Tavern: Looks Like There Will NOT be PDF Versions of the Core D&D 5e Books - But There's an App for That ;)Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-29499922042556924402014-08-31T17:11:22.135-04:002014-08-31T17:11:22.135-04:00"Since that [is] the only digital alternative..."Since that [is] the only digital alternative then every download is a lost sale for Wizards."<br /><br />Only if you assume everyone who downloads it would have bought it if presented with a legal way of doing so, which is pretty obviously false. People download torrents they never even look at with some regularity.Jeff Heikkinenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856981023882223505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-36336258485067263782014-08-31T13:11:54.137-04:002014-08-31T13:11:54.137-04:00From where I stand every company that has a genero...From where I stand every company that has a generous digital policy gets ahead of the piracy curve compared to the companies that don't. I can enjoy Doctor Who episode the day after it aired. Of course it cost me $2 per episode but I am willing to pay that. I am not alone in people who are willing to be able to legally purchase digital content provided the price is reasonable.<br /><br />The D&D 5e PHB has already been scanned and available for download. That the reality. Since that the only digital alternative then every download is a lost sale for Wizards. Robert Conleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03863009007381185340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-54118428819153912152014-08-31T03:01:29.692-04:002014-08-31T03:01:29.692-04:00Sorry, should have said "saying there won'...Sorry, should have said "saying there won't be .pdfs and that piracy is *at least part of* the reason" early in the third paragraph.Jeff Heikkinenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856981023882223505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-65904327997342702472014-08-31T02:59:22.759-04:002014-08-31T02:59:22.759-04:00I'm not entirely sure why this article is call...I'm not entirely sure why this article is called "Looks Like There Will NOT be PDF Versions of the Core D&D 5e Books". That's not what Mearls actually says in the quoted text. All he says is that if there are, they won't be exactly like the core books, but will be redone with the needs of a digital format in mind. Which to me, is a good thing!<br /><br />Also, at the top you say that piracy is an argument that's used against official .pdf releases. That's certainly true as far as it goes - there exist people who make such an argument. I notice you don't actually say Mearls is one of these people - and a good thing, too, because it seems to me that's the *opposite* of what you quote him saying! <br /><br />Unfortunately, both here and on at least one well-known forum, there are people interpreting this post as making exactly that claim - that WotC or Mearls is saying there won't be .pdfs and that piracy is the reason, neither half of which is actually supported by the quotes you include here. Would you consider editing in a clarification? Because it seems what you've written is (I hope unintentionally) misleading, and there are people misinterpreting it, and speaking for myself, if it were me, that's something I'd want to put a stop to.Jeff Heikkinenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856981023882223505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-35449400105005138492014-08-30T07:47:25.755-04:002014-08-30T07:47:25.755-04:00If I understand it right, PDFs are already the sta...If I understand it right, PDFs are already the standard for submitting to printers? So, we talk almost no cost. They have a distribution platform - including watermarking support - through dndclassics.com hosted by RPGNow. They might have to invest a little extra work (compared to laying out the book in the first place) to produce proper nice bookmarks for a digital-only PDF. And that's it!<br /><br />Nowadays I would expect such a PDF to be bundled with a hardcopy book, anway. DerKastellanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108771318010984386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-53565856739098481142014-08-30T03:26:07.221-04:002014-08-30T03:26:07.221-04:00As WotC will not pay for the app, but you will (or...As WotC will not pay for the app, but you will (or won't ;)), the risk lies with the company that creates it - and if that ends belly up tough luck. I guess it even stands in fine print somewhere... :/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-18973268681890210172014-08-30T00:00:22.567-04:002014-08-30T00:00:22.567-04:00This is definitely a red flag for me. Pirates will...This is definitely a red flag for me. Pirates will pirate the book, whether a PDF exists or not. Not producing one just hurts the legitimate customer (like most anti-piracy procedures do). Also, I feel it'd probably be much cheaper to just produce a PDF instead of hiring a third party to build an entirely new app and keep that app up and running. But what do I know.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10319177216467599283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-62743982811255418132014-08-29T22:50:12.928-04:002014-08-29T22:50:12.928-04:00There's already scans of the PHB (non ocr--the...There's already scans of the PHB (non ocr--they look like camera photos) floating in the darker places of the web. If WotC thinks they are going to prevent piracy, they are wrong.<br /><br />And what happens to your digital purchases if the third-party partner goes belly-up? Can you export your data? Your purchases? Your notes? Do you OWN what you purchase or merely license it?<br /><br />No, give me paper any day when it comes to gaming. Either that, or open source software that allows me to export any and everything I get out of it or put into it.<br /><br />They want to build a social gaming app around D&D. I hope it works for them, but I won't be using it.Matthew Schmeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11348372645986806502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-47281018220880459972014-08-29T22:42:57.963-04:002014-08-29T22:42:57.963-04:00Well, this just saves me a lot of money. Sorry bu...Well, this just saves me a lot of money. Sorry but I have no faith in WotC and their digital initiatives. E-tools for 3E, all the promises about what DDI would do when 4E launched, neither ever lived up to the hype, and I don't expect this will either, someone else maybe doing for them, but I've lost confidence. minitruehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04769089467090783844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-45993999739140349922014-08-29T21:45:14.759-04:002014-08-29T21:45:14.759-04:00And so it begins. They were selling online subscr...And so it begins. They were selling online subscriptions for 4e, but at least this the characters can (to this point) be rolled up by hand. Also, they had the good sense to outsource the task to someone who might know what they're doing, unlike WOTC themselves and their digital product.<br /><br />And WOTC will not be publishing a 6e.<br /><br />http://www.jdh417.blogspot.com/2014/08/5e-confessions.html<br /><br />jdh417https://www.blogger.com/profile/14541882649762424101noreply@blogger.com