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I really want a PDF copy of Northern Gun 2. The print copy is out, but how do I get a pdf? I would buy the print copy and scan it in, but I don't have a high quality scanner so where the heck can I get a pdf of it?

I sure hope its not exclusive for that kickstarter because that's a horrible idea. I've had to move a few times and carrying around dozens of books was too prohibitive so I have my whole rifts collection as pdfs. Somebody help!

Sorry bro. Palladium is paranoid of piracy (which happens anyway) so they really don't release first run PDFs. Only when they go out of print do they bother with PDFs. disappointing, I know. I took Kevin 10 years, but at least we finally got him to reply to emails and private messages. One day, we might see Palladium conduct business the way every other book publisher in the world does business concerning digital media and current industry standards.

But yeah, Im on the road a lot and still try to keep up with Play by Post. it would be nice if my computer were a second library I could just take with me. I feel your pain.

strictly speaking, we don't actually know that piracy is the reason they don't do PDFs.

but yeah, there is no indication whatsoever that PB is even remotely likely to release NG 2 as a PDF any time soon. as noted, the books that get released as PDF are mostly out of print, with few exceptions.

Shark_Force wrote:strictly speaking, we don't actually know that piracy is the reason they don't do PDFs.

but yeah, there is no indication whatsoever that PB is even remotely likely to release NG 2 as a PDF any time soon. as noted, the books that get released as PDF are mostly out of print, with few exceptions.

I'm pretty sure that Kevin & Alex have both mentioned piracy as being the primary reason newer stuff isn't being released.

My peeve is the older 'current' books (i.e. Atlantis, which is almost 25 y/o as well & until this week's Newsletter hadn't seen the light of updates since that time) that you can't get in any other format, as well as the core books.

All I know is of our group of 6 households in 2 states that plays Rifts via Skype bi-weekly.... I am the *only* one without all published PB books on pirated PDF. I have 2 pirate books (Atlantis & RMB) + the legal Lemuria & NG 1/2, and a couple of the older OOP main books for other lines. OTOH - I own over 95% of the publications of PB in paper form.... and i have no more room for more books

So the piracy ship has sailed, and will keep sailing without shrinking, until there is a way for their fans to obtain a legal copy.

*puts down the stick she was beating the dead horse with*

Virilitas wrote:I really want a PDF copy of Northern Gun 2. The print copy is out, but how do I get a pdf? I would buy the print copy and scan it in, but I don't have a high quality scanner so where the heck can I get a pdf of it?

I sure hope its not exclusive for that kickstarter because that's a horrible idea. I've had to move a few times and carrying around dozens of books was too prohibitive so I have my whole rifts collection as pdfs. Somebody help!

Short answer - There is no way to get a legal copy of Northern Gun 2 in PDF. It is indeed a crowd source exclusive. Why they do not release books as PDF after a set amount of time is beyond anyone's comprehension regardless of the company's reasons.

jaymz wrote:

Virilitas wrote:I really want a PDF copy of Northern Gun 2. The print copy is out, but how do I get a pdf? I would buy the print copy and scan it in, but I don't have a high quality scanner so where the heck can I get a pdf of it?

I sure hope its not exclusive for that kickstarter because that's a horrible idea. I've had to move a few times and carrying around dozens of books was too prohibitive so I have my whole rifts collection as pdfs. Somebody help!

Short answer - There is no way to get a legal copy of Northern Gun 2 in PDF.

Sure there is. Buy a physical copy. Scan it.

Pretty sure you know precisely what I meant by that Kagashi.

But to be precise just for you

there is no legal way to PURCHASE a PDF copy of NG 2

At this point the only reason is a lack of time and resources for doing PDF. Piracy that ship has not only sailed it grew two warp nacelles and flew off into deep space. Even with a lack of time and resources work and releasing a PDF of a newer book. One at a time should be in their capabilites. In the end it's up to them to decide if they want to ignore another source of revenue.

Well, given that they gave out a PDF with their crowd source of it, I find it obscene that's the only way to get it.

I suppose with how rare the thing is currently(even for pirates) the plan of having a print copy only seems to be working... but I'd much rather just buy the pdf version rather than have to wait around till somebody gets bored enough to scan a print copy in so I can have digital access to the book. Giving the PDF only to that small crowd will certainly make it slower to spread to the pirates but it's only delaying the inevitable. I think Palladium would do better to simply sell the PDFs, if piracy becomes a big deal you could start offering the digital copies at a reduced price. They don't require paper after all, and the lower price will make it an easier sell. I know many who like to try out stuff and could be convinced to pay 15 for a pdf a lot easier then 25 for the print copy.

At least sell it on pdf after a certain amount of time has passed!

I have a NG1 PDF....I make my own afterall. I will have a NG2 PDF once I scan mine.

I've said much like vir in the past. Release print then 6 months or so release a PDF. Print sales by that point are typically peetered out anyway and if you haven't made back the cost of production by then.....well you've got bigger issues to worry about.

Virilitas wrote:Well, given that they gave out a PDF with their crowd source of it, I find it obscene that's the only way to get it.

I suppose with how rare the thing is currently(even for pirates) the plan of having a print copy only seems to be working... but I'd much rather just buy the pdf version rather than have to wait around till somebody gets bored enough to scan a print copy in so I can have digital access to the book. Giving the PDF only to that small crowd will certainly make it slower to spread to the pirates but it's only delaying the inevitable. I think Palladium would do better to simply sell the PDFs, if piracy becomes a big deal you could start offering the digital copies at a reduced price. They don't require paper after all, and the lower price will make it an easier sell. I know many who like to try out stuff and could be convinced to pay 15 for a pdf a lot easier then 25 for the print copy.

At least sell it on pdf after a certain amount of time has passed!

IIRC, I was told/saw a pirate copy of NG1 or 2, less than 2months after SB release of it. Due to both my job field, and my personal views on piracy, I didn't click to see if it was a pirate of official PDF w/ the Insider's name stripped or scan of the SB... just know it didn't take long once it hit the market to have a pirate copy available.

the reality is ... PDF's of books are actually super easy for a publisher to do if they choose. Why? you may ask simple the PDF of the book is actually commonly what the publisher sends to the printer to be turned into a physical book. SHOCK!! so technically the "true" company released pdf's often come out FASTER than print books, and as an advantage can be updated (just needs to be edited) to correct errors and insert errata as needed. plus those versions since they were made/converted from text documents are always searchable unlike most scanned versions which are usually compiled sets of images of the pages..

I know for Catalyst the "core" rulebooks (hardbound) run around $30-50 each and the pdf's run $15 and I believe they actually end up selling enough of the pdf's that they end up with more profit from the PDF's than from the physical books.

now depending on Palladium's actual business model IE do they own their own printing presses and such it might not be as obviously profitable for them (due to ROI on the presses)

but just a few thoughts to consider.

Palladium does not print themselves, they use an outside printing company.

According to Kevin the reason PB doesn't do PDFs is he feels they cut sales. YMMV.

Most things I have seen posted have been "PIRATES" and "EBOOKS ARE A FAD" like posts and references... YMMV

I too have seen the 'PIRATES" and "EBOOKS/READERS/IPADS ARE A FAD" as reasons.

although I do have almost the entire set of worldbooks and such in hard copy.
I would like the ability to have downloadable pdf versions for when I travel
if I go to a con outside of my city I do not wish to borrow or pay for a second bag ( yes I know choose the ones I really want to take with me to con)
but I cant I love reading them (in a way they are like a giant novel for me)
a downloadable version I can place on an sd card for my tablet would be nice or an app similarly done to be like this
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... fsrd&hl=en
a character generator that works(not talk about the cutting room floor one) be awesome as well.

I was wondering why I couldn't find any legal pdfs of (most of) the Rifts stuff. And I think it is stupidity. Rifts is a great setting but even if I had the shelf-space for the entire collection it is plainly speaking more than just a drag to lug around more than two or three books when you play. And in the end this is a supposed to be an RPG... why not make it easier for the people to carry their "library" on a tablet. This is the 21st century after all!

switt1313 wrote:I was wondering why I couldn't find any legal pdfs of (most of) the Rifts stuff. And I think it is stupidity. Rifts is a great setting but even if I had the shelf-space for the entire collection it is plainly speaking more than just a drag to lug around more than two or three books when you play. And in the end this is a supposed to be an RPG... why not make it easier for the people to carry their "library" on a tablet. This is the 21st century after all!

YES!!!!

I'd actually prefer Kindle/Mobi format. PDFs don't change formatting for smaller screens very well, but Kindle/Mobi does just great.

/Sub

*shrug* i'll be just as happy as anyone else if PB makes the decision to produce legal PDFs of the majority of their books.

but this is not a company where prompt action is standard.

Shark_Force wrote:*shrug* i'll be just as happy as anyone else if PB makes the decision to produce legal PDFs of the majority of their books.

but this is not a company where prompt action is standard.

I too wish I could buy a pdf copy. My book library is too large. I've finally succumbed to PDF.

Just counted my library. Palladium books = 248 books, over $3700 worth of paper. Id like electronic copies for ease of travel (then i could still play my play by post/email games).

I always prefer a physical book to an electronic one in terms of relaxing reading. Particularly if game using the computer since then you can have it below the screen rather than on it. Taking up the habit of writing in game manuals has deepened this.

My biggest fear is that Kevin and company will choose to support a technology/software that is not well liked because lets face it, Kevin has not always made the best decisions for technology (I'm looking at you Rifts: Promise of Power!).

On second thought, perhaps that is a bit harsh considering how long it takes to make a game...

Id by palladium pdfs just saying

Oh no doubt, I would too. I was simply saying that I was afraid of Kevin deciding to use some other format exclusively that someone says is going to be the "future" of digital books.

Honestly, I just wishes the books had a bleeding index. I want PDF's just so that they would be searchable!

switt1313 wrote:I was wondering why I couldn't find any legal pdfs of (most of) the Rifts stuff. And I think it is stupidity. Rifts is a great setting but even if I had the shelf-space for the entire collection it is plainly speaking more than just a drag to lug around more than two or three books when you play. And in the end this is a supposed to be an RPG... why not make it easier for the people to carry their "library" on a tablet. This is the 21st century after all!

You're far from being the only one...

The Beast wrote:

switt1313 wrote:I was wondering why I couldn't find any legal pdfs of (most of) the Rifts stuff. And I think it is stupidity. Rifts is a great setting but even if I had the shelf-space for the entire collection it is plainly speaking more than just a drag to lug around more than two or three books when you play. And in the end this is a supposed to be an RPG... why not make it easier for the people to carry their "library" on a tablet. This is the 21st century after all!

You're far from being the only one...

Yep Please we have money give us pdfs

I'm not seeing how PDFs would cut into sales. Even if the print versions sell less. They still make money in either format. Suddenly print sales will not disappear simply because of consumers buying PDFs. It might cut into lgs but you know what to a certain extent who cares. It's one thing to support others when a company is doing well. It's another when a company is having financial trouble. At this point I'm also thinking of going PDF. Most lgs unless it's popular or rare don't give much for used gaming. Your lucky to get half to a quarter of what you spent on PBs or any other less popular rpg products. Which is why it's hard to really feel sorry for them and their financial difficulties. Other ways to make money some fans are asking for. What they do have in PDF is all old stuff that must people have already imo. Why would I buy BTS 1e when I can buy BTS 2.