After we published the new Solar System booklet at Gencon, people started asking for a pdf version. At the time I didn't have any thoughts on the matter - I'd been thinking that we'll get the text of the game available in html sooner or later anyway, so nobody would want to buy a PDF. Several folks told me that they wanted to give me money for a pdf version, though, so I put it on my to-do list to create just that.
Now I've finally had time to lay out a reasonably readable pdf version (assuming you're using my computer to read it, anyway), so we can start selling it. This is my first time selling pdf files, so if there's some technical problems or improvements that come up later, we'll just have to keep sending buyers fixed versions until we get it right. Shouldn't be a problem, though, as Solar System is pretty simple content-wise - just text and grayscale images, really. The delivery system is simple at this point as well: pay us through the Paypal button and receive your copy of the game by email whenever my brother Jari next gets around to reading his email.
Here's the pdf in our web store. (http://www.arkenstonepublishing.net/shop#ARK204)
Here's the group license version in our web store. (http://www.arkenstonepublishing.net/shop#ARK205)
As you can see, I'm considering a separate group license here for those who want to pay more for the privilege of spreading the pdf around like syphilis (that is, through intimate contact). Should be an interesting experiment; I'm not sure I like how this sort of means that I'm leeching more money from the extremely law-abiding minority here, while the more relaxed majority will do what they want with the pdf, anyway. On the other hand, perhaps some folks will find it positive that they can pay for permission to do what they're going to be doing anyway. On the third hand, one might argue that most pdf publishers already give at least an implicit permission for a single game group to share the pdf amongst themselves; at least I've never seen anybody complain about this widespread practice. On the fourth hand, it's an open question for us here in Finland whether the licensor of this sort of stuff even can limit consumption in this manner, so for all I know you'd be within the law to do whatever you want with the cheaper license, too. A tricky issue, feel free to comment on it if you have some thoughts.
oh. this means no free version? bummer.
No no, it just means that because people have been asking for a pdf version (explicitly, as opposed to a free version), I made this one first. The free version should follow well before the end of the year. Whenever I get around to sending the text to somebody to put up in the 'net.
Wikifying it is on my to-do list.
And sending you an easily editable version of the text is on mine. I have the annual general meeting of the Finnish Boardgame Society coming up next weekend, which means that I'm a bit pressed this week, again. But perhaps in early December I'll tease you a html version or some such out of QuarkXPress. We might have the free version available before Christmas.
Very nice. If we're lucky I might even have it done before then. ^ ^
I dont want to push you or anything... but what about that wiki version?
Ah, yes. I actually ripped most of the text into html format last month and sent it to Simon. Haven't heard from him about it since, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had it up one of these days.
Sorry, folks, my comp crashed in december. I've started working on it again now. Keep you posted!
No hurry on my account, I already have the game. Heck, I'll soon have the sequel, too.
I was about to buy pdf (through my friend) and then I realised from the picture that it has layout that efficiently makes printing it like booklet impossible. or am I wrong?
Well, you could print it as a vertical booklet... but yeah, the layout is different from the print edition. I thought about providing both layouts, but didn't bother because the booklet is so cheap that if you're going to print it, you might as well buy it. Paper and home office inks are not that cheap, and the booklet is 88 pages long.
So I bought the pdf and I like it. really nice layout, but damn I wish it would be portrait not landscape.
will there be free pdf updates? I am referring to:
QuoteIncluded a bunch of pdf comments referring to lacks to be improved later.
Yeah, we have the email addresses of the people who bought the PDF - if I get inspired to do some minor revisions on the booklet, I'll send the new version to you all. I expect that this would be mostly if there's some big mistake or omission in there that I haven't noticed yet. Don't expect too much, though - history has proven that as long as I don't myself need a new reference work, I'm probably not going to bother with much more than some forum threads and such.