The Solar System in My Hand
Simon JB:
So I'm finally holding a copy of the Solar System in my hand, and I just registered to give some general praise about it. Very fine work, sir!
My group has been experimenting with variants of Tsoy since last autumn and we're getting more and more fond of the engine all the time. The way you have written the new version of the rules is entirely in my taste, and i find the tips and general advice on how to play the game extremely useful.
So, kudos many times over.
However, I have a question/request/desperate plea for you as well. Please, would it be at all possible to make a sturdier "deluxe" edition as well as the ultra-cheap booklet edition? I totally agree with making it ultra-cheap to make it natural for everyone in the group to get a copy, but me, I'd gladly pay up for a copy with better paper and some sort of proper cover. Perhaps some sort of Lulu-solution would be possible?
Thanks again for your work! Looking forward to the new Near-text as well.
Yours,
Simon
Eero Tuovinen:
That's not impossible, I guess. But tell you what - the pretty thing about the Creative Commons license is that anybody can take Solar System and make a prettier version. It could be you, if you have a vision.
Still, I guess I could also see myself being the one to do it at some suitable juncture if there is desire for such. What do you see as the benefits to a prettier book? Would you show it around to people, or would it be more pleasant to use? Would the contents be organized differently? Would there be more or less stuff in it?
At first glance, a deluxe edition is something I'd probably want to make as a "2009 edition" or some such, after letting the current version settle for a bit. Who knows, the system might develop in actual play and take some new direction.
Simon JB:
Yeah, I was thinking about doing it myself if you weren't going to.
What I would do with that book? Mainly one thing: be able to carry it with me, shoving it into bags and generally be able to throw it around without it coming to pieces waaay to quickly. :)
So, a "2009 Edition" that is prettier and generally more luxurious is certainly a nice idea. But what I, for my part, whant as fast as possible is a sturdier edition.
Since I like the inside the way it is, if I would be the one to conjure up a Heavy Edition I would probably beg you your version as a pdf to upload to Lulu together with some simple cover. If anyone more than me would be interested it would even be possible to make one Heavy and one Medium version, one with hardcover and one paperback. (Though I understand that at 86 pages, calling it "Heavy" is a bit of a hyperbole! .D )
Eero Tuovinen:
Ah, I guess Lulu isn't an impossibility. I understand that there are no set-up expenses per se, so it's really no skin off my nose. So let me look into this when I get back north to my workstation - we'll need to figure out some suitably nice looking cover art, but other than that just putting a sturdier cover to this and allowing people to order that from Lulu seems like a no-brainer.
I should note, though, that the cheap booklet provides an excellent opportunity for some handicrafts if you want a cheap & sturdy edition with a stylish cover - just get imaginative with your own cover stock: make a cover out of cardboard, wooden panels, dead cats or whatever happens to be at hand. I'd probably print out the map of Near or something like that and stick it on a cardboard cover, which I'd then stitch on. Then color that with crayons for that childish look. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Simon JB:
I'm probably going to make an improvised cover for the booklet in any case, using plastic film in some way, but a bound book from Lulu would be so much sexier.
What I'd like to do most of all is to make a nice, clean minimalistic cover in black and white, using the logo you've got, and just get it finished as fast as possible. I think there's something intrinsically problematic about cover art for generic rules books. I'd also like to see how readable the text gets if I'd shrink the size to 6" x 9". It wouldn't be smaller than many textbooks on my shelves, i think...
Do you know what happens with the ISBN if you reprint a publication with only a different cover?
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