General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
You should start a poll on that! Personally, I would be surprised if the numbers that actually chose PDF over print would be high at all (although very possibly well over the percentage at rpg.net or WotC).
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At ENW are we really PDF fanatics? Relatively so anyway?
So for your RPG products do you prefer PDF or print? Both? Neither ?
The option 'depends on type of product' means if you would buy one version of media for the game you actually play and another for games you want to look at; or you buy one type of media for rulebooks and another for modules, etc.
EDIT: The option of PDF and print means if you can (thanks WotC for not giving me that option )
Also PDF means anything of an electronic format, PDFs just the most common.
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Last edited by mach1.9pants; 28th June 2009 at 05:26 AM..
I have a few pdfs but almost everything is in actual book form. I don't like staring at computer screens, don't have a laptop for sessions, and if I'm going to print the thing out I might as well have a book printer do it for me and save me the trouble.
Although as far as the PF pdf I have to say $9.99 is rather enticing.
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I generally buy books but I will purchase PDFs on occassion. However, DDI PDFs have changed the way I look at them and now I want landscape PDFs only.
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I like having physical books, because I hate playing with computers at the table; they are distracting, loud, tend to take up too much space, and they put off lots of heat. But pdf's are much easier to reference when not in game, what with all those fancy search options and such, making them much more useful than dead-tree for character and campaign generation.
Ideally, I would like to buy both for the price of one, but I doubt that is going to happen any time soon.
I also wish there were more softcovers, they are noticeably easier to carry around.
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I buy PDFs of books that are just for reading (setting material, and the like). Anything that sees use at the table I get a dead tree copy of, in addition to the PDF.
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These days hardcopy books are almost useless to me except if I'm reading in bed.
If I cant get a PDF version of adventures then I wont buy them.
Sourcebooks are close to the same. Monster books the same if I can't copy then past stat blocks for quick reference for an encounter or modification then it's useless to me.
Case in point: If I have an encounter where a creature or NPC inflicts status effects on the PC's It's easier for me to cut and paste what those status effects are on the creature sheet. The same with spell effects and so on. For me it helps make running these encounters MUCH EASIER and smoother.
If there's no PDF available then the product is less useful to me.
Now don't get it twisted, I like a well produced book. Which is another reason I really like Paizo's stuff. I look forward to having a hardcopy of the RPG, but I'll be subscribing in order to get the free PDF's...
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I put other, I have really fallen for the DDI format (especially Compendium). So while not strictly PDF I like electronic. I use my laptop for gaming, from Word Documents, different programs, Compendium, etc. So yeah if it had the level of development of the Compendium with a simple rulebook that is strictly a easy to follow, easy to read rulebook I be good.
Though counter-wise I don't like buying pdfs, and would rather pay for a actual book over a pdf. So yeah it is definitely the way DDI is formatted and such that makes it worth me paying.
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For my actual gaming needs I buy both where ever possible as I use a laptop at the table. However for just reading (rules I am not using and mags and stuff) I (now) buy a lot of PDFs. They are cheap and I have an eReader, which is awesome to read with .. but conversely not fast enough for in game use. Makes the DDi so much better now I can easily read it wherever, bed, bog, couch, etc. I calculated that the cost of printing and binding just the DDi mags for 1 3/4 years is the same as the cost of my 1280x1024 10' iRex eReader... that doesn't count any other saving I make by buying PDF. This is especially so as I have no FLGS and postage is so expensive for heavy books.
I'm not against e-books in principle. However, I'm dead-tree only (except for freebees and D&Di) for two major reasons reasons...
1) I don't currently have a device that makes for a good e-book reader that I could easily bring to the gaming table and use there (a traditional notebook is too big, and I don't have anything smaller). A Kindle DX, 10" screen netbook, or 12" screen subnotebook would almost work, I think; a paperback-sized eBook reader (like the standard Kindle or most others) or a smart phone would be too small for RPG books (too many important illustrations and tables).
2) Electronic versions of RPG books are almost invariably PDFs with a layout designed to be printed on letter-size paper in portrait format. Hence they require scrolling or scaling on a screen that's smaller than that. And even a 14.1" 1400x900 notebook screen or a 20" 1650x1080 monitor is smaller than that.
I prefer print for several reasons:
1. I can see it up front
2. I can read the item away from the computer
However, I prefer pdf for books that I might want to check out, but don't want to spend the cover price. However, the product better not be more than a few dollars.
I also don't mind pdfs for items that are less than a dozen pages provided they are cheaply priced. I simply print them out and put them in binders.
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I've run out of shelf space, and I don't like having to keep boxing things up in the attic (let alone sell my books - I never do that). Hence, I much prefer PDF only options. It's easy with my laptop and a good printer for PC handouts.
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I'm critically short of space (I would say shelf space, if I owned any shelves) so very strongly more likely to buy a PDF than hard copy, unless it's something I'll refer to constantly. I also appreciate the ability to search and to make backups.
Give me something like the online SRD or a wiki or the DDI database.
I much prefer reading off of dead trees.
PDFS do have useful utility for instant availability and they sure do weigh less than a book does.... but I can't stand reading books off a computer screen.
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I mostly prefer physical books. But, once the market finally delivers a feasible and convenient e-paper reader/viewer, I'll probably start going predominantly pdf. Right now, I have pdf copies of all the books I use regularly (for ease of use at the game table and for game prep - cut and pasting), but they are mostly just supplements to my physical copies.
For books I only want for reading or idea mining (not for actual game play) I'll buy the pdf only, simply because they are usually cheaper.
But, if it's a book I'll use for gaming, or want as a collectable, then I'll always get a physical copy.
However, I will probably still buy physical copies of the books I really like even if I go to predominantly using pdf's. Partly as a collectables, but also because having a physical book in my hand will probably always be more satisfying than a pdf.
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I prefer reading in PDF form so that I can read books at work and alt-tab over if the boss is walking by :P but then I generally print out selected information from pdf's for easy access around the gaming table. it's a lot easier to carry a folder full of papers over to my friend's house rather than 5-6 books.
I despise reading on the screen with an abiding passion. (Obviously, messageboards are an exception. ) I'll occasionally buy a PDF if it's something that catches my interest but don't expect to use much, and if it's short, but if it's anything I plan to read in deapth, or to reference frequently, hardcopy all the way, every time.
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) I'll occasionally buy a PDF if it's something that catches my interest but don't expect to use much, and if it's short, but if it's anything I plan to read in deapth, or to reference frequently, hardcopy all the way, every time.
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