rgard
Adventurer
Very true.
I'm in a OH heavy industry and I doubt IT matches us, but our costs for people exceed 200% of simple salary.
Agreed that IT probably doesn't match yours. The general rule of thumb is 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary.
Very true.
I'm in a OH heavy industry and I doubt IT matches us, but our costs for people exceed 200% of simple salary.
The model will be actualized when devices are made at a reasonable price that can provide the same experience as a book, character sheet, and dice at the table. Right now, that kind of investment is still far too high and the devices not as easy to use as a character sheet.
Almost all my players do their characters online. But they like having their character sheets and their books at the table for easy reference. They like them right in front of them. For the standard table with minis and drawn maps on a fold out map, a bunch of laptops on the table would create a space problem.
The main advantage I've found with online tools and PDFs is as a DM. I can do most of my prep using online tools, which greatly lessens my prep time. And since I play Pathfinder, online resources for copy and paste and monster creation are a huge boon as prep time is longer. The online tools have available for Pathfinder have made high level prep time a breeze.
I could probably put all my books on laptop and bring it to the game. I might do this at some point as one laptop on the table would probably save room. Even then I might need a DM screen as the search function based on words is a pain. A well-designed PDF DM screen/index screen constantly updated would be a huge boon if I bought all the Pathfinder books online. Then I could easily type in a word in the index, get the page number and book quickly, then go to the book page and find what I want. As well as a condensed version of all the tables.
I think I might try DMing from my laptop next time. Though I will probably stilly buy print books.
The one thing about a D&D book that a digital copy doesn't seem to equal is the artwork. There's something I enjoy that never feels the same on a digital copy as perusing a book and looking at the great artwork. D&D has always had some great artists and Paizo continued that tradition in Pathfinder.
People really underestimate the effect of cool artwork in a roleplaying product. Sometimes the artwork alone can make you want to buy a product. And having that picture in your hand rather than on a digital copy is so much more satisfying.
Who can forget images like Count Strahd on the cover of Ravenloft or A Paladin In Hell. Or even the original image of the thief stealing the eye out of the Efreeti statue on the cover of the 1st edition Player's Handbook. Or the numerous awsome drawings you randomly come across in roleplaying books over the years. It enhances the overall experience of the book.
We know this is true because of WotC's history in this regard. Remember how they told us in advance that they were pulling PDF sales?
This is funny timing given Steve's editorial about the new digital age of Dungeon and Dragon and the scare of leaping off the tire swing. We're seeing the direct results of it now. I'm just wondering when we'll see the digital model blossom. The potential is definitely there, it's just not actualized yet, despite really, really wishing it was!
As for all these programmer debates, why is it that smaller teams of developers seem able to deliver superior product in shorter amounts of time? Take things like CBLoader. They already have stuff in CBLoader that is still two months away in the official CB. I sometimes wonder if opting for the lowest bidder is always the best way to go...