Palladium?

[Ottergame]

Again, not quite accurate. If you've ever seen an illegal PDF, you'll note their quality is bad. That's because they're scanned, not broken. Also, the wide-availability of illegal PDFs pre-dates the move to online PDF markets. That's because because do buy hardcopy books and scan them. All the time.

Seanchai

Actually, some pirated PDFs are actually quite amazing in their detail. I usually download a PDF of every book I own (yeah, still illegal, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it, I don't pass these files on once I get them, I tuck them away in a non-shared folder). Some are even quite superior to PDFs the companies that make the book put out.

Most are purely utilitarian. Off centered pages, non-broken spine, no bookmarks, and such. But still, most are quite readable even in unideal circumstances.

 

[Seanchai]

Actually, some pirated PDFs are actually quite amazing in their detail.

Whille I admit my exposure to illegal PDFs is limited, but my exposure to PDFs made from the original art is extensive, and there's really a big difference. Particularly with vector-based elements. Scanning a book makes everything a raster image, which just isn't as clear and crisp.

Seanchai

 

[prosfilaes]

Whille I admit my exposure to illegal PDFs is limited, but my exposure to PDFs made from the original art is extensive, and there's really a big difference. Particularly with vector-based elements. Scanning a book makes everything a raster image, which just isn't as clear and crisp.

True, but anything where the company doesn't have an electronic version of--like all of Palladium's books--is going to have to be scanned anyway, and some of the better pirate books are OCRed and checked.

 

[Crothian]

And here you are, just jumping in the pile as well, only from a different angle. Contributing about as much as anyone else to the thread, over a span of a bunch of posts.

defending bad behavior by pointing out other bad behavior is defending nothing. Plus as the thread vastly has people hating Palladium, there is no pile on my side of things.

And I think asking people to be nice on EN World is contributing something.

 

[Seanchai]

True, but anything where the company doesn't have an electronic version of--like all of Palladium's books--is going to have to be scanned anyway, and some of the better pirate books are OCRed and checked.

You're right.

Seanchai

 

[Seanchai]

Selling His Toys

Mr. Siembieda is selling his toys. http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?t=59381. Kind of makes me think there's not a solid distinction between his personal assets and his business assets.

And the latest "progress report" is up: http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?t=59399

"As I've stated elsewhere, thanks to the help from so many Palladium friends from around the globe, Palladium is holding its own. We've managed to pay all our current bills for the last two months, pay down some debt, pay freelancers for work done in 2005, reprint 6-7 books, and put money asside for upcoming new books. As of today, we've sold 1510 Megavese United prints, and hope to sell another 1500 over the next six months.

New books should start to ship by the end of June. And check out the "swimsuit" pinup issue of The Rifter #35. Actually, we have all kinds of plans for new product in the months to come. See our June 1, 2006 Press Release for all the details.

Palladium is not out of the woods yet . . . but we're working on it. With the continuing support of fans and friends like you, we are very hopeful about our future.

Check out Murmurs from the Megaverse for regular, status reports and comments from me and other Palladium staffers, as well as our latest Press Releases.

Thanks for the support. Keep those imaginations burning bright . . . and game on!

Gratefully Yours,
Kevin Siembieda"

No dollar figures attached.

Seanchai

 

[Seanchai]

New Press Release Is Up

http://www.palladiumbooks.com/press/press2006-06.html

No monetary figures listed, but we're told: "As of this date, 1535 A Megaverse® United prints have been sold. We’re hoping to sell another 1500 by year's end."

That many unlimited limited edition art prints comes out to about $76,750. The last update that gave a dollar figure for donations via PayPal was something like $2,600. If we double that and add it to the unlimited limited edition print total we get $81,950.

At one point, there was a statement floating around that Palladium had said it would reach a basic level of solvency at $100,000, but would prefer to get $250,000 out of its relief efforts. I figure with the recent open house and the charity drive, Palladium could probably get close to the additional $20,000 it needs for the first figure, but they're a hell of a long way from the second.

I also noted with interest this bit: "Please note that a number of out of print books may be slotted into the release schedule. We may also add 3-4 Rifts® Adventure Sourcebooks to the mix as well as a couple of Palladium Fantasy RPG® and Heroes Unlimited™ titles throughout the Fall." I thought it odd because my understanding of the valuation placed on the art transparencies was the necessity of using them to reprint books. (Of course, I've never heard of such a thing before - that could be, however, because I use desktop publishing software instead of antiquated wax machine). According to their page about the thefts (http://www.palladiumbooks.com/press/thefts.html), transparencies for "more than 50 different titles" were stolen.

Of course, still no word about:

1. When they'll stop selling "limited edition" prints.
2. How much they need.
3. If they'll stop accepting donations when they have enough to keep them afloat.
4. How much of the merchandise reported as part of the $850,000 - $1,000,000 figure was personal property and how much was owned by Palladium Books.
5. Whether or not some of the money donated by fans is being used to replace any personal property that was stolen.
6. Whether or not they were insured against this kind of loss.

But as long as they're providing us with some genuine content - you know, stories about where they were going to work if Palladium went all RIP-like (http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?t=59534) - I'm 100% satisfied that they're a charity worth funding!

Seanchai