Update: Malhavoc PDFs no longer available at RPGnow (merged)

[travathian]

Here's a link to an article about video game piracy by the CEO of a gaming company. None of their games use DRM or copy-protection. They actually came up with an innovative way of NOT screwing over their customers, while at the same time attempting to reduce piracy.

Make being your customer more convenient than being a pirate

If Monte Cook is by some strange reason reading this thread, then read that article and think about what you are doing to your customers, not the pirates.

 

[Kesh]

Yeesh. I finally found it, by trying every combination of options I could. For the record, changing the Output Options allows one to Print to PDF as normal.

Of course, this is useless for those who want to bypass the DRM for the purposes of Copy & Paste. The resulting PDF is just an image file, and much lower quality. So, this is only going to matter if there's MacOS X users who buy a copy of the PDF, print to file to remove the DRM and then share it on a P2P network. Whee.

Still a security issue, though. I thought maybe the update to Acrobat Reader that Adobe put out yesterday would change that, but it's still there.

 

[Thauredhel]

Here's a link to an article about video game piracy by the CEO of a gaming company. None of their games use DRM or copy-protection. They actually came up with an innovative way of NOT screwing over their customers, while at the same time attempting to reduce piracy.

Make being your customer more convenient than being a pirate

If Monte Cook is by some strange reason reading this thread, then read that article and think about what you are doing to your customers, not the pirates.

I don't think this is Montes baby.

That said, I'll qualify my statement of not buying anything from DriveByRPG. I'll buy 'Cult of Personality' for Aberrant if they ever publish it. I would buy 'Cult of Personality' in any readable format, even as photocopies from an ex-playtester (Yes, this is an offer!) But that will be the only one, and I would still prefer to buy it as a physical book.

 

[RCanning]

As I posted Here I signed up and tried to get one of their free downloads.

It downloaded and I could use it on my Powerbook fine, but when I tried to put it on any other computer (like my wife's at work for printing) it completely failed, even though it was logged into my Adobe ID.

Asked both DriveThru and Adobe about it. DriveThru still have not responded (but to be fair it has only been a few hours and it is night time there), Adobe responded telling me that DRM protected material is NOT supposed to be able to work on ANY other machine, even for printing. One computer only and that is it. Details in the post linked to above.

 

[jaults]

Make being your customer more convenient than being a pirate

Wow, what a great article. Hope someone's paying attention.

Jason

 

[Buttercup]

Personally, I have never once used KaZaa etc. This move is akin to forcing people to register when you buy a book. They get to "legally" track how you use their product, force you to use it in a way that they choose, and make you like it.

The only thing that makes the PDF market worthwhile is low prices and ease of use. When I have to register Adobe etc on EVERY computer I own just to port a PDF file, then it becomes useless to use.

This is a really crappy thing to do to loyal customers.

This pretty much sums up my position too. I have never used any peer-to-peer downloading, and in fact, I've always spoken out against it here at EN World, elsewhere on the 'net and IRL. However, I *will not* get a Microsoft passport. I *will not* give Adobe access to my personal information. Ever. I see this as a threat to my electronic privacy. Right now there is an easy solution--just do without products sold at DTRPG.

If I walk into a store and pay cash for a book, my privacy is secure. If I use a credit or debit card for my purchase, I've given up a slice of privacy, but I can still use the book where and when I want. As far as I know, White Wolf doesn't have cameras in my house. And since I'm very careful with my computer security, working behind multiple firewalls, using AdAware and Spybot regularly, and keeping my Norton subscriptions up to date, I feel reasonably certain that I can print documents in private. Unless I buy into DRM, of course, but as I said, that ain't gonna happen.

I love Fiery Dragon products. Necromancer products too. I hope they continue to issue them in print, because otherwise I'll never be buying another one. That would be a big disappointment to me, but I won't compromise my privacy.

 

[Dr. Harry]

Keep Yer Politics To Yerself

It's the same case as gun control. Preventing law-abiding individuals from legally obtaining and owning a firearm doesn't decrease gun violence, as individuals who will use their firearm in an unlawful manner would not purchase it through lawful avenues.

Please keep your politics to yourself. This claim is weak, but to address would break the rules that you shouldn't have broken.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Necromancer Games rocks. I love their products, but I'll not buy a product print or otherwise from anyone pushing that DRM crap on me. Sometimes you have to take a stand.

 

[undeaddan]

"That's why we put out a brand new free (short) pdf on that site called Narrog the Earth Serpent so you could give the new vendor a try for free."

This would be the free .pdf that I can't get to open on my desktop because it keeps telling me to go to DTRPG's site to get permission

"No, it's not the case that you can't transfer the between two machines. I know that some people are telling you can't transfer the file from your desktop to your laptop (or whatever), but, to be blunt, they're wrong. You can. You can also make backup copies and print just as easily as you could before. There are limitations in the cut and paste feature, but we're thinking about asking them to relax those a bit as well."

See above. If this is what it takes to get a free product. I'm not real inclined to pay for anything from DTRPG.

Maybe I'll check some of the file sharing services to see if a cracked copy can be found there. Never considered that before today.

 

[rpghost]

my main problem with these online pdf-buying services: They always want my credit card number. But I don´t have one. And I don`t plan on getting one.

RPGnow.com and RPGShop.com both accept money orders. Walk on down to your post office or gas station or sentry store and give them less then $1 and they'll convert your cash to something you can send us. Sure it'll take a couple days longer - but you'll get your order! See the checkout pages for details.

James