Will you be purchasing PDFs from DriveThruRPG?

[BASHMAN]

Wow!!

Hey, I think I am going to send an email to them with a link to this thread!

 

[Sir Whiskers]

Nope. I've yet to see any pdf that I wanted badly enough to put up with DRM. While I support reasonable efforts to prevent piracy, DRM isn't (IMO) the answer.

 

[Tsyr]

No.

Expouding on that, not if it was the last RPG product on earth, no matter how much I want it.

 

[JeffB]

I rarely buy PDFs myself..hate the damn things. BUT I did buy quite a few of the OOP titles form Wizards, and so I have to say "maybe" leaning towards a "no" after hearing about the whole system DriveThru is using.

There are only 2 reasons I *may" buy something.

1) They are carrying products from pretty much the only D20 publisher I buy from these days(Necromancer games) and I'm hoping they will have some of their OOP titles as they go OOP.

2) I saw OOP stuff on there from FGU. I'm an old fart, and played many of the FGU games. If other companies start puting up old OOP non-d20 stuff (like say Chaosium), I would be tempted to pick up that as well as some of the FGU titles.

But I have to say the chances are still very, very slim. This whole thing sounds like a bad idea. I don't want to rent the PDF(which is what it sounds like), I want to buy it, with no hassles and since I only buy PDFs of things I REALLY, REALLY want, I also want to be able to get another copy if something happens to my computer.

 

[Dimwhit]

Well, an update for me. I did it right this time. At work, I purchased 2 pdfs. Account was easy to set up, though the website was quite slow. At least all the images show up for me now. Anyway, I copied those pdfs to my thumb drive (using My Bookshelf in Adobe Reader). I brought them home, copied the files to my home computer, and they worked just fine. I printed one of the files at work (50 pages) with no problems. Assuming I can get these to my PowerBook just as easily, I'm a happy customer.

The DRM they use isn't bad at all. The docs are easily portable and printable. I haven't really seen much of a downside yet. A few more hoops to jump from, but nothing I can't handle. I have no problem trying to prevent piracy if it isn't too much of a hassle. This isn't.

Also, I think this poll is flawed. Of those who said No, how many don't buy PDFs anyway?

 

[d20Dwarf]

I have no problem trying to prevent piracy if it isn't too much of a hassle. This isn't.

Isn't doing anything to prevent piracy...correct.

 

[Derulbaskul]

I'm currently downloading Exalted as a test case to see whether this format is worth persisting with (although the limitations on cut and paste seem to be over-the-top). However, the site's unwillingness to resend a lost product is a tad annoying. Perhaps RPGNow should buy them out and teach them about good customer service?

What I am pleased about is that I will be able to buy books that I would otherwise have to specially order from my FLGS (actually FBNELGS where BNE means, "but not efficient" because I normally have to remind them several times about my order). Also, the costs are much lower than I would otherwise be paying here in Oz.

Anyway, while I have been previously very pro-copyright, I will be actively commissioning/aiding and abetting one of my propeller-head friends to ensure that the security on any of the PDFs I purchase is cracked in part because my laptop which I use for gaming is not internet connected (and that's the way it's going to stay).

I want my PDFs on my terms.

 

[Thanatos]

...Also, I think this poll is flawed. Of those who said No, how many don't buy PDFs anyway?

I disagree. There are still many instances where DRM hampers use. Does it work on a pc with no internet connection? or a laptop that can't run Acrobat 6.0? or linux?

Seems like a flawed concept if it is alienating previously loyal customers with an effect that can be marginally to totally inefective with a 15 minute google search.

 

[twistnack]

Couldn't if I wanted to. There's no version of Acrobat 6 for OS9 (my current OS).

 

[SneakyB]

The restrictive DRM makes their store a non-starter for me.

I wanted to test it first, so I've refrained from commenting until now. My vote says NO, which really sucks, because I was looking forward to the newest Malhavoc product this week.

Their site is slow at best, and the DRM aspect is crap. I can fully understand a publisher's desire to protect his IP, but to do so at the expense of the customer is just plain wrong.

The big test for me was transferring the file between computers. Guess what? Doesn't work. I would recommend to everyone to test it with your own scenarios so that you can comment from a viewpoint of experience. The arguments against this move are so much more effective if we all do so.