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Did I miss a promise somewhere that we'd have these books or PDFs before the release date?
I think it's great that things show up early, but to actually EXPECT them early because it's happened in the past?
Interestingly, the email that I received letting me know that my subscription copy was shipping says this:
Note: The PDF for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (OGL) Hardcover will not be available until October 21.I'm having a hard time understanding the anger here...
If anyone should be angry, I should. Paizo lied to me. They told me the PDF wouldn't be available until October 21.
My email says nothing about the 21st. That is the regular release date so yea maybe you should be mad since you were lied to.....or what ever.
...being in the US doesn't make you a higher priority subscriber does it?Yes and no. Remember how I said that the automated queue is optimized based on how similar your package is to other people? Well, that includes shipping method and destination, and since we have more domestic subscribers than international subscribers, and larger groups tend to be handled first, domestic mailing groups tend to be processed before international groups, at least when it comes to parcels containing the same set of items.
That is to say, odds are good that domestic superscribers with no unusual items are probably going to be processed shortly before international superscribers with no unusual items, but international superscribers with no unusual items may be processed before domestic Chronicles-only subscribers with no unusual items. It's a complicated system, but it's *usually* pretty efficient.
...another suggesting perhaps for the subscriptions is to have an option for things to ship with your Core stuffWe only offer the option to hold for monthly shipments or monthly subscriptions—which right now means the Pathfinder Adventure Path. If we offered "Hold for Pathfinder RPG," nobody would get anything for several months between the screen and the GM Guide. And options like "hold for monthly shipment unless an RPG product arrives first" would complicate a *lot* of things, and I believe, increase the likelihood of problems.
Interestingly, the email that I received letting me know that my subscription copy was shipping says this:
Note: The PDF for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (OGL) Hardcover will not be available until October 21.Hmm. We did delay the Core Rulebook PDF for the street date, but not the Bestiary. Sounds like Gary left some old code in there. I'll have him look into it.
...I fall into the "nonstandard order bucket" since I have a...
I do thank you for your time answering and clarifying on the weekend. DO not get me wrong I do appreciate everything that you guys do.
It would be nice to have known that the stuff was being held up because of other things in the shipment. I would of broke up those things and asked if they could just wait until Novembers shipment.
I guess I'll just be looking at my shipping options. DO not want to do the never wait for anything because I get a good discount from my local game store and could just get things as they come in there with a discount. And actually do not have to pay for shipping if I went that route. Yet you guys have said / mentioned that the subscribers do pay an important role in your production run and what not so am going that route to help a business I like. For sure the game store gets enough other business form me. IN fact I had worked there briefly as a second job over a Alaska Dividend through Christmas time while I was going to school and well the boss loved me because I spent more money there during this time frame than I made working there.
At any rate I think what set me off was that people were emailed saying that "here is what was going on, so what would you like us to do". Granted it came out later that this email was sent to specific people for specific reason that I didn't fall into.
It is also an unfortunate situation because I have been "selling" your subscription to some friends saying how great it was and etc. and then this happened. Think they were close to signing up but not now...oh well.
Sean
Isn't it one in ten people will actually complain about something if it is convenient to do so.
So there is probably quite a few more than you see posting in the boards.Sean
I didn't mean to suggest there were few people affected by this issue. Just that some complaints seem to imply that Paizo has greater powers than they actually have and that several suggestions about what Paizo should have done are impossible for them to actually do in a reasonable manner.
I would suggest that the way Paizo handles the "Don't hold anything" works for 90% of situtations (when the schedules are roughly accurate and such) and 90% of orders in those situation are still being processed in the "best" manner possible given to Paizo and customers.
There is room for improvement, but right now, this seems to be much more akin to blaming Paizo for the heavy snow causing delivery delays. That they likely could find ways to prepare for this in the future, but from what I can tell of Paizo's comments, the suggestions of immediate reparations are just not feasible.
Isn't it one in ten people will actually complain about something if it is convenient to do so.
So there is probably quite a few more than you see posting in the boards.Sean
I didn't mean to suggest there were few people affected by this issue. Just that some complaints seem to imply that Paizo has greater powers than they actually have and that several suggestions about what Paizo should have done are impossible for them to actually do in a reasonable manner.
I would suggest that the way Paizo handles the "Don't hold anything" works for 90% of situtations (when the schedules are roughly accurate and such) and 90% of orders in those situation are still being processed in the "best" manner possible given to Paizo and customers.
There is room for improvement, but right now, this seems to be much more akin to blaming Paizo for the heavy snow causing delivery delays. That they likely could find ways to prepare for this in the future, but from what I can tell of Paizo's comments, the suggestions of immediate reparations are just not feasible.
You mean they are not to blame for snow delays?!?!?!
They are so god like in everything else that they do! AP, Chronicles, Core RPG....
:O)
Sean
Patrick Curtin
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case Subscriber)
If I order from Paizo The Beastary now that its in stock, how soon before it ships due to all the preorders going out first?
CCRPGer:
I'm a mathematician by training and a software developer by trade - this kind of complexity makes me giggle like a little girl...I fall into the "nonstandard order bucket" since I have a subscription copy and an extra...so I expect to be somewhere is the second batch.I should clarify that the two queues don't run sequentially—they can begin simultaneously, but the automated queue finishes much faster than the manual queue. Thus, folks at the front of the manual queue may actually be processed before folks at the back of the automated queue.
The scary thing is that I've only touched upon the true complexity of the system. Honestly, I don't think even Gary could fully describe how we prioritize orders in the manual queue without dissecting the code for half an hour.
DitheringFool
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, GameMastery Cards Subscriber)
The scary thing is that I've only touched upon the true complexity of the system. Honestly, I don't think even Gary could fully describe how we prioritize orders in the manual queue without dissecting the code for half an hour.in the industry we call that programming for job security :)
Is Gary's code documented and fully annotated? :)
The core rulebook came out 2 months ago....July?So this comes out before the Rulebook. Interesting. How very first edition :)
You replied to a couple messages that were posted ages ago... probably close to a year old (I'm too lazy to look). July was the originally scheduled release date for the Bestiary.
I just want to say that I, too, am disappointed by not having my Bestiary - but that's just because I'm so excited to finally get my hands on it. In every service industry, things happen beyond the control of the "face" people, and it is those people who invariably take the flak for it afterward.
Paizo has kept me in some of the best gaming supplements I have ever found. I can hold out for another few days.
Hmm. We did delay the Core Rulebook PDF for the street date, but not the Bestiary. Sounds like Gary left some old code in there. I'll have him look into it.
Vic is correct. The PDF for the Bestiary is available to subscribers as soon as you receive your shipping email. You can disregard the 21st date.
I would just like to say thanks to the people at Paizo for being so helpful. It seems to me that the fact that they take time to answer so many questions here and be helpful actually backfires because people just complain more.
I know we're all hard core nerds here people, but just relax and read some of the items you already have on your shelves. I know I have not read more than 50% of what I have already bought and received!
I myself am waiting for the Bestiary for a campaign I just started, but another week or two of conversions isn't going to kill me.
I would just like to say thanks to the people at Paizo for being so helpful. It seems to me that the fact that they take time to answer so many questions here and be helpful actually backfires because people just complain more.
I agree... and time spend answering these questions again and again is also (probably) time that paizo people can't spend sending the actual packages we are waiting for...
If no one ever points out a deficiency, or issue, then nothing is ever done about it, and it continues to happen. My order specifically states "Never Hold Anything". I understand that Paizo sent out an email to those subscribers like me that have multiple subscriptions, and that very option. I never received the email, as many others on here have stated. If the email had been sent there would be no long post.
I agree Paizo has outstanding customer service. I am not posting this to complain, it is constructive criticism, to help them eliminate an issue. (Well maybe I'm complaining a little, as I want the book in the worst way). Lisa posted that she was going to check and find out if the email went out, and if not why and resolve it. I can live with that. I still haven't had my book shipped.
I should change my name to mud :-)
I checked my bank account every morning, today there seemed ... seemed... to be enough on my credit card to cover the shipment. So I finally get an email from customer service and I think "Hooray!"
Then I read it and see there's insufficient funds. Maybe Aberzombie isn't the only victim of this conspiracy!
Luckily my girlfriend's card had more room on it :-) Now I'll wait politely until they can release my order. Hopefully by the time I wake up.
In Holland we're still waiting untill the joyieus moment when my gameshop receives the copies so I can get mine... sobYou think you're sad. I'm a subscriber, and still haven't had mine shipped.
At this rate Holland will probably get the physical copies before we get our pdfs.
So I think to occupy my time I will re-stat the Nixie from the Bonus Bestiary to reflect the powers of the Skum, which I will then re-stat into the legendary Kuo-Toa.
Horse + Medium Fire Elemental = Nightmare.
The Dire Tiger/Allip from the preview/bonus bestiary will now work as a Displacer Beast. The Greater Shadow + Stirge both from preview II to become used to create the stat block for a Shadow Demon and the Zombie from the first preview stated up and modified to help build both Lich and Vampire stat blocks.
I might even just use one modified set of zombie stats for both the lich and vampire and not tell my players the difference.
Now I just need to combine a few of the creatures from the 2 free previews/bonus bestiary to get the stats working for a Ginormous Fiendish Gelatinous Cube.
I'm thinking of cross combining the stats of a Elder Water elemental (prev II), a Ghoul (prev II), Bearded Devil (prev II) and the Zombie (prev I) to get the thing up to PFRPG speed.
Let me know what you guys think.
Yep. I was kinda hoping to get the subscriber PDF before it went on general sale. *kicks at the annoyingly delayed items in my subscriptions*
Same boat here, and it is a bit disheartening. However, I'm sure the Bestiary PDF will be available to us loyal subscribers very soon! ***crosses fingers, toes, and tentacles***
James:
I noticed that while Angels, Devils, Demons, Giants, Dragons, and some other groups of monsters were clustered together that Hags got spread out through-out the beastiary. Given that hags are often encountered as a covey comprised of each of the 3 variants, I would think that they would have been grouped together to reduce page-flipping and improve ease of reference.
What was the reasoning behind spreading them out as opposed to grouping them, particularly when it seems like attention was given to grouping other related monsters?
