Maybe I'm doing this wrong, but my understanding is that everytime there is an update to the alpha we have to "add to cart" and then "personalize" it.
I feel like it would garner more public participation if one could just download the document directly. Or am I missing something and that is possible?
thanks,
Najas
You just have to go to My Downloads and repersonalize, but you do have to register on the site to do so.
The rules are covered by the OGL, so someone could strip out the closed content and post the text of it somewhere. As far as I know no one's done that yet, though.
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The rules are covered by the OGL, so someone could strip out the closed content and post the text of it somewhere. As far as I know no one's done that yet, though.
And miss out on the awesome artwork?? Why would you do that?
Actually a clickable faster online version would be nice but until the beta I don't think anyone is going to mess with anything like that.
@Original Poster: You shouldn't have to add it to your cart every time, just go to the downloads page and re-personalize it.
I would like to know if Paizo plans a PDF version of the main release.
-- Dennis
The rules are covered by the OGL, so someone could strip out the closed content and post the text of it somewhere. As far as I know no one's done that yet, though.And miss out on the awesome artwork?? Why would you do that?
Because searching a file in vi is about a zillion times faster and more versatile than using Adobe Acrobat to do the same thing?
To be able to access it quickly from any computer anywhere? I don't know about you, but I use d20srd.org much more often than I crack out the ol' Player's Handbook.
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Because searching a file in vi is about a zillion times faster and more versatile than using Adobe Acrobat to do the same thing?
To be able to access it quickly from any computer anywhere? I don't know about you, but I use d20srd.org much more often than I crack out the ol' Player's Handbook.
All true... heh another vi lover.
You can copy/ paste the entire alpha into vi. I get frustrated with Acrobat's slowness with large files also but cut/ pasted pfrpg rules in vi without any formatting is quite unworkable I assure you.
When the beta is released maybe I will put together something akin to d20SRD for Pathfinder and host it on my site.
That has to be the best D&D 3.5 resource ever...
- Dennis
All true... heh another vi lover.
You can copy/ paste the entire alpha into vi. I get frustrated with Acrobat's slowness with large files also but cut/ pasted pfrpg rules in vi without any formatting is quite unworkable I assure you.
That's just what I've done. Yes, I've had to do a significant amount of reformatting so far.
When the beta is released maybe we can split it in half and convert it to text/ html. I'm to lazy to do the alpha since I would have to do it again in a couple months.
I do it anyways for my benefit. You're welcome to the fruits of my labours, if you like. ;-)
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When the beta is released maybe we can split it in half and convert it to text/ html. I'm to lazy to do the alpha since I would have to do it again in a couple months.I do it anyways for my benefit. You're welcome to the fruits of my labours, if you like. ;-)
Actually... can you email me what you have? mtbogre yak gmail not com I am working on a project...
I sent it, but don't get your hopes up. ;-)
And miss out on the awesome artwork?? Why would you do that?Because searching a file in vi is about a zillion times faster and more versatile than using Adobe Acrobat to do the same thing?
To be able to access it quickly from any computer anywhere? I don't know about you, but I use d20srd.org much more often than I crack out the ol' Player's Handbook.
When I first get a new rulebook, I like the printed version so that I can read it on either the sofa or in the... ahem... throne room. (I still think this was WotC's greatest oversight in trying to force the magazines into an online-only format. We won't get into the bigger botch of pulling the license from Paizo.)
In terms of DMing versatility at-the-table, I like to be able to access my reference materials online and with a fast search function. However, when I'm already lugging a huge tackle-box full of minis and full-size battle maps, hauling printed books or even a laptop can be really inconvenient. Also, some of the locales at which my group gathers doesn't have wi-fi available.
Therefore, an HTML-only version (such as d20srd.org) is ideal because I can access it on my pda phone and the site is formatted in such a way that a 240x320 screen and limited RAM isn't an issue. By comparison, even with a storage card that has several GB of space, a fairly light-weight 20MB PDF (many of the D&D PDFs are far larger) can still blow thru all of the actual RAM. Plus, constantly zooming in/out and panning is slower than using a printed book (even if it saves weight).
Hence, an HTML rules document is a Godsend in terms of weight and ease-of-reference.
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I agree 100%. Though I don't use the pda I love the d20SRD but does not replace paper books.
As far as Dragon and Dungeon Magazine... I don't know what they were thinking. Magazines are great portable reading material. I suppose maybe if you have the Amazon or Sony book things and you had a subscription on that it Might be comparable to a paper mag... I'm not sold on those yet though and the $400 price tag makes it highly unlikely.
-- Dennis
I suppose maybe if you have the Amazon or Sony book things and you had a subscription on that it Might be comparable to a paper mag... I'm not sold on those yet though and the $400 price tag makes it highly unlikely.
I have one of the Sony eBooks (thank you Santa), and they are absolutely fabulous for straight text (haven't tried the audio book part yet), and fairly okay for PDFs. (I was playing around getting the SRD onto it at one point.) But with the associating artwork I would expect from a Dragon/Dungeon magazine, I would not want to read it on the eBook. Again, it would be great for reference materials.
Lilith: When You say, "fairly ok for PDFs," could You please elaborate? I've been considering an eBook reader strictly for those PDFs that are too massive to be opened by my pda phone. However, D&D PDFs are ridiculously huge in some cases and I wouldn't want to make that investment if the unit is going to choke.
For example, just a few that I have recently needed at the table:
PFRPG-A3 (print) - 11MB
Complete Adventurer - 21MB
Monster Manual 4 - 45MB
DMG - 48MB
Magic Item Compedium - 130MB O_o
How well does Your Sony handle such massive PDFs? Is there a big delay in turning/rendering the pages? What about search times?
Most importantly...
Is it cookie-crumb proof? :)
A fully laid out PDF will choke on the eBook (such as the Alpha rules) - turning pages is abysmally slow, and doesn't support the text zooming that I like so much. Straight text is you best bet. There is a size limitation on the eBook, but that's easily solved by using Memory Sticks. It reads RTF and TXT files quite easily (which is the format the SRD comes in from WotC's site).
I haven't played with it in a while, so I can't answer some of your questions about search times, but I can say that it is cookie-crumb proof. :D
Thanks for the info, I suppose I'll have to demo one at some point.
i didn't mean not personalize the products you pay for, just the alpha and beta for pfrpg is all.
I have to second this. I have players that prefer their online anonymity. Having to personalize a free product has prevented them from downloading the alpha test.
The registration and personalization take almost no personal information to do. It's less personal information than most internet forums require. Heck, it doesn't even confirm your email account before letting you DL it.
If they are that paranoid about privacy then maybe you should just preorder a couple dead tree versions of it and pass them around your group in August. Of course then they won't be able to participate in the playtest feedback in any case because registering for the forum requires all the personal information to download.
Chief Technical Officer
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I have to second this. I have players that prefer their online anonymity. Having to personalize a free product has prevented them from downloading the alpha test.
Yes, we require that you set up an account to download the Pathfinder RPG. This allows us to create a direct relationship with our customers, and that's huge to us. In return, you get some great *free* content, and, because we know who you are, we can notify you when updates to that content are available. We really don't think it's too much to ask; it's free, and we've gone to pretty good lengths to make sure it's easy and rewarding.
I understand this idea, but honestly most people don't want updates or even links for free content before they are sold on PFRPG.
sorry, i should have said most people i know....(can't edit for some reason).
you guys likely have a better sense of your customer base and no insult was meant....
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Chief Technical Officer
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I understand this idea, but honestly most people don't want updates or even links for free content before they are sold on PFRPG.
Okay—here's an even better reason, then: you have to have an account to post on our messageboards. The primary point of these releases is not to market the finished product—it's that we want people to *playtest* the game, and playtest feedback is done through the boards.
The fact that people are using the free content to decide whether or not they want to buy the finished product next year is just a happy side effect, not the main goal.