he didn't say they were nearing the end of the edition cycle. he said they were too far in to revise all the expansion books like they did SR4A.

A new edition a year after the anniversary edition and less then a year after the limited editions was released of it would pretty much end it for me.

4A might not tickle everyone's fancy but a new edition this soon after a bunch of releases they have been pimping for fourth would be a real waste of time

Besides Rigger 4 hasn't come out yet.

I'd like to know as well, me and my FLGS were also looking forward to it.

Are you sure there is room for one? Half of its aimed content is in Unwired and the other half in Arsenal.

I haven't posted on here in a long time... (too many bad experienes in too short a time a while back) - but this thread motivated me to speak up.

I love my dead-tree books, especially my SR collection; I own every sourcebook printed in English for 1st-3rd editions but one (Virtual Realities - which I put on order at Origins since Crazy Egor had a copy) and the DMZ boxed set (which I'm searching for at a price I can afford) and many of the adventures as well as all of the core books and a couple extras from 4th ed. If I like a game I want a print copy! Reading books on my computer annoys me.

That being said, I have about 20 different systems in pdf form. Some of them are are out of print and nearly impossible to find in DTF these days, some aren't. They have their uses, but not being able to pass the book to my players really sucks. I agree that companies should sell both print and electronic formats and price them based on a combination of production cost and value; however if a customer wants both formats, then there should be a huge discount on the combo package.

As for piracy, it's going to happen and not much can be done to stop it. "Witch-Hunts" simply drive away customers.

Streetangel aka J Carroll

He's (sort of) joking. Traditionally, the rigger book heralds the end of an edition. I believe that Rigger Black Book was the last 1st edition book, Rigger 2 was the last one for 2E. and R3R ended 3rd ed.

R3R didn't end 3rd Ed. R3 ended _FASA_. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) R3R was released in 2003; a couple years before SR4.

I know R3R was pretty much the end of my sanity.

But...R3R took out the naval stuff!

You know a light naval rail gun gun was less deadly than an assault cannon? That was an annoying discovery.

Except that it ignored outright any armour without the N descriptor. Assault Cannons could be stopped by
milspec armour, the Light Naval Rail Gun could not..

So am I right in thinking the situation is this

Extension for six months to take them through the convention season and give them a chance to prove all is well?
In the next six months we will see a few books come out first digi then print (in theory)

Then another round of what's going to happen in six months time



Or was it three? I'm a tad lost

When CGL took over from FanPro, they were originally given a one year temporary license to see if they
could do anything with the properties, and then, they got their 2 year extension to that license. Currently,
based on the news, they have been given a 6 month additional extension to the license, which should take
them through November or December. Likely this is to get the Chapter 7 dealt with(august), and give
both sides time to hammer out details that we, as players and consumers, will likely never know about.
Likely, then, they will finish all the details, and we will see a new 3 year Long Term Contract, since it was
stated way back when the contract was first extended to the 3 year that 3 years is the common length.
And, books coming out first electronic, then dead tree has been the way CGL and, before them, FanPro
had been doing things from the beginning.

FanPro released PDF versions of their books? Seems like I missed that.

Put the rest into Cyberpirates 2!

I've been reading articles about EBMs (electronic book machines), for the last few months. They can produce library quality paperbacks from an electronic document for $3-$5 and in about a minute. I know that for fiction writers wanting to self-publish books that are not going to wow a traditional publishing house have been going down this path.

I've read that the machines cost about $100,000 of initial investment, but a lot of universities may find these types of machines on campus. It shouldn't be that long when getting larger books with more complex graphics on-demand is doable.

No, I was not saying that. I was pointing out my assumption (and it may be flawed) that if all you are doing is taking an electronic file that is being sent to the printers and making it available via PDF, without changing anything, then its not adding value and therefore shouldn't cost more than the book.

You could say that just having the PDF is a value, as its portable and available on a device, but I think that is just double-dipping with your consumers.

We'll have to see what the next six months look like. The bankruptcy hearing in August could put a serious cramp in IMR's long term plans. They also have to get quality product out in the meantime, something they have had a serious problem with recently.

People who buy only PDFs could say this:

You could say that just being a book is a value, with the quick page flipping and lendability, but I think that is just double-dipping with your consumers.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

There's a huge difference, per-unit production cost.

I am well aware of this, Delta.

That surprises me, really. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

I'd be surprised if you weren't (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Still, it's the most important difference IMHO, and the main reason why I feel that a "very special offer" to get a hardcopy and a PDF of the same book for ONLY 25$ more than the hardcopy alone is a pretty crappy deal, and not one I'll ever take (just an example I've seen often enough)

On the .pdf versus deadtree debate, I had an interesting discussion with Mike Stackpole last year where he noted that a majority of people who buy .pdf don't buy Kindle, deadtree or iPhone versions. And iPhone downloaders don't buy .pdf, Kindle, deadtree... Etc.

Basically, in his experience, he can format his work 10 different ways to Sunday and there is little purchasing crossover from his readers.

So, while many people on Dumpshock may purchase both versions, that statistic doesn't necessarily hold true for the entire SR fan community. Of course, proving that fact would be rather difficult since stores and conventions don't usually take names and compare them to the buyers of online .pdfs. Still, I thought I'd share that interesting little thought given the nature of the conversation.