i know this might be a 'bit' early, but does anyone have a clue, when street magic is supposed to hit the streets?

I would guess 12/2005 or early 2006. They still have to put ot SoLA and the location book (forget the title) before that.

Oh, and System Failure.

@Grinder
The Locations Book is called "Runners Heaven"

Thanks.

I thought it was called "Runner Havens"

I'm not sure when Street Magic is due out, but before it come the GM Screen/Booklet, Runner Havens, and On the Run (unless the schedule changes), all of which are currently being written.

And System Failure. And SoLA. That's a lot. Hm, Street Magic in the end of 2006, given their speed on releases?

SoLA will not be a normal book release, so it doesn't really factor into the schedule. And as far as I know, System Failure is effectively done, and is just caught up in the whole printing/distribution process.

Oh, that's the first time i read some information about the status of it here. Somewhere was mentioned that's it's written, ok, but no information if it's already been shipped.

Seems to me as if FanPro don't want it to get sold, as they're making no big rumour about it...

We tried to get some copies done via a Print on Demand service for GenCon, and they told us they would have X number of copies for Wednesday, and in their world X = 0. Then they could us they would have X-Y on Friday, and that was also 0.

System Failure /is/ finished and will be going to press very soon.

As mentioned at the What's up with FanPro seminar, Shadows of Latin America will be released online-only via the HoloStreets.com service when it launches later this year.

What´s Holostreet? My google search didn´t give any clues and the webb page itself has no usefull info.

HoloStreets is a subscription Shadowrun service, run by the same guys and similar to the BattleCorps.com service for Classic BattleTech. It will have fiction and game material available on a subscription basis, and likely some other perks for subscribers as well. It will probably launch later this year.

So to get access to Shadows of Latin America we must purchase a HoloStreets subscription?

P.S. Back to work. Daddy wants his shiny, new PDF.

But the crux of the problem here is simple: how many people would buy a setting book written before the Second Crash, now that SR4 is released and the official timeline has been forwarded 5 years in the future? My guess: not enough to cover the printing costs.
Furthermore, it unfortunately makes little sense, commercially speaking, to release a product made for a "defunct" line. In a sum, it would be awkward to release a SR3 book now that we're in the SR4 era, even if said book is still 95% useable with SR4 (and actually is even necessary to understand a few things referenced in SR4 corebook).

Sad but true.

the other advantage an online resource like that has, is that it can be updated (and i imagine it will be if its a subscription service, so that instead of saying in '75 that latin america looks like X in 2070, so i guess it's the same, the devs can continually update things, so that everyone's interested can see whre the drug carels are, what local wars are goigng on/are resolved etc etc. Personally, i kindof think that it's a good model for any sort of "locale" book.

I never heard of Kinko here in germany, but here are probably similar shops. But why pay 20$ for a PDF, print it at home (which costs money for ink and paper) and get it bound for another 5$ when the price for the physical book is ~28$? Nothing i would do.

Text searchable PDF document allowing your printed book to be amoung the players while you -- if you have a laptop or accessible computer -- can be using the PDF. I've actually got hard copy, printed copies, and PDF copies of almost all the SR3 "core" books for that very reason. Course the obsolete now but that doesn't take away from their usefullness over the past few months.

I still don't see an advantage to buy a PDF, print it and get it out bound over buying a "real" book. For me it's not worth the few $/€ i save if i'd buy the PDF.

The idea behind buying the PDF isn't to save a few bucks and print it yourself. If that's the only reason someone buys the PDF, they're either:
a) wasting money
b) underutilizing an excellent reference resource
c) a complete tool
d) All of the Above

Which is not given when you print the PDF.

For me its a matter of preference: i can live without electronic updates (which are useful) and prefer to have a book in my hands instead of reading it at my computer screen.

Once you print the PDF you have the actual status with all updates/erratas to the given date. Any new one will not be on your printed version That's what i meant.

As i said: that's no real alternative to a real book, at least for me. Your suggestion are good and i would do so if i bought a PDF, no question. But i will never buy a PDF when a printed version is available.

Given the "core mechanics are on page A, with exceptions on page B, oh and that bit of cyberware on page C overrides the optional rules in book D, as indicated by errata Z" nature of Shadowrun, I'll take an electronic search function any day of the year...

When i can read a PDF while lying on my couch, then i'll use it too.

So download it to your pda, lazy-bones.

How could i forgot that option?

Oh s***, i don't own one. No, i don't wanna buy me one, i'm not that tech-freak.

I didn't know PDAs could display pdfs in a useful, readable way.

The high-speed ones can. 'course, at that point you might as well buy a laptop and enjoy the nice warm glow on your belly.

Mmmmm..... belly-glow......

Hell, my PSP can display converted PDFs...

Never thought of that possibility. I'm getting old.... That's a good idea, yep.

yes, yes, it would be

Printing out copies of an eBook is different for every publisher, but here are DriveThruRPG.com's guidelines:

About the only advantage to PDF versions of the books is that within 24 hours of a books release its available as a free download somewhere out on the net. Although since I prefer supporting the manufacturer and my FLGS I end buying a copy anyway. But if Fanpro wants to go a pure PDF route on something I'll have no qualms downloading it for free somewhere..

Enjoy your civil suit, Pugwhan.

Some thoughts better stay in your mind and not in a posting here, where several FanPro-people are reading.

Strangely, other than the Critters/GM Screen, I've seen no evidence of the 'official' PDFs anywhere on P2P networks. The only PDFs I know of are all home-made scans of regular books.