| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 05:03:36
D&D Beyond Will Delist Two Dungeons & Dragons Rulebooks Next Week
quote:
Earlier this week, the digital toolset D&D Beyond confirmed that it would delist both Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes after Monsters of the Multiverse went on sale on May 16th. Both books will remain on the marketplace through May 17th and then will be removed. Users who previously bought one or both of the books will still have access to those books' content, including the older versions of the character rules and creature statblocks.
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| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 20:06:17
quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
Digital copies are great for doing research as long as they are OCR'd. I know I have purchased the digital versions off of DMsGuild of books I bought years ago simply so I can have something easily searchable. Other than that, I find I still would rather have the physical book than have to view it on a screen. I spend way too much time looking at screens.
So do I, but pdfs and epubs still have their uses -- like when you want to read something but cannot, for whatever reason, crack out the book.
Before Covid sent us to work from home, I often found myself wanting to look at something game-related whilst at work. I obviously couldn't have the printed books there and a lot of stuff is blocked on the corporate network. And then I noticed that while my company is very, very uptight about allowing people to write to removable media, the subject of reading from removable media is mostly ignored... So I've got an external hard drive with most of my gaming pdfs connected to my work computer.
And today, I was unexpectedly stuck waiting in a doctor's office. My small library of epubs was very handy, then. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 20:01:58
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I do find ebook formats good for certain things ... technical stuff, code repositories, etc ... they're always updated and the worthwhile resources always maintain version control archives. Some things you always need the latest-and-greatest while you never need the older broken stuff.
I don't find eBooks good for other reading. Especially entertainment and anything I consider a "reference". Vendor lock-ins to specific formats, apps, operating systems, hardwares. And they're more of a "subscription" than a "copy" - they can (and do) impose changes or controls on it anytime - they can "reprint" with errata and typo fixes but they can also decide when the book simply isn't "supported" anymore. Certain vendors I won't name (like Amazon) are becoming notorious for not even communicating these policies and changes to their customers - they want you to buy ebooks and they want you to not notice when items fall out of your library.
As if the book-buyer should pay for a book then be denied access to "his" copy? Just because the book-seller or the publisher or the author has withdrawn a license or whatever? Never a problem when the printed book is already sitting on your shelf.
I convert my files into generic pdfs. They can contain all the annotations, commentary, and features of any other ebook format. And they can be stored, copied, accessed any way I like on any hardware and any software. I want books, not "digital property".
Depends on the ebook in question. Most of the ones I have are pdf or epub, and those are not locked into anything specific.
The vendors can still update them; I just download a new copy when it happens.
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| TheIriaeban |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 17:32:56
Digital copies are great for doing research as long as they are OCR'd. I know I have purchased the digital versions off of DMsGuild of books I bought years ago simply so I can have something easily searchable. Other than that, I find I still would rather have the physical book than have to view it on a screen. I spend way too much time looking at screens. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 16:15:52
I do find ebook formats good for certain things ... technical stuff, code repositories, etc ... they're always updated and the worthwhile resources always maintain version control archives. Some things you always need the latest-and-greatest while you never need the older broken stuff.
I don't find eBooks good for other reading. Especially entertainment and anything I consider a "reference". Vendor lock-ins to specific formats, apps, operating systems, hardwares. And they're more of a "subscription" than a "copy" - they can (and do) impose changes or controls on it anytime - they can "reprint" with errata and typo fixes but they can also decide when the book simply isn't "supported" anymore. Certain vendors I won't name (like Amazon) are becoming notorious for not even communicating these policies and changes to their customers - they want you to buy ebooks and they want you to not notice when items fall out of your library.
As if the book-buyer should pay for a book then be denied access to "his" copy? Just because the book-seller or the publisher or the author has withdrawn a license or whatever? Never a problem when the printed book is already sitting on your shelf.
I convert my files into generic pdfs. They can contain all the annotations, commentary, and features of any other ebook format. And they can be stored, copied, accessed any way I like on any hardware and any software. I want books, not "digital property". |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 11:08:18
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
After WotC let D&D Insider die off with Silverlight and Internet Explorer, I haven't given them a cent for digital content. Some people in my group use D&D Beyond but I really don't see the point? 5e is NOT a largely elaborate system that needs any Character Builder anyways. So the fact that I'd have to double pay for a book (Physical & Digital) really rubs me the wrong way.
Most of the gaming stuff I've bought in the last few years has been from companies with the "buy the physical book, get the digital copy for free" arrangement. WotC has been an oddball, there.
I was just commenting to my gaming group last night that I've got books I've read cover to cover -- but never actually opened! -- because of those pdf deals.
WotC's approach of "you can have digital content, but you can only access it via our website, and not offline" is the main reason I've not given them a dime towards digital stuff. |
| Diffan |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 09:18:08
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Me, personally -- I'm not affected. If I buy a book in dead tree format, I'm not paying more for an electronic copy of it that I can't download. And I'm iffy on the whole D&D Beyond thing, anyway, so it's not gotten a dime of my money.
But I figured this will affect others and needed to be shared.
I do have an issue with the idea of them saying "Hey, this thing you paid for just a year or two ago? Yeah, we're chucking it out the window, now."
After WotC let D&D Insider die off with Silverlight and Internet Explorer, I haven't given them a cent for digital content. Some people in my group use D&D Beyond but I really don't see the point? 5e is NOT a largely elaborate system that needs any Character Builder anyways. So the fact that I'd have to double pay for a book (Physical & Digital) really rubs me the wrong way. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 May 2022 : 05:05:49
Me, personally -- I'm not affected. If I buy a book in dead tree format, I'm not paying more for an electronic copy of it that I can't download. And I'm iffy on the whole D&D Beyond thing, anyway, so it's not gotten a dime of my money.
But I figured this will affect others and needed to be shared.
I do have an issue with the idea of them saying "Hey, this thing you paid for just a year or two ago? Yeah, we're chucking it out the window, now." |
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