New Rulebook

Kang · Post by **Kang** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:46 pm

OGOPTIMUS wrote:Plus, since it's a pdf, you can copy the new rules to a word file and keep a running list for yourself that you can print out and keep with your rulebook.

Simple and effective. Good idea

OGOPTIMUS · Post by **OGOPTIMUS** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:04 am

Kang wrote:
OGOPTIMUS wrote:Plus, since it's a pdf, you can copy the new rules to a word file and keep a running list for yourself that you can print out and keep with your rulebook.
Simple and effective. Good idea

Thanks. It's also become part of my "uber" rulebook and "uber" scenario book. See them below:

The rulebook. Including a copy of the Romulan Border rulebook (with all new rules inserted into their propper sections), Romulan Attack, Klingon Attack, Battleships Attack, Tholian Attack, Distant Kingdoms, Orion Attack, plus a full section 7 with all ships published so far, a rules update section, and Q&A from Communique.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/293 ... 3277_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/292 ... b2e3_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/293 ... 6f23_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/293 ... 9fe6_b.jpg

The scenario book, including section 6 on terrain from the rulebook, Tholian Attack, and Distant Kingdoms, Defsats, rules updates for section 6, and all scenarios published in both border boxes, all attack products and communique. Plus rules updates for section 8, and tactics. I'm working on getting good copies of the Captain's Log scenarios--I hate breaking the spine of them.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/292 ... dc98_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/292 ... 37f3_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/293 ... 2f15_b.jpg

And of course, both are topped off with some of Adam Turner's AWESOME artwork. I think these two scenes are among my favorite (the Orion Attack ones are too, but I made these covers before Adam shared those with us).

Kang · Post by **Kang** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:05 am

Nice work. And a lot of it, too....

Thanks for sharing that.

Dal Downing · Post by **Dal Downing** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:22 am

OGOPTIMUS wrote:
Kang wrote:
OGOPTIMUS wrote:Plus, since it's a pdf, you can copy the new rules to a word file and keep a running list for yourself that you can print out and keep with your rulebook.
Simple and effective. Good idea
Opti nice book and I am glad you have the time skill and equipment to make your uber rulebook (Yes I am a tinsey bit jealous of it...) But I do not have the time skill or equipment to pull that off.

This is the reason I thought a New Master Rule book like a "Boarder" Product be realeased once a year at Origins that is current as of June of that year. I am not saying not to keep seeing Communiques nor am I saying not to keep seeing the "Attack" Modules like they are. (If people want the Counters and Ship Cards this would still be the Primary way to get those.) What I was saying it would be nice if for the "Briefing" in December or January to include a Errata Type section that includes updates and maybe pulls the Rule Section only from the Last 6 Months of the Attack Products. End result I would have 2 bound Books with all the rules in them and at most the last 6 Comm's on me when I get the chance to Play.

I really do not think this would kill any more trees than what you are doing now and I can buy it off the shelf and provide ADB a little Financial Incentive to stay in the Gaming Bussiness.

Kang · Post by **Kang** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:37 am

A neat interim idea would be to update a central 'sticky' thread on these forums with all of the latest updates compiled together, so that they are all together in one place. Similar to the existing 'Rules Update' thread, but kept up to date - or indeed that thread modified regularly by an admin.

That way we wouldn't have to look in all the Communiques to find that specific rules reference; however the Communiques would still be great for publishing the new rules updates - this means that the latest rules updates would be brought to our attention. The best of both worlds, eh!

Davec_24 · Post by **Davec_24** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:17 pm

This idea would also work. It would be nice to have some central reference for rules changes and things which is updated frequently, to tide us over until we do get a "new" rulebook (whatever format this rulebook takes and whenever it is finally released).

pneumonic81 · Post by **pneumonic81** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:32 pm

i would like a master rulebook also, but i wonder if there would be a way to purchase one in PDF format. An electronic copy would be awsome.

Kang · Post by **Kang** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 4:10 pm

pneumonic81 wrote:i would like a master rulebook also, but i wonder if there would be a way to purchase one in PDF format. An electronic copy would be awsome.

The problem as always with electronic copies of ADB's work is that it would likely get duplicated and circulated illegally.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:09 pm

*If* someone really wanted to try to "sink" ADB by distributing electronic versions of the rules, they could do it right now without any electronically published copy from ADB. All that is needed is a fast scanner and a little patience.

I would imagine that ADB would find out about it and shut down any website where something like that was being offered.

However, it would be very difficult to scan and reproduce miniature ships or even the cardboard die cut counters...

Davec_24 · Post by **Davec_24** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:11 pm

Or at the least, it could be easily downloaded and so I would imagine it would be used by some people who would use the downloadable rulebook instead of buying a border box with rulebook, potentially depriving ADB of sales. And of course as you say these things are far easier to circulate illegally than paper copies, and there is more incentive for people to illegally circulate a complete rulebook than there would be to circulate rules updates.

Kang · Post by **Kang** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:44 pm

Davec_24 wrote:Or at the least, it could be easily downloaded and so I would imagine it would be used by some people who would use the downloadable rulebook instead of buying a border box with rulebook, potentially depriving ADB of sales. And of course as you say these things are far easier to circulate illegally than paper copies, and there is more incentive for people to illegally circulate a complete rulebook than there would be to circulate rules updates.

Actually there is a SFB rulebook that's available for download on the Internet - illegally I might add. Although ADB hasn't sunk yet because of it

, I strongly suspect that they are not pleased about that rulebook's presence. And I don't blame them.

Davec_24 · Post by **Davec_24** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:32 pm

Indeed... well it's certainly not going to help sales of border sets anyway. I'd have bought Klingon Border even if I already had an electronic rulebook because it's got all the goodies like counters, ship cards and particularly the hard-mounted map sections, but that's not to say that everybody else would be like minded on this.

pneumonic81 · Post by **pneumonic81** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 1:53 am

the electronic rulebook would merely be for easy reference from a laptop while playing, etc.

I scanned in the fedcom book and have a pdf of it already, of course i would never distribute that. ever. I have made it available to our local game group as they already have copies of the game. It makes it easy to reference rules quickly from our various computers. That's all i'm thinking here, if you by a copy of this paper rulebook, u also get an electronic one on a cd or download site.

mjwest · Post by **mjwest** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 2:10 am

If you make a PDF of an ADB product you may not give it away (or, obviously, sell it) to anyone. Even if that person has a print copy of the rules.

And it would be a very good idea to make sure that any PDF you do make never ends up on the internet somehow. That is true whether the creator is the one that puts it up or not. All it takes is one erstwhile friend for the trouble to start. (I figure this is an obvious statement, but it needs to be said.)

[This is not directed at pneumonic. This is just a general statement.]

Post by **Steve Cole** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:43 pm

Well, there are some options here.....

1. I already HAVE the "reference rulebook" that the staff uses (and which I use). It has all the errata in it, but it's not "edited in" just "printed in order". So you have rule 5E4d and if there is any errata for 5E4d it's the next paragraph, marked with a star. There really isn't any reason that I could not put this on the shopping cart today (call it $15), except that it's kind of "rough" and I add new stuff to it every time that somebody talks Mike West into the need for a rules update. It could, however, only be done as a mail order product (due to its rough nature and black and white cover). As Mike West said, it has 1-6 and it has the intro parts of 7 and 8, but not a complete ship list or scenario list.

2. I could take a day or two and "edit in" the errata but I am avoiding that since that would be a "revision five" rulebook and would be a sort of "shockwave" event (every rulebook in the entire game would have to be replaced, taking days of office time, which isn't going to happen until we get past Thanksgiving) and when I do that I want to do it as a major release in stores with a color cover. I also just don't want to do this until WAR AND PEACE is released and we have the ISC, Andro, and Vudar rules.

3. Ken Burnside (who admires the paperback books I figured out how to get our equipment to make) suggests that we do a new in-store consolidated rulebook as a "digest" book (8.5 x 5.5, same size as a ship card) for ease of carry. Thoughts?

4. ANY printed rulebook (and any PDF rulebook) is going to be "behind" (I won't say "obsolete" or "out of date") the next time we do a communique, but I have to admit that going through about 20 communiques for errata is kind of wonky. The simple solution there is for me and Mike West to create one document including all of the errata and post it. You could then print that out and put it in your rulebook. Go through the rulebook with a read-through marker and mark any rule that has errata. When you get a new "total errata document" a month later, just mark the additional items.

So, my offer right now would be:

A: Mike and I will create a total errata document and post it by the end of October.

B: I can ASK Leanna to put the "Reference rulebook third draft" on the shopping cart for $15 and you can order it right now, but it won't be "complete" (not until WAR AND PEACE is released) and it won't be available until sometime next week because I cannot take time away from my part of Y2.