I would like more books the size and shape of the Burning Empires book, but with better binding. The smaller, novel-cum-brick style really appeals to me. I find it much easier to carry around. I haven't played BE around the tabletop yet, but I often find my group having a problem fitting everything on the table we play around - D&D hardbacks, miniatures, dice, counters, initiative count, battlemap, drinks, rulers, etc. Space is at a premium and I'd prefer books with an economical physical presence.

I do like colour and hardbacks, I'll admit, but I'd also like to see more oversize paperback books in B&W - Dover editions for RPG (bonus points if they're as beautifully made as a Dover edition).

Quote from: PseudoephedrineI would like more books the size and shape of the Burning Empires book, but with better binding. The smaller, novel-cum-brick style really appeals to me. I find it much easier to carry around. I haven't played BE around the tabletop yet, but I often find my group having a problem fitting everything on the table we play around - D&D hardbacks, miniatures, dice, counters, initiative count, battlemap, drinks, rulers, etc. Space is at a premium and I'd prefer books with an economical physical presence.

I do like colour and hardbacks, I'll admit, but I'd also like to see more oversize paperback books in B&W - Dover editions for RPG (bonus points if they're as beautifully made as a Dover edition).

After seeing the Traveller basic book reprint in hand, and considering the small size ASID is likely to be, I've been strongly considering going with a smaller digest size for the book.

I'm not such a fan for it with particularly large books though.  BESM2 was really awkward because of it.  The Manga size combined with the high page count made it rather awkward to keep open at all.

That's why you've got to go for the Dover-style lay-flat binding. Makes consultation much easier, and you don't have to break the spine.

Quote from: PseudoephedrineThat's why you've got to go for the Dover-style lay-flat binding. Makes consultation much easier, and you don't have to break the spine.

Sadly my print service, thanks to my complete lack of financial backing, is going to consist of Lulu, which leaves me with perfect-bound, or spiral bound options.

The latter has always been a tempting option to me, but the negative effect on the life of the product always makes me nervous.  It just seems like a good spiral bound would make reference usage even easier, so long as it's done well.

I suppose there's nothing stopping me from offering both.

Quote from: BalbinusSo what do you do with all that money but hardly any time with which to game?

For myself, I'm still pretty cash-conscious and haven't been sucked into buying every glossy splatbook out there. Actually, I think that I've gotten the most bang for my buck out of the now discontinued Legend & Lairs line of products from Fantasy Flight Games. Those books were underpriced for their value.

I work at a job that allows me about 9 hours a night of solitude in which I can write or read when its quiet. After doing some research into the financial aspect of it, I've decided to start a small publishing company for d20 system product. The business licenses have been taken care of and I just have to complete writing up the first one and buy some appropriate art for it. With that, Studio Cat will be in business.

Why am I doing this? Just to see if I can. I don't expect to make a lot of money out of it, but its been a fun experience so far. Although, sometimes I have to admit that I've got to be out of my mind to do this.

Quote from: Sacrificial LambPersonally, I don't like cheap-ass, black-and-white books with low production values. I like the glossy hardcovers. They make me happy.

Bah, glossy hardcovers don't equal high quality. Give me a well-designed B&W book anyday, over something that has cluttered design, distracting background textures, and reads like it was edited by a dyslexic chimpanzee. I know beautiful books. I collect beautiful books. Let me tell you, most RPG books are butt-ugly, and the only ones uglier than the crappiest home-made 1970s manuals are the over-produced colour ones that make the kids go ooh-aah.

Bah, I say.

TheShadow

Quote from: Sacrificial LambThe Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e corebook is my idea of a great book. It's a hardcover book produced in color, with nice layout, decent organization, and sweet art. I measure other books against this one.

SUre, it's nice, but it's a tad expensive when you look at page count. That's my only gripe with the book. It's not the setting or the system - it's the page count.

Quote from: PseudoephedrineI would like more books the size and shape of the Burning Empires book, but with better binding. The smaller, novel-cum-brick style really appeals to me. I find it much easier to carry around. I haven't played BE around the tabletop yet, but I often find my group having a problem fitting everything on the table we play around - D&D hardbacks, miniatures, dice, counters, initiative count, battlemap, drinks, rulers, etc. Space is at a premium and I'd prefer books with an economical physical presence.

I do like colour and hardbacks, I'll admit, but I'd also like to see more oversize paperback books in B&W - Dover editions for RPG (bonus points if they're as beautifully made as a Dover edition).

This is why I love the Mongoose Pocket D20 rulebooks - they're nice and small and cut all the fluff text to get to the meat of the system, so they're really useful as a quick-reference at the table.

Balbinus, your OP describes my buying habits to a T, at least when I'm not actively playing a game.

Koltar, are those younger gamers buying slick hardcovers?  Are they all D&D players?

Funny enough I've recently purchased a few new books: Artesia, Splicers and L5R 3E.

Splicers is the one I've read the most on--classic Palladium of course with some decent, some terrible black and whiter art. (I really don't like the look of the bio-organic stuff, I wanted more Guyveresque not "slime encrusted" which some of the art tends to) but the games ideas have me more revved than Artesia or L5R (Despite wanting to run a different setting AND system, it still is a strong inspiration)

Pretty game books are nice to go "oooh, aaah." but I generally like game books I consult when making characters then shut and don't need again during play for the most part. This makes all that high quality art a bit out of place. (Never mind that some games these days are eye hurtingly ugly because to me of the art--Weapons of the Gods..)

I think I fit the bill here too.  Like many, I find myself with abundant money nowadays.  And, the older I get, the nicer it is to just hang out in a bookstore and have coffee with my fiancee.  She reads wedding magazines, and I stroll over to see if there are any new gaming books I can look at.

I buy gaming books nowadays as both supplement for gaming and as my magazines.  When I'm sitting around, not doing much, with the TV on, I like to crack open a gaming book and read bits & pieces.

Now, I do still get to game 1/week, plus a 1/month game I run for out of town friends; but reading the books I have keeps me in the mood a little better.

This is why I prefer books with good art and good flavor text.  WotC is, quite simply, outstanding in this area - best in the field, as far as I'm concerned.  This is also why stripped-down games leave me a little cold (MRQ, I'm looking at you!)

I find long works of fiction in gaming books very painful to read (*cough* white wolf *cough*) but I love having a few paragraphs of filler & flavor to kickstart my imagination.

-O

Quote from: jrientsBalbinus, your OP describes my buying habits to a T, at least when I'm not actively playing a game.

Koltar, are those younger gamers buying slick hardcovers?  Are they all D&D players?

 They are mostly buying D&D/D20books.
 
HOWEVER, when they realize that I GM an ongoing game and they ask which game system  I use  - they actually give GURPS a look and take a copy of GURPS Lite with them.

 Almost forgot , one of the most gorgeous  gamers we have is young (22 or 23) brunette and she plays GURPS.

 The DM this past week ? She was VERY attractive redhead , wearing glasses, who is thinking about joining either the Marines or Army right now.


- Ed C.

I guess my buying tendencies are going away from hardback full color books.  Besides the Rules Cyclopedia, Star Wars D20, D&D 3.5, and Burning Empires all of my books are black and white paperbacks.  I prefer a variety of self contained paper back games than the core book style of D&D for the simple reason of having more games that take up less room.  I also stopped buying supplements a long time ago.  Thank you for that Rifts and 2nd ed. AD&D.

I wasn't just talking about the supplement treadmill.

Take the major companies.

Atlas, hardback, generally with colour art.

Eden, full colour hardback.

White Wolf, black and white glossy, hardback

Gurps, full colour hardback

Hero, full colour but unusually softback

DnD, full colour hardback

Mongoose, full colour hardback

Even new entrants such as HEX or Qin, full colour hardback.

Most major releases these days are full colour hardback, whether part of a supplement chain or not.

Quote from: Jason CoplenSUre, it's nice, but it's a tad expensive when you look at page count. That's my only gripe with the book. It's not the setting or the system - it's the page count.

I'm at peace with that, because it's high quality. I'm willing to shell out the big bucks for quality. WFRP 2e has that in spades.