EP PDF, Hardcopy, and Bundle
The Eclipse Phase core book PDF is now available! You can order the hardcopy book or get a bundle hardcopy + PDF deal from Catalyst through their BattleShop.
Note that we're making the PDF available for the low price of only $15 ($10 if you take the bundle deal with the hardcopy). This is substantially lower than standard industry PDF pricing for an equivalent book. If anyone's wondering, this is part of the reason we took a bit longer to get the PDF out, as Posthuman Studios and Catalyst Game Labs negotiated on a PDF price point that would get this game in as many hands as possible while still meeting Catalyst's business needs. As Cory Doctorow has noted, the biggest danger to new authors (or in this case, a new game) is obscurity. This is part of the reason we pursued the Creative Commons license, allowing our fans to share the game with their friends. The RPG publishing industry is a business with low profit margins, however, and PDF sales are often viewed as supplemental and necessary income that can mean the difference in a company's well-being or even survival. We're taking a risk here, and we're hoping the gaming community will reciprocate and show us some love back. So if you receive this PDF from a friend who shared it in accordance with the Creative Commons license, and you like it, please support the cause by buying the PDF and/or bundle. To some degree, this is an experiment, and we hope to make it work. If it does, it may very well affect how Catalyst and other game companies go about biz in the future. So to be blunt, we need your support!
* Edited 11/23 to change all "pre-order" terminology to "order," since the book is now available.
- Eclipse Phase core book PDF on DriveThruRPG
- Eclipse Phase PDF, Hardcopy, and Bundle Deal from Catalyst
Note that we're making the PDF available for the low price of only $15 ($10 if you take the bundle deal with the hardcopy). This is substantially lower than standard industry PDF pricing for an equivalent book. If anyone's wondering, this is part of the reason we took a bit longer to get the PDF out, as Posthuman Studios and Catalyst Game Labs negotiated on a PDF price point that would get this game in as many hands as possible while still meeting Catalyst's business needs. As Cory Doctorow has noted, the biggest danger to new authors (or in this case, a new game) is obscurity. This is part of the reason we pursued the Creative Commons license, allowing our fans to share the game with their friends. The RPG publishing industry is a business with low profit margins, however, and PDF sales are often viewed as supplemental and necessary income that can mean the difference in a company's well-being or even survival. We're taking a risk here, and we're hoping the gaming community will reciprocate and show us some love back. So if you receive this PDF from a friend who shared it in accordance with the Creative Commons license, and you like it, please support the cause by buying the PDF and/or bundle. To some degree, this is an experiment, and we hope to make it work. If it does, it may very well affect how Catalyst and other game companies go about biz in the future. So to be blunt, we need your support!
* Edited 11/23 to change all "pre-order" terminology to "order," since the book is now available.
- RobBoyle's blog
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Sun, 2009-08-23 16:53
#1
Offline
This book is freakin'
This book is freakin' awesome. Well worth every minute of my impatience. I can't wait to sit down tonight to start reading the pdf thoroughly.
Sun, 2009-08-23 17:19
#2
Upcoming Book section.
The release date and assorted info should be brought up to speed. : ) I'm eyeholes deep in the PDF and waiting with bated breath for the dead tree version.
-tF
Sun, 2009-08-23 18:24
#3
the price point definitly
the price point definitly prompted my purchase. otherwise i probably would have waited for the hardcopy from the FLGS, which i'll still surely buy. i dont generally consider myself to be cheap, but i guess i am. I hope your pricing, distribution, and licensing decisions lead to measurably improved market saturation and profits -- showing us the way to the future and all that.
cheers!
Sun, 2009-08-23 19:48
#4
BattleCorps PDF Download Availability
I've been very excited for this since I learned of it (a scant couple weeks ago!), and I just finished purchasing the corebook/PDF bundle from BattleShop. Their site leaves a lot to be desired, though, and I suppose I should have asked some questions before shelling out my cash. I'm not sure where better to ask, but here seems good enough, so:
1) I noticed that BattleShop tells me I can download the PDF only seven times, and that the download link expires this coming Friday (August 28th). While I only need one copy (and will back it up profusely), the extremely limited availability time-wise strikes me as... less than stellar. Their site says nothing about why this link is only available for less than a week; do you guys have a better answer? Will I be able to find a new link when the first expires? I didn't even see a purchase agreement or PDF replacement policy during checkout and can't find one anywhere on the site. I would have paid the extra $5 at DriveThru where they don't limit the timeframe of availability (they limit PDFs to 5 downloads with a "write us if you need more" policy).
2) I realize it calls the book a preorder *here*, but the BattleShop pages gave no indication that the book wouldn't be immediately available... nor how long it would take them to ship it to me when it WAS available. When should I expect the book? The forums mentioned it'll take up to a month for the actual physical books to ship from the printers, but a vague ETA would be better for my peace of mind (given I've just shelled out a fair chunk of change to a rather sketchy provider).
I apologize for the wordiness - I haven't even had a chance to read my copy yet! - but I figured it'd be better to ask ASAP (shouldn't have let my excitement get the better of me).
Sun, 2009-08-23 20:09
#5
So, where can we view the
So, where can we view the Creative Commons License?
Sun, 2009-08-23 20:13
#6
I have experience with the
I have experience with the Battleshop, Lord Licorice. That short time frame or even 7 downloads limit is not absolute. You just send an e-mail to the Quartermaster, and he resets it for you if you need more. Additionally, if you buy a lot of PDFs, like I do, you can spend 20 dollars, and get ALL the PDFs you have ever bought from the BattleShop(the Battlecorps store) burned to a CD...I am going to be doing that later this year, after I have all the Battletech and SR books coming out this year bought in PDF.
Sun, 2009-08-23 20:40
#7
I'll see what I can do
I'm not a fan of PDFs mostly because I don't have an especially mobile way of reading them other than a laptop, and I find laptops to be a distracting at the gaming table. But your use of the CCL really interests me, and I am going to buy the print book anyway so what is $10 bucks? I'd like to help prove that such distribution could feasibly work and that the gamer community supports creative works financially.
But yay! This game is finally within my grasp! So much for sleeping tonight.
Sun, 2009-08-23 23:20
#8
1) You can email
1) You can email quartermaster@battlecorps.com at any time and they'll reset your download count and extend the availability of your downloads. It's a simple security measure to prevent account-sharing.
2) We do not have a street date for the book yet. I would anticipate that copies will ship in October, but that is _not_ a guarantee.
3) We're well aware that in some ways, the BattleShop is lacking, and that's one of Catalyst's major projects this year, to bring the store into 2009.
2) We do not have a street date for the book yet. I would anticipate that copies will ship in October, but that is _not_ a guarantee.
3) We're well aware that in some ways, the BattleShop is lacking, and that's one of Catalyst's major projects this year, to bring the store into 2009.
Mon, 2009-08-24 00:12
#9
http://eclipsephase.com/cclic
Mon, 2009-08-24 03:56
#10
Ahh, that clears it up.
Ahh, that clears it up. Thanks for the answers, both of you.
Mon, 2009-08-24 08:16
#11
Availability outwith the US
So... Not seeing an FAQ on the online store, I'll ask here. What's the estimate on shipping this bad boy to the United Kingdom? Or will it be available through the usual channels (i.e. Esdevium Games, Leisure Games, y'know, the usual suspects)? And by "available" I mean available pretty damn quickly.
Mon, 2009-08-24 13:33
#12
If you're in the UK, I
If you're in the UK, I suggest ordering through Leisure Games. Esdevium stocks our stuff well and so does LG, so couple that with lesser shipping charges and you should get the books from LG relatively close to when you would get them from us -- go with LG. Support your awesome [semi]-local game stores.
Sun, 2009-08-30 03:05
#13
Hi.
I just finished reading the .pdf (purchased through DriveThruRPG.com) yesterday afternoon and I'm getting ready to pitch it to my usual gaming group for a one-shot afternoon game (and hopefully an ongoing campaign) I'm also pondering asking my local gaming shop if I could run an afternoon game there to see who in my area would be interested.
Best.Morph Game. Ever!
Best.
Tue, 2009-09-15 07:34
#14
Hi there, I spoke to Leisure
Hi there, I spoke to Leisure Games about this and they have been in contact with the usual people, unfortunately they are unable to accept pre-orders as they are unable to get any information on when they should expect the print book to be available in the UK.
Any ideas when that will be?
I have the PDF but I don't like running games from PDFs as I do not own a laptop so I would have to print out every page that I required for the game.
Sat, 2010-01-09 07:49
#15
Re: This book is freakin'
I love the ideas behind this game, which I first heard about reading Atomic..a PC magazine.
I hope it gets turned into a movie one day. maybe the writers should send a script to Hollywood 
Afterall the only decent Matrix movie was the first one, and these ideas here make the matrix films seem like reject second cousins
Now for my BIO, Im now living on the streets in downtown Brisbane australia, have just spent my last few hundred upgrading my supercomputer. Im thinking of settiong up a Facebook site with a paypal link so all those that have homes can donate to me and I can get a roof over my head again to have monthly gaming days.
Obviously this may take a long time to raise $59 bucks and I would like to buy something of Eclipse Phase right now. I see that there are two purchase options, the Book and the PDF.
Can you advise me if the PDF is worthwhile buying on its own without the book? Or is it a much better idea to wait untill my paypal makes me rich and then buy both the book and PDF together.
HECTOR..Lord of my wateland
Sun, 2010-03-07 15:33
#16
Re: http://eclipsephase.com/cclic
Rob,
I'd like to translate Quick Start in italian for my fellow players.
- is there any editable version?
- Rule book is 402 pages...I could translate it bt it's a bg effort. Is there a way to earn something for it under CCL?
Thanks.
P.S. the game is fantastic!
Mon, 2010-03-08 22:16
#17
Re: http://eclipsephase.com/cclic
I'd like to translate Quick Start in italian for my fellow players.
- is there any editable version?
We have the RTFs for the QSR text up on our Resources page (direct link: http://eclipsephase.com/downloads/EclipsePhase_QuickStartRules_WorkFiles.zip )
Rule book is 402 pages...I could translate it bt it's a bg effort. Is there a way to earn something for it under CCL?
Catalyst would consider an offer from a serious publisher about sublicensing the rights for translation and publication in Italian, but that's about it. If you're looking to do it as a fan project, perhaps you can recruit some other Italian speakers and make it a community effort?
P.S. the game is fantastic!
Thanks, we appreciate the support!
Sun, 2010-04-25 09:26
#18
Re: http://eclipsephase.com/cclic
Rob,
my translation is almost completed. I'd like to submit it to you, not for the language
but for editing. Basically I edited your PDF ... just to mantain graphic design.
Where should I send it?
Thanks,
Chris
Thu, 2010-04-29 18:11
#19
Re: http://eclipsephase.com/cclic
PM sent.
Mon, 2010-05-31 07:34
#20
Re: http://eclipsephase.com/cclic
Hi,
have you ever received my first draft ?
