It's smaller, no major hell there.
It's cheaper, no major hell there.
It's NOT hardcover though, and I am wondering, after having thumbed through mine for only a short and brief bit, if they have the staying power.
My hardcovers, I have not exactly abused them, but I can assure you, I have sure as hell thumbed through the Players Handbook and Dungeon Delve fairly heavily.
Both are in fine health and looking like hell will freeze over before they look like a new copy might be of use.
The Monster Vault book I have, after only thumbing through it lightly and this has been mainly for a single task so far, (was writing a page number on the bloodied side of the tokens to tell me what and where it came from), I have noticed it seems to not deal well with even casual reading.
And let me make this clear, I am a book lover. I NEVER treat my books poorly. I hold them in such a fashion they are clearly valuable to me. I don't drop them on the floor, I don't leave them just lying around, and I sure as hell don't subject them to abuse intentionally.
My Monster Vault book has a peculiar slant in the spine now. The book sits with a slant with the top shifted to the right when closed. As if the book had a lean to the right. The book is now not a rectangular shape basically.
Never seen a book do this before actually. And it causes me concern. Just how much can I rely on the binding is going through my mind.
They advertise the cover as being so wonderful. It's not really all THAT special.
I AM aware a hardcover costs MORE. And I AM aware the role gaming industry is not nearly as robust as some might think.
But damn it, my had covers don't look like they will be falling apart any time soon.
I wonder, is that the problem?
It is possible the books cost too much to make, and need too be replaced too little.
Is the new format maybe too much about Wizards need to make money?
I'm sorry, but the profitability of D&D has never been MY cross to bear.
I KNOW game books CAN be made well in softcover.
Well at least my friends Palladium books seem to do well over the years.
I've seen one of my friends buy book after book in hardcover for other games from other companies. Yes he groans about the price, but, he still demands the high quality.
The jury is still out as I see it on whether the new format is one I plan to embrace in any meaningful way.
I only have the DM Kit and the Monster Vault, because I was after the tokens.
The books are not impressing me a lot though.
I had the Essentials books in my hands last weekend at my FLGS and I was litteraly standing there for five minutes, going through it in my mind, torned between not supporting a product format I don"t like and getting them anyways 'cause they have the nifty new stuff. I ended up leaving with the Essentials tile sets only.
Unlike most, that's my main problem with the new products, the rest I can live with, but if the books don't last.... what am I left with in the end?
Have to admit that if the books came out in hardback, I would buy them.
I already have the books in the soft covers, but I took the precaution of covering them with a protector.
Works a treat, and should increase the lifespan, also gives them a more professional look.
I used "Ryco Rhino book cover protectors".
Stuff looks to be no different than a standard roll of book tape (of which I have a roll of).
When I get a hard cover, I get something that will NOT bend, which is pretty much the point.
You can hold a hard cover, and it will permit the handling a soft cover won't simply because soft covers are not rigid.
All that Rhino stuff does, it make the item safe from blemish, and hard to tear. What's the cost factor?
But hey, look at it from WotC's point of view: books that fall apart after a year just means those customers will go out and buy another copy. After all, we can't have customers pay for a product then just get to use it for free forever, right? That's like piracy. Now if only they could figure out how to get people to stop sharing books...
You are correct in saying that the Ryco book covers will not turn the books into hardbacks, but they do protect them, by making the covers stiffer. Being plastic coated should also make them less prone to damage from sweaty hands and spilled drink.
The perfect solution would have been the option of both hardback & softback.
I had already received a couple of the Essentials books and the rest were on pre-order, so I had to find some way of protecting them.
You are correct in saying that the Ryco book covers will not turn the books into hardbacks, but they do protect them, by making the covers stiffer. Being plastic coated should also make them less prone to damage from sweaty hands and spilled drink.
The perfect solution would have been the option of both hardback & softback.
I have my fingers crossed (but not holding my breath) for a special deluxe edition in hard cover that I would be able to purchase sometime in 2011.
so sadly i also noticed when updating the mb that there is a dmg 3.
*OFF-TOPIC MOMENT*
Unless it's softcover and digest sized. Then it's:
OK, back to the topic at hand.
i actually have that exact expression on my face when i dance
Is yours like this? I'm returning mine tonight.
I purchased Monster Vault last night and really loved everything until I got to the book. It looks like the spine of the book is not even attached to the outside cover of the book. Like you can look right where the pages should be glued into the spine of the book...there is a gap almost like they are glued to a thin piece of paper and that paper is not glued to the spine like most paperbacks.
Is yours like this? I'm returning mine tonight.
that is the 'lay flat' technology they use for the dm kit book as well. it is purposefully that way
I purchased Monster Vault last night and really loved everything until I got to the book. It looks like the spine of the book is not even attached to the outside cover of the book. Like you can look right where the pages should be glued into the spine of the book...there is a gap almost like they are glued to a thin piece of paper and that paper is not glued to the spine like most paperbacks.
Is yours like this? I'm returning mine tonight.
that is the 'lay flat' technology they use for the dm kit book as well. it is purposefully that way
Are all the essentials papebacks like this? I am really bummed about that as the books will deteriorate very quickly with such binding.
I got my money back, but its too bad because Monster Vault appeared to be the ultimate D&D product! I loved the monster selection!
I purchased Monster Vault last night and really loved everything until I got to the book. It looks like the spine of the book is not even attached to the outside cover of the book. Like you can look right where the pages should be glued into the spine of the book...there is a gap almost like they are glued to a thin piece of paper and that paper is not glued to the spine like most paperbacks.
Is yours like this? I'm returning mine tonight.
that is the 'lay flat' technology they use for the dm kit book as well. it is purposefully that way
Are all the essentials papebacks like this? I am really bummed about that as the books will deteriorate very quickly with such binding.
actually no, the rc and heroes books are different. i havent had a prob with either binding, though at first glance that one is funky
Thanks in advance,
AJC
From my few years working there, I can assure you some books simply ship in bad condition. Sometimes we can catch them right off the bat, and sometimes it's damage that can happen long after the books pass the QC process (but right before reaching the customer). Binding glue can be an unpredictable material, and it can be hard to tell if too little or too much has been applied (too little, and the book might hold up with a few minutes of wear n' tear, but will fall apart soon after).
Sounds to be you just happened to get unlucky with your book. Unless a lot more people start to have similar issues, I'd just assume you were an unlucky few.
Not talking about content - massive amount of fluff in a book supposedly full of rules, ahem - I have only opened The Rules Compendium a dozen times as I have read through it, but one errant toss on to my bed bent back the soft cover leaving a very permanent crease. It is a solid book though, so I don't see the whole curling anytime soon but it's inevitable. While the size was scoffed at when I broke it out at our gaming table, I have to admit the smaller footprint at the table was appreciated by me.
Monster Vault book seems like a very different book, and not just it's glossy cover to the matt of the Compendium. But I haven't broken that one in at all yet.
Does Essentials suck because it's different or does it just suck. My hardcovers sit on a shelf while I tab through and run word searches on PDFs, or with all the errata I just go to the website so I don't think I'll particularly care when the player next to me can look up rules on his phone faster than I can in the either style of books.
Got the Rules Compendium and Monster Vault as gifts, well on my way to getting fully Essentialled up, yay.
Not talking about content - massive amount of fluff in a book supposedly full of rules, ahem - I have only opened The Rules Compendium a dozen times as I have read through it, but one errant toss on to my bed bent back the soft cover leaving a very permanent crease. It is a solid book though, so I don't see the whole curling anytime soon but it's inevitable. While the size was scoffed at when I broke it out at our gaming table, I have to admit the smaller footprint at the table was appreciated by me.
Monster Vault book seems like a very different book, and not just it's glossy cover to the matt of the Compendium. But I haven't broken that one in at all yet.
Does Essentials suck because it's different or does it just suck. My hardcovers sit on a shelf while I tab through and run word searches on PDFs, or with all the errata I just go to the website so I don't think I'll particularly care when the player next to me can look up rules on his phone faster than I can in the either style of books.
Essentials doesn't "Suck". It does however limit character development by making all the important choices at 1st level and eating my pre-E...
Some of the early 3E hardcovers also used this style of binding, and there was similar consternation over it at the time.