An Updated ASLRB Service: What Would You Pay?

I'd pay at most $X per year for such a service

  • Nothing!

    Votes: 28 38.9%
  • $25

    Votes: 23 31.9%
  • $50

    Votes: 7 9.7%
  • $100

    Votes: 4 5.6%
  • $200

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • (Some other response - see my comment below)

    Votes: 9 12.5%

  • Total voters
    72
  • Poll closed .

Tuomo

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Touching on a discussion in Consimworld, let's suppose MMP had a service where you paid for regular (let's say yearly) updates of the ASLRB in downloadable PDF format. Basically you'd get a PDF of newly-erratacized pages already laid out for you to print yourself. When the e-ASLRB comes out, you'd get something similar, but it would basically patch your existing electronic version with the new pages. Rulebook pages only; no "Perry sez" stuff.

How much would you pay for that?

I included a single "Nothing!" option, but I'm curious about the various reasons people might say that. Is it because:
* You don't want MMP wasting time on this idea
* You think something like this should already be included as part of the purchase price
* You're happy enough with the way things are
* You mainly use a Pocket ASLRB, where you can't really insert errata pages
* You're too busy shooting Vinnie

(Anonomymous poll, closed after 7 days). I have no inside information that such a thing is in the works or even being thought about; I'm just curious.

(Apologies for not including anything between $0-25. My bad)
 
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zgrose

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$25/year seems pretty steep for a subscription that doesn't produce much content per calendar year. Don't think I'd go over $5/year.
 

Doug Kirk

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I would prefer the once per life as well, but however...I just want this to happen!
 

gulliver62

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For an item that costs $70 completely new and the updates being minor for what I do, i would probably buy a rulebook once every 3-5 years and keep up with errata elsewhere
 

zgrose

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Don't have an e-rule book, don't want one !!!
I believe the proposal is replacement pages delivered electronically as each batch of journal errata is made public, not an e-rulebook.
 

jwoodall04

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I don't think I'd pay anything for that. Just haven't found my current rulebook to be an issue.
 

Paul M. Weir

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I would strongly prefer a once off payment. I would consider paying, say, 1.5 to 2 times the cost of either the bound or mini rulebook to avoid repeat payments. Given that a good chunk of the existing rulebook cost is going into physical printing that should give MMP a bigger profit margin for the initial issuance then that should be enough to cover updates. While electronic distribution of updates is not going to be entirely free, it's minuscule compared to physical packing and postage.

i have both versions of RB v2 and will shell out for an electronic version, but simply don't want the hassle of yearly payments.
 

horseshoe

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I believe the proposal is replacement pages delivered electronically as each batch of journal errata is made public, not an e-rulebook.
What's the real difference?? If you don't have an e-rulebook, why would you want electronic page updates??
 

Philippe D.

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I chose the $25 option, but even that seems a bit steep as a per-year payment.

I don't have an a priori problem with a yearly payment. The real value of the thing to me, however, is to have something that is searchable and with hyperlinks - PDF can do that, but it isn't the best choice. A set of static HTML pages that can either be accessed online or downloaded and accessed locally would probably be the best choice for me (also, it makes for very easy updates).
 

Brad M-V

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One time purchase for life sounds right-on to me too. I also put $200 bucks in for this, but they would have to re-write the book similar to the SK. They know how to write rules clearly so should do this once and for all imo.
 

Brian W

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I'd pay a lot, but only if it were done well. If were not done well, I'd pay much less. A lot is up to $100; a lot less is up to $25
 

zgrose

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Bob Walters

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Given the nature of the hobby and the fact that MMP probably needs reliable income I think a yearly fee is a decent idea. I would vastly prefer an electronic copy of the rules especially if it had a decent search system. Perhaps this could be sold as an alternative to the paper rule book but not as a replacement for it.
 

aneil1234

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One off payment would be my preference.

E version (Colour and printable - and MOST important fully searchable). Updated daily with errata Q&A when required (If done like this its manageable in a few moments)
But I'll take anything that I can get and pay anything I need to that gives me a Rule book that is UP TO DATE, 100% reflects the current thinking in errata and "Perry Says" so that every single time I open the rule book. IT's RIGHT !
And I don't have to spend hours searching the web and the forums for answers that should be in the rule book

Other gaming companies can do it.
MMP can too
 

csiemers

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A one time fee and free updates unless there was a SIGNIFICANT update.
I have a computer tech manual that the authors have made available for a one time fee and they constantly put out free updates as the contents change as the tech constantly changes. About every 2 years there's enough changes to warrant a new "version" that is offered at a reduced upgrade price.
I feel the ASL e-manual should have ALL rules that are now available, regardless if I have a particular module or not. Updates should be made free and maybe if there's a whole new chapter of rules or re-writes would there be a nominal one-time upgrade cost.
 

Sully

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I'd pay for an electronic RB, but not for updates to a physical RB where the only updates are corrections and clarifications. We should get those for free.

For MMP to go this direction instead of, say, an eASLRB that auto-updates would be a head scratcher.
 

CTKnudsen

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In an effort to synthesize, we are really talking about a couple of separate options here.

1) A sort of replacement pages subscription, where errata is incorporated into the RB, and printed pages are sent out to subscribers say on an annual basis.
2) A similar service, but you get a pdf of replacement pages that you print at home.
3) An e-RB, for which you get updates on a periodic basis.

I can see some issues arising that would affect how these would be implemented.

1. I have no idea how challenging it would be to do regular layout and proofing for a(n e)RB. One would think this should be relatively easy, after all I can use a word processor, but on the other hand I am no publisher, and I don't know what is involved in the publishing world. Would doing constant layout revisions and proofing constitute a waste of time for the generated return for MMP?

2. For option 1), above, the pricing would likely be fairly high, especially for a one-time payment. Why? Because the errata snowballs. So if you make a big change/addition early in Ch A, this has the potential to cause a reprint of a large number of pages, conceivably a majority of the chapter. If this snowballs for all 5 main chapters, MMP may run into situations where they are having to print large sections of the RB repeatedly, potentially at a high cost. To cover their margins and risk of this, they will have to charge a lot.

3. The e-rulebook would be WAY easier to implement in terms of printing and distribution, eliminating these issues altogether for those that want an eRB. This is a good thing, so long as the payoff for time spent in layout and proof is economical. But it creates a disparity between those who order the eRB (and get regular updates), and owners of the paper RB, who are only getting updates when MMP releases update packs.

4. Besides the above, the ease of adaptability for the eRB causes some problems for selling paper copies. MMP can and does do print-on-demand, as I understand it. But then what do they do about extant copies of the RB? I foresee a horrendous number of versions. So let's say they do a layout that is up to date as of today, and print it and call it RB 3.0. Then in a year, they print an update pack that includes all the errata that have been added over the year. Then another for the next year, and so on. But the updates are not necessarily going to be cumulative - why re-print page D7 in 2019 if it only changed in the 2018 update? Now MMP is forced for a time to include all the cumulative updates when it sells the RB, at least until their stock runs out and they start again. Not insurmountable, but maybe a hassle for them and for those getting into the hobby. Admittedly this is less of a hassle than finding all the errata and stickying it into your RB, but still...

5. Regardless of the options used, I can see the pricing of this being a big issue. We need MMP to make a profit, so they keep ASL going. But I have a hard time seeing a one-time payment, especially for the paper RB. We would be asking them to predict layout and printing costs way in advance. In fact, thinking about it, I think releasing an "Errata Pack" every year might be a better way to go, because they could then adjust price based on production costs. Although I would expect that this pack be priced pretty close to cost - it is errata, after all.

6. What about errata for stuff outside the main RB? Do we get updates for Ch F if we haven't bought the new Hollow Legions (which I think should be called Spaghetti Western Desert, but I digress. Call me, Brian Youse, I'll let you use it just for the mention)? Same goes for HP, RS, etc. What about Chapter H? What about HASLs?

So to the original question, I would pay something like $20 a year for a paper errata pack, more if it was a significant number of replacement pages. For a print-at-home version, I would pay $10 a year, easy.

For a living, regularly updated eRB, I would probably pay around $100 for the full thing, searchable, etc., with a lifetime errata subscription. Less if the updates were not lifetime.
 
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