Kindle Versions Are Great!

[ShadowStalker]

I've been wanting to get back to a game system that hits the Old School sweet spot, but I want to do it in the new way - electronic on my Kindle.

Are their plans to bring the books beyond the Players Guide and Monsters & Treasures to Kindle? It is something I'm including in my game considerations these days.


Thanks

[TheMetal1]

They are both already offered for the Kindle and the Nook!

Here's the PHB link:

http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Crusades- ... 123&sr=1-1

Here is the M&T link:

http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Crusades- ... 6TWVU5XWC2

[gideon_thorne]

I believe he was asking if TLG was going to offer the other books on Kindle. And the answer is yes. We're getting there.

[Breakdaddy]

Awwwww yeahhhhhhhh

[ShadowStalker]

I believe he was asking if TLG was going to offer the other books on Kindle. And the answer is yes. We're getting there.

Yes, this was what I was asking, and very cool as to the answer. Looking forward to it.

I'm planning a steampunkesque dungeon crawl right now - any idea on street dates?

[MormonYoYoMan]

I'm a Nook man myself. But since both the Nook AND Kindle versions suffer from Lack Of Art Syndrome (LOAS) I tend to read PDF versions on the Nook tablet. Looks just like the digest sized books.

[ShadowStalker]

So the ePub versions have no art? Kind of wondered how they handled that for Kindle.Not a huge deal to run the and play the game.

I don't have a tablet, but I may save up and go that route just to have the pdf/more user friendly method. More material available that way.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

As I'm trying to write an adventure, the art-lite version on Kindle is actually a nice thing to have on the PC Kindle app. I can have Word and the Kindle app open side-by-side, and it's a good way to just get the information without having the graphics (which I love, btw, but found that the Kindle formatting works great in this regard) interfering with the formatting of the text. I'm sure there are ways that they can get the art in there, too. The Trolls are still pretty new to the game, and (from what I've heard), the person they put in charge of it is pretty quick on the uptake as that stuff goes. I think it'll be good.

[TheMetal1]

I believe he was asking if TLG was going to offer the other books on Kindle. And the answer is yes. We're getting there.

Yeah he was! Looks like I'm reading too quickly! But good news on the forthcoming Nook books!

I'm a Nook man myself.

Hey Yo, what you think, is the Nook vs. Kindle simply like a PC vs. Mac thing or do you think it is more along the lines of Beta vs. VHS?

[gideon_thorne]

So the ePub versions have no art? Kind of wondered how they handled that for Kindle.Not a huge deal to run the and play the game.

I don't have a tablet, but I may save up and go that route just to have the pdf/more user friendly method. More material available that way.

The kindle versions have minimal art. There's something about the interface of the Kindle that doesn't handle graphics very well. It also puts the format of the book in a single page format. I tried adding in all the art initially. But the formatting process took all the pictures and flung them in a big heap to the back of the document.

The set up doesn't like table formats either. So what you end up with is essentially a lot of text. I've tried to find a work around or three, but so far it's stumping me.

[MormonYoYoMan]

I'm a Nook man myself.

Hey Yo, what you think, is the Nook vs. Kindle simply like a PC vs. Mac thing or do you think it is more along the lines of Beta vs. VHS?

The only real differences I can see are:

- that the Nook Tablet can take memory expansion, and none of the Kindles can.
- the Nook Tablet reads PDFs better (in my experimenting) than the Kindle Fire.
- our favorite RPG artist explains the problems with adding art to Kindle versions. Other graphics folks tell me that epub (Nook) doesn't have such trouble with graphics. And I've seen some Nook books with LOTS of text surrounding plenty graphics.
- I had a $75 coupon for Nook.

[serleran]

I have found that, when using the Cool Reader app, PDFs and MOBI files are very easy to view on the Kindle Fire. However, it is an app that needs to be side-loaded. I got it only because I wanted to make use of Project Gutenberg and they offer many an illustrated book.

[Arduin]

I have found that, when using the Cool Reader app, PDFs and MOBI files are very easy to view on the Kindle Fire. However, it is an app that needs to be side-loaded. I got it only because I wanted to make use of Project Gutenberg and they offer many an illustrated book.

Kindle doesn't have native PDF support? Does it support epub?

[Breakdaddy]

Different apps handle the same formats at different performance levels. For example; EZPdf and RepliGo reader are both much faster at reading and opening PDFs than the built in nook software. Both also work much faster on my Asus Transformer. EZPdf tends to be more adept at maintaining proper formatting but repligo reads huge PDFs much more quickly, albeit with a loss of formatting and sometimes dropping some of the art as unreadable. EZPdf is highly recommended to sideload onto your platform if you plan on reading art-filled RPG pdfs.

[Arduin]

Different apps handle the same formats at different performance levels. For example; EZPdf and RepliGo reader are both much faster at reading and opening PDFs than the built in nook software.

I don't have a speed problem. I checked and Kindle's don't support epub. (That's kinda like a digital music player not supporting MP3 format.)

Does it have NATIVE support for pdf?

[CKDad]

Kindle doesn't have native PDF support? Does it support epub?

Not directly. Kindle's proprietary formats are one of the reasons I went with the Nook in the first place.

[ShadowStalker]

Thanks for all of the info, folks. Great community and nice discussion.

The Kindle was a Christmas gift from family, and was obtained at a great sale price, so I kept it even though I would have gone with a tablet myself. There is not shortage of books, and the local library has a good kindle selection. I've downloaded several programs to convert documents and pdfs for kindle use - the pdfs lose a lot of graphic integrity but are still readable. I walk while I read, usually technical manuals, so it's all good.

I'm trying to downsize the physical space of my RPGs, so when I saw C&C had a Kindle version, I though "Too cool!" Also, I want to get back to my old school dungeon crawling roots. I miss that style of game (simpler and more enjoyable to me), and since my son is now gaming, I'd like to introduce him to it. Again, so far so good with C&C.

Last, I really want a system with adventure support. I don't have time to write my own campaigns and run games, etc. The Umbrage Saga Box set caught my attention. I'm getting to the point that writing for systems like Savage Worlds (I've done a little bit of freelancing) tax my attention and time. I just want to play.

[Sir Ironside]

Kindle doesn't have native PDF support? Does it support epub?

Not directly. Kindle's proprietary formats are one of the reasons I went with the Nook in the first place.

I have zero knowledge about the Kindle but Calibre converts all kinds of formats. FYI I have no idea how Calibre handles pictures. I get no loss of pictures when I convert one format to another and the covers convert normally. I have no idea how it handles pictures within the book.

[tylermo]

Shadowstalker, I've been playing Sav Worlds since late 04. I'd be interested in hearing about your freelance work. I hear you about the umbrage saga. Not to mention the sav worlds plot points. A lot less work. Staying on topic, it's print and PDF for me. Only have an aging pc.

[Relaxo]

I think the kindle fire has more media goodies like free TV shows & movies thrum amazon. Prime. The typing isn't too bad either. I'm actually using my wife's Kindle fire to post this.

A few typos I see... also it works better with a stylus. I've heard the nook has better touch response.

[ShadowStalker]

Yup, when I finally upgrade (pending what else is available), I will probably go with Kindle Fire. Relatively decent price compared to IPads (though too expensive right now) and access to a lot and wide variety of content that seems to fit me.

And yes, I would go with a stylus for a lot of my work. I've got chimp hands.

[Breakdaddy]

I remember back in the day I was a Sony Clie man and stylii were the way to go. I miss stylii.


PS- I like saying "stylii"

[Relaxo]

yeah, there's no reason to spend the money for an ipad, it's just silly expensive. and for typing a while, it's actually too big. (the kindle may be a little small for watching movies, but whadayagonnado?) nothings perfect. If you're typing a lot, you really need a net book, I suppose.
I'm too cheap to buy any of these things anyway LOL.

[Arduin]

The next reader I'm going to buy is one with a color eInk display. As long as file support is there.

[gideon_thorne]

Kindle doesn't have native PDF support? Does it support epub?

Not directly. Kindle's proprietary formats are one of the reasons I went with the Nook in the first place.

I have zero knowledge about the Kindle but Calibre converts all kinds of formats. FYI I have no idea how Calibre handles pictures. I get no loss of pictures when I convert one format to another and the covers convert normally. I have no idea how it handles pictures within the book.

It does indeed. Its what I used to make the kindle formatting. Problem is, it doesn't convert the graphics. But I'll try it from a pdf instead of from an Epub and see where that gets me?

[Arduin]

It does indeed. Its what I used to make the kindle formatting. Problem is, it doesn't convert the graphics. But I'll try it from a pdf instead of from an Epub and see where that gets me?

I tried converting an RPG pdf to epub using Cal. It nuked the tables and shoved pics to the end of doc.

[gideon_thorne]

It does indeed. Its what I used to make the kindle formatting. Problem is, it doesn't convert the graphics. But I'll try it from a pdf instead of from an Epub and see where that gets me?

I tried converting an RPG pdf to epub using Cal. It nuked the tables and shoved pics to the end of doc.

Indeed. I tried it myself. The results were a spectacular fail. Anyhow. More research is needed. *digs around on the internets more*

[CKDad]

The next reader I'm going to buy is one with a color eInk display. As long as file support is there.

I'm having great success with my Nook tablet. I subscribe to a couple of magazines and they display very well on it. I'm also reading an edition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Barsoom trilogy containing the original art (surprisingly racy!) and while it's black-and-white, it also displays perfectly well.

[Arduin]

The next reader I'm going to buy is one with a color eInk display. As long as file support is there.

I'm having great success with my Nook tablet. I subscribe to a couple of magazines and they display very well on it. I'm also reading an edition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Barsoom trilogy containing the original art (surprisingly racy!) and while it's black-and-white, it also displays perfectly well.

I have a nook. Grey-scale is very good. I hope (B&N is trying to sell their nook division) that they come out with a color eink version. We'll see who is the 1st to market...

[MormonYoYoMan]

The next reader I'm going to buy is one with a color eInk display. As long as file support is there.

I'm having great success with my Nook tablet. I subscribe to a couple of magazines and they display very well on it. I'm also reading an edition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Barsoom trilogy containing the original art (surprisingly racy!) and while it's black-and-white, it also displays perfectly well.

I have a nook. Grey-scale is very good. I hope (B&N is trying to sell their nook division) that they come out with a color eink version. We'll see who is the 1st to market...

They keep saying they're not selling their Nook division, though I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes more smerged into the company theosophy, as Sprint PCS did with/to Sprint when the "main" Sprint company tried to take over Sprint PCS. Similar to how the invaders lost much of their own culture, internalizing the "defeated" Greeks.