Why no new GURPS hardcovers?

[AlexanderHowl]

Onyx Path is one example, though they do have a lot of PDFs. Pazio is another example, though one could consider its products to be the half-sibling of D&D.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Onyx Path is mostly an outgrowth of White Wolf, though. And White Wolf grabbed and kept a larger piece of the market than SJG, and their games have retained greater name recognition than GURPS. Even they don't do physical books except as Kickstarter rewards and PODs -- the rest is pdfs, and they've also embraced the release of small niche publications of a few pages apiece.

I too greatly prefer paper over ebooks and can't stand reading on tiny screens, though I like softcover more than hardcover for most things. I wish SJG could afford to print all these books and keep them in print perpetually... but I know the sad truth is they can't, no matter how much they want to. I am glad that some printing is still happening, though. I got Low Tech and Powers in hardcover, and if I hadn't been lazy I could have gotten Ultra Tech too.

[AlexanderHowl]

One could also say that Onyx Path has been having real trouble producing certain lines. Exalted 3e was two years late, and it looks like it will be two years in between the core book and the second book. As for its books, I have seen hard copies of Vampire 5e and Pugmire in stores, so they are producing physical books beyond Kickstarter rewards...

[Taneli]

Have you bought all the previous GURPS hardcovers?

Yes, of course it's not always possible, for various reasons, but I'm betting it boils down to just that.

Now, on things I'd like to see are the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy books 1-4 available at the http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/ondemand/ as those are one of the few print 4th edition books that I don't have (the one remaining being Spaceships, but that's just awaiting my next paycheck).

[AlexanderHowl]

Most of them. I was uninterested in Mars Attacks and the V Saga.

[Been]

I have all the hardbacks with the exception of Banestorm, and have also got most of them in pdf as I find that more useful to transport about.

I find pdfs to generally more useful than hardbacks for myself, but at the table books more useful for players

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

You use a towel to dry your hands before picking up the book which was left lying nearby (usually on a shelf or the toilet). You don't move around much (just enjoy the nice hot bath water) and are careful not to drop your book into the bath water

And you probably have decades of experience in doing this. I think I've dropped one book into the bath in the last twenty years, and I do confine it to books I can replace.

Another thank you for your dedication.

Hear, hear.

I actually prefer softcover to hardcover, but that's me (and obviously I now prefer ebook to softcover).

Hardcover for books I refer to a lot in-play, softcover for less-used books. PDF of everything, because it's so much easier to find things in it when planning and plotting.

AD&D2e seems to have been the place where a lot of full-colour illustrations became standard, although they were very kitsch, and D&D3e where every page became colour, and much harder for me to read in consequence.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Hardcover for books I refer to a lot in-play, softcover for less-used books. PDF of everything, because it's so much easier to find things in it when planning and plotting.

Yes. I bought PDFs of the Basic Set, Magic, Powers, and Martial Arts so I can easily search them, even in-game for Magic. And even lugging three Apple devices to the gaming store (iPad, iPhone, MacBook Pro) is easier than lugging all these books in hardcover.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by binn05

I need to poke Brazilian publishers for translations. :P

Can they create translated PDFs for selling at Warehouse23 or only printed copies?

I have no idea what the answer to that would be! Licensing is the bailiwick of the Director of Licensing, while Warehouse 23 policy is the domain of the Warehouse 23 Manager. As the GURPS Line Editor, my notional authority is limited to:

1. Approving proposals for new GURPS supplements (but not signing the contracts that follow).
2. Approving drafts of those supplements.
3. Making final rules decisions for those supplements.
4. Approving art for those supplements (but not buying it).

I work strictly on the "developing game content" side of things, and have no meaningful influence over contracts and licenses; layout; art- and print-buying; or sales and marketing. All those things are Somebody Else's Department.

Originally Posted by Alden Loveshade

Is it OK if I share this post to a Facebook GURPS group?

Anything I write here is given freely to the world to share. All I ask is that it be quoted in toto (preferably with a link back to the original) – not edited, excerpted, paraphrased, or précised.

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

To be honest, I’m not convinced that all the new non-D&D colour hardcover RPG books coming out these days are “vanity projects.” Something is keeping various companies alive, and paying freelances like, say, Ken Hite, over a period of multiple years. That takes more than vanity publishing. Atlas Games and Pelgrane Press aren’t vanity publishers.

Please note that I didn't say otherwise. I said this:

Originally Posted by Kromm

"Okay, but there are people still making it work. Look at D&D!" Sure, but the war is over and one system and its derivatives won. Yes, there are certainly indie titles that get published because they're all but vanity projects that aren't so much about making money as getting published, and don't have to pay overhead on a games company with staff and an office. Yes, there are certainly Kickstarter projects that get published because they get money up front. Yes, there will be exceptions. But an established publisher can't rely on being an exception, can't always navigate the tax labyrinth that crowdfunding creates, and has to show a profit.

In short, I acknowledged the one huge exception – the system and its derivatives that "won the war," a.k.a. D&D – and three distinct smaller ones:

• vanity titles;
• crowdfunded titles; and,
• the lucky few besides.

And I explained that we couldn't count on being in the lucky few – that's an honor customers have to give us, not something we can ask for or take. I also gave a reason for why crowdfunding (which we could just up and ask for) isn't always ideal.

I'm not trying to wax jealous or critical of anyone. I'm just explaining our situation, which isn't necessarily that of, say, Atlas or Pelgrane, even if we're in what's broadly the same market. (And really, that last bit is a huge assumption, because SJ Games is mostly a publisher of board, card, and dice games these days, not of RPGs.)

[Kromm]

All very much appreciated! Ultimately, it's knowing that people appreciate the effort that motivates those of us on the content-creation and online-support side of things to keep on doing what we're doing.