Low Tech

dgrm4 · 03-03-2011, 07:56 PM

As much as I am liking Gurps and enjoying the Low Tech book, I am not happy that it is much shorter in content. I like my Gurps books like I like my Steaks...thick and full of flavor!

Dewey · 03-03-2011, 08:05 PM

You might look into the Low Tech Companions, on E23. They're only available as PDFs, but they have a lot of information on how low-tech societies work.
Low Tech Companion 1: Philosophers and Kings
Low Tech Companion 2: Weapons and Warriors
Low Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics

dgrm4 · 03-03-2011, 08:21 PM

I would rather pay more to have it all in one hardback then strewn across a hardback and multiple PDFs. I would have saved some money as well.

Johnny Angel · 03-03-2011, 08:38 PM

What section of Low-Tech do you feel needed to be longer?

Verjigorm · 03-03-2011, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgrm4

I would rather pay more to have it all in one hardback then strewn across a hardback and multiple PDFs. I would have saved some money as well.

Yes, but SJgames is a business, and they have to make some decisions based on what saves THEM money, so they can continue to provide us with products that we want and need.

Xplo · 03-04-2011, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgrm4

I would rather pay more to have it all in one hardback then strewn across a hardback and multiple PDFs. I would have saved some money as well.

And people who wouldn't have paid for everything might not have paid for any of it. It was a business decision to split up the crunch and the fluff in order to increase sales to people who just wanted certain parts.

Gudiomen · 03-04-2011, 06:11 AM

I'm pretty happy with the format SJG used, as for the separate PDFs, it hardly matters as they're minuscle in any pendrive or whatever device you use to store them. I sometimes also find it useful to check several books at the same time, which would be much harder to do if it was the same file.

While it would be "kinda neat" to have it all in one book, I'd be hardpress to give any good reasons for this.

SJGs has pretty good reasons for doing it their way. As long as they're happy and keep printing this sort of high-quality, well researched, well edited stuff... I'm happy.

Edit: plus, on the consumer side, it makes more sense that you can buy the bits you WANT instead of paying for the whole page-count if you don't wanna... personally I could have skipped LTC1, I bought it anyway, but I didn't have to.

Crakkerjakk · 03-04-2011, 11:17 AM

I'm eagerly awaiting POD. In my dream, I can order Low Tech + Companions 1-3 in a single hardbound book.

Next would be Action 1-3, DF 1-3, and the entire Spaceships series, each in their own hardback.

A guy can dream.

PK · 03-04-2011, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgrm4

I would rather pay more to have it all in one hardback then strewn across a hardback and multiple PDFs. I would have saved some money as well.

Unfortunately, doing it that way would've meant not releasing Low-Tech as a hardback book at all. Our research and experience shows that the market currently doesn't support big $35-40 books as well as it does smaller $25-30 ones. The average gamer doesn't have a lot of extra money right now -- given a choice between two books, s/he's likely to buy the cheaper one even if s/he'd normally prefer the more expensive one.

Yes, that's a huge step backward from 2004 and the original Fourth Edition plan of "Lots of huge hardbacks!" But that was before our country -- followed by pretty much the entire world -- started having a massive financial crisis leading to the current recession. (Reminder: The discussion of which is off topic in this forum!)

Anyway, I must disagree with the viewpoint that this is "splitting things up." The material found in the LTCs is supplemental material, quite simply. It never had a chance of making it into the Low-Tech hardback, which was planned out as a 160-pager from Day One of discussing it. We decided to support Low-Tech with a series of PDFs on e23 because we thought it'd be a popular book . . . but those PDFs are definitely separate products, and they were always going to be.

Grouchy Chris · 03-04-2011, 01:21 PM

I got my Low-Tech hard copy a few days ago, and I'd just like to say that I like the paper. It's less glossy than the paper used in every other GURPS hardback I've got. It's still high-quality paper, but the more matte finish means it reflects less glare and is easier to read.

Compared to everything else that this book did well that might seem like small potatoes, but I liked it and I thought it was worth noting.

03-03-2011, 07:56 PM	#1
dgrm4 Join Date: Jan 2008	Low Tech As much as I am liking Gurps and enjoying the Low Tech book, I am not happy that it is much shorter in content. I like my Gurps books like I like my Steaks...thick and full of flavor!

03-03-2011, 08:05 PM	#2
Dewey Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: New mexico	Re: Low Tech You might look into the Low Tech Companions, on E23. They're only available as PDFs, but they have a lot of information on how low-tech societies work. Low Tech Companion 1: Philosophers and Kings Low Tech Companion 2: Weapons and Warriors Low Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics

03-03-2011, 08:21 PM	#3
dgrm4 Join Date: Jan 2008	Re: Low Tech I would rather pay more to have it all in one hardback then strewn across a hardback and multiple PDFs. I would have saved some money as well.

03-03-2011, 08:38 PM	#4
Johnny Angel MIB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Pennsylvania	Re: Low Tech What section of Low-Tech do you feel needed to be longer?

03-04-2011, 06:11 AM	#7
Gudiomen Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: in your pocket, stealing all your change	Re: Low Tech I'm pretty happy with the format SJG used, as for the separate PDFs, it hardly matters as they're minuscle in any pendrive or whatever device you use to store them. I sometimes also find it useful to check several books at the same time, which would be much harder to do if it was the same file. While it would be "kinda neat" to have it all in one book, I'd be hardpress to give any good reasons for this. SJGs has pretty good reasons for doing it their way. As long as they're happy and keep printing this sort of high-quality, well researched, well edited stuff... I'm happy. Edit: plus, on the consumer side, it makes more sense that you can buy the bits you WANT instead of paying for the whole page-count if you don't wanna... personally I could have skipped LTC1, I bought it anyway, but I didn't have to. Last edited by Gudiomen; 03-04-2011 at 06:14 AM.

03-04-2011, 11:17 AM	#8
Crakkerjakk "Gimme 18 minutes . . ." Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Albuquerque, NM	Re: Low Tech I'm eagerly awaiting POD. In my dream, I can order Low Tech + Companions 1-3 in a single hardbound book. Next would be Action 1-3, DF 1-3, and the entire Spaceships series, each in their own hardback. A guy can dream. __________________ My bare bones web page Semper Fi

03-04-2011, 01:21 PM	#10
Grouchy Chris Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: The City of Subdued Excitement	Re: Low Tech I got my Low-Tech hard copy a few days ago, and I'd just like to say that I like the paper. It's less glossy than the paper used in every other GURPS hardback I've got. It's still high-quality paper, but the more matte finish means it reflects less glare and is easier to read. Compared to everything else that this book did well that might seem like small potatoes, but I liked it and I thought it was worth noting. __________________ The GURPS Wiki has 581 articles and counting! My blog, mainly about GURPS.