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6th Edition Books on eReader?


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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

The best e-reader that I saw the 6e books on was the Kindle DX. Even then the display was slow and the ability to zoom in close was lacking. The Nook blows apart the PDF's formatting in favor of showing the text so ends up worthless for the display of PDF's like the 6e books.

 

I would recommend finding someplace that has a demo of the reader, loading the 6e books on a flash card and see how it performs.

 

So far the only reader like device that does a good job at Displaying the books is the iPad. The iPad allows gesture based zooming and scrolling of the books. It also switches very quickly to landscape mode for easier reading of the full page width. So far it's the only thing outside of a laptop that makes the PDF books actually usable/readable.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

There are going to be a number of android-based tablets in the near future' date=' and the android market has good PDF reading apps as well.[/quote']

 

Nook is android based, but not able to use the Android market. It's PDF support is marginal (Great if the item is text only, sucks for graphics + Text like Hero books are built)

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

The issue is that I'm trying to find out how well they load to determine if the .pdf is a good investment or not. If I had a .pdf of one of the books, I could simply plug it in and load it up.

 

The best e-reader that I saw the 6e books on was the Kindle DX. Even then the display was slow and the ability to zoom in close was lacking. The Nook blows apart the PDF's formatting in favor of showing the text so ends up worthless for the display of PDF's like the 6e books.

 

I would recommend finding someplace that has a demo of the reader, loading the 6e books on a flash card and see how it performs.

 

So far the only reader like device that does a good job at Displaying the books is the iPad. The iPad allows gesture based zooming and scrolling of the books. It also switches very quickly to landscape mode for easier reading of the full page width. So far it's the only thing outside of a laptop that makes the PDF books actually usable/readable.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I also have it on the Kindle DX. It works pretty nice there though my vision is not up to par. Nice thing about the kindle you can either manually rotate the screen or allow it do so manually. While that does not show you the whole page at once, it does make it easier to read.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

The issue is that I'm trying to find out how well they load to determine if the .pdf is a good investment or not. If I had a .pdf of one of the books' date=' I could simply plug it in and load it up.[/quote']

 

I thought that you already had the PDF and was asking about the reader.

 

About the only reader that really makes the PDF books readable is the iPad IMHO. the Kindle DX looked pretty good, but lack of zooming features made it hard to read.

 

 

BTW I was just thinking. You could still do the test, just use one of the preview documents that are here on the forums. They are buried a bit, but you could take those and load them up on a demo reader and see what you could see..

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I have a Kindle 6" US. The new pdf functionality makes the pdf's readable, since you can now rotate the screen manually and there is some zoom functionality. Unfortunately, when zoomed, you move around the page in large chunks. Since the Hero pdfs have 2 columns (or more if you cant the side bars), the level of zoom may be less then optimal if you want to read the entire column with out have to page back and forth. However, it is at least now an option.

 

I moved all my Hero pdf files to my Kindle. They all open and display reasonably well, with the exception of Champions Powers. The cover shots and the interior title page of Champions Powers (first 3 pages of the pdf) cause my Kindle to run slowly and/or lock up. Additionally, when those pages are displayed, an error box appears which says that not all elements of the page could be rendered. I advise Kindle users, to open the pdf and press the page next and wait patiently until it advances. Repeat until you are at the table of contents. Then never go back to the cover. The remaining portions of the pdf that I have reviewed, seem to work fine.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I don't have the Sony reader(went with the iPad instead). The PDFs them selves load fine for me, though to test the display on the Sony I would look to see if you can find any free PDFs (PC games typically ship the manuals on disc now in PDF format and with steam you only get them from the PDF).

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

Tasha is right. iPad is best way.... using GoodReader: I have every 6E book in hardcopy and PDF. I can comfortably read on the iPad with complete preservation of the pages, one at a time (no scrolling necessarily required with a natural page turning gesture), though zooming in and our is easy. I get color of the books and artwork... and with the bulk of Hero hardbacks, it's convenient.

 

It sucks not to be able to do Hero Designer on iPad.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I've heard the new Kindle DX handles PDF's better. But I can't state that as fact.

 

I just don't see the need for the overpriced iPad since I have a 17" laptop. I really like the readability of an e-reader's liquid paper over a computer screen, but I cannot see buying half a product. TXT, DOC and PDF are pretty universal formats and I have a very large number of documents and books in all three formats. I don't really care about being restricted to a specific format for new purchases (amazon, B&N etc), but at a minumum I should be able ot read my existing library natively without paying someone to 'convert them'. Until they make an e-reader I hook up to my computer and load any PDF, TXT or DOC I want to, I won't be buying one.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

And that rises one question: when will we see the hero designer app for the ipad?:)

 

Gevatter

 

Around the time that Hell freezes over. Because that's about when Java will be made part of iOS. Apple doesn't want apps that use interpreted languages like Java on their iOS devices.

 

I guess someone COULD make a pitch to Dan and Steve that they could make an iOS version of Hero Designer, I doubt that would happen though.

 

Actually having the ability to open HD characters on an iPhone might be much easier and require less programing and less permission from Hero/DOJ. Perhaps something that would interpret an XML file that is generated by HD (Using an export format) that could be uploaded to the iPhone. Not much reason to be making characters on my iPhone/iPad but it would be nice to view them in a format that fit the screen well.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I've heard the new Kindle DX handles PDF's better. But I can't state that as fact.

 

I just don't see the need for the overpriced iPad since I have a 17" laptop. I really like the readability of an e-reader's liquid paper over a computer screen, but I cannot see buying half a product. TXT, DOC and PDF are pretty universal formats and I have a very large number of documents and books in all three formats. I don't really care about being restricted to a specific format for new purchases (amazon, B&N etc), but at a minumum I should be able ot read my existing library natively without paying someone to 'convert them'. Until they make an e-reader I hook up to my computer and load any PDF, TXT or DOC I want to, I won't be buying one.

 

Like I said above, I have SEEN the output of a Kindle DX. It works pretty well and the document is kind of readable. It becomes more readable by switching to Landscape mode (from Portrait), but it doesn't have any real zooming built in, which makes it's functionality just so so. I have a gaming friend who just sold his because it didn't do a good job of dealing with PDFs (esp after he saw what the iPad can do. The DX runs $359 for the USonly version, for a little over a $140 more I can get an iPad that the PDF's look great on, gives me a ton of choices of PDF readers (I know of 3 including apple's book reader), and has other functionality that the Kindle doesn't have. Also the Screen is much faster rendering on the iPad (not a big deal when reading a novel, but a PITA when one is trying to quickly page though a book looking for something).

 

Basically the small book readers like the Kindle, nook, Sony readers etc aren't really made for reading stuff bigger than a hard bound novel. That's why the PDF functionality is kind of primative and lacking such goodness as zoom. The larger eBook readers like the DX are significantly more expensive and start to get into the price range of iPads and net books (even some low end Laptops). So it seems silly to buy a $400+ eBook reader when you can get something like an iPad which does far more.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

Like I said above' date=' I have SEEN the output of a Kindle DX. [/quote']

 

Wow snarky.

 

Of course you could have just said "I saw one of the Kindle DX 3rd Generation that features an all new E-ink screen with 50% better contrast and a free 3G and was released in the US on 7 July 10” and it was great" or "I was meaning the new Kindle DX", or "yes, the new DX was the one I was talking about".

 

But since you were speaking with authority I was assuming you had been reading the 6e books on one of the previous versions. Of course I may have been wrong.

 

I’ll just take my slightly retarded and mentally slow self right out of here so I don’t contaminate the gene pool.

 

You all have fun now :ugly:

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

Wow snarky.

 

Of course you could have just said "I saw one of the Kindle DX 3rd Generation that features an all new E-ink screen with 50% better contrast and a free 3G and was released in the US on 7 July 10” and it was great" or "I was meaning the new Kindle DX", or "yes, the new DX was the one I was talking about".

 

But since you were speaking with authority I was assuming you had been reading the 6e books on one of the previous versions. Of course I may have been wrong.

 

I’ll just take my slightly retarded and mentally slow self right out of here so I don’t contaminate the gene pool.

 

You all have fun now :ugly:

 

Sorry I was completely out of line with the first line of my post. I must have been a bad mood and somehow took your post personally. Please accept my apology for my bad behavior, I never meant to scare someone out of the discussion.

 

Tasha :doi::o

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I have the Kindle 2 - it's great for reading novels and does have PDF support. They recently updated the firmware with better PDF support, and now it does a passable job for the 6E ruleset because of the zoom feature. I can't speak for the sony reader, the only thing I can suggest is download a sample of the PDF from 6E - I think Steve posted a few pages in the sneak peak forums, and take a look for yourself.

 

As to getting content on the Kindle - it's actually very easy and cost free for PDF and TXT files - just plug it into your computer and copy them over. I'm not sure why they don't advertise this more, as it's very simple. DOC files need to be converted to a Kindle friendly format - I haven't played with the MOBI converters that are out there but I know there are some free tools for doing this. Another alternative is to print to PDF using CutePDF or another freeware PDF converter.

 

I've played with the iPad - it's a sleek device but still a little pricey IMO for a device that doesn't even give me all of the web. Like Flash or hate it, I'd rather be the one deciding if I can view it rather than Apple. Having said that, I have an iPod touch and GoodReader on it does a fine job with PDFs, including the 6E rules. Very easy to zoom in and out, but tough to really read the whole page without zooming so some tables are difficult to read.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I just got my Kindle Dx today, the main reason for its purchase was RPG PDFs :)

 

Hero looks great on it and while you can zoom in the fit to screen option is fine!

 

Some books I have tried, world of darkness stuff, are not as easy to read that way but then I just zoom in!

 

I think its a great invention for rpgs and it means my players can have all the hardcopy books and I just need the reader!

 

Also the new DX contrast is much better than before but as has been mentioned they are very expensive, IMHO, and for £350 I could have bought alot of books!

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I just got my Kindle Dx today' date=' the main reason for its purchase was RPG PDFs :)[/quote']

 

Same here, I purchased the Kindle DX (the old white model) a few months ago just to read RPG PDFs. Since I sit in front of a computer all day the last thing I need to do is sit in front of another monitor (iPad or netbook) to do my reading. Way to much strain for my eyes :weep:.

 

I find the Kindle does not strain my eyes since it's screen is passive and basically acts like a real book (you need an external light source to read it). Plus an added bonus is that it is still readable in sunlight.

 

I have tried some novels as well and basically now spend my train trips to and from work reading HERO for the first half and a novel for the second. Easy to do as it is all in one nice compact slate. The need to charge it only every 2 weeks adds to its usability. The ability to share novels on the same account is also great, it lets other family members read the same novel at the same time. Yeah, I purchased one of the smaller Kindles for the lovely wife and she enjoys reading novels on it as well.

 

The one downside I see to it is that it may be a bit slow as a reference at the gaming table, but for reading it's great :thumbup:.

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

The one downside I see to it is that it may be a bit slow as a reference at the gaming table, but for reading it's great :thumbup:.

 

Totally agree, you cant "flip through" the book with the reader like you can with a physical copy, that's why I buy reference books like Champions Universe solely on PDF but something like the core books I got in both formats.

 

Reading for me is a way to relax so sitting at the PC for hours reading massive PDFs wasnt any fun!

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  • 4 months later...

Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

The best e-reader that I saw the 6e books on was the Kindle DX. Even then the display was slow and the ability to zoom in close was lacking. The Nook blows apart the PDF's formatting in favor of showing the text so ends up worthless for the display of PDF's like the 6e books.

 

I would recommend finding someplace that has a demo of the reader, loading the 6e books on a flash card and see how it performs.

 

So far the only reader like device that does a good job at Displaying the books is the iPad. The iPad allows gesture based zooming and scrolling of the books. It also switches very quickly to landscape mode for easier reading of the full page width. So far it's the only thing outside of a laptop that makes the PDF books actually usable/readable.

 

Thanks. I was thinking about asking for a Kindle for my birthday/Christmas (the two are 9 days apart) for reading the Hero Books (like Broken Kingdoms), small press sci-fi, free PDFs from Gutenburg, etc. My main problem with the Kindle is that it doesn't support ePub, the PDF format that public libraries use. I see what you're saying. It looks like the Kindle will involve a lot of scrolling. It would be fun to try it for a while.

 

My problem with the iPad is that it's the iPad. It's got a short battery life, the screen can cause glare, I already stare at a screen most of the time anyway, and worst of all you need iTunes to manage the software. (Sorry, but I've had bad experiences with iTunes on my earlier computers.) Do you know of any good alternatives to the iPad?

 

Thanks!

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Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

The latest software update for the Barnes & Noble Nook actually renders PDFs correctly, at Small Text size. Though it still has issues with Text at larger sizes and breaks formatting so the 'zoom' feature leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn't actually recommend anything with an eInk screen for PDFs, none I've seen actually seem to be useful with them.

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  • 2 months later...

Re: 6th Edition Books on eReader?

 

I have a Sony PRS 600 'Touch' reader and read hero system PDF's from the store on it all the time with no issues; I believe Sony's PDF support to be the best, at least it seemed so to me when I was shopping around.

 

NOTE: Pages with large illustrations--including maps and charts--do not 'flow' well, however as the screen is only 6" diagonally. I have no trouble--for example--with Fred or Dark Champions but have difficulty with Beastiary and Predators and Conquerors, Killers and Crooks due to all the large illustrations. I tend to go to the computer to read those.

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