Gentlemen,

I am a proud FFG client.

Your products have uncanny details, are fun to play and the company itself is very committed with the game community.

I was VERY excited that the Star Wars RPG game would be continued (or rather remade) by you.

I just heard the news on the announcement of Edge of the Empire and was heading straight to download a copy of the Beta version in order to read and give you guys an ASAP feedback…

It was with great surprise that I discovered that not only FFG was charging for the beta product but also it was almost U$ 30,00!

So, really, the idea is to charge us AND ask for feedback? o_O

I mean, I'd be GLAD to contribute with a symbolic donation to the Rebel cause, like U$ 5,00. Five, not thirty.

So I decided to write and see if there is any other sentient being that agrees with me. Maybe if enough voices join the chorus, we may be able to convince you guys to think this over. As a concrete example I give you the famous RPG Pathfinder - Beta version. It was free, the game developed with fans' help and is a giant on the field of fantasy. The final version of the product is sailing great, by the way.

So, here is a manifest for the Beta version of the Edge of the Empire to be released as a free product - or at least for a considerable reduction of it s price.

Thanks for reading this.

May the Force be with us all.

Sincerely,

- Nelson Lemos

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's not going to happen bud. They saw at GenCon how much this game would sell even as a beta. Your only options are:

1. Pay the $30+ S&H and enjoy a game that is very close to the final product (only missing fluff).

2. Wait till the final product is released and then buy the game.

If you go with option 1, I was told at GenCon that this book is so close to the final product (just needing players input on balance issues and other things new eyes might see). That you Don't have to buy the final product to play this game (but why wouldn't you? You want the fluff and whatever changes they do make right?).

This household has 2 copies of the book to pass around the table and we've talked about buying a 3rd. Such a great game and it plays so easily, we weren't going to miss out on this chance!

Didn't you already post this thread somewhere around here? I've seen this before, but with many replies.

[EDIT: Yes, there it is in your posting history. Did you delete the thread and repost it because you didn't like the feedback you were getting? Just curious.]

[EDIT #2: Hang on, I see from your original post date that this is the same thread. Did all the other replies (which can be found in your post history) get deleted? Weird!]

NAML said:

the beta for pathfinder was called dnd 3.5 which is were all the heavy lifting was done.

as for it being a free pdf

only war has a pdf beta and that is still $20 so looks like there isnt much chance of that.

add on top the news that they have sold out of the beta books it looking like the $30 for it isnt to much.

I. J. Thompson said:

I noticed that too. :S Odd, but at least it got rid of a lot of bicker-filled comments! lol

Actually I think this was posted about the same time just everyone replied to the other one. This one just seems to have floated to the top because Blackjac replied to it.

E

theonelawler said:

Actually, the Pathfinder beta was paid too, at least if you wanted a printed copy.

MILLANDSON said:

Well, there was a Pathfinder Alpha that was free, which I remember because I downloaded it, took a long solid look at it… and then deleted it from my RPG folder because it was little more than a fresh coat of sparkly paint on system I'd already come to despise on multiple levels.

Donovan Morningfire said:

Yes, but that was for the PDF. For the printed book, you had to pay, just like you do for this one.

eldath said:

Most Precisely. For some reason it glitched and I got 2 copies of the same post. I tried to delete this one but didn't find how to.

Sorry.

As for the whole idea, I am surprised to see how many people do like the idea of paying for it. Like I said on the other post, I totally respect that, no problem. Also, I think this Beta name might not bethe best. Everything seems to be basically ready. It should be a limited edition or something else.

Whatever, court adjourned, lost case.

Thnaks for the interest anyway

NAML said:

I can't speak for everyone, but only for myself. I wouldn't say I "liked" the idea of paying for it, just that I understood why there was a price associated to it. That said, I also like the concept of shaping Star Wars into a system that I really enjoy and want to run/play in. Now, I can't say that my comments/recommendations on the board are anything that is going to be taken into account, but like voting, I can say I tried.

Regardless, I have run this system, in beta, 6 times in the last 2 weeks. (I have been demoing it at a local game shop, and 3 time for my regular gaming group). Not only have I had an absolute joy GMing it, but every player I have had so far adores it. The only complaints I get are not about the rules or what is in the book, but more what isn't…. I have gotten a few saying there are not enough species options to feel like star wars, and I got one complaining that the jedi were not options. That said, all of the players loved the game. In fact, my gaming group has canceled all our other games (pathfinder, Hellfrost, and Dresden Files) to play this game more. Also given the game/system, we are thinking about picking up WHFRP just to give it a go and see if it is as fun.

Again, the price isn't something I cared for, but I'm very glad I paid it.

You know, to be honest, I was initially really against the idea of a paid beta until I saw the book. If the $30 goes towards covering the production costs of the beta, I'm fine with that. $30 isn't that much and having a real book to work from is a LOT better than a PDF, to me. It's a weird idea to charge for a beta, but, in the end, I'm okay with it.

It'd be cool if FFG could find a way to roll it forward - give all the beta participants something cool, like extra dice or something, but either way, it's a valid model and it seems like something they'll be continuing.

skinnyghost said:

That would be very cool, but highly unlikely.

How would FFG even go about tracking that? How can you prove you have a beta copy and paid for it?

Rip off the UPC code? Y'know… LOL… maybe I'm old fashioned, but this thing is a collector's item, at this point. And I ain't ripping anything off of it. A picture? So… every person in a group of 10 takes their picture with the same book? (It's not like UPCs are unique to each book…)

If you bought it online, they send you something? Just as many copies weren't bought online. They flew off the shelves at GenCon, with many people buying multiple copies. How would that be handled? Or the copies shipped to gaming stores? Should the retailer track who they've sold them to?

So, this'd be a nice idea - but logistically improbable. [shrug]

Not "impossible" but yeah, obviously pretty unlikely. Hell, if they were "allowed" to make PDFs they could release some special thing where you type in a certain word from a certain page of the BETA and get a copy of the PDF DLC for the game. Sadly, no dice on that front.

Anyway, all that said, I figure they're doing what's best for them and honestly, I've seen much worse. It's fun to have an ashcan version of the game we can look back at when the finished game is out and say "look how far it's come"