T5 Erratta - Should I have Waited?

[Supplement Four]

I was just looking at all the errata for the T5 book. Wow! That looks mind blowing, and there's more coming. MegaTraveller all over again.

I'm starting to wonder--should I have waited for an errata-corrected book? Will there be an errata corrected book? If there is one, maybe Marc will make the reprinted version cheap (maybe at cost) for those of us who purchased the first one?





Errata - Look at that. I've even got errata in the title of this post!

 

[BytePro]

If you wanted only an uncorrected copy - I think that's only fair to say for any first edition of any game book (and, indeed, textbooks, technical manuals, software, cars, etc.).

Given the nature of the Kickstarter was in part to encourage Marc to finish the decade plus (?) development of T5 - something clearly stated in the video and text IIRC - I would hardly expect anything less than numerous errata.

When I saw the Kickstarter was fully funded I held off - since I am not a collector, nor anxious to actually play T5. (I was only intending to pitch in if Marc needed help.)

I will be more than happy to await buying an error corrected T5 PDF that I can cull useful bits from (and maybe even play, perhaps) - and meanwhile enjoy COTI T5 discussions.

Though, I must say, the book looks gorgeous!

 

[Tarrien]

Well it depends if you want to play NOW or wait what will undoubtedly be a long time before an updated version of the book is printed. With a book this size there were bound to be some errors. Don't be surprised if an updated book also has errors, just look at some of errata for the 2nd printing D&D books and they're nowhere close to the size of the T5 book.

 

[aramis]

I was just looking at all the errata for the T5 book. Wow! That looks mind blowing, and there's more coming. MegaTraveller all over again.

I'm starting to wonder--should I have waited for an errata-corrected book? Will there be an errata corrected book? If there is one, maybe Marc will make the reprinted version cheap (maybe at cost) for those of us who purchased the first one?

I doubt there will be a second printing anytime soon, so no, you should NOT have waited - you'd likely be waiting years.

 

[Avenger Enterprises]

I suppose the crtitical question will be... is it playable as is?

If you can play a decent game with it and that makes you happy then I guess on balance it was a good decision to get it straight away. If the errata drives you nuts then it wasn't. Which it is will be subjective I suppose.

 

[Avenger Enterprises]

It looks to me like some sections are the same material that Marc showed me in 1998 , so at least some sections should be in 'final' condition and reasonably errata free. (You'd think. I don't know, but that's what I'm expecting).

I wasn't involved in the development process or the playtest so I don't have any insider information, but it seems reasonable to expect that material developed, say, five years ago should be the way Marc wants it to be by now. So maybe the errata isn't all that bad. (again, I'm making assumptions here; I've not seen an errata list so I don't know.)

 

[BytePro]

Errata thread - http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=29549

 

[Avenger Enterprises]

Hmm. That *is* rather a lot of errata, and much of it looks like it's mechanics, not text typos. That may affect usability. Can anyone comment on how much trouble the errata causes in actual use?

 

[pendragonman]

Having genned several characters in it so far, not much.

Having done a couple of playtests, not much.

But then again, I am not a grammar nazi.

 

[HG_B]

Since this will eventually be sold as a PDF online I'd think that a digital corrected copy could be produced easily within 6 months...

 

[Avenger Enterprises]

Looks like it might be okay then.

 

[Jazzlvraz]

...a digital corrected copy could be produced easily within 6 months...

Unless changes require re-pagination, which I'm told can be a rather-large pain.

 

[Original_Carl]

In regards to how much pain the errata causes...

Having genned several characters in it so far, not much.

Having done a couple of playtests, not much.

But then again, I am not a grammar nazi.

I'm a grammar enthusiast, but I'm with Pendragonman on this. The actual errors aren't a big deal. It's the organization of the content that has caused me the most forehead smacking. I wish the book had an index and a glossary. Fortunately, the .PDF is easily searchable.

 

[BytePro]

If I'm not mistaken - a Player's edition is promised...

I would think trimming down for that would be a good time to overhaul the Core book (if such is truly necessary and market supported). I read somewhere the notion that a TOC and Glossary were sacrificed for page count - though no idea how factual that is.

Re-pagination should not be any kind of issue at all.

I'd hope the errata thread would result in identifying several candidates for proofing future work - with regards to grammar and spelling (not rule logic, etc.). Suspect 2-3 excellent proofreaders, familiar with the game, and likely to do the work in a timely manner, could easily be found. And would do it just for the love of the game. Plenty of modern programs provide markup handling for rapid and easy integration of collaborative edits (even MS Word can do this), so Marc can accept/reject/amend and version edit with very little effort.

I'm not a professional proofreader/editor. But, I could read a 650 page rulebook two to three times and do a decent job of proofing in one dedicated 24 hour period. Easily handle such in a leisurely fashion over the course of a week. Expect a pro would do the job better and in at least as little time.

 

[HG_B]

Unless changes require re-pagination, which I'm told can be a rather-large pain.

Not hard at all.

 

[BytePro]

'Hard' is a subjective thing - unnecessary expenditure of time and effort is another matter.

Re-pagination should not be any significant issue.

But, if text elements, tables and graphic elements were not thoughtfully setup consistently taking advantage of styles, layout controls and automatic references, or some archaic/limited software was used - re-flowing can lead to such things as: blank pages; hanging headings, paragraphs and lines; wrong page references; split tables; and oddly placed graphics. Among other undesirable artifacts.

In such situations, cascade problems often propagate on every re-edit. Thus leading to a bit of wasted time and effort and, at the very least (if formatting is only done as a final step), additional opportunities for error.

 

[Shonner]

should I have waited for an errata-corrected book? Will there be an errata corrected book? If there is one, maybe Marc will make the reprinted version cheap (maybe at cost) for those of us who purchased the first one?

Printing a 2nd edition of T5 would require another KickStarter. Might as well produce a T6.

 

[Bloo]

eBook (PDF, bookmarked and indexed) + lulu.com

 

[thalassogen]

Does anybody know if the PDF will be updated with errata and then provided to the Kickstarter backers? Or do we have to re-buy an updated version?

 

[Vladika]

Printing a 2nd edition of T5 would require another KickStarter. Might as well produce a T6.

NO a reprint would NOT require another KickStarter!

Roughly $25,000 was needed and roughly $280,000 was collected from the first KickStarter.

T5 could be printed several times over with the first money.

Bluntly put, T5 play testers either were ignored or their results poorly coordinated or, God forbid, inept (Highly Doubtful). Also it's obvious that T5 needed a proofreader and that after a decade or so of development it was a poor decision to rush it to print.

But, Errata is the one canon consistency in Traveller...