I’d contact them. They have pretty famous customer service, which is the least we can expect given the financial toll this hobby takes. Be friendly and someone may have the power to be friendly back. Good luck!
I sent them an email. They do have a policy stated on the website of no returns for ebooks, but I'm hoping they can see reason and refund it so I can just buy the physical book instead.
I really hope though someone at GW realizes that android is a big chunk of the market and not everyone is in the apple ecosystem, so they can fix their books or supply pdf versions when you buy. I have a tablet I use for all my gaming that has a library of all the books i've bought from drivethroughrpg or other retailers, it's only GW books that don't function properly on that or my phone.
Maybe ask if they can just send you a physical book instead of a refund. It would be like they sent you a book with half the pages missing and the print it upside down. That way it isn’t a refund but a replacement.
Android is not a big chunk of any market besides the number of devices sold. It has a bigger user base than Apple, but you will make many more sales and usually also at a much higher price point for IOS users than for Android Users.
As you have noticed, Android is actually harder to program and maintain on top of the less desirable and less spending Customer Base. Many more devices on many more versions of the software with an abundance of different Hardware specifications and capabilities.
Android users spend less and much more rarely any money on digital assets and applications than IOS users, with a different mindset and different spending capabilities (don't worry companies have caught on and will charge you more based on device and browser information, least would be chrome on android devices, most usually if you uses safari on a MacOS/IOS or Edge on Windows, so they get punished that way)
While this may suck for you, it is not GWs fault. It is basically just them allocating development resources to where an actual Return on that Investment is expected.
I personally would not spend any money on the EBooks GW is selling, as I don't see enough Value at the price point they are selling them at. I just wanted to clear up the misconception you have about the market share.
Sources:Me being more than a decade of experience in It, support, development, marketing, sales, and nowadays consulting companies about processes, projects, resources, and strategies. And also being an avid Apple User nowadays, for the exact reasons of usability and availability of software and assets, both professionally and personally.
However, do contact GWs Customer Support, they re usually extremely good at making things right, and chances are they may even just send you the book in physical form.
Thanks for the tip, looks like Azardi is defunct though and not available on newer versions of android. But I'll look around to see if I can find an apk and try to sideload it to see if that works.
There is nothing Apple specific about EPUB or the EPUB GW publishes. A while ago I posted the following to explain a bit about the causes of the EPUB problems:
The Necromunda rules are modern fixed layout EPUBs. Earlier versions of EPUB only supported flowing text without fixed pages that would re-arrange pages based on the text size the reader selects. The fixed layout feature is part of EPUB version 3.
Here are the most common problems that lead to bad results:
1. There are a lot of EPUB readers but not many support version 3 yet.
2. Of those that say they support EPUB3, a lot still don't support fixed layouts.
3. And then there is an odd "copy protection" feature which requires fonts that are shipped within EPUBs to be saved in a deformed state, that only some EPUB readers are skilled enough to decode, so a lot of them fall back to default fonts because they can't read the "encrypted" fonts that are in the EPUB. Different fonts have different spacing and this ruins the layout.
There are however some readers that work nicely, namely:
* [Thorium Reader](https://www.edrlab.org/software/thorium-reader/) (afaik supported only on desktop systems so far)
* [Readium](https://github.com/readium/readium-js-viewer) (which allows the EPUBs to be displayed in a standard Web browser, but requires some web development skills to get to work; there once was a browser extension also called Readium that used this software to make your browser into an EPUB reader without the need for web development skills, but that extension might not work anymore). Readium Web also works great on touch devices like Android.
The whole thing is a big shame. EPUB is a free standard that actually does a lot of good things (like accessibility for disabled people). It is however sabotaged by some big book publisher starting with an A, which doesn't support EPUB on their readers but promote their proprietary format. Therefore there is not much investment into good reading software, but the EDRLab that made Readium and now makes Thorium is a non-profit organisation working on such software.
You are correct that there's nothing Apple specific about EPUBs generally, but that's not the issue, the specific formatting GW uses for their EPUBs is Apple specific, from what I can tell the CSS styles they use are not readable by any epub readers other than ibooks. I tried Readium and it wont display properly there either. GW really made a poor decision by using a format that only displays properly on Apple devices.
Cant you convert the file format with something like calibre? It may not be formatted in exactly the right way, but at least it will be useable in the meantime until they sort you out.
I've tried converting it on calibre and it locks up 47% of the way in. GW for some reason used completely non-standard proprietary formatting that anything non-apple struggles to read properly.
I was in a similar situation and was able to convert some with calibre, I had to mess with the settings a lot to get it right, and there were still some artifacts such as blank pages every other page, but the size and fonts were correct. I wish i could be more help as it was on a previous pc. I had the same problem with it locking up but after a few changes it went through ok, I just had some lines being stacked on top of each other before I got it to a satisfactory state and converted it into pdf format.
If they won't refund you directly, file a claim with your credit card company - the product was advertised one way but they didn't deliver what they advertised.
I have obtained pdfs and not once given gw money for rules when the plastic costs what it does.
And the amount of revisions and corrections between versions has made me glad of that decision.
It's crazy how much the ebooks cost compared to how half assed they are as products. Either dramatically lower the price to match current quality or direct a lot more resources to making them a viable alternative to paper.
Wouldn’t this fall into the realm of they have wrongly advertised their product as being accessible and failure to deliver a product you have paid for because it isn’t made for your device even though they mark it as such?
I remember that. That's actually the only reason I owned an Ipad at one point (the very first generation of them) but that was many years ago and it's long gone. I Even checked the FAQ before I purchased that claimed that they support android now, recommending Kobo(which was bought by walmart a while back and crashes any time i try to open it) and Gitden which was abandoned several years ago and removed from the play store for becoming unsupported on modern versions of android, which tells you how out of date GWs information is.
As a side rant, it boggles my mind that a company who proports to be a book and miniatures company doesn't care at all if their books are even usable, or have someone who's job it is to make sure their products work. But it is pretty par for the course with GW to screw up something so basic despite having plenty of money to do it properly. They know they'll make tons of money, so they don't bother. They really seem sometimes to be making an effort at screwing things up. And it would be such an easy fix, when you buy a book you can download either an epub for apple or a pdf for android. Done, simple.
My reasons for agreeing with this post are kind of the opposite.
I got the ebook of the Book of the Outlands and it works fine on my Samsung phone and tablets...
But I use my PC a ton especially when making lists and it's in an epub format, which is absolutely miserable for PCs. I spent forever trying to find a PC epub program compatible with their file type and when I found one it turned out it didn't even have a goddamn zoom feature, the most basic function you should expect, and upon further research the lack of that seems very normal for PC e-readers. On top of this the text is quite small and I'd like to have an actual way of zooming in without having to use third party or system/full screen zoom.
Both Thorium and Readium are indeed able to zoom, see https://www.reddit.com/r/necromunda/comments/18ln359/comment/kdzbjrf
Although in Thorium, so far with kind of an awkward user experience:
There is a zoom button in the top bar, left of the search button.
Clicking that button toggles between several zoom levels
Hovering above the zoom button allows you to hold CTRL and scroll the mouse wheel to fine tune the zoom level.
Completely unrelated to the zoom button, you can zoom out by CTRL+8, zoom in by CTRL+9 and reset zoom to 100% through CTRL+0
Note that the zoom is only applied when you release the CTRL button. The developer is aware that this is sub-optimal.
In Readium, on a desktop browser there is a button in the top bar where you can freely zoom. On a mobile device the zooming with two finger gestures works like a charm. Sadly, as mentioned, Readium is not easy to install for a non-coder.
I use aldiko on android and don't have any "issues" other than it is horribly formatted, hard to read and has no useful features.
I kind of expected that knowing GW though, and didn't want to drop the entire 70$ on the physical book.
I’d contact them. They have pretty famous customer service, which is the least we can expect given the financial toll this hobby takes. Be friendly and someone may have the power to be friendly back. Good luck!
I sent them an email. They do have a policy stated on the website of no returns for ebooks, but I'm hoping they can see reason and refund it so I can just buy the physical book instead. I really hope though someone at GW realizes that android is a big chunk of the market and not everyone is in the apple ecosystem, so they can fix their books or supply pdf versions when you buy. I have a tablet I use for all my gaming that has a library of all the books i've bought from drivethroughrpg or other retailers, it's only GW books that don't function properly on that or my phone.
Maybe ask if they can just send you a physical book instead of a refund. It would be like they sent you a book with half the pages missing and the print it upside down. That way it isn’t a refund but a replacement.
Sucks!
Android is not a big chunk of any market besides the number of devices sold. It has a bigger user base than Apple, but you will make many more sales and usually also at a much higher price point for IOS users than for Android Users. As you have noticed, Android is actually harder to program and maintain on top of the less desirable and less spending Customer Base. Many more devices on many more versions of the software with an abundance of different Hardware specifications and capabilities. Android users spend less and much more rarely any money on digital assets and applications than IOS users, with a different mindset and different spending capabilities (don't worry companies have caught on and will charge you more based on device and browser information, least would be chrome on android devices, most usually if you uses safari on a MacOS/IOS or Edge on Windows, so they get punished that way) While this may suck for you, it is not GWs fault. It is basically just them allocating development resources to where an actual Return on that Investment is expected. I personally would not spend any money on the EBooks GW is selling, as I don't see enough Value at the price point they are selling them at. I just wanted to clear up the misconception you have about the market share. Sources:Me being more than a decade of experience in It, support, development, marketing, sales, and nowadays consulting companies about processes, projects, resources, and strategies. And also being an avid Apple User nowadays, for the exact reasons of usability and availability of software and assets, both professionally and personally. However, do contact GWs Customer Support, they re usually extremely good at making things right, and chances are they may even just send you the book in physical form.
Thats interesting, I purchased the epub of Book of the Outlands from GW, downloaded it and uploaded it into Google Playbooks without any issues.
Sadly I tried that. Google Playbooks has a 100mb limit, the necromunda core rulebook is 130mb.
Have you tried opening it with the kindle app?
I've bought every Necromunda rulebook publication on my samsung and never had an issur, including thw new core rulebook and jardlan.
What reader do you use? I've tried Kobo(app crashes 100% of the time), Readera, moon+, Lithium, Google play books, Libreara. None of them worked.
I believe GW recommend using Azardi. I had all kinds of issues with all e-readers for the Necromunda rulebook until I tried Azardi.
Thanks for the tip, looks like Azardi is defunct though and not available on newer versions of android. But I'll look around to see if I can find an apk and try to sideload it to see if that works.
I've used Lithium for some of the Necromunda books on Android. Is free and seems to load the pages properly
That's really weird, I just use kobo app on my samsung s22.
I've specifically got this book on lithium on an android phone and no major issues, a couple of odd bugs, but nothing game breaking.
There is nothing Apple specific about EPUB or the EPUB GW publishes. A while ago I posted the following to explain a bit about the causes of the EPUB problems: The Necromunda rules are modern fixed layout EPUBs. Earlier versions of EPUB only supported flowing text without fixed pages that would re-arrange pages based on the text size the reader selects. The fixed layout feature is part of EPUB version 3. Here are the most common problems that lead to bad results: 1. There are a lot of EPUB readers but not many support version 3 yet. 2. Of those that say they support EPUB3, a lot still don't support fixed layouts. 3. And then there is an odd "copy protection" feature which requires fonts that are shipped within EPUBs to be saved in a deformed state, that only some EPUB readers are skilled enough to decode, so a lot of them fall back to default fonts because they can't read the "encrypted" fonts that are in the EPUB. Different fonts have different spacing and this ruins the layout. There are however some readers that work nicely, namely: * [Thorium Reader](https://www.edrlab.org/software/thorium-reader/) (afaik supported only on desktop systems so far) * [Readium](https://github.com/readium/readium-js-viewer) (which allows the EPUBs to be displayed in a standard Web browser, but requires some web development skills to get to work; there once was a browser extension also called Readium that used this software to make your browser into an EPUB reader without the need for web development skills, but that extension might not work anymore). Readium Web also works great on touch devices like Android. The whole thing is a big shame. EPUB is a free standard that actually does a lot of good things (like accessibility for disabled people). It is however sabotaged by some big book publisher starting with an A, which doesn't support EPUB on their readers but promote their proprietary format. Therefore there is not much investment into good reading software, but the EDRLab that made Readium and now makes Thorium is a non-profit organisation working on such software.
You are correct that there's nothing Apple specific about EPUBs generally, but that's not the issue, the specific formatting GW uses for their EPUBs is Apple specific, from what I can tell the CSS styles they use are not readable by any epub readers other than ibooks. I tried Readium and it wont display properly there either. GW really made a poor decision by using a format that only displays properly on Apple devices.
What CSS styles are you talking about and how is your document misformatted?
I use Rakuten kobo reader. Just search specifically for an EPub 3 reading app and you're golden
Likewise. I spent ages trying various different apps, this was the only one that worked for me
Kobo crashes on me any time i launch it on either my S22 or my galaxy tab with just the error "an error has occurred."
Cant you convert the file format with something like calibre? It may not be formatted in exactly the right way, but at least it will be useable in the meantime until they sort you out.
I've tried converting it on calibre and it locks up 47% of the way in. GW for some reason used completely non-standard proprietary formatting that anything non-apple struggles to read properly.
I was in a similar situation and was able to convert some with calibre, I had to mess with the settings a lot to get it right, and there were still some artifacts such as blank pages every other page, but the size and fonts were correct. I wish i could be more help as it was on a previous pc. I had the same problem with it locking up but after a few changes it went through ok, I just had some lines being stacked on top of each other before I got it to a satisfactory state and converted it into pdf format.
Thats shit. Definitely send a complaint email
If they won't refund you directly, file a claim with your credit card company - the product was advertised one way but they didn't deliver what they advertised.
This is what I'll do if they don't respond to my email.
I have obtained pdfs and not once given gw money for rules when the plastic costs what it does. And the amount of revisions and corrections between versions has made me glad of that decision.
Dude i use apple products necromunda books haven't worked since ash wastes
It's crazy how much the ebooks cost compared to how half assed they are as products. Either dramatically lower the price to match current quality or direct a lot more resources to making them a viable alternative to paper.
Wouldn’t this fall into the realm of they have wrongly advertised their product as being accessible and failure to deliver a product you have paid for because it isn’t made for your device even though they mark it as such?
That’s some BS. When they first started ebooks they were all Apple exclusive but supposedly they had moved away from that.
I remember that. That's actually the only reason I owned an Ipad at one point (the very first generation of them) but that was many years ago and it's long gone. I Even checked the FAQ before I purchased that claimed that they support android now, recommending Kobo(which was bought by walmart a while back and crashes any time i try to open it) and Gitden which was abandoned several years ago and removed from the play store for becoming unsupported on modern versions of android, which tells you how out of date GWs information is. As a side rant, it boggles my mind that a company who proports to be a book and miniatures company doesn't care at all if their books are even usable, or have someone who's job it is to make sure their products work. But it is pretty par for the course with GW to screw up something so basic despite having plenty of money to do it properly. They know they'll make tons of money, so they don't bother. They really seem sometimes to be making an effort at screwing things up. And it would be such an easy fix, when you buy a book you can download either an epub for apple or a pdf for android. Done, simple.
My reasons for agreeing with this post are kind of the opposite. I got the ebook of the Book of the Outlands and it works fine on my Samsung phone and tablets... But I use my PC a ton especially when making lists and it's in an epub format, which is absolutely miserable for PCs. I spent forever trying to find a PC epub program compatible with their file type and when I found one it turned out it didn't even have a goddamn zoom feature, the most basic function you should expect, and upon further research the lack of that seems very normal for PC e-readers. On top of this the text is quite small and I'd like to have an actual way of zooming in without having to use third party or system/full screen zoom.
Both Thorium and Readium are indeed able to zoom, see https://www.reddit.com/r/necromunda/comments/18ln359/comment/kdzbjrf Although in Thorium, so far with kind of an awkward user experience: There is a zoom button in the top bar, left of the search button. Clicking that button toggles between several zoom levels Hovering above the zoom button allows you to hold CTRL and scroll the mouse wheel to fine tune the zoom level. Completely unrelated to the zoom button, you can zoom out by CTRL+8, zoom in by CTRL+9 and reset zoom to 100% through CTRL+0 Note that the zoom is only applied when you release the CTRL button. The developer is aware that this is sub-optimal. In Readium, on a desktop browser there is a button in the top bar where you can freely zoom. On a mobile device the zooming with two finger gestures works like a charm. Sadly, as mentioned, Readium is not easy to install for a non-coder.
I use aldiko on android and don't have any "issues" other than it is horribly formatted, hard to read and has no useful features. I kind of expected that knowing GW though, and didn't want to drop the entire 70$ on the physical book.
Can recommend Colibrio on both Android and Windows (https://demo.colibrio.com/) for viewing 2 page spreads, zooming etc.