The most striking novelty is that they are no longer magazines, at least the first issues (Dragon 364 and Dungeon 155) are not. Now they are, as can be read from the cover, Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Supplements. I do enjoy the content of the publications as much as the next guy, thus I'm not critizising the content in the magazines, but rather what is missing from them. I miss the (scarce) parts that kept up the illusion of edited partly semi-independent content.
Now Dragon and Dungeon are online only. It's nice (=cheap) for the publisher but really, I do mind reading these kind of publications on the screen. Why? I cannot, well, do not want to take my computer to the bathroom, to a family trip, ... Those are the places and times I want to read prose. Even more importantly, I don't bring my computer to the gaming session unless absolutely necessary (e.g. when playing online), and printing out the required pages should be the job of the publisher. On the positive side, I do like the layout of the pdf's.
I can see the demand for these publications, but I think using the names of the historically significant RPG magazines for the new periodicals disparages their predecessors and creates ill-aligned expectations for the new vision of these products. I know there's no going back, and the brand values of both Dungeon and Dragon are too great to just ignore, but personally I would have greeted the new publications with much more enthusiasm if they were produced on their own merit, with their own, unburrowed names. Or then, add some content to make them a bit more than just "Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Supplements".
Dragon was in print for 30+ years. As hard I as try, I can't imagine the online version lasting even half that long. Compared to print material, online stuff is just way too ephemeral. On the other hand, if WotC decided to print a quarterly trade paperback, reprinting a number of issues, the name might have some actual staying power (in the long run).
I enjoyed collecting the print magazines, month after month off the newstand. I never missed a single issue since way back in 1994 (#200); it was my thing ;). Now that part of it's gone; I don't see myself ever collecting a bunch of PDF files. Even more than that however, I enjoyed reading the magazines; not so easy to read them on screen (I tend to browse the article more than read it in-depth).
It does look nice and professional on screen, but the landscape layout is especially hard for me to read unless I magnify the text several times. Maybe a much bigger monitor would make a difference?
As for printing costs, they are considerable. The colored borders and sidebars really eat up the ink. I can buy a $30 worth of gas or another ink cartridge and paper. Gas takes priority, every time, especially considering desktop printing is a homebrew effort at best. The only way to avoid the cost of printing is not to; so, I'm getting less "bang" than I once did out of the mag ;).
In an effort to end this on a more positive note: I do like that articles are released online every few days. With print, I had gotten used to reading Dragon only once a month; now, reading new stuff every few days is kinda cool. The online format aside, the articles this month have been interesting and enjoyable.
Isn't that PDF 101?
Just checking out the 364 pdf. No bookmarks?!? Really?!?
Isn't that PDF 101?
I was a bit surprised by that, too. Let me add my vote to make someone force the editor to put in bookmarks. :D
Seriously, bookmarks should be in any PDF that's longer than ~10 to 15 pages and is made up of different sections.
;)
Also if someone was to print them this way think how they would be assembled?
Either like a calendar or some overly wide childrens storybook.
Height = H
Width = W (note no brackets so this is NOT weapon damage)
H>W
Widescreen does nothing. I prefer documents fit-to-width to be legible.
Also if someone was to print them this way think how they would be assembled?
Either like a calendar or some overly wide childrens storybook.
Height = H
Width = W (note no brackets so this is NOT weapon damage)
H>W
I actually like the landscape format. It makes the ebooks much easier to read on screen. I'm using a native resolution of 1920x1200, thus normal documents always have at least 1/3 cut off. With landscape I can read the whole document without having to scroll.
I'm still hoping for a "Just the Facts" version of each magazine, all text with simple tables, no images, easy for printing.
If you use Foxit Reader you can get something similar to what you want. Open the PDF and select "Text Viewer" from the "Tools" menu.
You'll get something like this:
Show
Zoomed to 66.67%
Zoomed to 66.67%
If you use Foxit Reader you can get something similar to what you want. Open the PDF and select "Text Viewer" from the "Tools" menu.
You'll get something like this:Show
Zoomed to 66.67%
That actually looks pretty good to me. I'd still want to move stuff around to reduce wasted paper, but it's a start. I might have to give foxit a try.
If you download the "ZIP" version you get a standalone binary that doesn't need to be installed.
Thanks.
No problem. You're welcome.
One of the nice things about having each article as a PDF is that I can now print them out and organize them the way I want. One of the things I like to do is put all the classes in one binder, the races in another, etc. This way I can find the information faster and I can loan it out to the players more conveniently. I will need to invest in those sleeves just to make sure that the pages don't tear out, but those sheets are so inexpensive I think it will be worth the cost.
Or just buy reinforcements for the holes you punch in them to place them in the binders.
But where do you get a landscape binder or landscape sheet protectors at?
Or just buy reinforcements for the holes you punch in them to place them in the binders.
That gets more costly and more of a hassle. With the plastic pages, I can use a dry erase marker and make notes without needing to reprint pages. It's something I do at work quite often.
But where do you get a landscape binder or landscape sheet protectors at?
I just turn the page 90 degrees. I don't mind because that's how I need to read many files at work. For some it may be a bit awkward. I'm sure that you can get a landscape binder at any decent office supply store. I know I've seen them used for accounting. I don't know about the landscape sheet protectors but I'm sure there's something out there somewhere.
But unless you are somewhere full of idiots the reinforcement for other people should cost less.
$20 for 50 sheet protectors.
50 sheets protected
$20+binder cost per issue Dragon or Dugeon
$3 for 500 reinforcement tabs.
500/3=166 sheets reinforced
$3+binder costs per issue or both Dragon and Dungeon per month
I understand printing sideways, but don't really like reading things like a calendar unless I was putting them in an acro-binder like some legal document.
Also not everyone has that kind of money. Which makes the new Dragon and Dungeon much more expensive than the print forms.
They are talking somewhere near a ream of paper peer month of issues and probably a whole set of inks, on top of the subscription cost.
The artwork is bad, but not that bad, but it uses such high color that it will eat up ink quickly.
I can't justify the extra costs since I couldn't justify printing the entire issues.
Not entirely about the formatting, but printing comes into play since you are meant to be able to do so to them.
For myself, I have plenty of the sheet protectors and with the back-to-school sales going on, I can easily and cheaply purchase more. With an employee discount, I can get a lot of what I need. I know that not everyone has that very small but useful luxury.
As for printing, I would only print the articles I need regularly or that I would want to put in the binders (I have about a dozen already that I got at a garage sale years ago fr about a dollar). Since I can now use just the articles I want, I can easily organize them and skip the ones that I don't need or want. That can save me quite a bit of printing.
For example, in this first issue -
Articles I would not print at this time (Pages 41):
Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Yeenoghu
Vor Kragal: L L Lost City of Bael Turath
Ashen Covenant
Campaign Classics: The Hazards of Dark Sun
Expeditionary Dispatches: Forest of Flesh
Articles I won't print at all (Pages 12):
Editorial
Design & Development: The Dungeon Master’s Guide
Confessions of a Full-Time Wizard
RPGA Report
Ampersand
Articles I would definitely print now (Pages 30):
Playing Warforged
The Wolves of Maldeen
Creature Incarnations: Kobolds
Roll vs. Role: Goblins
Class Acts: Wizard
So that's 30 pages I would use now, 41 pages I might use later (but I probably won't use them all), and 12 that I wouldn't print at all. By selecting which articles are necessary for print and which I can just peruse on the screen, I can save quite a bit of money. I can also adjust the amount I spend more frugaly by only printing what I need now and printing the others later, when I need them. I do not need to print the entire issue. I can actually save money in the long run.
I can also ask my group to chip in a bit for paper and ink because some of the articles will be used by them (the class and race articles mostly). They already chip in when I ask because I tend to print their character sheets when they ask.
I hate landscape view. Fine for the screen, but I don't like "sideways" books.
I also hate how the page numbers are all on the bottom right, which is awkward if you want to print double sided (who doesn't want to print double sided?) I would greatly prefer the page numbers be in the bottom center, or alternating so I can print double sided.
There is also no whitespace for holepunching or stapling on pages with pig pictures.
And I would appreciate a section somewhere on the main website detailing what they have changed in the final magazine from the earlier articles. I don't want to have to read through every single thing to find out whether I need to print something again. My current plan is not to print until the issue is compiled. Which means I don't really use the articles (for mechanics) until everything is compiled.
I would like them to cater a bit more to the individual preferences of the customer printing or reading by including these sorts of options, because that's about the only thing digital media is offering for me.
Can they put a "permission granted for copying/printing for private use" on the front somewhere? If I wanted to go get this printed at a kinkos or something, I don't want the poor wageslave to give me a hassle over printing out something like this.
Edit:
In fact, not only do they not have this, but it lists the boilerplate copyright stuff:
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Dungeon, Dragon, d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries.
This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited
without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2008 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. For more Dungeons & Dragons articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd
WTH is the point of having this stuff if no one is allowed to print anything out, copy & paste it somewhere, etc. etc. etc.
If there no inter-office communication at all at WotC?
If there no inter-office communication at all at WotC?
No.
No.
Then what does G_Z really do with the information he compiles?
Guess the executive washroom runs out of tissue like everywhere else then eh?
I'm really liking the Dragon content so far, I hope they keep it up. Adventures are harder to process without running them, so I can't say much about Dungeon.
I miss: The ads, the 3rd party previews, and comics. And the letters.
I could do without: Articles that were free on the site before maquerading as magazine articles: design and development, previews, web enhancements, Confessions of a female gamer, etc.
Still the digital Dragon is the shining star of the digital initiative at this point.
... On the positive side, I do like the layout of the pdf's.
Where are the PDFs? I've been looking for the PDFs of Issues 361+ of Dragon for months now.
Where are the PDFs? I've been looking for the PDFs of Issues 361+ of Dragon for months now.
Go to the Archives here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4mag/archive
I don't believe they have compiled a single PDF other than Dragon 364 and Dungeon 155. You can still download the individual articles from earlier ones though.
The links to the compiled documents are the cover pictures at the top, they have a "Download Complete Issue Now!" on the bottom right.
You can still download the individual articles from earlier ones though.
I think only the Dungeon adventures all have a separate download link. Most of the articles, and the Dragon articles, have no pdf download in those older issues. They are webpages only.
I think only the Dungeon adventures all have a separate download link. Most of the articles, and the Dragon articles, have no pdf download in those older issues. They are webpages only.
Silly me, giving too much credit then.