| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| #1lokiareOct 01, 2009 12:41:49 | Has anyone had a chance to read this months Friar's Almanac magazine from drivethru rpg? you can find it for free under the company dark spire. What do you think about it? |
| #2HippolyteOct 03, 2009 1:26:34 | Thank you for pointing out this to me! I have just downloaded and read the first volume of said Friar's Almanac: it is highly idiosyncratic and somewhat unpolished but it does have some mediaeval roleplaying goodness! Especially the economic analysis and detailling of the knight's estate could be useful. That sort of thing would take me ages to develop myself and it would be full of errors. (There are tweaks I will make: for example, it does not normally take a hundred years to grow trees large enough for firewood or even timber. Only massive timbers for ships masts would need such lofty trees.) |
| #3ShiftkittyOct 03, 2009 15:01:12 | My honest opinion is that it might have some good stuff in there. However, full-page advertising between each article was enough to put me off, especially since it was the same stuff over and over again. I got halfway before I closed it. I don't mind some advertising, but getting hit in the face with a constant "Check this out!", especially for a repeated line of the same product, is annoying. I checked the page count and thought "It would be way less than that if he took out the constant barrage of ads." I still downloaded it because I still may go through it. In the next issue, though, tone the ads down a bit. QUITE a bit. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying use some restraint, because this is what it felt like: "My honest opinion is that it might have some good stuff in there.BUY THIS!!! However, full-page advertising between each article was enough to put me off, especially since it was the same stuff over and over again. BUY THIS!!! I got halfway before I closed it. BUY THIS!!! I don't mind some advertising, but getting hit in the face with a constant "Check this out!", especially for a repeated line of the same product, is annoying. BUY THIS!!! I checked the page count and thought "It would be way less than that if he took out the constant barrage of ads."BUY THIS!!! I still downloaded it because I still may go through it. BUY THIS!!! In the next issue, though, tone the ads down a bit. BUY THIS!!!QUITE a bit. BUY THIS!!!I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying use some restraint, because this is what it felt like:BUY THIS!!!" I really would like to enjoy reading your magazine. The key word is "enjoy". As I said, I don't mind advertisements. It's how we become aware of new products, after all. But more is not necessarily better. Assuming the ad is for your own product, I would suggest a well-designed ad at the beginning and at the end, with maybe something not quite so splashy in the middle. Play it conservatively. |
| #4AlyriOct 03, 2009 22:50:55 | If it is the same as the first installment, no thanks. |
| #5HippolyteOct 04, 2009 6:57:06 | I prefered the font and background of the first issue. The second issue presented me with walls of text. Perhaps two columns would be better. |
| #6ShiftkittyOct 04, 2009 10:09:55 | Heh heh, now for me the walls of text are no problem. In my own writings I usually do that, but only because, for some reason, what I write doesn't look good in columns. But you're right, that is the generally accepted format for magazines. It breaks it up visually and makes it easier on the eyes. It can be further enhanced by graphics placed sparingly and strategically. |
| #7lokiareOct 04, 2009 16:10:29 | Thank you for the feedback we will definitely use it to improve the magazine. I noticed so far the complaints are mainly for formatting issues. Is there any opinions based on the content? is the content great, good, or just plain horrible? are there mistakes? |
| #8malrauxOct 05, 2009 10:10:46 |
To be blunt, the formating is so bad, its almost impossible to get through that to the actual content. What bits of content I've gleaned from it is so hodgepodge that its almost useless. If you want to keep it going, I would recommend cutting your page count in half and then picking a few areas to focus on instead of trying to cover virtually everything. I'd start with dropping the pages of adventure ideas. |
| #9ShiftkittyOct 05, 2009 14:39:03 | Seconded. What would be nice to see would be some honest reviews of products, especially products from independent publishers who might not otherwise get press because they aren't associated with a big name. |
| #10lokiareOct 06, 2009 16:37:33 |
Do you have any companies in mind? |
| #11HerrozerroOct 06, 2009 16:54:15 | Lokiare im oging to give you some constructive criticism. please dont take this as my usual run ins with you, as I can see the merit in what you are doing and I think it needs refinment. First of all, the Ads. The keep popping up loud and annoying, now thats what advertisement is supposed to do, but alot of them are close to unreadable with text over the images clashing or becoming invisible. (Namely the Dead of Winter Ad)\ Second of all, I believe if you were to reduce the font size you could fit more onto the page it is a bit hard to read when only a few paragraphs fit onto a page. Perhaps going to a smaller font and also a larger page size? Third, the header and footer on each page is hard to read and takes up alot of space. Perhaps if you were to take them away and have text in their place? Leave the large headings for titles and covers. Fourth, The Ads. Not that they exist but how about smaller or maybe placed where your current footer is now. They do not need to be full pages boating the document. For instance the "for use with D&D 4e" logo at the end. If you were to make all the adds like that it would drastically improve the document for me. not to mention the inconsistancey, some ads take up a full page and some are a full page with a line or two from the article.
in conclusion, a great improvement from the first issue. |
| #12ShiftkittyOct 06, 2009 17:21:05 |
Look at the various price ranges on RPGNow. You'll probably have to contact the publishers explaining who you are and what you're doing and see if they'll provide some kind of demo for you (or your official reviewer). If you grab some old issues of Dragon Magazine (like, back when TSR had D&D) you'll find a couple of sections that reviewed games in general (Axis & Allies, Cathedral, etc.) and a section that dealt strictly with computer games ("The Role of Computers" it was called). They'd give what I deemed to be good, honest reviews, pointing out both good and bad aspects and letting the reader decide. The trick to this is that you would actually have to use the product to give a good, honest review. |