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Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

- I don't like the cover. It's a bunch of images arranged randomly on a generic gradient background.

Newsflash: that's what magazine covers in the 90's did except for the "gradient" which is simply the forum's colour.

Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

- I dislike the whole "Versus" idea. I'm afraid that editors will simply be afraid to rate a new game gigher than the old one, since that would be a "blasphemy", and thus the old game will be typically elected the victor simply for being old.

Well think of it like this: most modern sequels are based on great classics. They won't make a sequel to a poorly selling and unloved game, now would they? The idea is to compare games and not to plainly review both (something which Fubb didn't quite get sadly enough) and to see how they changed the sequel compared to the original.

Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

- There's a phrase loosely hanging ("...Duke of Ander's Moon is anointed") at the top of page 9.

Nothing special that - it's not hanging loosely anyway, it's just the end of the paragraph of the previous page. I try to avoid such things but there are worse flaws in the design - like the quote on page 11 having too much space below. Having to create a mag from scratch in a month is no easy feat so such errors are to be expected in the first issue.

Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

- The quote on page 10 is rather pointless and badly chosen, as Simoneer pointed out.

Well it was one of the better lines to quote - I personally don't see how it's pointless - not anymore than the other quotes anyway.

Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

- I disliked the "2D or not 2D" article. It states a lot of obvious information ("2D is just not fashionable anymore. Young gamers prefer flashy 3D" - no, really?) and basically says nothing new. We all know that 2D graphics are all right, there's no need to take up a whole page for it.

Listen Up! is meant to be a soapbox. It's not an informative article but is just someone talking about an experience or something he likes, dislikes, finds interesting but wants others to hear about. In this case, I believe the idea of the article is a very solid one: why always go for 3D when 2D can do the job as well? Whether it's something "new" or not, is not the question - we're dealing with 15 year old games here, so if you're looking for "new", I suggest just reading a Playstation 3 magazine (although the generic crap in there is hardly new either).

Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

- Typo near the bottom of page 13 ("Please vivist...")

Already been noted.

[JudgeDeadd]

Newsflash: that's what magazine covers in the 90's did except for the "gradient" which is simply the forum's colour.

No, they didn't. They used a large image for the cover's background, and sometimes added some little screenies on the cover. Take a look at those or those for instance.

Well it was one of the better lines to quote - I personally don't see how it's pointless - not anymore than the other quotes anyway.

Well, I'd expect the quote to say something about the game's quality, not just a random phrase picked from the description of gameplay. But okay then.

Whether it's something "new" or not, is not the question - we're dealing with 15 year old games here, so if you're looking for "new", I suggest just reading a Playstation 3 magazine (although the generic crap in there is hardly new either).

So, you're saying that Abandonia Reloaded is not a place for new and original opinions? Instead, we should repeat the same things that everyone know already and that have been said millions of times in the past? Because that's what your response suggests.

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Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

No, they didn't. They used a large image for the cover's background, and sometimes added some little screenies on the cover. Take a look at those or those for instance.

Well, I'd expect the quote to say something about the game's quality, not just a random phrase picked from the description of gameplay. But okay then.

So, you're saying that Abandonia Reloaded is not a place for new and original opinions? Instead, we should repeat the same things that everyone know already and that have been said millions of times in the past? Because that's what your response suggests.

Point 1: Granted, some magazines didn't use single images, but a lot did (especially European ones). Besides, you're forgetting something important which stops us from doing the same anyway: how DID those magazines get their hands on large images? It's called press packages - PR people used to send these along with game previews and reviews. It contained huge images (often 3D renderings) of game characters or game art to use in covers & articles.

We don't have this advantage so we have to make do with what we have. I can't stretch a 200x100 image to cover a full page - it would look hideous and then people would have complained about that. The pixels would be the size of a pin! Unless we find some (unlikely to exist) site that collects these old press packages, we're pretty much stuck to using these smaller images, I'm afraid. At most we can contact the old publishers and ask for the old press packages but it's unlikely they still have them. But it's already a hard task finding images fit for the front cover - boxshots are the only bigger images we have and they're not even fit for stretching.

Point2: well when I skim through an article, I try to find lines that are fit for quoting but they're often either too long or don't make sense as a quote. I may take some extra effort to find a better quote but I can hardly rewrite the review to get some. We still have amateur writers here who do this as a hobby so you can't expect the quality of a professional magazine.

Point3: I'm not sure why you involve Abandonia Reloaded? Or do you mean Abandoned Times? The truth is, every oppinion or idea has already been written down somewhere. With hundreds of magazines all over the world and several columns in each magazine, it's unlikely for any new column to be completely new or original. Besides, it was mostly a nudge towards indie developers to not always go for 3D when they don't have to. If you feel you have a better, new and original oppinion to spread, just write it down and submit it!

[JudgeDeadd]

Point3: I'm not sure why you involve Abandonia Reloaded? Or do you mean Abandoned Times?

AH CRAP MISTYPE SORRY

The truth is, every oppinion or idea has already been written down somewhere. With hundreds of magazines all over the world and several columns in each magazine, it's unlikely for any new column to be completely new or original. Besides, it was mostly a nudge towards indie developers to not always go for 3D when they don't have to. If you feel you have a better, new and original oppinion to spread, just write it down and submit it!

I was simply addressing your answer, which said: "so if you're looking for "new", I suggest just reading a Playstation 3 magazine". This sounded as if you didn't want anything "new" in Abandoned Times.

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Originally Posted by Jacek Dobrzyniecki

I was simply addressing your answer, which said: "so if you're looking for "new", I suggest just reading a Playstation 3 magazine". This sounded as if you didn't want anything "new" in Abandoned Times.

Well we deal in old games so when you're talking about old games, it's not likely for there to be a lot of fresh stuff, is there? Interviews will try to break this a bit and we also have indie/retro reviews but most of the stuff still deals with 80's & 90's games and, as a result, the columns can hardly talk about new things such as DRM, patching on consoles, etc.

[Dave]

I printed it and really enjoyed...it really gives a special feeling!

Perhaps a tech part could be included, some tutorials for DosBox, Scummvm, vdmsound, front ends.

I give it a 4, can't wait to see the next issue

[Quintopotere]

I totally agree with Dave:

Originally Posted by Dave

I printed it and really enjoyed...it really gives a special feeling!

Perhaps a tech part could be included, some tutorials for DosBox, Scummvm, vdmsound, front ends.

I give it a 4, can't wait to see the next issue

Maybe I'd like some different in the layout (what about the fabulous stripe in the center? Different colours for every kinds of articles and other ideas discussed in the past...)
But all the work is great and I'm proud of you all!

I'm so sorry that I had no time to be involved in the creation of that first issue...

Keep going on!

[Olds-kool gamer]

Haven’t finished it yet but really enjoying it so far.

Keep up the good work and here’s hoping for many more issues…

[Acethor]

Really good Red! Thanks for putting a month of your life into that ... btw I like the 'gaming sins' section alot.

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Originally Posted by Quintopotere

I totally agree with Dave:



Maybe I'd like some different in the layout (what about the fabulous stripe in the center? Different colours for every kinds of articles and other ideas discussed in the past...)

My first design had the stripe (just check the early layout topics) but Fifth and others didn't like it so I dropped it.

The colours may still be added but I didn't have enough material to create a system. I'll change some stuff later on as well - tweak the look.