Okay. I officially miss paper versions

[Reynard]

I finally got a DDI subscription to support my attempt to fall in love with 4E and am really enjoying it -- the character creator, the compendium, and the magazines. But saitting at my desk trying to read the articles in Dragon has me missing print mags *a lot*. I like to sit on the couch while the kids play or watch Handy Manny, right there in case they want to interact but at the same time having "my time". Plus, having a stack of magazines to flip through when an idea strikes just makes my heart sing. Were these magazines in traditional print format, I probably would have devoured all the gnoll related stuff -- it looks really cool -- and really dug into the skill challenge stuff -- I have an idea for a subsystem based around skill challenges -- but as it is I "flip through" on my PC and don't manage to get deeply into any of them.

It isn't a deal breaker, of course, because there is a lot of other useful stuff on DDI -- which is actually too bad, because if enough people dropped their digital Dragon and Dungeon subscription WotC might be motivated to bring them back to print. I totally disagree with the attitude that "that's the kind of information people go to the internet for". People go to the internet for news and additional information, but ultimately the websites for Wired, Entertainment Weekly, Playboy or whatever support the print magazines.

(Note: my wife works for a print magazine so I am not just talking out my back end.)

 

[Plane Sailing]

changed 'print' in title to 'paper' so that the thread worked properly

 

[vagabundo]

What about printing out the articles you find interesting, put them in a binder?

Not ideal but it might work better for you.

 

[Reynard]

What about printing out the articles you find interesting, put them in a binder?

Not ideal but it might work better for you.

I use to have access to a big copier-printer with duplexing an dall at my previous place of employment. At my new job, I do not.

Hence this thread...

 

[charlesatan]

Converting to print right now will change the current dynamics of the magazine (i.e. you might not get Preview classes in print because of the lead time).

Also, not supporting the magazines might lead to no magazines at all, rather than coercing WotC to go print. And judging from the fact that they're compiling the "best of" dragon some time this year, that's likely the case.

P.S. And how about those gamers who actually like PDFs or don't live in the US.

 

[Glyfair]

It isn't a deal breaker, of course, because there is a lot of other useful stuff on DDI -- which is actually too bad, because if enough people dropped their digital Dragon and Dungeon subscription WotC might be motivated to bring them back to print.

Doubtful, given the state of the magazine industry. While the magazines might have been able to survive if they had continued without the break (and that likely would be close, or have a steep price hike), the costs of starting up again likely put it completely out-of-reach.

 

[Jack99]

Speacking as a great fan of the new eDragon, I will say that you should give it some time. It might win you over when you realize just how useful it is for a DM to be able to copy-paste everything in the magazines to your handouts or wiki or whatnot.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my dead-tree dragon of old times, but the price reduction (because I am in Europe, eDragon costs roughly 1/8th of what Dragon used to cost me), the ability to get it when it's out and the increased usability via the PDF format has just been too good to ignore.

 

[FourthBear]

While I believe that I am in the minority, I actually prefer the electronic mags to the paper versions. I've never had much of a problem reading on a display, but I would agree that the first read through is better in a paper magazine. After that, I think the advantages of the electronic magazine come through:

1) Easier searching and storage
2) Can print out exactly what you'd like and simply hand it to the players without having to scan the paper magazine
3) Can cut/paste into other documents
4) I can carry around the entire lot on a single notebook.
5) Fewer worries about them losing your paper magazine in shipping

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Speacking as a great fan of the new eDragon, I will say that you should give it some time. It might win you over when you realize just how useful it is for a DM to be able to copy-paste everything in the magazines to your handouts or wiki or whatnot.

Not everyone will agree with you if they just give things more time. Allot of people prefer paper versions, period. No amount of time will change things.

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm OK with the digital magazines, but I'd like them a lot more if they actually took advantage of digital technology, with links, good bookmarks, etc. None of these things is actually all that hard.

The biggest advantag of the digital stuff is the price. The next biggest is that I can cut and paste stuff and use it in other ways.

I really miss sitting on the couch and reading. Printing them out really reduces the cost savings dramatically, dramatically.