Dragon/Dungeon for November

[UngeheuerLich]

Looked over it again and the content is not that thin actually...

 

[Dire Bare]

There is less content than before. That's a basic fact.

Actually, no, it's not.

The complaint that Dragon and Dungeon are on a steady downwards slide in quantity and/or quality of the monthly content is a perennial one. It goes back to the print days of the magazines, under both WotC, Paizo, and even TSR.

Quality, is of course, subjective. Quantity is a bit easier to measure, as you can compare page counts and/or word counts. But even fan analyses of magazine content amount often get skewed by subjectivity . . . do we count editorials, columns, book reviews . . . or does only "crunchy" articles count? Or, worse yet, do only articles that *I* like count?

What I find fun in these cyclic arguments, is when somebody finally breaks down and actually compares page counts of issues over a spread of time. In almost every case that I can remember, page counts of course vary, but vary up and down and rarely trend either way.

What about now? I have to admit, I'm not as enthused with Dragon/Dungeon content myself as I have been in the past. I have no specific complaints, other than a lack of enthusiasm for the new monthly content and vague feelings of, "There is less of what I want to see now than there was in the past". But I've got better things to fill my time with than over-analyzing the issue . . . and I'm experienced enough to know that my preferences aren't necessarily the same as other gamers and that it is pretty unlikely that there has been a serious drop in quantity or quality of the magazines.

As I said in my earlier post . . . if you personally feel the magazines aren't delivering what you want, that's fine and fair. If you feel there is less content, that's fair too (but not some sort of inarguable fact). But to freak out over months with less business days getting somewhat less content . . . gods, I could care less! Damn you WotC and your laziness during the month of February!!! Arrggghhhhh!!!

 

[Zaukrie]

My recollection is that last month someone did that, and the page count has been dropping for the last 4-6 months, and that it is actually less content.

 

[Mengu]

Or, worse yet, do only articles that *I* like count?

Yes. This is the only criteria that matters. If I don't like it, and Joe doesn't like it, and Bob doesn't like it, we will complain about it for a while, then we will find something else to do, rather than read dragon articles. If there are lots of people like Joe, Bob, and me, assuming there is someone who pays attention to public opinion and cares, they might want to do something about the (perceived or real) decline in quality and quantity of content.

 

[Obryn]

A little over a week ago I received ye old boilerplate:

"Dear Joe Kushner,

This email is to remind you that your annual subscription with D&D Insider will automatically renew in 30 days."

If I don't see a DDI update on November, it'll be time for me to put my money where my mouth is an cancel my annual subscription. Continuing declining content and no tools updates? Uh... no.

Yeah, I stopped my renewal, too. When I see something like a Character Builder or Adventure Tools update, I'll re-up. It's times like this that I'm glad I go in three-month chunks...

I just don't think the rest of DDI is worth the money it costs at this point. When we get final word on those updates, I'll subscribe back right away.

-O

 

[Reaper Steve]

But to freak out over months with less business days getting somewhat less content . . . gods, I could care less! Damn you WotC and your laziness during the month of February!!! Arrggghhhhh!!!

I didn't freak out; I stated that I am offended by them not publishing content on holidays. I see no defense for them not doing so. It strikes me as a veiled means to provide less, and I find that insulting.

It would take less effort and be more consistent to have an article post every Monday-Friday, regardless of one's mythological or governmental sacred days.

 

[Dalamar]

The problem with having them auto-update on holidays is that if something goes wrong (as it invariably will at some point), there is nobody there to fix it.

 

[Almacov]

Aha! There's an Essentials Assassin article listed now. That's new. Perhaps that "playtest" was a brief one...

Living documents - full of surprises.

The full Dragon and Dungeon ToCs are up now too.

 

[Aegeri]

I canceled my yearly autorenew just the other day. I've concluded it's no longer worth it. I'm not getting anything exciting in Dungeon anymore and Dragon hasn't offered me anything in a long time now. Combined with the lack of updates for the Monster Builder, if I have to do the work myself I don't need to pay Wizards for the privilege.

 

[Minifig]

No updates for the character builder?!

What. in the.. hell?