Dragon/Dungeon compiled issues?

[mhensley]

Where the hell are the comics? I ain't paying for anything without comics!

 

[Alzrius]

The new incarnations of the magazines weren't that bad, but weren't that great either.

I missed several of the old Dragon staples, such as Class Acts, Bazaar of the Bizarre, and the comics, among other things. Still, the main articles were very nicely done, so they got the central parts of the "magazine" done right.

The Dungeon wasn't so bad, as it had a nice classic mega-adventure, as well as a nice Eberron adventure that seamlessly blended in with two previous installments. The Map of Mystery was a plus also. Still, I found myself missing the smaller articles - The Campaign, The Cast, Critical Threats, etc. - more than I thought I would.

I don't ask myself if I'd have bought these issues or not, since I've always just subscribed. Still, it seems like so far the WotC guys have the main articles for each magazine down pretty thoroughly, but need to work on the smaller support articles more.

The one thing I really didn't like was how the Dungeon adventures now have their encounters listed separately, in the "Expedition" style. I really can't stand that, and wish they'd place the encounters as they occur in the magazine, and not on separate pages.

 

[Drkfathr1]

I guess it just really bugs me that so much of WOTC's focus right now (and for 4E) is the DDI, and you'd think that at this stage of the game they'd REALLY want to "wow" everyone and knock our socks off.

Now is the time to impress us and soothe our fears over the direction D&D is taking. Give us some previews that make us all say: "Boy, I can't wait until this DDI thing fully launches, this is going to rock!"

Instead, many of us are responding with "meh".

Who's in charge of marketing at WOTC?

 

[DM_Jeff]

It's version of "Dragon" was...just...completely uninteresting.

The "Dungeon" section was pretty damn fine, however. With the exception of the delivery. What was the point in releasing Tsojancth in 3 parts and then as a whole anyway? :\

And the fact that it's not print! Sorry, I can't resist, folks:

MS. CALENDAR
"It was your book that started the trouble, not a computer. Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?"

GILES
"The smell."

MS. CALENDAR
"Computers don't smell, Rupert."

GILES
"I know. Smell is the most powerful memory trigger there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell -- musty and rich. Knowledge gained from a computer has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be smelly."

-DM Jeff

 

[Qualidar]

Instead, many of us are responding with "meh".

Who's in charge of marketing at WOTC?

That's not the marketing, that's the content.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I was a little underwhelmed by Dungeon and Dragon this month. Dungeon was probably ok adventure-wise but it didn't really have anything else besides that. I liked reading the editorial, letters and short articles that appeared each month.

Dragon was pretty ordinary as well. Having said that, I don't think Dragon was doing much for me in the last year or so anyway. I did miss not seeing any comics though. Maybe they will appear when the magazine is compiled into a completed issue.

I understand that this is great for something that we are getting for free. However, I am looking at this as a trial period. I would have thought that WotC would be looking at it like that as well. They should be trying to do everything in their power to try and wow us with the new online format of the magazines so that we take up a subscription to it next year. I don't know how many people will be jumping to get a subscription based on what we have seen so far will.

It is still early days but I think that WotC really needs to lift their game on this.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Scribble]

I was a little underwhelmed by Dungeon and Dragon this month. Dungeon was probably ok adventure-wise but it didn't really have anything else besides that. I liked reading the editorial, letters and short articles that appeared each month.

Dragon was pretty ordinary as well. Having said that, I don't think Dragon was doing much for me in the last year or so anyway. I did miss not seeing any comics though. Maybe they will appear when the magazine is compiled into a completed issue.

I understand that this is great for something that we are getting for free. However, I am looking at this as a trial period. I would have thought that WotC would be looking at it like that as well. They should be trying to do everything in their power to try and wow us with the new online format of the magazines so that we take up a subscription to it next year. I don't know how many people will be jumping to get a subscription based on what we have seen so far will.

It is still early days but I think that WotC really needs to lift their game on this.

Olaf the Stout

Yeah the preview said there would still be comics... So maybe they're still working through all the various licenses and such.

As for the issues themselves... The articles weren't bad. I don't know if I'll be using them anytime soon... but that's been the case with a lot of Dragon issues throughout my time of reading Dragon... Same for Dungeon.

I'm interested to see what the actual compiled PDF looks like...

comparing it to a random old dragon. (321)

Dragon 321 had an editorial...

New Dragon has one as well.

Dragon 321 had 10 featured articles...

New Dragon has 9 features for October...

Dragon 321 Had letters to the magazine...

New Dragon doesn't but it has message boards. (Granted I guess old dragon did too... but still)

New Dragon has a flash video...

Old dragon didn't... I guess sometimes it came with stuff shrink wrapped to it.

Dragon 321 had columns (Dungeoncraft, DM's Toolbox, Sage Advice...)

New Dragon has columns... (Design and Development, playtest reports, how shelly got her groove back, ampersand...) They're more like the will weaton thing a while back... but they're columns. I'm guessing once 4e hits the design and development articles will be more useful (other then interesting reads...)

Sage advice is on the site already.

Seems pretty comparable so far, albeit no comics yet.

I'm guessing once they sort out the tech stuff and concentrate solely on content it'll be pretty darn cool.

 

[Odhanan]

I can now say with 99% accuracy that I won't be investing in the DDI.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

.....(snip).....Dragon 321 had columns (Dungeoncraft, DM's Toolbox, Sage Advice...)

New Dragon has columns... (Design and Development, playtest reports, how shelly got her groove back, ampersand...) They're more like the will weaton thing a while back... but they're columns. I'm guessing once 4e hits the design and development articles will be more useful (other then interesting reads...)

Sage advice is on the site already.

Seems pretty comparable so far, albeit no comics yet.

I'm guessing once they sort out the tech stuff and concentrate solely on content it'll be pretty darn cool.

Of course, the D&D website had a Design and Development column before the D&DI. As such, I don't really consider it a column in Dragon. It would be the same thing as calling Web Enhancements as part of Dragon. We got them before for free. It remains to be seen if they will continue to be once D&DI requires a paid subscription but it's not like we're getting something that we weren't getting before.

As for how Shelly got her groove back....well, let's just say that it isn't something that I would consider paying for.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Drkfathr1]

As for how Shelly got her groove back....well, let's just say that it isn't something that I would consider paying for.

No offense to Shelly, but I have to agree.