So...did Dragon wow you?

[Monkey King]

Thus far? Failure. WIth 5 MONTHS to do so, as they said when they annouced the cancellation...it'll be replaced with something "really really cool"

So far? uncool.

I share your disappointment. But why not spend your money on something cool instead of crying over a flubbed launch?

The Rackham tilesets are cool. The Paizo "Skinsaw Murders" adventure is cool. Plus the new Monsternomicon and the Arabian Nights Open Design and plenty more.

It's not like there aren't other magazines, other publishers, and other ways to get cool D&D stuff...

 

[Scribble]

Except......your just mudding the water.

No one is TALKING ABOUT THE 43 RELEASE!


We're talking about DI, Dragon magazine, and DUngeon. I doubt dungeon is going to be that different(I hope) as its just adventures. But Dragon is taking a bit of change.

The ONUS as you said(of Monte) is on Wotc to create buzz and excitement for their new DI and Dragon.

Thus far? Failure. WIth 5 MONTHS to do so, as they said when they annouced the cancellation...it'll be replaced with something "really really cool"

So far? uncool.

Yah but the DI is for the most part tied into the release of 4e, so they can't really announce the new Dragon without also announcing the new DI. They couldn't just launch the DI/Dragon and then say uhhh but we can't tell you what it's for... It won't work with 3e though...

Uncool is kind of a relative term...

The magazine isn't really all that different. Fundamentally I mean. It's still got features, it's still got columns. Whats really different aside from the medium with which they chose to present it? The articles themselves are going to be written in the same way they always were. By fans and game designers. They're just presented in a new way.

Maybe it's just that I see a potential for cool in what the digital format can offer?

I mean just the fact that there's now going to be an instant archives of every article ever published from this issue forward ready to go at the click of a button is cool to me.

Add search functions, reprint ability, cut and paste, easy errata...

I've been wanting this since I first saw Book of Eldrich Might.

Granted, sitting on my couch all comfy like and reading a dragon is nice. It also brings up a lot of memories. But the benefits of the new format outweigh that.

 

[carmachu]

I share your disappointment. But why not spend your money on something cool instead of crying over a flubbed launch?

The Rackham tilesets are cool. The Paizo "Skinsaw Murders" adventure is cool. Plus the new Monsternomicon and the Arabian Nights Open Design and plenty more.

It's not like there aren't other magazines, other publishers, and other ways to get cool D&D stuff...

Oh I have.....Game mastery and Pathfinder are well worth it.

But....Dragon. long history, many years of enjoyment. Its disbandment for something "really cool" isnt easy to walk away from.

 

[MerricB]

Honestly, I reckon if you put the content of a regular Dragon issue up online in the same manner, you'd think it wasn't "wowing" you either.

Dragon Magazine had a lot of sucky articles that you ignored for the few gems that came along.

Cheers!

 

[Odhanan]

I share your disappointment. But why not spend your money on something cool instead of crying over a flubbed launch?

The Rackham tilesets are cool. The Paizo "Skinsaw Murders" adventure is cool. Plus the new Monsternomicon and the Arabian Nights Open Design and plenty more.

It's not like there aren't other magazines, other publishers, and other ways to get cool D&D stuff...

Honestly, these things (Kobold Quarterly included) are the "points of light" or big hopes I have for my gaming at this point. All these products/lines you mention are great, quality products I enjoy very much.

 

[carmachu]

Honestly, I reckon if you put the content of a regular Dragon issue up online in the same manner, you'd think it wasn't "wowing" you either.

Dragon Magazine had a lot of sucky articles that you ignored for the few gems that came along.

Cheers!

Actually, I hated every april issue....for years.....it was never useful.

 

[Arnwyn]

I share your disappointment. But why not spend your money on something cool instead of crying over a flubbed launch?

And why can't people do both? They're not mutually exclusive, y'know.

 

[Deset Gled]

Not feeling it.

On the plus side, the content of the articles that have been released is pretty good. I honestly have no issues with the writing or art.

On the negative side, the formatting is bad. My understanding is that they're waiting til the end of the month to release a better version of the pdf. I can see the logic behind that, but it makes for a really weak launch. Also, the launch itself was much more low key than I expected. They didn't go very far out of their way to make it known. As other's have noted, the quantity is also pretty lacking.

If this was something that they had just released as a web enhancement, it would be pretty impressive. But as a replacement of an epic magazine, it is a very weak product launch. I will defentally give them the benefit of the doubt and see what happens, but I'm not going to be interested in paying for this content if it doesn't improve.

Of course, I rarely bought the magazines and don't spend much money on my RPG habit, so I'm not likely to sign up for it even if it is good. I'm not exactly WotC's key demographic.