>
> Brett--
>
> Sorry for the length of time it has taken me to get back to you.
>
Sorry I missed it. The sudden influx of messages on the list swamped out your reply.
> I've looked at your site and the four issues of the 'zine, and I really like it/them.
>
> In my previous message I mentioned that I like the cool, blue and white color palette. It reminds me of the new liveries that Boeing and Airbus have come out with, which I think are very pleasing.
>
Thanks, I chose the color scheme as I thought it was easier to read. Funny enough my Asus Transformer tablet now uses the same color scheme after I upgraded it to the Ice Cream Sandwich OS.
> I think you have a nice broad cross-section of topics, useful to any players in your universe, and the information is laid out nicely. I have to ask, where did you get the artwork of the nekkid lady in the low berth, smiling because it's so much fun to be in a low berth? :-) I noticed the absence of any power draw figures on the portable and permanent low berths, but assume that's because of the version of the rules you are working with. The way that you've developed some new families of technology in the stun devices is nicely done, and gives color to your universe.
>
>From memory the picture came from a day spa web site. I think it was some kind of full immersion unit or some such thing. A lot of heavy digital editing with GIMP gave me the picture I wanted. Yes, light on details as I had not yet discovered FF&S when I released that issue. Ewan Quibell did a very similar design in the September 2011 issue of Freelance Traveller which I like to think was inspired by my design - I never did get to ask him that.
Ah, the stun devices. One hundred percent inspired by the stun device in the Serenity movie (the scene where the doctor Simon rescues his sister River from the Alliance institute) and the stun wand in Demolition Man.
> I really like the scenario, world, subsector, and adventure maps in the 'zines. Although you moved away from the hand-drawn maps you used in the first issue, I thought those were nicely done. The subsequent styles are very nice to look at: crisp, uncrowded, nice clean use of color and map keys/legends.
>
I use Visio in my day to day work and when I found map symbols on another web site it just sped up the whole process. While I love to draw art by hand it is too time consuming. Also I think, as you pointed out, the maps turn out crisper and cleaner.
> I also like the way in the 'zines the way you break up the pages with in-game adverts, call-outs to articles elsewhere in the issue, etc. It makes it visually interesting and intellectually stimulating to see the presence of other levels of detail throughout.
>
Thanks. The call-out ads were an attempt to get other submissions, a little like Jeff does with Freelance Traveller, however it was less than successful.
> One thing did catch my eye, and this is not a criticism, but an observation. Your use of varying styles of art (photographs, computer-generated stuff, scanned comic book-style art) is really completely typical of something like a Challenge magazine back in my day, and I liked it very much. Then it began to strike me that in the presence of the more modern computer-generated graphics, the comic book-style character art looked kind of old-fashioned and retro, and I didn't like noticing that response. I like the variety of art, and it takes me back to a million game products that look just like that, but I realize also that the more advanced (crisp, sharp) the computer graphics look, the more the classic comic book-style illustrations call attention to themselves by seeming to be from another era. And those character illos are of better quality than a lot of the professional stuff we used 20 years ago. Just an observation, though.
>
Ta, observation noted. It is a case of I take what I can get. If I could do computer generated art I would include more. I do like the idea though that it takes folks back to the older products - a little along the discussion lines for the current T5 thread.
> I also really like your deckplans, they are a good update of the CT
> deckplan feel.
>
Again, thanks. Deckplans are by far my favorite part of Traveller.
> Overall, a very good updating of the JTAS things GDW used to do (which is what I think you are shooting for), with all of the breadth and depth of information that I'd want out of something like that. So I think you've done a really nice job, and ought to be happy with what you've accomplished.
>
Spot on, so I achieved what I was aiming for. I am happy with the work I've done, just wish I had more time to do it.
> Or did you have any more specific questions you wanted me to think about?
>
> Dave
Just one last general question, do you, or anyone else who reads my fanzine, get the humor in my 'Unknown Worlds' cartoon? A fair chunk of the fanzine time goes into creating them and if the humor is too subtle then I might drop them. Maybe I should do the 'How Are We Doing?'/'Rate Our Articles' style questionnaire?
> Brett--
>
> Sorry for the length of time it has taken me to get back to you.
>
Sorry I missed it. The sudden influx of messages on the list swamped out your reply.
> I've looked at your site and the four issues of the 'zine, and I really like it/them.
>
> In my previous message I mentioned that I like the cool, blue and white color palette. It reminds me of the new liveries that Boeing and Airbus have come out with, which I think are very pleasing.
>
Thanks, I chose the color scheme as I thought it was easier to read. Funny enough my Asus Transformer tablet now uses the same color scheme after I upgraded it to the Ice Cream Sandwich OS.
> I think you have a nice broad cross-section of topics, useful to any players in your universe, and the information is laid out nicely. I have to ask, where did you get the artwork of the nekkid lady in the low berth, smiling because it's so much fun to be in a low berth? :-) I noticed the absence of any power draw figures on the portable and permanent low berths, but assume that's because of the version of the rules you are working with. The way that you've developed some new families of technology in the stun devices is nicely done, and gives color to your universe.
>
>From memory the picture came from a day spa web site. I think it was some kind of full immersion unit or some such thing. A lot of heavy digital editing with GIMP gave me the picture I wanted. Yes, light on details as I had not yet discovered FF&S when I released that issue. Ewan Quibell did a very similar design in the September 2011 issue of Freelance Traveller which I like to think was inspired by my design - I never did get to ask him that.
Ah, the stun devices. One hundred percent inspired by the stun device in the Serenity movie (the scene where the doctor Simon rescues his sister River from the Alliance institute) and the stun wand in Demolition Man.
> I really like the scenario, world, subsector, and adventure maps in the 'zines. Although you moved away from the hand-drawn maps you used in the first issue, I thought those were nicely done. The subsequent styles are very nice to look at: crisp, uncrowded, nice clean use of color and map keys/legends.
>
I use Visio in my day to day work and when I found map symbols on another web site it just sped up the whole process. While I love to draw art by hand it is too time consuming. Also I think, as you pointed out, the maps turn out crisper and cleaner.
> I also like the way in the 'zines the way you break up the pages with in-game adverts, call-outs to articles elsewhere in the issue, etc. It makes it visually interesting and intellectually stimulating to see the presence of other levels of detail throughout.
>
Thanks. The call-out ads were an attempt to get other submissions, a little like Jeff does with Freelance Traveller, however it was less than successful.
> One thing did catch my eye, and this is not a criticism, but an observation. Your use of varying styles of art (photographs, computer-generated stuff, scanned comic book-style art) is really completely typical of something like a Challenge magazine back in my day, and I liked it very much. Then it began to strike me that in the presence of the more modern computer-generated graphics, the comic book-style character art looked kind of old-fashioned and retro, and I didn't like noticing that response. I like the variety of art, and it takes me back to a million game products that look just like that, but I realize also that the more advanced (crisp, sharp) the computer graphics look, the more the classic comic book-style illustrations call attention to themselves by seeming to be from another era. And those character illos are of better quality than a lot of the professional stuff we used 20 years ago. Just an observation, though.
>
Ta, observation noted. It is a case of I take what I can get. If I could do computer generated art I would include more. I do like the idea though that it takes folks back to the older products - a little along the discussion lines for the current T5 thread.
> I also really like your deckplans, they are a good update of the CT
> deckplan feel.
>
Again, thanks. Deckplans are by far my favorite part of Traveller.
> Overall, a very good updating of the JTAS things GDW used to do (which is what I think you are shooting for), with all of the breadth and depth of information that I'd want out of something like that. So I think you've done a really nice job, and ought to be happy with what you've accomplished.
>
Spot on, so I achieved what I was aiming for. I am happy with the work I've done, just wish I had more time to do it.
> Or did you have any more specific questions you wanted me to think about?
>
> Dave
Just one last general question, do you, or anyone else who reads my fanzine, get the humor in my 'Unknown Worlds' cartoon? A fair chunk of the fanzine time goes into creating them and if the humor is too subtle then I might drop them. Maybe I should do the 'How Are We Doing?'/'Rate Our Articles' style questionnaire?