Official feedback thread for issue 19

[Rikki]

RIKKI
I didnt know RG was on sale anywhere bar the UK (my mistake there) but most of the planet is now connected up to the internet and a good percentage have broadband. More so people who are into the retro scene as they are generally more tech savy. I know I was an early adopted of ADSL here in the UK in 1999/2000 myself.

ADSL what are u talking about adopted does that mean your now paying for this your self if so i had mine before yours but that was after i moved out of home, doesnt matter anyway what i was trying to say was it depends on where you are and how expensive your internet bill is at the end of the month that counts and genrally for a small dial up you could be paying up to about 30$ aus thats about 45-50$ US tell me if this is kinda out of pocket for most pplz ?.

Little spelling mistake there, I meant early adopter - as in since Im into computers I wanted to get this new fangled broadband stuff to see what its like.

If you were on dial up you'd be selective about what you download anyway, I know I was when I had a 56gay modem. Thankfully ROMs and such like as tiny and the only biggy is the emulator itself.

R.

[fgasking]

just like in the old days before people started looking at "what's on the covermount" prior to even checking out what's in the magazine.

Sadly thats what I used to do with Commodore Format

I think the impact of a covermount back then was greater, mainly because we didn't have internet access, emulators etc. And some of us couldn't afford loads of games all of the time, so it was something new to play every month. Because we are kind of spoilt with games these days with emulators etc, Covermounts are hard to drum up much excitement.

On the flipside... If RG were to uncover more along the lines of the Konix videos etc, then maybe it would be worth considering a covermount on the odd occasion (like some covermount-less mags do already) as a giveaway/special.

[CraigGrannell]

I think the impact of a covermount back then was greater

Perhaps for something like Retro Gamer, but not for most mags. Think how many these days are wrapped in plastic, or sold in stupid cereal box-sized cartons, thereby only enabling you to see the straps and cover disc contents, and not to actually check out what's inside, which, in my opinion, is utterly scandalous for any publication that costs FIVE POUNDS or more. Frankly, if I'm going to pay as much money as a paperback novel for something, I want to know if the actual contents are any good. Sadly, most people only seem interested in whether the demos are "rad" or "bear" enough (or whatever the kids are "bigging up" these days word-wise).

I guess this is because an awful lot of gaming publications have so little to offer in terms of written content. After all, it's rather telling that (new and improved) Retro Gamer, gamesâ„¢ and the po-faced, chore-like, but still professionally written Edge very rarely seal the mag up and make it inaccessible in WHSmith.

On the flipside... If RG were to uncover more along the lines of the Konix videos etc, then maybe it would be worth considering a covermount on the odd occasion (like some covermount-less mags do already) as a giveaway/special.

It would be fairly easy to justify an annual covermount. The thing is, it would be just as simple to bung most content online instead and do a "virtual CD-ROM", like a lot of US magazines (and, increasingly, European ones).

[Ritchardo mkII]

Often a lurker at the old retro gamer forum and a regular buyer from issue 1, I felt I had to add my opinions to the feedback for issue 19.

Simply put: Retro Gamer 19 is the best issue and seems more tailored to my tastes than any other thus far. It also made me feel more nostalgic than any other since the very first issue.

The focus appears very much to have been put on the games rather than the machines (which the old RG could be a little guilty of at times) but the biggest improvement, in my opinion is focusing on particular titles rather than a genre or group.

For instance, a four page spread on the original Dizzy with only passing mention of it's sequels is absolutely fantastic. Yes, most of the later games were more advanced and better to play but the decision to choose one and talk about that for the majority of four pages is the kind of intense scrutiny that I want. The old RG would do things like looking at joystick wagglers and mention seven or eight games over three pages without getting into the nitty gritty of any of them.

In this issue we had in depth dissections of Dizzy, Simon the Sorcerer and Super Metroid - all of which would've been lumped in with it's various sequels and prequels in the old RG - nice enough but not as fulfilling

Don't get me wrong I liked RG but I feel that the new editorial team have adapted and improved the formula.

New features like the company profile have real potential - I've always found Amsoft a fascinating company and as an Amstrad owner have a real soft spot for them - even if they were evil, cynical money grabbers... (£8.95 for 3D Invaders!!!) I have to agree with Chinnyhill though a list of Amsoft titles and rough rarity guide would've been nice but obviously space is a factor.

Overall, keep up the good work and thank you for helping me feel young again!

[russgalleywood]

Well done all on keeping the flag flying!!

The sun went behind the clouds on the day old Retro Gamer died, the day the new Retro Gamer came through my letterbox, Summer came again!
I like the new issue and if it had just been full of knitting patterns in the shape of Spectrums I would have been happy!
As it is, I am very pleased with the look and not particularly bothered about the lack of coverdiscs, anything that keeps the price and cost down without affecting the content is a good thing!
If I had to criticise I would say it was a little light on in-depth content, the side bar reviews of Elite, etc were nice but seemed a bit gimmicky. It was, as someone else said a bit too much like GamesTM, but GamesTM has less pages to pack the retro section into and therefore needs to more efficient with the review space. I personally would prefer that all those single review pages were put together and used to review one game in more depth.
Loved the Zzap! look and the fact that most of the people who made old RG great are still there.

All in all, it's hard to find anything significant to criticise, it is about as good as I hoped it would be.

Just keep it up Guys that's all!

p.s. See you at next year's CGE UK, (if it's on).

[merman]

p.s. See you at next year's CGE UK, (if it's on).

At the moment there is no CGE UK in 2006...

[Crunchy]

Very impressed with the design. Very slick indeed. The old RG looks a bit amateurish in comparison.
The whole mag just seems to have stepped up a notch somehow. There's more in it. Some filler with the screenshots obviously but its done in a way that adds to the overall feel of the design. Very crafty whoever was responsible for that, and talented btw.

Was there a conscious decision to pepper the mag with "old" retro stuff that we've seen covered before? Like the snapshots of Elite and R-Type etc and the speccy article. Its well-trodden ground for most of us retro gamers but is a very good lure for the potential reader browsing on the shelf in Tesco. I think the balance of new articles with a smattering of what could be almost considered standard fare is inspired. Its the balancing act that many of us thought might be impossible but the mag pulls it off nicely.

I've said on various forums that I feel stuff like the Bargain Hunt section is a waste of space but I know other people like that sort of thing and even though it runs to six pages ( ) I'll let it pass because the mag has more than enough content to make up for it.

Congratulations on setting yourselves a very high standard with this first effort. I reckon we'll see that standard at least maintained with future issues. The care put into the mag by all parties really shines through.

Nice one.

[StartTheBiddingLow]

Thanks for the free Retro Gamer 19.
(Edit: I had paid for it so it wasn't really free.)


Just my support for a couple of things for the magazine:


1) Don't use only metric measurements, eg. p43.
If you want to appeal to mainland Europe as well as the UK, great, but please use inches and other imperial weights and measures in addition to - or instead of - metric so that dyed-in-the-wool Brits can understand you.


2) Please use a British (not US) spell checker.
Eg. British English words:
p12: sceptical; p19: behavioural, travellers. Not what you had put!

My other main niggle regarding grammar is that you repeatedly swap "its" and "it's". Ouch!



Thanks and kind regards.

[Rikki]

My other main niggle regarding grammar is that you repeatedly swap "its" and "it's". Ouch!

If it was really retro then it WOULD ALL BE IN BLOCK CAPITALS

Apple II anyone ?

R.

[CraigGrannell]

My other main niggle regarding grammar is that you repeatedly swap "its" and "it's". Ouch!

That grated on me, too. However, many of these typos came about because #19 was done in double-quick time. When the team has a full four weeks to spend on an issue, rather than just two, such things should largely vanish.

[andy vaisey]

My other main niggle regarding grammar is that you repeatedly swap "its" and "it's". Ouch!

That grated on me, too. However, many of these typos came about because #19 was done in double-quick time. When the team has a full four weeks to spend on an issue, rather than just two, such things should largely vanish.

http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/

[CraigGrannell]

The thing is, if you've ever done any editing, the its/it's thing is one of the simplest things to slip through the net, and this is even more the case when you literally only have half the time you should to get the magazine out.

Mind you, I'm a total stickler for apostrophes, and I wish the public in general would take a look at the page you linked to, Andy. I'm fed up of going into stores and seeing signs displaying text like "Mens clothes", "Computer game's", or "Get 2 CD's for the price of 1". Possessives really aren't that tricky to understand.

Miffed of Hampshire.

[andy vaisey]

Mind you, I'm a total stickler for apostrophes, and I wish the public in general would take a look at the page you linked to, Andy. I'm fed up of going into stores and seeing signs displaying text like "Mens clothes", "Computer game's", or "Get 2 CD's for the price of 1".

Imagine trying to teach the rules to children! Especially when half the teacher's / teachers' / teachers (delete as necessary ) I work with don't even get it right...

[russgalleywood]

That's a shame about the CGE next year...Heres hoping it makes a comeback!

On the retro subject, theres is an excellent 'tribute' to Elite (my favourite game of all time) called OOlite. It's only available on Mac and Linux so far but Windows version is coming. Check it out, it looks great! (Sorry for drifting off-subject a bit there, won't happen again)

p.s. Looking forward to the GP32X preview in the next issue of RG!

[Rikki]

The thing is, if you've ever done any editing, the its/it's thing is one of the simplest things to slip through the net, and this is even more the case when you literally only have half the time you should to get the magazine out.

Mind you, I'm a total stickler for apostrophes, and I wish the public in general would take a look at the page you linked to, Andy. I'm fed up of going into stores and seeing signs displaying text like "Mens clothes", "Computer game's", or "Get 2 CD's for the price of 1". Possessives really aren't that tricky to understand.

Miffed of Hampshire.

Very interesting read. I always thought when dealing with abbreviations such as MOT and CD you would use ' before an "s" so the S wasnt confused.

In ten years time it will all be "LOL OMG HI2U!!!11" anyway

R.