Issue #18 - Suspense & Decision PBM magazine

This thread is for discussion of Issue #18 of Suspense & Decision magazine.

The Submission Deadline for articles, news, events, etc. for Issue #18 is: 30 September, 2017

The scheduled Publication Deadline for Issue #17 is: 10 October, 2017

Commencing work on Issue #18, this morning. Folders created. Blank article and image files in place, which I use as starting points for each issue.

So, what are we doing different, this time around?

What I am looking at is not simply the next issue, which is Issue #18, but the next three issues - #18, #19, and #20. The aim? I would describe it as a rapid fire approach to publication. Issues published in rapid succession, with rapid being defined as one month or less between each succeeding issue. That's the aim, anyway, so that frequency of publication takes on a much greater, much more noticeable priority, evident to one and all.

"Three and One," of the hard rule variety, is what will under-gird this approach. If I end up writing three articles, then the next issue gets published, regardless of whether anyone else has submitted anything for that particular issue or not. Not that that is what I desire or prefer, but it will effectively unhinge me from any sense of dependency upon anyone else to generate content for the magazine. Or, if one or more other individuals submit articles, and I haven't had time, yet, to write articles of my own, then the next article gets published without an article from yours truly. That way, it unhinges the magazine from an excess of dependence upon me, even though some degree of basic, fundamental dependence upon me will still remain intact, since I am the one who actually causes the magazine to publish under the auspices of PlayByMail.Net. There's no way of getting around that particular core dependency, at present.

Physical sickness or death, for myself or for someone close to me, are the only "planned" deviations from this new approach. I can guarantee no actual reprieves from those harsh instances of reality imposing itself upon the close inner circle of my life.

That said, I suspect that no one is really prepared from exactly how this is going to pan out in practice. My gut instinct is that it will be well-received, though issues will likely be noticeably shorter in length, page count wise - maybe even a bit too short, for some individuals' taste. As always, though, we all live in an imperfect world, and Suspense & Decision is an imperfect magazine covering imperfect mediums and genres of gaming.

I don't foresee issues with the front cover art not being done in a timely manner, but were that scenario to arise, then I'll go ahead and set a week as the outer time frame for a front cover to be finished. If not ready to go, then the issue(s) so affected will proceed with publication with the cover being entirely at my mercy, in such instances.

As we head into Issue #18 of Suspense & Decision magazine, I would like to pause long enough to highlight a couple of developments:

1. https://www.facebook.com/Buffalorick/posts/10214230728663470

2. https://twitter.com/buffalorick/status/908341533161660416

Both were postings by Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo, Inc. fame. Rick has a sizable following, and so these two postings by him, which were done of his own initiative, are especially appreciated by me. Getting the word out is at least half the challenge, and it is also a central pillar of any real hope of substance to breathe vibrant life back into the play by mail gaming scene. I received not one, but two e-mails from Rick Loomis, today. I wasn't expecting them, but I do know that he is a man who values his time, whatever else might be said about him by anyone. So, for him, in particular, to spread the word about an issue which hung on the precipice of a question mark for so many months heartens me. I think that it bodes well for the magazine, and I consider it to be a good omen. Now, if I can only just not stumble over my own clumsy self, and actually get Issue #18 out the door in a relatively short amount of time, maybe we can begin to build upon the momentum of the moment.

The magazine, itself, is always ripe for improvement. I can change a lot of things about Suspense & Decision, and I can try a lot of different things, but one thing that I have no real direct control over is whether the Old Ones of PBM, notably those who comprise the commercial sector of the play by mail gaming industry, come aboard or engage to any degree, at all, on the subject of play by mail, much less over whether any of them, individually, bother to take it upon themselves to spread the word.

One of the things that distinguishes Rick Loom in the PBM sector and as one of PBM's Old Guard is that he enjoys the benefit of being well-networked, both with games and game company figures, and with a number of former and current play by mail gamers. If the object is to get the word out to people who used to play games by mail, but who may no longer do so, then Rick Loomis can probably reach a number of individuals that the magazine might otherwise never even make contact with.

The death of PBM gaming is a subject that has probably had enough written about it to last a lifetime. That said, I don't look at the Internet so much as having killed play by mail gaming, as I look at it as a tide which went out, but which could also come right in, again. After all, many digitally-connected individuals suffer from burn out from being online so much. I challenge anyone to explain to me why old school play by mail gaming couldn't connect with a new audience. I'm not talking about probabilities and likelihoods, rather, just about why it couldn't be possible, in this day and age? Books, in paper form, remain popular in the modern era, after all. And much like books, turn results in paper form are a form of escapism, a form of entertainment, something that requires you to think, engaging players of PBM games on both an intellectual level and an emotional level. Ever get pissed off because someone attacked you or because you botched your turn orders or missed a turn?

So, thanks, Rick Loomis, for the shout outs about Suspense & Decision on social media!

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136592' dateline='1505414713']
I challenge anyone to explain to me why old school play by mail gaming couldn't connect with a new audience. I'm not talking about probabilities and likelihoods, rather, just about why it couldn't be possible, in this day and age? Books, in paper form, remain popular in the modern era, after all. And much like books, turn results in paper form are a form of escapism, a form of entertainment, something that requires you to think, engaging players of PBM games on both an intellectual level and an emotional level. Ever get pissed off because someone attacked you or because you botched your turn orders or missed a turn?
[/quote]

I think paper-medium books are also dying off, being replaced by ebooks more and more.  ebooks are cheaper to produce and easier to put into people's hands.

People don't write letters any more.  We only write emails, or we (but not me) IM or tweet our thoughts to our friends or just to the world at large, in hopes that somebody might listen.

PBM, in paper form, is not dissimilar IMO.  People want instant gratification, without thought or effort.  Pick up a game, play for a few minutes, see stuff blow up or people get mauled ... and then move on.

I'm really hoping that the approach the I'm taking to Cohorts helps to bridge that gap.  People can play fast-paced games either solo or with a group of friends - or they can play the traditional sort of PBM game, processing a single turn every 3, 7 or 14 days.

What I find most interesting is, pretty much every adult gamer I've ever talked to *loves* the idea of PBM - but seems unwilling to try and/or commit to joining a game.  Maybe the 1-2 year commitment is more than they can accept.

UPDATE: OK, so I hope to begin doing some compiling on issue #18 in earnest, either later today or tomorrow. I am having to deal with some assisted care facility/senior issues, currently, and I've pulled my aunt out of a facility, and issues of various size, which include numerous small ones, will simply nibble away at my time - and that's on top of all of the ordinary time gobbling issues that life visits upon me.

I think that I can make a loot of progress by tomorrow night. Maybe not complete it, but make a lot of progress, nonetheless. And, if I can complete it by tomorrow night, then all the better, but no promises on that.

Looking forward to it Grim. This time I'm gonna click on everything. ;)

[quote='Angerak' pid='136595' dateline='1505491451']
People don't write letters any more.  We only write emails, or we (but not me) IM or tweet our thoughts to our friends or just to the world at large, in hopes that somebody might listen.
[/quote]

Some people do. If I had to guess, I would venture to say that I've probably written a hundred letters that I've sent through the U.S. Mail in the past year or so.

The current plan is to try and begin compiling Issue #18 of Suspense & Decision magazine sometime tomorrow (Friday, August 9th, 2019).

Lots of irons in the fire, already. Compiling will just be one more. Since not much was ever sent in for Issue# 18, it will be a thin issue. The main thing for now, though, is to just try and get the whole ball of wax rolling, again.

For those who have subscribed to the new PlayByMail.Net mailing list, I sent out an e-mail, a couple of minutes ago, providing an update on how the compiling of Issue #18 is going.

Within mere seconds of sending the e-mail out, seven of the mailing list's recipients had already opened the e-mail. I am quickly becoming very fond of MailChimp. I think that it's a wonderful addition to PBM gaming's arsenal.

I have submitted an article for Issue #18 and have an early draft of an article for Issue #19. Hopefully there are other players out there able to commit to submissions.

John Davis sent in an ad for Issue #18 for MiddleEarthGames.

Edward Lane Of Harlequin Games has contacted me, informing me, "We're definitely still up and running , indeed the Legends game Immortal's Realm 8 just started up. I hope there is a bright future for Suspense & Decision, and for PBM in general."

He has also said, "We will try and get you some nice looking ads shortly - what date are you needing any updates in by, if they are going to make it for the next edition?"

Today has been a very productive day for compiling of Issue #18, the best day to date for this issue, in fact.

Did I mention that I had to start over?

Compiled, thus far, are four articles, and an assortment of ads, as well as a few placeholder pages for things that I have to incorporate. I wanted to get an idea of what Issue #18 looks like, thus far. It's starting to take shape, people. I think that's another couple of articles lurking in the shadows that I still need to review, revise, and incorporate, yet. We're getting there, though.

I better hurry up and get something submitted to you!

Thus far, I have compiled a total of seven articles into issue #18.

Note to self: Margins, margins, margins!

ACK!

How in the Hell did I mess this up? Well, it appears that a major revision will now ensue. It was purely by luck that I caught it.

A "slight" delay, but one that I should be able to recover from by Monday.

We don't need no stinkin' badges margins!  :P

[quote='Davin' pid='136802' dateline='1566054816']
We don't need no stinkin' badges margins!  :P
[/quote]

Ha! A4 paper format is more narrow than US Letter. If anyone wants to print outside of the US (and not shrink the whole page), then margins become quite useful.

The biggest advance in Suspense & Decision history was just made!

This is not, however, the droid that you were looking for.

If you are on the PBM mailing list, then you will have been sent an e-mail giving you a glimpse at the front cover art for Issue #18 of Suspense & Decision magazine.

If not, then you have to wait, like everyone else.

I just sent Raven Zachary a draft copy of his article for Issue #18. No sharing of that article, please!

This draft of his article is the first article created using new software. I've asked him for feedback on what he likes and dislikes. It took a long time, to get this article format figured out, but now, I know a lot more than I did when I first started. I think that this new software holds a lot of promise!

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136806' dateline='1566183469']
I just sent Raven Zachary a draft copy of his article for Issue #15.
[/quote]

#15 ??

Nah, I meant Issue 18, not Issue 15. Good catch, Davin!

Revised advertisement for Issue #18 sent to Rick McDowell for his review.

Okay, I let the weekend get away from me, and my work stuff has hit hard the past 2 days. I will write an article tonight, if there is still time to submit.

[quote='ixnay' pid='136810' dateline='1566327918']
Okay, I let the weekend get away from me, and my work stuff has hit hard the past 2 days.  I will write an article tonight, if there is still time to submit.
[/quote]

Just write, when you take a notion, and I'll include it, if there's enough time remaining. I'm still fighting software issues, at the moment, not that I managed to get anything done on the magazine, yesterday.

And for those who would both like a preview of issue #18, and an idea of an example of a kind of problem that I have encountered when trying to put Issue #18 together using different software, here I shall kill two birds with one image stone. See attached file.

Rick McDowell, of Alamaze fame, told me in a recent email that he sent to me that he didn't like cartoons. I think that he was referring to the refurbished comic art that I incorporate into issues of Suspense & Decision. What about the rest of you? Should I eliminate that from the magazine? Personally, I've liked comic books, since I was a kid, and I still do. Plus, I can't draw, and I don't have a staff artist, per se, for interior art pieces for the magazine. Additionally, as I told Rick, I do this on a zero budget. Hence, the refurbished artwork holds a certain appeal to me. Granted, my own ability to refurbish such artwork from the public domain, and to modify it to make it useful for inclusion into a PBM magazine of the modern era may well be substantially lacking, as may my wit and my sense of humor. However, I work with what I have, and I try to do it within a budget of zero dollars, so that this project might actually exist. It's not the first time that Rick and I have disagreed on the artistic end of things, be it this magazine or his game of Alamaze. But I could always eliminate it, and save time, as well, if no one likes the refurbished comic art in the guise of a PBM role.

I think that professional artwork looks and attracts much better, but a $0 budget of course means that's out of the question.  I'd rather see something than nothing, and you sure have to fill in the corners with something, so I don't have a problem with the repurposed cartoon art.

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136818' dateline='1566380385']
Rick McDowell, of Alamaze fame, told me in a recent email that he sent to me that he didn't like cartoons. I think that he was referring to the refurbished comic art that I incorporate into issues of Suspense & Decision. What about the rest of you? Should I eliminate that from the magazine? Personally, I've liked comic books, since I was a kid, and I still do. Plus, I can't draw, and I don't have a staff artist, per se, for interior art pieces for the magazine. Additionally, as I told Rick, I do this on a zero budget. Hence, the refurbished artwork holds a certain appeal to me. Granted, my own ability to refurbish such artwork from the public domain, and to modify it to make it useful for inclusion into a PBM magazine of the modern era may well be substantially lacking, as may my wit and my sense of humor. However, I work with what I have, and I try to do it within a budget of zero dollars, so that this project might actually exist. It's not the first time that Rick and I have disagreed on the artistic end of things, be it this magazine or his game of Alamaze. But I could always eliminate it, and save time, as well, if no one likes the refurbished comic art in the guise of a PBM role.
[/quote]

Having theme is good. Having art is good. Having design embellishments is good. You've got a theme now and it works. I'd stick with it, unless you have a different theme you want to implement instead. I am pro-theme more than I am in favor of a particular theme. Going to an academic journal design would reduce the overall experience.

It's almost three in the morning, here, as I prepare to cease messing with Issue #18 for the night. I'll probably be tried, tomorrow, but I feel as if I've made some good progress, tonight, even if I have basically started over (again). The irony in it all is that, were I simply doing things as before, I would likely already have been done with the issue, by now. But I am trying to overcome the learning curve on the new software, for the sake of a better magazine, overall - even if you may not notice it very much, if at all, for a few more issues, yet.

Separate from any of this, I've had more than one company agree to let me make some new ads for them. Not that making ads is my specialty, of course, but rather, I think that readers of the magazine from issue to issue tend to want to see new ads, from time to time, and not just keep on seeing the same old ads over and over and over, again.

Issue #18 continues to take shape. I'm making good progress on it, currently - despite who only knows how many times that I started over on it from scratch. Small things tend to prove to be the most difficult.

[quote='Davin' pid='136819' dateline='1566396959']
I think that professional artwork looks and attracts much better, but a $0 budget of course means that's out of the question.  I'd rather see something than nothing, and you sure have to fill in the corners with something, so I don't have a problem with the repurposed cartoon art.
[/quote]

I agree, Davin, that professional artwork tends to look better, and perhaps even attract the human eye better than refurbished comic art from comic books that have fallen into the public domain. Also, I agree with you that various sections (and not just the corners) need to be filled with something, and not just left as empty space. It helps to provide more balanced visuals for the reader.

In fact, part of the reason that I have offered free ads, to date, is to try and have some ready mechanism to break up the mass of text that the magazine otherwise would be without having any imagery. The amount of imagery available in the form of PBM advertisements of old is substantially limited. The refurbished comic book are allows me a mechanism to inject imagery of some kind, in the absence of a large repository of PBM-related artwork from the PBM industry and individual game moderators. Plus, if I removed all comic style art from the magazine, this would eliminate all of the front cover art for the magazine - in effect, it would kill off Suspense & Decision permanently.

Granted, I could move to some kind of business model for the magazine, but if I did that, then free ad space might disappear, as well. And if I started charging for ad space, I suspect that most remaining PBM companies and individual game moderators would not buy ad space, which in turn would be counter-productive to the magazine's ability to try and grow the overall PBM player base.

For me, PBM is a hobby interest of mine. While it wouldn't be unduly difficult transition from a hobby-interest to a business model, it would involve me having to deal with headaches such as taxes. I have not concluded that is an additional headache that I want to contend with, even though it would allow for certain opportunities to manifest themselves. Even if I were ever to transition to a business model for the magazine, I would be very disinclined to eliminate all free advertising opportunities. After all, some GMs simply do not have an advertising budget to advertise their games with. Since PBM is a hobby interest of mine, I tend to be sympathetic with individuals interested in running a PBM game of their own, and who do it for the love of the hobby more so than to try and make money off their games.

I think you shouldn't worry about a business model - as you've indicated the industry won't support it.  I think you're doing a fine job as is!

[quote='Davin' pid='136830' dateline='1566571801']
I think you're doing a fine job as is!
[/quote]

I don't. It's been too inconsistent to qualify as a fine job, I think.

That said, I do think that there's a number of people who enjoy there existing a PBM magazine of some kind for them to browse through.

[quote='Davin' pid='136819' dateline='1566396959']
I think that professional artwork looks and attracts much better, but a $0 budget of course means that's out of the question.  I'd rather see something than nothing, and you sure have to fill in the corners with something, so I don't have a problem with the repurposed cartoon art.
[/quote]

I did create a couple of new pieces of refurbished comic book art to accompany a Galac-Tac article by Doug Neman for Issue #18, Davin. I think that you'll like them, when you see them.

Cool!  I expect he will, too.

UPDATE: I've made a LOT of progress, today. It ate my morning and early afternoon up, and pages may vary somewhat from earlier draft versions of advertisements or articles that I sent to respective different parties. However, it's all been done using new software, even though the overall format I opted to retain for Issue #18. For future issues, though, I suspect that the magazine will begin to morph into a somewhat different look.

I have even written my editorial for Issue 18, already. So, I've got that out of the way, as we head toward tomorrow, which if the good LORD is willing, the issue will either publish or finish with only minor refining touches remaining.

My mastery of the new software still leaves one Hell of a lot to be desired. That said, I have made TREMENDOUS progress (in my considered judgment) in learning a variety of different features, in my experimentation of it, thus far. Truly, this marks a milestone for me, personally, in my bid to publish a PBM magazine for the 21st Century in PDF format. HOORAY! The learning curve accounts for a lot of the delay, since I decided a couple of weeks or so ago to bring this particular issue to fruition. If I had stuck with what I was using, then Issue #18 would have already been in your hands by now.

I suspect that the next issue will come together a LOT quicker. You, yourself, in fact, might even end up being surprised by how quick compiling it will seem to how slow compiling Issue #18 has turned out to be. I have also even managed to nudge my skills in refurbishing old comic art for PBM purposes a little bit, to boot, though I may notice the end result of those artistic elements more than you will, as future issues of Suspense & Decision magazine get published.

Including Issue #18, between now and Christmas Day, the tentative schedule is to have five new issues of Suspense & Decision in our readership's hands. They may well end up being smaller in page count, but frequency of publication will be a primary objective. Yeah, yeah, you say! You've heard it all, before. Well, what do you have to lose?

Get ready to strap on some PBM dynamite! Stand back, though, as I prepare to light your fuse.

Suspense & Decision - We're back!

Congratulations, Charles!

[quote='Rinzai' pid='136838' dateline='1566588753']
Congratulations, Charles!
[/quote]

We're not there, yet.

UPDATE: Only a tiny amount of progress, tonight. I am just too tired to function. Not sure if I can finish it, completely, tomorrow, but I'm going to try. My morning hours have already been spoken for, though.

UPDATE: I slept late, this morning, and am soon to head over to my Mama's to eat some salmon patties. This afternoon, I hope to return to compiling Issue #12. The bulk of it really is done, already. Bernd said something about submitting an article, but that hasn't shown up in my in-box, yet. He's over here, today, reading this thread, so maybe he will see this.

You're not awake yet if you're still working on issue #12.

UPDATE: I haven't been able to spend as much time working on Issue #18, today, as I had hopped to be able to spend. I am, however, working on it, right now, and barring any unforeseen problems, it should publish either later tonight or tomorrow. I'll probably write an article for it, and incorporate it, along with any remaining cosmetic changes, such as filling the last vestiges of remaining empty space lying scattered here or there.

Update: Almost done!

UPDATE: I believe that Issue #18 is done!

It is 4:09AM EST, and I am going to go to bed. I will give it a fresh look, when I awaken, and then if all seems well and working, I will publish it for download. Those who are subscribed to the PBM Mailing List will get first crack at it.

Click HERE to download Issue #18 of Suspense & Decision magazine!

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136850' dateline='1566754397']
Click HERE to download Issue #18 of Suspense & Decision magazine!
[/quote]

Fantastic! Thank you, Charles.

You made me blush in your editorial. I may be “the most active PBM player” clocking in at 13 active games right now. (7 Middle-earth games, 2 SuperNova games, The Isles, DungeonWorld, TribeNet, and A New Dawn). But, you are, without question, the most important person in all of PBM gaming!

Keep up the great work.

ERROR REPORTED:

Raven identified an error in a link in Peter Rzechorzek's article in Issue #18.

This error has been corrected, and a replacement file with the fix uploaded to the website. Just redownload to grab the fixed copy. Thanks for the find, Raven! Raven has confirmed the fix, already.

You did it again, Charles! What is dead may never die!

I have started my contribution(s) for issue 19. I'll be posting a bit more on the forum with regard to that and other things. I had a lot going on last week, and went "dark" here for several days, but I do check in often and want to contribute to the momentum.

Now we just need to get spun up on that Galac-tac game, that I might face Darkseid in battle one more time...

ERRORS FIXED:

I found a couple of more errors (typos), last night, and uploaded a revised copy of Issue #18, for those that might want to obtain a corrected version. These errors were on page #56, in an article that I authored.