YMG publication along the lines of Captain's Log for Star Fleet Battles

[RushAss]

Kevin, Moose, gornhorror, lordofthedead, Dave-SWA, and GoIndy all know what I'm talking about with this.

Amarillo Design Bureau (the folks that produce Star Fleet Battles, Federation Commander, and numerous other games) have had a publication going on for nearly 30 years called Captain's Log.  They release about 2 of these publications a year.  They are over 100 pages in length by now and are clearly the most successful product line they have had.  Which is saying a lot for a company that has been at it since the 70's. 

This publication contains a healthy mix of fiction, tactics (mostly player submitted!), rules questions, ship diagrams (SSDs), victory articles by tournament winners, tournament winners listings, scenarios, general company updates, and more.  I've written a few articles for this publication over the years myself, as has Kevin, Moose, and GoIndy.  I'm wondering if YMG would consider doing something along this line.  I know it's a much younger company and doesn't have nearly as much material to pull from.  I'm thinking that the first few publications would be in the 20-30 page range and done strictly in PDF format.  Maybe charge folks 5 bucks per download.  I for one would happily write articles for a publication like this free of charge and I'm sure a ton of other folks would do so as well.  Heck, Mike already has his own BG:FW blog site!  There would be a ton of things to discus before even beginning such a project, but I think it would be really neat for YMG to have a publication like this and it would create some cool reading material other than rules related stuff.

I'll bring a couple of Captain's Logs up to Boston to show Chad and Niko. 

http://www.starfleetgames.com/captainslog.shtml

[gull2112]

I'm in!

[wotanson]

A lot of games have fan generated fanzines where almost everything about the game is discussed. My personal favorite is The Bellower, which is a Warhammer Fantasy battles Orgre Kingdoms fanzine.

[Kevin]

I'm not certain it wouldn't be redundant with stuff on the message board.  (Captains Logs were excellent for their time, but they started well before the internet.)  Would hate to see folks have to pay to see the game reports, home rules, suggested new units, etc. they can see for free today.

[Niko White]

I'm not certain it wouldn't be redundant with stuff on the message board.  (Captains Logs were excellent for their time, but they started well before the internet.)  Would hate to see folks have to pay to see the game reports, home rules, suggested new units, etc. they can see for free today.

Honestly, the best kind of fan zine would probably be someone sorting through, picking out the best stuff from the site and blogs, with permission obviously, making it a bit prettier, and posting it as a PDF.  I agree with Kevin - unless you can do really pretty and high production values stuff, I'm not sure I see the need for a paid publication these days.

[Curufea]

Making a PDF available on Scribd, Lulu or Blurb gives folk the ability to either have it as a PDF, or print on demand as a book/magazine.  I've used these services before - and while not as cheap as going to a printer, they are certainly the best option for vanity and small print run publishing.

[RushAss]

I'm not certain it wouldn't be redundant with stuff on the message board.  (Captains Logs were excellent for their time, but they started well before the internet.)  Would hate to see folks have to pay to see the game reports, home rules, suggested new units, etc. they can see for free today.

Honestly, the best kind of fan zine would probably be someone sorting through, picking out the best stuff from the site and blogs, with permission obviously, making it a bit prettier, and posting it as a PDF.  I agree with Kevin - unless you can do really pretty and high production values stuff, I'm not sure I see the need for a paid publication these days.

Regardless, I feel that this game could use a fanzine/update publication/whatever.  There's absolutely no physical reading material aside from the rules, the scenario book that comes with the Historicals, and a Scenario book that's 5 years old.  The game deserves more than that and I'll wager that we have a good quantity of quality folks right here that would be willing to pitch in to make something happen.  Even if a good deal of it is a YMG forum "best of", that would be a start.  And it doesn't have to be high production for starters.  Here's how I envision a table of contents for such a thing (in no real order)

YMG company update - Progress on new faction development and anything else related to YMG
Battleground events - Both upcoming events and the results of past ones
Rules Questions - submitted by the players, answered by Niko, Chad, or somebody else they appoint
The latest and greatest errata
New Scenario(s)
Battle report(s)
Tactical and strategic articles
Possible fan fiction

Would anybody here want to see something like this?

[lazyj]

Yeah I think that would be neat to see. I'd like to volunteer myself for a project like that... but I also don't want to over-commit and kill the idea just because I got busy.

I'll just go with "I'd contribute in some fashion" and see where it leads.

[BubblePig]

Yeah I think that would be neat to see. I'd like to volunteer myself for a project like that... but I also don't want to over-commit and kill the idea just because I got busy.

I'll just go with "I'd contribute in some fashion" and see where it leads.

That pretty much is where I am at, too.

[Mexico]

I'd definitely contribute. In a few months I may have plenty of time to devote to such a project, but that would come with the need for compensation...

[Chad_YMG]

Bumping this up...

I think it would be cool to do this.  My hunch is that a mid-point between a published, "for sale" product and a simple compiling would be good.  We'd need someone to volunteer as the editor/coordinator (maybe two somebodies), and before starting I'd like to hear from at least a handful of people who are willing to create some specific content for it.  We should have something on strategy, a session report, maybe a new scenario, and each "issue" can include some sneak peaks at what's coming, either sharing the stats or (when we have it) art.

[RushAss]

I have zero editing experience, but I'd be willing to take a stab at an editor/coordinator role.  I'd certainly be willing to work with somebody else, or even a couple of somebodies.  I'd also like to contribute articles if possible.  Here's a few I had kicking around in my head:

- A strategy guide for big games (3000+ points per side).  I figure since we do this so much that I'd be the guy to actually write the darned thing.
- Short "this unit vs. that unit for the same role" articles.  Basically, taking 2 similar units in the same faction and arguing the merits for both in the same role.  Example - Dwarven Hammermen vs. Dwarven Battle Axemen.  This could be a running article from issue to issue as there are dozens of these instances throughout the factions.
- Wise application of faction specific abilities to individual units.  Example - Maybe putting Fury on Swarmling Bowmen is not such a hot idea in most situations!

And of course I'm good for a session report or 5 - LOL

[Chad_YMG]

Maybe the place to start is brainstorming articles and then finding victims volunteers to do them on a monthly basis.  I think we could pretty quickly come up with a list of features that would be interesting to read but not so painful to do on a regular basis.  Then your job is following up with the regulars, drafting someone to do a feature or two, and then putting it all together.

So...regular column ideas:

Strategy:
Unit comparison
Archetype review
Faction Strategy
Beginner advice

Flavor & Fun:
Session report
Fiction?
Scenario

Other ideas?

[RushAss]

Fiction?

You know, Kevin used to add story lines to his battle reports.  We could dress up battle reports from real games with little fictional story lines.  Admittedly cheesy, but who knows?  Maybe people would like it?

Hey, maybe a running article on reports from play testers as well?

[Kevin]

Kevin used to add story lines to his battle reports.

I still do when it's a mini-campaign, as opposed to a tournament game or a playtest.

Monthly is too ambitious, IMHO.  Anyone else remember the "Monthly Kingdom" page?  

One thing I was thinking--as a "in between" a stand-alone product and just more content on the website, would be to have a special page of content, which you'd need a code to access. You'd get the code by purchasing the newest faction (It would be printed) on a piece of colored paper packaged with the Basic Set..   The paper would have the code, and urge people in general to check out the forum in general.), or perhaps by paying $5.