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Issue 108 - Issue 108 suggestions

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2003 2:09 pm
by gaelliott
I have followed the debate on this discussion board about the proposed issue #108 of Zzap64 and I would now like to add my proverbial two cents.

Many of you feel that a new Zzap64, to mark the magazine?s 20th anniversary in April 2005, is a good idea. I agree, it is ? but then that would have to be it! Any discussion of an issue #109 will need to be actively discouraged.

For the sake of those involved in its production, #108 should contain no more than the 36 pages found in #107. This will not only keep costs down, but a tighter content will reward us with a better quality product. Items such as News, Reviews, Zzapback, Contents and Editorial, Scorelord, Hall of Fame and Tips will absorb half of those pages and as for the rest may I suggest that consideration be given to the following features:

1. I would like to see Q&A piece with Per Hakan Sundell, the creator of CCS64 and an idiot?s guide on how to configure and run games on that emulator.

2. It might be worth to doing an article on how to convert your old C64 software into a T64/D64/Tap image for use with an emulator. The reverse of this process would also be worth investigating for anyone who picks up an old C64 at a boot sale, or on EBay. No doubt a legal disclaimer will needed to be included with this piece.

3. A spread on prominent ex-Zzap64 staff would be desirable. If they are unable to provide a review for the farewell issue, they might be persuaded to contribute a short piece (250 ? 500 words) about their time on the magazine and scan any behind the scenes photos they may still have.

4. For old time sake the issue could contain a small supplement on the Commodore Amiga ? yes, okay - sorry about that.

5. A Zzap Challenge Masters tournament could be reported on.

6. A 20 years of Zzap64 timeline might be worth including. This could compare life and technology between 1985 and 2005 and possibly follow up any predictions in Zzap64 as to the future of C64 gaming.

It will come as no surprise if many of these suggestions do not make it into the final issue, but I feel one or two have legs and they may well last the course. Also, I suggest that, initially, #108 be only available in print. Iain Black has served the Zzap64 community well over the years and I would not like to see him out of pocket on this venture. Only when every printed copy has been sold, and all costs have been recovered, should the PDFs be made publicly available.

Some believe that #107 should be Zzap64?s swan song, but I disagree. I feel that #107 was a dry run - an attempt to see if such a thing could be done. We know that it can, so now let us combine forces and ensure that this once great publication goes out in a blaze of glory. 8) 8) 8)

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2003 3:46 am
by Gazunta
6. A 20 years of Zzap64 timeline might be worth including. This could compare life and technology between 1985 and 2005 and possibly follow up any predictions in Zzap64 as to the future of C64 gaming.
I liiiiike it!

Re: Issue 108 suggestions

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:54 pm
by CraigGrannell
For what it's worth, I agree regarding page counts. I reckon we'd be hard pressed to get much more than 32 pages, and even if we did, that'll mean a higher print run and no possibility of it going online as a PDF (and bear in mind we got 4,000 downloads, and, what, 150 sales?)

With regards to your ideas, I'm not at all keen on devoting much space to a specific emulator. We already covered them in z107, and if we did CCS64, people'd only moan that we didn't do VICE, Frodo, Power 64... This stuff can also be found online. (The reason we covered emulation in z107 was because Zzap!64 had never done so.)

Conversion of software is a possibility, but again this can be found online, and I reckon we should be going for unique features. The ex-staff thing fits that, and it's something we more-or-less ignored from z107. I'll most likely be able to do this from the information I'll be gathering for a Pixelsurgeon feature on Zzap!64. Bear in mind that word counts per page (IIRC) are around 400-600 for Zzap!64, so each staffer wouldn't get nearly 500 words. Another option is to enable ex-staffers to write articles. I know a few of them were keen to do this for z107, but didn't, and would do so for z108.
For old time sake the issue could contain a small supplement on the Commodore Amiga ? yes, okay - sorry about that.
That's just... wrong...
A Zzap Challenge Masters tournament could be reported on.
This is on another thread here.

As for the timeline idea, that's kind of a cool idea, but will be a total bitch to design. Oh well! :)

One thing I totally disagree with is that z108 should only be available in print, even initially. The fact that there was a digital version was the _sole_ reason it was received so well. People could get it right away, and send it on to others. The print-outs were solely for the hardcore fanboys.

As for z107 being a dry run, I don't agree at all. At the time there were serious discussions about it being a final closing issue because those last Zzap!64s were so poor. This was a way to give the mag a great (albeit unofficial) send-off. It's already gone out in a blaze of glory. Now there's a possibility it can do so again...

Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2003 7:07 pm
by seanbags
I noticed you had a section in 107 about emulators. I'm sure you could include a healthy little section in 108 about troubleshooting, Input, sound, video and of course system requirments.. What not to do and what you MUST do .. perhaps some examples of common problems associated with running these scarey little programes... Even a bit of a walkthrough in using the CCS64 with some of the later games such as Creatures, Turrican 2, Narc etc>>>perhaps identifying problem games or ESSENTIAL settings for some of these 90's games.

Ive noticed that the later games are the ones with the problems..

Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2003 7:18 pm
by CraigGrannell
We debated this sort of thing for 107, but decided against it. There are walkthroughs online, and we'd end up using a lot of space for emulation info. Mag space will be limited, hence why emulators only had one page last time. Also, the idea with 107 (and also with 108) was/is largely to cover stuff that's never been covered in Zzap!64. Emulators have already been done now, so I doubt we'll be doing too much on them for 108.

Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 5:41 pm
by seanbags
lazy mongrels :twisted:

Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 5:55 pm
by CraigGrannell
seanbags wrote:lazy mongrels :twisted:
Pfft. Well, z107 took, at a conservative estimate, two _solid_ weeks of work for me - unpaid.

Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 6:40 pm
by seanbags
lol, dont take offence.. I have the utmost respect for anyone involved in the production of ZZAP.. You see, ZZAP actually kept my intrest alive for C64 gaming whilst the console revolution took over.. I spent all my savings bying ZZAP even though I never even had my own C64. I would spend my time playing games at my friends ( who took these things for granted and found them boring ) Oli's art kept my dreams alive being an aspiring young artist myself, and to this day, I'm still broke because of my artistic abilitys. Im thinking of actually purchasing 107 and any solid new emulator advice on the games of that era ( earlly 90's ) in 108, would definatley get me on the bying bandwagon..

Emulators are new to me and so are playing the games my empty pockets dreamt of..

ps> I actually bought a copy of midnight resistance which was my favourite arcade game, and that was it!! No more C64 games for sale>YET,, ZZAP provided me with MEGATAPES

Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 7:14 pm
by CraigGrannell
Don't worry - I wasn't taking offence. Should have put a winky smiley there. ;)

> Im thinking of actually purchasing 107

It's a pretty good print job, actually.

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 12:17 am
by Videogame Guru
I have heaps of ideas, but a few that will probably not get a mention would be articles/write ups on:

* The C64 demo scene [as of now]

* Current C64 games & game in development



* A programming tutorial for would be demo/games creators - I don't mind writing a "specific" piece for this ;)

I used to love reading the CNET pages of Zzap ;)

ps..
It's a pretty good print job, actually.


The print quality is awesome ;)

George
LDA#$00
STA$D020

Coming to a monitor near you soon - www.c64coder.com -

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 9:23 am
by CraigGrannell
* The C64 demo scene [as of now]

Well, we sort of replaced the Compunet section with an Internet one, but there's no reason why it shouldn't have its "proper" content again.

* Current C64 games & game in development

Of course, current C64 games would get reviews (that is, if they're not total shit), and those in development would get mentioned in the previews page(s).

* A programming tutorial for would be demo/games creators - I don't mind writing a "specific" piece for this ;)

Might be a bit long - this sort of thing would only have two pages, max.

* The print quality is awesome ;)

It did turn out better than I thought it would, although next time I'd like to communicate with you guys first regarding a few things. For instance, the trimming was a bit off, so I'd like to get a better idea of "safe" areas for your kit.

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 10:26 am
by Lloyd Mangram
Craig said:
current C64 games would get reviews (that is, if they're not total shit)
Well, we reviewed "blood" in issue 107 for example, what would you call that? :wink:
I mean, Zzap DID review Robobolt, didn't they?
We could review just 'anything' and introduce the Tacky award again! :D

Ni!
Rob

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 11:13 am
by CraigGrannell
Well, perhaps I should clarify: not if they're all total shit. Blood was funny because it was _really_ bad, but most of the other games were all right (I was surprised that Samber scored so low). A couple of duffers in amongst average and good software = fine. An issue full of shit = not good.

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 1:25 pm
by Ant
biggestjim wrote:Well, we reviewed "blood" in issue 107 for example, what would you call that? :wink:
Great, thanks for reminding me of that, Biggest Jim.

Looks like it's back to therapy for me!

:)

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 8:55 pm
by Videogame Guru
It did turn out better than I thought it would, although next time I'd like to communicate with you guys first regarding a few things. For instance, the trimming was a bit off, so I'd like to get a better idea of "safe" areas for your kit.
No problem....would be a very good idea to communicate before hand...the earlier the better ;)

Thanks :-]

George