Co-GM:
In reply to Referee (msg # 96):
Quick question - how do people find the new news format?
Now that the turn is closed:
Quick answer:
I prefer the older fromat. In fact, IMHO, the best format to keep them easy to read and infomative would be something like the JTAS News Service in Travellr (I asume you know it), that was quite similar to the older one.
Longer answer
:
- I see this format quite confusing, as one must (aside from logging in, something you didn't need in the older format, but that's not a mjor issue) jump from page to page to see more news, instead of just scrolling (something you also must do in this format if there are several news in a page.
- I see no point in some of the pages (as obituaries or horoscope) fro mthe game POV, as I cannot think in many articles for them that could really have game impact, but this can be just my lack of imagination.
- I find this new format to be less informative than the earlier one. As (according your own explanation) the first news were mostly color, and the other news are players' (all of them,unless I cannot see some, mine, BTW), there's no information from "neutral" sources.
- This puts most the info we receive from what's going on in the players' actions section, but this ignores the actions done by NPCs (e.g. Italy was involved in Lybia, and we have no news about how is this going).
As a resume:
I miss the info (relevant or red herrings) given in former turns by the news section, and find this new format not worth the effort you invested on it, as I see no advantages (color aside, but, as much as I like color, as my HP show, if color goes against info, I see it a hindrance instead of an asset).
Side note:
Another point is that I don't like in general is this policy to quizz that give response PAs. This might have a maning if it encouraged the players to participate more, but as such it seems to have been a failure (again, as the only articles I can see are mine). See taht if really I'm the only to have sent articles, according the letter of Kelvin
End of Turn message, I should have been given a lot of response PAs, as my articles are clearly the best ones, even if only by default, but even I think this would have been quite unbalancing for the game...